Ok So here's the first chapter of Fit to try. This story takes place about two years after Fit to Burst. For all of the readers who liked my first story, I really hope you like this one too. I know the whole Spectre training thing isn't very original but bear with me.
It was troublesome, but it was one of his many duties as a Spectre. Every few years Saren was required to take on a student and teach them the skills they would need to make good Spectres themselves. At the end of their training, if Saren deemed them worthy of the title, the council would consider adding them to the ranks of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance team. The last student that Saren had been in charge of had been Nihlus. From the beginning, the young turian had seemed to be a promising candidate and when Saren gave him a chance to prove himself; he preformed beyond expectations. A good word from Saren was all it had taken for Nihlus to be accepted as a fully fledged Spectre. Now Saren had to report to the Citadel to pick out his next pupil.
As soon as he had docked his ship, he was off; walking briskly to the elevator that would take him to the embassies. When the doors opened, he headed straight to the council's meeting area. The only being present was the Asari Councilor. She glanced up at him before turning her attention back to whatever she was working on.
"Spectre Arterius, you're early. The students were told to gather here at 1200. I'm afraid you'll have to wait until then."
He didn't bother to reply but headed back to the elevator, taking it down to the presidium. He had an hour to wait and he might as well eat something. He passed by shops selling all kinds of merchandise, purchasing a few weapon mods that caught his eye. The presidium markets did not often have anything of use to him but every once in a while, he would find something worth the credits. He finally reached the area of the Citadel that had all of the best restaurants. He picked one at random and entered. There weren't many customers but that didn't matter to him. He scanned the room; a turian was sitting in the far corner with his arm around his Asari companion. She looked like she would rather bathe in acid than be stuck with him for another moment. There were also a couple more Turians and Asari and even a few Salarians as well. There was only one human; a young woman with long blonde hair. Saren couldn't see her face from his current position but he was positive that it was her.
Cira.
She hadn't noticed him yet and he wanted to keep it that way. He picked a table that was mostly covered in shadow. When the waitress came up to him, he quickly ordered the first item off of the menu and sent her on her way. She returned a few minutes later with his meal and he absently began eating while studying Cira.
She seemed tired, physically and mentally. She had her head resting in her hand and was staring blankly out the window. A plate of something that Saren recognized as Salarian food, sat untouched before her. She didn't look any thinner than she had the last time he had seen her meaning she had been eating normally so why wasn't she eating now? Nervous maybe; of what? It was obvious that the last two years hadn't been kind to her. Had she gotten into some kind of trouble? Saren had the urge to go over and ask her but he kept himself seated. It was probably better for her not to know that he was here. He finished the rest of his meal quickly, leaving the money on the table before exiting the restaurant.
He spent the last 30 minutes sitting on a bench in the embassies pretending to read a data pad, when really, his mind was trying to find an explanation for Cira's current state. She was more than just tired. She had looked crestfallen and, for reasons that eluded him, he wanted to know why. By the 1200, he had come up with over a thousand theories but he would never know for sure unless he just asked her. But right now he had to go pick a student. When he reached the meeting place, he saw that the trainees were being lined up along a wall. There were twelve pupils to choose from but only six Spectres got to pick. It was the council's way of getting only the most skilled Spectres. If a student wasn't picked, than they weren't worth the time it would take to train them; at least that was the idea. Only two other Spectres were present. They were already going over the students' files. They contained everything the Spectres would need to know to properly train their pupils. Saren preferred to look at the students first.
He scanned the line slowly. There were Turians and Asari mostly, but a few Salarians were there as well. There was only one human. The same human he had observed only an hour ago. The same blonde hair and sad blue eyes. She noticed him then, those sapphire orbs locking onto him with an intense concentration. He felt himself being drawn in against his will. The urge to wrap his arms around her and comfort her overwhelmed him. He stepped toward her, unable to tear his gaze away. Cira just kept staring at him, not moving at all; so unnaturally still…
Saren blinked. Glancing around himself, he realized that he hadn't actually moved. He examined Cira again. She wasn't looking at him anymore and he wasn't sure if she really had noticed him. She was staring straight ahead, not really seeing anything and her eyes were brown again. What was that?
He pushed the incident to the back of his mind. Maybe he would ask Cira if she knew anything about it. He stepped up to the line of students and examined them one by one. They all stayed perfectly still like trained Varren. None of them stood out like Nihlus had. Finally he reached Cira. She glanced up at him quickly; allowing herself a small smirk then wiped her face clean of emotion and resumed staring at the opposite wall. She was dying to make some sarcastic remark, just to upset Saren. She could use a little fun but she had to behave for now. Saren picked up his copy of the student files and began to read through them. Like before, nothing really stood out and there was only one thing in Cira's file that he didn't already know. It was something about her parents going missing when she was fourteen. That didn't matter to him at the moment.
