Chapter 2

The Beginnings of A Strong Friendship

I woke up the next morning feeling refreshed and ready for action. I knocked on the connected door linking my room to Scyth and Rudnek. I heard thumping on the floor on the other side of the door and Scyth's red eyes looking back at me. His body was pretty large but his head was level with mine, well his eyes were anyway. His crest ended well above my head. "Mornin sprout, why you up so early?" I crossed my arms in front of my chest and narrowed my eyes at him. "For starters my name isn't sprout it's Sapphire, and second I wanted to know if you would join me for breakfast downstairs." Scyth gave me a deep belly laugh and came into my room and closed his side of the door. I waited for him to get clear of my side of the door and I closed it after his tail was out of the way. "Alright, Sapphire I got it, and yes I'll eat with you. Rudnek won't be part of the living till later anyway." I nodded and we went downstairs to the sunroom. It was a cozy room that had wide open bay windows with sunlight pouring in and displaying pools of light on the clean tables. The room itself was polished wood creation that reminded me of the old vids I saw showing pictures of what log cabin interiors looked like in 2012. It was called 'modern look' of log cabin lifestyles. It felt down to earth, may as well use an old saying for something that felt so "old school". Man I was on a roll this morning with the history stuff. I grabbed myself a mixture of mildly spiced salarian cuisine along with some krogan grub. I sat down at a table that gave me a perfect view of what lay outside the bay windows. The sky was painted by purples, pinks, and a ting of orange somewhere in the whole thing. Scyth smirked and shook his head at my plate. "What are you smirking at krogan?" My tone was a bit on the grumpy side, but hey I still was a bit irritated about Scyth's greeting to me this morning. I also wasn't really in the mood for whatever snide behavior he was gonna exhibit at my "silly short lived human nature" like I've heard other krogan talk to humans before on The Citadel. "Nothing it's just I don't think you'll like my kind of food. It tends to wear and tear your kind's stomach."

I defiantly took a forkful of the inquired food and started chewing it. It was a mixture of varen meat with a spicy edge to it and was reinforced with a vegetable I knew was spicy but I couldn't quite think of where the vegetable came from at the moment. All I knew was that I really enjoyed this kind of food and I didn't care to have some lizard tell me that I'd regret eating something. Scyth's eyes blinked multiple times, that was how krogan expressed their surprise. Their eyes couldn't widen. "I can't believe you just did that kid." I smirked and continued eating my breakfast; Scyth drank an energy drink that gave krogans some extra kick to their alertness. Like how coffee or other caffeine beverages gave humans and salarians a bit of a jump start to their day. I finished eating and sat back while Rudnek trudged over to where we were sitting and he scarfed down a plate heaping with food. Scyth told Rudnek what I had eaten earlier and Rudnek stopped eating mid bite and stared at me. "How long ago was that?" Scyth's eyes flicked from Rudnek and settled on me before answering, "The kid ate half an hour ago and she hasn't started belly aching yet." His brother slapped the table as he chuckled, "Well hell if she hasn't started crying by now then she's fine." He turned his gaze from his brother and looked at me. "You sure you ain't part krogan somehow?" I couldn't help it I started laughing, really hard. Nobody had ever said anything like that to me and I thought it was the most hilarious thing in the world. Scyth seemed to think it was funny too because he was smiling and Rudnek himself even let out a chuckle. "Guess I underestimated you kid."

Before I could even open my mouth to object at being called kid, Rudnek knocked his head crest into his brother's. "She has a name Scyth. It's Sapphire. Use it. You don't like it when contracts call you krogan after we've given our names prior to receiving a job offer. That's why we don't take a third of the jobs we're offered is cuz you don't wanna work for an idiot who can't remember your name." Scyth shrugged his shoulders and fiddled with his mug. "This is different. I know what her name is." Rudnek rolled his eyes and I tried my best to hide a grin that was starting to form on my lips. "Exactly dull crest so quit being a hypocrite and use her name." I laughed inside while I watched the scene that was unfolding in front of me and I had more respect for Rudnek. Scyth sighed and nodded. "You're right. It ain't no different than those empty heads we've come across. Sorry Sapphire." "It's okay Scyth, just don't do it again."

