AN: Hello, people of the Mass Effect fanfiction archive! I am your glorious host, BrokenRose99! Alright, enough showboating. So, if you haven't read the summary, (which I hope you did, else you being here would seem rather silly) this is OC centric. That means little to no Shep beyond the briefest of cameos or mentions in passing. All events in this story are set to take place in the same universe as the games, so if you see any little glitches between this and the main timeline/plot majigger, please let me know.

Anywhosit, that's really all I have to say. I want to thank my wondrous beta R3aper for helping me out with this, and I hope you, the reader, enjoy!

Gah! Totally forgot, I don't own Mass Effect, BioWare does!

~Chapter 1: Screwed~

Living on Omega, it was pretty needless to say that Nix had been through some rough shit. Being (fatally) shot on the job, however? That was a new one on her.

It took them a minute to come down and take the package she'd been on her way to deliver. There were three of them, Blue Suns mercs, two humans and a Turian. Their un-helmeted human leader slung the sniper rifle that he'd used to break through Nix's kinetic barrier onto his back before brandishing the stolen cargo in front of her face.

"Not your lucky day girlie," he sneered, kneeling down to look at her eyes. He had a buzzed head and a mean five o'clock shadow. His head was decorated with more than a few scars, and his breath stank worse than Cenobia's.

Nix's response was to spit the blood that had been pooling in her mouth onto his disgusting face. The Turian let out an amused bark of laughter.

The lead merc stood up with a snarl, his face now red with his own anger as well as her spittle. He delivered a swift kick to the courier's already wounded abdomen. Nix acted as if she didn't feel a thing. She turned her head up to the merc, offering a sanguine, blood-stained smile.

The merc cursed her and prepared to kick her again, but then the other human clapped a hand onto his shoulder and shook his head. "No point," he said without emotion.

The leader turned to the Turian, but the alien gave no further commentary. The un-helmeted human gave her another disdainful glare, then angrily stormed away with his lackeys in tow.

With her assailants out of earshot, Nix let out a bitterly amused laugh. She knew she shouldn't have taken the job from that Batarian merchant. At the time however, she had needed the money desperately, and he'd agreed to pay in advance. If she hadn't taken the run, this would have been her last night instead of now. That he would be willing to pay so much in advance should have tipped her off that it would be dangerous.

Nix's laugh degenerated into a coughing fit, which in turn metamorphosed into a desperate battle not to choke on her own blood. After she'd made sure she didn't suffocate, the courier propped herself up against the alleyway wall and probed her marred abdomen. Yep, shot in the stomach with no medi-gel on hand and a limited range of movements that wouldn't kill her faster. Nix was screwed.

Not that death was a big deal to her. Sure, the woman wanted to prolong her life as long as possible, but she didn't have any reason to. Nix was just another street rat human with no familial ties to speak of. The only other living thing she really interacted with was a dog that could feed and take care of itself with or without her intervention.

Nope, dying was no problem at all. Come to think of it, she was pretty tired... Maybe she should close her eyes and die in the sweet nothingness of sleep. Yes, a sound idea, that.

A few moments later she heard the telltale noise of footsteps, no doubt someone who would stop to pat down her warm corpse for creds and any other valuables she might have on her. It didn't matter anyway. She was already losing consciousness. Nix's mind fell into darkness with the memory of Cenobia's soft fur under her fingertips.

...

The courier later woke to find that she was alive, and mildly disappointed about it. Nix was kind of happy, but being resigned to her fate, she was also kind of looking forward to finding out what lurked beyond the veil of life. A missed opportunity, but it had quite the significant silver lining.

It was at this moment that the courier noticed that she wasn't lying on cold, hard, metallic pavement. Instead, Nix lay on what passed for an operating table on Omega, drowsy as hell. The room she was in looked tainted with the typical dirt and grit that seemed to permeate everything, and most likely everyone, on the space station. The edifice was small, barely large enough to house more than two other people besides the one lying on the table. The rest of the space housed a few cabinets filled with medicine and surgical implements of all shapes and sizes.

