"And deep breathe in. Hold. Hold. Little bit more. And release," Saere's voice said, a quiet drone of encouragement. The rush of air relieved the stress in my chest, the ache fading. "There, two birds with one stone as you humans say. Your reaction is now under control and the RIT is complete. Now if only we can get you to do it on time," she added. A quiet moan of discomfort simmered on my tongue.

"You know what it's like, Saere," I sighed. "I don't… it's like leaping into a washing machine with a ton of loose change. Your head rattles for hours after it,"

"No one likes it, Dell, but you of all people need it," Saere said, throwing on her scolding doctor tone. "Now, little miss, I need you to take it easy for the next few days. Do I make myself clear? You are under house observation, this means no missions, no ground work and no training," A discontented nod ached my neck. "Good, you can get up whenever you feel ready," she patted the end of the bed before wheeling her chair over to her computer to update the systems.

My hands ran through my hair, sucking in mighty breaths to push the nausea of RIT away. My head still swam from my tumble in space, but my body had distributed blood and oxygen around my body again. So close to death… so damn close. Another few minutes and I would have… no, don't think about that. My eyes fluttered against the blinding lights of the med bay, coaxing my laden body into a seated position. It stopped my eyes watering, at least. My hands dragged down my face, scrubbing the last of the tension out of my face and begging for blood to stop the numbing sensation in my fingers and toes. It took another 5 minutes of wriggling to coax sensation back into them, enough to try standing. My knees trembled on the first few steps towards the door, hands hovering over the bed just in case. Saere watched me in the reflection on a mirror above her desk. After my legs gave up the fight to put me back into bed, the trembling eased and allowed me to stride through the door. Every muscle ached as it stretched, stepping towards the bridge. All the while, my mind ignored the busy bodies running around me. Raisha spared me a dry look before turning her attention to the screen before her as my ass landed hard on the captain's chair. My mind was dead, my body exhausted, but there was still work to do and I didn't trust Raisha, not when it involved Shepard.

"Someone get Shayan up here please," I ordered.

"As you wish, Endellion," Raisha said. "What did Saere conclude?" My tired sigh pulled her gaze up.

"I'm fine, I just need to take it easy for a few days. I got antihistamine and medical attention in time before any serious damage happened. Saere wants to keep me under observation over the next few days," I said.

"Pursuing the Saboteur to the station was a mistake, Endellion," Raisha scolded. "With the Starquake in her current state and the crew shaken after the assault on Kahje, nothing good could have come from a second attack. The Saboteur was expecting it," My eyes squeezed shut, a headache blooming.

"You win some, you lose some. I fucked up and paid the price. Everyone made it home and alive and that's all that matters. Now let me learn from it without smashing me a sledgehammer, please," I said, rubbing my eyes. "At least we know the traditional killing method doesn't work on hanar," Raisha dropped her datapad with a clatter as she turned me. My skin jolted at the sound, already dreading the words.

"Oh, I apologise, Endellion. I did not realise jellyfish on Earth had bones," she answered. My expression flattened, fire bubbling below the surface.

"I know," I said, tone hardening with the burning anger running through my veins. "So, Miss 'My Captain is an idiot', how do hanar Saboteurs work if they don't have bones?" Raisha straightened, pondering the question.

"Nanotechnology, perhaps. Their fusion and mass effect generators may be more numerous but smaller in number to hide within the body more. Maybe the Reapers have mastered the art of creating liquid electronics or there is the chance they can create generators within the nervous systems. There are numerous possibilities, Endellion," Raisha sighed. "I am sure anyone could have told you that-"

"But did we know?" I asked, stressing the final word. Raisha fell quiet for a time, regarding me with those blue eyes of hers as she sought to tear me a new hole.

"No," she said.

"Then it wasn't for nought. Now leave me to sulk," I grumbled. "If I want someone to mother, I'd put a bullet in my head and go visit mine," Raisha breathed, releasing whatever anger swelled at my words.

Before more scathing remarks sounded, and further souring my already dead brain, Shayan popped free from the engineering tunnels, scurrying over to my chair. A tired smile lifted my lips, expression softening as the quarian saluted and cuddled a datapad to his chest. His suit looked scrapped and a good layer of oil or something coated his arms but part of me dreaded asking what caused that. Please don't let it be recent. Shayan waited for my order.

