First of all, a HUGE thank you to the lovely Mordinette for accepting the role as beta for this story, for her helpful suggestions and encouragement!
This story is slightly AU, so there will be several canon divergences. It starts off roughly 16 years before the Eden Prime wars begin, and will continue through to ME3.
The first part of Protégé will have a slightly dark feel to it. While I don't give detailed descriptions of what happened, I'm going to place a possible trigger warning here for implied physical and emotional torture and abuse.
I hope you guys will enjoy this story as much as I'm going to enjoy writing it! Let me know what you think :)
||Protégé||
[Part One]
Chapter One
January 14, 2167
Thane Krios had nearly declined this job, and in retrospect, perhaps he should have. When his client had approached him with the contract and he'd learned that the target was human, the immediate answer to form on his lips had been no. The first life he had ever taken had been a human, and as a twelve-year-old, he'd been sloppy. It had been merely by the grace of Arashu that he'd been left standing.
Now here he was, at age twenty-one, finally accepting to take the life of a human for the second time. Up until this point, he had turned down any contracts with human targets. It wasn't because humans proved to be particularly challenging. Their physiology wasn't much different than the Asari, or even his own people. It was simply that the first encounter had left a bad taste in his mouth.
Perhaps it had been the challenge the target represented that had drawn the drell to accept this contract as a chance to redeem himself. Or perhaps it was his dwindling credits since leaving the Compact and the hanars' payroll that had something to do with it.
Looking back now, though, he knew for certain that it was Arashu's divine intervention that had brought him to this unholy place.
He'd spent the last two weeks staking out the base of Xavier Schuyler, leader of the Detroit district of the Tenth Street Reds, and his target. His client was a former member of the gang who had grown a conscience over the years and had decided to leave. He had provided him with detailed layouts of the hideout and all of the information he had on Schuyler.
The despicable human and his lackeys were not only involved in drug trafficking, but also dealing in trafficking their own kind. Most seemed to be young females, ranging in various ages. It was taking every last ounce of his self control not to storm the hideout and kill every last one of Schuyler's men, but he had to bide his time.
Thane had made his camp across the street from the compound in an abandoned and run down apartment. It was cold and didn't provide much respite from the bone chilling Michigan winter, but it was the perfect vantage point. He could clearly see anyone who came and went into the complex from either of its two entrances; one in the front and the other on the side facing an alleyway.
Staying inconspicuous on a human dominated planet wasn't exactly easy. While there were a few aliens on Earth, drell were uncommon, even on the Citadel. He'd received quite a few stares when he'd arrived at the transit area. And drawing attention in his profession wasn't a good thing.
So, he moved at night, while the humans slept and the dirty streets were empty, sticking to the shadows and relying on stealth as he kept his sharp eye on his target.
And tonight, he would strike.
The Reds had been planning a raid on one of their rivals' warehouses for the past two weeks, giving Thane the perfect opportunity to infiltrate the compound and take out Schuyler with –hopefully - minimal problems. He'd lucked out when he'd overheard a group of his men discussing bodyguard duty for their demented leader.
Five human males would remain to guard Schuyler. Five humans total would be no match for Thane. He had the upper hand, biotics, and Amonkira on his side.
And they had no idea he was coming.
Thane was certain he wouldn't encounter any biotics tonight. Human biotics were extremely rare and were looked upon with prejudices.
He waited until two in the morning before he left his makeshift camp, once he was certain most of the group was gone. He knew from his time watching the compound that Schuyler had twenty men living with access to the base, and did a headcount as each of them left.
The light crunch of ice and snow beneath his boots seemed to echo around him as the harsh, icy night wind bit into his scales. In hindsight, he really should have procured more weather appropriate attire, as his leathers did nothing to block out the unforgiving cold. But with any luck, he'd be off this frozen wasteland by sunrise.
During his initial inspection, he found an access panel on the roof of the building that led to the air ducts. The emergency exit had been permanently sealed, but his lithe body would allow him to crawl effortlessly through the vents and locate his target.
Using the fire escape, Thane silently scaled the side of the building, sticking to the shadows as he climbed. When he reached the top, he pulled himself over and immediately found the grate and pried the latch open, eager to get out of the cold.
Before ascending into the vent, however, the drell paused, bowing his head and clasping his hands together in prayer, whispering the same words he uttered before beginning each hunt. "Amonkira, Lord of Hunters, grant that my hands be steady, my aim be true, and my feet swift."
