The Discovery

Chapter 1: A New Recruit

I was waiting for Anderson at my apartment near the Persidium. He was going to tell me my next assignment. I was really excited for it, because it would be my first as a lieutenant. I was hoping that it wouldn't be any of the bullshit assignments I had before. It seemed that the Alliance and the council didn't do much about the missing colonies. I had heard rumors though that Commander Shepard had joined Cerberus and found out that the Collecters were behind the abductions and that he had gone through the Omega 4 Relay and had stopped them. Many believed that was not true, but I believed it happened. Of course I would never tell anyone this, because I would surely be harassed for it.

I heard a knock at the door and I knew exactly who it was before I answered it. Ambassador Anderson stood in my doorway with a smile on his face. The first I had seen in a long time.

"Ah well hello Lieutenant Alenko."

"Please sir you can call me Andrew."

"I am surprised you don't want me to call you lieutenant, considering how happy you were when you heard the news."

"Oh... you heard about that did you?"

"Heard about it? I think the whole Citadel heard about it."

"Speaking of that how is Ash dealing with it?"

"Well she's not to happy I can tell you that. Best if you stay away from her for awhile."

"Haha. You don't have to tell me twice Anderson."

At that I directed Anderson to my dining room to have a seat so we could discuss more pressing matters. I was finally going to find out what I was going to do for the next six months.

"As you know Andrew, now that you are a lieutenant you will have more responsibilities. This means that you must not make mistakes, because it comes back badly on the Alliance."

"I understand sir."

"Good, because for the next six months you will be stationed somewhere outside of Alliance jurisdiction."

"Really? Where?"

"Omega."

"Omega? Why there? That's not even a planet."

"We have heard some rumors about many a disturbing thing."

"Like what? If I may ask sir."

"It seems that the Vorcha population plans to come into Council space and cause some problems."

"And you want me to stop them?"

"Yes, we would. It needs to be nipped in the butt before it gets out of hand. So in 4 hours you will be on a ship going to Omega. So it's best if you pack up and say your good-byes as quickly as you can."

"Thank you sir. I will not fail."

At that Anderson got up and we shook hands. He gave me a quick nod and walked out. I couldn't believe that my first assignment was going to be in that hell hole of a place called Omega. There was no way the Vorcha were any threat at all. They were not smart enough to plan. I mean a toddler was smart than Vorcha. This was an insult to my talent, but there was no time to complain. I had to pack and say my good-byes. Of course one good-bye I wold most likely not get to say. I am sure Ashley would not want to talk to me right now. I mean twenty-four hours ago I kissed her in front or thousands of people. I was just so excited to hear of my promotion that I wasn't thinking.

All my things were packed so it was time to see my friends before I left. Of course that wasn't many aside from Ash, I only had two other friends. One was a Turian named Jaris and the other an Asari named Kiara. I would have preferred to kiss her after my promotion, but in my excitement I kissed the closet female to me and it was Ash. To say bye to her I decided to send a message to her instead of in person. I found Jaris first which was good. because it could be quick and easy which left me more time for Kiara. I walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Oh hey Andrew how's it going?"

"Pretty good. I am about to leave on my assignment."

"Sweet man. Where you going anyways?"

"Just Omega."

"Sounds pretty boring haha. Well good luck and see ya around man."

"Yeah see ya."

At that he walked away waving with a smile on his face. It was time for my search of Kiara. It took me awhile to find her, because she was not in her usual places. When I found her she spotted me from afar and came running towards me. She threw herself at me and gave me a big hug. It was a good thing she couldn't see my face because I was really blushing.

"I was so hoping to see you before you left."

"The same goes for me."

"I am so excited for you Andrew. You get to go explore the galaxy!"

"Thanks Kiara. You know I am really gonna miss you. I have known you since I was six and we have never been apart since I was sixteen. So this is gonna be really weird."

"I know what you mean, but we can still keep in contact."

"True, and you know I will." She gave a big smile at that and I blushed.

"You are so sweet. You are such a great friend."

"I do my best Kiara, but you are the better friend. You have gotten me out of a lot of trouble."

"You've done the same for me."

Over the intercom they announced my flight. I wasn't ready I didn't wanna leave yet. I wanted more time with her. To have dinner with her and tell her how I feel about her. There was nothing I could do now. So I was gonna do it and just hug her and give her a nice kiss before I left.

"Well I guess this is good-bye for now Kiara."

"Yeah, but just for now ok?"

"Of course."

