Chapter 15

Shepard lay in her cabin in the darkness. She should be sleeping. The less time she left in her XO's hands the better. He'd slunk around avoiding her all week. They hadn't said much since the observation deck.

The message screen glowed on her desk, and she pulled out the chair. They would be out of range to receive messages from Earth soon. Tali had messaged her. Without quarian included in the crew, she was concerned about the fuel recycling system. She'd sent all the extra information she could think. She ended the message with chit chat on her ambassadorial duties and how she'd run into Samantha Traynor at Headquarters.

Confidential reports on colony terror attacks drew her eye. Most of the colonies were well beyond the range to directly communicate with Earth. Terra Firma must have quite the network to coordinate all their hits, and the attacks did seem coordinated. Trials for Cerberus war criminals were underway. Her message bulged with status updates, resource reports, and projections on everything from rebuilding the citadel to resupplying medigel. The intercom flashed. Shepard hit it and slouched back in her chair with a yawn.

"Shepard."

"Commander?"

"James?" Shepard sat upright frowning at the title. "What's going on?"

"Oh. Nothin', nothin'. Need to talk is all."

"Shoot. Talk then."

"Uh, in person."

"Come on up then."

Silence filled the other side. Shepard sighed. This was either irritating or concerning. She wasn't sure. Maybe he thought she wasn't ready for visitors, sleeping in her underwear or something.

"Nah, Lola," he said finally. "Just see ya in the shuttle bay sometime."

"James." Shepard rolled her head back and rubbed her eyes. "Just come up here."

"I'll, uh, see you down here. Sometime. Later." His voice lowered to the background. "What?"

Cortez's voice murmured too low to really hear. Shepard narrowed her eyes at the comm.

"Uh, okay, okay." James muttered then his voice boomed back into the comm. "So, uh, this is a shuttle problem. Totally no big deal. Just little equipment issue. Just, uh … see you whenever."

Shepard was already at her door when the comm clicked off. She rode the elevator down tapping her foot and watching each floor pass. When she walked out the elevator doors, James was still standing at the board of consoles near the comm. Cortez leaned in to him gesturing with a low voice. Her boot tapped toward them. They looked over their shoulders at the same time.

"Now, what's this about, James? You're really—"

"Commander!" Cortez rushed over and grabbed her arm. His voice rose in volume. "You didn't need to get here so fast to look at the shuttle. But since you're here …"

He led her by the bicep toward the shuttle. Shepard glanced back. Three crewmen reorganized crates and taking inventory. They could finally organize the bay now that the relay's supplies were offloaded.

James stepped up behind Shepard, and Cortez twisted to look at him. Cortez stopped and motioned to the tackle box at the base of the consoles.

"Uh, bring the tools, Vega. You're strong. Maybe you can help me with something here."

Shepard's head range with his booming volume. James raised his eyebrows and made a click with his tongue.

"Ah. Okay. You got it." He walked over to the tool box and snagged the handle.

Cortez turned back toward the shuttle pulling Shepard forward by her arm again. The tools in the toolbox clattered behind her in rhythm with Vega's footsteps as he followed. They rounded the corner of the shuttle against the wall. Stacks of crates walled off area in front of them at the nose of the shuttle. Cortez pointed to the side of the shuttle. Shepard tried to track where his finger was pointing, but it moved around as he looked back at Vega. Then he strained around the corner as if to check on the crewmen.

"You're going to move those crates, right?" Shepard pointed at the nose of the shuttle. "If we need the shuttle in—"

"Of course, Commander, of course." Cortez turned and waved her further back into the corridor between the shuttle and the wall. He lingered at the shuttle's corner.

"Did you bring it?" Cortez's voice dropped turning to James.

James set down the tools down with a thud then straightened.

"Too busy carrying your damn tools, Esteban."

Cortez glared and opened his mouth.

"Yeah, I got it," James said. "Don't freak. Man, you're worked up, Esteban. Just chido."

He patted Cortez's back and shouldered up beside him blocking Shepard's view around the shuttle's corner. She turned back to the shuttle and leaned in closer to the side panel.

