Written 05/19/11

Disclaimer: If I owned Mass Effect it wouldn't have been nearly as funny. Comedy is hard.

The brave love mercy, and delight to save.

John Gay

A Kind of Voice

"Sleep cycle concluded Kelly. It is now time to awaken. One Earth standard hour before appointment with Dr. Solus." Kelly's eyes, heavy with sleep, cracked open as her apartment VI chirped at her. Appearing as a diminutive asari, though not quite realistic, the VI projected herself onto the bedside table.

"Fifteen more minutes..." Kelly mumbled, curling back into her warm bed.

"Negative. Appointment marked as high priority. Approximately one hour is required to prepare. Sleep cycle is concluded Kelly. It is now time to awaken." The VI's volume increased as it repeated itself.

"Alright! Okay, okay! I'm getting up, go away!" Kelly surrendered, throwing off her bed covers. Rolling over to sit on the edge of her bed, she sighed and glanced around the apartment. It was a small apartment, a bedroom, an all purpose room and a bathroom. Her bedroom held a circular bed, hardly a foot off the floor, a desk at a more usual height, a terminal on the desk and a few other miscellaneous pieces of furniture. One wall had a window, but a false one, Kelly had set it to project stars at night, specifically the local ones, and in the day it showed a forest glen, which was periodically populated be woodland creatures.

"Start the bath," Kelly called out to the VI, dragging herself towards the washroom, wishing again that her apartment had a shower. An asari apartment was different from a human one in a few ways, besides the circular bed, the apartment lacked a shower. Asari it seemed, due to their semi-aquatic nature, had a strong preference for baths. Kelly had to make due with a standalone bathtub, or shower at the club. At least the VI could handle starting the water flow.

It did take Kelly most of an hour to get ready. She tended to linger, still being half asleep, which was why she had set the VI to give her an hour. There was barely enough time to change into her under armour and pull a loose, green shirt on over top. She had just enough fashion sense to think the shirt went with her green eyes. It was never wise to wander the streets of Omega unarmed, so Kelly also gathered her various guns, including her new rifle that the drunken patron had surrendered to her on her previous shift. Pulling on her jacket, she grabbed a packet of nutrient paste, the only food she could afford regularly, rent being what it was, and she was out the door.

She sucked on the paste as she walked down the hall and into the elevator. The nurient paste was barely palatable, and the first time Kelly had tasted it, her gag reflex had protested strongly. She waved at some dancers she knew as they came out of the elevator and she went in.

One of them, Arryl who had shared more than one shift with Kelly, called to her, inquisitively, as she passed. "Your shift can't be starting again already? I wanted to show you this human thing I got."

Kelly managed to swallow and reply as the elevator closed, "Going to the clinic. Show me later."

She missed Arryl mumble to the other girl, "Of course she is. The amount of time she spends there... You think she has some kind of horrible disease?"

Oblivious to the speculations about her health, Kelly rode the elevator down and finished up her paste. Omega had no sanitation service to speak of, so she shoved the empty packet in a pocket, ignoring the complaints of her stomach. Nutrient paste kept a person alive, healthy even, but it was hardly satisfying.

Exiting the apartment, Kelly headed hastily to the clinic. Mordin had a habit of making disapproving noises at her when she was late, she found it quite disconcerting really. She was also looking forward to a chance to learn with her newly acquired rifle. Having issues with wanton killing, did not seem to interfere with the frighteningly child-like glee she gained in handling a new weapon, or learning a new violent trick from Mordin. Some people might worry about paradoxical personalities, but Kelly tried not to think about it too hard.

She waved at the clinic's outer receptionist, really more of bouncer than a receptionist, who waved back. The turian barely seemed to notice Kelly's passage, her presence at this point was nearly as much of a fixture as any of the staff. Kelly went inside the clinic, surprised to see it was mostly empty, the medical receptionist who actually kept track of patients and files was nodding off, and there was only one person sitting in the waiting room.

Kelly suspected he was not in need of medical treatment, but Taelo did have a habit of putting himself in harm's way. "Guardswoman Kelly! I was hoping to see you here today." The salarian got up from his chair and walked over to Kelly, a broad smile cutting across his face.

"Whatever it is, no. A hundred times no. A thousand no. Whatever you're selling today, whatever investment or deal, or mad scheme, I am not participating this time." Kelly told the salarian glancing at the receptionist behind the counter. She shrugged nonchalantly and went back to ignoring them both.

