Shore Leave: Mass Effect One Shots

Shore Leave

"I don't know about this."

After weeks of fighting off Kett, Roekaar, Remnant tech, and whatever else in the galaxy was trying to kill her, it was the steaming water that had Ryder on edge.

"What's the matter, Pathfinder? Worried we'll all laugh at your bathing suit?" Liam chuckled, already submerged partially into this wild idea of his. He was shirtless, which seemed to be a pattern for the man (not that she intended to file a formal complaint against him), and not a half-dead, human popsicle despite all evidence to the contrary.

On the frozen world of Voeld, this should be impossible. Even with the heaters stacked a dozen together cranked up on high, they should all be transforming into fillet of mystery meat steaks found at the back of the freezer. "SAM?" Ryder called out, tenderly reaching her sandaled toe towards what looked like steam rising off the surface, "What temperature is the water?"

"It is 32˚ Centigrade, Pathfinder."

"See," Liam waved his hands through the water, "perfect temperature, perfect water, perfect view." He twisted his head around to gaze at the snowy hills, winds battering the never ending cold back and forth. It wasn't as bad as it had been when they first arrived courtesy of their team and the Remnant vaults, but Voeld wasn't a world you wanted to run around naked on.

"Move yer backsides!" a voice screamed from the door hatch of the Tempest as a blue blur dashed from the freezing cold into the protected bubble. Peebee tucked her knees up high to her chest and then leapt straight on into the water. When she struck, giggling like mad, a great wave splattered against Ryder's robe, warmer than anything she could ever get out of a shower on the ship or the Nexus.

"Whoa!" Liam laughed, "perfect cannonball!"

"Cannon what now?" Peebee asked, rising from the not-icy depths and shaking the water out of her ears. She tipped her head back, as if attempting to free any water that might have gotten trapped between her head tentacles.

"What you did, we call it a cannonball," Liam explained needlessly.

"Asari refer to it as a tea'na," Cora stepped out to join them. "It's a reference to the biotic term for a shockwave." Clutched in her arms was a folded up chair, which she managed to set up with a singe flick of her wrist and placed into the snow.

"Come on, aren't you going to join in on this lovely manmade hot spring?" Liam all but begged her. He'd been planning this for days, scrounging in secret with his contacts on both Aya and Kadara. The fact only Peebee, who'd probably ride a remnant Architect if someone put the idea in her head, took him up on it was clearly chaffing him.

"Nope." Smiling wide, Cora tugged off her robe to reveal what almost looked like a second skin grafted over top of hers, it was so tight. Bright blue with fashionable dots of pink and purple, it reached from her neck down to her thighs. What really made the suit stand out were the diagonal cuts across the hips, the stomach, and an x over the chest. It was hard for Ryder to say if in general the outfit covered or exposed more skin.

Peebee turned away from the horizon to snicker, "Shock of shocks, it's an Asari water suit. I'm amazed you don't paint your skin blue and insist we all call you Cornezhia, or something."

"That is..." Cora stopped in laying back on the deck chair to jerk a finger at Peebee. "I would never do something so disrespectful to the Asari."

"Right, because it might be fun and horror of horrors you'd never want to do that. Could get a terrible rash from enjoying yourself," Peebee laughed before submerging back into the water.

Their doctor stepped down out of the ship, a towel tossed over her shoulder, but she was dressed in her usual scrubs. "I see Peebee is up to her usual tricks. Liam, no signs of hypothermia, yet?"