Soon after she finished her inspection of her current location, tired and confused as she was, Nix concluded she was in the care of one of Omega's many 'doctors'. They weren't really doctors, in fact most were just idiots with limited medical training selling overpriced cosmetic surgery. The only good doctors were claimed by the mercs, or Aria, or anyone else who could afford to pay them a steady wage. Judging from the room, and the fact that Nix was still breathing, this guy was probably in the latter category, which meant she would have to shell out the big bucks if she didn't want more mercs on her ass. No one practiced goodwill here, after all.

Flight crossed Nix's mind. The courier couldn't afford any price the 'good' doctor asked, not to mention the repayment of the person that had brought her here. This in mind, she moved slightly and found that it was difficult. Her stomach was wrapped in a fresh bandage and hurt less, but it was still painful enough to strongly discourage quick movements. She wouldn't be able to escape. The courier was screwed. Again.

Suddenly the sounds of a conversation wafted into the human's ears. She couldn't make out the words, but she could tell that both speakers were men. Curious, Nix turned herself on the table, trying to be quiet as to not alert the talking duo, as well as trying to be gentle on her wound. Eventually she was in a position facing the entrance to the pea-sized room she currently occupied. The woman could just barely make out the words.

"...can't keep pulling this shit Zaith," came a voice that most likely belonged to a human from how smooth it sounded. "My favors are for you only, not random people you find lying in the street."

A Turian, presumably Zaith, answered, "Alley, Bast. I found her in an alley." Oh. They were talking about Nix. The courier was suddenly straining her ears to hear more, fully awake.

"Semantics."

"Anyway, this just means that you owe me one less, why are you complaining?"

"Because you pissed off Daro when you laughed at him earlier, and when he finds out she's still alive, he's going to be livid and shoot the nearest body, which may, or may not be me!"

"What do you want me to do, kiss his boots and say I'm sorry?" the Turian rebutted.

Wait a minute. He laughed? The Turian was the one who laughed. Maybe Nix should be grateful that she'd amused him enough and that he hated his supposed boss enough to help her, but he was a merc. And mercs always want their pay. Not to mention he let her get shot in the first place.

"I just want to know why you decided to save her." Nix was certainly intrigued. Knowing the Turian's ulterior motive might help her get out of paying him back, or at least give her some forewarning.

"I like her," the turian answered.

"You like her?"

He likes me? thought Nix.

"Yeah, I think she's... what's that word you humans use? Cute I think."

Nix was suddenly very perplexed. He was a Turian. And even on Omega, humans and Turians weren't very lovey dovey. If that's what he expected from her in return, he could kiss the courier's ass goodbye. Probably would want to.

There was a slight pause before the human replied to his Turian friend's thoughts. "You're crazy."

"Pretty much."

"So you're using me to get laid?"

The Turian laughed. "Although I would love for that to be the case, she probably won't give me more than a passing thank you in return for my services… and your services too, of course."

Got that right, thought Nix.

"How do you figure that?"

"If you'd seen her get shot, you would know."

"She got a heart of stone?"

"Yup."

"Then she's right up your alley... and that was not meant to be a pun."

She could almost feel the smugness in the returning answer. "You keep telling yourself that."

"I will. …In the meantime, her anesthesia has probably worn off. Wanna go visit your conquest?"

"Don't say it like that..." the Turian said in mock dejection before Nix stopped listening.

Quickly, the courier repositioned herself to the approximate of her original pose and closed her eyes. Something told her they wouldn't appreciate her eavesdropping.

The door opened and the duo stepped inside. "Still asleep?" the human asked.

"Looks like it."

"So wake her up then, I have better things to do than attend every person you drop in my lap for days at a time."

The Turian snorted. "Of course you do," he remarked sarcastically. "That's why you're always home alone. You're just busy. Fine, I brought her here after all."

Nix felt a gloved, three fingered hand shake her arm. She feigned waking up for a few seconds, her eyelids blinking at the 'unfamiliar' surroundings. She was greeted with a turian smirk when she'd finally 'gotten her bearings'. "Good morning."