"I need a full status update of the Starquake, Shayan. Is she bad?" I asked. Shayan glanced to Raisha for a moment before coughing.

"W-well, it could be worse. We will need to have the airlocks repaired and the cargo door mended. Welding and cutting it open each time we want to use it will not do the hull any favours. Beyond that, we have a few electrical failures that require attention, multiple hull breeches that require a dry dock and Lanster is complaining of heavy controls, I assume either the engines are malfunctioning or something has damaged the controls themselves," Shayan said.

"Great," I sighed, eyes closing. "Ok, we'll head back to the Citadel for repairs. It'll give me a chance to talk to the Council in person and get this hanar on a hit list or something. Do you have a personnel update?" I asked. Shayan blinked.

"Ah, just the report, Captain," he said, flicking through his omni-tool. "There is a few injured from Kahje, Cathleen and Phentos were injured during the space station fight. W-we will also need to dock with the Normandy to pick up Shual and Alder. T-The retreat was messy, indoctrinated servants and mechs came from everywhere," Shayan added.

"I didn't even hear…" I whispered. My head shook, hand massaging the bridge of my nose, harder this time. "I was so busy with that Saboteur…"

"You did your best, Captain," Shayan said. Raisha snorted, making the quarian throw a weak scowl at her. "We know you are trying so hard to protect the galaxy. I think people will appreciate it when it's all over," My weak laugh surprised even me.

"Maybe," I said. "Alright. Lanster, have the Normandy dock with us so we can get our guys back and they can be on their way," I called.

"Aye, aye, Captain," Lanster called, borderline moaning. He sounded as knackered as I did. We needed to find a safe port for the night, it seems.

It took 20 minutes for us to find a safe spot outside the scanning range of a guarded turian colony. Something in me warned me against going inside the scanning range with a Cerberus frigate inbound. Something about Cerberus being a dick to aliens tended to have violent reactions, regardless if there was a human Spectre on board. 10 minutes later, the Normandy warped into space nearby, locating us in seconds. With our main port side airlock damaged, it forced the Normandy to line up with our lesser used starboard one. That forced us to disengage the rotary to make space for the Normandy's wings and to use the longer airlock tunnel. The ring was still there, but the main supporting girders retracted back inside the main beams. It took precision of Gods from both pilots to get the engines lined up without damaging either ship. After another 15 minutes of pristine piloting, the airlock tunnel extended and locked with the Normandy's own tunnel, giving us more breathing space. Once word came through people were coming aboard, my eyes closed, wishing for sleep, even as Shepard strutting down the halls, looking around with my crew at his flanks. Looks like I'd have to entertain for a while yet…

"Nice ship," Shepard said, whistling low as he burst into the bridge. He ignored the gazes and scowls of the crew meandering around their duties. "And… are those 360 cameras? Nice view," he drawled, spinning to capture the full scene and full scale of the double decked room. "You don't see this these days, ships are all instrument driven,"

"Well, that's how we saw you following us a month or two back," I said. He spotted me in the chair, a wide grin parting his lips. "Cameras are useful when someone doesn't want to be found," Shepard chuckled as he swaggered over.

"And a chair! You're beating me in everything other than good looks!" he cried. My brows dropped, too tired to deal with his shit.

"Yeah, that's because I'm a Captain, not a Commander. Commanders don't get the cool stuff," I said. Shepard mocked winced, taking a step back for drama.

"Hey now, that's not fair," he smirked. "I'll outrank you soon enough,"

"Uh huh. I've been at this for, what, 2 years now compared to your 15?" I sighed, heaving myself to my lumbering feet. "Thanks for the help and for looking after my crew, I appreciate it… despite having to deal with your pyromaniac mug," I added. Shepard's eyes lit up, the grin widening. "Now if you'll excuse me, we need to rest before we head back to the Citadel for repairs. These Saboteurs won't stay quiet for long and I'd like to be hunting them as soon as physically possible,"

"Aw c'mon, show me around first! It won't take that long! I've not been on your ship!" he wailed, bouncing on his toes, ready to box. Or jumping like an excitable puppy, it was hard to tell these days. My quiet moaned flew to the Gods to give me strength, eyes rubbed once more as they closed without command.

