A/N: So, while going through my third playthrough of Mass Effect 3 recently, all the eavesdropping that I've done on various NPC conversations on the Citadel inspired me to write this piece.

I realized that in Commander Shepard's journey in ME3, we're only treated to one small perspective of the war against the Reapers. Although the game did a great job in vividly painting the picture of an embattled galaxy through NPC conversations, codex entries and email correspondences, there are still so many stories left to be told by the millions caught up in this war.

Hence, my writing of this fic. So basically, each chapter will be a short vignette that expounds upon the Mass Effect universe during the Reaper War. I'll be exploring it through the eyes of various individuals caught up in all fronts of the ongoing war. As of such, expect plenty of OCs with the occasional cameo of characters from the game.

Well, with that said and done, time to move on to the first vignette in this series. This chapter's dedicated to a certain conversation that my Shepard's eavesdropped on in docking bay D24. I loved the idea so much and I just decided to run with it as my premiere chapter.

Hope you guys and gals enjoy it!

Mass Effect: Theaters of War

Chapter 1 – Abandoned

Aldus Kyrenne was not having a good day. The turian glanced around the docking bay which now served as emergency housing quarters for the refugees displaced by the war. While Palaven burned, Aldus was stuck on the Citadel playing peacekeeper. The thought of abandoning this assignment by C-Sec had crossed his mind more than once but now, he was seriously starting to consider it. Aldus saw no point in making sure the refugees were comfortable when his own homeworld was under Reaper control. He should be out there on the front lines, engaged in a ground war to retake Palaven instead of being posted behind a stupid information desk.

As these thoughts simmered away in his mind, Aldus took another glance at his omni-tool's time display. He had a few more hours to go before he was relieved of his shift; a period of time that seemed almost endless in his restless state of mind.

"Excuse me, sir."

A bright, cheery voice snapped him out of his reverie. A blonde-haired, blue-eyed human girl stood in front of him.

"Uh….hi there. Can I help you with anything?" Aldus made little effort to hide his agitation.

"Oh nothing, just wanted someone to talk to," the girl replied.

Aldus noticed that the human girl was relatively young to be out here all by herself. By his estimate, she can't have been more than fourteen years old. "Are you waiting for somebody?" Aldus continued.

"Yeah, I'm waiting for my parents. They told me to wait here once I got to the Citadel. They got on a later shuttle than I did…I think," she replied in her usual bubbly disposition.

For some reason, Aldus's heart sank at the mention of her parents whom she'll never see again. With the state of the war right now, he'd come to expect the worse. The refugees all around him were testament of it and there wasn't any reason to believe otherwise. Nevertheless, Aldus just couldn't bring himself to break her bubble. "Oh, I see. Well, I'm sure they'll get here eventually."

"I hope so too. I've been waiting here for quite a while now though," she replied, her every word still brimming with hope.

It pained Aldus all the more to hear it because deep down, he knew that it was unlikely that her parents would have made it. He'd been optimistic for the fates of these refugees for the first few days, but optimism didn't count for shit when the Reapers laid waste to every single planet they came upon. Yet somehow, this little girl had him hoping with all his heart that for just this once, he was wrong.

"Do you need anything while you wait for them? Maybe something to eat?"

The girl perked up at the mention of food. "Oh yes please, I've not had anything to eat or drink ever since I got here and I'm starving!"

Aldus guessed that she must have had only the clothes on her back when she made it to the evacuation shuttles. Despite having steeled himself against the despair and plight of countless refugees packed into the docking bay, the sight of this helpless girl came close to breaking his heart.

"Alright, you need to head down to –" Aldus cut himself off. "You know what…I'll just show you where it is." The idea of letting a young girl wander off alone didn't sit particularly well with Aldus; he knew of the humans' history with the batarians, and there were plenty of batarian refugees who have now made this their new home.

"Oh thank you, sir!" the girl nodded gratefully.

