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Chapter 2, Impulse

Now that's a nice surprise!

Picking up her cup of coffee she stared at Eos. From this distance the planet filled nearly the entire observation window, shining like a golden champion in the brilliant light of its sun. The meeting room was completely deserted, giving her time alone with her thoughts.

She closed her eyes, wishing to see the face of the asari who'd so unexpectedly jumped her only hours ago. Peebee.

Cora and Vetra had raised their guns at the maiden but she'd been to surprised to do anything. Besides, staring into those big golden brown eyes she sensed no malice. Only curiosity, wonder.

She instantly liked her. Call it whatever you want. Attraction, infatuation, lightning strike. She simply liked her. They 'clicked', and it felt good. The maiden's lighthearted, bouncy personality felt like a breath of fresh air after her horrible start in Heleus.

Peebee. That can't be her real name.

The young asari was fascinated with Remnant tech and was clearly impressed with her ability to kickstart monoliths.

And...

Her smile deepened. And she loves to stare at my body. I noticed it three times - and she likes it when I notice! She's such a flirt.

Her coffee was nice and hot and warmed her from the inside. She grinned, re-living the asari's playful comments in her head.

'Don't like being sat on heh?' Wouldn't mind at all if you sat on me...

'I might just be the solution to all your problems.' Really? All my problems?

She and Peebee had a lovely chat on the sands of Eos but once onboard the Tempest the young asari had disappeared into a tiny room leading to an escape pod.

The Remnant technology is almost all she talks about. Shies away from the crew. Loner? Obsessed with her work?

She wished the asari would walk in right now. Would love to talk to her. Why not go to her?

"Hey Peebee, you're setting up in here?"

"Yeah, I'm going through what we got out of that vault. If I can crack this data storage box, it'll come in handy for a little private project."

"This escape pod's bit small don't you think? We have a great tech lab."

The asari stared at her as if she'd said something extremely odd. "Stephanie, this is a nice out of the way place where I can tinker. And I can sleep anywhere. It's not exactly homey but I like that about it. Not really looking for home."

Suddenly mindful of their mission she quickly added, "Oh, I will help you find everyone a home. While I'm with you, at least."

Stephanie looked around once more. "Very lonely here. Don't want to bunk with the crew?"

"Nah. I operate alone. Always have, always will."

"Don't friends and loved ones make all the effort worthwhile?"

"I've always been selfmotivated. Don't need much else than curiosity to drive me forward."

"Does your brain ever take a breath?"

"Sorry, not really. Even my dreams are in timelapse. You wanna know who's on your ship, so you're here to figure out what makes me tick, right?"

Ryder rolled her shoulders. "Something like that. Tackling complete strangers in the Milky way wasn't doing it for you?"

"Tackling you anywhere would be fun. Did I say that out loud?"

Grinning from ear to ear Steph resisted the urge to touch the maiden. What she really wanted was to grab Peebee and kiss her. The asari was blatantly expressing her interest in her and she loved it! "I like it when you flirt. I wouldn't want you to stop."

"You should buy me a drink sometime. Who knows what will spill out of my mouth".

Ryder made a surprised sound. Peebee was even bolder than expected! "Oh! I'd... I'd like that. It's a date."

"Good! now excuse me, I really need to get started on my project."

4 days later.

It had been an extremely busy week on Eos. Stephanie Ryder and her companions had run countless errands, shot about a million Kett and worked around the clock to ensure the success of their first outpost, Prodromos. The climate continued to improve and there was a careful whisper in the air about planting a first crop.

The third seismic hammer had been a total blast - in more ways then one. An underground river had found its way to the surface and Prodromos' engineers were already praising its water quality. A huge Remnant creature (Peebee called it 'architect') gave them a helluva fight, taking nearly half an hour to put down.

Nakmor Drack had joined her crew. She loved the way he manhandled the Kett in hand-to-hand, a perfect companion to her Vanguard skills. The two of them were a near unstoppable close combat wrecking ball. Which left Peebee with plenty of time to give them fire/biotic support and pick up any Remtech.

The pathfinder found herself thoroughly enjoying the company of the highly energetic, intelligent maiden. With her witty comments and outrageous jokes she often magicked a smile on their faces. Her flirty behavior struck a chord deep within Ryder. And the cherry on the cake - the asari's lovely curves were a sight for sore eyes. Steph invited her for all ground missions, a fact not lost on the rest of the crew.

They were just changing into their armour to go meet Bradley when Liam found them.

"Hey Ryder," whining with that boyish voice he stared at her, "choose me for once! What does Peebee have that I don't have?"

Grinning from ear to ear she had to bite her tongue. Ha! Do you really want a list?

"The Remnant tech obviously will have a huge impact on Heleus. Peebee's advanced knowledge of engineering is going to be helping us in the long run. I need her eyes and ears in the field."

She playfully winked at the asari who gave her a grateful grin. "Besides, our biotics wonderfully complement each other..." her voice trailed off suggestively.

A look of disbelief on his face Liam's eyes shot back and forth between Steph and Peebee. "Perhaps you two should... oh forget it!" Throwing his arms in the air the 'crisis specialist' stormed out, leaving them to smile at each other.

"Well," the young maiden stated, her voice sweet seduction as she shamelessly ran her eyes all over Ryder's half-clad body. She paused, purposefully admiring Steph's hips, waist, breasts. Yummy.

She licked her lips. "Is it only our Biotics which complement each other?"

Ryder's heart skipped a beat. Did she really just say that? Blushing lightly she dropped her armour, returning the asari's stare. Her body was blazing with heat as she felt Peebee's lustful eyes. "Please never stop flirting. I like it."

"Was I flirting with you?" The maiden giggled, "I'm relentless Ryder. It relaxes me." She picked up the armor's chestpiece. "Need help with this?"

"Maybe." Her voice, warm, sensual. "How much help will you be?"

Peebee laughed out loud. "Depends..." She blatantly admired Ryder's magnificent auburn brown hair, her bare shoulders. Feeling very excited she studied the beautiful pink skin with just a tinge of bronze. "I like you. And when I like someone, I can be very, verrrrry helpful..."

Steph blinked. I like where this is going! A cold shiver rocked her - she felt her desire roar. It was clear Peebee was not talking about armor. If she ever had. Staring at each other the air grew heavy, thick with anticipation. Their eagerness was almost palpable. "I would... like your help. I w-would like that very much."

"I kinda figured that. " Peebee whispered. Deep inside she was screaming with joy. It was going to happen! This sexy girl was gonna be hers. She needed to feel her! Grinning from ear-to-ear she stroked Ryder's shoulder, not even pretending to help with the chestpiece. The silky, tender human skin felt fabulous under her eager fingertips. This was what she wanted. Since day one she'd wanted to explore that tempting skin and now she was drinking it in, adoring the wonderful sensation.

"Nice!"

So soft!

Taking one small step Ryder got dangerously close to the maiden, their excited bodies nearly touching. She dropped her armour and longingly took one of the beautiful blue hands. "Perhaps we should -"

"Allright! All set here?" Storming into the armory Drack nearly bowled them over. He eyed the two women with disbelief. "What the Hell are you two doing? This is no time to fool around! Get dressed - let's go shoot Kett!"

"Yes, ehm.. yes." Without saying another word she continued dressing, shivering as she felt the maiden's hungry eyes on her exposed skin.

Next chapter: Our duo finds a great use for zero gravity...