"Fine, whatever," I said. Shepard pumped his fist, a triumphant 'yes' hissing through his teeth. Ignoring his smug expression took more will than I could spare. "This is the bridge and although it has two decks, the upper one is only a gangway between the bow lounge and as a point of high ground to address the crew in the room. Cockpit is up there and that is my pilot going for a well-deserved coffee break," My thumb trailed after the charcoal turian shuffling down the bridge. He raised a hand in acknowledgment, eyes on the back door. Shepard studied the turian before he disappeared from view, a curious perk to his posture that hit me like a meerkat.

"Endellion, while I appreciate that you are making friends," Raisha began. A cough swelled and scratched my aching throat, the taste of bile in the back of my throat at her words. Raisha frowned at my reaction. "We must move to a more secure location should Saboteurs take advantage of our weakened situation. Let Lanster take a break and have Mari pilot us back to the Citadel," My brows dropped, lips twitching down.

"Raisha, I chose this location because of the high turian presence here, not only that but this is a relatively insignificant colony, A Saboteur won't strike here for a while at least. We'll be fine for a few hours, more than long enough to let everyone rest and assess the state of the ship," I said. Raisha raised an brow. "And don't get me started on turian Saboteurs. I am not piloting the Starquake without Lanster at the helm, not with damaged controls. He's the only one who knows this ship well enough to counteract any changes. Hell, he kept her safe on Kahje with damaged controls. Una has said she'd rather wait than experiment with controls and then we get jumped by something," Shepard glanced between us, a slow frown sinking the corners of his lips.

"Have you not learned that underestimating your foes is a dangerous venture? How many times will it take for you to learn this?" Raisha sighed.

"Raisha, the Citadel isn't safe either and you know that damn well enough. Who knows how many Saboteurs are waiting for us there. Only this time we're weakened. At least resting we'll at least have people sharp enough to keep everyone safe," I said through grit teeth.

"The Citadel is safer than in the middle of nowhere, at least we know we have allies close at hand," Raisha said, a low rumble in the back of her throat. My teeth gnashed, locked so tight it was impossible to open. Goddam it, she was worse than Val ever was! "We leave, Endellion,"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Shepard said, his tone hot enough to melt the hull. My heart fluttered, muscles slackening as my eyes spun to face him. His sarcastic tone pinned Raisha. "And here I thought Shaik was the captain here. Am I mistaken?" he asked. Raisha shuffled her weight, assessing Shepard's mood before speaking.

"No, you are not mistaken," Raisha said.

"Really? Because that sounded an awful lot like an order. Now, I realise I may not be the best at listening, but I believe I heard your captain saying you are holing up here for the crew to rest. As XO, you've said your 'recommendation', which is good. I'm glad to see you're doing your bloody job, but your captain – whom as I recall you helped put in charge? – has taken in on board and rejected your recommendation. Now, if you feel strongly about it, you can petition the Commanders to remove authority from her. Do you wish to remove authority from her, do you believe she is unfit for command?" Shepard asked, his light tone stoking the butterflies churning in my stomach..

"No, that is unnecessary," Raisha said, watching her words, fighting to find a way to meet in the middle of this exchange.

"Then treat your captain with respect, XO," Shepard snapped. Raisha recoiled. "Goddam it, the one thing I cannot stand is insolence when it is not due. Shaik is not a child who needs her hand held. I've not seen this woman in 2 years and she's gone from coward who hid from every new thing she encountered to soldier willing to dive into wave if people trying to kill her in 2 years. Sure, she's still a little green, she'll make mistakes. But that was the risk you took when you rose her to Captain, you knew she wouldn't be perfect or make all the right calls. Yet despite all that, I don't see her hiding away. She pushes forward, looking to the future, she knows quitting is not an option. Now stand there and tell me she doesn't know what she is doing, that she is making all the wrong calls," he regarded her with hard eyes, begging her to press. Raisha stayed mute. He snorted as he turned to me, smoothing out his furious frown. "Anyway, before we were interrupted," he emphasised with an experienced, pinning stare to Raisha. "You were showing me around your ship," My frozen body took a moment to jog itself awake. A slow nod coaxed my eyes towards Raisha as she swung her jaw. No, it seemed best not to push more.

