Hello there. Recently I've been busy working on a sci-fi story of my own, and to get into the spirit of sci-fi, I decided that writing for a sci-fi story would be good practice, not just to get a feel for the genre, but to also practice both the first and third person perspectives. So consider than an experiment story if you will, any and all feedback is welcome.

for those of you who have read my other stories and are wondering, 'Hey! Where is the next chapter to such and such?'. Well, this is why. I've been working on my own original work. As I said, I consider this practice.

Enjoy!

The Citadel. An enormous construct, beautiful, elegant and deadly.

The perfect trap.

Yet despite the true purpose of the Citadel, it was still a sight to behold. One I certainly thought I would never see, just as I never thought I would see the universe of Mass Effect.

I frowned, my arrival from the 21st century was hazy, I couldn't remember how it exactly happened. Death and then reincarnation? Possibly. But after spending years trying to figure it out, I soon grew to not care about it, not when there were more 'important' things for me to worry about.
Childhood wasn't a great time.

Yes, strange as it was, I wasn't just dumped into the world, I was born into it. My mind not quite able to comprehend the first two years of life, but I remember seeing my birth. I grew up in this world, I was a true inhabitant of the galaxy.

The transport shuttle would be arriving in a few minutes. My body shook with uncontrollable excitement, I was going to see the Citadel for the first time in my life.

A turian with red face paint next to me noticed me practically bubbling with excitement.

"You nervous or something?" He asked, a confused look adorning his face.

I looked at him, shaking my head, "No, not nervous. More excited, this will be my first time visiting the Citadel."

"Ah, I see…" He paused for a moment as he looked out the window towards the Citadel. "It's nicer to look at from a distance. Don't me wrong, it's nice but the novelty wears off pretty quick. Seeing it from a distance never gets old though."

"I thought just as much." I said.

The turian turns his attention back to me. "So what brings you to the Citadel?"

'Oh, you know, gotta do my part to save the galaxy from a rogue spectre and the Reapers.' But those words didn't come out my mouth, he wouldn't believe me or know what I was talking about.

"Just sightseeing." I reply.

The sound of the engines powering down alerts me to the fact that we have just arrived at the Citadel.

The turian stood from his seat, he was about to leave the ship before he cast a glance my way.

"Fair warning, people on the Citadel don't take kindly to your species. Best to stay out of trouble." he said and then went on his way.

Kind of him to look out for me, but not necessary. I'm more than capable of dealing with racists and xenophobes. Very capable.

I disembark from the shuttle, making my way through the hundreds of of people going about life at the docks.

I didn't have any issues getting past C-Sec, or the Mass Effect equivalent of customs. Security was pretty low since Saren hasn't attacked yet. Makes it all the more easier to smuggle my Raikou V pistol onto the Citadel. A particularly deadly pistol that has served me well in many combat situations, there may be better, more expensive models but this pistol has a lot of history behind it. I was content with keeping it. I didn't expect C-Sec to care about weapons at this point in time, but I'd rather play it safe.

I spent well over an hour exploring the various wards on the Citadel, getting a feel for the layout.

It was incredible, seeing a huge hub of culture, commerce and all different species living out their lives. The Citadel was a wonder of engineering as well, the style and architecture was impressive, I only wished I could have seen it sooner.

I saw a group of citizens gathered around something, a TV, or at least the technological future equivalent of such device. And it was playing a news broadcast.

'GETH ATTACK ON EDEN PRIME!'

According to the report, this attack took place roughly four or five hours ago. This should give me enough time to get towards Chora's Den and find the alleyway where Tali will be attacked.

I'm ripped from my thoughts as a hand lands on my shoulders and roughly spins me around. I'm now face to face with a human, his rage was apparent.

"This is all your fault! Bloody suit rat!" He yelled and shoved me, I barely felt it through my tough armoured suit. Yeah, I was quarian, not what I was expecting when I was born in this universe but I have come to accept it.

Everyone around us got real quiet, watching the situation unfold. My blood boiled, a suit rat aye? I'm going to annihilate this human.

"Want to repeat that, human?" My voice laced with venom.

I've really grown to despise most humans, despite being one myself in another lifetime. Bastards are so ignorant and racist.

His finger poked me in the chest, "Your kind built the Geth, now they have attacked Eden Prime. You filthy vagrant!"

