Although he hated to admit it, Anderson was disturbed by the lack of what is usually a constant waterfall of cynical anecdotes that made up most of what Smiley said. Miles Hendrix always had a way with dark humour, but after the horror of Mindoir, he hardly said a word. He was being uncharacteristically serious, and Anderson didn't like it. During the First Contact War Hendrix wouldn't shut up after Anderson made that joke about his mother, hell he was still yapping on when the bullets were whizzing inches away from their heads. "You'd think those sticks up their asses would make the Turians shoot better." He remembered him saying. You don't make any sense Hendrix! He thought to no one. They had also seen what those Batarian pirates did on Mindoir. He hasn't said anything for hours.

They walked the scorched earth looking for survivors, all they found were settlements made of ash and bodies. The people the Batarians didn't outright kill were found on makeshift operating theatres in what used to be kitchens. No one was discriminated. They thankfully didn't see the worst of what their some of their fellow soldiers saw, Zabaleta lost his mind only a few hours after they were extracted.

Smiley had been silent. And David didn't like it. He sighed. "Thirteen years I've known you Smiley, this is the quietest I've ever seen you." Smiley just shook his head, his eyes focused on the monitor that showed what could be Mindoir's sole survivor. "You know, saying something may take your mind off things."

Miles sighed, deeply. "Fucking Batarians." he shook his head.

"I'll have to agree with you on that one. I've seen a lot of shit in my time: but this…"

Smiley grinned. "You sound like an old man Anderson."

"You're one to talk Hendrix. Besides you've let yourself go, badly."

He smiled. They both returned to watching the frail red haired girl on the monitor. The Girl was so frightened when they found her; she couldn't've been more than sixteen. They had found her in what was left of her home, cradling the only possessions she had left in the world. Her voice was coarse from screaming, her hair a mess from when her hands ripped through it, her neck was red from her nails tearing at it. Her eyes: bright red from the tears that fell shamelessly. Now she sat alone in a cold interrogation room whilst the soldiers discussed what to do with her.

"You see that… thing that she's holding?" Smiley pointed towards the stuffed toy that The Girl cradled in her arms. "I swear I've seen that before." He rested he head thoughtfully on her palm.

Anderson knew, he couldn't forget. "John, Communication's officer on the Alamo, he was going to give that to his daughter."

"No." Smiley said calmly. "Can't be the same person," his eyes thinned "Can't be. He never met her. He died before he could give it to her."

Anderson sucked in a breath "It is, he made it by hand. And I gave it to her."

"Shit Anderson" Miles pushed off the table they were leaning on "you should talk to her."

"What should I say to someone who's been through what she's been though?"

"I don't know, fucking anything!" He flung his hands and started ranting. "That girl has lost everything today. Every… Fucking… Thing..." He punctuated each word with a violent crack by slamming his fist on the table in front of them. "And for what? Nothing! She lost everything because the goddamn Batarians decided to be pricks and ruin the lives of those colonists for no good fucking reason other than to…" He trailed off and sighed. "Oh fuck it... Ranting about it won't change anything. It's just a waist of precious breath." Smiley paused for a moment, thinking about the frightened girl on the monitor. "You should go talk to her. Reassure her that the world has not ended and that she has something to look forward to in life. I'm shit when it comes to children, or generally being a nice person."

Anderson didn't say anything for he knew why Smiley wasn't a nice person.

He sighed disgruntledly. "Say anything that makes her not want to hang herself once she's leaves this shitty ship."

Anderson thought for a moment before turning to the kitchen behind them to prepare a hot drink. "You're right, a few kind words can't hurt. Besides she could use the company." The bubbling sound from the water heater was somewhat soothing in comparison to the stone cold silence that they shared only a few moments ago. "Do we know her name?"

"Nope, all the debriefing team got from her was a blank stare and a few inaudible monosyllables."

"Alright, I'll go talk to her."

Smiley nodded approvingly as Anderson headed towards the door. "Oh and Anderson…"

Anderson paused patiently in the doorway.

"If she tries to kill you, take her down gently."

Anderson walked away and chuckled. "Bastard" He muttered.

…

Garrus was furious.

It was not fair.

He knew any minute his mom would come through his bedroom door with her It's-all-your-fault face and start screaming at him. He hated it when mum shouted. He hated it more when dad was deadly silent…

He listened to the murmur of his mother's voice through the thin walls of his house; he knew she would be mad, but she seemed slightly scared. It just wasn't fair. He tried to think about what to say so she wouldn't be mad. Garrus was nine, he was the older brother, he could come up with a good argument. At least he thought so. He didn't care what his stupid Xeno-Science teacher said. He could make an argument.

Garrus didn't know why he did it. Maybe it was an impulse. It's not like he liked Solana, she always got special treatment from mom because she was younger. But he just couldn't stand the way she looked so upset all the time because of the things Agonus said. She was slightly overweight for a seven year old but that shouldn't matter. Agonus and his friends would go around and laugh at her, call her names, tease her, told her she wasn't wanted, that she should go die because they don't like the look of her. And the teachers and parents wouldn't do anything about it. They just said it was "Kids being kids." But it wasn't, it had been going on for a couple of years now. It really hurt her, she always looked so sad.He hated the fact that she was so serious now, she wasn't like this before. She didn't laugh anymore. She was so upset and lonely all the time and nothing made her stop thinking about the things they said apart from eating. He was killing her slowly. He hated how he got away with it too. It was unjust.

