He watched openly as she tugged her shirt up, admiring her toned body for the second time that day. She hadn't been joking at all--it really was relatively common practice to strip down in front of one another on this crew. He glanced at B, but the salarian was staring dead-eyed at Cole, salivating just enough that it made his chin glisten a bit, and the soldier quickly looked back at his commander's body. Of the two it was the much less disturbing sight. He was glad to put the strange little room behind them, though, and glanced at her when she mentioned exploring the Citadel.<br/><br/>"Only time I was ever on the Citadel was during the fight, ma'am," he said quietly. "Before that I was in the N7 program for about four years, went in after Torfan. And even before that, I'd only been basic Alliance military, so it was just Alliance space and colonies for me. Nah, all this alien shit was... definitely not on the list. Except maybe occasionally killing them." He smirked faintly. "But you already know all of that, don't you? Even though my time at ICT is a sealed top-secret clearance file, I bet you know every detail of what I did there."<br/><br/>They stepped into the elevator, and he lapsed into silence to listen to her speak. He closed his hands over the rail on the doors in front of them, looking out through the glass as they flew past buildings and ships, the Serpent Nebula without as bright as it had ever been. He listened in silence, then turned back to face her, his eyes on hers as he seriously considered her words and what they meant. "Your pilot is maybe eighteen, at best. The ship is brand new. The drell, Talyet, struck me as very sad. Calypso seems careless, but I suppose when you make it the seven centuries it takes to get to Matriarch, what really bothers you anymore?" He nodded slowly. "I'm a replacement. Because the guy before me died. I understand the risks involved here, Commander. I just hope I make you proud before we gotta ship in<i>my</i>replacement."<br/><br/>The elevator doors opened, and his ears began to hum and pulse in time with a beat that made the floor itself vibrate. Krogan, turian, salarian, asari, human, volus, elcor, even a couple of close-kept hanar--Purgatory was a place for anyone to visit, so long as they knew how. Even the name felt right. What was the crew of the Anzio, if not the lost and damned? Those between heaven and hell? He grinned at the poetic, grim nature of it all. He turned to her when she asked, her voice almost lost to the pulsing, thudding music, and he even went so far as to laugh.<br/><br/>"Shit, Amari, after tonight I'll tell you."