Chapter 40: Fired

Disclaimer: This author in no way profits from the writing of this story. All characters, dialogue, or other referenced material from the Mass Effect trilogy belong to BioWare.

Author's Note: This story does not necessarily follow any particular timeline and may not be considered chronologically accurate.

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Despite the less-than-ideal beginning, the remainder of their lesson with Garrus went rather well. Vadix was pleased he'd managed to beat out Cassana at the rifle competition instigated by their instructor, and EDI had been the one to call it so there was no way she could claim the other turian was "playing favorites" or something absurd. But he hadn't won by as large a margin as he had expected—really, the woman is terrified of firearms and continues to faint at even the thought of using them, yet still shoots a near perfect bullseye with a sniper rifle.

It really wasn't fair.

When they all realized they were famished and began packing away the equipment and tidying the room, Garrus asked if either of them had been to Tuchanka. They'd both looked askance at him.

"I take it that's a 'no'," he smirked. "Well, tomorrow is your lucky day. If you'd like to stretch your legs and breathe in some less filtered air, we expect to land at about 0800 hours. Long as you stay near the compound, the Commander said you're free to leave the ship. It would be a good opportunity to get more comfortable with the sniper rifles—damn pyjaks make for excellent target practice. Just make sure you take a senior crew member with you if you go."

Cassana looked at Garrus like he had given her the best birthday present she could have asked for—without having to ask for it. "Really?" Her voice pitched upward at least an octave.

Vadix felt a twinge of jealousy, mirrored by his right mandible. She'd never looked at him like that. He glared at the older man, just because he could.

"Really," the other turian confirmed with a soft smile. "I'd say you've earned it." Now he wasn't even looking at Vadix. The man only had eyes for the human woman.

What the hell! simmered Vadix. Mandible twitching again, he grabbed Cassana by the elbow and practically dragged her out the door. "Come on," he growled. "I'm starving."

Unbeknownst to both trainees, Garrus watched them depart smiling even wider than he had been a moment before, thinking that, in time, the rumors just may prove to be true. If they weren't already.

Cassana stumbled several steps with him before she regained her balance, both physically and mentally it seemed. She wrenched her arm out of his grip. "What's gotten into you?" In comparison with the tone she'd used less than a minute ago, Vadix felt like she might as well have thrown acid on him.

He watched her roll her shoulder a couple of times before answering, just to make sure she wasn't about to take a swing at him. Not that he couldn't take it, but he didn't want her to injure herself. He couldn't very well explain what he was really thinking though, especially when he wasn't entirely sure what he'd been thinking either. "What do you mean?" he asked, dodging her question.

Looking back at him like he'd grown salarian horns, the human replied, "You were really rude to Garrus back there, for no reason. We were just having a conversation and then you flipped out. Why?"

Now she was staring at him. Not good.

With a shrug, he tried to play it off. "Like I said, I'm starving. Figured you would be too."

One of her furry little eyebrows shot up. "And Garrus wouldn't be?"

He had no answer. "Uh, well, guess I didn't think about that."

"Uh huh." She didn't sound convinced. Peeking at her face, she didn't look convinced either. "Whatever, Vadix. You should really apologize though. You really shouldn't be so disrespectful to our superiors. I may not understand exactly how the hierarchy works here but surely Commander Shepard's boyfriend is pretty high up on the list."

"What?" Vadix nearly tripped. "Wait. They're—together?"

Cassana paused, her mouth partially open. She was looking at him like he was an imbecile.

Maybe he was.

"Yeah," she said slowly, excruciatingly slowly, like the word had tripled in length. Then she continued at normal speed. "I mean, we haven't seen them together very much I guess but when we do they definitely act like a couple. Plus, when I first met them, I totally got the vibe that they were dating. Not as much when they met us at the docks our first day on the job, but if you know what to look for, you can pick up on things like that."

Having returned to her normal chatty self, Vadix thought he was off the hook for his behavior to Garrus and breathed easy once more. "You know, now that you mention it, Commander Shepard did tell me he was her boyfriend when she recruited me."

"Why would she tell you that?" Cassana sounded rather perplexed. "Seems kind of personal to me."

Vadix felt his mandibles shift in discomfort and he looked away from her. "Oh, well, yes. You see I was on patrol and, uh, thought he was assaulting her. Tried to break them up. Then she said I'd misunderstood the situation, clarified their relationship status."

For one silent beat the woman gazed at him, her eyes as wide as a pair of moons. Then a grin split her face and she broke into peals of laughter.