I instantly grabbed his finger and snapped it back, a loud satisfying crack met my ears as I broke his finger. The human screamed in agony and fell to his knees. I drove my fist into his skull, knocking him out cold.

I turned to everyone staring at me, almost all of them had looks of disgust in their eyes.

"My kind may have built the Geth, but don't think I will stand for your insults. None of you helped us during the Morning War, you left our kind to die, so don't any of you point fingers! You're all pathetic." And I stormed away.

Assholes, the whole lot of them. But I felt great putting that human in his place, the humiliation he would feel from getting dropped by a quarian in public was immensely satisfying.

Despite knowing better about the Geth, it was difficult not to hate them. Being a quarian, that kind of stuff is ingrained into your very being. I was taught it at a young age and knowing that the Geth inadvertently were causing my kind problems simply from existing, that didn't help. But as I said, it was difficult, but not impossible. I knew better than that.

But now to business, I have to be ready for Tali's ambush.

I found a turian weapons dealer, after asking around some more… shady establishments, I had been given the name of the turian weapons dealer, Aletis. 'look for the turian with the white face paint, a massive scar over his left eye and red armour. Of course this information didn't come for free, I had do come… convincing. Thank you pistol.

His gaze shifted to me as I enter his store. The scar just above his left eye assured me I had found the right man… or turian? However one might say the phrase. It was quite a scar, he had certainly been in some tough scrapes in his day.

I walked up to the counter and looked at him straight in the eye.

"I'm told you are the right person to come to for some, less the legal fire power." I said quietly.

He stood up straight at that.

"Why do you ask?" He questioned, sizing me up.

I brought up my omni-tool and tapped away, his pinged, he looked at and his eyes widened.

"I happen to know the right people."

"I see... That's a lot of credits… What can I do for you?" He asked.

"A shotgun, I want something with enough punch to put down any target quickly."

Aletis nodded, he gestured for me to follow him out back.

Once we were out of view, he pointed at a wall covered in shotguns of all types.

Grabbing one off the wall, he presented it too me, I took it and let my fingers glide over the weapon, taking all the features of this killing machine.

"That there is an Avalanche VII, you can tear through most barriers and armour out there with this." He said. "Armax Arsenal make this. If you're looking for a line of shotguns with serious fire power, doesn't get much better than the Avalanche. It beats most other shotgun models from other manufacturers. Turian quality guaranteed, our soldiers use these models."

It felt good in my hands, damn good. But if I was going to try save the galaxy, I wanted nothing but the best.

"What is the highest ranking model you have for this?" Aletis was slightly hesitant, probably thinking there was no way I could pay for better models.

But he went and grabbed another Avalanche shotgun off the wall.

"The Avalanche IX, this puts the VII to shame. This is some top level military equipment, you wouldn't see mercs with anything like this. There is another model, the Avalanche X, I don't have any in stock, but the IX is still powerful."

Even though he couldn't see it, I was grinning inside my suit. I swapped guns with him, and once I felt that puppy in my hands, I knew I had found the one.

"This will do."

The turian nodded, putting away the VII and filling out 'paper' work on his omni-tool.

"Name?"

"Vinn'Yeera." And he filed out the information.

This took a few minutes, I expected as much, he was selling me a military grade weapon that was only used by the most elite soldiers the turians had to offer. He needed to keep track of such sales.

Once it was all over and done with, he brought me back out front.

"How did a quarian get his hands on so much money? And why do you need such powerful shotgun? Actually, no, I don't even want to know that." Aletis said.

"You never got that weapon from me, remember that." And he went back to manning his store.

With the weapons I had, I was sure I would be ready for anything thrown my way.

A few hours went by, sure enough, I saw Shepard, the hero of humanity. Shepard was a female, how interesting. I would have known this already if I simply searched on the extranet, but I preferred a surprise, but damn was it tempting to have a look.

Behind her was Kaiden, Ashley and Anderson. I watched from a distance, she would be facing the Council soon, trying to prove that Saren was a traitor. And recruiting various people along the way.

I had spent the time before hand finding the correct alleyway, assessing the area, finding the multiple areas where I could commence an ambush to save Tali's life.

There were multiple ways I could approach this, the best way was to approach Tali before the meeting takes place and gave ample warning. She might just shoot me if I just suddenly pop up guns blazing.

