Chapter Four

"Go ahead and get yourself settled," is what Shepard said to her before he left.

What is there to settle? Ashlyn thought as she sat on the edge of her bed staring into the cold metallic floor as her dark mane draped over her like a cloak. She had come to realize that she had no possessions. She didn't even have clothes, other than the suit and boots she wore. She didn't even have money to buy clothes. That feeling of helplessness that had been nagging at her was now pressing down on her like a ton of bricks. She hated feeling this way. Like she had no purpose, like she had to be taken care of because she wasn't able to do anything on her own. Shepard had mentioned that she was going to be doing something on the ship, but she had no clue what or if she was going to get paid for it. She doubted getting a paycheck since she wasn't actually supposed to be on the Normandy. For all she knew, Shepard could be in some sort of danger zone with her aboard, but she didn't want to leave. She was already making friends and though she felt like a lost puppy, she felt a sense of hominess aboard the Normandy. Maybe it was a reflection of a detached memory; the memory of her ship?

Ashlyn nearly jumped out of her skin as well as her depressing thoughts when there was a knock on the door.

"C-come in!"

The door hissed open and a silvery body stood in the doorway. EDI strolled in wearing a welcoming smile on her metallic face. Ashlyn took a moment to marvel over the robotic body. It moved just like a human, more fluid and graceful than Ashlyn imagined herself, and was an amazing piece of machinery.

"Hello again, Ashlyn," EDI greeted, "I hope you are ready to be my assistant."

"Assistant?" Ashlyn asked, slightly confused. She figured she was going to be cleaning some floors or cooking soup, not becoming an AI's sidekick.

"Yes, I could use some help in certain areas of the ship. I can tell you have some computer knowledge hidden in that mind of yours, so I'm sure you'll do fine."

Ashlyn was surprised, but she stood and followed EDI anyway. They walked around the corner, through the med bay where they said hello to Doctor Chakwas, and continued through the AI Core's door. Ashlyn was suddenly surrounded by machinery, technology and the whirs and beeps of computers.

"A few of our crew members have been complaining about the air quality in the crew quarters." EDI explained. "I need you to run a diagnostic on the life support systems and see if you can find anything."

"Uh," Ashlyn tried her best not to sound rude, "can't you do that a lot quicker?"

"Yes, but, I'm here to teach you and help you unlock your skills." EDI gestured to the terminal near the back of the room. "Just use your scanning application on your omni-tool, scan the life support system and see if anything strange appears."

Ashlyn slowly approached the terminal and held her left wrist out. Her omni-tool sprung to life and it automatically sensed her intention, so it brought up a message asking her if she wanted to scan a system in the Normandy. It then brought up a list of systems. There was a lot. Fuel systems, engine systems, auto-piloting systems and even waste disposal systems, but she eventually found the one she was looking for. She selected the life support system and her omni-tool wirelessly connected to the Normandy's computer and performed the scan.

She glanced at EDI, who was smiling at her as she watched. Only after a few seconds, the scan produced a result.

"There!" Ashlyn exclaimed almost a little too excitedly. "There seems to be a leak in the crew quarters vent shaft."

"See?" EDI told her. "That wasn't so difficult. Now I need you to grab some tools, climb up into that shaft and get it sealed."

Ashlyn stared at her, dumbfounded.

"That was a joke." EDI replied with a sly smirk on her silver lips.

When Ashlyn returned to her room, she was ecstatic. She was filled with pride in herself. She felt like a child that's read their first word or took their first step. She accomplished something she never thought possible, at least in her current state of mind. EDI had relayed the message to maintenance staff and thanked Ashlyn for a job well done. Though it was a small job, Ashlyn was still proud.

Suddenly, a chiming sound went off, startling her. She quickly realized it was her omni-tool. She activated it and saw a message.

Garrus V.: Hey, neighbor! Enjoying your new quarters?

Her lips instantly spread into a smile as she began to type a reply.

Ashlyn: It's wonderful. I guess you are nearby since you called me neighbor?

Garrus V.: Yeah, just around the corner, past the med bay. I stay in the main battery.

Ashlyn: Well, that'll make it easier to visit! I worked with EDI today… I did pretty well.

Ashlyn paused as she sent the last message. She felt like she was a child telling her parents she got good grades. Garrus probably wouldn't care about that. He was a war-hardened alien, but for some reason she found herself wanting his praise. Then she realized she was blushing of embarrassment over a message and felt even more foolish. Her omni-tool chimed again, pulling her from her thoughts and she smiled again, somehow an even bigger smile than before.

Garrus V.: Great! Glad to see you're not letting the memory loss get you down. And I would look forward to any visits from you…

Garrus stared at his message, not believing that he'd just sent it.