"Bye Andrew."

We got close to each other and wrapped arms around each other and gave a long hug. It seemed like time stood still. Nothing else mattered but this moment. I pulled back a bit and looked into her eyes and she looked back. I leaned in closer and so did she. We were really close now and our lips were almost touching. I closed the distance and our lips met. I was in pure heaven. Her lips were so soft and they felt amazing. As far as I was concerned I could do this all day, but it had to end soon or I would miss my ship to Omega. I pulled away and she was beaming with delight.

"I was wondering when you were finally going to do that."

"Sorry that you had to wait so long and to see me kiss someone else."

"Yeah well I knew you would eventually, and as far as Ash goes I know that it was just that you were so pumped and excited you just grabbed the closest person and kissed them. Hell for a second I thought you might kiss Anderson. Haha."

"Haha yeah yeah. Well I better go. I'll miss you, and I will make sure to message you everyday."

"I'll miss you too. I will do the same."

I gave her one last hug and kiss and walked towards the ship. I took one last glance and could see her smiling and tears streaming down her face. Then I felt tears going down my face as well. i didn't bother with wiping them away like I usually did, because for the first time I wanted people to see them. So they knew how much I cared for her.

I woke up as the ship was docking at Omega. I didn't recall ever falling asleep, but oh well. I stood up out of my seat and stretched. I looked around for my things, but I couldn't find them. Then I realized that I left them near the entrance of the ship. Hopefully all my stuff was still there. I made my way towards the door, and thankfully enough all my stuff was there. I grabbed it all and made my way towards the entrance to Omega. This was certainly not going to be a vacation. Hopefully I could solve this problem and get back to the Citadel, and back to Kiara. While I was walking I noticed a Salarian walking up to me.

"Hi and welcome to Omega you must me new in town I can always tell."

"Yes, I am Lieutenant Andrew Alenko of the Alliance."

"What's an Alliance soldier doing here in Omega?"

"I am here to deal with the Vorcha problem."

"It's about time someone gets sent to deal with this Vorcha problem. We've been having trouble with them for almost a year."

"Well that's why I am here. I will need to go speak to who is in charge here."

"You'll have to go to Afterlife and speak with Aria."

"Where is that?"

"Just go through that door there and go straight. You can't miss it, and Aria is up at the VIP lounge."

"Thanks for your help."

"No problem, and anytime."

He walked away waving, and I couldn't help but smile. Well at least there were some friendly people here. I made my way towards Omega to talk to this Aria the Salarian spoke of. I knew one thing for sure that this Aria was going to be a woman. I was in Afterlife now and I saw the lounge from behind the big screen. There were quite a lot of Asari dancers at this club that I couldn't believe my eyes. It made me think of Kiara, and I felt a lump in my throat. I took a deep breath and that helped a little bit. This was gonna be harder than I thought. I walked up the stairs and then I saw Aria and I was shocked. She was an Asari. This was great now the whole time I'll be talking to I am going to be thinking of Kiara.

"Hello I am Lieutenant Andrew Alenko, my superiors told you I was coming."

"Yes they did, but what they didn't tell me that it was going to be some young man who most likely has no idea what he is doing."

"I know what I am doing Aria. Now point me in the right direction so I can find an apartment ok."

"Fine fine. Whatever you want. When you leave Afterlife you make a right and go to the door on the right and it will lead you to the apartments."

"Thank you very much. Now about these Vorcha. Where might they be?"

"They will be on the other side of the station. You will have to take a cab to get to them."

"Alright sounds good, but one more thing."

"What would that be lieutenant?"

"Are the Vorcha really that big of a problem here?"

"No more of a problem than most of the criminals here."

"Ok thanks. See ya around."

She gave me a slight nod and I made my way out of Afterlife. Once I was out i made a right towards the apartment section in this neck of the woods. I ran into a Turian, and he was about to yell at me when he realized I was a soldier, and that I was looking for an apartment.

"Oh you're an Alliance soldier. I can tell you where your apartment is."

"You can?"

"Yeah just fallow me, and sorry for bumping into you."

"It's ok."

I was settled into my new place. This will be where I live for the next six months unfortunately. The apartment wasn't bad, it was just where I was. Omega was just a big shit hole. There was no sugar coating it. I couldn't think of a worse place to be other than prison, or possibly beyond the Omega 4 Relay. Now that I was all set I was going to message Kiara and let her know I was ok. I sat down and I grabbed my laptop and opened it up, and I started to write my message to Kiara.

