Chapter Seven

Garrus stared intently at his terminal in the main battery, but he wasn't doing work. In fact, he wasn't even focused. He'd been on the same calibration setting for about an hour. His mind was annoyingly stuck on a particular female human. He'd just finished delivering his report to Shepard, who couldn't believe it himself. Ashlyn was an excellent shot. Shepard suggested that she was just a natural, but Garrus knew it was more than that. He could almost admit that she might've been as good as he was, but that determination would take more to confirm. Maybe she did just have a natural talent for the pistol? It didn't mean she was good with sniper rifles, or assault weapons. Then he realized he was actually looking forward to their next training session, but it wasn't just because of her impressive skill. He felt something when he was watching her shoot. There was something about Ashlyn holding that gun and owning those targets, it just seemed so… attractive.

Garrus felt like an idiot. Was he really allowing feelings to seed for a human? She was no different than any other human female he's met, but then again, she was. The way her brilliant green eyes lit up when she smiled, the way her pink human lips seemed to pout when she became upset and how her expression was all business when she fired that gun.

He groaned as he ran a hand over his face plates. He didn't know what to think. Would he frighten her away by telling her? He had a fleeting image of Ashlyn running away in a mix of disgust and horror after he confessed his strange attraction to her, but then he had another thought. What would happen if she accepted him? He'd heard of human and turian pairings before, they weren't really smiled upon, but how did they work? He thought about the moment when he held her hand on the Citadel, and when he touched it again in the training room. Oh did he want to see if the rest of her was that soft and actually touch her with his own hand and not through his gloves.

Suddenly, with the thought of possibly getting the chance to touch her, actually touch her, Garrus made a clarifying decision. He was going to research human relationships and confess his feelings for her. It was far better than hiding it, and even if she rejected him, at least he could say he tried. Besides, it wasn't very turian of him to hide it, though he didn't think of himself as a very good turian anyway. Now he just had to figure where to look for this particular type of research.

It was getting late when Garrus had found himself at the door to the cockpit. He stood there for at least two minutes mentally preparing himself for what he was about to do. Finally, he gathered his resolve and entered.

"Joker," Garrus called quietly as he approached the pilot's chair.

"Oh, hey Garrus, what's up?"

Garrus turned to EDI who was looking at him curiously. He let out a cough. "EDI could I talk to Joker in private?"

EDI's metallic eyes narrowed. "You do realize I can monitor the entire ship?"

He growled in frustration. "Yes, but I'd feel a lot better without a physical body standing here, so could you please?"

"Of course." She stated and stepped out of the cockpit.

By now, Joker had his chair turned around and he looked at Garrus. "That was weird. What's up with you?"

Garrus wrung his hands. He didn't even know how to ask. "Um, I need some information, vids preferably."

"What kind of vids?" Joker asked with one eyebrow arched.

"I need to know how to court a human female and if it's possible for me to, ah… join… with one."

Joker's eyes narrowed. Garrus swore if he was human he'd be turning every shade of purple. Joker still stayed silent, which made it worse. Garrus's mandibles were clenched nervously to his face and he was just about to give up on this awkward silence when Joker suddenly erupted with laughter. He laughed for a good thirty seconds while Garrus rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed as hell.

"Alright, I get it," Garrus finally cut through his laughter. "Forget I asked."

"No, no, man," Joker's laughter dimmed, "I'm just glad you're finally getting that stick out your ass and cutting loose. Who's the lucky gal?"

His mandibles flinched. "I'd rather not say."

"Fine, fine," Joker replied with his hands up in defense. "Let me see what I can find for you."

Ashlyn woke the next day with a skip in her step. She was so proud of herself. She'd done well in EDI's computer exercise, plus impressed Garrus with her shooting. Though, he was looking at her very strangely when she left. She wasn't sure why, but after both sessions, she was so exhausted. It was like her brain was overworked and as soon as she lay in her bed, she was out like a light.

She woke the next day to Shepard pinging her omni-tool. He wanted to meet her for their first hand to hand training in the shuttle bay. She dressed herself in a red tank top and black pants. Her outfit clung to her body, which would be better for her to move in. She put her hair up and headed down to the shuttle bay.

She was greeted by two smiling faces as she entered the large room. Shepard was there and so was James Vega, standing side by side in the center.

"Hola, little pod girl," Vega said with a mischievous grin as his eyes traveled up and down her body, "don't you look ready for a rumble."