"Did I really just flirt with her?" He murmured to himself, still not believing his own actions.

He ran a gloved hand across his plated face and groaned as he put away his omni-tool. He couldn't even remember what was going through his mind when he typed it. It just happened. But the strange thing was that it wasn't just a flirt, it was the truth. He was looking forward to seeing her. Maybe it was because he'd helped pull her out of the box, but he was feeling oddly protective of her. As if it was up to him to look after her, make sure she was okay and comfortable. Turians had a long history of being protective. They would protect family, friends, lovers even pets, but what was Ashlyn to him? He didn't even know her, yet he could imagine himself fighting for her. Then again, he could imagine himself fighting for everyone that was aboard the Normandy, fighting for their race's survival, but why did thinking about Ashlyn in this way feel so different?

Shepard moved down the corridor to the cockpit with a sense of command in his step. As the doors opened, his eyes moved past Joker and onto EDI, who was seated next to the pilot.

"EDI," he said in his best 'commander' tone, "did you let Ashlyn access the Normandy's systems?"

She stood, her metallic body reflecting the lights of the pilot terminal. Joker stayed silent. "Yes, I did. I gave her the one time access and monitored her."

"I asked you to give her a job to keep her busy, not turn her into a hacker. As nice as she is, we still don't know much about her. She could've brought down the ship."

EDI's expression did not falter. Her silver lips were curved ever so slightly into a smile. "I knew the goal of her taking on a job was to help reignite her memories. I could tell that she has computer experience, so I chose a simple job that would be best suited to her abilities."

"How did you know she has computer experience?" Shepard questioned.

"It was more of a hunch. I used the air support job as a test and she passed."

"So because she did well hacking into my ship's systems, you figured she was good at computers?"

EDI cocked her head slightly. "She didn't hack, I allowed her. Please do not worry Shepard. I was monitoring her actions the entire time. "

Shepard groaned as he shook his head. "Just please run any decisions like that by me before you let strangers into the Normandy's systems."

"Yes Commander."

Ashlyn leaned back onto her cot and sighed. The past day had been a busy one. She'd met the entire crew, performed ship diagnostics and made new friends. Not too shabby for a girl who couldn't remember who she was. Unfortunately she was also exhausted. She was just about to close her eyes to sleep when she heard a rapping on the door.

She sat up. "Come in," she called.

The door opened to reveal Shepard on the other side. He strode in and the door shut behind him.

His eyes met hers with a gentle concern. "How are you feeling?" He asked softly.

"Good," she replied, "just tired."

"Well, I won't keep you awake for too long. I just wanted you to know that we'll be at the Citadel in about twenty four hours. You don't have to leave the ship if you don't want to."

She gulped impulsively. "I'm not sure if I do or not."

"Well nobody will force you. I'll be heading there right after we dock, so let me know beforehand if you'd like to go. And don't worry, we won't leave you there."

Ashlyn nodded, then suddenly realized something. "Oh! I can always message you. I got my omni-tool working."

Shepard smiled. "That's great." He moved closer, activated his omni-tool in unison with Ashlyn and attempted to share his contact information. "What?" He murmured absently as his brow furrowed and his eyes peered into his holographic screen. "It's not letting me connect to yours."

"Oh, I have to add you. I don't know, it's weird. Garrus couldn't add me either, I had to add him."

He met her eyes briefly. "You've been talking to Garrus?"

She felt an unexplained shyness all of the sudden. "Just a bit. He helped me activate it." She continued to connect to Shepard's omni-tool, ignoring the awkwardness that had drifted between them, until he appeared on her contact list. "There we go."

"Alright, now you can get ahold of me." He stepped back. "Oh, and thanks for the good job on the diagnostics." He added before turning around.

"Thanks," she replied with a grin.

She watched Shepard leave, then continued to ponder whether or not she should go to the Citadel. She read that there were tons of shops and she would love to buy herself some new clothes, maybe even a toothbrush, but then she kept remembering she didn't have any money.

Her thoughts moved onto Shepard. She was so happy that she got a verbal seal of approval from the commander. It seemed a bit restrained, but she wasn't making any complaints. It was a compliment and it was from Shepard. It made her feel even more accomplished having impressed Shepard.

Suddenly, Ashlyn realized that her face seemed warmer than usual. Was she blushing again? It felt the same as when she absently sought approval from Garrus. She figured it was only normal. Shepard was the commander and Garrus was her first alien friend, she should feel a need to impress them. Shouldn't I? She asked herself.

She let out a wide yawn and realized that with such an empty mind, it seemed to wander a lot more. She decided to block out any wandering thoughts and rest. She fell back onto the bed and closed her eyes. She could at least get some sleep for now.

To be continued...

Author's note: I know it's short, but I hope you guys enjoyed!