3. Fisticuffs
A gentle tap on the door of her small office interrupted a rare moment of quiet solitude for Alison Shepard. Well, quiet if an observer overlooked the late twentieth-century rock music blaring from the sound system in one corner of the room. Alison turned her chair towards the door and saw Liara standing nervously in the doorway. The asari seemed almost to vibrate in time to the music as the sound waves washed over her. Shepard picked up the remote and lowered the volume from 'ear shattering' to 'just loud enough' and gestured for Liara to enter.
Liara looked curiously around the small space. Shepard had been given command of the Normandy only a few weeks ago and already the office had been firmly stamped with the aura of her personality. Aside from the official detritus of command - reports, personnel files, requisition forms to be signed and the like - there were a few personal items as well: a holograph showing a younger Shepard and a number of other humans at her military graduation, the digital music player and a small potted plant in one corner. The plant didn't look too good, in Liara's estimation. She wasn't well versed in botany but she thought those brown spots and drooping foliage were indicators of the plant's ill health.
Alison stood up as the asari entered. Liara seemed nervous about something and Shepard tried to make herself seem as non-threatening as possible. Which was somewhat difficult considering that Shepard overtopped the asari by at least six inches. "Liara, what seems to be the problem?"
"Commander...I.." Liara trailed off. By the Goddess! She thought to herself, you're an intelligent, capable young woman. What is it about this human that discomfits you so? Another thought crossed her mind, Do you really want an answer to that?
"Um," Shepard said, chewing on her lower lip. "Can I get you something to drink?"
"Oh, um...yes?" Liara said then mentally cursed herself. She wasn't cut out for this. She didn't belong on this ship, surrounded by humans. She belonged out on remote worlds unearthing Prothean artifacts and interfacing with other biologicals as seldom as she could get away with. But, she'd come this far and she'd be damned if she was going to back out now.
Shepard knelt over the small fridge jammed into one corner of the office and opened it. The pickings were slender. Alison doubted that Liara would be able to handle a can of full strength beer. Probably leave the poor girl flat on her back.Instead she reached for a can of cola-flavoured soft drink.
"Picked this up at a two-for-one sale on New Hanshan," Alison said. Then wondered why she felt the need to talk so much around the asari. Oh, you know why, the little voice in her head whispered, hint hint nudge nudge. Know what I'm saying? If Alison could be guaranteed of finding the source of that voice and eliminating it without accidentally killing her own brain, she would. Oh yes indeedy.
Shepard carefully handed the icy cold can to Liara, making sure their fingers didn't accidentally brush. Judging by the look on Liara's face, even an accidental touch would cause an explosion of inappropriate behaviour. And knowing her luck, Alison thought, Joker would pick that exact moment to interrupt. Liara popped the top of the can, the gas hissing out and raised the can to her mouth. Alison tried not to watch as a bead of cola trickled from Liara's lips and slid down her throat. OK, get a hold of yourself, woman. You're the CO of this ship-
Ánd? the other voice intruded, last time I looked, she wasn't even on the official crew roster. So, if you're worried about doing her on account of the regs, just relax!
Í am not going to 'do her!' How can you be so crass?
What are you asking me for? I'm just a part of your own mind after all. Hell, now that I think about it, shouldn't you report this behaviour to Chakwas in case it's a sign of you cracking up?
Go to hell, you skank!
Alison realised that Liara was eyeing her curiously. Oh great, now she thinks you've been busy mentally undressing her and picturing her in a fracking French maid outfit!
"Sorry, Lirara. I was a million miles away. Is there something I can help you with?" Alison tried really hard not to inject any sexual undertones into her question. She thought she pulled it off pretty well.
"Commander, I want to learn how to fight," Liara said firmly. Alison blinked a couple of times.
Heh, guess she likes it rough! the voice in Shepard's mind said. Alison could almost hear mocking laughter. Maybe she really was going mad.
"I'm afraid I'm not following," Alison said. "You're probably the single most powerful biotic I've served with. You can kill people with an errant thought. Which is actually kinda cool."
"During combat I want to be able to protect myself...and...others in times when my biotic abilities are regenerating."
"Ah. OK," Shepard nodded to herself. "You know, I'm not the best person to speak to about that." Liara's face fell slightly.
"Yeah, you should go speak to Ash. She's thrown everybody against the bulkhead and knocked most of the crew out during physical combat training."
"Oh, I don't think Chief Williams likes me very much," Liara said in a small voice.
"I know Williams comes across as a bit...anti-nonhuman at times. OK, all the time but I think if you spent some time with her, she'd come around a bit." Which sounded all very reasonable but in truth Alison was afraid that if she and Liara got physical in one way, it would result in them getting physical in that other way. Which, fun as it might be, would present all manner of problems for not only the hunt for Saren, damn his mandibles but might also damage morale on the ship. After all, if one crew member was receiving 'special attention' from the CO, then everybody would want in on the action. What was she, the freaking Asari Consort?