The rest of the Spectres had arrived and had done their own examinations. Now they had to choose which of the students they wanted. If more than one Spectre wanted the same pupil, the council decided who got them. Saren would be the last to pick. By the time it was his turn, there were two Salarians, three Turians, one Asari and Cira left. It was still the popular opinion that Humanity wasn't ready for the responsibility of having a council seat or being given the title of Spectre so no one even wanted to bother with Cira. Saren knew that he shouldn't pick her either. She would probably yell at him later; if she could find him. But there just weren't any other candidates that he wanted to spend time on. He looked over them again.
There were the Salarians. One looked like he would bolt once things got to tough (how he got nominated for the Spectres, Saren had no idea), and the other looked like a typical soldier; ready to follow orders, but not quite ready to lead.
Cira would be better. Don't pick her.
Next was the Asari. She looked a little angry. Probably because no one had picked her yet. Saren guessed that she was probably the type who thought she deserved to be a Spectre. Those kind never turned out good.
Cira would be better but don't pick her.
Then there were the Turians. They would probably be the easiest for Saren to train, but he was never one to take the easy way unless it made sense to.
It does make sense. No one thinks that humanity is ready to be a part of the Spectres so picking a Turian would be better for me.
Since when do you care what others think?
She was so annoying.
Yet you had such inappropriate dreams about her.
I was disgusted by them.
You're just denying your feelings.
I can't let feelings get in the way of making the right decision.
Cira is the right decision, feelings of no feelings.
Don't pick her.
Do pick her.
Shut up.
"Cira."
It took him a moment to realize that it was his own voice he had heard. The other Spectres glanced at him curiously but remained silent. Cira took a step forward so she stood with the five others that had been chosen. The rest were dismissed, leaving the mentors alone to speak with their new pupils. Saren motioned for Cira to follow him to the far side of the room, where the others couldn't hear them.
"It took you forever to choose. For a second I thought you were going to pick someone else." She leaned against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest.
Saren growled at her. "I'll be clear. This will not be like before. You will obey any and all orders I give you. If you act up, I will drop you at the nearest port and you can catch a ride back here. Understand."
She just smirked, stood up straight and began walking away from him.
"Saren, if you wanted someone who would just follow orders, you would have been better off picking one of the Turians."
That was true. Saren had known what he was getting himself into. He sighed as Cira stepped into the elevator and disappeared. Saren was about to go press the call button to bring it back up when he sensed someone behind him. He turned around, and came face to face with the Turian Councilor.
"Spectre Arterius, could I have a moment."
"Yes Councilor?"
"As you know, humanity's situation in this galaxy is…delicate. Most still agree that they are not yet ready to be a part of the Spectres. I don't know why you picked that human woman, but you can't pass her through training. Humans need to learn that they can't talk their way into everything."
Saren scowled at him. "Councilor, as annoying as I find training candidates, it is still something that I take seriously. I will judge Cira based on her skills, not her species. Now if you'll excuse me."
He made his way to the elevator and took it down to the docking bay.
He didn't have to wait long for Cira to show up. She had gone back to her apartment to pack a few things; clothes, food, and prototypes of the latest technology for her to work on when she had time. When she boarded the ship, she went immediately to the cargo bay and rebuilt her living space. There weren't as many crates as there had been before, But Cira was able to push them together to create a little nook where she could work and sleep. As she was doing this, she heard the doors slide open behind her. Saren strode in, eyeing the makeshift bed. He leaned against the wall, right next to the airlock door.
"So, Spectres?"
She climbed onto her bed and sat facing him, a small smile, pulling at the edges of her lips.
"Yep. Not really my thing but apparently Spectres are allowed to access otherwise restricted information. That's the only reason I agreed to this."
"You're looking for something?"
She sighed and glanced around the room as if avoiding meeting his gaze would make him drop the subject. It was a false hope. Saren waited patiently for her to answer.
"I've been looking for information on my parents. They disappeared about five years ago and they haven't been heard from since."
He knew that she didn't want to talk about it and he wasn't really interested in her life story so he didn't push her.
"You need to go through training before you can become a Spectre. Depending on how you perform, I will either pass or fail you. In the end the end, the council decides whether you are worthy of the title; meaning even if I pass you, they can reject you and vice versa."
Cira nodded her understanding but remained quiet so Saren decided to let her be. He left the cargo bay and sat down at the ship's controls to do what he did best; go over the details of the various missions he had to choose from.
"Liam, head to the Brilack Training Facility."
It was a special training ground for Spectres. There were three of these facilities in the galaxy. He would start Cira's training there. He didn't know if she was Spectre material but he was going to find out.
As always, reviews are welcome. If you have any suggestions, you can PM me or leave it in a review. Thanks!