"Sure uh, the labs are this way. Raisha, we stay right here until the crew has rested. End of discussion," I said, leading Shepard away from the Control Ring and the krogan. Raisha blinked once, voiceless at our departure.

"A piece of advice, CO to CO." Shepard said once the door closed behind us and the swell of people eased, leaving us alone. His voice felt too tense, still recovering from his little 'chat'. "Don't be afraid to tell your XO to piss off," My head snapped to face him, jaw slackening. "If she can't follow the command structure, you have the authority to kick her off. Maybe that will make her toe the line," My mouth closed, considering his words.

"I… see. I'll… remember that," I said. Tell Raisha to… God, she would string me up. But would the crew back me up on that?

The ship hummed as we walked down the halls, poking into various rooms along the way. All the while, my eyes slid towards Shepard, ensuring he didn't set something on fire with touch alone. Shepard stood on tip toes to stare down the halls on the messy engineering deck – which reminded me to kick Shayan's ass for not keeping it tidy – squinting through the windows in the spotless lab, studying the various systems in the CIC, smirking at the bar on the third deck and his eyes sparkled at the sparing ring on the second deck. He offered a quick round, but he saw my expression, and how much my eyelids dropped and thought against it. Despite the little bout in the bridge, he seemed like his annoying self. What brought that acid spitting Shepard out? I had been on a gentler receiving end once or twice in the past but he'd never defended me… dammit, men were confusing. The final floor was Deck 1. He wanted to see the captain's quarters to compare. My grumbles echoed up the halls, Shepard smirking the entire way. The door parted, the welcome sight of my room luring me towards the bed. Before that, Mar bounded before me, dinging like a madman because of a backlog of messages. My eyes closed, heavy and tired before walking to the computer to shut up Marshal. That left Shepard unattended. He realised all the personal stuff was on the upper tier and bounded up the stairs, a child in a sweet shop. His rustling around only worsened the tightness in my stomach. My yes flew over my shoulder before flicking back to finish checking the update from Satrino about general changes. The message closed after it revealed nothing of importance, freeing me to stop Shepard from learning too much.

"You have a beautiful mother," he said. My feet paused for a second, halfway up the stairs. He held the wedding photo of my parents, studying the beaming faces.

"Thank you, though she would have told you otherwise," I said as my back pressed into the dresser near the starboard window, away from him and the photos. My chest swelled something awful just mentioning them. Shepard blinked once, quiet.

"My condolences," he said. I bit my lip. So he noticed my phrasing…

"Thank you," I said. With my eyes diverted from the scene, my ears picked out the tink from the frame touch the table top. He lifted something else though.

"And this must be the son you mentioned," he said, a wide grin on his face. My head turned then, spying the photo of Gideon sitting on Lanster's chair in the cockpit. That had been taken before we learned Alea was a Saboteur, a 'thanks for adopting me' present from him. Little bastard had 'acquired' Lanster's stripes to add to the photo. You could just make out Lanster's hand reaching at the edge of the photo to grab the back of the chair. It caused cockpit carnage and some chair whining for a good 2 hours.

"Yep, the blond devil himself," I said. Shepard smirked as he turned towards me.

"Oh? Not going to introduce me or is it past his bedtime?" he asked, eyes dancing. Every muscle down my back tensed, eyes drifting to the clock by the bedside. It blinked 7:12pm. Shit…

"He's fearful of strangers," I said, careful with each word. Shepard tilted his head, ever the curious prick. "We rescued him from a burnt out batarian slave ship. I know little of his past," Shepard's posture changed then, shoulders dropping, the wide grin softening. He glanced to the photo.

"All the more reason to introduce us then," he said. My tongue clicked as parental instincts flared. A dry throat made it hard to swallow, nerves arousing my sleeping mind.

"Sure, why not. But if you hurt him in any way," I hissed.

"I will not say a thing, Dell. Scouts honour. I may not be a father myself, but I remember what my mum told me. The number of times she wished she had someone she could dump me on when things got hairy were… numerous," Shepard said, sighing at the end. My eyes squinted, studying the man.

"You want to… look after him?" I asked, swaying my weight. Shepard shrugged.