Chief Williams was busy cleaning yet another of the umpteen hundred and ten implements of destruction on the ship when she heard soft footsteps behind her. She knew without turning that it would be that asari. None of the other crew could pull off such soft footwork - hell, the asari made even the Commander look like a lumbering ox. The thing Williams didn't know was why the asari would be down here in the garage level. She had her own little workspace aft of the med-lab - was she trying to take over the rest of the ship as well? Damn arrogant Council races...
The soft footsteps halted a few metres away. Williams sighed and turned to face the asari, wiping machine oil from her hands on a blackened cloth. "Something I can do for you, Doctor?" she asked as civilly as possible. We shoulda capped her as soon as we found her. Her mother's working for Saren, what's the bet she is as well? The doctor cleared her throat and said, "I want to learn how to fight." Williams was a bit surprised. This little waif-like asari wanted to learn how brawl?
"And I want you teach me," Liara finished. Was Williams surprised before? Well now you could have knocked her over with a feather. Williams blinked her brown eyes and said, "I seeee..."
A few hours later, Liara, nursing a number of bruises knocked on Shepard's office door. The door slid open and Shepard eyed Liara with surprise. "So, how'd it go?" she asked.
"Chief Williams...what is that curious human expression? She wiped the floor with me," Liara said.
"So I see." Alison came to a decision. She was going to teach Liara a few moves on the sly and the next time Liara and Williams faced off against each other, Williams would be in for a surprise. Shepard smiled. Sometimes the only way for some people to learn to accept other races was to have that lesson beat into them.
Shepard swept her feet through Liara's ankles, causing the smaller woman to fall heavily to the floor. Without pausing, Shepard straddled Liara and said, "If we were going at this for real, after knocking you down, I'd follow up with a strike to your throat and leave you to choke to death." Liara nodded, gasping harshly. From such close proximity, Alison could feel Liara's heart pounding beneath her and that warped little voice whispered, Now that you have her on the floor, go nuts!
I will find you and when I do, I will kill you, Alison whispered back.
Yeah, good luck with that. The only way to kill me is to kill yourself and you don't have it in you. Says so in your last psych profile. So I guess we're stuck with each other.
Alison climbed to her feet and extended a hand. Liara gripped it and pulled herself up. "Now you try it," Shepard said. It took her a few tries, but finally it was Liara pinning Shepard to the floor. Goddess! She's so...beautiful! Liara's mind gasped. A thin sheen of sweat coated Shepard's face, and her black hair was plastered to her forehead. Liara could feel every beat of Shepard's heart and yearned to say the words that echoed inside her own heart...but she couldn't. She was afraid that, if she revealed how she felt to Shepard...Alison, that it would ruin the blossoming friendship between them. And that would hurt Liara far, far worse than being used as floor wipe by Williams had done.
The next day, Liara and Shepard met Williams in the Normandy's garage. As usual, Williams was pulling maintenance on the arms aboard the ship but the others who normally hung around the lower decks - Wrex and Garrus were elsewhere at the moment.
Williams turned as the Commander and the asari exited the elevator. There was something...different about T'soni, Williams thought. The timidity that had been there previously had been replaced by a calm determination. Williams would have called it 'steely eyed' but that was a compliment she reserved for the Commander herself.
"Commander," she nodded as Shepard and T'soni halted next to the Mako.
"Chief," Shepard said neutrally. "I believe Liara would like a rematch."
"Look, Doctor, don't take this the wrong way but you aren't cut out for hand to hand combat. There's no shame in that," Williams said placatingly. Well, as close to placating as she could get.
"No," T'soni said firmly. "I want to show you that non-humans are worthy of your respect as well."
Oh, so that's what this is all about, Williams realised. Shepard was eyeing Williams coldly. OK, so maybe she'd ridden the non-human crew just a bit too hard. But there was no way she'd let the asari woman win just to make her look good in front of the Commander. Williams mentally shrugged and rolled her head around on neck. "Alright, but I won't be holding anything back."
"Don't do me any favours," Liara said forcefully.
Williams moved in on Liara but the asari just sort of...flowed around her and the next thing Williams knew she was on her back with the smaller woman's stiffened fingers poised over her throat. OK, somebody's taught her a few tricks. Williams threw Liara off and surged to her feet. For the next several minutes both women jabbed and feinted at each other. Williams was larger and had years more combat experience but the asari had a point to prove and damn if she wasn't actually doing it.
Winded, Ash finally called time. She was breathing more heavily than she usually was after a bout like this and sweat flowed down her face. She could feel small rivulets of moisture trickling down her back and it was driving her nuts.
After she managed to get her wind back, Williams offered the asari her hand, "Well fought...Liara."
From her position atop the Mako's gun turret, Alison smiled as she saw the new-found respect for Liara dawning in the Gunnery Chief. Shepard dropped to the floor and left the two women to talk. Her work here was done.