A series of grunts echoed throughout the chamber of the cargo bay as two participants fought to submission. The sounds of thuds and smacks of flesh against scaled flesh were continuous as human and turian fought for a grip on the other. When one figured they'd had the other locked, the other would counter the move and return the favor. This endless exchange lasted for minutes before a bell rang and both participants froze in place, chests heaving and mouths panting from exhaustion.

Shepard grinned at his turian counterpart who waited to catch his breath before asking, "What?" The human gestured to the floor. Looking down, the turians brows deepend with dissatisfaction as he found his leg had been hooked during their practice. Had the bell not sounded, he'd of lost, or if lucky enough, could have narrowly evaded a quick end to the match. If 'lucky' enough. He chuckled lightly before looking up again. "Getting better and better."

Carefully separating themselves, the companions staggered their way to a make-shift bench, settling themselves in their respective seats before taking out what drinks they sported. Opening his water, the commander took a swig of his water before splashing a fraction of it on his hair and back. He sighed with satisfaction before involuntarily spasming from the cold. Turning to the turian, whose gaze questioned his actions, the commander ran a hand through his short hair with a sigh of contentment. Days as pleasant as this were a rarity.

"Commander," If only those days could remain as such. ".. you have a message from the admiral." Looking at the turian, who gestured the elevator behind them with a shrug, Shepard let out a sigh before getting up and retrieving a shirt. "I'll be up shortly.", "Rematch in thirty." Garrus shouted after him. The commander gestured back, waving a hand as he stepped in the elevator and momentarily began his ascension to the CIC.

Briefly taking time to check his omni-tool, Shepard spent the rest of his time attempting to relax his muscles, slightly sore from nearly an hour of non-stop grappling with the turian. Garrus' time in the military certainly did teach him how to effectively counter. One more match however and the commander was certain he'd have him in a submissive hold. With the elevator doors opening, the commander didn't hesitate to step out and make his way directly to his terminal.

Ignoring the few gazes his attire brought him, Shepard opened the recent message and read its contents carefully. His brows slowly furrowed as he read through it again, mouth wordlessly moving with a few choice words. Nearly three minutes passed before he stood up again and silently thought to himself. Taking a deep breath, he called out to the pilot. "Joker.", "We have a comm system commander.", "Get Tali up here, now. I need to talk to her." Taking a glance at his terminal for a brief moment, he added, "And tell Garrus our rematch will have to wait."

/

Kasumi tried hard not to let it show, but a smile slowly formed on her lips and soon it broadened wide enough for any to see. "You did 'that'?" she asked in amusement. Sitting near her, just as cross-legged as the hired thief, Tali nodded in confirmation, if somewhat embarrassed. The thief sat silently for a minute before her smile began breaking, followed by an involuntary snort and eventually bursting out in laughter. The young quarian only ducked her head, but a smile formed beneath the helmet. "W-Wow. I never expected that from you of all people." Kasumi finally replied. "Well, I had to make a point." Tali found herself saying. Kasumi's smile broadened. Once more with suppressed laughter, she quips, "Must be a quarian thing. Never thought your kind of being so territorial. Its almost animalistic."

Tali rose to reply but was interrupted as EDI's hologram projected nod far over her shoulder. "Engineer Tali'Zorah. The commander requests your presence on the second deck." It took a second for the AI's words to reach her. Without stalling, she stood and patted her thighs. "Sorry. Looks like he needs me.", "Wouldn't be the first time." Tali shook her head. Kasumi offered a smile and nodded. "Dont worry, couldn't be anything bad. Psst, we'll talk later okay? I want all the details.", "You're the one who suggested I make a bold move somewhere where she'll be forced to remember.", "Commander needs you." Kasumi shooed her away with a hand. The engineer shook her head again and stepped out of the room and on to the elevator.

Standing patiently as she ascended to the second deck, she recalled everything that'd happened in the last week and felt more comfortable than she'd ever recently been. Even with the possibility of going behind her back and having an affair with Iya, he chose to reveal the information to her honestly and express just how much he'd always keep her in his heart. It made her smile, just how honest he'd been and how hard he tried keeping them together. She really meant a lot to him...

Looking up and bouncing on her toes once, Tali impatiently waited for the doors to open, and once they did, she stepped out briskly. Shepard had his back turned to her, talking to someone, and the thought of sneaking up on him and wrapping herself around him immediately came to mind, but with a shift of his head, she noticed something was wrong. Eventually she found out just what it was, and with a slowly dying pace, came to stare at the commander at his new companion. noticing her, Shepard turned around and prepared to talk, but a figure soon came from behind him and had him wrapped in its embrace. With a look that was just as smug as her own once and a smile just the same, the red-visored newcomers words were as malicious as was the intent of her being there.

"Tali. How good to see you."

To set about our paces...