"Dell, this is a military ship. You'll be going to dangerous places and you may not want your son going with you. If that is the case, I'm happy to take him until the mission is finished. One less thing to worry about," he answered, his face straight.

My eyes narrowed, weighing the truth of his words. While true it sending Gideon somewhere eased my fear, Shepard was far from ideal. He wasn't on the Constellation so Julian wouldn't hurt him, but he would be with someone who spent months tormenting me like crazy. But spending time with an asshole was better than getting hurt, especially after Kahje… My head shook, hand raised and tapping at my omni-tool. Marshal soon disappeared out the door and down the hall to relay the message. While I would've gone myself, with Shepard in my sanctuary, there was no way I was leaving. Who knows what he would find and use against me. My eyes locked onto his expression, assessing the predator that would soon be within reach of Gideon. Shepard gazed around the room, picking up the small details that marked the room as mine. Less than 20 seconds later, running footfalls echoed towards the door. Shepard looked up even as I moved towards the stairs.

"Is everything ok, mum, do you-" Gideon began, an underline of panic in his voice as he tore into the room. He got as far as the top of the steps before he froze, eyes spotting Shepard. Gideon still had the visor on his head, but the screen was retracted. He glanced towards me, seeking shelter before beginning his approach. His eyes fixated on Shepard, walking wide as he came up behind me. My hand dropped to his head, ruffling his hair, but he didn't respond, eyes sharp and narrowed.

"Shepard, this is my son, Gideon. Gideon, this is Asshole number 2, Commander John Shepard," I introduced.

"Julian?" Gideon asked.

"Julian," I said, understanding his question to who 'Asshole number 1' was. Shepard chuckled before beginning a cautious approach, noting Gideon's tense demeanour. Gideon took a shuffled step further behind me. Shepard stopped his approach then before crouching down.

"I really need to work hard to beat this 'Julian' fellow," Shepard chuckled. My eyes narrowed, teeth fighting to bare as Gideon tensed.

"Good luck," Gideon muttered. Shepard raised an amused eyebrow.

"Oh? And did this guy do to be number one?" Shepard asked. Gideon hands clenched onto the back of my top, staring at him with dead eyes, the barest of emotions on his face.

"Broke my nose," he said. Shepard's second eyebrow rose to join the first.

"Why?" he asked, dumbfounded.

"He was hurting mum. I tried to stop him. He didn't appreciate that," Gideon said, keeping a good portion of himself hidden behind me. The mother in me shifted my weight onto the hip he hid behind, hiding him a touch more. A slight tremble ran down his clenched hands, recognition for the action. Shepard shifted his gaze to mine for a moment, slack jawed. He soon closed it.

"Ok. Yeah, he can stay Asshole number 1," Shepard said, a rush of air escaping. A slight tremor of relief slipped down my spine. "Well, despite what your mother thinks of me, I'm not that kind of an asshole,"

"Really," Gideon said, unconvinced. Shepard raised his gaze to mine for a moment before turning it back to Gideon. Gideon stood solid as a rock, but even I noticed he balanced himself on his toes to attack should he feel threatened. Despite Shepard's broad shoulders, Gideon had tackled worse.

"Mmm, I just love winding your mum up. At first it was to fire her up but that happened without me. Now it's just because it's good to see her with a spine now," he said, smirking back towards my now floundering expression with utmost innocence on his face. Gideon frowned a touch, glancing up for confirmation.

"Wait, what?" I asked. Shepard laughed.

"Oh c'mon! You don't threaten to pull alarmed IVs out your arm in a hospital with two groups of armed people fighting over you without some kind of courage," Shepard said, rolling his eyes. My jaw landed on the floor.

"Wait, all of that torment… all of those fu-…flipping poker games… you did all of that… toughen me up?" I asked. Shepard winked, the grin widening at my controlled swearing.

"Hey, I was getting somewhere! You were fine after Feros!" he cried.

"That was thanks to Mat'al, not you!" I snapped. "Oh, so now you're going to tell me you tried to find me after that rachni tried to eat me,"

"4 hours," Shepard said, holding four fingers erect with a smirk. "And we only stopped because Benezia told us she had already sent you up to Saren. I wanted to paint the rachni queen with her brains!" Shepard folded his arms. "Liara didn't take too to that though…" he coughed, taming his attitude for a time.

