Out For Karma: Mass Effect

[Book One] Chapter 17: Life on the Normandy

Chapter 17: Life on the Normandy

“Good morning, Skipper.”

“Good morning Ash.” replied the commander in a tired tone.

The R&R time was over and the crew would leave for the new mission Shepard had received yesterday evening from the Council. Just like the previous time, Ashley and Sehpard were one of the first on the ship. This time however they met in the mess. Shepard was sitting down enjoying her coffee when Ashley came in and made her own.

“R&R is supposed to help you relax, it’s a break, skipper, so why are you looking like you just went to war and back?”

“Is it that obvious?”

“As obvious as the nose on someone’s face.”

Shepard just sighed in defeat and took a sip of her coffee.

“I… met with my mother when we arrived here. She was there for Rick and Tali’s business deal with the alliance.”

“I’m going to throw a guess: you don’t get along with her?”

“Understatement of the century. In fact, I don’t think anyone gets along with her.”

“She’s that bad, huh?”

“Well, she is the Butcher of Torfan so yes, she’s that bad.”

This piece of information made Ashley choke on her own hot beverage.

“She’s your mother?!”

“Sadly, yes.”

“Well I guess we are both descendants of pretty infamous people, then.”

“Your grandfather did the right thing at Shanxi, Ash.”

“It’s not what most of the alliance think.”

“Most of the alliance are idiots. Blaming heroes and rewarding monsters…”

“True. Soooo… Want to unload and talk about it? Must have been a very unpleasant talk if you’re still like that after three days.”

Shepard was about to say no. She wasn’t one to talk about how she felt, ever. Especially when it was about her brother. That was a taboo. But she was tired and couldn’t sleep, not unlike her time back at boot camp. That was when she learned about John’s disappearance and it was her drill instructor who made her talk about it. She went better afterwards, bit by bit. That’s why after consideration, she chose to share with Ashley.

“She… said something that opened old wounds.”

“...” the brunette kept quiet, letting the redhead continue.

“She told me to be careful, which isn’t like her at all.”

“Not much of the caring type?”

“Not much? She isn’t, period.” she replied with a dry laugh.

“She said she didn’t want to lose another child as if she had cared for my brother in the first place.”

“You have a brother?” Ashley exclaimed. 

“I have… had. I don’t know; he disappeared back in 2170 just after I enrolled in the alliance. We don’t even know exactly when as my mother never cared for him because he was biotic. He could have been gone for almost half a year before she noticed it.”

“Damn… And nobody had any ideas?”

“We were spacers. Living on ships. So he could have disappeared on any stop they made. The investigators didn’t even bother, he was either kidnapped or he left on his own. But I don’t believe he would have left, not without telling me. We were so close you know? I practically raised him since he was born. God knows my mother wouldn’t have lifted a finger for him. I did, that’s why I know he didn’t leave. I knew him the best and he wouldn’t have done that. I’ve never forgiven her for that. And suddenly out of nowhere she shows concerns for me and him. I mean..What the hell?! She even told me a bullshit story about how she did care and did love him despite her neglect. Supposedly she’s been beating herself up every day since then.”

“Maybe she does.”

“Hardly. But enough about my mother. What about you? I see hickeys from there but no bite marks, nor bruises, what happened? Did he go easy on you?” Shepard said, trying to change both topic and the mood.”

“Huh… Not exactly…” Ashley answered vaguely.

“Come on, don’t stay standing and sit down for some girl talk.”

“I’d like to, skipper, but I don’t think my body could handle sitting. Not for a while at least.” the brunette replied with a blush on her face.

Shepard’s eyes got huge and her jaw was hanging low at the understanding of what Ashley was implying.

“Noooooo?!” she said with a gasp.

“...” Ashley kept quiet but blushed further.

“You didn’t?!” the brunette replied with a single nod of affirmation.

Standing up from her seat she made her way to her friend. She couldn’t not fathom Ashley doing anal sex with Rick. Not after seeing with her own eyes how big he was, even if he was soft at the time.

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“How did you survive?!” she whispered loudly.

“Like last time. Time to get used to him, he was gentle and more importantly a lot of lube.”

“You didn’t do that for the entirety of R&R, right?”

“No, he would have destroyed me. We prepped my ass most of those three days and did it yesterday evening.”

“You’re insane, Ash. You took a log in your ass!”

“What can I say? I like challenges and I like anal.” the brunette replied with a shrug.

“Still… I know I wouldn’t do it.”

“Too scared, skipper?”

“Yes, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. Besides I’ve never done it before, I don’t think I would have been able to handle it.”

“You never tried anal? You’re missing something.” 

“Is it that good?”

“It’s not for everyone. Some don’t even like the very idea of it, some like me love it. I have my biggest orgasms when I’m doing it, truth to be told; the pain mixes with pleasure and I can’t make the difference between the two and in the end the sensations are so strong that I actually squirt. That’s the only time I do so.”

