Chapter 1: Lights

A loud screech and a flash of white light drew Kolyat out of his restless slumber. He sat straight up in bed, eyes struggling to adjust to the sudden darkness. After a moment of complete blackness he rubbed his eyes and swung his legs around the bed, wondering where that noise had come from. He searched for his omni-tool, sliding it on and waving it to activate the computer on his wall. It didn't turn on. He frowned and looked down, noticing a little flashing light in the corner of the power grid. C-Sec had his ward's power flagged as inoperational with temperature control turned off.

"Well, shit," he grumbled, attempting to set up a line of communication with the officer on duty.

"Krios," Officer Hamon answered after a few seconds. "Looks like your ward is down."

The frown on his face deepened, though he was relieved it was Hamon that had answered. "Yeah, I can see that." He stood and turned on his flashlight. "Any chance you know what in the hell is going on?" he asked as he made his way into the kitchen.

"Reports of some stray vorcha sabotaging power lines...that's pretty much it. Power should be back on in the morning. C-Sec is scheduled to arrive with relief for temperature sensitive species within the next three hours."

A light appeared under his door and seconds later he heard someone knock. "Great. Well, I guess that means for the next three hours I get to be yelled at. I'll catch you in the morning Hamon. Try and get this fucking power back on soon will you?"

The turian chuckled. "I'll do my best."

Reluctantly, Kolyat went to the door and opened it up, revealing the squinting Salarian on the other side. "Kolyat," he greeted dismissively. His eyes narrowed. "What's going on?" Behind him stood a small group of others who lived nearby, all waiting for him to solve the problem.

"Vawan," he sighed, rubbing his face. Already he could feel the temperature dropping.

"What's going on Krios," he repeated angrily.

Kolyat eyed him for a moment before gesturing to the emergency lights dotting the floor. "Power for this ward has been cut off. It probably won't be back up until tomorrow. In the meantime, C-Sec will be down within the next few hours to provide relief to temperature sensitive species."

Just as he had expected, that answer wasn't enough for Vawan. The Salarian crossed his arms and glared at Kolyat. "And why did C-Sec allow this? Why aren't they bringing relief sooner? Why is it going to take so long to restore power?" Sometimes Kolyat wondered if that frown was permanently imbedded on his face like that.

"Look, I don't have any answers for you. I was asleep and woke up to this just like you did. My suggestion is to make sure your families are okay, bundle up, and sleep through it. If you're temperature sensitive or don't have enough blankets to keep yourselves warm, C-Sec will be down shortly to distribute them."

It took an hour of standing in the doorway and repeating that information several times over before people really began to understand that that was all he knew. That really was all that there was to know in the first place! Power outages happened in the lower wards often and they simply weren't a high enough priority to take care of immediately. It was the unfortunate truth of it and Kolyat was in the uncomfortable position of understanding that truth despite the fact that he himself lived there and was growing frustrated with the lack of attention paid to him and the other residents. Even more frustrating, in situations like these he was often the first one being blamed, as he was the closest blamable C-Sec Officer ("contractor" if he was being technical). An easy target due to his history.

At the end of that first hour he had to excuse himself as he had begun to shiver violently due to being exposed to such cold temperatures. A small crowd of residents remained stationed outside his door, waiting for his return, and he did, though he was wrapped tightly in two large blankets. For some reason they remained, despite how ridiculous he looked. Another hour of calming the crowds and repeating the same droll lines over and over again finally rewarded him as a few C-Sec Patrol Officers came to dispense what little aid they could offer in such minor situations as these ones. As soon as the attention was finally off him, he returned to the seclusion of his apartment, glancing at his omni-tool clock, which flashed 3:47 AM.

Another knock at the door locked in his bad mood and he answered it with fire in his eyes. Luckily for him, it was an apathetic officer with special instructions to deliver a self powered heating blanket to him. He thanked him despite the dirty look he was given and promptly shut the door, exchanging the mountain of blankets he had piled on his back for one regular one and the heated one. He settled himself on the futon crammed in the corner and closed his eyes.

"Kolyat," Bailey grumbled in his usual way. "You look tired."

All he could do was frown at the human, eyes darting towards him before he handed over the updated crime report from the lower wards he had been working on. "Power outage."

"I saw that this morning," he chuckled, shaking his head without even looking up. "Was it cold?"

"Cold enough to keep me up." He crossed his arms and stared down at the Commander, waiting for his usual barking request for coffee or some other trivial vice of his. But none came.

Instead, Bailey shuffled the papers in front of him and looked up. "You'd do well to smile at least once a week," he joked. Ironic. "Looks like Captain Haron wanted to see you down in Zakera. Go make yourself useful."

He shook his head and promptly left in search of a skycar, leaving the chuckling Commander behind.

A/N: Hi all! This'll be the first Mass Effect fic I've ever published. I'm not entirely sure of the direction that I'll be taking it in, but you can expect updates every week!