After that we left and went back up to our rooms. Rudnek poked his head through the adjoined door and told me to come into their room. I got up off my bed and followed Rudnek into the next room. Scyth was tapping away on a data pad when we came in. "Rudnek you brought Sapphire. Good. Come take a look at this." Rudnek and I drew closer and read the job offer that Scyth was looking at. I looked over the information and my brow furrowed at what I saw. "You two even know who this person is? That's a code name they're using." Scyth and Rudnek both laughed at me and shook their heads. "Rud we should bring her along and give her some on the job training." "I agree brother." Scyth gave me the data pad to look over the job offer one more time. I took the data pad and read it over again. The boss of the operation wanted some people to infiltrate a weapon research facility called Binary Helix and steal some asari prototype biotic weapon back. Apparently this company had stolen the information and was building the weapons along with trying to take the copyrights for themselves. There would be guards in the place, security cameras, drones, the whole works. This boss wanted small numbers for stealth, but strong fighters so the job could be done quickly. The largest the buyer would allow a group to be was five. Hmmm the job certainly sounded interesting. If we got caught we'd be dead, this facility was doing something illegal so if we were captured they couldn't ask authorities for help. They'd have to dispose of us, or they'd buy us off and have us work for them. Personally if I got a good look at the layout and thought it was too much heat I'd back out and give the buyer they're money back. But is that how Rudnek and Scyth operated?

"If you two discover this is more than we bargained for will you guys back out and give the money back?" Scyth snorted at me, "Of course we will. We don't want to die in something as petty as this. We're krogan. If we're gonna die, it'll be honorably." Rudnek nodded in agreement and patted me on the back. "Looks like you already got some experience Sapphire. That's good. It means we don't gotta worry about covering your ass and get the job done at the same time if we take it." Scyth seemed a bit skeptical though about my experience. "You've done this before Sapphire?" I nodded and looked over the schematics of the building, the planet's layout, and the kind of security they had…and then it hit me. I had an idea of what this boss was. "The buyer is an information broker." Scyth looked over the information again and rubbed his crest with a claw. "With the info we've been given for the job this person sounds like an asari commando. Not an information agent." I tilted my head in acknowledgement, "That's what I thought too but look at the information they give on the biotic weaponry. They give us details on what the weapon is originally based off of, not what its purpose is supposed to be. There is more history on the creation of this weapon then there is info on what the weapon does." Rudnek shook his head and blinked his eyes a lot and then he laughed. Krogan are kind of funny to watch when they're surprised. "She's right! I don't know if that information will help us out for the job but it's better to know something about your allies and enemies than to know nothing at all." His brother looked up from the pad, "We taking the job?" Rudnek grasped Scyth's claw with his own and bumped crests with him. "We're taking the job."

Next thing I know me and the boys were back out in the market again. "What are we doing out here again?" I was puzzled about why we were back out here. Scyth was walking on the left side of me while Rudnek walked on the right. Passersby's must be thinking these two were my guards. It would explain the wide berth they were giving us on the street. "We're going back to the weapons kiosk so we can get you another gun, or several." Rudnek jumped in, "One gun won't be enough for this job. It's better to be safe than sorry." Scyth nodded in agreement, "Besides Sapphire you need armor. You'll be dead within seconds on the job if you're not protected." I shook my head at their words and gave them a smile. These two were starting to grow on me. "Okay you're right about having more than one gun but I'm all covered for the armor." Scyth laughed at my remark and his laugh sounded like a harsh bark. It made the little kids that were playing in the street run away. "You couldn't even afford pants and you've got the nerve to tell us you have armor? Perhaps that food went straight to your head and messed with it." I motioned for Scyth and Rudnek to follow me into an alley and I went behind a dumpster so no one could see what we were doing. I was wearing the jacket; I was always going to wear this jacket. "I can prove that I've got armor. Wanna see?" Scyth and Rudnek nodded and they looked around the alley to make sure no one was about. The coast was clear so I pressed the insignia on my shoulder and it glowed a soft white light as the armor came out and slid over my body. The boys were so shocked that their mouths were hanging wide open; I couldn't help but snicker a bit at their reaction. Scyth tried talking first but it wasn't going so well.

