Thank you much for reading this story! I know the chapter is a little boring but hang on! I will continue!! Please review.

Disclaimer: I do not own most of the characters in this story, Bioware does... sniffle...

Chapter 1: A Friend to Friend Thing

Thera cursed loudly as the mug she had been holding crashed to the ground. Coffee and broken glass flew to all corners of the tiled floor. Even though it was human to do so, she hated making mistakes. Thera almost wanted someone to punch her. She groaned once more before bending over and picking up the pieces of the shattered porcelain.

It seemed like she always had to clean up messes. Most of Thera's life was a mess in itself. She has always had to clean the dirt and grime off her history, thanks to her younger, mischievous self. She would never forgive herself for what she had done. She had always seemed to get herself into another crisis, which always meant more time with the soap and rag later in life.

If she hadn't been so pretty, she might of never cleaned up the messes she had made. Even though she hated the way men off all species would look at her, it didn't mean she wouldn't take advantage of it. She could get on powerful men's good sides quite easily. She also made friends easily, and not just because of her appearance. She would call herself outgoing. Her friends would call her 'fiery' or 'badass'. Her enemies would say no such them, as they'd have lungs full of lead by then.

The dawn of her life seemed to have just started a few years ago, when she had tried to get into C-Sec. She didn't know why, but she felt that it was the only way for redemption. Her teachers quickly realized her potential, and pretty soon, she had become the honor student of her year. Finally, there was something she could do that she enjoyed, gave her a good image, and helped people. It was a dream for her.

After cleaning up the mass wreckage that had once been her favorite mug, she decided just to head out to work. One day without coffee couldn't kill her. Thera sighed as she left her building and started the short stroll to the Academy. It was a beautiful day.

One couldn't seem to ever get tired of the constant stream of sunlight that rained upon her every morning. Artificial or not, it was still quite breathtaking. Her walk went straight through the park, where she thoroughly enjoyed watching the citizens of the citadel. She loved to try and see who were friends, lovers, and just the plain weird. It was her equivalent of watching the soap opera of the day.

Finally, after maybe a ten minute walk, the large structure of the academy grew in front of her. She could already see, and hear, that the Academy was at it's normal level of busyness. Which usually meant that there was a sea of people inside. There were usually officers and civilians strewn out across the whole lobby, which usually made her feel crowded and uncomfortable. Her assumption turned out to be correct.

Upon entering the building, the asari secretary immediately caught her attention by waving. A look of genuine curiosity came across her face as she made her way towards the asari. Was there already an assignment for her? She pushed her way through the masses, and eventually arrived in front of the secretary.

"Greetings," the asari said, in her business tone. Thera hated how she could almost never tell what an asari was thinking, because of their almost monotone voice.

"Detective Chellick wants you in his office for something important."

Thera raised an eyebrow. Before she could ask any questions, the asari started again.

"I'm sorry, but that was all the information he gave to me," she said, apologizing.

"It's fine," replied Thera, shrugging her shoulders. It was odd for Chellick to be so cryptic, and even more so that he requested her. Despite her skill, she was nevertheless a newcomer, so she doubted it was for any "special" assignment. She was scheduled for her regular patrol of the wards today, like usual. She decided she should just do what he said. He knew what he was doing.

After pushing her way through the lobby, Thera started towards the armory. Walking through the upper levels of the Academy was much less crowded than it was down in the lobby. Thank God. Coming to the door to the armory, Thera managed to bump into a familiar face.

"Ferris!" Thera exclaimed, her face lighting up at the startled jump her friend made.

When the rather human saw who it was that had yelled his name so loudly, he visibly relaxed. Ferris was a behemoth of a human. Standing at six five and having the typical build of an ex-marine, you would not want to be on the business end of his fists.

"Oh god, I thought you were someone else."

"And exactly who would that be? Death? Pallin?" remarked Thera sarcastically deciding to stop walking for a second.

"Actually, Yes," said Ferris, dodging a running officer.