He paused, glancing up into the cold darkness surrounding him. "And should the worst come to pass, grant me forgiveness."
Taking a deep breath, Thane slid carefully into the vent, making sure to close and lock the grate behind him. He wouldn't need to get out the same way he got in, anyway.
He was quiet as he crawled through the narrow ducts, listening for any signs of movement below him. So far, he could hear nothing but his own nearly inaudible breathing.
Coming up the first access point, he scanned the room, a frown creasing his brow. It was their security control room, with vid screens lining the walls, and a lone guard fast asleep, reclined back in his chair and feet propped up on the desk.
Thane wanted the recordings that were surely on that console to turn in to the local police so they could locate the poor children they'd taken. He would do whatever he could to get this organization shut down.
With practiced ease, he slid down from his hiding spot, his feet not making a sound as they touched the floor. The guard didn't move as Thane crept up behind him, easing his dagger from its sheath and cleanly sliding the blade across the man's jugular.
A strangled, gurgling sound escaped the man's lips as his body slipped from the chair and convulsed on the floor as his life slowly bled from him.
Stepping over the still writhing body, Thane activated his omni-tool, quickly bypassed the security passcode, and downloaded the recordings after short circuiting the cameras.
Curious despite himself, he started the first vid. He quickly wished he hadn't.
Rage boiled within him as he watched the disgusting ways these men handled the young girls, shuffling them around like play things. One girl in particular seemed to be the favorite, with bright, defiant blue eyes. These men would pay for the atrocities that had been committed here, and now he had evidence and locations of the victims to hand over to the police.
Feeling sick to his stomach, Thane closed the vid, unable to watch any longer. He forced the horrible images from his mind and refocused on his mission. There wasn't much he could do about the men who weren't here, but he could, and would, take out the ones who were.
Exiting the room, he could hear the loud rumblings of a vid screen further down the hallway. Following the sound, he came upon what appeared to be a rec room of sorts. Thane spotted two of Schuyler's men, their backs to him, cheering loudly over a game of biotiball. They had the sound up ridiculously loud, there was no way they could hear him as he stalked closer.
Thane felt his lips quirk in a cold smirk. A cocky bunch, this lot. They were arrogant enough to believe that they were perfectly safe; that no one in their right minds would consider infiltrating their base.
Typically, Thane would only be focused on his target. But after what he'd witnessed these men were capable of, he wasn't willing to leave them alive.
He didn't hesitate, moving swiftly before they noticed him, sliding his hand around to the first man's chin, and tightly gripping the back of his skull. It only took one sharp, quick twist of his wrists before the man crumpled to the ground.
The other thug went for his gun, and Thane immediately dropped to the ground, sending his leg out to sweep the man's feet out from under him. The man let out a startled yelp as the drell climbed quickly to his feet, his Locust in hand and aimed at the human's head, and pulled the trigger.
After making sure the men were dead, Thane slipped back into the shadows, making his way through the deserted hallways towards where he knew Schuyler's private quarters were nestled at the back of the base, quietly checking rooms for hostages as he went.
The acrid stench of gunpowder, stale sweat, and other body fluids assaulted the drell's nose as he slowed his pace, spotting the last two guards standing by Schuyler's door. Thane pressed his back against the wall, making sure to stay out of their sights.
"Where the fuck are Miller and Barnes? They won't answer their goddamned comms!" the one on the right snarled as he tried to raise his comrades again.
His partner chuckled. "You know they're watchin' the game, Holmes. They've got that shit up so loud they can't hear you."
Holmes snorted. "This is fuckin' bullshit, man. We should be out there takin' on those bastards with-"
Thane moved so fast that he was merely a blur of movement in their peripheral vision. He called upon his biotics, sending Holmes flying into his companion with such force it knocked them both into the wall.
With a groan, Holmes tried to climb off his partner and back to his feet, but the drell was on him, slamming a fist into the man's windpipe, crushing it with deadly precision. Thane tossed his lifeless body to the side and spun to the last remaining guard, whose eyes were wide with terror.
"Wh-what the fuck are you?" he tried to stammer as Thane's fingers dug roughly into his throat.
"Who I am matters naught," Thane responded, his voice deadly calm. "What matters is that your life is forfeit for the sins you've committed here."
He could feel the man trembling under his grip. "P-please, I-I don't wanna die."
