Three fingers, my fingers, clamped hard around the sparkling shot glass, sending a few drops of bright green liquid towards the floor. My mandibles flexed; I'd have to pay for that sometime. But considering what I'd just survived, that was the very least of my problems. The fresh scar over what a human would call my mouth was tingling sharply. 

"You'll have to pay for that, ma'am." The friendly batarian running the bar wasn't being rude, just reminding me.

"I know." My low, echoey voice let out. "I'm sorry, too, by the way. Just remembering some stuff." I shrugged and handed him ten credits. "That cover it?"

"Yeah." He smiled and took the glowing coin-like items out of the palm of my hand. I didn't understand how Batarians and Humans operated with five fingers. What were the extra two for?

I stared at the floor after that. Every now and then I'd drink a little from my shot glass, but I never finished it. In fact, I was happy I had an extra ten credits in my pocket, because when one certain human walked in the door to Afterlife, I dropped the damn thing.

"Commander... Shepard? In Afterlife?" I hissed. Around me, the various species began to cheer for her. Behind her followed an Asari and a Turian. Garrus and Liara. I'd heard of them.

"Are you Varyn?" She approached me out of everyone oin the bar, and I instantly became nervous.

"Y-yes, ma'am!" I shuddered. "Yep, that's me."

"How would you like to run with the crew of the Normandy?" Had my translator just glitched? Did she say that right?

"W-what?" I shuddered, mandibles flexing.

"Shepard, you do realize you're talking to a female of my species? Be more specific." Garrus muttered, glancing at me a couple times.

"I need you for a mission, Varyn. So I'd love to have you on the Normandy." She rephrased.

I couldn't believe what the red-head was saying, but I wasn't going to turn down the first Human spectre. "Yes, ma'am, I would love to join your crew."

"Then come on, we don't have time to waiste." Her commandeering voice told me, motioning me to follow.

I threw the credits for the shot glass behind me and never looked back, moving towards the Normandy as fast as my two toes would let me. Little did I know I'd come to love a certain little human more then the rest of the crew, or that I would be friends with everyone on that ship. 

But if I looked back at it now, 

I wouldn't regret a thing.