"Pallin is here?" Thera asked disbelievingly. Ferris nodded his head.

"Where is he?"

"He and Chellick are having a heated conversation over something, but I have no idea what it is."

Thera's eyes widened in terror.

"What?" asked Ferris, obviously unsettled by his friend's reaction. The young woman gulped in a breath of air before squeaking out a reply.

"That's exactly where I'm heading," mumbled Thera, now heartily scared.

Now it was Ferris's turn to go wide eyed. He gave Thera a friendly pat on the back before turning down the hall to his duties outside.

"Good luck."

When Thera entered the room, Pallin was leaning over Chellick's desk, with Chellick also out of his chair. Their eyes were locked, with a menacing, almost violent gleam to them. They hadn't noticed her yet.

The silence was broken roughly.

"Pallin, I think it's about damn time you look around you," said Chellick, trying to keep his voice down.

"You need to accept that humans are here to stay, and that they aren't all out for you. At some time, you're going to have promote one of them."

"I have no idea what you're talking about Chellick," growled Pallin, a scowl forming on his face.

"Don't try to pull that bull shit with me Pallin, you haven't let any of the humans in C-Sec do anything except patrols," Chellick's voice raising consistently louder. "At least take a look at this human," Chellick said, laying down some files on the table. Pallin glanced at the files for a moment, before rising back up to Chellick's eyes. After an awkward silence, Pallin decided to give in. For once. Both Turians sat down in their chairs, exhausted from the argument. Thera bit her lip and entered the room. This was as good a time as it would get.

God only knew how nervous the young woman was. She started the approach to the table, even though her instincts told her to run as fast as she could. Both of the men were startled at seeing her, and Pallin almost drew his gun. Chellick, realizing who it was, visibly relaxed, his eyes becoming softer. Pallin scowled.

"Greetings Thera," purred the Turian warmly, doing his best to smile. Thera nodded her head and smiled sheepishly, afraid that talking might somehow anger Pallin. She sat down in the chair next to Pallin, her muscles tight, trying with all her might not to begin shaking. As Pallin was grumpily looking through the files, Chellick decided to start a conversation.

"So Thera," started Chellick smoothly, trying to boost the obviously anxious girl's moral. "I heard you ran into a nasty situation last night. Some salarian drug dealers correct?" asked Chellick, stroking his large armored chin. Thera had no idea what Chellick was doing, but decided to play along. She trusted him.

"Yeah, in some alleys behind Chora's," said Thera, trying to sound as natural as possible. Chellick motioned her to go on.

"After doing the regular run a couple times, I decided to take a peek into some back alleys to see if anything was going on," said Thera, pausing. "I happened to catch a salarian selling some steroids to druggies, and arrested them." Chellick twirled the talons of his other hand, he wanted her to go deeper into the drug bust.

"I told them to put their hands up. They all did, but as soon as I started to cuff the dealer, the other two ran. I used my biotic abilities to push them into the wall, and they were knocked out cold."

Chellick seemed satisfied with her story and looked at Pallin, whom was still studying the papers before him.

"That, Pallin, is why I think officer Thera would make a great detective," said Chellick, trying to make a point to Pallin. Thera was caught totally by surprise, and could not help a smile to pass by her face. Chellick, noticing Thera's now gleaming face, nodded his head and smiled back, confirming her hopes and dreams.

"A detective!" thought Thera. She imagined her name in the news-vids for busting criminal organizations. She almost fainted. Now, it all depended on Pallin if she was to become a detective. Hopefully, his racism wouldn't get in-between her and her promotion.

Silence. Between the three of them, no words were said. Thera seemed lost in her fantasies of being a detective. Pallin was going through her files trying to find something wrong with the human's skills.

Chellick caught himself looking at the human female in front of her. He tried to look away, out of etiquette, but couldn't. Strange, humans have come so far in the galactic community. They are known for being aggressive, and ruthless. Yet the soft skinned human before him simply did not fit the description. She looked like she could be so easily broken. But he knew that it would be a dangerous mistake to assume that in the field of battle.