"Perhaps you should have thought of that before allying yourself with evil." He tightened his hold on the man's throat, causing the man to gasp for air. "Now, tell me. Is Xavier Schuyler hiding behind these doors?"
The man was crying now, and Thane felt himself shutting down. He could not allow himself to feel sorry for this man, if you could even call him and his comrades that. The images he'd seen on those vids now permanently burned into his memory. He was done playing around.
Those girls, those children deserved justice.
With a growl, Thane gripped the sides of the man's head and twisted.
He stepped back as the man fell to the floor and silence once again filled the hallway. He glanced towards the double doors, where Schuyler was hiding just beyond. Wiping the blood from his dagger on the leg of his pants, he slid it back into its sheath and stormed towards the door.
Perhaps this wasn't his cleanest job. He was used to doing things much more quietly, cleanly. But these men had started a fire within him that refused to die out until every last one of them were dead.
Thane wasn't exactly sure what he was expecting when he rushed through the double doors. A gun pointed at his face? An empty room? A startled crime boss?
What he hadn't expected to see, was a girl. With her hands and feet bound together, huddled against the wall in the far corner of the room. Even from his position from the doorway, he could see her startlingly blue eyes widen with fear.
The girl was a young human, maybe fourteen or fifteen years of age. Thane couldn't really tell. She was thin, unnaturally so. She was curled up into herself, her long, stringy dark hair covering most of her dirty, naked body.
Naked.
White hot anger surged through him. The eyes, he realized, a sick feeling twisting in his gut. He recognized this girl; she was one of the ones who'd been tortured and mistreated in the vid.
He watched as those blue eyes widened further, just a fraction. It was enough to alert him to the other presence in the room.
Thane spun, pulling his SMG from his waist, to find Xavier Schuyler, gun trained at his head.
"Who the fuck do you think you are?" Schuyler demanded, cocking his gun. "You think you can just march through my home and kill my men? I will fucking kill you for this."
The girl screamed through her gag as Schuyler pulled the trigger. His eyes widened when he realized his target was no longer there.
Thane advanced on the crime boss, catching his wrist in his hand and forcing it backwards with a snap, causing him to drop his weapon and cry out at the sudden pain.
Moving behind him, the drell rammed the heel of his boot into the back of Schuyler's kneecap, forcing him down onto his knees. He struggled against him, but Thane kept his grip tight and pressed the barrel of the Locust against his temple.
"Go ahead and fuckin' kill me," he snarled. "I ain't gonna beg."
"Begging would be futile," Thane agreed, his breathing harsh from exertion. "Do you have any idea of the innocent lives you've destroyed for your greed? Do you have no remorse?"
"Fuck you!"
Disgusted, Thane shook his head. He glanced up, and met the eyes of the terrified young girl. "Look away," he ordered softly.
She did, and he didn't wait any longer. He pulled the trigger, and pushed the body of the disgusting human being away from him. He even added another bullet for good measure.
He was shaking with rage as he regarded the messy heap at his feet. Taking a deep breath to try to calm himself, he holstered his gun and took a tentative step towards the girl.
To her credit, she didn't shrink away from him as he expected, but he could see the pure terror written on her dirty face. He held up his hands in a placating manner. "I'm not going to hurt you," he assured her softly. "My name is Thane. I'm here to help you. Do you understand?"
She focused those bright blue eyes on him, searching his face for assurance. Finally, she nodded.
"I'm going to untie you and remove your gag." He kept his voice soft; the last thing he wanted to do was startle her further. "I'm going to need you to be quiet just in case anyone else has come back, okay?"
Again, she nodded.
He removed her restraints first, unsure if he trusted her not to scream. Not that he could blame her if she did. Finally, he pulled the gag from her mouth. "Can you tell me your name?" he asked, shrugging off his jacket and draping it over her body.
She simply stared at him, pupils blown wide with shock.
Thane pushed down his irritation. The poor child was frightened, he knew that. His anger was aimed at the man who'd done this to her. He sighed. "It's all right, you don't have to talk right now. But I need to get you out of here, okay?"
At her nod, Thane lifted her gently, making sure to keep his jacket wrapped tightly around her. He felt his anger return at how light she felt in his arms. He needed to get her to the hospital fast.
She clung to him as if he were her lifeline, burying her face in the crook of his neck.
When they were outside the compound, he just barely heard her whisper, "Zara. My name is Zara Shepard."