I had finally finished writing to Kiara. I didn't realize that I would take so long. I looked at my watch. It had taken me eight hours to write her. At least I didn't have to start work until the next day. I went to the bathroom and turned on the shower. I got undressed and I stared at myself in the mirror. I took a deep breath and got into the shower.

My first month of duty went off without a hitch. Sure taking out Vorcha was a pain in the ass, but no one else ever got in my way and I hadn't got hurt either. Which was good, because I am sure Kiara would be pissed at me if I got hurt. I was almost done with the day and ready to go back home for some much needed rest and food. I just had to make a quick visit to Aria. I was on my way to the door when I heard a sound. I was ready to turn around and I heard a gun shot, and then I felt extreme in my left shoulder. I dove for cover behind a large pipes. I looked down at my shoulder and there was a lot of blood coming out. I could barely make out the considerably large hole in my shoulder from all of it oozing out. The pain was tremendous, and to make matters worse I had no medi-gel. I grab my M-6 and I peaked around the corner and fired. There was a loud scream of pain and then a gurgling sound. I had shot the Vorcha right through the neck. That managed to piss of the other twenty-nine Vorcha that were left. I was pinned down and I couldn't do anything at all. If one ran out of ammo the other was firing and vice versa so I couldn't take advantage and fire at them. Is this how I am going to die? Pinned down by a bunch of Vorcha. I thought to myself, and then tears started streaming down my face. I had promised Kiara that I wouldn't get hurt, and now I was going to die. There was so much that I hadn't experienced, and I had I wanted more time with Kiara. Now all of it was gonna end on this hell hole.

"Damn it! It can't end like this!"

As if God had somehow heard me the door I was going to before I was ambushed opened. My jaw dropped as Commander Shepard came through the door with two of his companions Tali and Garrus. They immediately drew their weapons and fired on the un-expecting Vorcha. By the time they realized they were under attack half of them were dead. I was rejuvenated at this and I came out of hiding and I started to fire. In a span of three shot I had killed three Vorcha by shooting them between the eyes.

It was finally over. All the Vorcha were dead, and their bodies were scattered all over the place. One in particular was missing its head and its leg was doing a funky twitch. I looked over at Shepard and made my way towards him. All of a sudden my vision was blurry and I started to stumble. The last thing I remember is seeing the ground come towards me and then Quarian arms sticking out.

I woke up, and was very confused. How had I gotten here. In fact where exactly was I for that matter. I looked around some more and I realized I was in a med-bay. I was obviously not on Omega anymore. This med-bay was too clean and nice. I was definitely on a ship. I was just about to wonder whose it was when Commander Shepard walked in.

"How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good. I see that my injury is healed quite nicely. So how long have I been here?"

"It's been a day. I am surprised that you have healed quickly, but of course with Dr. Chakwas is quite the miracle worker."

"What were you doing on Omega? Not that I am complaining, because if you weren't I'd be dead by now."

"Oh delivering a package I found."

"How did you even come across me anyways?"

"Well we had just delivered the package when we walked by that door and heard gunfire. So I went to see what was up."

"Shit! All my stuff, and I was suppose to let Aria know I succeeded."

"Don't worry. We got all of you things and we told Aria that you were successful. She was very pleased, and quite surprised."

"Where exactly are we going Commander?"

"Please you can call me Shepard, and we are heading to the Citadel."

I couldn't help but smile. I was going back home, and I was going back to Kiara. I got up and I afford my hand to Shepard. I took my hand and shook it and smiled.

"Thank you so much for saving my life. Oh wait where are my manners you probably have no idea who I am."

"You are welcome, and it's ok. You do look kinda like someone I know though."

"I would look a little familiar. I am Lieutenant Andrew Alenko. You knew my brother."

"Oh I...I see. Well umm."

"It's ok Shepard. I know that it wasn't an easy choice. My brother died a hero. There are no hard feelings."

At that Shepard and I left the med-bay. We went to the elevator. It went to the second floor and we walked out. We stopped at a door that said debriefing room.

"EDI contact all members of my team and tell them to come here."

"As you with Commander."

"What the hell was that? Wait never mind I know what that is, but why do you have an AI on this ship?"

"It has proved quite useful in our mission. So I don't really think about it."

The door opened and in came a bunch of people. Tali was followed by Garrus. Then there was a Krogan, a Drell, an Asari, a Salarian, four humans, and then in the back a saw a Geth. I pulled out my gun and pointed it at the Geth.

