Sorry for being three days late. My MAC is being repaired so I had to share the PC with my hubby. One chapter left of this short.

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Chapter 2 Oriel

"He's gone?"

The young asari announced her presence with a question, tracing the edges of the woman's room with a critical air, and paused briefly to grimace at the snoring pile of blankets.

The human gave a sigh, as she watched the bottom of the bunk above her own, before kicking her feet over the side of the hard antique bed letting them drape to the floor before sitting upright.

"Yes." She rubbed at her tired eyes. "He's gone home."

"I'll miss his presence at our evening games." Oriel flattened her dress before sitting crossed legged beside her human companion. "But it's for the best. A lot of anger was within that one."

"Hmmm."

"We shall see him again no doubt. I rather think he took a fancy to me." The young alien giggled opaquely into the open hand placed delicately in front of her soft lips. "Perhaps that is why Hun shunned him so."

The human woman smiled discreetly as she watched her hands slide back and forth over the edge of her knees. It was difficult to tell if Oriel was trying to be humorous, or generally believed certain ideas, but she enjoyed her company more than sufficient to ignore any oddities the blue one might have.

"But enough of my fancy men. I heard some of the crew on the deck above mention we are to arrive soon." Oriel ran her hand across the woman's hair creating a buzz in the human's skull. "Perhaps I shall find some new collectable but I do not 'hold my breath'. It is too alien a place."

"Have you been there before?"

"Oh yes! Hasn't everyone of my species?" The young asari jumped to her feet, making her human friend start, before twirling like a ballerina. "The asari are the culture of the galaxy."

"I see."

"It is a lively place full of wonder and many, many, many boring turians."

"You don't like turians?"

"Pah! They are a species too stern and set in their ways." Oriel grabbed her hands behind her back and began to rock back and forth on her heels dreamily. "Though there was one young turian that had a soft spot for me."

The young asari almost threw herself back onto the bed, giggling like a school girl, and leaned forward till she was inches from the humans face.

The woman didn't know whether to back away or stay put, but the asari was often crazed in her forms of communiqué.

"I remember it like it was only last year." Oriels face spread into a worrisomely wide grin hidden behind a lightly clenched hand. "I had just had my fifty sixth birthday and as a treat I decided to go on a grand tour of the cultural highlights of the galaxy. I'd just arrived at the port of my last stop over, saving the best for last, when this mean salarian pushed into me. Almost knocked me off the side of the platform, if it hadn't of been for my turian hero, I might have fallen to my death or something worse."

"Something wor-" The human woman began in a shocked tone of voice before remembering whom she was talking to and thinking quickly for a recovery. "-se is that they didn't have any railings."

"Railings? What?" Oriel moved away from her human friend a moment to give her a full body hesitant look over.

"Too… uh… protect visitors from falling off of the edge."

"Oh yes. I see what you mean. Well anyway," The young asari leaned forward until she was uncomfortably close once more and began her monologue with reignited fervour. "my turian hero rescued me from a life threatening peril and I couldn't simply allow that to go un-repaid, so I did as any asari would, and offered to meld with him."

The human could not react quick enough to prevent her eyes from automatically widening followed sharply by her jaw dropping paired with the sound of, 'uh?'. Thankfully the asari seemed too caught up, in her-own recounting of an alien romance story, to notice the social blunder.

"He oddly called over for a medic to check on me for a concussion." Oriel giggled. "I kept telling him I hadn't hit my head but he was adamant I be looked at by a 'professional'. Young men can be so silly but he was a chivalrous one. Perhaps that's why I took such a shine to him.

I spent the next week visiting his abysmal office and offering to take him to lunch, dinner, supper, breakfast, you name it. But this one, my turian hero, was always to busy with important rescuing of other individuals. So thoughtful was my Detective.

I finally realized where I was going wrong after the eighth day. He could not be moved from his paperwork when not on patrol or whatever it was he was doing, so I decided to bring the romantic soirée to him."

"You made him dinner." The human smiled at the romantic gesture, before having her assumption corrected.

"Well not me personally. I ordered out of course. I share little talent in the preparation of fodder."

"Oh, I see."

"So, I arrived at his office, with the provisions, but he wasn't there. Out on some errand no doubt, but I knew this would be the perfect moment. He would come back from his mission, tired and hungry and I would be his saviour, bringing to him what he needed most. Aubernal Gorish with toothel salad and a bottle of Brinsket 5021. Very good year." Oriel flailed an eccentric hand. "It was two maybe three hours before my turian arrived. I was dreadfully hungered by the time he appeared and somewhat irritable, though not as irritable as he.

Upon entrance at his office he gave me a deep sunken scowl with those in cast eyes of his then moved behind his desk and began shuffling papers deliberately.

