This chapter, along with chapters 7 and 8, have had grammer/punctuation fixes as well as background info fixes like how long she had been trained and how her memories work. Sorry for the problems!
Ahh, nothing like the fresh smell of vomit, alcohol and sweat to wake you up...seriously. I was woken up for this. I mean, isn't it enough to have three C-sec guards down there? And why did they have to call me in? Oh well, I was close anyways so I might as well clean up the other dumb ass's mess.
As I walked in to Chora's Den I made a face. Several patrons were rushing past me, there were a few knocked out cold on the floor, and over in the corner I saw three guards wrestling with a krogan. How lovely. These idiots could never handle krogan without it turning into a full-blown fight. I took out my stun baton and sighed as I made my way towards the group, making sure to set the amps up to as high as they would go, and cleared my throat loudly.
"S'cuse me gentlemen, am I interrupting a date night?"
The two C-sec officers that had been getting their own asses handed to them were thrown aside as I spoke, the remaining one turning his head as did the krogan hoisting him in the air, both of their expressions unamused. I mean, on a personal not I had thought it was a good little intro line myself, but let's not make it all about me I guess.
"It was just a question no need to look so defensive. Now, Mr... angry? I'm just going to call you angry. I need you to put the officer down and raise your hands up where I can see them, nice and slow if you don't mind."
"Ha! Of course, and while I'm at it I think I'll pummel you like the rest of these puny human guards."
Why did it always have to be about the human thing? Just because we looked soft and fleshy didn't mean we couldn't pack a hell of a punch, I was a great example of that. He tossed the officer aside and started to charge towards me, and if you haven't been in the path of a charging krogan trust me, it's intimidating. They always thought that running head first towards their problem would solve it, unfortunately for him I was anything but an ordinary problem. And before he could run me flat I stepped aside and jabbed out with my baton, hitting the krogan in the least armored part of his body and shocking the living hell out of him before sending him hurtling towards the ground. He hit a few chairs and smashed them to pieces making him grunt in pain.
"You guys should have really been listening at orientation all those years ago, these things really do work wonders!" My voice was filled with self confidence and I knew that my eyes were sparkling with a hint of triumph already. I liked to get ahead of myself at times.
I received a chorus of groans and grunts in acknowledgment and I kept my eyes trained on the krogan who was standing back up, brushing off pieces of debris from his armor before charging once more. Was this the only plan he had? His thudding footsteps shook the floor the closer he got, eyes full of that famous rage that his species was known for and a look that said 'I want to pummel your ass into the ground'. Just for me? How thoughtful.
Making sure that my footing was stable I continued to let him get closer, so close that if I had been one second slower than I would have been ground into a heap of meat; but just as his body was about to connect with my own I launched myself into the air and above his head. With the help of biotics of course. The look of surprise on his face nearly made me lose it right then and there, but I had a job to do. So while he was still underneath me I focused all of my strength and honed in my biotics into a powerful charge that sent me crashing back down into his body. Thanks to the barrier I had around myself I came to no harm, the krogan on the other hand...he may have needed some work done after that.
"Urrrggh...auuuuuhhh."
Carefully avoiding the cracked flooring and few blood splatters I stepped off of the unconscious colossal alien and put away my baton, sighing as I looked around at the wreckage that was Chora's Den. Oh well, maybe when they fix it up they can get rid of the garish floor pattern. It always made me dizzy when I looked at it. I tapped the button on my ear piece to activate my mic.
"This is C-sec officer FayLynn requesting a pick up. I've got three officers down, a handful of bar patrons and one big ugly krogan, over."
The static of the comm hit my ear as I called in the scene and reported the end result. Everything that wasn't relevant to anybody was relevant to C-sec; what time was it? How many tables and chairs got crushed? How many times did you tell them to stop? What color underwear are you wearing?...ok maybe not that last one but the idea is pretty clear. They were just way too thorough about everything and it was annoying.
"Officer this is C-sec acknowledging your request, back up is en route."
Alright, that about wraps it up and ties a sweet bow on it- oh shit! I forgot something. A smirk pulled one side of my mouth up and I tried not to chuckle as I commed C-sec once more.
"Oh and uh base, do me a favor?"
"What do you need?"
"Tell Vakarian that I just pulled ahead by 50 points."
After the last transmission I took the earpiece off and pocketed it, seemed that it wouldn't do any harm since my day was over. My steps were quick and my spirit light as I made my way to the locker rooms of C-sec and began to change out of my uniform. I had gotten over the stigma of appearance way back at the academy. It made no difference to me whether or not other girls approved of how I looked, but there was one thing that still seemed to pluck my nerves just a bit when mentioned.