The Turian was in the standard issue Blue Suns armor, although he had sprayed his own pattern of green and dark blue onto the left shoulder-plate. He was of black coloring and forest green eyes - the kind of color you could only see in old vids. He was bare-faced, but his gaze was less arrogant than the merc leader who shot her. Still, Nix was wary, and turned her head to the room's other occupant.

The human - Bast? - wore the usual doctor attire, a skintight, more stylish form of scrubs. He had semi long brown hair and bangs that hung slightly in his face. He looked insanely tired, his hazel eyes bloodshot with dark bags hanging under them. Bast had a light stubble, probably because he was too busy to shave every three seconds.

"Hello Miss," Bast began in true doctor fashion, "I'm Sebastian Martì, the guy who made sure you didn't bite it," that ending however, was certainly not.
The Turian cut in suddenly, grabbing Nix's attention again. "And I'm Zaith Rangda, the guy who brought you here," he said with a smile.

And the guy who let me get shot, Nix added darkly in her head.
Bast shot Zaith an annoyed look before continuing. "Right... anyway, would you mind telling me your name ma'am?"

The courier made a point of only looking at Bast before answering, albeit after scoffing at his not-so-formal formality. "Nix," she croaked, her voice dry from sleep and years of disuse.

The doctor seemed skeptical of the name Nix had chosen for herself. She had pondered leaving a fake name, but what would be the point? The likelihood of her ever meeting these two again after escaping or paying her debts was slim to none anyway.

"Okay then… 'Nix', I'm sure you're wondering where you are."

"Not really," was her response. A normal person would have freaked out by regaining consciousness in an unfamiliar room filled with unfamiliar people, one of which whom wanted to screw you. But, quite frankly, Nix didn't care where she was, or who was here at the moment. She just wanted to leave.

"Okay…," the doctor gave Zaith a look that said, you're attracted to this? "Well then… I'm positive you don't want to be here any longer than necessary, so how about you let me take a look at your stomach and then you can leave."

Nix nodded cooperatively – this man was intuitive, she'd give him that – and tried to prop herself up, finding herself unable to do so without pain. Zaith tried to help her, but the woman shrugged him off and soldiered her way on her own. After a few more agonizing seconds, Nix was able to put herself into a position that could be construed as sitting. It was good enough for Bast.

The tired looking man gave her bandage a once over before scanning her with his Omni-Tool. "Pretty much just as I thought. You're healing, and a hell of a lot more stable than when Zaith dragged you here a few days ago, but you won't be able to move on your own."

Nix cursed out loud, especially at the word days, and the doctor laughed. "That's just what I was thinking. Luckily for you…" Bast moved up beside Zaith and clapped him on the shoulder, "Mr. Rangda here is a perfect gentleman, and would be happy to escort you." When he finished, the doctor had a Cheshire grin glowing on his face, and Zaith looked like he'd just won the lottery.

The same could not be said for Nix. To say that she was opposed to the idea was a fairly large understatement. However, she was quite certain Bast wasn't going to do anything about her movement aside from proposing Zaith's intervention. Which meant she had no choice. Which meant she was screwed (though hopefully not in that manner) yet again.

Damn it.

Zaith had no such misgivings, and as such moved to help Nix up from her resting place. Due to the room's puny size, this caused Bast to back out of the pseudo medical bay. The merc was surprisingly gentle with her, taking the utmost care not to cause her any more undue harm. Nix chalked this tenderness up to the Turian's odd whim to get into her pants.

Soon enough, the courier was back on her feet, arm slung around Zaith's neck with his resting lightly around her waist. Walking out of the room was rather difficult. Moving in tandem would be quite hard with the difference between Zaith's tall armored form and confidant gait to Nix's comparatively small body and shifty movements. Eventually they were able to make it out of the room, and the courier only winced in agonizing pain three or four times. When the two emerged from the hole, Nix found that she was not in some dodgy merc base, but a simple apartment, albeit a messy one.

"I apologize for my friend's home's state. Bast doesn't get many visitors," Zaith explained to the courier.

Bast, who had been impatiently waiting for them by the door to the med bay/closet, answered with, "I resent that."