Rudnek's jaw unhinged and his response came out in almost a low gurgled cry. "Wha-?" Scyth's claws gripped my shoulders and he narrowed his eyes. I gulped, were they going to kill me? I barely know these two. What did I get myself into now? Rudnek's eyes were bulging out of his head, I'd never seen a krogan so frantic so maybe I wasn't going to die after all, but still you never know. "How is that possible?!" Scyth's grip tightened on me and he growled, "Where did you get this armor?!"I pressed the insignia on my shoulder one more time and the armor was gone again. "Guys, guys one question at a time. I got this jacket from a friend off of The Citadel." Scyth shot Rudnek a look and told him to calm the fuck down. Then he turned back to me and exhaled loudly, "Where did your friend get it from sprout?" Rudnek was trying to get himself back under control and his voice was still a bit shaky when he asked me another question. "You realize this could get you traced?!" I sighed and took a deep breath. I understood their concern; after all they didn't know what I did on The Citadel before I met them. All they knew was that I had been on jobs before and I knew how to shoot a gun. They didn't even know I was a vanguard yet. "Rudnek, Scyth relax. I have a friend who works for C-Sec. He's the one who gave this to me before I left." I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned back into the alleyway wall. "Sprout you better tell us what happened for you to get this jacket and from C-Sec none the less." Rudnek wasn't even scolding Scyth this time he was too worked up himself. "Scyth is right Sapphire. We need to have a talk. Back to the hotel. Now." So we went back to the hotel, and in quite a hurry too. Scyth sat me down on the bed in their hotel room and Rudnek closed the door. Scyth pulled out a chair and sat down while Rudnek sat on the other bed across from me. "Alright Sapphire, tell us what you used to do on The Citadel and how you got this jacket." "Okay, okay. I'll tell you. I've been on The Citadel ever since I can remember. I was a street kid most of my life. I was a runner for the local street gangs, C-Sec officers, and whoever else needed me to run for em. It was a living and a good way to stay alive; better than picking pockets or declaring allegiance to a gang when you didn't know what you were getting yourself into."

I took a drink of water and continued. "When you're a runner you learn a lot of info about a lot of people and the things that go on around the city. I knew that a new gang had quite the reputation for being chivalrous. They stole from the rich and gave to the poor, kinda like that old tale about Robin Hood. They also kept other dangerous street gangs from taking over their turf. Some peace and order was coming to the street life on The Citadel and the C-Sec officers didn't seem to mind so they stayed out of their way. The leader of the group was called Gunner. He used to be a merc on Omega and was well known for his marksmanship and all the guns he had on his person so that's how he got the name. He was tired of Omega's crime though and decided to leave. I was at a turning point in my life and I figured there was no harm in me joining his crew if it meant I could help out good people. I was thirteen, I wanted to be a hero and have some glory so I joined up with him. I was still a runner but I only ran messages for C-Sec and my crew to make sure that we had the upper hand in case if some gang was stupid enough to take us on. Gunner taught me how to shoot thermal guns and mass accelerator guns. Everything that ranged from pistols, assault rifles, shot guns, and snipers I learned how to shoot em, take em apart, and update them so they had more of an edge. With my shooting skills he made me one of his scouts. I was his third in command for the first three years I was with him. Being a scout for Gunner meant you were a sniper that was always first at the scene. It also meant that you were the strategist and had to know the layout, what you were dealing with for enemies, the weapons they had and so on.

Being a runner had paid off for my position. The last two years I was Gunner's second in command. The crew thought of me as commander. Things were going well for the last six months but then Gunner got a job offer to smuggle what we thought were weapons onto The Citadel. I don't know what made Gunner take this job but the son of a bitch had lied to us. He told us we were helping smugglers bring weapons to a weapons seller in the market. The operation in reality was much worse. The cases weren't filled with guns they were filled with a bio weapon that was gonna be put into the water supply and kill a third of the space port. The rest would be very sick and god knows what else would have happened. I was meeting a client one night when they told me what was really going on. The information was solid. I went to C-Sec immediately and told them what was going to happen the next day. When C-Sec got there the next day to stop it the smugglers thought Gunner had sold them out and killed him. I had given the crew a pep talk before the gig went down and I told them what was going on. I couldn't let my crew pay for Gunner's stupid mistakes so when C-Sec came they all bolted. The C-Sec officer that I dealt with over the years gave me the time and place of a ship that would be leaving port around that time and we planned to have me get off The Citadel. He gave me an oxygen mask and this jacket and told me to start a new life somewhere else and wished me luck."

