SSV Normandy SR2

C.I.C.

Two Days Later…

With the treat of a second alliance between the Geth and Reapers gone, and getting two fleets instead of one for the Commander and crew's efforts, everyone was feeling a little more at ease. The very best Quarian technicians and engineers, along with some Geth insight and labor, were on their way to assist Admiral Hackett in building the Crucible. Many members of the Normandy's crew were now enjoying some well deserved downtime. Garrus was reminiscing with Tali about past adventures down in the Main Battery, Liara was further pestering Javik about the Prothean Empire, something he lately seemed to almost enjoy talking about with her, and Shepard was helping EDI try to understand why Humans, or organics in general, say and do certain things.

Comm Specialist Samantha Traynor decided to spend some time wandering the ship, exchanging polite greetings with a few friends, but only truly looking for one of them.

Upon reaching the Shuttle Bay, she found the crewmate she was looking for: the Assassin Abigail Williams.

Abby appeared to be practicing her Free Running by running laps around the inside of the Shuttle Bay, jumping from beam to beam on the ceiling, wall-running around corners, even startling Liara by landing near Javik's cabin window. The Assassin otherwise ignored the world around her, and the people within it.

Loud music from a genre and band Traynor didn't recognise blares throughout the hangar, sounding tinny from bouncing around the metal walls and coming from a single source: a small radio next to James' workstation. The loud rock song sounded like something from the 21st century, an era Abby was strangely obsessed with. Most of her belongings were clothing from the time period, including a t-shirt with 'Ford Motor Company Established 1903' written on it, a clothing item she wore rather often.

While Abby's tastes might be confusing to some, to the young Specialist it made the Assassin all the more fascinating. Out of curiosity, Traynor steps towards an intercom on the wall and asks EDI if she recognised the song, nearly having to shout the question. After several failed attempts to understand the robotic voice, a message from the ship AI pops up on Traynor's Omni Tool.

'The Black Keys - Go. Album: Let's Rock. Released 28th of June, 2019.' Along with Extranet links to the band, album and song.

"Seems appropriate." Traynor says to herself. She looks up from her Omni Tool and steps further into the hangar. Doing so aids in understanding the song's lyrics.

'In the wintertime

When the day is long

You're halfway there

The field is bare

And the fire is gone'

Abby drops down from the ceiling and lands neatly on the pull-up bar over James' head, making the stocky Marine jump and the slim Specialist giggle to herself.

'Are you all alone

Are you feeling cold

Find your flame

Call her name

And hit the road'

The small Assassin stops high above Traynor for a moment, her eyes closed and arms stretched slightly behind her.

"Very impressive!" Samantha calls out.

Abby jumps in surprise and is thrown off balance, flailing her arms in an effort to catch her fall, but instead landing on the equally startled Specialist below.

"...ow." Taynor says after a moment in a strained voice.

Abby sits up next to her, appearing dazed. After a few seconds, she realizes what's happened and stands up, helping her slightly injured friend to her feet.

"Sorry about that." The Assassin says, out of breath from her exercise.

"I should apologise to you!" Traynor replies, rubbing the spot that hit the deck first. "I'm the one who scared you."

"Hold on." Abby silences Traynor with one hand and cups the other around her mouth. "Alexa!" She shouts. "Stop!"

On command, the music suddenly stops, and is replaced by the usual ambience of the Shuttle Bay.

"Wait, whose Alexa?" Traynor asks.

"A VI program from the 21st century." The Assassin explains. "That thing is an Amazon Echo. Ancient, but I got it working again."

"So this 'Alexa' is like EDI's great-great-...great grandmother?" Samantha summarises after a moment.

"Yeah I guess." Abby answers after a few seconds of thought.

Traynor finds herself glancing at the intercom, knowing that the AI in question is listening, and wondering what her opinion was.

"So what's up?" Abby asks, lifting the bottom of her shirt, a faded blue one with a strange meshing of a 'P' and 'S' on it, and wiping her face with it.

"I was just...wandering the...ship and thought...I'd...stop by." The Specialist can't help but be completely captivated by the Assassin's toned body. The subtle valleys made by her abs, the scars from past battles, and her perfectly-sized breasts held in place by a simple sports bra. Samantha recovers from her trance just as Abby drops the shirt again, moving a few strands of bangs out of her face. The blush makes Samantha feel as though her cheeks are on fire, and she takes a deep breath, trying desperately to make the redness go away.

"Oh." Abby says simply, pretending not to have noticed the Specialist's distracted tone or her expression. "Well, I'm not up to much, other than working out."

"How is having James as a workout partner?"

"He's not." The Assassin looks over Traynor's shoulder at the Marine, who is tinkering with his shotgun. "James is more of a bodybuilder than a freerunner." She continues with a chuckle. "If he tried what I do, he'd fall on his face after one jump."

"I might try to keep up," James calls back. "If it wasn't just a fancy way to run from one end of the room to the other!"

"Speak for yourself, James!" Samantha quips, glancing at Abby. "I thought it was lovely."

"You're too kind, my friend." The Assassin says modestly, looking at the watch on her Omni Tool. "I've still got a bit of time left, so you're welcome to watch." She offers.

"Please do." Traynor nearly blurts out. She quickly collects herself and decides on a less crush-sounding phrase.

"I could use a break from that computer screen upstairs." She says, sitting down on the counter next to the procurement console.

Abby nods, jogging over to Cortez's parked shuttle and swiftly climbing onto it. She takes a few steps back, then runs to the bulkhead, performing a brief wall-run, before pushing off and gripping one of the ceiling beams. She swings off of it like a trapeze artist, landing on a stack of crates on the opposite side of the room.

Suddenly, Traynor gets an idea.

"Alexa!" She shouts. "Play 'Go' by The Black Keys!"

The upbeat song starts from the beginning, and the Assassin looks down at the Specialist from her perch with a smile, which the latter returns, trying to fight away all the dirty thoughts she was having about a certain crewmate who was busy parkouring around the room. Samantha finds her eyes lingering on the short shorts Abby is wearing, losing the battle against her own mind.

"What I wouldn't give to have those legs wrapped around my face, maybe after a shower….after a workout like this…"

The Specialist shakes her head, scowling at herself.

"Stop it, Samantha! What's gotten into you?! This is worse than that thing with EDI…" She tugs on her blouse collar, trying to distract her brain with the loud music.

"This is going to be a long deployment…"