Smile no dimmer for Kelly's refusal, Taelo said, "Very shrewd Kelly. Right down to business right? That's what I like about you. You always say exactly what you mean. But surely a smart human like you will want to take advantage of this business opportunity. For a small credit investment you can join a medical equipment venture." Taelo stopped walking and stood in front of Kelly, close enough she had to crane her head back to meet his eyes.

Interrupting him before he went on, Kelly replied unimpressed, "This wouldn't be anything like the last venture would it? The one with the antique human collectibles that turned out to be chunks of rock from Tuchanka? Or the deal before that on the discounted mechs that would burst into flame two minutes after activation because of faulty heat fans? Is it perhaps like the time I loaned you half my pay check because you had the deal of a lifetime, and promised me you'd double, no, triple my investment? But the merchandise you bought was confiscated by a Spectre before it ever left Illium? Well, is this anything like that?"

"This is nothing at all like those previous unfortunate incidents," Taelo said, smiling emphatically. "This is a legitimate business enterprise. A batarian trading vessel is buying medical equipment here and taking to the human colonies, selling at great profit! The colonies get the equipment they desperately require, and you can make a smart investment."

"Taelo... These batarian traders... would they be the ones who showed about four days ago? The ones with the Keska-41 with the extra mounted cannon?" Kelly asked.

"42 actually, but still, you are a very well informed woman. You must know what an amazing opportunity this is?" Taelo said, gesturing enthusiastically.

Kelly sighed and looked around Taelo , hoping to see a trace of Mordin. No such luck though. Turning back to the blue and white salarian Kelly asked, "You do realize they're pirates, don't you?" Rolling her eyes at Taelo's suddenly startled expression, Kelly continued, "One of the crew was in Afterlife and after a few, he bragged, loudly, about their business operation. They go in, posing as nice, innocent and friendly, sell their cargo and get to know the locals. Then they attack in the dead of night, steal all the valuables they scouted out, and steal back their cargo. I'm afraid I'll have to decline Taelo, and I suggest you do too. I don't think they're exactly trustworthy."

Taelo blinked at Kelly. "Right..." he said weakly, defeated.

"Have you seen Dr. Solus around anywhere?" Kelly asked Taelo, changing the subject. The two had met when Taelo had tracked Kelly down on a previous scheme, and had even attempted to convince the doctor. Mordin had been more amused than anything, but by no means was Taelo able to convince him to make any type of investment so far, despite his impressive persistence.

"Uh, no. The clinic seems to be quite empty actually. Dr. Koma is seeing a patient, but I think the clinic may be having a slow day. Hmmm... So do you think Dr. Solus might be interesting in an advertising campaign? A few billboards, a commercial, maybe an extranet add..." Taelo said his mind already turning onto new credit generating ploys.

Ignoring him Kelly walked past Taelo, and down the hall. If there were no patients to see, Mordin would be in his office, or in the shed in the back. Usually Mordin would give her a very brief medical check-up, to monitor her adaption to the alien environment, and then give her instructions to follow while he saw some patients. It could be anything from physical exertion, such as sit ups or some kind of aerobics, to studying the basic vulnerable points on a turian anatomy or common weaknesses in a quarian suits. Kelly had laughed when Mordin had told her to study hard, because there would be a test. She had laughed harder at herself later for not believing him.

One of the medical examination room doors burst open, startling Kelly. The blue suited quarian Kelly had encountered in her first visit to the clinic spilled out of the room, bouncing off the door frame and to the floor. Startled Kelly ran to the fallen woman, reaching for her.

"Tara! Tara, are you okay? What happened?" Kelly asked.

From inside the room a rough voice answered, "The filthy quarian was getting uppity. She needed to be shown her proper place."

Carefully turning Tara over, crouching next to her, Kelly looked into the small room. She saw a rough looking, dark skinned batarian. Tara moaned weakly, and Kelly looked back to her, turning her back on the man.

"Hey Dr. Koma, can you hear me? Everything okay in there?" Kelly gently helped Tara to sit against the wall.

"He hit me. He wants... He wants the medicine." Tara struggled to look past Kelly. Her head jerked back, and Kelly spun. The batarian had come out of the room, brandishing a handgun at the pair.

"And now you get to show me where it is." The batarian gestured at Kelly with his weapon, wanting her to stand.