"Now, what were you pointing at? I've seen drunks point straighter, Cortez."

James grinned widely with a chuckle and bumped Cortez with his elbow. Cortez shoved him back with a flare of his nostrils.

"What the hell, James? Cortez?"

Cortez's eyes flew wide, and he motioned with his hands to keep her voice down.

"Shhh." Cortez darted a look behind them.

"No one's looking," Shepard said.

Cortez hissed. "Are you sure? You can't see them from there, right?"

James rolled his eyes. "Here you go, Lola."

He stretched forward offering a datapad. It glowed already turned on. Shepard took a step forward and snatched it. James straightened and crossed his arms. He obviously didn't intent to move from his walled off position next to Cortez.

"What's wrong with you two?"

"Just! We don't - can't take much time." Cortez sputtered crossing and uncrossing his arms. His face gleamed with sweat.

James laughed. "You wouldn't make a good undercover—"

"James," Shepard snapped in a low voice. "Tell me what's going on. What is this?" Shepard waved the datapad at them.

"Okay, Lola. So …" James attention drifted to Cortez who shifted and turned to look behind them. James started to grin again, and Shepard waved the datapad at him. "Oh, yeah. Well, that's from Liara."

Shepard peered at the datapad. "From Liara?"

"Well, yeah. The message. Not the datapad."

It was an open email. Her eyes scanned the top. Shepard snapped her head up to look at Cortez.

"It's addressed to you, Steve."

"I don't think it's meant to be."

"So, wrong address?"

"No, uh …" James' head turned to something behind them. He bumped Cortez in the shoulder.

Cortez spun at him spraying spittle. "You do that again, Vega, I'll—"

"Quiet," James said under his breath and looked back to Shepard. "Put that somewhere."

"It's a datapad," Shepard said stepping in closer to see around them. "It'd be more suspicious to be hiding one than looking at it."

"Okay, Lola. Commander."

James turned sideways opening a view to Lieutenant Commander Anchor approaching. The elevator doors clicked shut in the distance. James leaned back against the shuttle, arms crossed, and looking bored. Anchor stopped behind Cortez. Cortez closed his eyes for a beat and drew in a deep breath. He turned with a smile spreading across his face. It was pretty obviously a fake smile, but Shepard suspected that's all Anchor got from these two anyway. So, it was probably normal.

"Commander," Anchor said. "Heard there were issues with the shuttle or something."

Shepard cocked her head clutching the datapad in her hand as she crossed her arms.

"How did you hear that?"

Anchor shrugged. "Word gets around."

Shepard eyed him. The look had some of the intended effect, because he shifted his weight back onto his heels and cleared his throat.

"Commander," he added too belatedly.

"Status report?"

"What?" Anchor frowned.

"You were just on the bridge, right? The CIC?"

"Yeah, yes, ma'am, of course." He regained composure and straightened. "Status report, Commander."

He launched into a rundown. His voice picked up speed as he went. James smirked meeting her eyes briefly before standing up from the shuttle and ambling away. Cortez stood there frozen as Anchor finished.

"And that's expected in five hours, ma'am." He almost looked about to salute.

Shepard pressed her lips together and gave a dismissive shrug.

"All right. Very good." She stepped around him then paused. "I want you to talk to Engineer Adams about something with me, Lieutenant Commander. Come along."

"Aye, aye." He nodded turning to follow her.

"And, Cortez." Shepard turned back.

Cortez's eyes widened. His mouth caught in an unfading tight smile as he looked back at her under Anchor's scrutiny.

"Yes, Commander?"

"Don't be so upset about that next time. You're pushing yourself too hard down here. It's starting to show." She motioned at him with the datapad. Cortez's eyes grew bigger watching the datapad in her hand. "Take a break. Come back to the problems with the shuttle later."

"Aye, aye, Commander." The words rushed over each other and Cortez saluted.

It didn't seem necessary. Too formal for the exchange. But she had to return it.

Turning, she called back to him. "And move those crates. They're blocking the shuttle."