"Ignore Vega," Shepard told her, "he's a helpless flirt and he makes up nicknames for everyone."

Ashlyn laughed. "So I'm pod girl?"

"I think I'll start calling you bonita pod girl." Vega teased with a wink, giving Ashlyn the idea that Shepard was more than right about him.

"Alright, cool it, Vega." Shepard commanded as Vega put up his hands in defense.

Ashlyn laughed again. She noticed that there was a mat laid out on the floor and that both Shepard and Vega were in form fitting clothing like she was, though she believed Vega to always be in clothes that showed off his muscles.

"Vega and I are going to show you some beginner moves, then I want you to try some of those moves on me. Does that sound good?" Shepard asked.

Ashlyn nodded.

"Alright, watch closely now."

Both Shepard and Vega stepped on the mat and assumed fighting stances. Shepard began to explain his stance, but his voice began to drown into silence. His lips were moving, but Ashlyn couldn't hear him. She focused on him, his stance, and her mind went numb…

Poised, alert, balanced… striking strong, fast… body loose, nimble… looking for weaknesses, opportunities… striking again, hard, aimed…

"Did you get that Ashlyn?"

Shepard's voice brought her out of her trance. "Yeah, I think so." She said softly.

"Good, looked like you weren't paying attention there for a second. Are you ready to try what you saw on me?" He asked.

"Sure," she said nervously. This kind of training was a little more different than the others. She was actually going to fight Shepard.

Ashlyn stepped onto the mat as Vega stepped off, passing her and whispering, "Go easy on him, my little bonita pod girl."

She smiled and took her stance.

"Good starting position." Shepard complimented. "Now try and hit me like I showed you."

"You want me to hit you?"

"I'm sure I can take it." He said with a confident chuckle.

Ashlyn loosened her body and let her instincts take over. She swung once with her right fist, Shepard just barely leaned out of its path. She swung a left hook and again Shepard barely dodged. She did a low left jab, which Shepard dodged and she quickly followed up by a right hook, her fist striking Shepard right across the nose.

Shepard fell to his knees clutching his nose as Ashlyn heard Vega from behind murmur, "Holy shit."

Time seemed to stop. Ashlyn felt her world spinning as she saw the drop of blood seep out from between Shepard's fingers. This was it. He was definitely going to kick her off the ship now. She had to make this right.

"I am so, so, so sorry!" She blurted out as she knelt in front of him. She took his hand away from his face and saw the stream of crimson falling from his left nostril. "Oh, damnit! I'm so sorry!" He was silent, simply staring into her eyes. She wasn't worried about that though, she had to stop the bleeding, but she had nothing. The only thing she had… she was wearing. Before she could even think, her shirt was up and over her head and placed on Shepard's nose.

"Ashlyn," he finally spoke, "I'm fine, you don't have to do this."

"It's too late, the shirt already has blood on it. Besides, it's red anyway." Shepard noticed a wetness forming in the corners of her eyes. "Please don't kick me off the ship."

He smiled from beneath the shirt that was balled up under his nose. "Oh, Ashlyn, you never have to worry about beating me in a fight." He placed his hand on her cheek. "I'm just surprised, I didn't know you had it in you."

Ashlyn sighed with relief. "Thank goodness, I really didn't mean to hurt you."

"I know. How about we cut this lesson short? You can go get a new shirt and I'll get cleaned up."

"Okay."

They both stood and met eyes with Vega, who bore an even more mischievous smile.

"Vega," Shepard nearly forgot he was still there and was suddenly embarrassed by his display of a tender moment with Ashlyn. "Why are you so quiet?"

"No reason, sir," he said with a hint of humor in his voice, "no reason."

Vega turned and headed back to his workout area, leaving Shepard and Ashlyn.

Shepard's mind was spinning as he took a step and began to follow Ashlyn out of the shuttle bay. He was nearly hypnotized by her dark ponytail swaying from side to side as she walked, when he noticed something. Something on her skin, between her shoulder blades and down her spine. It was a scar and it was a large one. It was shaped like a cross and it was too precise to be a battle scar.

As they entered the elevator together, Shepard turned to her. "I guess you don't remember how you got that scar?" He asked gently.

Ashlyn let out a sigh that resembled a whimpering puppy. "No."

Shepard wasn't sure of what else to say, so he said the only thing that came to his mind. "I'm sorry."