Squeezing Tara's shoulder through her suit, as best she could, Kelly stood, and put herself between the batarian thug and the doctor. "What do you want? Why did you hurt Dr. Koma?" Kelly took a brief second to look up and down the hall. Taelo had disappeared, and Dr. Solus was still missing. Where was Mordin?

"Just like the quarian said. A place like this is just begging to be robbed, and I'm happy to oblige. So hand over the medicine and no one gets hurt. Well, no one else." The batarian cocked the gun menacingly at Kelly.

"Listen, you don't have to do this. This is a free clinic," Kelly told the batarian, trying to remain calm. Despite a month on Omega, she still had a habit of sweating when threatened at gunpoint, but she was always getting better at hiding it. "Whatever you need medicine for, we'll help you. You don't need to do anything rash."

"Are you stupid? Humans I swear, all that hair, it must suffocate your brain cells. I want the medicine to sell it, not for me. Well actually, yes for me, but only in a roundabout manner." The batarian told Kelly condescendingly.

"People need this medicine. This is the only free clinic on Omega. Do really want to steal from people who have nothing?" Kelly said, appealing to his better nature.

His bark of laughter seemed to indicate a distinct lack of such a nature however. "It's too perfect not to. Any other clinic has the good sense to charge a fee, so they can hire security to protect themselves from people... well people like me. People stupid enough to give away anything for free on Omega, deserve what they get. Just be happy all I want is money."

"You're right, the clinic has no security. A free clinic on Omega that has no security. Think about what type of person might open a clinic like that. And keep it open this long. Do you really think an idiot could pull this off?" Kelly pointed out desperately. "Do you really want to make trouble for a person like that? Do you really want to do this?"

Snorting he answered Kelly, "I do. I really do. Now you are going to show me where they keep the medicine around here. If you argue with me, I'll shoot the quarian, and then you'll show me anyways, do you understand?"

Kelly racked her brain for an idea, any idea. She had studied crime long enough to know that if a criminal had already committed violence, he was very unlikely not repeat it. She knew if she showed him the medicine he wasn't going to leave them in peace. So in desperation, she lunged towards him.

She landed a quick, but awkward punch across his jaw, he was much taller than her, which made for a bad angle. Yet the batarian was startled and flinched. Kelly managed to grab his gun arm in the brief window. She pushed his arm to point the gun at the ground, turning her back into the batarian, trying to pull him around to slam him into the door frame. His back hit the door frame, forcing a grunt from the batarian, but not knocking the gun from his hand. Struggling to break his hold on the gun, she missed his hand coming up to grab her hair. She felt him pull back, bending her neck sharply backwards, but she slammed his gun hand against the wall, despite the sharp pain.

"Whore!" he swore at her, as she slammed her side into him again, trying to free his grip on the gun and her hair. She was short enough to aim most of her hit his stomach, and his curse came out half strangled. He used his grip on her hair to pull him away from her, and narrowly dodged a southerly aimed kick that he strongly felt he was better off missing out on. His gun hand free of her grip, he struck her across the jaw with his gun, spinning Kelly to the ground.

Motionless for a moment, Kelly took a moment to appreciate the feeling of what she was almost sure was a broken jaw. Of course the small remaining rational part of her brain pointed out that it had felt about this bad when her brother had clocked her across the jaw after a running start, and nothing had been broken then. The rest of her brain told that part that she really did not care right now. She forced herself sit up and twist towards him. She froze, her hair spilling around her, escaped from its tie in the struggle, and looked at the pointed gun. The gun pointed not at her, but at Tara.

The batarian, nearly frothing with fury, yelled at Kelly, "You filthy human! See what you've made me do! She's dead now you stupid whore!"

A sound of gunfire exploded in the hall. The batarian blinked, confused, and reached up to his chest with his empty hand. He stared as his fingers came away with blood. Another shot tore through the hall, and the batarian's head jerked backwards. He fell to the ground, all four eyes open, now staring at nothing.

Taelo rushed past Mordin, to Kelly, checking her for injuries. Kelly weakly pushed him away, trying to get to her feet. The pain made her lurch dizzily as she rose, and she remained silent when Taelo caught her. Mordin walked over to the fallen batarian and stooped down next to him and checked his pulse. He waited for a moment, his weapon still pointed warily at the fallen batarian. Feeling nothing, Mordin holstered his weapon and moved to Tara.

His omni-tool lit up as he connected to her suit's computer. He read over a few readouts, and then asked Tara gently, "Tara, can you hear me? Do you know your name? Your suit says it was impacted violently across the head. Are you concussed?"