"Don't mention it, kid. You know, I didn't quite get your name."

"I'm Clarissa Sterlings. Pleased to meet you, sir," she extended her hand which Aldus shook.

"Likewise, Clarissa. Oh and please, just call me Aldus. I'm not too big on the formalities," he flashed her a grin. Aldus got up and made his way out of the table. "Come on, it's just right around the corner here."

With thoughts of deserting his post pushed out of his mind for now, Aldus led Clarissa to one of the bays that were set up as a food dispensary for the refugees. After grabbing her share of the food rations being doled out, they both sat at a cargo crate that doubled as a make-shift table.

Clarissa raised her eyebrows as Aldus took his seat across from her. "Something the matter?" the turian asked.

"Oh…it's nothing. I just thought you had to get back to work or something. I don't want to get you into trouble, Mr. Aldus."

She was pretty observant for someone her age but again, Aldus wasn't too keen on the idea of leaving her all by herself. "It's fine, Clarissa. I'm paid to make sure that everyone here's settling in comfortably. This is all just part of my job."

"Okay…if you say so," she replied before digging into her meal. Aldus watched on as Clarissa wasted little time in shoving spoonfuls of food into her mouth. The girl was hungry.

"So, if you don't mind my asking, where did you board the shuttle?" Aldus decided to make some small talk.

Clarissa gulped down her mouthful of food before speaking, "Terra Nova. Dad and Mom said it wasn't safe anymore so we had to leave. So they sent me and a couple of other kids on the first wave of shuttles that were leaving the planet. I heard it was something to do with the war but everything seemed fine when we left though."

Thank the spirits they left before the Reapers hit. Aldus was stepping on some sensitive ground right now and he had to watch his words carefully even if it was only to give Clarissa the illusion of safety. "Any word from your parents yet?"

"No, not yet. But before I left on the shuttle, they promised me that they would meet me here and that I should stay put and wait for them," she shoved another spoonful of food into her mouth. "But they'll show up eventually. They never break their promises."

Her innocence to the harsh realities of the times they lived in was almost too much for Aldus to bear. Sooner or later, he'd have to break the news to her if her parents didn't show up. He was hoping he'd never have to. It was another reason of why he hated this stupid war – the families that were being torn apart.

"I'm sure they won't start now," Aldus tried his best to muster all the conviction he had in saying those words. He didn't believe any of it, but if Clarissa did, then he'd try to believe them for her sake. "So, is this your first time here on the Citadel?" the turian tried shifting the topic.

Excitement gleamed in her blue eyes as Clarissa nodded excitedly. Several minutes in and she was already more than halfway through her meal. "Yeah, mom and dad always told me how beautiful the Citadel was and how they wanted to take me here one day for one of our vacations!" she rattled off with youthful enthusiasm.

Aldus couldn't resist smiling along in amusement. "Well, there's plenty of beautiful places to see here on the Presidium and down in the Wards. Maybe when your parents get here, you three can go visit these places."

"Can we go visit the Citadel Tower? I've always seen it in vids and it'll be so cool to see it in person!"

"Sure you can but you can't go inside though. Only important people are allowed inside."

Her head drooped a little in disappointment. "Well, that sucks. I wanted to see what the inside looked like."

"It's beautiful especially when the audyssey trees in there come into full bloom. It's like walking around one of your forests back home, but instead of green, you get beautiful shades of red and pink all over the place," Aldus described.

"So, it's something like during the fall season then?"

"Well, I guess you could say that."

He could see Clarissa leaning forward on the edge of her seat ever so slightly; mouth agape in awe as she hung on to every single word he was about to say. He chuckled a little. This day was going to be interesting.

The dreaded hours until his shift's end seemed to fly by while Aldus was in Clarissa's company. The human girl brimmed with youthful energy and vigor which the turian found infectious. But above all, Clarissa embodied something so much more; something which was sorely lacking in these grim days – hope, even if it stemmed from childish naiveté.