"Nice ears freak!"
"I think I saw a few mice running around, better get to work cat!"
Yep. That was it right there. My eyes traveled up to look into the mirror that I now stood in front of and it made me want to smash it to pieces. There I was, a towel wrapped around my mid section, medium length wavy dark brown hair adorned a heart shaped face, wide and bright emerald green eyes...cat like ears poking out of the top of my head. And then there was also the tail.
Believe it or not having unnatural appendages that set you apart from every other human didn't make you popular, it turned you into a roadside freak show. As I sighed with the change in my chipper mood, having it now dip down towards hurt, my feet turned my away from the mirror just as my ears lay flat against my head. Having these things was just a reminder of what I used to be a part of.
A disgusting organization of human only activists that for the life of me I couldn't remember the name, and the nightmares reminded me of the worst moments of my time there. The members were cold hearted and sickening to be around from the glimpses that I got, especially when they would begin to talk about wiping out the other species; but none were as bad as their leader. Even though I had worked for them for about six years I had never been able to figure out who he really was...no one had. And whenever I tried to remember it set my head into a fit of pain. It was almost as if it didn't want me to remember.
My hand numbly turned the shower on and let the flow of warm water wash over my body, taking away the stress of the day but not the nagging thoughts that swirled around in my mind. One day I would get revenge for what he did to me, what he turned me into. How sick and twisted did you have to be to torture a child and turn her into a monster just to test out a new type of mutant? I sighed heavily and closed my eyes as I let the shampoo rinse out of my hair, careful not to get any in my eyes. Maybe it was meant to be. Maybe I was meant to carry this burden so no one else had to.
It could have been fate that it had happened to me considering it was my past that pushed me so hard to become the agent that I was today. Sure, it could have saved me from a dark life or it could have ripped me away from a completely normal one. I couldn't remember a single thing past my first time waking up in a cell, but that would never excuse it. Never. With that thought stuck in my mind I hurried and finished washing up before grabbing my civilian clothes and slipping out to the walkways, hoping that by the time I got dinner at the house and had a glass or two of wine sleep would be just a few steps away.
Patrol. More like walking the line of boredom and suicide. I do my job and stop all the 'bad guys' like stupid Pallin asks and this is the thanks I get? Not even a day off? Pfft, see how hard I work now. Apparently, he had read the report I turned in about the incident at Chora's Den and deemed it an inappropriate approach to the situation, therefore putting me in the nice cozy spot of these lovely patrols around the zero activity places. But I suppose it wasn't all bad, it was near all the food kiosks anyways so if I got hungry I had a fine selection laid out before me.
Along with the enhancements from my former employers they also gave me a mean appetite that took a good bit of food to sate. As I walked the perimeter I let my eyes scan around the room lazily, the same room they had scanned so many times before and have rarely seen anything of interest here. But as I was scanning the room my eyes did catch something, a glint over by one of the plants near the elevator. I walked towards the object and as I got closer my interest piqued. I could make out a symbol of some sort, but most of it was covered in something dark and rough.
As I stopped in front of the object and bent down to pick it up, I felt a strange sensation run through my body, almost like a small electrical shock. I wanted to drop the strange seemingly metal insignia but my hand only tightened around it, like it meant something.
"Why do you have a tail? Are you some weird mutant?"
"Huh what?"
I turned around a bit startled and looked down at a seemingly adorable asari child. Her wide blue eyes were staring directly at my tail and she seemed mystified by it. It was always the kids.
"Oh my tail, well...It just popped up one day."
"Did you go to the doctor?"
"Yes."
"What'd they say? Are you sick?"
Another sigh escaped me and I slipped the metal pin into my pocket so I could focus on not sounding like an ass, especially to a kid. They always had to ask all these annoyingly absurd questions and poke their nose into other peoples business; though I suppose that was how they learned what to and what not to do.
"No he just said I have a tail now. That's it."
"Oh...what about your ears?"
"Is your mom around kid, or is someone watching you?"
"Maybe...so do you have regular ears too-"
"Naila there you are! I am so sorry officer, she slipped away while I was buying us some lunch." The asari mothers tone was apologetic and I could see how she scolded her child by just looking at her with slight impatience. Kids do that to you.
"It's alright ma'am, she's very sweet. Just be a bit more careful and have a nice day."