Before the Dr. Solus could go on Tara responded, "I am Dr. Tara'Koma nar Cenztar and I'm just fine. The batarian dazed me, but it's passing quickly. My suit protected me." She moved to stand, but Mordin held her down.

"A moment please. Need to do internal scan." He stood and turned. Stepping over the fallen batarian, he went into the small room.

"Hey Doc, didn't anyone ever tell you to duck?" Kelly asked, walking the short distance back to Tara. She was still leaning heavily against Taelo, but he carefully supported her without protest.

"What do Terran water fowl have to do with anything?" Tara asked in turn. Mordin came back out of the room, medical scanner in hand. Stepping over the batarian corpse again, he crouched back over Tara and began his examination.

Trying for humour, Kelly said, "Hello Dr. Solus, so nice of you to show up. I was wondering where you were, but you know, I got a little distracted."

"When the batarian came out after knocking the doctor down, I uh... Went outside. I saw Dr. Solus and told him there was a batarian waving a gun around. Then he ran in, gun blazing. We got here just in time to see the batarian demonstrate the effectiveness of a gun as a bludgeoning weapon." Taelo told her, readjusting his grip on Kelly so he could brush a finger across her rapidly colouring jaw.

Brushing Taelo's hand away she asked Mordin, "Is she okay?"

Ignoring Tara's protest that, yes she was fine, he told Kelly, "Suit mostly protected her. Quarian suit design is fascinating. Minor bruising, but all superficial. No sign of concussion or any internal injury." He grasped her arms firmly, and slowly pulled Tara to her feet.

The salarians led the two injured women into the waiting room and had them sit down. The clinic at this point was completely empty, even the medical receptionist had disappeared. Mordin settled Tara and went to Kelly, shooing Taelo away. Taelo hovered behind Dr. Solus, anxiously watching the doctor scan and poke the young woman.

"Hmm... Nothing broken. Deep bruise across jaw. Medigel will help reduce swelling. One moment." Mordin left Kelly and went to the reception desk, reaching for the first aid kit underneath.

Amused by Taelo's hovering, Kelly asked, "Taelo I had no idea you cared so much. Running away I expected, but running to get help? I'm impressed." Kelly winced as her jaw protested the strain of talking.

Taelo hesitated before replying, "I'm hurt you'd think such a thing. I may be cowardly, but even a coward won't abandon his friend... Not without a plan at least."

Kelly chuckled and groaned, "Oh please, don't make me laugh. Hurts like hell."

Mordin came back over and pulled a medigel applicator out of the kit. It always reminded Kelly of a tube of toothpaste. "Don't talk. This will help with pain." He gently smoothed a glob of gel across Kelly's jaw. Kelly sighed, leaning back in relief as the coolness of the medigel sunk in.

Taking the opportunity, Mordin pulled open the front of Kelly's jacket in a vaguely obscene gesture. He examined her, looking for any other sign of injury. He frowned. "You are armed. Well armed."

Tilting her head back with a sigh, Kelly told him, "Didn't get a chance to use a gun. Tara flew out of the office, I went to see if she was alright, then the batarian was pointing a gun at me. I tried to talk to him, but he wasn't listening."

Mordin stared at Kelly for a moment, silently. Then he took her arm and pulled her up. "Come with me. Taelo stay with Tara."

He led Kelly down the hall, past the fallen batarian, and into an empty examination room. He sat her down and locked the door behind them, without saying a word. He went to a cabinet and pulled out some syringes and another scanner. Turning back to Kelly, she was worried to see a frown on his face. But as he approached her, he still didn't say a word. Putting down the syringes on the examination table besides her, he pointed the scanner at her, and activated it. He took a few moments to read the scanner, typing into the interface. Then he put it down and selected a syringe. Finally he spoke asking, "Please unzip. Need access to injection site."

Well used to Mordin's propensity for injecting her neck with various needles, Kelly unzipped the neck of her under armour, the neck of her shirt was cut low enough not to interfere. She squeezed her eyes shut as Mordin reached out with a syringe, wincing when Mordin stabbed her.

He pulled away and picked up the scanner again. The silence between the two was quickly growing uncomfortable. Kelly looked down at the room floor, not willing to look Dr. Solus in the eye. She didn't understand why he wasn't talking to her. Usually they had very involved discussions, on various subjects. Dr. Solus enjoyed teaching, and Kelly enjoyed debate enough that the two rarely ran out of things to talk about. It was disconcerting to receive the silent treatment.