Ha ha, very funny. Vadix rolled his neck, certain she'd lose interest after a moment.

It took longer than he'd expected, but finally she could stand up straight again, only a hint of her exuberant humor remaining in her eyes. "Sorry," she offered, though she didn't seem very apologetic.

The turian shrugged. It wasn't the first time someone had laughed at him.

Though it was probably the first time he actually cared what that someone thought of him.

"Ready for lunch now?" he asked drily, wishing they were already at the mess hall.

"Are you going to apologize to Garrus?" she countered.

Sucking in a breath, he held it for several moments, determined not to lash out at her. Even if she was an insufferable woman who wouldn't just let it go. "No," he finally answered. "It's a turian thing; you wouldn't understand," Vadix finished, assuming that would finally put an end to it.

He should've known better.

"You mean to tell me," she began, derision soaking into her voice, "that it's somehow 'a turian thing' to stare daggers at someone who has done absolutely nothing wrong to you and then rudely interrupt a conversation that you're not even a part of? Please, enlighten me."

It was almost funny she'd used that odd human expression—"stare daggers"—because she was doing the exact same thing to him at the moment. Vadix had never understood the comparison before. Now he did.

"Cassana, please," he tried to appeal to her generous nature. "That was rude of me, I know, but I don't think it's a big deal. Can we please just go eat lunch? I really am ravenous."

Looking down at the ground, away from him, she muttered softly, "It's a big deal to me."

This took him by surprise. "What do you mean? I didn't hurt you, did I?" Thinking back, maybe he had jerked her too hard. He always forgot how soft her body was. "It was an accident, I assure you. I didn't mean to pull you so hard."

She sighed, a forlorn noise if ever there was one, like her very soul was weary. "No, Vadix, you didn't hurt me, not physically. That's not what I meant." Cassana glanced at him, her pretty grey eyes like reflecting pools, her mouth twisting slightly as she wrestled with some inner emotion beyond his understanding. "When you said I wouldn't understand," she murmured, even softer than before, as she looked away, "that did hurt."

Vadix was afraid to speak and injure her even further. "Cassana, I'm sorry but I still don't quite understand what you mean. Could you explain a little more?" When she didn't answer right away, he added, "I want to make sure I don't do this again."

Her eyes peeked up at him once more, not quite hiding the turmoil she felt. Finally, she took a deep breath in and then huffed all the air out of her body before speaking. "Vadix, I'm not sure how much you know about what I do—or did, now that I'm here—but my main goal with all of my clients was always twofold: increase their understanding of their own strengths and weaknesses as well as those of their partner, and to increase my understanding. Of anything and everything I can. My entire purpose for existing, up till now, has been to comprehend things I don't already know. So, when you said I wouldn't understand, well," her lips turned up for one brief moment before being dragged down again, "it made me feel like I've failed at the one thing I'm truly good at."

When she met his gaze once more, the turian was stunned. This wasn't something he'd considered before. From his uninformed and likely prejudiced position, Vadix had assumed that she was, when it came down to it, a sex consultant. One who employed a very hands-on approach.

What she was describing now, however, sounded nothing like that.

It was all rather confusing.

He let her words sink in, rolling them around in his mind and trying to process their overall meaning. It was easy to separate his friend from her past "employment", as it were, because they didn't talk about it much and she didn't act like a glutton for carnal pleasure. Indeed, what she was describing fit perfectly with his opinion of her: kind and compassionate, willing to look deeper than the surface of those with whom she came in contact.

But he'd never applied those character traits to her job.

Was it possible her ultimate goal was really just to serve people?

Although it seemed to him an odd way to go about helping others, Vadix knew the answer to his question was yes.

Beginning to nod, he made eye contact with her, wishing he could convey his thoughts to her in a more eloquent manner. But she was the people-person here, not him. "I think I understand what you're saying," he offered, carefully choosing his words. "I'm sorry for what I said, Cassana. I'll endeavor not to do so again. I promise."

Her lips tipped up again and this time held their position, tinged with sadness though it was. The man thought she must be haunted by some deeper pain, an old trauma which he had inadvertently mimicked. The urge to uncover all of her secret hurts and hold her until she felt whole again swept over Vadix.

Cassana moved away before he could react to the instinct. "Thank you," she whispered, hiding her face from him.

He followed, mute. The conversation had exploded in an entirely unexpected way, yet he was grateful for her vulnerability. She made him want to be brave like her.