He had seen her fight, she was a very efficient soldier, and a deadly biotic. She also seemed quite good at using her, "figure", to her advantage. She had long dirty blonde hair tied back into a pony tail. She had darkly tanned skin, and her eyes were a captivating blue. She stood tall for most human females, maybe six foot, and her body was lithe with well trained muscles. She was quite stunning.

"Is Chellick looking at me?" Thera asked herself. She pretended to be looking at nothing, but out of the corner of her eye, she could make out Chellick's eyes burrowing into her. "Definitely," she mentally confirmed. Probably just studying, as so many of Chellick's kind often did. Or curious. She had to admit, she was curious too.

Turians were so different than humans, and she could not stop herself from staring some times. Just minutes earlier, she had been doing the same thing Chellick had. His pearly colored skin was so amazing. It made him look like he was in shining armor in sunlight. He was quite a muscular Turian, with a very wide chin. Taller than probably any human, plus the armor that naturally incased his body, made him a force to be reckoned with. It was his tribal markings that were truly captivating. They made him look quite badass, like he had battle tatoos.

She accidently turned her head and looked at the Turian, who was still looking at her intently.

Chellick found his eyes locked to Thera's, who had caught him staring. His mandibles flared out as far as they could, against his will, his embarrassment noticeable. Thera's face turned an interesting shade of red, making her skin look volatile. For once, Chellick was relieved to hear Pallin's voice. It broke the awkwardness of the moment, both of their attention averted to Pallin.

"Well," sighed the Turian grumpily.

"I have to say that your record is... Astounding," Pallin said, cringing.

"You're definitely... Allegeable for a detective," he somehow managed to force out. Thera just barely fought back a squeal of happiness. Pallin seemed to be choosing the words that were the least destructive to his pride.

"You're promoted."

It took a moment for the words to sink in. Chellick was surprised at the outcome of their little talk. Chellick moved his gaze towards Thera, who now seemed to be stifling a smile that would've, right then and there, killed Pallin. Luckily, at seeing the onslaught of happiness that was about to occur, He left the room, taking the rest of his honor with him.

"Well, detective, I've got to head to the restroom, but feel free to let your feelings settle," said Chellick, holding out his hand for a formal handshake at the victory.

To Chellick's horror, the human female did not take his hand. She had jumped up and started strangling his body. He had no idea what was happening. He simply stood there, totally frozen.

"God, I LOVE you Chellick!" Thera said, releasing him from her hold like nothing had ever happened. At this point, Chellick's face contorted into something that looked like an abstract painting of a raptor. "Wasn't love a sign of affection?" Chellick asked himself. The next moment, she started laughing at him. What the hell is this?

"What is so funny?" asked one thoroughly confused Turian. The hysterical woman waited for a few moments, until the laughing died down to fits of giggles.

"Your face was... Priceless!" Thera explained through her girlish laughs.

"You Turians are so funny!" the woman exclaimed again before walking casually out of his office.

"Thanks again Chellick!"

Chellick had immediately become nauseous. he decided to collapse into his chair, his head spinning. He fumbled in his desk to finally find a small case filled with rather large capsules. Chellick grabbed one in his talons, and threw it down his throat.

The effects were immediate. The places where the woman had touched him stopped burning, and he started to relax. He tried to forget about what had transpired minutes before, but they wouldn't go away. Why had she grasped him like that? Then revelation struck. "A Hug," he said under his breath. He remembered now, it was a friend to friend thing, he remembered. So that was all it was. '"Friend to Friend."

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A/N: Let's find out how "Friend to Friend" this was D. I always LOVE reviews, good or bad.Remember: THIS IS NOT A ONESHOT. BY READING THIS, I NOW OWN YOUR FREEDOM! NOW, I COMMAND YOU TO READ MORE!!