"Of course you do."

"Well, I don't normally work from my apartment, so excuse me if I don't feel your compulsive need to keep everything completely sterile."

"But you're a doctor."

"When I come home, I like to leave my work behind me. Now then, if you two would follow me to the door..."

That small amount of banter suddenly had Nix hoping she wouldn't die of an infection or some other ridiculous nonsense after surviving all of this crap. Her doubts were soon pushed to the side by the effort of movement, her stomach catching fire with every tiny misstep.

Bast suddenly stopped in front of them and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Damn, almost forgot…" He circled around the limping duo and returned to the medical hovel. Zaith chuckled lightly at his friend's forgetfulness, but said nothing.

Upon his return, Bast held out an unmarked bottle that rattled, as if it contained pills. "Here, take these," he said, placing the plastic container into her free hand. "They're painkillers, but only take one a day, and don't take any until you've gotten home and locked your door."

Nix couldn't resist asking the obvious question. "Why?"

The doctor sighed. "Well, since you were such a short notice patient," he glared at Zaith, who responded with an innocent look, "I didn't have any time to get more of my regular painkillers. These are the only ones I have left and they have some… hallucinogenic… properties."

The courier gave him a look that clearly asked him if he really expected her to take the pills.

Bast shrugged. "It's your choice whether or not to utilize them, but just realize you're already on a painkiller at the moment, a little side effect from your anesthesia. If you think you feel like crap right now, just wait a few hours and you'll know what pain really feels like."

Nix stared at him. That was really the only response she could think of, not just her preference. Bast ignored her and led them to the door once more.

After some more agony, they arrived at the exit, and Nix was surprised by how desperately thankful she was about leaving this damn apartment that she hadn't even known existed until a few moments ago.

The doctor gave them an appraising look before opening the barrier to the Omegan streets and gesturing outside. "Not that it hasn't been such a great time availing you to my services as a healer, free of charge, but now, if you would please, get the hell out of my house."

Nix said nothing as usual, although she was quite thankful she didn't need to shell out any creds, but Zaith got in one more sarcastic remark. "You're such a charmer Bast, you must get all the ladies."

"Shut up and leave."

Zaith and Nix obliged, and the door was slammed and locked as soon as they crossed the threshold.

Luckily for Nix, Bast lived on the second floor of his complex instead of the very top, so the trip down the stairs was painful, but short. As the two left the lobby of the building, Zaith begged a question of her. "So… where to?"

Nix wasn't much one for talking, but it was necessary at this point. In between winces as they walked out, she answered, "Markets, near Harrott's place. I'll know where to go from there."
Zaith gave her a small nod and a smile. He didn't seem to react when she didn't return it, and the walk started in blissful silence. Nix kind of expected it. This was an awkward experience for both of them, even if Zaith didn't know exactly why she was uncomfortable.

The first part of the trek was spent trying to gain some sort of rhythm so Nix didn't jostle around too much as she walked. Their differences in height were real obstacles, but eventually the two were able to move quickly enough without irritating her wound. Afterwards, to distract herself from the loathing she felt for her 'rescuer', Nix tried to memorize every little nook and cranny of this unfamiliar part of the station. It was odd to find a place she didn't know like the back of her hand, as her job required such a thing for her to be successful. This part of town was either so nice that the people living here didn't require a personal courier… or so bad that none of her employers would dare take a job from here.

And yet, despite the unknown pattern of the streets and alleys, buildings and alcoves, the area was still utterly the same in style. Streets filled with dirt and grime, long shadows capable of hiding any number of nasty things, the passers by all having the same, slightly pissed off look that warned off predators, and of course the few stares of people loitering near walls, in corners, all appraising the walkers as prey waiting to be hunted. But these stares were few indeed, much less menacing and bold than what Nix would receive near home. Perhaps this was a nice area.

The courier was quite aware that she and Zaith were easy targets. Nix was slightly thankful for the Turian's Blue Suns armor. Easy prey or no, no one messed with a Sun that looked like he knew his shit. The nice big pistol on his hip helped as well.