Once Clarissa was done with her meal, Aldus made the necessary arrangements for her temporary living quarters. In the end, he managed to procure a small cot that he set up in the living spaces of several other turians and humans whom he deemed trustworthy. At least he wouldn't have to worry too much about her safety. There were families staying in her assigned living quarters so they would be able to look out for her.

"Well, I think you're pretty much set for the night, Clarissa," Aldus declared, rather pleased with himself. However, Clarissa glanced warily around her new living arrangements. "Something wrong, Clarissa?"

"No…it's just…I'm not used to sleeping around complete strangers," she replied apprehensively.

This took Aldus aback as he forgot that he was still dealing with a fourteen year old child. Throughout their conversation, it struck him that Clarissa was clearly a lot more mature than her young age would have others believe. He could tell she was staying strong and independent for her parents' sake. "You're safe here. Everyone here's pretty nice once you get to know them. And if there's any trouble, go talk to some of the people dressed like me," he motions to his standard C-Sec blue patrol armor, "They'll help you out in no time."

"Okay…"

"Well, I need to go now so I'll see you around, Clarissa. It's been fun meeting you," Aldus truly meant it. A few hours spent with her lifted his spirits more than an booze-filled night out to Purgatory. He turned to leave but was stopped short by a pair of fragile hands clinging on to his right hand.

"You'll be back tomorrow to come check up on me right, Mr. Aldus?" Clarissa's blue eyes pleaded with him as they bored into his own. Suddenly, it became hard to breathe as his chest felt as though it weighed a ton. "I'll be here, I promise," Aldus replied after a moment's pause. He gave her hands a reassuring squeeze before she reluctantly released her hold.

As he made his way back to the table to collect his items, he saw his replacement walking towards him. "Thank the spirits you're here. It's been a long day for me, Thracia."

"Well…it's only going to get worse from here on out, you know that right?" his turian colleague said. "Hey, heard any news from your family back on Digeris?"

Thracia's question immediately brought him out of the utopian bubble that he shared with Clarissa before and back into the nightmares of the waking world. "Not yet. Comm buoys are still down but I'm going to try asking around tonight. Someone might have heard something."

The other turian only nodded. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow. Go back home and try to get some sleep. You're going to need it."

Aldus stole a glance at Clarissa over his shoulder. "Hey Thracia, could you do me a favor? If you could just watch over that blonde human girl there, I'd appreciate it."

"What's her story?"

"She got separated from her parents back on Terra Nova. They were evacuating before the Reapers hit. She's been here waiting for them ever since."

"You know there's a good chance they probably didn't make it right?" Thracia said. It wasn't so much a cynical remark as a statement of a fact that everyone here had begrudgingly come to accept.

"I know, but just keep an eye out for her alright? She's scared enough as it is," Aldus persuaded.

"I'll do what I can, Aldus. No promises though, I've still got plenty of other refugees to attend to."

"Thanks. At least I'll be able to sleep knowing that she's safe." Aldus nodded in appreciation. "Well, I'm off now. See you at the next shift."

With that, Aldus gathered his belongings and headed to the elevators that would take him back to his apartment down in Zakera Ward. Sleep was going to elude him as usual tonight so he decided that the time was better spent asking around for any word on Digeris. Last he heard, the Reaper presence down there was relatively light so there could be a good chance that the planet had not yet fallen. Nonetheless, there was nothing he could do but hope that his family was alright.

Hope. That was something he thought he'd never dared do ever again.

The following day was hell. On top of the absence of any news pertaining to his family on Digeris, more turian and human colonies had fallen to Reaper forces. This meant a huge surge in the influx of refugees to the Citadel. It was as if the universe and C-Sec was playing a cruel joke on him. For every single refugee that he processed, two more would turn up in their place. It was as if they all amassed outside the Citadel and decided to descend upon him today. Even the previous day's work wasn't as much as this.