I couldn't help but smile as they pair walked off. Children could drive you mad with questions but they were just full of so much wonder, their minds absorbing every and anything around them like a sponge. I wonder if I was like that with my mom... As I let my mind wander off into wonderland I continued my walk around the area, not paying attention to anything in particular and the odd pin was forgotten about in my pocket. It wasn't a huge surprise when I ended up bumping into a tall and armored chest, effectively pushing me back and onto the floor with a thud. Unfortunately for me and thanks to some terrible luck, my fall resulted in my body landing awkwardly on my tail. There was no hiding the tears that sprang to my eyes and the agonizing pain that flashed through my body.
"Sweet spirits and dammit all to fuck!"
"Watch where you're going pig, next time it won't be that tail that's hurtin. Freak."
Even though I was C-sec it didn't mean that everyone on the Citadel gave me respect, in fact, it sometimes attracted unwanted attention from some of the nastier clientele that visited here. None the less the scowl on my face was less then intimidating considering seeing as I was now in a great deal of pain. As the man whom I had bumped in to began to walk off I quickly grabbed a hold of his wrist and used the force to hoist myself up. There was no way this ass was getting away with this, especially since he had to add that little bit about calling me a freak. My tone was severe and threatening as I narrowed my green eyes and spoke.
"Excuse me sir but show a bit of respect to an officer if you don't mind."
"And I suppose you want me to listen right? Look, I have a thing goin on that I need to get to and I don't see any other cops with a problem so move."
He advanced a bit closer, not at all intimidated by me, and I tried not to back down or show that he was affecting me. Guys like him only thrived off of weakness and fear. My hand removed itself from his wrist and moved towards the pistol that was carefully strapped to my outer thigh whilst my eyes continued to follow his every move, noting how he had also moved his hand towards something on his person. But suddenly he seemed to stop moving forwards and look at something behind me. I didn't have a chance to move as a solid armored body was suddenly pressed against my back, pushing my probably broken tail at an uncomfortable angel and making me wince and clench my teeth.
"Having a problem here Officer? I was sent to relieve you from patrol but I clearly see a problem with this gentlemen in front of you. Does he need to be restrained?"
I recognized the voice but I made no move to turn around, now was not the time to say hello. The sneering man in front of me glared at the other C-sec officer before grunting and striding off, shoulders hunched and muttering curses under his breath. I hadn't realized that I was holding my breath until I finally let it go. Had I been that scared? It wasn't until the person, well turian, behind me spoke up and broke my concentration. In that moment I was also reminded of my injury.
"Having some problems lately with thugs? Didn't think you would've backed down so easily."
"Yeah I guess, would you please move away from my tail Vakarian?"
"Oh sorry. Did something happen?"
I'm assuming he figured it out by the pain laced in my voice and the way I cradled the injured appendage. My tail was bent at an odd angle and was extremely sensitive to the touch, it seemed to hurt by my hand merely hovering over it. Garrus moved closer to examine it but I hissed and bared my teeth when he barely even touched the fur near it. I didn't do so well with examinations. He simply ignored my warning and rolled his eyes before continuing to question me.
"What the hell did you do to it? Looks broken."
"I didn't do anything. That jerk made me fall back on it. Ouch!"
He had tried to touch it once more but I pulled away again, not wanting to inflict further pain upon myself. It wasn't that I didn't trust Garrus, hell, he was the person...er turian...that I trusted the most out of anybody. He kept me grounded when things got impossible to deal with and when there was something I needed to get off my chest he was always there to listen.
I wanted to deny the connection I felt with him as being anything else but friendly, but at this point there was no use. Ever since we had become inseparable at the C-sec academy my feelings had grown for him every day. Now as an adult I had to face the realization that I had feelings for my best friend...but I wouldn't, couldn't, ever tell him that. There was no way he could ever feel the same about a human. Was I even considered human anymore?
"We need to get you to the med clinic."
When he spoke it grabbed my attention once more and conveyed that he wasn't going to hear any excuses. This wasn't something that he was going to let me slide on so easily no matter how convincing I sounded. Eh, might as well try.
"I can just make sure it's set and wrap it myself, I'm not helpless."
"Doctor. Now."
The way he stared me down and the tone of his voice shut me up, he didn't seem in the mood for any games today. Maybe it had to do with the fact that Pallin had our schedules changed so that we no longer worked the same shift. He had switched me to night shift at Chora's Den and Garrus to the Medic Center. So even when I wasn't patrolling I had to go hang out at the slut hut and wait for him to finish up. I used to be an Agent and my usual job was to go undercover, but a recent situation had put me on suspension so I was put back to patrols.
