So this is my first story ever, so please be kind ;-) although constructive criticism is very much appreciated. I'm from Germany and not a native speaker, so there might be a few mistakes along the way.

There will be a few time jumps to get us to Andromeda but I wanted to use the chance and let us get to know the characters back "home" first. I hope you enjoy what I've written up so far.

I'll try to write another chapter up and update as often as I can (if people are even interested in this, of course) but as I'm a teacher it might sometimes take me a little longer.

Now, let's move on to the first chapter. Let me know what you think.

–––––– The Citadel

The lone teen was sitting in the shade of a tree, her back leaning comfortably against its massive trunk, flickers of sunlight giving her red hair a golden glow in several places. She'd decided to read her book outside on the Presidium grounds instead of stuck in her room back at their apartment. On the Citadel, it was always pleasantly warm and the sun was always shining – a byproduct of the artificial weather creation. It was nice, though rather boring.

June craved change and adventure; the sandstorms on Mars, the heavy snowfalls on Noveria, or the tropical heat and sudden rain in the rainforests on Earth did a lot more to satisfy her natural curiosity than her current location.

Fortunately enough, she usually spent many months of each year abroad. Just shortly after her upcoming birthday, she'd be going to Mars and more specifically the Mars Archives. She'd be supporting the scientists and researchers there, helping them sort through the newly discovered section on the Protheans. Her family's connections had secured her the spot and she was already way too excited and counting the days.

"…invited too! Do you think Scott will ask me out on a date if I get him two tickets for that new film that's coming out?"

The familiar voice made her look up from her book and sure enough, June found three of her classmates strolling along the Presidium. And they were obviously discussing her brother Scott. Grimacing, she focused her attention back on the pages in front of her, trying to blend their voices into the background. However, she was too curious not to listen to what else they had to say.

"Maybe, I mean, he seems to like you."

She snorted. Yes, Scott probably did 'like' her – and would most likely invite her along on that movie date – but not the way the girl wanted him to. Her brother was what one called a 'player'; he probably changed girls more often than his socks.

"I really hope he will..."

"Don't worry Chantelle, he will. – Ugh, I just wish he and his sister weren't twins. It sucks that we'll have to see 'Looniper' outside of school. Last week I saw her hanging around the embassies and she was actually talking to that elcor - who does that?"

"Duh! Plus, we'll have to play nice with the freak cause Scott actually cares for her!"

"If she and Scott weren't twins, no one would be coming to her birthday at all. It's not like she's got any friends..."

The three girls laughed.

June shut her eyes for a moment, willing the tears not to fall. She knew that her classmates didn't really care for her but actually hearing them talk about her like that? It was a whole new level.

Sniffling, she scrambled to her feet to get away before they could see her, not realizing that her book fell to the ground the moment she jumped up. She needed to be back in her room, back where they couldn't see her and she wouldn't hear their cruel voices.

"Excuse me?" a woman's voice made her falter in her steps. Hesitantly, she turned around, coming face to face with a breathtaking asari.

Juniper blushed, furiously rubbing at her cheeks, trying to hide that she'd been crying.

"You lost your book," the asari gave her a smile, holding out the heavy tome riddled with an assortment of colorful page markers.

"Oh," she exhaled, having trouble to stop herself from dumbly staring at the woman.

"A very interesting topic, I have to say. 'Prothean Ruins and Artifacts'. Impressive read."

June blushed even deeper, now pretty sure that her cheeks must be resembling the color of her hair. "Oh…"

"I remembered you humans to be somewhat more eloquent the last time I spoke with one," the asari's eye twitched in mirth.

"I uh.." June felt like slapping herself. 'Get it together, June. She's just a kind stranger. One you probably won't ever see again after today.' She took a deep breath and cleared her throat. "I am a scientist. Or, well, on the way of becoming one?" she added the last part when the asari gave her a doubtful look. "I'll be helping out at the Mars Archives. Leaving in a week's time, actually."

Finally, the teen took her book from the woman's outstretched hand. "Thank you for getting this back to me. I didn't notice-"

"Of course you didn't," the asari interrupted her. "I couldn't help but overhear.. These girls were talking about you, were they not?"

Juniper sighed but nodded.

"Thought so. Don't let them bother you. There will always be people who are jealous of us and our success, people who don't understand us or the way we live, people who don't like us for whatever reason. – You can't let them pull you down."

"You sound like an expert on this..."

"I suppose one could consider me one." The woman gave her a weak smile. "But sadly, that is a story for another time. I have to get back to the congress. It was a pleasure meeting you,…"

"June," the girl supplied, giving the asari one of her adorable but rather awkward smiles.

"June. Until we meet again."

And then Juniper watched her walk away with that fluidity and grace that only the race of the asari seemed to possess. She watched on until she saw her disappear in one of the buildings, only now realizing that she hadn't gotten the stranger's name.

–––––––– A couple weeks later, the Mars Archives

"And you're sure you don't want me to come and visit you?" Ellen asked over the open vidcom link, mustering her daughter with worried eyes.

June grimaced. She shouldn't have told her mother about the incident a few days ago. Now she would nag her until June would finally "allow" her to come and visit.

"Mom, really. It's nothing. Nothing happened and the station is being watched even more closely by the security personnel now. I'm fine, barely got into the-"

"You shouldn't have gotten into a fight at all!" the holographic transmission of Ellen Ryder tiredly rubbed at her eyes. "I'm worried about you, Juni. It is my-"

"- job. I know mom. But I swear I'll be fine. The atta-"

The power went off and with it, everything around her went dark.

Great. That was exactly what she needed. Her mother would be worried out of her mind now… Hell, she was probably already leaving her lab and hopping onto the next shuttle to take her to the Citadel's docking area.

