"Don't say anything unless someone speaks directly to you."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"If you do speak, keep it short, and to the point."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"And lastly, don't fuck this up for me."

"Yes, Ma'am."

The door slid open, revealing the entirety of the Palaven Primacy gathered around a circular glass table. The four turians turned to face the newcomers. Their chests bore a vast array of colours, each detailing a campaign or merit they had earned in the course of duty. The Primacy watched their every step carefully, weighing them up with a lifetime of military experience. After several steps, Colonel Scipia Zarius snapped her feet together, straightened her back, and thrust her chest out in a perfect, parade-ground salute. Her eyes were fixed straight ahead, staring over the heads of the Primacy. Captain Kania Felix, remembering that she wasn't supposed to fuck this up for her superior, followed suit. The Primacy returned the salute, but did not give the signal to stand at ease. Kania and Scipia continued to stare straight ahead, their eyes fixed on the wall behind the Primacy. Both were dressed in the signature grey dress uniforms of the 26th Armiger Legion. Their chests were also stacked with a variety of multi-coloured ribbons, though they paled in comparison to the Primacy. Kania stood a little taller than her superior, and had dark red tattoos down the left side of her face. Scipia Zarius, though shorter than Kania, was stockier. She had black tattoos covering most of her face, and a deep scar running from her brow to her chin.

"Colonel Zarius," the Primarch, Rexus Fedorian, acknowledged her curtly, then passed his eyes over Kania. "And this must be… Captain Felix. She is your proposal for the Prospero's Pathfinder team?"

"Yes, Sir." Zarius said, emotionlessly.

"Valedictorian at the Pompeii Brutus Military University," Fedorian examined the datapad in his hand. "Several Distinguished Service Crosses. Recipient of the Virtuti Militari, very impressive. A former hastatim. Interesting. You were on Taetrus?"

"I was, Sir." Kania replied. Her eyes hardened.

When the turian military subdued a world, the engineer corps set up safe camps for the civilian population. After that, the hastatim moved into the cities. They worked door-to-door, executing anyone that remained. Though this was sanctioned by the turian military, it did nothing to dispel the infamous reputation of the hastatim as death squads that roamed the streets, killing anything that moved. Taetrus had been particularly trying for the hastatim units. Kania had lost several friends there.

"That was bloody work." Fedorian nodded understandingly.

How could he understand though, Kania thought. He wasn't there. He didn't have to watch his friends bleed to death in the middle of the street, pinned down by sniper fire. He didn't have to execute the families that stayed behind.

"Is that who we want representing us in Andromeda?" Field Marshall Juris Hadrian barked, his gravelly voice a perfect match for his scarred faced. "A hastatim?"

"Former hastatim, Sir," Kania stated, still staring blankly ahead. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the muscles in Colonel Zarius' neck tighten. "I transferred to the 26th Armiger Legion after Taetrus."

"Former or not," Hadrian growled, "They bring a certain… reputation… with them."

"As does the Armiger Legion," Fleet Admiral Irix Coronati appraised Kania with his steely eyes. "And it's no secret that they don't accept just any transfer. But the hastatim do play fast and loose with the rules. I must say, I'm not completely convinced by this sudden change of heart. It appears too convenient. Just two months before the recruitment process begins."

Kania bit on her tongue before she said something that she might later regret.

"As Field Marshall Hadrian said, this is supposed to be the tip of the spear," Air Marshall Augustus Maximus folded his arms over his chest. Kania noticed that his medals extended halfway down his chest. "They should represent the turian ideology: honour, duty, discipline, sacrifice. There's no doubt that any member of the Armiger Legion lives and breathes those words. Though I do agree with Admiral Coronati. I'm unsure if, in the short time that Captain Felix has been with the Legion, she has had the time to acclimatise to these principles."

"Exactly," snarled Hadrian, "Honour, duty, discipline, sacrifice. Ideals the hastatim have no problem trampling all over."

"Permission to speak freely, Sirs." Kania barked at the wall.

Everyone looked at her, mouths agape. Kania gritted her teeth. Zarius had warned her against doing exactly this.

"Permission granted, Captain," Fedorian said quietly, a bemused expression on his face.

"Field Marshall, Air Marshall, you both spoke of honour, duty, service, sacrifice," Kania stated, still looking straight at the wall. She tried to keep her voice neutral, though there was anger creeping into it. She could feel Zarius glaring at her. "In the hastatim, we weren't particularly proud of what we did, but we did it regardless. Because someone had to. If the hastatim hadn't been on Taetrus, we would still be fighting there today. Innocent people would still be dying. We fought and died in the streets so that others wouldn't have to. Sirs."

Silence followed her speech. Kania clamped her mouth shut, silently berating herself.

"I think we have everything we need, Captain," Fedorian nodded. "You are both dismissed. You will be informed of our decision by the end of the day."

Zarius and Kania snapped to attention, then simultaneously spun on their heels and marched from the room.

"Did I not tell you," Zarius spat as they strode down the corridor. "To speak only when spoken to?"

"Yes, Ma'am." Kania said blankly.