Garrus took a hold of my arm, his grip firm but not painful, and proceeded to walk me towards the elevator that led to the med clinic, not saying a word on the ride up. I fiddled with a strap on my armor as we both stood silently; it was always so awkward to listen to the ads and music that played in the damn elevators. Maybe the people funding them thought they did some type of good, but I would pay a handful of credits myself to just tell them that they just made things even more awkward. My turian friend tapped his foot impatiently on the floor of the elevator as we ascended into the wards area, each passing moment seeming to stretch on forever. As soon as the doors opened he ushered me out and into the med bay where Dr. Michele was quietly checking her inventory, but when she looked up and saw Garrus her eyes seemed to light up. Weird.
"Garrus, what can I do for you." I recognized that light tone and airy look...this woman was trying to act all cute with him. I wasn't buying into it.
"I need you to inspect my fellow officers...tail. If you could. She seems to have injured it on the job."
"I can speak for myself thank you very much. Agent FayLynn Daye, pleased to meet you.
He seemed to avoid saying my name, not that I really cared but it was almost intentional. Like we were just co-workers instead of friends. She nodded and with a smile had me sit on her medical table while she grabbed a few supplies. I never really liked going to the doctor or going to get checked up, just made me feel like I was under a microscope while fingers got to prod and poke at me without mercy.
"Now I need to feel all the way down your tail, tell me when it hurts then I can go from there."
I simply nodded in agreement and looked towards the crates that were on my left, trying to distract myself and think of something else. I could feel the odd texture of her gloved hands as they made their way down from the tip of my tail, she would apply light pressure and move it before continuing on. When she was about no more than 3 inches from the base I felt it, a sharp pain followed by a bit of nausea. I hissed and bared my teeth once more like I had with Garrus, trying to move away as she continued to feel the spot. She was probably trying to make sure it was definitely broken before she would align the bones but I really didn't care, I just wanted to lay down and sleep this day off already.
"Please try and sit still, I know it hurts but I have to straighten it out before I wrap it up."
"Wait can't you give me something before you- Fuck!"
The very angry sounding curse was spat from between my clenched teeth as the 'good doctor' didn't hesitate to take a firm hold of the sensitive area and snap it back to its correct shape. She was lucky my temper was so well in check or she would have lost an eye...or both.
I watched through narrowed eyes as she wrapped my tail in some bandages and then put a type of protective cast over the spot, making sure that it wouldn't be moved and it could heal properly. I know that they both meant well but I really wanted to tell them that I heal quite a bit faster than most humans, due to my...condition. But as I turned to say something I saw that Garrus and the doctor had blown me off and struck up a conversation; both had a smile on their faces and neither seemed to notice or acknowledged me as I stepped off of the table. Well aren't they the cozy little couple?! Why was I so irritated though? It wasn't like it mattered to me or not, it's good that Garrus is...out there, mingling with some females...I guess. If I wasn't going to make a move then it was only fair that someone else did.
"And so she comes in with her crying child, doesn't know what's wrong and expects me to fix it. I knelt down in front of the child, sweet little girl, and whispered to her nice and soft. 'If you tell me what's wrong, the boo boo's will go away. And you'll get a lolli.' She immediately stops crying and gets patched up."
"Well you are wonderful with children Michele, do you ever plan on being a mother?"
"Of course I do, it just takes the right person."
Or the right turian in her mind, she better not try anything or she's going to need a doctor herself. No no no, I am not jealous...just cranky. I watched on at the two for another moment before grunting and moving towards the door of the med bay, stopping only for a moment as I heard Garrus question me.
"Where are you going?"
"Home. Sterling needs to be fed and my shift is over for the day. Talk to you later." I threw the words over my should, not wanting to actually turn around and look at the both of them as I spoke.
"Oh, alright. See you later then."
He had almost sounded as if he were hurt, but I really couldn't care less in that moment. I just wanted to get away from anything having to do with relationships and wrap myself up in my blankets until I couldn't see anything. With that last thought I let the door close behind me and walked into the elevator towards the transit area. Hopefully a good nights rest would do me well. The transport cars were fairly empty I noticed as I took one to where my apartment resided in the upper levels of the Citadel. Not that I would have minded being in a lower class area, but I wasn't going to complain. They kept it nice and tidy and always made sure that the area was free of any garbage, then in return I would make sure it was free of trouble.
"Now stopping at Omniway apartments. Have a nice day."