Aldus could feel his patience wearing thinner by the second as an unending stream of refugees bombarded him with the usual plethora of questions. In moments like this, the turian just couldn't help but entertain the notion of just quitting C-Sec and enlisting with the resistance movement back on Digeris or even Palaven. Blowing the faces of Reaper husks seemed like a better prospect than having to recite through living arrangements and duty rosters for the umpteenth time.

After he was relieved of his seven hour shift, Aldus was spent; both physically and mentally. The Presidium had already entered its night cycle and yet, the influx of refugees wasn't letting up. He seriously doubted if he had any energy left to even make it back to his apartment. Maybe I'll just sit on the benches for a few minutes.

He headed to the rows of unoccupied benches located just outside one of the docking bridges and took a seat. Just as he was about to close his eyes and drift off, he could hear someone sobbing softly somewhere in his vicinity. Aldus glanced around the darkened docking bay. His eyes came to rest on a figure huddled up in a ball atop one of the benches further down the bay. Normally, he didn't pay it much attention as people were crying in their sleep most of the time but this one was different somehow. The cries didn't sound as though they were being tormented or haunted by nightmares.

Out of curiosity, he approached the figure. It was Clarissa.

"Oh spirits….."

He could literally feel his heart shriveling up inside his chest. So much for keeping promises. With the frenzy and commotion that punctuated the entire day, his promise to Clarissa totally slipped his mind. Guilt wracked through him right now as he helplessly stared at the little girl who, for a day, gave him reason to hope again.

"Hey Clarissa, sorry I couldn't drop by any sooner," Aldus said as he sat down next to her.

The crying abruptly stopped as her entire body rigidly froze at the sound of his voice. He sighed deeply and gave her shoulder a firm squeeze. "It's okay to be scared every once in a while. We can't hide it from everyone forever."

She turned onto her back and lifted her head. Her gaze met his and in the low light of the docking bay, the blue eyes and tear-streaked cheeks seemed almost ethereal. She rested her head against his lap. "They're not coming, are they?" she said, trying to choke back the tears.

"Don't say that. I'm sure your parents are on their way here right now," Aldus gently reassured her.

"No they're not. I've been watching the lines since this morning and I recognized a couple of people from Terra Nova...My parents weren't with them."

Her words sent chills running down Aldus's veins. He found himself at a complete loss of words. What was there left to say to a child who's realized that their parents were gone forever? As intense as the training regime got at C-Sec, nothing ever prepared him for this. He settled for just silently combing Clarissa's disheveled blonde hair out of her face. "But you came back for me, didn't you? You kept your promise."

"...Well, we turians are very fussy when it comes to honoring our word," Aldus finally managed to find his voice again. This earned him a smile from Clarissa.

"Mr. Aldus?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you promise not to leave me too?" Clarissa whispered under her breath, barely audible. "And that you'd do everything you could to make sure this doesn't happen to my friends?"

In that brief exchange of words, Aldus realized just how foolish he'd been. It didn't matter where the war was being waged anymore. It was all around him and he'd been blind to it this whole time. The work he was doing here mattered just as much as what the shock troopers did on the front lines. With all the ground that was being lost to the Reapers, the galaxy would take every single win it could muster. Victories didn't need to be something big like recouping lost grounds from enemy forces or the destruction of a Reaper dreadnought. It could simply be an act of kindness to keep hope alive. And these small wins were the most important of them all. Hell, if an orphaned child could hold onto hope after what she's been through, then the rest of the galaxy can damn well do the same.

"I promise."

A/N: And that is a wrap! Hope y'all enjoy this first installment. There'll definitely be more to come! And I don't intend to keep things all dreary and grim, so rest assured that the upcoming vignettes will take on all shapes and forms.

Seeing as how this is my first real take on an introspective, character-driven piece, I'd appreciate all comments on this chapter but constructive criticisms are always the best!

Once again, thanks for reading and see you guys in the next chapter!