Hope you enjoy! Only my fourth fanfic, but I guess it's okay! :] *Disclaimer: Mass Effect, it's characters, and concepts are not mine, but I have created a few of my own characters! Also, I have Shepard as the default female! You know, uh... Just a heads up. ^_^

*Edit: Sorry for changing up the story a bit, but I finally got a chance to revise! As I was writing it, I grew to like this new-(ish) version... Which is why I'm adding it now :)

On the streets of Omega, there is a growing population of orphaned kids. Unfortunately, these unwanted kids have to fend for themselves in order to survive. They learn to be quick and quiet, what with all the criminals in such close proximity. There are shelters, but they get a bit too quiet for these restless children. Once a child grows up and begins to show strength, it is not uncommon for the merc groups to show interest in them. It is an easy way out of the scavenging-type of life for most of these kids. Not for Samantha, a fourteen year old human girl. Sam was not fond of the merc groups at all. She could see right through their true motives behind recruiting them... Most likely they were looking for cheap labour, or expendable cannon fodder.

"And they're definitely looking for more cannon fodder these days!" Sam thought darkly. A few months ago, she had begun to hear rumours of a man called Archangel. Archangel had somehow managed to anger the three major mercenary groups of Omega: the Blue Suns, Eclipse, and Blood Pack. The mercs were getting so desperate for members, that they were starting to pick older kids off the street. However, some of the mercs were getting reckless with their strategies. To make sure that none of the merc groups would find her friends, she had told them to check in at Kenn's store every so often. After all, no merc group would look for able fighters in an electronics store... At least she hoped. With extra mouths to feed, it would look suspicious if Kenn went and got food that was not meant for quarians. In an effort to keep Kenn out of suspicion, Sam had volunteered to get supplies for their makeshift family. In fact, that is what she was doing now... She was good friends with one of the small-chain turian grocers. His name was Neesijoni, but Sam couldn't pronounce it that well, so she just called him Joe. Joe has a son, Reeto, who had been bullied by a batarian kid. Sam remembered the time that she had protected Reeto, and how Joe had quickly became fond of her after that.

"Hi Reeto!" Sam said happily as she joined them at their store. "How've ya been?"

"Great! Guess what?!" He didn't wait for her reply, "That batarian kid told me he was sorry the other day! Thank you so much Sam. You're the best!" He grinned so hard his mandibles twitched. She had taught him how to grin to the best of her ability, but he was a turian... And they aren't that great at smiling. She returned it with one of her own smiles anyway.

"Uh, no problem Reeto..." She bowed her head shyly and looked at the floor. Most of the time she was outgoing, but when she was given extra attention she was very sheepish. She didn't need a mirror to know that her face was already getting pink.

Reeto cocked his head curiously, "Whoa, your skin is changing colour again! How do you do that?"

"Oh, it's just a human thing!" She answered swiftly, waving her hand in the air dismissively as she spoke. Reeto was staring at her blankly as he said, "You humans are strange..."

Meanwhile, Joe got something from behind the kiosk. When he straightened up, she saw that it was a bundle of assorted ration packs. "Here," He said, gently handing it to her. "It's no trouble, really!" He said after seeing Sam's expression. Placing his big turian hands over hers as she held the gift, he continued, "I'm glad you helped my son, and you two are good friends. I know how hard it must be to take care of those young ones at Kenn's place, so I'd like to help in any way I can."

Sam felt lighter than she was a few seconds ago. "Thank you." She said, relieved. She placed them inside her backpack, and instantly felt heavy again once she put the weight on her shoulders.

Joe nodded. "Now go," He told her quickly, his tone changed completely. "The recruiters are about to do another sweep of the streets, you'd better hurry back."

Sam's eyes widened, "What? Already?!" She felt goose bumps creep up her arms.

Joe spun her around by the shoulders as he said, "Haven't you heard? The groups are doing one last push on that Archangel fellow. There's enough trouble with the plague as it is, and they say it's only a matter of time. Now Sam, don't you dare get yourself in one of their groups! You know it's too dangerous."

