Chapter 1

An Interesting Start With a Hint of Hope

Tali'Zorah gasped as she clutched her right shoulder. The splattered purple tunic and black metal O-rings that separated her suit into sections were sealed, but she could still feel the onset of symptoms from the contaminants. It had only taken one shot, one single grain of metal to destroy her shields and rip through her flesh. The subtle heat that centered in her cold wound, a signal she was currently in shock, told her that it wasn't just a traditional block that was used in the sniper.

That and the blaring Giger Counter in her suit.

Yes, she was also feeling radiation sickness on top of the blindingly cold pain in her shoulder that seemed to be seeping out, tapping her of her strength as she paused her sprint in an alleyway to catch her breath. Running would further increase her heart rate and increase the rate of infection, but it was that or another bullet. The tears that welled in her eyes were not due to any fear, but the sheer exertion she had put her body under. Strangely enough… fear hadn't made itself known. She could feel its influence in the background, but it hadn't taken control of her body.

She should be afraid, but alas… she wasn't.

She was honestly curious if they would send anyone after her. She was a Quarian after all. The radiation in the Polonium round could easily kill her in a few minutes, yet here she was… sitting around waiting for her death. It ma-

"No. Auntie Raan would be devastated if I died. I can't burden her with that." Tali hyped herself up

She leaned against the wall, using its support to hold her until she took her first step. She didn't know why, but she knew things would turn out alright. She'd get her data on Saren to someone who could help. Her heart warmed at that thought, further confusing her.

"Must be the radiation."

She stumbled out into the open street, careful to watch nearby balconies for secondary shooters. She couldn't let herself get hit again. She knew she wouldn't be so lucky the second time. She held her wound tightly to stem the flow of bleeding as she scrambled through the crowds, each face in it showing nothing but contempt. She saw an Asari child, clinging to her mother in fear… not of her, but for her. Tali saw the spark of innocence in her eyes, it was the same one that occupied hers not long ago. She felt comforted in the fact that there was at least some vestige of hope for her race.

She saw the red cross.

It glowed bathing her purple hood in its light. She knew of few symbols in the galactic sense, but this was one that every council associated race knew. The idea it represented was insane and sourced from the newest, and most headstrong race to join the Citadel.

Humanity.

They had created the Red Cross for the express purpose of helping any in need. The thought boggled her mind. How could they hope to shoulder the entire galaxy's suffering? It seemed improbable if not impossible to think that they could… yet they hadn't stopped or even slowed their pace. They had been known to accept any race within their capability to help. It was rumor among the many residents of the Migrant Fleet. It seemed to be fable rather than fact, but glancing at the cold, metal door… she felt she had little option.

She opened the door and was immediately met with the sweet scent of antibacterial compounds. Relief flooded her system as the doctor turned to face her. Tali had feared the expression she might see on the woman's face, imagining the cruel looks from the pedestrians not long ago. Her relief was well founded as the doctor's calm face was immediately flooded with concern.

"Oh dear… let's get you looked at. Any wound could be serious for you." Her accent rose and fell in a strange manner that was unfamiliar to Tali but she understood the words nonetheless

"T-Thank you." Tali's own accent broke through, shiver taking over her voice

When had she gotten so cold? Her shiver wouldn't leave her as the world around her seemed to zoom out. Blood pounded in her ears as she felt her head wobble. Sirens blared in equal volume to the pounding of her veins. She felt her knees give, but rather than the feeling of falling she felt as if she were floating.

"-it! Let's get y- so- De-bu-otin. You're bl-d P-ssure is -lling." Tali couldn't make out the doctor's words through her tunnel vision

Tali'Zorah nar Rayya passed out from blood loss.

Dr. Chloe Michel breathed nervously as she used a pair of tweezers to enter the purple covered wound. She felt a small squelch as she pulled a grain-sized projectile out of the poor Quarian's arm. Devoid of her suit, Chloe saw the girl to be in her early 20s. It was probably someone freshly on their pilgrimage. The girl had an attractive violet tint to her skin that seemed to fade as one approached the wound. She could honestly say the girl was definitely lucky in one department. Even with matted, greasy hair and on the edge of death the girl looked better than most women could hope to be. Of course, the doctor knew that few if any would see the beauty's face.

Chloe paused for a moment, looking upon her handiwork. The entire wound had been cleaned, dressed, and sealed in her lapse of thought. It was almost as if the doctor was working on autopilot. She frowned at the thought. If she had made a mistake, she could have ended the girl's life. Guilt spread through the doctor as she repaired the suit and placed it back on the unconscious Quarian. She removed her hands from the synthetic gloves that allowed her to operate on the Quarian that was inside the Clean Room.