“Wow.”

“You can say that again.” Ashley replied with a giggle.

“How much pain are you in right now?”

“Honestly? Not much, but I can still feel him in there. It’s like… some kind of phantom pain?”

“Wait! You’re in pain while standing? Why didn’t you sit then? Does it make it worse?”

“Oh, no! Not at all! I didn’t sit because… Well… Those bruises and bite marks you didn’t see?”

“No. Way.”

“Yes way. I think I have an imprint of one of his hands on my right cheek. It still stings a lot.”

“I’m tempted to drag you into the shower room, just to have a look.” Shepard joked.

“Oh my! Is that an invitation, Skipper? I show you mine, you show me yours?” the brunette joked back with a mischievous grin.

“No! I mean.. No. I was just curious. I mean… I wanted to see…” 

Ashley’s words threw her out of the loop so hard she didn’t know what to say anymore without appearing as interested in the brunette. While she had some solid experiences with sex she never had one with a woman. Not that she was adverse to it, it just never crossed her mind. Wanting to divert the conversation a bit she asked something else she was interested in?

“So you like pain?”

“Changing subject? Too bad, I wouldn’t have minded trying you out, skipper. Otherwise, no I don’t like pain, not in the least. I mean, I like it rough, yes but not painful. It’s just… Rick has such an effect on me… Like I said, when both pleasure and pain mix I can’t tell the difference and I like it a lot.”

“I see. Did you get up to anything else then?”

“You’re surprisingly interested in my sex life, skipper. Or is it Rick’s?”

“Yours! I mean… you’re the one having the time of your life while I get jack squat. Is it wrong of me to live through your sex life?”

“Not at all. Enjoy it all you want.”

“Thank you. For a second there I was scared you’d stop sharing.”

“I know how that feels and I don’t wish for any girls out there to experience it, so if i can help with it, I will. That reminds me, I brought you a gift.”

“A gift? What gift?” Shepard asked, curious.

“If I tell you that would spoil the surprise. I’ll leave it in your cabin later. Now is story time.”

From then on, until most of the crew joined the ship. Ashley shared her recent days and nights of sex with a very thirsty redhead.

____________________________________________________________

Rick had spent some time with Liara as a support for what she was going through. The young asari, after talking to her mother, was hopeful for her recovery. It would take time for her to change the indoctrination message and more time for it to take effect but she was hopeful. It just saddened her to see her mother sedated on a med-bed even if she knew it was for the best.

That’s why Rick took it upon himself to occupy her mind with something else. He had sent her historical and cultural stories, like he had promised, so they could watch some movies together. Liara enjoyed it a lot and was very knowledgeable about human culture as a result, as she went beyond what he gave her. It would be useful for her as tonight was the night they would watch the first movie he told her about.

He let her choose between the Indiana Jones series, more focused on the adventure and action and with not much technology and the National treasure series more historically oriented with more technology involved. She chose the former and Rick started Raiders of the lost ark.

For nearly two hours Liara had her eyes glued to the screen, sometimes commenting on the absurdity of what was happening, sometimes cheering, sometimes being disgusted. He loved every single one of her reactions which he found rather cute.

“I can understand why children would be suddenly interested in archeology.” she said with a big smile on her face.

“The excitement, the adventure, the quest…And the music! Everything to make a child dream. Had I seen a movie like that in my youth, I don’t think my mother could have stopped me from running away to experience my first expedition.” she said, making Rick laugh at the idea.

“A bullwhip at your hip with a fedora on your head I presume?”

“Probably.” She giggled. “Though, the reality is vastly different.”

“I imagine. The context of the movie is vastly different after all.”

“True. those… Nazis?” she wondered to which Rick acquiesced with a nod.

“Those Nazis, too unbelievable. I mean a whole army after an artifact? A mercenary company perhaps but an army? And it’s less about searching everywhere and more about studying texts. There is nowhere as much excitement in the life of an archaeologist.”

“Does that mean you don’t want to watch the sequels?” he teased.

“Now, let’s not get ahead of ourselves here!” She replied with all the seriousness she could muster.

“Should I start the second movie then, Dr. T’soni?” He knew he had her hooked.

“Proceed.” she said in a fake and haughty tone.

____________________________________________________________

“So what is your idea about a new cooling system?” Tali asked, wearing the dark purple cape Rick had bought her. He had also bought her a poncho of a dark brown color and she loved both. She didn’t understand why humans didn’t wear those anymore, it was quite pretty and useful as it had plenty of pockets.

“Not a new cooling system. A new system to deal with the heat production.”

“Isn’t it the same thing?”

“No. A cooling system cools down. My idea is not to cool but to deal with the heat, to take it out of the equation.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Unlimited shots sound good on paper but in reality the drawback is too heavy. How long, for a weapon to cool down?”

“I don’t know… More than a couple seconds at least. It depends on the weapon, really. A sniper rifle would take the longest.”