Sighing, Juniper stepped away from the console. It was a good thing that she was a biotic. If she only pushed a small amount of energy into the tips of her fingers, she could emanate just enough power to slightly brighten her surroundings; then, she could find her way back to-

CRASH.

The teen almost jumped out of her own skin when glass was loudly shattered somewhere close to the comm's room. She wondered if Kaelus had run into something again.. Merely a week ago, the atypically clumsy salarian had knocked over one of the more expensive telescopes up in the visitor's lounge. It was a small wonder that the scientist was still allowed to enter the laboratories, with all the expensive equipment around.

"Kaelus?" June called out, carefully feeling her way through the door and into the next room, channeling her biotics into her fingertips. "Kae- Oh my god! Kaelus!"

In the eerie blue light of her biotic energy, Juniper could easily recognize the huddled figure on the floor. He was limp and lifeless – and with the bullet hole in his forehead it didn't take a doctor to know he was dead.

"Shit," she cursed under her breath, letting her biotics fade away in case whomever killed the salarian scientist was still around. She'd never seen a dead person before and to see dorky Kaelus like this – a man who'd always taken the time to talk to her even when he was exceptionally busy – it made her stomach twist and turn, her eyes water. She kneeled down before him and closed his eyes with a shaking hand, slightly flinching when it came back bloody. The 16-year-old was about to go and find a place to hide when she heard several gunshots. It sounded suspiciously as if they were coming from the Prothean lab, the one she spent most of her time in. Which meant that the intruders were probably shooting at the people she worked with, people she was starting to consider friends.

"Fuck!" The decision had been made in seconds. The people in her lab were scientists and researchers. They weren't trained for combat, they weren't soldiers.

June however... Well, she did have her biotics for one. Plus, her father had sometimes taken her and Scott to the Armax Arena. It was his idea of a fun day out and even though June preferred having her nose stuck in the pages of a book, she had fond memories of those few days. And they hadn't even been too bad, Scott and herself.

"I can do this," she mumbled to herself, trying to get her courage bolstered up enough to walk into the Prothean lab. "This is just like the Arena, only with real lives at stake and the real chance of getting-"

June broke off. This wasn't exactly helping. Forcing her shoulders to relax, she quietly crept through the door and into the room. The red lights of the escape route were enough for her to see two figures huddled behind an upturned desk, as well as a much bigger one holding a rifle and stomping through the room, probably searching for the hiding scientists.

A krogan.

CRACK.

Juniper watched with horror as the huge soldier turned towards the sound. One of the scientists must've knocked over a vial or something. He aimed his weapon and was about to fire, when something knocked into him, hard. It wasn't nearly enough for the krogan to lose his balance, but his shields were down and he'd dropped his gun. Still trying to get her bearings from the charge, June jumped for the shotgun.

She got to it just a moment before its owner and swiftly threw it to the hiding scientists, knowing a gun wouldn't be of much help from the close range she was in. At least this way, he didn't have a gun either.

June tried to move out of the krogan's range but she wasn't fast enough. The warrior charged at her and before she could really realize what was happening, she was out cold.

––––––––– A few hours later, med bay, Mars

"… was very brave, Mrs. Ryder … brave but foolish … a human, charging at a krogan! … lucky, she didn't break every single bone ..."

"… got that from Alec … my husband … wish they weren't so much alike sometimes … of course, they'd both deny it."

Snippets of a conversation reached Juniper's conscience. One of the voices definitely belonged to her mother and though she couldn't quite guess the second speaker, her voice sounded oddly familiar as well.

With effort, she managed to open her eyes but her eyelids felt so heavy, it was hard to keep them open. Her vision was blurry and it was starting to become hard to breathe.

"Shhh, June. It's all right, we've got you. Relax and close your eyes, the sedative will wear off in a moment." The unidentified voice spoke close to her ear and June felt shivers break out over her skin, unconsciously leaning closer to the source of the voice.

"Juni," her mom spoke close to her other ear, one of her hands gently running over her cheek. "Rest a little while longer, baby. You'll be perfectly fine, baby," her voice sounded rough with tears. "You'll be fine. Dr. T'Perro has been taking very good care of you, we're lucky she was visiting the station at the time of attack."

Dr. T'Perro. So that's who the other person was. However, the name didn't really ring a bell. Who was she? And why did she sound so familiar?

Juniper's eyes fluttered open once more. She saw her mother's worried face, the tear streaks on her cheeks.

Then, she turned her head and caught a glimpse of blue. She closed her eyes when they became too heavy once more, only to force them open again.

Dr. T'Perro. So that was her name; or at least part of it.

The asari she'd talked to on the Citadel.

"Good morning, June," the woman spoke, a small smile on her lips. "It is nice to see you again, even though I would've hoped for different circumstances. You gave your mother here quite the scare."

"I didn't get your name last time," it was the first thing that came to her mind.

The doctor chuckled. "Well, I only learned from your mother that June wasn't your full name either." The asari's forehead scrunched up in equivalent to a raised brow. "It's Lexi. Dr. Lexi T'Perro."

"She saved your life, Juni. If not for her…" her mother broke off, the thought too painful to put into words. "Dr. Khalo managed to kill the krogan with the weapon you threw to them. But he had already charged you, pinned you against a wall…" Ellen sobbed. "The internal bleeding was… it was touch and go, Juni. Do you hear me? Don't you ever do anything like that again!"

June's face fell at her mother's distress and she reached out to draw her into a hug, wincing when the pain wouldn't allow her the action.

Lexi placed a hand on the teen's shoulder to stop her from moving. "Rest, Juniper. It will take a few days for all of your broken bones to heal. There's only so much medicine can do, even as advanced as it has become."

The girl grumbled but obediently relaxed back into the mattress, soon succumbing to the strong lure of sleep.