Bioware owns all

Chapter 13

He Said

The image of Shepard on that operating table and the break up of the Normandy SR-1 dominated my nightmares and any idle thought I let myself have for the next 48 hours. I wanted to talk to Shepard, but at every turn, at least one of her team was with her at all times. I was beginning to wonder if I'd have to surprise her in the head to get her alone. The bald biotic she called Jack was especially insulting. She'd stick next to Shepard and grin as she checked out my ass. Shepard didn't even notice.

I gave up after the first few attempts were foiled; I had a ship to run after all. My first ship. I should be more excited about it, but all I could think about was Shepard. The night before Ilos, her death, my stupidity on Horizon, that email. And most recently, the comm. room. But at every turn, there was always someone around to keep us at that professional distance. Hell, even Joker blocked me. But him, I could get alone. I ran into him in the elevator of all places. He saw me enter and his face fell and he shook his head. Without preamble, he said, "You gotta leave her alone, Alenko."

I faced forward, my hands clasped behind my back. I skewed my eyes in his direction, "This is me, leaving her alone. I have a ship to run."

The elevator opened, he stepped out, "Glad we had this talk." The smug bastard actually tipped his hat at me! The door closed in my face. I shook my head and continued down to engineering, reminding myself to remain professional; I couldn't run after fragile former Alliance flyboys and remind them what Marines were actually for. I stepped out of the elevator and nearly tripped over Tali'Zorah.

"Watch it, bosh'tet," she snarled before turning around. "Oh! Commander, I thought you were someone else."

"I hope my crew hasn't been bothering you, Tali?" I'd never heard her swear before. At least, I thought that was a swear word.

She crossed her arms and looked at me, at least, I think she was. "No, though your Ensign Wheaton does ask an awful lot of questions."

"Mind if I ask you a question?" At her nod and shrug, I continued, "Vas Normandy? Doesn't that mean your ship name is now Shepard's ship?"

I could hear the smile in her voice when she replied, "You were paying attention when I used to lecture incessantly about my people."

I laughed, "I wouldn't say incessantly…. Do I need to talk to my Ensign?"

The quarian shook her head, "No, though we did figure out why you assigned her to us. Clever way of dispelling prejudices, I'll admit. Though Jacob's had to pull Jack off her a few times when she asked too many questions about her tattoos. I believe she learned her lesson."

"How are things settling in down there?" I asked, strangling the urge to ask the questions I really wanted the answers to.

If her face mask wasn't opaque, I'm pretty sure the quarian would be glaring at me, "You're very transparent for a human, you know, Alenko."

I cleared my throat and glanced away, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You want to ask about Shepard, don't you?" It wasn't a question.

"I want to make sure she and her team are properly accommodated aboard my ship, yes," I told her. I probably should have just tracked down Shepard's XO, but I did not want to talk to Vakarian at this point in time.

I could hear a smirk in her voice, "Commander, just leave her alone until you've talked to Liara."

I frowned, "What does Liara have to do with anything?"

Cryptically, she shrugged and said, "You'll see."

It was a long 48 hours to Illium. I stood on the bridge behind my pilot, missing Joker's piloting skills as we were finally on approach to Nos Astra. My pilot was capable enough, we docked smoothly, she just didn't have Joker's flair. I smelled Shepard's perfume and felt the familiar resonance of her biotics against my own nerve endings before I heard her quiet step on the deck plates next to me. I heard her laugh. "Should I congratulate her on doing her job well? Or is it the equivalent of zipping up your jumpsuit before you leave the john?"

I laughed, "They don't send Spectres on shakedown runs, do they."

Shepard glanced at me, her blue eyes twinkling, "It seems it's getting to be a habit for us, doesn't it?"

I smirked, "The more things change…," I shook my head, ruefully. "You have a very effective team, Commander."

She turned straight ahead, "You noticed that, did you? They mean well. Usually."

"Mr. Taylor, your armory officer, I believe? Is especially communicative." The image of Shepard's body on that operating slab invaded my memory. I forced it out by inhaling the scent of her perfume, focusing on the tingling her own biotics gave me and remembering the comm. room. This woman wasn't dead. Not now. "Miranda Lawson was also quite eloquent. I'm not sure of her position on your team, though?"

"She was my on-board XO. She was better at the paperwork. Can you just imagine Garrus filling out reports?"

"I think he'd rather shoot them. And Doctor Chakwas is quite the debater."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw her turn to look at me, "What are you talking about, Alenko?"

I blinked, "They convinced me I was wrong."

She glanced behind us, crossing her arms over her armored chest, "They weren't supposed to convince you of anything."

A metallic click and the bass rumble of Vakarian's voice told me what she'd turned to see, "What weren't we supposed to convince him of?"

Her eyes flicked in my direction, "You ready?" She asked the turian sniper.

"Of course. Illium's such a delightful planet. I love places that have no crime because everything's legal," Vakarian drawled.

"You haven't lost your talent for sarcasm, I see," I told him.

"Good morning, Commander Alenko," he told me. I blinked, turning to look at him. He regarded me with an impassively blank face, leaning against the bulkhead, his arms crossed. He turned to look at Shepard again, "Tali is on her way up."

Shepard grinned at Vakarian, "Reading my mind again, Garrus?"

I coughed a laugh into my hand as the turian deadpanned, "I try to stay out of there as much as possible, Shepard. It's a cesspool."

The bridge was suddenly very warm and my mouth was very dry as she looked at me steadily, the corner of her mouth playing with a small smile, "Yes, and it's been worse, lately." All I could do was look at her, nothing existed around us for a moment, not the bridge, not the turian, nothing.

"All right, Shepard, let's go see whether Liara's going to ignore Garrus and me again or not," The quarian walked up, checking a setting on her shotgun and interrupting Shepard's and my staring at each other.

I felt my face heat and I cleared my throat. I finally noticed they were all in armor and heavily armed, "Are you invading Liara's office?" I asked.

"No, but you know how things invariably go around Shepard," Vakarian replied. "Sooner or later, someone shoots at her."

Shepard looked me over, "I was going to invite you along, Alenko, but you're sorely underdressed." I was wearing my shipboard fatigues. This was underdressed?

"Well, if I'd known we were laying siege, I'd have brought my assault rifle," I told her.

She smiled at my joke and said, "Commander, I think you need to come with us."

"I have a ship to run, Commander."

Her eyebrows went up, "Do you want us to bring a known information broker aboard a still-classified warship?"

I frowned and crossed my arms, "Ok, first, when did Liara become an information broker?"

Vakarian glanced at Shepard, then back at me, "About a year or so, give or take."

I held up my hands in surrender, "All right, you've made your point." I walked out of the bridge down to the CIC. "Lieutenant Harrington, you have the deck."

"Aye, aye, sir," the Lieutenant's voice answered. "I have the deck."

I went to get suited up. Shepard had better have a good reason for this.