Silence wore on. Nix was fine with it, reveled in it in fact, but the lack of noise to fill the air seemed to grate on Zaith's nerves. And so, much to the courier's chagrin, the merc decided to try to start a conversation. "So Nix," he began in his usual, easy and conversational manner, "What do you do for a living?"

Nix didn't really want to answer, but if she humored him, the turian might shut up faster. "Courier," she grunted, half out of gruffness, half out of slight pain now that she'd taken the slightest amount of attention away from walking.

"Any specifics?"

Poor boy really wasn't getting the hint. "Nope."

He seemed to mull that over before shrugging and starting to continue their chat. Apparently Zaith was desperate to have some kind of noise in the air, and his own flanged voice was the best he could do at the moment.

"Well..." he said hesitantly, "I'm a merc, as you probably know..."

Bingo, Captain Obvious, thought Nix.

"We're not really all that bad. Some of us are egotists, but the rest treat it just as a job."

Like you? the courier wanted to ask sarcastically, So you were only doing your job when you shot me?

Zaith continued, "I admit that the public image isn't that great when it comes to mercs. You're probably wondering why a selfish gun-for-hire like me helped you out."
"Not really." It was the truth, after all she already knew why, and as a side bonus, being cold might get Zaith to shut the hell up.

Suddenly the turian stopped moving, forcing Nix to stop as well before she did anything to rupture her stomach. He turned his head to her and gave the courier another one of those wicked looking turian smiles that always seemed to put other humans on edge, but which had almost never bothered her.

"Liar," he responded smugly. Dammit. He didn't really think she was just being coy, did he? Nix's answer was, as always, silence.

Surprisingly, Zaith clammed up as well. The courier could think of only one reason he had lapsed into blissful quiet. It is pretty hard to find a tactful way to say, sorry I got you shot, wanna fuck?

Thankfully, Zaith lost his momentum and didn't continue. Nix then put all of her focus into her steps to make sure she wasn't jostled too hard again. It didn't take them very long to reach the markets, emerging from an alley the courier had never had cause to explore. Now that they were here, two things had occurred to her. The first; the fact that Bast didn't live in Blue Suns territory, which was perplexing and didn't matter nearly as much, and the second; that she would still need Zaith to help her home. And then he would know where she lived. Shit.

Perhaps some of sort of questioning look had dawned on her features for the few seconds she wasn't paying attention, for Zaith gave her another grin.

"Wondering why Bast doesn't live on our turf?" he inquired.

Nix gave him a blank look. The turian was not deterred. As he led the courier to Harrott's place, he explained, "Dr. Martì doesn't like to be shackled down by commitments to large organizations. He's good at his job and the Suns pay him a lot of creds for his skills, but in order for him to keep himself away from the Suns having his sole allegiance, he bribes Aria so he can live in her nice little independent area. The bribe is also why his apartment is so shit. Can't afford anything better." Zaith let out a small chuckle at his friend's expense when he finished. Nix refrained.

Harrott's store was closed when they finally stumbled to it. The courier stared at it blankly for a few seconds. Harrott almost never closed up shop, even if he wasn't around. Nix pondered what that meant before asking Zaith exactly how long she'd been out.

The turian seemed surprised that she was the one asking the questions now, but still answered, "Three days, and a few hours besides. Why?"

"I had an appointment," and a job offer, but Nix didn't say more than she already had. Zaith accepted her minimal answer with little more than a raised brow ridge. He was certainly learning fast.

Her small musings satisfied for now, Nix gently urged her living crutch towards the residential district. It was rather funny actually. The courier lived in Suns territory, paid 'protection' to them, and still all this crap ended up happening.

Zaith had a look of disbelief on his face when he figured out where they were heading. "You live here?" he said, incredulously gesturing his free arm to their surroundings. "I can't believe a beauty like you was living right under my nose and I didn't even notice."