Today, Solana went away to sit alone at the back wall near the library during break and lunch, as usual. And as usual, Agonus and six other boys went to make fun of her, because it made them laugh.

So Garrus hit him. Again and again until his fist pulsated with pain.

He slammed Agonus' head against the old brick wall and screamed at him to stop bullying his little sister. He didn't realise how far he had gone until there was cold, shining blue blood on the wall and on his hands.He didn't care, he deserved it.

Then he heard footsteps. He prepared his speech. He was ready to shoot his speech as soon as the door swung open. The footsteps were slow and heavy, they didn't sound like his mom's.

The door flew open and Garrus froze. A man stood almost silhouetted in the doorway. The man had presence that was unmatched, all the air in the room went completely still and the only sound he heard was his pounding heart in his ears. The air pressure in the room seemed to skyrocket. He couldn't find his words. He needed to. He couldn't be weak, he had to say something.

His father stood in the doorway, waiting firmly for his son to find his words.

…

Anderson couldn't find where to start.

The Girl sat on the cold metal chair with her head and arms cradling the soft toy on the cold table in front of her. There was no space for her on the Einstein so they just left her in an interrogation room. Anderson made a note to find out whoever just abandoned her in this soulless and metallic room. She cherished that toy like it was her only comfort left in her world. Perhaps it was. Anderson could only imagine what she felt.

"I'm sorry I couldn't find any hot chocolate." Anderson said as he gave her the mug of hot water. She was still shivering even though he draped a thermal blanket around her when he entered the room. "We don't have much room for luxuries on a carrier." He pulled up a chair and sat opposite her, it made a sound as sharp as nails on a chalk board as it scraped across the cold floor. "Though I have secretly stashed a small fortunes worth of chocolate…" He placed the bag on the table "Hopefully you like chocolate, have some."

He didn't realise she looked up. She still embraced her toy lion but her frigid eyes remained locked on nothing in particular. He could see the pale look on her face, the black rings around her red eyes. Her face screamed distress. She looks like hell. He thought. She was hungry too. She reached for Anderson's stash of chocolate.

"I can't imagine what you must've been through child." He said as she unwrapped the chocolate, her eyes still looking at nothing. "You must be so brave." She didn't seem to register that, or anything else he said. He tried something else.

"My name's Anderson" Her frail eyes looked up "just in case you were wondering." She was still silent, just her blank eyes were staring a little higher. "David if you must. No one calls me Dave, but whatever works for you." She remained silent… so he tried something else.

"That's a very… beautiful toy you have there." He internally cringed, she still didn't react. He had plenty of time to admire the toy that John made. He gave him the idea in the first place, well not really. He wanted to make her a sheep. He thought. But I thought that was a stupid idea, John wasn't sheepish. Anderson gave her that toy when John died. He didn't think she'd remember him, she was only four.

She said nothing.

Anderson thought about briefly leaving her and going to bed, he thought about getting up and saying "Sorry can't help you" and walking out the door. He was tired; he'd been up for 18 hours, 4 of those he had been in hell. He needed to rest, he didn't need this. He pushed that thought away as soon as it came. Whatever hell he had been through this poor girl had it a hundred times worse. He just needed an axe to break the ice…

"I knew your father." He blurted out, not quite sure what to say.

Her curious eyes snapped to his and stayed there for a while.

"Really?" her voice was rusty.

"Yes." he replied, relived. "He made that for you. Spent a few hours a day locked up in his cabin making that. Nearly drove him nuts."

The tips of her lips started to curl up.

"What was he like?" She asked. Anderson met her eyes and saw that pain was gone from her face. Her red eyes were full of watery wonder. Anderson felt at ease finally. He felt… good. So Anderson began to talk.

And then she began to smile.

…

"I didn't think…you, were… be back so early" Garrus fumbled out, his words fell like blunt stones to the floor in front of him.

His father just stood in the doorway, blocking Garrus' only escape. He couldn't jump out the window, it was far too high. He learned that lesson already. He couldn't lock himself in the bathroom. His father would just wait silently for him to come out and make him apologise for being irrational, he learned that lesson already. He was stuck in his room, so he tried acting like a good Turian for his father.

"Tell me why what you did was wrong." His father said, slowly, sternly. Garrus had heard this all before, he knew he already made up his mind and there was no way to convince him otherwise.

"He- he deserved-"

"Agonus has a fractured skull and is in intensive care. His mother is afraid that he will not wake up." His father spoke emotionless and in a condescending manner that left Garrus absolutely speechless. His matter-of-factly words made his face run cold. "Explain to me how Agonus or his mother deserved that?"

Garrus came apart. He just wanted Agonus to stop; he didn't mean to hurt him badly. His heart was beating like a drum inside his chest and his mandibles flickered anxiously. He really didn't mean to do something that could be… fatal.