I had double checked that my armour, weapons and shields were all good to go. My suit was was an onyx black colour with dark red outlines, my veil also black, with faint patterns in it the look like lines on a circuit board. I designed it myself out of my love for computers.

Now all I had to do was prepare for Tali's ambush.

About two more hours passed, I was hanging around close to the alleyway, out of sight mostly.

That's when I saw it, Tali standing there. Time to make my grand appearance on the galactic scene.

I walked behind her, she it standing there, wringing her hands nervously. She hasn't even noticed me yet.

"Excuse me." She jumped and quickly spun around. Her eyes looking at me in confusion, it was amusing seeing her freak out at the voice of another quarian.

"A quarian? I wasn't told to expect that." Her voice slightly edging on the side of panic. Her hand inched towards her shotgun. It was probably because I was a quarian that she hadn't just whipped out her weapon.

I put my hands in the air. "Hold on now, I'm here to help."

Her eyes blinked a few times, her head tilted ever so slightly, confused. Being quarian does have its advantages, like being able to read other quarian body language better.

"Explain."

"Fist has betrayed you, he is in league with Saren." I said simply. This time she grabbed her gun and pointed it at my chest.

Amusing, she is trying to be intimidating. 'That stuff would have worked when I was a teenager, love. But I am rather used to having a gun pointed at me.'

Humorous as it was, I knew she could kill me right here and now if pressed to do so. I'd rather not cross that line, thank you very much.

"How do you know that? Why should I believe you?" She demanded.

"Because no one has seen the Shadow Broker, he works through agents, never personally showing his face at all. Anyone with a little knowledge of the underworld would know this. You were told to expect the Shadow Broker weren't you?" I asked.

She was silent for a few seconds, scrutinising me. Finally she put away her shotgun and started cursing.

"I knew I couldn't trust him!" She blurted out, she looked at me again, still sizing me up it seemed.

"Who are you?" She asked, wringing her hands. Ah, I was wondering when I would see that shy trait of hers.

"My apologies, miss. My name i-" I couldn't finish as I erupted into a cough.

I struggled for breath as my coughing fit went on for a few seconds.

'Damn it! Not now!' I thought as I stopped coughing.

I looked back at Tali, she looked concerned but didn't know what to do or how to help.

"Are you sick?"

"I'm fine. Just recovering from a cold I caught a while back." She clearly didn't believe me but let the matter drop.

"Now, as I was saying. My name is Vinn'Yeera." I said.

She waited for a few moments, obviously expecting more before looking at me confused.

"Your ship name?" She asked.

I was a bit hesitant, this could cause her to distrust me even more, leading to questions I'd rather not answer. But the truth is the only option.

"I don't have one." Her eyes went wide as she heard this. As she went to respond, I heard footsteps behind us.

I turned, on my HUD, I saw them, the people Fist sent to kill Tali.

'Damn it!' I spent too much time talking, should have left that 'till after this situation was dealt with. Too late for that, had to deal with it now.

I slowly and subtly walk behind Tali a little, drawing attention to her more instead of me. Tali started wringing her hands again, very nervous about the confrontation that was about to unfold.

The turian walked up and looked at me, his eyes lighting up with concern. Then a second later, I spotted a slight shrug of the shoulders, he didn't seem too worried. I knew that he thought that my presence didn't change the outcome, he would try to kill us both.

"Did you bring it?" the turian asked, his eyes darting to watch me. I saw the salarians behind him readying their weapons.

"Where's the Shadow Broker? Where's Fist?" Tali asked.

"They'll be here, where is the evidence?" the assassin responded, his arms coming up to feel Tali.

I didn't even wait for her next line, this bastard wasn't getting away with that. I whipped out my shotgun and unloaded it right in the turian's face. His shields gave out as he stumbled backwards and with another pull of the trigger, his head exploded in a shower of blood and guts. I quickly dove for cover as the salarians fired their weapons. Tali rushed for the same piece of cover, we were huddled up behind a crate.

I switched to my pistol, I rose out of cover as the enemy fire paused for a brief second. I fired with pinpoint precision, my body doing what it was trained to do for years. Their shield flared as they took fire. Tali rose out of cover and fired a rounds from her shotgun, taking out the shields of one of the salarians. I quickly fired a well placed bullet between his helmet, killing him instantly, his body dropping to the ground.