"I would imagine not…" I whispered. My world rocked. Shepard was… had been trying… to do a crueller Raisha? To make me angry and snap? I… Fuck, my brain was in no condition for this crap right now. Not without sleep and coffee.

"See! I'm not a bad guy like your mum thinks I am! …Paragrade at worst," he added.

"You are a bastard and I want to kill you," I told him, tone flat. Shepard's face lit up.

"You wanna go now? There's no table here now," he offered, spreading his arms as he sprung to his toes. A fist raised to my side as fury licked my bones, stirred as the shock wore off.

"Mum, he'll kick your ass. You can't do hand-to-hand," he said, confused by the whole exchange as he pondered if I was trying to protect him. A hot breath scorched my nose, fighting to keep cool.

"Hey, she has to learn at some point," Shepard said, shrugging, still eager for a fight. Gideon scowled. Shepard sulked, realising he wouldn't get his long awaited fist fight. He put his hands on his hips. "Aw fine, next time though! However, pissing your mum off isn't why I wanted to see you, kiddo,"

"You seem to work very hard to do so, not that it isn't hard to do," Gideon said. My teeth nipped my tongue, my hand yanking on his ear. He wailed in surprise, flailing under me before sulking when my grip released. Shepard smirked more.

"Well, that too. But the reason I wanted to speak to you was to give you – and your mum – a little bit of breathing space," Shepard said. "Your mum doesn't like it when you are in danger, like on Kahje. So, if she – or yourself – ever need to go somewhere safe, the Normandy is always open for you to hide in for a while," Gideon blinked, sharing a look with me. Gideon frowned when he realised his mother hadn't recovered from Shepard's revelations.

"Why?" he asked, pressing a touch closer to my leg.

"Hey, I may be a pain, but I don't hate your mum. She'll drag my kicked ass out of trouble one day! And I will be proudest damn man alive when she does! And she adores you. She's under intense fire from indoctrinated servants and all she can think about is getting her ship with her crew and son to safety," Shepard explained. Gideon frowned, shuffling his weight.

"Thanks, I guess," Gideon muttered. Shepard winked.

"And I can tell you all the embarrassing stories of your mum when she was on the Normandy! Like this one time, I swapped out her shampoo for-" Shepard began.

"That was you!?" I thundered, my rage screaming to life like lightning. Shepard jumped, startled by my sudden rage. "I took forever to get that fucking ink out of my hair! My hair was purple for ages!" Fire boiled my blood. Gideon stepped back, deciding if he should laugh or scowl. Shepard shrugged.

"Hey, it matched your eyes!" Shepard said.

"OUT!" I roared. Gideon's eyes lit up, cheered up as someone else stood on the receiving end of my rage. Shepard's expression brightened.

"Am I going to get my sparring match now?" he asked. My jaw popped.

"Security!" I screeched. Shepard scrunched his face until his perceptive gaze caught sight of a bright purple blur heading straight for him. He squeaked as he ducked, Mar shooting overhead beeping like a madman.

"Aw c'mon! This isn't fair!" Shepard whined as he dived onto the lower tier.

"Off. My ship. You motherfucker!" I snapped, fighting to speak through the venom flooding my mouth. Shepard giggled with glee as he slammed the door on Mar, the drone whining in complaint as it crashed into it before diving into the vents. My hands flexed before storming to the door, just in time to hear his laughter as he leapt into the elevator.

"Glad that's not me," Gideon laughed.

"Dinner! Now!" I snapped.

"Going! Going!" Gideon squeaked, rocketing past me and ducking into the engineering tunnels. At least he had learned to do what I say when anger consumed me!

The elevator doors closed around me, anger forcing my feet to pace around the square until it reached the bridge deck. Shepard had put that blue ink in my shampoo? 3 washes a day for a week! A whole week that destroyed my hair, all to stop my hair being purple! Laughter echoed through my mind, the flashes of smothered smiles and smug grins. Each sound, each face stabbed me a little harder than the last. The hall echoed with the sound of my furious steps, marching towards the bridge. The windows surrounding the bridge gave me the sight I needed; Shepard ducking and leaping over consoles as the angry drone chased him. When that door opened, his laughter and the sniggers from my crew filled the room.