Sam wanted to stay and ask more questions, but she knew Joe was right. If the mercs were on their way through the markets already, she had to get back before they blocked the main corridors. She hastily said goodbye to the both of them and left the store.

...

She passed a few small shops though the markets, checking behind her for the mercs as she went. Sam was almost about to relax because she was almost there. Sam jumped as she rounded the second last corner.

"Got you!" A deep voice barked. There was a startled squeal. Sam quickly drew back from the corner. She was just about to turn the other way and leave, but she recognized the voice that followed.

"Hey! B-but I'm only 12 years old!" The voice protested. She froze, "Uh-oh! That's Adam!"

"We don't care," A second voice spoke this time, "Archangel wouldn't hurt a squad of kids, and you, are exactly what we're lookin' for."

"Ouch!" Adam cried, "Let go of me!"

That was enough for Sam to clench her fists and without thinking, step out from the corner. "Leave him alone!" She shouted boldly.

There were two batarian Blue Sun troopers looming over Adam. They each had an assault rifle, pistol, shot gun, and sniper rifle strapped to their backs. What did Sam have? A backpack filled with food rations.

"Oh great, just great! I'm stupid! I should've come up with a plan, but Adam's the one who..." Her thoughts were interrupted by one of the recruiters.

"Interesting," The batarian paused, "A human with a back bone? And a female at that!"

"She looks old enough." The other agreed, he turned to her and said, "You got nerve kid, we're impressed. Why don't you come with us and nothing will happen to your little friend over here!" The Merc Number One approached Adam and took hold of his arm. Then Merc Number Two laughed as Adam whimpered in fear.

"Your friend doesn't share the same guts as you do! Ha!" Merc Two was still laughing as he spoke.

Sam did not like this at all. She felt like punching his face! She took note of how close they stood next to each other, if one fell then they'd both be dominoes. Merc One pushed Adam to the ground, and Adam fell pretty hard. He was unconscious almost at once. "Oops," The batarian said, "I forgot how fragile you humans are. Hhaha!"

That was the last straw. Sam got so mad that she felt a hot energy boil up from the centre of her being. It was the weirdest feeling she could ever imagine. Suddenly time seemed to slow down for her. There was ample time for her to gather her thoughts, and she had a plan. Push. Her idea worked, because when she splayed her hand forward and pushed at the air, her whole body was pulsating with blue energy. Time went back to normal and Merc Two took the full hit, but the back of his head cracked hard on Merc Number One's face. *Crunch* That sure sounded painful, but somehow she knew they weren't badly hurt. She knew that they were only unconscious, and Adam had a cut somewhere on his head. The knowledge was almost unexplainable, it was like she was a super-being. For a brief moment she wondered if this was what it felt like to be an asari with their mind capabilities.

Time seemed normal but everything had happened so fast. Next thing Sam knew, the force from her power knocked her back hard. A flash of white closely followed. Then she realized the state of her body. The hand she had used to push the energy felt burning hot. The pain in her head made her vision suddenly foggy, and also very dizzy.

Sam waited for the nausea to pass, and once it did she tried getting up. Another wave of dizziness and she fell onto her stomach. Sam gave up trying to stand, and instead crawled over to Adam, dragging the backpack. With all the strength she could muster, she scooped up Adam in her arms.

"Adam?" She called his name, but there was no answer. She wished she could see properly so she could have a look at his face, but there were many stars in her eyes. Adrenaline was causing her mind to think rapidly. The thoughts were getting jumbled in her brain, barely coherent. "Just... Down that next hallway... Kenn's shop..."

She grunted as she felt fatigue spread through her body. Sam didn't know what quicksand felt like, but now maybe she had a pretty good idea. A small thought in the back of her mind said that she had just used biotics to take down the two mercs, but she didn't know how she had done it...

"I don't have a biotic implant, right?" She wondered faintly...