Of course it couldn't last. "Have been doing research. 21st century Earth. North American culture. Canada. Specifically crime and law."

Kelly blinked, caught off guard by the comment. She searched her brain for a reason this topic would be relevant, but couldn't for the life of her make a connection.

Unprompted Mordin went on, "You were studying criminology. Canada was an interesting culture of its time. Had a very ethical, moral even, policy for crime. The law protected people to an astonishing degree. Yet left much room for 'human' error. Room for correction of error. In comparison to the United States of America, it was much more flexible. More concerned with rehabilitation. Canadian law describable as compassionate." Mordin sighed, pulling away from Kelly. For a moment Kelly was struck by how similar their positions were to when they first met, a month ago.

"Also considered very liberal. Lower crime rates. Anti-gun laws. No capital punishment. Very similar to many modern cultures. Unsurprising you have difficulty reaching for a gun. Cultural norms of your origins would suggest you detest them as weapons. You lived in a culture where each death was a murder, a life lost. Killing will be difficult for you." Mordin looked at Kelly carefully, trying to read her alien expression. "Is necessary if you intend to survive. Necessary if you intend to protect others. Necessary if you wish to interfere in the story you prepare for."

"I know." Kelly whispered harshly. "I know. I know, but I... Tara almost died because I couldn't... If I had just gone for my gun to begin with, or shot him when I had control of his arm I could've- But I couldn't. It's so stupid! I tried to fight him, but he was bigger and stronger than me, and I know should have drawn a gun, I know I can." Tears of frustration began to fall down Kelly's cheeks, but her voice never raised above a violent whisper. "You showed me how, and I'm fast. I was fast enough to get him. I was better than him. But I couldn't. I thought I would, when I had to. When I knew I had no choice. But I can't. Killing is wrong. Even though it wasn't my choice, even though he was going to kill Tara, and then me, I couldn't do it. I don't..." Kelly cut off herself with a harsh intake of breath.

"Killing is wrong" Mordin agreed, ignoring the shock on Kelly's face. "It is evil to take life, to destroy and cause pain and suffering. Is worse to passively allow evil to happen. Take life to preserve it. Not for money or vengeance. Not for jealousy or rage. Killing is still evil. It is sometimes necessary evil. Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms held that every person was entitled to the security of the person. This right was subject to section one's reasonable limitations of rights. It is arguable that when a person violates the right of security of another, she forfeits her own right." Mordin gently laid a comforting hand on Kelly's shoulder and asked, "Is it not better to end one life and save many lives? If one person chooses to end the lives of others, she deserves only the same consideration of her victims. Take life, to save life. It is necessary."

"But if the ends justify the means... What are we fighting for? If we become our enemies, what was the point of fighting at all?" Kelly asked shakily. She hugged herself, trying to fight off a cold that seemed to come from within. Each of Mordin's words had fallen into her like rocks in a well. She was nearly shivering from the echoes.

"We remain different from our enemies because of why we act. Because there are lines we will not cross. We remember each life we take. Try to save more lives than we take." Mordin lifted Kelly's chin, mindful of her bruise and looked into her eyes. "Protecting others requires more than heroics. Sometimes we must do evil so they do not have to. We protect those we care about from more than pain or death. We protect their souls. A protector does what is necessary. To be a protector you must accept this."

"I don't know if I can."

"If you do not, someone will die."


Author's Note: Lady Kopaka I lied, took me a little longer than 36 hours to post this from our discussion, but I hope you think it was worth the wait. Again I struggled with this chapter. I forgot how difficult writing is. I suppose a decade of writer's block will do that to a person. Again thanks you to my lovely reviewers and all those who faved and alerted. I'm uncomfortable with how giddy it makes me when I get that attention. Says poor things about my need for attention and validation from others.

Thank you again for being first to catch my stories theifkingbakura1. I'm happy to have graduated to being loved SweatyDreamer, and I hope you enjoy this story just as much too. Thanks for the ideas Stiphyell, but I believe you owe me 5 bucks, and no I didn't cheat, this chapter was planned before hand. A compliment of realism in such a setting is high praise indeed Vilku... and as for the mistake you caught... gone now, thanks. And Titus Tatius you sure know how to make a girl blush, anti-Garrus indeed. Thanks to one and all, I hope to hear your thoughts on this chapter too... and I'll stop talking now, don't you hate when author's notes go on forever?