"OFF!" I barked. Shepard laughed.

"Aw c'mon! Let me just say one tiny little thing. One tiny, tiny little thing!" Shepard pleaded, squeezing an invisible object between his thumb and finger.

"No! Off!" I snapped. Shepard leapt over the consoles in the Control Ring, ducking as Mar soared overhead. "Honest to fuck, Mat'al, don't just stand there! Seriously, don't you do anything useful these days?" I barked to the salarian, watching the scene with amusement beside me at the edge of the room.

"Ah, apologies my dear Captain," Mat'al said. A loud bang thundered through the room. Everyone fell still, heads snapped towards Mat'al and me. Marshal and Shepard stood frozen as they stared, Shepard's jaw dropped as he realised what happened. My eye twitched as a stinging pain rocketed up from my hip. Despite the pain, my head turned to Mat'al. "Remember lesson four? Don't complain," he said.

"Lesson seven," I said through grit teeth. Mat'al raised a brow. "I'm going to fucking kill you!" My feet pushed off the ground, arms outstretched towards the salarian.

Of course, me being me, it would never have ended well. Mat'al grabbed an arm, ducked under my flying body, hurled me over his shoulder and pinned me to the floor. Roars of rage bounced off the walls, my body writing under Mat'al as he pinned me down with my arm held high above me and a boot to the back of my neck. Every damn profanity my brain could think of flew wild, but nothing worked. It only made Mat'al smile with every new one that surfaced.

"Oh, this is so not fair!" Shepard complained. "She'll go for you but not for me? What did I do to deserve that?!" My nostrils flared at his remark. With my non-omni-tool hand pinned, it left me with one tool at my disposal, and burning my chair was worth the risk. An Incinerate flew towards him, Shepard squeaking and flying of the way. He sprinted for the door, laughing as people scrambled for fire extinguishers.

"Oh, I've really done it now! I'll call you when you aren't PMSing!" Shepard cried.

"I'll fucking destroy you!" my voice boomed as loud as possible as Shepard sprinted down the hall towards the Normandy and out of sight. My chest heaved, lungs working overtime while pinned to the floor for a good minute. Not a soul dared move apart from Shayan armed with a fire extinguisher. My eyes focused on the camera as the Normandy separated and back off from the Starquake. We waited until it was out of sight before tension sneaked out of the air. Mat'al eased my arm into a less precarious position and pulled me to my feet. My pained shoulder rolled, teasing the tension out of it.

"Feel better?" Mat'al asked, tone light and amused. My jaw swung, assessing my mood now Shepard had vacated the ship and left me back in charge of the ragtag team around me. A slow breath cooled the fire burning in my chest. Exhaustion pushed me down, sagging my shoulders, but the screaming had released a lot of tension along my shoulders. The horrible, slimy sensations on my skin from this morning were forgotten.

"Y'know… yeah, yeah I do," I answered. Mat'al chuckled. "I need a stiff drink though,"

"Lesson six?" Mat'al asked.

"Lesson six, on me," I said. Mat'al folded his arms as a wide smile glowed on his face. "Ok, note to self, screaming at Shepard is good therapy after RIT. Mar, pencil that in," My fingers rubbed the bridge of my nose. "Alright, Lanster, Mari, whoever is at the controls just now. Head into the turian space now," I ordered, rolling my shoulders to push even more tightness out of my muscles.

"Roger that, transmitting transponder," Mari called back, grinning a touch as the Starquake banked. My back stretched and popped, hands reaching for the roof before crossing the distance to the captain's chair, waiting for the inevitable call.

"RSS-2 Starquake, this is the MSV Triumphant you are entering turian space. State your purpose," a stern, turian sounded over the radio.

"SSD Triumphant, this is the RSS-2 Starquake. We have just escaped pirates and our ship has sustained damage. Requesting a protected orbit to allow the crew to repair and rest before journeying to the Citadel for more thorough repairs," Mari said.

"Roger, RSS-2 Starquake, we will transmit a vector for orbit. We will check the ship to ensure you are not a threat," the voice responded with promise. A small smile lifted my limping lips. It was fun dealing with stuck up turian captains, so much fun…