"To summarize, it was a disaster", Hackett finished his speech, and Ashley shyly looked at her own feet, remembering her debut stream. She didn't even manage to remove a single piece of clothing and they already had to turn it off when she lost her temper after a troll comment.
They were sitting in the office on the top floor of the Alliance News Network building; from the big window, Ash could see a beautiful panorama of the Citadel Presidium. The room was huge and luxurious, but given that it belonged to one of the best journalists in the galaxy, it wasn't anything unexpected.
"Oh, Admiral, Admiral." The woman they were speaking to relaxed in her chair. She just oozed confidence, and her sharp make-up and figure-fitting dress only emphasized it. "And here I was, thinking we're friends. You should come to me
before
, not
after
it happened."
Unexpectedly, Hackett didn't call her out on the unrespectful tone. Apparently, she was either too big a fish for him to scold, or he did genuinely feel he deserved that. Or both.
"But I'll help, of course I'll help." The woman continued. "After all, we're friends. And friends help each other. For example, the second famous - or should I say notorious? - Commander Shepard leaves detention, one friend would set his friend with him for the interview."
"You know your friend can't do that", Hackett opposed. "Shepard's the Spectre, they're not under anyone's command but the Council's. However - for example of course - one friend could tell the other when the commander leaves detention. After all, the other friend is too good at her job to not be able to secure the interview herself."
"Deal." For the journalist, it was apparently good enough. She shifted her attention to Ashley and to her own surprise, the soldier felt her cheeks reddening. "So here's your disaster. Yeah, I can work with that. First of all, we had to do something with her hair and make-up, and then we shall see."
She stood up and came out from behind her desk, and Ashley did the same. The soldier could now see that the woman was shorter than her, but her heels added so much to her height that they were almost equal.
"I'm looking forward to working with you." The officer extended her hand. "I'm Ashley. Ashley Williams."
The woman took her hand, her grip strong, as confident as her whole posture.
"Diana. Diana Allers."
A few months later and a week after Ashley's last stream, the same two women were now in her apartment in the Alliance complex, small-talking and giggling like the friends they had become. Under Diana's harsh and professional demeanor, the journalist turned out to be a very sweet person, and it took only a handful of meetings for them to hit it off.
"You know", Ashley said, correcting lights and cameras. "I was quite surprised with your request to join me. You worked on me for some time and it never came up before."
"Believe me, I was as surprised as you were." Diana responded, checking some equipment herself. "I didn't ever suspect I'd be up to something like that. But watching your streams, how much fun you had, and how sexy you are... I wanted to try it myself."
"Sooo..." Ashley continued when both moved to the spot they should be in for the show. "You think I'm sexy?" Several months ago the soldier wouldn't know how to react to such a compliment, but Battle Tits did wonders for her self-confidence.
"Yeah." Diana confirmed, her voice trailing off the bit. She affectionately touched Ashley's arm. "I'm really proud of what you became under my guidance."
The room fell silent, and the women looked at each other closely. They were sitting very near to each other, wearing sexy attires for the show, and their eyes sparkled with excitement.
Slowly they both moved toward each other, closing the distance between their faces. Now they could feel each other's breaths on their cheeks, their lips almost touched...
"We... we should leave it for the show." Ashley awkwardly looked away.
"Yeah, probably", Diana agreed and an uncomfortable silence fell between them.
Only to be broken by an alarm a few seconds later.
"Oh, the time has come!" Ashley announced, smiling honestly, feeling a familiar surge of excitement. "Ready?"
Diana nodded, although she didn't look as confident as her friend. (Ah, how the dynamics changed!)
Williams pushed a key on her omni-tool and they were on!
"Hello, Battle Titters!", she greeted her audience with a wide grin. "For those who don't know me yet, my name is Ashley Williams - you can call me Ash - and I'm an Alliance soldier. My show is sponsored by the Alliance, and all funds I collect go directly to our boys and girls in blue."
"Today's stream is full of surprises and I'm really excited for all of them", she continued after a quick break that allowed her viewers to pass their own greetings on the chat. For now, the camera framed her face only to not reveal those surprises too soon.
"First of all, today's show partner is the Magic Sex company. They make technically advanced toys for all species and genders, which allow greater experiences for you and your partner whoever you are." When she said that, a logo of the company appeared on the feed next to the Alliance emblem. "For a month from now, when you buy something in their store, make sure to pass the code AshMWilliams for a 10% price reduction!"
The announcement however caused mixed reactions. Some expressed gratitude for the reduction code, but others made note of the usually high prize of Magic Sex products. For Ashley though, it was irrelevant - that was a paid advertisement, not her personal opinion.
"We'll return to Magic Sex later, but for now, my second surprise for you," Ashley continued. "I'm in the pool! How cool is that?"
When she zoomed out, the viewers saw that Williams set the inflatable pool in her living room, and filled it with bubbled water. She also dressed accordingly, wearing a blue skimpy bikini with the Alliance emblems on the top and bottom parts.
Compared to the reaction to the partnership, this caused much pleasant and almost exclusively positive feedback, including some people already tipping. "So cool!", "I've been waiting for this!", "Lovely bikini - can I buy one in the Alliance store?". Other people asked if it was okay and safe to set up a pool in the apartment.
"Thanks for all the compliments! Yes, you can buy this bikini at the Alliance store, the link's in my profile. Don't worry, I spoke with the building's owners and they let me do this." Ashley quickly addressed the most common comments.
"And finally, the third and the most important surprise: today, I'm not alone!" William's grin became even bigger. "I present to you my dearest friend and mentor, Diana Allers! Please welcome her warmly!"