"Everyone get down there's a Geth on the ship."

They all looked at me then laughed. I was completely confused. Obviously they all knew something I didn't. I put my gun away and I rubbed the back of my neck. The woman to my right looked at me like she was going to say something.

"Yes you want to say something?"

"You don't have to worry about this Geth he is with us, and is actually quite friendly."

Shepard looked over and held up his hand. We all stopped and looked at him.

"Ok now that we are all here I suggest that we all introduce ourselves to him, or I could just tell him who you all are."

"How bout you just say who we are and do me first so I can get the fuck out of here." The woman who said it had a shaved head and her body was covered in tattoos.

"Ok, I'll do that. This lovely woman is Jack."

Jack nodded and left the room without saying anything more. I took a note to stay away from her at all times.

I sat at the table in the mess hall. I had met everyone on Shepard's team. They all seemed very nice, but I was particularly interested in three of them. Samara the Asari justicar, Kasumi who was apparently a thief, and the Geth Legion. I wanted to speak to Samara to get some advice on how to please and Asari. I was just about to make my way to her room, when the intercom buzzed.

"Lieutenant Alenko make you way towards the exit of the Normandy. We are docking in the Citadel."

I made my way to the elevator the door opened up and Tali was inside. I gave a quick nod and stepped inside.

I was back at my old place and I couldn't be happier. It felt so good to be home. After I unpacked I was going to make my way to Kiara's place. I couldn't wait to see her. I know it had only been a month but I had a near death experience and it just made it feel like I hadn't seen her in years. I was all set and ready to make my way to Kiara's. I was so thankful for everything Shepard had done for me. He and a few members of his team had gone to Darkstar to relax. I left my place and made my way to Kiara's. I was at her place and I knocked on the door.

"Just a second. I'll be right there."

The door opened up and I was greeted with a gasp and then a hug. I wrapped my arms around her, and squeezed her tight. We were both crying now. It felt like forever since I had seen her. It seemed like we hugged a very long time. Not that I was complaining. It felt wonderful to have her in my arms. We both leaned back and looked into each others eyes. When then started to kiss. I was in complete bliss. It felt so wonderful to kiss her. Her lips were just so soft and smooth. We kissed for quite awhile, and it was just so wonderful. We finally stopped and she invited me in. I sat down in her couch and she sat down beside me.

"I thought you were gonna be in Omega for six months."

"Well I got rid of the problem sooner than expected."

"I am glad that you are back. I have missed you so much. So how did you gat back here and were you safe?"

"I hitched a ride on the Normandy with Commander Shepard. I was safe as one can be on Omega."

"Why did you come here with Shepard? How did you two even cross paths."

"Well to tell you the truth I was in a little bit of trouble when we ran into each other."

"Tell me now please."

I told her the whole story of my meeting with Shepard, and what had happened before that. I was afraid that she would be pissed with me that I had gotten hurt and almost died, but instead she wrapped her arms around me and held me tight.

"I am so glad that you are ok. You must have been so scared."

"Actually the whole time I was corned and thought that I was going to die all I could think about was you."

At this she started to kiss me and I kissed back. I could totally get used to this. Being with her was amazing. It was really starting to get intense when a knock came at the door. We broke apart and sighed. Neither of us wanted that to end.

"Damn it why does someone have to knock now."

Kiara smiled and hit me playfully. She walked over to the door and opened it. There stood Shepard, Tali, and Garrus. I walked up to Kiara and put my arm around her shoulder and she wrapped her arms around me.

"What brings you here Shepard?"

"I have a proposition to make."

"And what would that be?"

"I want you to join my team."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes I am Andrew."

"I don't know. I would like to, but I don't really wanna leave Kiara's side."

"I figured you'd say something like that. Well how bout she comes along?"

We both looked stunned, and then we smiled. We both shook our heads to show our agreement with Shepard. We hugged each other and smiled.

"Now that it's settled I expect both of you to pack and be on the ship in two hours."

"Thank you Shepard this means a lot to me."

He turned around and left. I leaned in and kissed Kiara. She gave me a big squeeze and went to her room to start packing. I sat down on the couch and waited for her. When she was done we went to my place so I could pack. I couldn't believe I was going to be a part of Shepard's team, and better yet Kiara was going to be with me. I was happier than I have ever been in my whole life. I gather up my things and walked up to Kiara. We grabbed each others hands and made our way to the Normandy ready for our join and our life together.