"Did I not tell you to keep your answers short, and to the point?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"And did I not tell you," Zarius stopped suddenly, and rounded on Kania. "Don't fuck this up for me?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Kania said to the wall behind Zarius.

"So what the fuck do you call that?" Zarius shouted, pointing back down the corridor at the Primacy Chamber. Zarius sighed, and rubbed her brow in exasperation. "Kania, I put you up for this because you are a fucking good soldier. My best by far. If I had my way, you would be a fucking Spectre by now. But you need to learn to keep your fucking mouth shut, because the command chain doesn't end at me. Understood?"

Kania looked her superior dead in the eyes. "Yes, Ma'am."

"Cut the bullshit, Kania," Zarius snapped. She stalked away, her boots snapping on the floor. "Come on. Let's find somewhere to keep you out of trouble for the rest of the day. Preferably a place with alcohol."

Kania followed, rolling her icy blue eyes.

The cocktail bar nestled in the upper reaches of Palaven's urban district managed to be two things that Kania hated. Firstly, it was lively. The buzz of talk and raucous laughter struck her ears like a the chatter of a machinegun. Secondly, it was crowded. Military uniforms and medals flashed from every corner, with the occasional civilian here and there. Kania recognised a few of them. Some were veterans of Taetrus. These men and women all had the same hard eyes as Kania. When they laughed, it was mostly just for show.

"So," Zarius settled down in a chair, surveying the cocktail bar. "See anyone you like?"

"Seriously?" Kania sighed, and took a sip of the luminous blue drink Zarius had pushed into her hand, and immediately spat it out. It tasted like soap mixed with sugar. "What the fuck is this?"

"An Elysium Sunset," Zarius sipped at her own cocktail, forcing her face into an expression of enjoyment. "Don't you like it?"

"No." Kania cocked her head at the drink, viewing it critically. "It's blue."

"Yes, Kania. Yes it is."

"Sunsets aren't blue."

"I'm not following."

"It's called 'Elysium Sunset.' It's supposed to be a sunset," Kania said sharply, glancing up at the colonel, "Why is it blue? Is Elysium's sun blue?"

"I don't know," Zarius sighed in exasperation. "Go ask the bartender."

Kania looked at the drink, then at Zarius, then at the bartender. She got to her feet and marched over to the bar.

"That was supposed to be sarcasm!" Zarius called after her. Then she shrugged, and drained Kania's cocktail in one long gulp. How much trouble could she possibly get into, anyway?

Kania shoved her way through the crowd at the bar, ignoring the shouts of anger as she did so. The bartender was on the opposite side of the bar from her. He crossed over to her side, leaning over to a turian on Kania's right. She waited patiently while the turian gave his order. The bartender nodded, then began to toss various liquids of different colours into a mixing cup. He emptied the garish pink result into a glass and passed it to the turian.

"Excuse me!" Kania said politely, but the bartender ignored her, instead turning to the turian on her left. His uniform denoted him as a Major in the 43rd Marine Division. Blue marks on his face revealed him as a native of Palaven.

"I'll have a White Illian," the turian said, then turned to Kania. "What did you want?"

"I want to know why an Elysium Sunset is blue."

"No," the turian laughed. "What did you want to drink? I'll get it for you."

"I didn't want anything to drink," Kania frowned. Was this flirting? "I wanted to ask why a drink that calls itself a sunset is blue. Sunsets aren't blue. It doesn't make sense."

"Two White Illians," the turian said to the bartender, handing over his credit chit.

"I didn't want a drink," Kania said curtly. "I wanted to find out why an Elysium Sunset is blue."

"At least try it."

"Why?" Kania glowered at the turian. He seemed to be utterly bemused by her rejection. This, Kania surmised, must be why all her female friends complained about flirting. It was generally unwanted, and largely dull. "I didn't ask for it."

"Consider it compensation," the turian shrugged, and handed her the drink, which was the colour of off-milk. At least, Kania thought, it was a shade of white. "For not finding out the answer."

"Hey, if you're done," called someone behind her, "Then get out of the way."

"I'm not done," Kania snapped at him. "I'm trying to find out why an Elysium Sunset is blue. It's a sunset. Sunsets aren't blue!"

"Yeah, yeah. Out of the way," the turian shoved her aside. Kania was shunted into the turian with the blue facial markings, splashing both White Illians down Kania's dress uniform.

"Excuse me," Kania said, incredulously, indicating the stains settling on her dark grey uniform to the turian.

"Should have gotten out of the way," he shrugged. "Hardly my fault."

"No," Kania's icy blue eyes flared. "Completely your fault. Literally, all of this was your fault."

"Yeah, go cry about it to someone else."

Fuming, Kania hefted the glass in her hand and smashed it across the offending turian's head. With a groan, he slid to the floor and stayed there, unmoving. There were shouts of alarm, and a moment later, Kania felt a vice-like grip close around her arm. She looked up into the mirrored visor of a turian military police officer. Kania looked around for Zarius, but the colonel was passionately kissing a Flight Lieutenant in the corner.