The other salarian tried his best to kill us, but with our shields soaking up the damage, our combined shots overpowered him and he died as Tali landed the killing blow.

That little fight had taken my shields down by half, these assassins weren't professionals but they know what they were doing.

We put away out weapons and I notice Tali looking at me, before looking at the ground.

'Still shy are we?' I mused.

"Thank you, without your help, Keelah..." She trailed off, her eyes lingering on the turian's corpse.

"Don't mention it." I said. I observed that our cover was just about shredded from enemy fire. A few more bullets and we would have been without cover, we were lucky… and skilled, not to brag.

The sound of running caught my attention. I smirked beneath my helmet, it seems Shepard had decided to join us.

Her hair was fiery red and her eyes a striking emerald colour.

The N7 operative surveyed the scene, looking at all the bullet holes everywhere from the fight that just took place. Kaiden, Ashley, Garrus and Wrex trailed behind her.

It was strange, going over the events in my head, Shepard got here as the turian touched Tali sexually in the games. My interference couldn't have affected anything at this point in time, so why was she slightly late? If I wasn't here, Tali would most likely be dead.

That was a scary thought. From this point on, I shouldn't heavily rely on previous game knowledge, real life plays out differently, especially with my presence thrown into the mix. knowledge of the games in my previous life should be only used as a base guide. A good thing too, remembering everything that was going to happen wasn't easy, I had almost forgotten some events as a I grew up, luckily I wrote down everything I could remember as soon as I was able to.

Not to mention the future could play out differently depending on whether Shepard was Paragon or Renegade. Most realistically, she would be a bit of both, not confined to video game logic.

She turned her attention towards us.

"Looks like we were a bit late. Were you hurt in the fight?" Shepard asks Tali, though I notice her gaze flick over to me for such a brief instant, analysing me.

"I know how to look after myself, I'm fine, no damage taken." She said, before she quickly turned to me, looking a bit apologetic. "Not that I don't appreciate the help, you help save my life."

"It's fine." I said.

"Well, my name's Jane Shepard. This is Kaiden Alenko, Ashley Williams, Garrus Vakarian and Urdnot Wrex. I'm looking for evidence to prove that Saren is a traitor." Hope evident in her voice.

Tali looked around cautiously. "I'm Tali, Tali'Zorah nar Rayya. I have evidence, but I can't show you here. Do you have somewhere private we could go?"

"The ambassador's office?" Kaiden suggested.

Shepard thought about it for a second before agreeing. She face me completely now, her eyes narrowed slightly. I was very thankful for being a quarian right now, that gaze was intense, almost like she was piercing through my helmet and seeing right into my soul. No wonder people were scared of Shepard, she had such a commanding presence, and she wasn't even trying to intimidate me, not purposefully anyway.

"And who are you?" She asked.

I stood up straighter, my arms behind my back.

"Vinn'Yeera, at your service." I reply. I see Tali staring at me, yeah, she has got some questions I'm sure.

Shepard turns back to Tali. "Friend of yours?"

She shakes her head, "I don't know him."

"I had information that a criminal named Fist was in league with Saren. When investigating further, I found out about a hit ordered on a female quarian with evidence against Saren. I wasn't going to let one of my people die. So here I am." I said.

I'm not an idiot, while I may have known about all this before hand, I created a 'paper' trail, so to speak. It would be very difficult for Shepard to check my background and story, but she could manage it given time. Such was the luxury of being involved with questionable organisations.

Shepard was slightly hesitant, but she gestured for me to follow her. As we headed off to Udina's office, Tali fell into step beside me. Her eyes glancing at me as we walked.

"I have some questions I'd like to ask you." She said.

"When we have dealt with this, I'll try to answer any queries you might have." She agreed to that arrangement.

Well, things were about to get interesting. Now all that was left, try to get on board the Normandy.

Writing in first person, I kept slipping back into third every now and then writing this. Bit of a challenge, but I think I did alright.

A quarian OC, I thought that was a rather unique idea, seeing as many OC stories just have a human dumped into the galaxy. I always wanted to play as a quarian, so why not make my OC one.

Now a question I had, pairings? Yes or no? And who with? I thought about Tali being a pairing. Let me know.

'Till next time.