'It's you again.' He huffed. 'I hoped you would take the polite hint by now.'

'I took the hint well enough young turian.' I refrained. 'If you will not come to the mountain, then the mountain shall come to you.'

He seemed rather intrigued at my statement before demanding to know what I was doing placing my belongings on his 'meticulous' desk. That is when I got my moment to shine, opening the containers of heated food and bringing forth means to eat with.

'This would be the meal I have been longing for you to share with me for the past week.' I told him.

'I am far too busy with paperwork to entertain your frivolous needs, asari.' His cold words burned my fluttering heart but I still could not let our love story end before its completion.

'If wishing for you to be fed and well energized to complete your work is frivolous then frivolous I am.' I felt tears begin to burn at my eyes. 'But perhaps it is not your fault for being so cold. You carry little room for love.'

'Love?' he scoffed. 'What would an asari know of love? No, that is too harsh upon your species. I have known asari with integrity that your promiscuous attitude would not care to possess.'"

"Asshole." The human cocked her head and stared bemusedly into the middle distance.

"Did you say something?" The male engineers form protruded from the door way into the darkened quarters.

"Oh, no. Nothing." The woman stuttered, rising to her feet, beginning to fiddle with her meagre belongs inside their bag.

"I could of sworn you called me an 'asshole' little miss." An annoyed foot tapping followed the sound of the man's irritated voice.

"I…" She glanced side long at the gruff looking engineer, grasping the air for words of explanation, a note of panic forcing her hands to tremble.

"Well wouldn't be the first time some bodies called me an asshole today." He huffed. "I've fixed the corridor lights. Make yourself scarce while I fix the lights in here."

"Yes, ok."

"Go on now. Get." The man ushered her from the bunk room. "Shoo."

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Leaning around the open door way, leading into the mess hall, the young human woman spotted the known figure of a volus about business. It was somewhat strange for her to see him without any of the others around the table, playing some strange board game Oriel had recently acquired.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like earth clan?"

"Um, well…"

"Stocks! Shares!" Hun waved an impatient hand to beckon her closer. "You understand the concept of credits don't you, child?"

"I suppose so." She swayed closer like a wary cat and sat opposite the volus at the table.

"There is no 'suppose' about it. You either understand money or others take it from you."

"I see."

"I doubt it. If you did you wouldn't be on this scrap heap of a barge."

"True." The human chuckled quietly towards her lap. "But what are you doing on this 'scrap heap of a barge'?

"Aren't you already finding that answer of somebody else?"

She looked up, her mouth open to answer, before her eyes realized the volus was no longer at his seat. Looking around the quiet room she painfully realized there was nobody there.

Stupid, stupid, stupid, the young woman cursed her mind, if you hadn't of been so eager to talk to dead people maybe the live ones upstairs would have accepted you. Do you never learn?

"There you are!" Oriel curtsied across the other side of the table before pulling a chair delicately towards her and seating herself. "Where are the men folk when you need your chair pulled I ask."

"Huh?"

"My chair. So I may be seated properly like the lady I am." The asari watched her companion with an eye for detail. "Something's the matter. You don't seem your secretively cheerful self."

"I'm fine."

"Really." The blue woman raised an eyebrow. "Hun hasn't been boring you with his Financial year calculations and what not, has he?"

"No."

"The Engineer then?" Oriels face suddenly burst into a satire of joy. "I think he rather fancies you."

"I doubt that."

"Oh I can tell. It's the way he looks at you."

"Like a predator?"

"Yes like a- no, no. Well maybe he was but, he likes you." The asari clapped her hands together with glee. "I bet you are worried about what to say to him. I see how quiet you are."

"No I'm-"

"Nonsense. Of course I'll help you prepare for your next encoun-"

"NO!" Both parties seemed taken aback by the human's uncharacteristic outburst. "Thank you very much Oriel, but, I am not interested in him."

"Oh, I see."

The pair fell into uncomfortable silence for what seemed an hour before the young human woman in took a deep breath of air for courage.

"Why are you here? On this ship? Floating from place to place?"

"You know that already." Oriel leaned closer over the table. "I am a collector of human artefacts."

"But, why? You're dead."

"Does it matter if I am alive or dead to wish to collect?"

"Yes."

"Well… you've got me there." The blue woman chuckled. "Perhaps there is something specific I have been trying to collect from both life and death but have never obtained."

"What's that?"

"Love."

"But…" The human struggled with her words, thinking back through their conversations from the beginning of the journey. "You've been in love many times."

"Yes. But I've never been loved."

"What about your Detective you were telling me about?"

"Venari? Oh, the story ends with my death."

"He killed you!?"

"No. I killed myself."

"But, why?"

"Because," Oriel wiped away the tears, which escaped her downcast eyes, before looking up into those of her apprehensive companion. "He hated me."