There was little she could do at this point, so she began to go through her medical files, sorting future appointments and setting up forms for medication requests. After that, she went to the bathroom, checking her appearance for any indicators of a lack of hygiene. Not that she had any to begin with, but a stray hair could affect the way her sterile environment was perceived.

She turned on the news, out of sheer boredom after two full hours of occupying her time with her medical duties. It was a slow day and she had completed all of her tasks for the next while so she felt it was okay to rest. Sadness immediately filled her as she took a good look into what had occurred on Eden Prime.

"That's a damn shame. It makes me wonder what the Geth are doing outside the veil though… I hope everyone else turned out okay…" Her Russian Accent showing through again

She smiled, happy to still retain a bit of home.

She loved the work but leaving Earth was possibly one of the hardest things she had ever done. Living off world had turned out to bring its own set of challenges.

An accented groan coming from the speakers of the clean room caught her attention. She quickly got up, shutting off the news for the sake of keeping the calming atmosphere and took quick strides to be at the microphone receiver.

"H-hello?" The Quarian called out in confusion, "Is anyone there? Don't tell me I got locked in a clean room again."

Chloe barely caught the last bit of the girl's question and decided to quickly respond.

"No, you're at my clinic under the Red Cross. You came in with fourteen lacerations across your upper body, a severe infection, and a polonium round in your shoulder. I treated you, and I've patched the hole in your suit."

"So I wasn't seeing things… T-thank you." The warbled cough caught the doctor's attention

"Are you still having trouble with the cough, I can give you some cough suppressants that should keep you up and about."

"I don't think-" She coughed again, "That'll be an issue. I need to get on the move."

The girl moved to get up and open the clean room but stumbled, catching herself on the nearby IV cart. Chloe immediately spoke up, "Doctor Voice" coming full force.

"You will not be doing anything of the sort. You've been shot for Christ's sake. You need rest otherwise you're weakened immune system will be the death of you."

"If I don't move, you'll be in danger too!" The girl yelled in return, her strangely Romanian accent coming in full force

"I happen to know some people if you're in need of some shelter from… unpleasant individuals." Chloe finally submitted

"I might have data that could be entirely relevant to the Eden Prime Attack. I'm going to need more than just that."

Chloe sighed at the girl's words

"And here I thought It was going to be a slow day…"

Commander Shepard felt his mood was quite chipper at the moment despite the cramped vehicle he occupied with A Soldier, a Sentinel, a Turian Infiltrator, and a Spectre. They had endured the Council meeting and had even met up with Garrus afterward. Apparently, with the investigation not directly pinned on Saren, Garrus had been given a lot more freedom and had easily tracked down Tali. It meant that the trip had skipped Barla Von or Harken and had gone straight to Doc Chloe's place. He wondered if the saved time might save her the ordeal of going to Fist.

"So Garrus, you said you were a part of the investigation team into the Eden Prime Attack. How many members are there?" Nihlus asked cordially

"As much as The Council would like you to believe that they're putting their best effort… they're not. We had a total of 3 guys if you count the resource manager and Pallin approving it."

Ashley was surprisingly the only one to speak up.

"So let me get this straight. We're attacked near the center of Council Space, by the Geth armed with nukes who haven't been seen outside the Veil in over 250 years and the council, the same one that's supposed to help and 'guide' humanity… and they assign one Turian to the job." she paused for a moment, "Am I missing anything?"

Garrus gave a deep sigh, "No, that sounds about right."

A painful silence enveloped the car as the entire group cringed at the Council's Hypocrisy.

"I definitely don't agree with the Council's treatment of Humanity. That is why I decided to evaluate Shepard." Nihlus broke through.

"Evaluate him for what?" Garrus asked, finally entering the conversation

"They're seeing if I have what it takes to be a Spectre." Shepard answered as the air-car touched down

Shepard, being closest to the window was able to exit first, followed by Ashley, Kaiden, Garrus, and Nihlus in that order. When they piled out, everyone but Shepard was pleasantly surprised. The Red Cross symbol was staring them in the face.