“Exactly! Precious seconds that could mean life or death and you’re defenseless in the meantime. I know from experience that my life would be in less danger if my shotgun would not overheat so fast when I do a biotic charge in the middle of an enemy group. So my idea is to do away with the cooling. Go back to a less advanced technology to go further from there.”

“Less advanced… You’re talking about ammunition?” Tali said in realization.

“No. The projectiles system is perfect the way it is with the mass effect. What I’m thinking about is dumping the heat into something, like a container, that can be changed in an instant and let the used container cool down by itself while we continue to fire. Perhaps even build something small and portable that could accelerate the cooling down. No more wait and less inactivity for the user, furthermore that would improve the fire rate by a lot.”

“So ammunition then.”

“It’s not ammunition, it doesn’t contain any projectiles.”

“Ammunition.”

“It’s not.”

“Ammu. Nition.”

“Fine! Yes! Ammunition! Happy? Can we begin to work now?” He said in exasperation letting Tali laugh at his expense.

“Yes, we can. I have to say, the idea has merit but there are big problems with it. We need to design a new type of weapon for one and we need to create that heat sink for two.”

“Heat sink… I like that term.”

“We’re not naming it that.” She said in a stern voice.

“We can name it later, let’s build it first. Any idea where to begin?”

“Yes. Copper and Aluminium. They have the highest thermal conductivity.”

____________________________________________________________

It was late on the ship’s internal clock and Shepard went to her quarters where she met Tali and Rick working on what seems like a new project.

“Shepard? Do you need the room?” asked the quarian in surprise.

“Yes, I would like to sleep. Did you not see the time?”

“Keelah! We’re sorry!” replied Tali looking at her omni-tool to see the time.

“Time flies when you’re having fun.” Rick commented.

“How long have you two been here?”

“Since this morning! We missed lunch!” Tali exclaimed.

“What are you working on that you are so focused that you forgot to eat?”

“Heat sink!”

“For the last time, we’re not calling it that!”

“Heat sink?”

“A new cooling down system.” Tali clarified.

“The one you talked Admiral Hackett about?”

“The very one, yes.”

“Scientists all around the galaxy have been working on it for years. Some species, far longer than others. Are you sure your idea has not already been thought of?”

“Quite sure.” Rick replied in a smug tone.

“Well good luck with it. Now if you don’t mind.”

“Oh! Of course! Sorry, we’re leaving.” Tali said, dragging Rick through the door with her.

Now alone, she began to undress when she saw a box on her desk. Curious, she stopped what she was doing and walked towards it to know what it was. She took it in her hands and read the small notes left on the lid.

“While it’s not as good as the real thing it does the job.”

That must be Ash’s gift.

Opening the box, his content shocked her so much she froze and let the box fall on the floor. Her face, becoming as red as her hair. Her eyes fixed on it, she was at loss about what to do. She hasn’t expected that from the Gunnery Chief though in retrospect she perhaps should have. Making up her mind she crouched down and tentatively reached for the object with her hand. Picking it up, she had a better view of the huge blue dildo.

Not as good as the real thing? Does she mean that…

She stopped her thought right there and put it back into the box before closing it. She wasn’t about to use that thing. There was no way. Ashley’s gift came from the right place but she clearly didn’t think of the technical possibility for her to use it. 

It would never fit

She went to bed, box in hand.

____________________________________________________________

“... Making Virmire impossible to colonize.”

“Huh-huh.”

“Then I choked Ashley on my cock…”

“Huh-huh.”

“While Liara was giving her the rimming of her life…”

“ Yeah.”

“And Tali was recording everything while using a new upgrade she put in her suit making certain parts of her body vibrate.”

“I see…”

Having enough of this, Rick slapped the table hard making Shepard jump in surprise.

“What the hell?!”

“What’s wrong with you? You’ve been out of it for most of my report.”

“What report?”

“Virmire!”

“Oh!” She replied, quite embarrassed.

“You know what? Never mind, come find me once you’ve pulled your head out of your ass.” he said standing up and left obviously angry.

Now, more than embarrassed, she was ashamed. Rick was giving her everything he found and she was being so unprofessional. She wasn’t listening one bit, too preoccupied by other thoughts. Notably by what she did the previous night before going to sleep. Ashley had been right on all points. It took time to get used to it and it did the job, very well at that. She still wanted another round but that part of her body was currently taping out. That led her to linger on the first words on the note and wondered if that part was true too.

I can’t go on like this! It’s even worse than the first time Ashley told me about her and Rick or the time I saw his… I need help.

Standing up from her chair she exited her quarters and went to the cargo bay to speak with Ashley, wincing a bit as she walked. Out of the elevator, she went straight to the brunette who had noticed her and had a knowing grin on her lips. That made Shepard blush in embarrassment but she still went with it.

“Skipper! What can I do for you?”

“I need your help.”

“With what?”

“Eeeehhh….”