Ashlyn stayed silent. She didn't want anyone to see the horrible cross that marred her body. It was a painful reminder that someone at some point did something to her and she couldn't remember what. For all she knew it could've been a surgery to save her life, or maybe it was the reason of her memory loss? She wanted to tell Shepard it was okay, that she didn't need his apologies, but as she turned to him, she realized he was no longer looking at her scar. Ashlyn flushed with red as Shepard snapped his eyes away from her partially nude body.

Thankfully, the elevator dinged.

"This is my floor." Ashlyn said with a nervous chuckle. "Sorry again Shepard and thanks for the lesson."

She didn't dare to look at him as she scurried out of the elevator as her hands attempted to cover something until she made it to her quarters.

As the elevator doors shut, Shepard had the urge to bang his head against the wall. He could not believe Ashlyn caught him eyeing her up. He admitted to himself that he is male and having an attractive young woman partially clothed standing next to him was a baited trap waiting to snag him. She was so beautiful though. He would've given anything to just reach out and touch her porcelain skin, her exquisite breasts and her pink, pouty lips.

As the elevator doors opened to his quarters, he trudged out. He had been trying his best to bury his feelings, but they seemed to grow with every moment. He took a deep sigh and groaned as he realized the shirt he held to his nose smelled of her. He had planned to return it, but since it was probably ruined and he began to toy with the idea of keeping it, he decided to just buy her a new one.

Shepard's feelings for Ashlyn were confusing enough for him, but what also made it worse was the skill she expressed in every task he'd given her. EDI told him that she excelled in the computer exercise and Garrus's report stated that she probably doesn't even need much weapon training. Now she was even an expert in hand to hand combat. Though Shepard admitted to himself that he was going easy on her, she still knocked him to the ground and nearly broke his nose. Something didn't seem right. For such a naïve, innocent girl, she had a lot of talent for battle.

So Shepard decided to console with one of his best engineers and the master of digging up information. He asked Tali and Liara to meet him in Liara's office.

"What's up Shepard?" Tali asked as she entered the room.

Liara's office was buzzing with the sounds of computers as Glyph, her drone, hovered in the corner.

"I have a question that either of you might be able to answer." The two female aliens listened intently as Shepard continued. "Is it possible for someone to have some sort of cybernetic implant that allows them to learn at a quicker pace?"

"It's rare," Tali said beneath her mask, "but it could be possible. The technology exists, but brain alteration is frowned upon."

"How quick of a pace do you mean?" Liara asked as she brought her long blue finger to her chin in contemplation.

"I mean a matter of seconds. They watch someone perform a skill and are able to do exactly what they saw directly after, whether or not they have the same skill."

"That might not be so possible." Tali pointed out. "That's more mimicry than learning. Some computers are able to scan movements and actions and transfer them to data, but implementing that in the brain to the level you are describing is highly unlikely. We have the ability to mimic, but not to exact detail, especially when it comes to a skill that we've never tried before."

"Why do you ask Shepard?" Liara questioned.

"No reason," he lied, "just curious if it was possible."

"I doubt it is. At least I've never heard anything like it." Tali told him.

"Well, thanks for your input." Shepard patted Tali on the shoulder gratefully.

"No problem, I like answering curious technology questions."

Shepard laughed. "I know you do."

As Tali left Liara's office, Shepard turned to the asari whose eyes were narrowed onto him. "It's her, isn't it?"

Shepard shook his head, trying to dismiss her suspicion. "Now Liara, I know you have your doubts, but she's proved to be a valuable asset."

"If she truly has this copycat ability like you say, it could mean danger for us. The question would be who gave her this ability? I've been exhausting all my information resources since you brought her on board, but I've not been able to find anything. Nothing like her exists, so my suggestion would be to watch her carefully because if she has an ability like this, she could have much more and much worse lying underneath."

"Don't worry Liara, I've been keeping an eye on her. I've advised EDI and Garrus to report any strange behavior during her training. I know she's a bag of mystery, but we can't condemn her for being something unknown to us. We all have our strange stragglers we've picked up and they've become partners and friends."

"True," Liara murmured in defeat, "but I just want you to be careful. Don't get too close to her."

Too late. Shepard thought as he gave his friend his thanks and left the room.

Author's note: Now that Halloween's over and I'm not spending most of my time making costumes, hopefully I can have more time to write. I though I'd update this little chapter for your enjoyment. I'd also like to take a moment to thank everyone that has been favoriting/following/reviewing my story. I know it's not as detailed as I'd like it to be, but hey, it's for fun and I hope you all like it! :)