"Isn't that convenient…" Garrus said as if he were appraising a gun modification

Air-car transit, otherwise known as Rapid Transit, was similar to other forms of public transportation and worked on a similar vein to busses, namely that they had specific locations they could pick up and drop off. While it was likely intentional for her to place her clinic close to a rapid transit for the business and for the quick travel time, it was quite rare for a non-profit clinic to have taken up such prime real estate. Shepard had never considered that fact before.

"Well, let's see how the good 'ol doc is doing?" Shepard walked towards the door as it automatically opened, revealing the scene he was familiar with

"Shame... " Shepard muttered under his breath

"I didn't tell anyone! I swear!"

"Good... " The guy sounded like he was trying and failing to be intimidating, "You did the smart thing."

Huh… the dialogue was slightly off there.

"If Garrus comes around, you'll be smart right? Keep your mouth shut?" The other 'asks'

They seem to notice the small platoon of armored individuals existence finally.

"Stop right there!" They immediately take Chloe as a hostage, earning a bored look from Shepard

This was about as Vanilla as it came…

"Why don't you put down the guns before you find out what overwhelming firepower feels like and I guarantee you'll feel it. We've got an N7, a Spectre, and an Infiltrator. They can all hit a dime at 200 yards so imagine what they could do to your sorry ass." Shepard finished by drawing his pistol, revealing the N7 stripe that went down his right arm

He noticed the dialation in their eyes. They knew he was telling the truth.

They seemed to glance to each other, but they couldn't take their eyes off the Striker III that occupied Shepard's hand. Under these kinds of odds, even he felt he would consider surrender. He could take on several Spectres on his own but with the five of them all well in the realm of being capable of Spectre status… he would hesitate.

The pistol lowered from the good doctor's head.

"Will you let us go?"

"Sure. If I see you again though, you will be missing a few," His pistol dipped towards their crotch, "Vital Organs."

If the thug's eyes weren't already filled with fear, they sure were now. The man dropped his weapon along with his compatriot, running out of the clinic as quickly as possible. They didn't even draw a glance from Shepard as he holstered his pistol and stepped forward towards the doctor.

"Doctor Chloe Michel?" He asked for the sake of the others

"Y-Yes, thank you. Who would you be?" She was rightly confused by the collection of Alliance, C-Sec, and a Spectre

"I'm Commander Shepard, and this is Spectre Nihlus. We're currently looking for the Quarian you recently treated. Sh-They have data on the Attack on Eden Prime that may lead to the arrest of the suspect." He covertly covered his assumption of the Quarian's sex

"Ah, yes… She came in having taken a Polonium round to the shoulder. I closed and cleaned the wound, but she was in a race to find some safety and as you can imagine, I am incapable of that." She gestured to the fact that she was a doctor, "So, I directed her to Fist. While he isn't the best of men, he does have contact with The Shadow Broker. I figured she could have traded her information for safety…"

"So you recommended him to her?" Nihilus spoke up

"Yes. I felt it was best for the safety of my patient."

"Thank you, Doctor. Is there anything else you could tell us?"

"I'm afraid not." She said with a frown

"Then we better hurry and find that Quarian. If they were shot, then it's likely the perpetrator already knows what we do. We need to get that info before the Shadow Broker does." Nihlus exited the clinic and ordered a new Rapid Transit Cab

Upon taking the cab and making it to the Lower Wards, they neared Cora's den. Shepard primed his Biotics mentally, not allowing the purple glow trademark of it show. Upon reaching the entrance way, Nihlus picked up on his alarm and tensed his body, ready for action. Two Turians revealed themselves from behind one of the four pillars that occupied the room each. One to the from and one to the left. Traditionally they'd be flanked, but Nihlus Sabotaged the one to the front as soon as their weapon was drawn. It overheated immediately, spitting out hot steam that seemed to threaten to melt the gun. The one to the left was hit with a pull followed by two taps to the head from Shepard's shotgun. One broke the Turian's shields, the other turned his head into ground… Turian.

Shepard scowled at his thought. Ground Turian…

That sounded disgusting.

"Yeah… Headshots with shotguns are rarely pretty." Nihlus commented for the second scowl, "I'll contact Spectre support. They'll clean this up. I think it would be a bit… traumatizing to leave their bodies out in the open."

"Wait… there was Spectre Support? Like… cleanup crews and everything?" Shepard asked in disbelief for a moment

"Well, what you do expect? Being a Spectre is a job. They pay you, and you do the Council's dirty work. Why would I have to pay for my own cleanup crew when out on a mission?" Nihlus asked as if it were obvious

Shepard had to stop all of his other trains of thought for a moment. He couldn't believe…

"All those credits…" Shepard mumbled out in lamentation

"You say something Commander?" Ash perked up as they moved towards the bar

"N-nothing."