I literally could not stop my eyes from rolling and the scoff that followed as I stepped out of the tram and began my walk to my home. Always had to have those annoyingly cheerful voices everywhere I went didn't they? Luckily it was only a minute walk till I reached my front door and as I opened it and stepped in a feeling of calm washed over my being, my own smells surrounding me and making me feel secure and safe. Nothing would ever compare.
Sterling! I'm home!"
Nothing. Hm, that was odd for him. Usually he would have been all over me by now considering I've been gone all day. I quietly walked past my living room and entered the small kitchen, the light automatically coming on as I did so, and peered at the usual hiding spots that he liked to occupy. Where the hell was he at?
"Sterling c'mon. Mama had a hard day, can't she at least spend some time with you?"
My voice was halfheartedly raised as I walked back to the living room and sat on the couch, legs sprawled out and head leaned back. Though I was careful to position my tail so I wasn't leaning any weight on it. The dull ache telling me that it was in the process of healing and repairing itself slowly but surely. Minutes ticked by without anything so deciding that it was time for bed I forced my body off the couch and trudged on towards my bed; almost immediately falling onto the soft and plush surface with an exasperated sigh. My eyes were nearly closed as I had begun to drift off when there was a sudden light weight that made itself known on my back.
*Chirp*
"Oh, so you wanted to ambush me huh? You little sneaky devil you. C'mon, it's time for bed."
I felt Sterling's paws kneed my back momentarily before jumping to land in front of me as I sat up and began to undress, his blue silver fur shining and his four orange eyes blinking at me adorably while his two tails flicked around friskily. Every time I looked at him it just amazed me of what was out in the galaxy just waiting to be found.
It had been my third mission as an agent and my target was located in the Sentry Omega cluster on the planet of Virmire. It reminded me of Earth in a way and when I had been tracking down the fugitive there the beauty stunned me, even a midst all the fighting and war there was still life moving on. Long story short after I completed my task on the way out I happened upon a small group of what we now call Nalpas.
They were what seemed to be an odd reptile/feline based species that grew to about half the size of a regular golden retriever, had two pairs of eyes that were one color and held no pupils, two scaly lizard-like tails and a second set of eyelids that blinked like that of a lizard. It had been quite the surprise after I had left the planet and found him scurrying around the ships deck, chirping at everybody and causing a racket. I had grabbed a piece of meat from the mess hall and coaxed him in to my room where he calmed down and then fell asleep on my bed. The original plan had been to bring him back, but something told me that he was with me for a reason. Now, almost two years later, we're inseparable and I couldn't imagine life without him.
And now, as I lay on my back with my soft and purring companion next to me and a mound of soft pillows supporting my head, I knew that today was just like any other day and it had finally come to an end. There would be those days that made me want to pull out my hair and bash my head, and there would be moments that would make me wonder why I was still even working at C-sec, following the hair brained idiots that ran the show without enough knowledge of the show itself. But no matter what, everything would always fall into place just like it always has even if it wasn't entirely clear at first...right? For some reason the more I thought about everything that had happened today the less content I became. The other women in the locker room, nurse Michele with Garrus, remembering my time with that organization...it just continued to drag me down.
It wasn't like everyday I was tormented by these thoughts. I had the type of outlook that said the past was the past so why dwell on it, but something just made my skin crawl with irritation and agitated my body to the point where I had to finally get out of bed, disturbing Sterling as I did so and earning a very disgruntled growl.
"Shut up. I'm going to sit on the couch so don't wait up for me, okay?"
"Mrrrow"
A smile was almost brought of me at hearing his light little noise. Usually it did the trick, but tonight was just one of those nights when it just wasn't enough. As I walked past the familiar stand beside my couch I opened up the small drawer and took out an all too long forgotten journal; the pages were worn and the spine was bent from being opened so many times. The texture was just the same I noted as my fingertips ran over the cover slowly, relishing in the feeling of comfort-and slight relief- that having this book in my hands brought. So many nights I would turn to this as a reprieve from life, a way to escape the stares and the words that used to be relentlessly thrown my way. When I thought 'why bother?' I would just read my past thoughts and think about how far I've come, some of the memories reminding me about why I was here.
"Guess it's time for a new entry..."
In the low light of the living room I picked up my favorite pen that had 'Eternity' etched into the side, smiling now as I remembered the importance of the object, and began to write. Letting the anxiety, the stress and the build-up of anger that had been inside flow onto the paper; not bothering to hold back all the words my mind had to offer.