Observations: Payback

By this point, Primarch Adrien Victus was comfortable in the common areas of the crew deck. He needed a break from the war and the krogan within the war room, but it was nice to see the human crew bustling about their duties. Of course, the Normandy herself reminded Victus of a turian warship but that was somewhat expected.

This morning, he sat at the mess table just as the human crew began to emerge for breakfast. He was already prepped with his datapad and a steaming mug of something Vakarian referred to as "Gardner's Surprise," which Victus soon learned learned was slang for some bitter tasting dextro protein drink. The humans came and left quickly and just as he was toying with dragging himself to the war room and facing the krogan, among other adversaries that day, the Commander and her Specialist sat down at the table.

The Commander greeted him warmly, as usual, and quickly refocused her attention to the Specialist. Victus looked down at his half finished drink. Ah well, he should probably finish it anyway.

"Thanks for letting me have that mascara, Traynor. I'm going to pick some more up the next time I'm on the Citadel and I'll grab an extra for you," the Commander said.

"No problem, I'm just surprised you didn't have extras." the Specialist quipped. "I always have at least five backups of all my favorite makeup."

Victus looked up at the pause in conversation to see the Commander's eyebrows raised. "Uh… yeah. I typically carry one extra just in case but mascara usually lasts forever and I forgot that I was running out last time I had the chance to get more."

Their conversation continued on about trivial human female things, but Victus didn't pay attention. He noted the colored markings around both female's eyes, cheeks, and lips. He noticed the light colors around the Commander's eyes and the darker hues around the Specialist's. He had noted it amongst other human females on this ship, and it seemed odd to indulge in a ritual with no purpose. They were not marking themselves for any family or mate, so why bother?

Taking a chance, Victus cleared his throat. "Excuse me, Commander, Specialist, I have to inquire about your odd… face coloring."

"Makeup?" The Commander asked skeptically.

"Yes," he replied. "What is it's function?"

The two women glanced at each other before looking back at him. "Uh, well, for one it accentuates our natural features, like highlighting our eye color or adding color to our cheeks," the Specialist said slowly. "You know, so we don't look pale and sickly," she added quickly. He didn't really know what she meant by pale and sickly, but he was still unimpressed.

"Some women just like it. It's also a means of attracting a partner. By highlighting our natural features we're supposed to look…" the Commander looked over at the Specialist for assistance.

"Pretty," the other woman finished. "Attractive."

Victus frowned. "Thank you, Commander, Specialist but I must admit I find your human female rituals rather illogical and pointless."

The Specialist's mouth dropped and hung open, her eyes wide, while the Commander stared at him with her brows knitted together. Perhaps he overstepped his bounds. Victus intended to apologize for his remarks but paused when the Commander's expression changed. Her eyes glinted at him mischeviously and her mouth curved into a look that typically turned Vakarian into a bumbling mess.

"Why, Primarch, you're starting to sound like Wrex. I think he's rubbing off on you."

Immediately Victus leered forward, a low growl coming from within him. "I am nothing like that krogan!" He stated in a low, threatening voice. How dare she compare him to that annoying brute?!

But the Commander was not intimidated in the least bit, evident by her hearty laughter. Victus returned to his datapad but he was going to find some way to- oh. Well, this would work out perfectly.

"Commander? I have one last question," Victus stated. "Do human females typically wear blue makeup?"

"Blue?" She looked him skeptically but continued, "Sometimes. It's a hard color to wear because it's so bright and well… bold. I typically don't."

"Me neither, I think it's gaudy," the Specialist added.

"Oh, what a shame, Commander," Victus sighed dramatically. His eyes traveled down the long hallway that led to the main guns before turning to his data pad. "You would look so nice in blue face paint."

Out of the corner of his eye he saw her frown. "You mean makeup?"

"No, Commander, I meant what I said," Victus responded. And it was at that, sweet, glorious, triumphant moment that Lt Colonel Garrus Vakarian pulled up a chair and sat down.

"Morning, Shepard, Traynor," he greeted casually. Victus looked up and couldn't help but smirk. The Commander's eyes were fixated on Vakarian's colony markings and the Specialist's mouth was hanging open again.

Vakarian looked confused, glancing between both women before he coughed awkwardly. "Um, I know the paint is fresh. It's not dripping anywhere is it?"

There was a long pause before the Specialist blurted, "Why are you wearing paint?"

Vakarian looked insulted, his platelets fluttering irritably. "These are my colony markings, they designate my family heritage. All males and females of my clan bear these markings. Any females mated to a member of the clan take them as well."

There was a pause just long enough for the Commander's green eyes to turn wide and her face to flush almost as bright as her hair, before the Specialist gasped loudly. "Oh. My. God."

Immediately, the Commander stood and snapped, "Traynor, on me, now!" But the Specialist was too shocked as she blatantly looked at Vakarian and then the Commander. "Oh my God! I- Oh my-"

Before the Specialist could say another word, the Commander grabbed her by the arm and practically dragged her out of the chair and around the corner to the elevator.

Victus finally let out a laugh. Ah, that was perfect.

"Um, Sir? What exactly did I miss?" Vakarian asked nervously.

"Payback."

Happy Andromeda-eve! I hope you all liked this one! This vignette was actually one of the first ones I wrote so I'm glad to finally see it posted. For some reason, I can totally see Traynor having a weird habit like stocking up unnecessarily on her favorite items. I have 4 more vignettes planned for the story, and hopefully now that things are winding down on my thesis I'll be able to get more writing in. Spoils of War is my priority since it's more involved, but I'm sure as I play Andromeda I'll get re-inspired for Mass Effect. Thanks to all my reviews, favorites, and readers!