Tali entered the alleyway, nervously glancing at the catwalks that lined the upper areas of it. She had this underlying sense that this was a trap. From the enclosed space to the various vantage points. If she were meeting the Shadow Broker, she knew that the person was either incredibly cautious or an idiot. In a meeting like this, it would be best to make sure the person was comfortable and safe, threatening to take that safety away would be an effective motivator to coerce the information ou-

How did she know this? She didn't remember reading or watching anything about interrogation or information gathering. Her reaction seemed almost instinctual. It felt out of place.

Maybe the Ancestors were helping her…

She didn't know.

But what she did know was that a Turian exited from behind the set of boxes that occupied one end of the alley. His facial markings seemed strange and his gait had a limp. It seemed strange for a guard to the Broker. Her instincts screamed not to trust the man. Two Salarian bodyguards emerged behind the man, pistols drawn in an investigative manner.

She felt the urge to laugh at the absurdity.

Salarian bodyguards!

Salarians were so fragile that they couldn't wield even her shotgun, and the thing was on the mid-to-low end on for kick.

The pistols they carried looked dinky too!

A snort escaped her, but she masked it as a boisterous sneeze. Thankfully, the suppressants Chloe had given her were quite effective so she would avoid sneezing or coughing for a while. She glanced back towards the Turian to see that he was already well within her personal space. Her nervousness took over once the man had gently caressed her arm, making it obvious what his desired intentions were.

"Did you bring it?"

"Where's the Shadow Broker? Where's Fist?"

"They'll be here… where's the evidence?" His tone was sinister

"No way. The deal's off." Tali smacked the tri-fingered hand off her and activated her Omni-Tool

She primed a small mine that had just enough power to give her time to get to cover. Any more and she'd be shot again before it had the time to manufacture. That wouldn't do even with the 'pistols' that the Salarian Bodyguards-She still couldn't get over that-, she could easily run into trouble if the Turian had a shotgun.

Hence the explosion that only knocked the three off their feet as she made a mad dash for cover.

She heard two shots followed by silence.

She blinked.

She blinked again.

She gradually peeked over cover, seeing all three of them dead.

"D-did that kill them?" She asked in disbelief

"No, that would be us." She heard a voice from behind her as she stood over the bodies

She flashed around prepared to draw her weapon until she realized how quickly she would be overpowered. In front of her stood 3 Humans, 2 Turians, and a Krogan that looked fully willing and capable of eating her. She froze for a moment on one of the humans, the one with the red stripe down his right arm. He felt familiar, but she didn't know why. Was he famous?

"You're Tali'Zorah, I presume?" He asked, his tone sending a wave of nostalgia through her

The feeling began to fade, allowing her the mental capacity to speak up.

"Y-yes. Are you with the Broker?" She finally asked

"As much as you'd probably wished… no. On the other hand, we are offering the same deal. We're running an investigation of the Eden Prime attack and we heard you might have some information on the perpetrator? We're willing to supply you with safe lodging until we can capture the person behind it."

"Really?" Hope flared in her eyes, as she felt the Common Respect the man had for her. It was something she was unaccustomed to in truth

People either saw her as something to be pitied, a Suit Rat, or the Admiral's Daughter. They never looked beyond that and as such, she felt a warm sense of eagerness to go with the man. He was offering her what she desired after all…

"Thank you. I would definitely like to accept."

"Well, then Ms. Zorah…. let's get you to the Human Ambassador's office." He said offering his hand

A/N:

I'm sorry this is a bit short, but I wanted to get this out to you guys sooner and I felt this was a good stopping point for the next few thousand words. I wanted to stop it with the ambassador's visit, but that would lead to The Council visit and then to the end off of heading after Saren.

I didn't want to end off the chapter like that, so I will include that at the beginning of the next.

I'm not exactly sure where to head off to next either :D

Feros is an option, but I think chasing something like that when you have the option of the daughter of one of your suspects is kind of poor priority placement…

Let me guys know what you think!

And since there were no questions, I think this chapter won't need a Q/A Section.

OOOOHHHH!

I do have something interesting for you guys though. I will be changing the cover art for this. I'm actually pretty good at drawing if I do say so myself so I should be able to whip something up in the next few days if my Overlord Drawing doesn't occupy it all.

I'll post it with my updated Profile. You can find the link there.

Well,

See Ya!