I can explain. He wanted to say, but his words stuck to his throat.

"Tell me what you did wrong." His father repeated simply. His sub harmonics didn't give anything away.

Garrus found his words. "What Agonus and his friends said to Solana will hurt her and scar her longer than if he just hurt her physically."

His father considered what he said, but his stance didn't change. "You are right. Believe me I know that fact more than anyone." For a moment his gaze diverted away from Garrus. "I hate seeing Solana like this, the injustice towards her is disgusting. But that does not excuse what you did." His eyes snapped back to focus on him. His razor sharp gaze cut through any defenses Garrus had left.

"I-"Garrus looked down shamefully, his sub vocals quivered. "I know." His stance and posture was reduced to nothing, he curled himself up until all the thoughts of trying to justify his actions were gone or leave the room.

"Do you know why?" His father demanded, even though he already knew the answer.

"Yes." He said, systematically.

"Tell me then." His father commanded. He never looked away from Garrus when he spoke to him. He spoke in the same voice that he would use when he interrogated criminals on the Citadel. His stern calm demeanor would shatter through the toughest of suspects in a matter of minutes. He hated using it on his son, but that's the only way he thought he would learn.

Garrus took a deep breath to calm his nerves. "I used violence as a first resort instead of a last one and that was wrong, and I have hurt someone really badly. What I did made me look like a bully…" He paused as he realized "Which is what I became. I shouldn't have hit him."

"What should you have done?" His father insisted.

Garrus took another breath to sooth his subtle shaking. "I should've found the best way to solve the problem, not the fastest."

His father nodded. "I hope you understand that now. Also before you assaulted him, he was the bully and Solana was the victim. Now you're a criminal, and he is the victim."

Garrus considered those words. Criminal. He never wanted to be the villain. All he wanted was for him to stop bullying Solana.

"At least Solana's not the victim anymore." He looked up to meet his father in the eyes.

His father almost huffed a laugh. He couldn't believe his hot headed son that never played by the rules was capable of being so selfless. He kept all the emotion buried underneath but he couldn't help but feel slightly proud.

But then his pride was quickly dismissed by the reality of his son's situation. "You understand you will have to face the consequences of what you have done. Can you face the charges that Agonus and his family will inevitably press on you? And if he doesn't wake up, are you willing to face the charge of juvenile homicide?"

Juvenile homicide. Those two words made his blood run cold. He was young but he knew what they meant. If Agonus died, he would be a murderer. He never ever wanted to be a murderer.

"I'm willing to face the consequences." Garrus said finally.

"Good."

His father stayed there for a minute to make sure that Garrus fully processed their convocation. Garrus and his father hardly had any time together, and when they were together he was usually telling him of or lecturing him. Garrus always looked up to his father, but he rarely ever made him proud, no matter how hard he tried. His father left Garrus alone with his own thoughts.

Murderer. No he couldn't be one. He hated injustice, he hated criminals. He wanted to fight the bad guys. He never wanted to become one.

No. He thought. I'm not a bad guy. I will never be a bad guy.

…

"Didn't know you were still up."

"You know me; I can't sleep in those piece-of-shit bunks they give us." Smiley was still sitting in the deserted mess. He his feet were kicked up onto the table and his hands rested behind his balding head. His chair was tilted at a very precarious angle. "I take it went well… You didn't scare her did you?

"She didn't attack me, if that's what you were wondering."

Smiley chuckled. "I was watching the feed." Anderson looked at him suspiciously. "Just in case you needed any back up." He raised both palms in line with his ears defensively.

Anderson always chuckled at Mile's exaggerated hand actions. He was always so melodramatic and looked like a mime that was out of a job. "Maybe you should talk to her."

"Pfft!" he snorted "Hell no. I'd probably say something traumatising… did you get her name?"

David nodded, "Alex Shepard."

Miles bobbed his head thoughtfully. "Now all you need to do is get her number."

Anderson laughed. "You're a sick son of a bitch Smiley."

Smiley's face dipped into a tone of seriousness "That girl, Shepard, she really went through hell today huh? If the devil had been on Mindoir and saw what those Batarins did I'd think he'd be scared shitless."

Anderson nodded rhythmically.

"So what did you two talk about?" Smiley asked.

"I thought you were watching the feed."

"I was. No sound. I guessed you wanted some privacy… I take it you told her about John?" Anderson grunted in acknowledgement. "I also take it you told her we have no idea what we're going to do with her when we get back to Arcturus."

"Shepard has enough on her plate as it is."

"Yes but that's not going change the reality of the situation is it?"

He thought about how to answer that, but the truth was he really didn't want to think about that right now. "How about you don't try to be such a buzz kill for once Smiley?" Smiley chuckled at that.

Anderson smiled gleefully he was glad he could make the bleak world of Shepard's life seem a little more hopeful, even if he couldn't have saved the thousands of innocent lives on Mindoir... He was so overjoyed when she finally let her barriers down and words started pouring out of her mouth. The girl, now happily falling asleep in a room of her own cradling her toy, was completely serene compared to the frightened broken mess they found on Mindoir. "Thank you Anderson," she said, seemingly at peace "for everything."