Nix ignored his flirting and led him toward her little cranny in relative silence. Her home was based at the end of a deep alleyway, the door barely noticeable in the darkness of the back corner. The courier had moved in only a few months ago, after a plague that had killed a lot of aliens but left humans untouched. It happened to leave a few 'vacant' apartments, so when Nix saw this little edifice she couldn't help herself and squatted. Unfortunately, the 'rent' was really high, not to mention the extra protection money she had to shell out to those three Blue Suns assholes every week. Nix's life was practically filled by her work, and only her work, there was no time for play. To make so would mean certain death, and although Nix indulged herself in a bit of nihilism when faced with the prospect of it, she was in no hurry to rush into it with open arms.

They approached the door, but stopped suddenly a few feet away. A glance to Zaith to figure out what in the hell the holdup was showed her a turian with a look that said he had something to say, but no idea how to say it. Nix had no time for such shenanigans, and as such, after a few more seconds of just staring at her doorway, the courier snapped and said angrily, "Are you just going to stand there while my wound festers, or are we going inside?"

Her annoyance seemed to break Zaith out of his trance. He shook his head and murmured a quick apology before helping Nix over to the door, and looking away when she put in her code.

The apartment was small, containing no more than three rooms, a kitchen/living space, bedroom, and a bathroom. To Nix, this grungy place that had once smelled thickly of disease and death was now home, and it was very good to be back. The courier found herself to be quite exhausted, and led Zaith to her tiny bedroom with little to no thought of the consequences.

The room was quite spartan, containing only a bunk, a tiny metal end table, and a small box that housed a few pieces of clothing. Zaith made no comment on the humble state of her living quarters and helped her onto the bed without a word, perhaps noticing her weariness with those sharp senses turians were known to have. He then pried the pill bottle out of her hand and placed it on the end table.

Nix laid back and basked in the softness of her cheap mattress, but made no attempt to move herself under the sheets. After a few moments, the courier noticed that Zaith still hovered over her. She squinted at him in annoyance, half worried that he would try something. It didn't look like it though. He had that distant look again. "Something else?" she asked scathingly.
The turian blinked at her for a second before resolution dawned on his face. Nix severely hoped he wouldn't ask her for a date. She would fight that future with every ounce of her relatively small being.

"Sorry, it's just… I need to tell you something."
"What? Going to remind me to slap some medi-gel on this every once in a while?" she spat, gesturing to her bandage. When in doubt, be a sarcastic bitch.

Aggravatingly, he found that funny, and chuckled. "No, something more important than that."

Zaith took a deep breath to prepare himself for his revelation. Nix hoped he wasn't going to confess some kind of cheesy crush.

"You probably have figured it out already, but… it just doesn't feel right not to tell you. I… was in the group of mercs that…" he sighed, "Shot you. I didn't stop Daro, our squad leader, even though I should have." He turned his eyes to the ground and looked immeasurably guilty. "I'm sorry."

Well. Not the truthful confession Nix had been expecting. On the upside, it gave her the lovely opportunity to do this:

The courier's eyes narrowed, her glare burned and she allowed her anger and disdain to flow over her face. Her answer to him was two, short words. "Get. Out."

Perfect. That should scare Zaith off for good.

The turian sighed again. "I figured that. There's just one more thing. You may not like it, but I'm going to come back to help you tomorrow. I know you'll think it's annoying, but you won't be able to do anything without another person's help, and you know it."

God. Damn. It. Once, just once, why couldn't anything go her way when it came to the damn Blue Suns?

To say the she was in a bitchy mood at this point would have been the understatement of the year. "Whatever. Just leave." Even Nix would have flinched from how cold that sounded. Zaith took the hint and showed himself out. The courier listened to his receding footsteps, noting the exact moment she was sure he left her housing. Nix wasn't expecting Zaith to stay for any reason anyway. His personality, or at least what she assumed was his personality, seemed too… she hesitated to use the word 'good' but, he did seem to have an unhealthy sense of justice about him. Perhaps he fancied himself the next Archangel.

Whatever. It didn't matter. What mattered right now was getting some much needed sleep. With that in mind, Nix closed her eyes, and once more sweet oblivion enclosed onto her consciousness.

AN: And that's it. Thanks for reading, tell me what you thought, and I hope to see y'all again soon!