SSV Normandy SR2
Shuttle Bay
The Next Day…
"Nonono...that won't work." The Assassin mutters, hunched over the weapon workbench. Attention focused and headset playing loudly, she is oblivious to her surroundings, and to the person who just walked in.
"Oh, that's why." Abby says out loud to herself, looking back from the grease stained and partially crumpled instruction booklet. "Yeah, that makes more sense." She returns to working on a weapon. Fastening here, tweaking there, then glancing back to the booklet again, turning the pages a few times. "Now, where did I put-ah here it is."
A crewmate approaches the workstation, trying to read the back of her friend's shirt with a puzzled expression.
"Харли-Девидсон Мотоциклы?" Samantha asks herself. "I understand the 'Moscow, Russia' part…"
"EDI?" She asks quietly. "What does that logo mean?"
"It is the logo of the Harley-Davidson Motorcycle company written in Russian." The AI explains robotically. "This article of clothing was reportedly quite rare during the time period. How Abigail managed to find one is quite a mystery."
"Huh." The Specialist muses. "She really is obsessed with that time…"
Her thoughts are interrupted by the crewmate in question exclaiming with a mixture of pain and frustration, clutching her hand and then shaking it several times. Samantha arrives at her friend's side moments later and Abby looks up, removing her headphones.
"Are you alright? What happened?"
"Burned myself with the soldering iron." The Assassin grumbles, pointing to the tool on the workbench. She examines the burn on her hand, then shrugs after a moment.
"What have you done to your Locust?" Traynor asks curiously. The weapon is in a state of partial disassembly, with some pieces removed that the Specialist didn't know could come off.
"I'm trying to refit it so I don't need thermal clips anymore." Abby explains, picking up her tools and returning to work.
"May I ask 'Why?'?"
Abby looks up. "Never needing one of these again?" She picks up a stray thermal clip. "They get heavy after a while, and they're hard to conceal. Plus, I could fire this thing almost indefinitely, at least until it overheats. And if that happens…" Abby presses a small button above the pistol grip, which was once for clip removal, and the weapon opens like a flower.
"Very smart." Samantha remarks with a nod. "It'd be like before the universal upgrade."
"I would personally call it a downgrade, but yes." Adjusting her safety glasses, Abby finishes her soldering work. Appearing satisfied, she begins to reassemble the weapon.
"Speaking of weapons, isn't Shepard in the middle of a mission? Shouldn't you be...specializing comms, or something?"
"Very funny." Traynor rolls her eyes. "And no. Communication is blocked by a jamming array somewhere on Sanctuary. EDI is sort of doing my job right now." The Specialist returns her attention to the woman before her. "I, on the other hand, just wanted to check in on you."
Abby shrugs, snapping the foregrip into place. "Ash came by this morning, before she left with Shepard and Garrus. He and I had a chat, too. Clearly, he's no stranger to being cooped up after an injury."
"The crew has taken a liking to you." Samantha observes. "As have I...as I'm sure you can tell." She adds a bit awkwardly.
The Assassin cocks her head slightly. "Are you this friendly with everyone, or just me?" Much to her surprise, Traynor doesn't fluster, instead pressing further.
"It depends on who I'm talking to."
With a nervous chuckle, Abby begins to screw her Locust's new venting fan into place, only for the weapon's outer shell to snap closed on her fingers. In a fit of laughter, despite her friend's clear discomfort, Samantha leans in and presses the button Abby had showed her. The weapon shell opens again and the Assassin tugs her hand free.
"Are you alright, love?" Traynor asks, her laugh subsiding.
Abby shakes the pain out of her hand. "Yeah. Just dandy. The Doc is going to love me after this trip." She looks up at Sam, only to find her face just a few inches away from her own. The Specialist gives a small, warm smile, which the Assassin mirrors after a moment.
Their moment is interrupted by the Shuttle Bay door opening and a familiar shuttle coming into view. The small craft slowly hovers in, before settling into its usual parking spot. The side door opens and the Commander herself steps out, followed by Ashley, Garrus, and two women whom Abby felt looked vaguely familiar. As the others pass, Jane stops at the Assassin's work table.
"Abby. Good." She says, tiredly removing her helmet. "We may have found a location on the Cerberus base of operations."
The young Assassin is taken aback. "Was Kai Leng down there? Don't tell me I missed the party."
Shepard shakes her head. "No, no. He escaped. But Miranda managed to stick him with a tracker." The woman in question stops next to the Commander. "Miranda, this is Abigail. The friend I mentioned. Abby, Miranda. A former colleague, and a close friend." The two eye each other quizzically for a moment, before Miranda offers a hand to shake. Cautiously, Abby accepts.
"So, what's the game plan?"
"We can't hit them." Shepard begins. "Not yet, anyway. Admiral Hackett is assembling a strike force. In the meantime, we're headed to the Citadel. The Normandy needs a break, as do we."
"Really?" Abby asks. "Shore leave, when we're so close to the end?"
"His orders. Not mine." The Commander concludes, continuing with Miranda and the other mystery woman to the elevator.
"Hmm." Traynor muses. "Haven't been to the Citadel in a while." She turns to the Assassin seated at her side.
"Last time I was, it didn't end well." She replies, turning back to her nearly completed project. "Here's hoping this time goes better."
A/N Howdy all. Been a while since I updated this fic. Don't worry about the long breaks between chapters, as this is a side project, while my Division 2 fic is my priority.
Side note- Lot's of the clothing Abby wears is clothing I actually own. I've always liked the concept of a character in a futuristic setting to really like pop-culture and fashion from the past.
Side note 2- I have some...lets say...NSFW plans for Abby and Samantha, yet I'm awful at writing stuff like that. If anyone would like to help (And by help, I mean write a scene for them) I would be very grateful. If you're interested, PM me. You will get full credit, and I'll change the rating of the story (If that even matters).
Thanks in advance, and see you in the next one!
