Chapter 1

Pallin sat in relative peace and quiet in one the many little green copses on the Presidium.

This little place was a bit out-of-the-way for the average denizen of the Citadel. It made it perfect. Peace and quiet could be hard to find as Executor, from both citizen and fellow C-Sec officers alike.

He sat back in the bench, let out a sigh and continued reading the datapad he had brought. It was some silly little novel that was a friend's recommendation, detailing the quite torrid love affair between an old turian senator and a young fresh-faced recruit. Not his usual read but it was something to tide him over till something better came his way.

He noticed out of the corner of his eye some new activity in his particular piece of heaven.

A young human - female from the body shape he surmised - came walking in. The girl was completely absorbed her own private thoughts.

She seemed skinny, far too skinny to be classed as healthy.

Her fur was not full of gloss and shine as Pallin had seen in humans that arrived in the Citadel. It seemed very limp for want of a better word. She wore some turian style clothes which surprised him to no end.

So intrigued was he by all this that he actually placed his datapad down and sat watching her.

Pallin had no great love of humanity.

He had fought as a young turian in the Relay 314 incident and had... well, he had lost a lot. There was a lot of anger inside him for this young species which tended to express itself in his tone of voice and his demeanour when he had to deal with them. Curiosity was not an emotion he associated the strongest within in himself when he was dealing with these pyjaks.

He began almost assessing her like he would assess a suspect or crime scene. She was not very tall for a human, maybe 5'7''. She had a colour in her fur that he had heard referred to as "blonde" and it seemed short, almost hacked in some places but now growing out. The girl had haphazardly tied the longest parts together at the back of her head – obviously hoping to keep it from falling into her face. Her eyes were large and seemed to show every flicker of emotion. They were the hue of the Presidium reservoirs, a lovely warm blue.

He tilted his head slightly at her. She still hadn't noticed that she had company in the park. She was too busy looking at the greenery with awe as if she had never seen it before.

She reached out hesitantly to touch a statue then recoiled as if afraid it would hurt.

"It doesn't bite. You can touch it." Pallin heard himself say.

The little human jumped and looked at him with wide frightened eyes. He watched them flicker briefly, assessing exits. Now that was interesting. Mixed in with obvious naivety was some more militaristic expertise. The stance she held, a good position for fleeing or engaging in combat although it was obvious her choice was going to be running. She was actively controlling her breathing. She assessed him, her eyes glancing over his neutral sitting position, over the datapad and very items he had brought.

"I'm sorry." she spoke softly. "I didn't know anyone was here. I..I will leave."

She made to head back the direction she came from.

Something possessed Pallin at that moment.

He should have let her go and rid his company of yet another human. But he didn't.

"Hold on. I think there is plenty of room here for two."

The human turned to face him, a curious look on her face. "I don't want to bother you. I just came by exploring. I'm kinda new around here."

Pallin smiled a little. "Well then, newcomer. Welcome to the Citadel."

He stood up, showing off his significant height and build advantage over her. He stepped carefully towards her, as if approaching an injured animal that was backed into a corner.

"My name is Pallin. I'm the C-Sec Executor."

He held out hand to her, anticipating a handshake. She looked at his outstretched hand then did something odd. She placed her small soft hand into his and just held it there. She looked Pallin into his eyes and held his gaze.

"My name is Anne. I'm glad to meet you Executor Pallin."

For a moment, Pallin felt something stir inside that he had not felt in a very long time. Her hand was warm in his and he felt her small digits slip so easily between his own. He drew back his hand and stood a bit straighter.

"How long have you been here? It's still not completely usual to see your species on the Citadel."

Anne brushed back a stray lock from her face and tried to hide the red colouring that was now covering her cheeks."I only arrived 3 days ago. The cargo ship, Constantinople, brought me here from Omega."

Pallin frowned. "Omega huh? What were you doing on Omega?"

Anne flushed even redder. "Nothing criminal!" she stuttered. "I just ended up there. I was barely there 2 days when I managed to get a place on the ship."

Pallin didn't lose that frown.

Omega only meant trouble and if this little human thought that she could get away with crimes on the Citadel then she was sorely mistaken.

"I'm afraid I will need your last name, miss."

She looked down at the ground and began fidgeting with her hands, "Its Harper. Anne Harper."

"Alright. Where is your home colony or are you from Earth? Do you have family here on the Citadel? Have you gotten a permanent address here? Work?"

"I'm not from Earth. I don't know exactly where I'm from. Somewhere in the Terminus systems I guess. No family, at least none here anyway. I got a job. The Craxius Restaurant in the Presidium. I am training to be a chef."

Pallin quirked a brow-plate at her. "You are training to be a chef in a purely dextro restaurant?"

Anne looked at him. "Yeah. There is nothing wrong with that you know! Marcus says I'm good, that I have real potential."

Pallin said nothing. There was a fire in her eyes now, it radiated out honesty. Unusual for a human he thought to himself.

"Okay. Let me go back. How do you not know where you are from?"

The human fidgeted more. "My family didn't really give out a lot of information. I guess they never thought that I would ever head out on my own."

Anne looked at the floor. "I stowed away on a freighter ship that had docked. Got as far as Omega and now I'm here."

Pallin sighed. "You know that I am going to have to tell this to the Alliance authorities. Your family is probably worried about you and if you are under-age then you will need to be returned to their custody."

Anne chewed her bottom lip then her face seemed to light up. "Oh wait! I have an id!"

She pulled out a battered looking omnitool, a very old version. She clipped it on and brought up the personal details. Pallin activated his own and swiftly downloaded them. He added some other pertinent ones for the C-Sec files.

"So, Miss Harper. It says here that you are 24. I think that is over the legal age for your species. Where are you currently domiciled?"

Anne looked blankly at Pallin.

"Living. Where are you currently living?" Pallin corrected.

"Sorry. I knew that it's just... I have found it hard to focus lately. Marcus has given me a room temporarily. Just a box room upstairs from the restaurant."

"Do you intend on moving?"

Anne nodded.

"Well, once you do I would ask that you update your files at C-Sec."

Pallin looked at the time on his omnitool. Lunch was over. He let out a sigh and collected his things from the bench.

"Are you leaving?" Her voice was soft, almost unsure.

He turned to her. "I have work to get back to."

"But you haven't eaten much. Sorry, I saw the little meal you brought. I would hate to think that I disturbed your lunch hour."

"You have no need to concern yourself, Miss Harper. I very rarely have time for food. It is one of the many disadvantages of being Executor. Now it has been a pleasure but I must be heading back. I hope you enjoy your time on the Citadel and please, stay out of trouble."

Pallin walked away, glancing back once to see the little human in her far too baggy turian clothes leaning against the rail and staring into the water.