The silence prevailed until they were seated at a table in the mess, each occupied with their respective meals and accompanying thoughts. Vadix yearned to know what she must think of him, brute that he was, but knew he had intruded on her hidden life enough already.

Around them, the other crew members on lunch break chatted amiably either ignorant of the pair's quiet demeanor or else ignoring it and them entirely. Until someone slid in next to Cassana.

She didn't move but Vadix looked over immediately. One of the other human women onboard watched him watching her. He knew he should say something but he could not, for the life of him, remember what her name was.

Luckily (or not) he was saved from any potential embarrassment when yet another human woman took the seat next to him. This one had darker hair than either Cassana or the first stranger. She was also far more talkative, with an accent that made her words sound melodic.

"You beat me to it, Ashley," she opined with a gentle smile before turning toward her bench partner. "Hi, I'm Samantha Traynor. We haven't officially met face to face, other than the Commander's intro of all the crew your first day here. I hope we're not interrupting anything." The soft-spoken woman glanced between Cassana and Vadix, as though the worst insult would be to call her impolite.

Blinking quickly, the redhead looked quickly at the newcomers. "No, not at all," she reassured Samantha. "It's very nice to meet you," she added with a dip of her head.

"I'm Ashley," the other one said in a much less friendly voice. "Sounds like you need a babysitter in order to leave the ship?"

Vadix felt his mandibles flare in outrage but the woman next to him responded more quickly.

"I think Ashley means an 'escort'," she clarified, shooting a glare across the table. "If you'd like, I'd be happy to go with you," Samantha offered, her smile showing perfectly straight, excessively white teeth that contrasted beautifully with her skin.

But she was no longer looking at him. Cassana met her gaze with a tentative grin and nodded with enthusiasm. "That would be great," she answered.

The austere one was apparently as stubborn as she was cold. "I'll join you as well. Wouldn't want anything to happen to the three of you."

Traynor shared a look with his partner, somehow having established a bond of friendship with Cassana in a matter of minutes.

The entire exchange left the turian feeling exceedingly bewildered.

Little did he know that it was only the beginning.

As they boarded the shuttle housed in the cargo bay the following morning, Vadix felt somehow excited yet anxious. Cassana wore an expression similar to what he knew his own face must look like. New experiences were always an adventure, but they had no idea what Commander Shepard was really doing on the krogan planet. How dangerous was it? Should they be worried for her? For themselves?

He supposed that was why Williams and Traynor were going with them. Well, that explained Ashley's presence at least. She was a soldier, through and through, and must've been assigned the unfortunate task of 'babysitting' them, as it seemed highly unlikely that she had actually volunteered to do so.

Samantha, on the other hand, was completely at ease. She seemed almost happy to be there. The man wondered at her motives. Unless she'd also been assigned for some other purpose.

The Commander wouldn't need two crew members to spy on them, would she?

Vadix remained seated far from the women who seemed to have established an amiable tolerance at the very least. They talked softly with each other, leaving the turian to his own devices, until the pilot's voice sounded from the speakers above.

"ETA 2 minutes. We'll touch down just outside clan Urdnot's settlement."

The lieutenant commander stood and the other two women soon followed. Both of them looked slightly nervous in the armored suits they'd borrowed. Vadix suspected that Cassana had never worn anything so hefty, and he wondered if Samantha had similar reservations. With a shrug, he moved to stand near them and the door, holding lightly to a rail near the ceiling.

Looking up at him, Cassana watched his approach with interest and she opened her mouth to say something.

But she said nothing.

Tilting his head, the man observed her face, watching for any signs of her earlier distress. He still hadn't recovered from her earlier revelations. Surely she hadn't either.

Instead she merely smiled, averting her gaze once more as she turned back to their human companions. Ashley and Samantha were discussing something, their volume low enough that he couldn't hear them over the incessant hum of the flying machine.

Then the door was sliding open, the shuttle hovering less than a meter from the planet's surface. Ashley jumped to the ground in a fluid blur of blue movement, quickly followed by Traynor who was equally blurry but not as fluid.

Before she followed, Cassana grasped his talons, their covered fingers meeting for one brief moment that stretched in his mind. His gaze darted to her face but she wasn't looking at him. Vadix brushed his thumb across her thin knuckles just as she pulled away and dashed out the gaping doorway.

Sucking in a breath, oblivious to any physical danger as his mind was consumed by the unexpected gesture, the turian jumped into the arid void.