"Please come with us, Ma'am." The policeman said to her, his voice calm.

"Hey, I didn't do anything wrong!" Kania said, shocked that she was even being asked to leave. She pointed at the turian on the floor. "It was all his fault."

"She's right," said the turian beside her, whose dark green dress uniform was also spattered and stained with white. "He assaulted the captain. She acted in self-defence."

"She pushed in front first," someone yelled from behind Kania.

"Fuck off!" She shouted back, looking around for whoever had called out. "I will pull rank on you, motherfucker!"

"Ma'am, have you been drinking?"

"No," Kania said angrily. "I've been trying to find out why an Elysium Sunset is blue. Sunsets aren't blue!"

"Okay, we're going to have to take you in," the military policeman tugged on her arm. "Please don't make us resort to force, Ma'am. Paperwork, you understand."

With that, she was jerked away, spitting and cursing at the policemen. She was tossed rather unceremoniously into a small cell with a bunk on one side, and a toilet on the other. The thin tube in the ceiling was barely enough to illuminate the room. Several hours later, the door to her cell opened. Kania raised a hand to shield her eyes. The light in the corridor was almost blinding. A turian military police officer walked in, escorted by two guards. He was skimming through a datapad, muttering to himself. One of the guards stood in the door, his assault rifle held at attention across his chest. The second guard stood opposite the first, at the end of Kania's dark, four-metre-by-four-metre cell.

"Captain Kania Felix." The officer looked up from the datapad. "You have been charged with drunk and disorderly. You'll be in overnight, and let off with a caution."

"But I'm not drunk," Kania frowned. "You checked my blood charts, right?"

"We did." The officer returned to his datapad.

"And did I have alcohol in my system?" Kania stood up. The guards tensed. The mirrored visor of the guard next to Kania pivoted to face her.

"Ma'am, please sit down," the guard said calmly.

Kania glared at the officer. "Did I have alcohol in my system?"

"No," the officer admitted.

"So how the fuck can I be drunk and disorderly without being drunk?" Kania snapped at him. "That's just plain nonsensical!"

"Ma'am, please sit down," the guard repeated.

"No!" Kania shouted at the guard. "I'm being charged with something that I cannot be charged with! It's like if someone charged you with being intelligent!"

Kania had been punched many times in her life. Mostly in training; occasionally in bars; and once in the park. The one thing they all had in common was her big stupid mouth. And like all the previous times, the thing getting punched was her big stupid mouth. Kania saw stars as she was sent flying back onto her bed. Her head cracked painfully against the wall. A high-pitched ringing in her ears drowned out all other sound. Kania shook her head to try and clear the ringing. Slowly, it dissipated. She raised her head off the bed and looked around. The officer was shouting. The guard was shouting. The other guard was shouting.

And all of a sudden, they weren't. Silence.

Kania was hauled off the bed and into a standing position. Primarch Rexus Fedorian stood in the door, flanked by a pair of thickly-armoured turians. The symbol of the Andromeda Initiative was stamped on their chests. Kania tried to stand to attention, but her head was still spinning. She stumbled over to the toilet and vomited. Fedorian was waiting patiently, inspecting the cell with a curious expression on his face. He glanced at the officer and the guard, who stood still as posts.

"I'd like a moment alone with Captain Felix."

"Sir!"

The pair saluted and marched from the cell. Kania looked up from the toilet, eyes streaming.

"Didn't realise I'd be getting my rejection letter in person," she wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her already-stained, formerly-pristine dress uniform, and spat a last globule of vomit and spittle into the toilet. "You really shouldn't have, Sir."

"The Primacy discussed your application," Fedorian said in his calm, quiet voice. "The Field Marshall, Fleet Admiral, and Air Marshall were all against your addition to the programme."

Kania bit down on her lip to prevent a snide comment about the Primarch's powers of observation escaping her mouth. She was already in the shit, no need to make it worse.

"However," Fedorian nodded to the turian on his right. "Major Constans Vespasian came to the Primacy with a candidate that he asked us to consider."

The turian removed his helmet, revealing blue facial markings. Kania couldn't hold her tongue.

"Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me." Then she remembered who she was speaking to, and quickly added, "Sir."

"Major Vespasian claims that – based on your file – you appeared to be perfect for the Andromeda Initiative," Fedorian said, ignoring the profanity. "While the rest of the Primacy stressed their objections - for the second time, he subsequently threatened to abandon his position as Pathfinder if you weren't added to the programme."

"Oh did he now?" Kania narrowed her eyes.

"You were a valedictorian at Brutus," Constans shrugged nonchalantly. "That immediately makes you a prime candidate. And I was on Taetrus. The hastatim pulled our asses out of the fire on that one."

"Yeah, we weren't just there to shoot small children," Kania muttered. "Contrary to popular belief, we're pretty fucking good at killing most things. Sir."

"I know," Constans nodded. "That's why I requested you, and fought your corner."

"Welcome to the Andromeda Initiative, Captain Felix," Primarch Fedorian saluted her. "I trust you won't disappoint us."