Scyth was pacing the room after I had finished explaining myself and Rudnek just sat there on the bed. Finally Scyth turned to me and sat back down again. He heaved a large sigh, like he was gonna give me bad news. Was he gonna tell me that Gunner wasn't dead? "Sapphire what is your last name?" "Uh, my last name's Shadow. Sapphire Shadow. Why?" Scyth and Rudnek exchanged glances, what the hell was going on? "We've heard about you." "When you said your name was Sapphire we didn't think you could be the same one we had heard about but-" Scyth interrupted Rudnek and finished his sentence for him. "But we were wrong." Heard of me? I knew I had a rep but I couldn't have been so famous that word of me would ever go off The Citadel. I mean I was a street rat, a runner, a kid who joined a street gang. How could they have heard of me? "What do you mean you've heard of me?" Rudnek tapped me on the shoulder and I turned around so I was facing him instead of Scyth. "We were on The Citadel the day that happened. A vid got out that C-Sec had stopped a threat in progress and they had gotten a tip from a local street ganger about the event." Scyth came over and sat down next to me on the other bed and continued Rudnek's story. "Later on that night Emma Wong gave a live report that an anonymous person gave her station a tip about the local gang member that saved the citizens on the space station. She said Sapphire Shadow was responsible for stopping a chemical weapon from spreading throughout The Citadel. She also said that you mysteriously disappeared after the incident so you couldn't be interviewed." I couldn't believe my ears. If I hadn't been sitting down already I would have fallen over by now from the shock of the news they had just told me. A hero? I was reported in the vids as a hero? That meant the smugglers knew who really got them bagged and if any of them ever got out of prison I was dead. Hell these guys had to have friends, and they were just delivery boys for whoever wanted that weapon put on The Citadel. Whoever that person was now knew why their plan had failed and they were gonna want revenge… did Volkin know this would happen…why didn't he warn me if he suspected it would?

Rudnek rested his claws on my shoulder and tried to comfort me. "That's not all Sapphire. That jacket you're wearing with the armor that's hidden in it. Bits and pieces of that armor belonged to Commander Shepard." My heart stopped. I swear to god my heart had stopped. I had to be dead now. No Rudnek must have hit me really hard in the head. Or I was hallucinating. Yeah, or I was dreaming. I must have dozed off in their room and I was dreaming the whole thing. Either way I was staring into empty space and I didn't say a word. Scyth waved his hand in front of my face. When I didn't respond he stuck his face in front of mine. "Sapphire can you hear me?" I tried to swallow but my throat was so dry and I felt really warm all of a sudden. The room was also spinning a little bit. Oh man, I don't think I feel so good. "Rud, call for someone to come up here and check her temp. The kid's as white as you were when you cracked your crest open that time you fell into a thresher maw nest and almost got eaten. " "I ain't gonna call for something like this Scyth." He walked past us and opened the door. "I'm gonna go ask for a thermal scanner and take it myself. We don't need people asking questions dull crest." And with that he closed the door and left. Scyth gave me more water to drink and he was trying to soothe me. Which is not something that krogan are used to doing so he was having a tough time with it. "Sapphire it's okay. You saved people from dying, that's a good thing…err... Nothing wrong for being a hero huh?... gaw come on kid snap out of it! I don't know how to do this kind of stuff."

I finally managed to get my voice to work, though it was a raspy whisper and I was still feeling woozy. Poor Scyth was wringing his claws over my reaction. I needed to tell him something, offer some kind of an explanation. It would be childish to say that knowing parts of my armor was Commander Shepard's so I wouldn't say that. Besides that though I was concerned by what the boys told me about Ms. Wong said on the extranet. That's what I could say, "The guy who…who wanted that weapon to be delivered knows my name…He's gonna track me Scyth…I'm gonna be killed…" Scyth crouched down so his eyes were level with mine and he rested a reassuring hand on my lap. "That what you're all worked up for? Shit Sapphire you've got me n' Rudnek. We fought in the Reaper invasion and we survived that. Don't think some whack job is gonna get through us. We'll protect ya. Krogan make damn good body guards. Wrex Urdnot was a body guard for someone for thirty years before he died of natural causes. Don't worry." Scyth did have a point. I wasn't alone now, I had friends, and friends that were pretty damn tough to last in the Reaper attack and actually witness the downfall of the Reapers. We'd figure something out. But there was something else that was bugging me. Something I needed to find out. "How the hell do I have Commander Sheppard's armor in my jacket?" "Don't know kid but you're shaking pretty bad and I bet you've got a fever. Looks like that grub finally hit ya from this morning." The door opened and Rudnek came in and shut the door shaking his head. He was muttering about how annoying salarians were and brought the thermal scanner over to the bed where Scyth had made me lay down. "Dumb salarian kept asking questions and wouldn't shut up about a krogan asking for a thermal scanner. Kept saying he'd never thought he'd see the day a krogan was smart enough to be concerned about their health. I shoulda put his head through a wall." He scanned my whole body and the screen beeped. "What the hell is this? It's saying error." Scyth held out his hand and Rudnek gave it to him. "See if you can make it work." Then Scyth took a reading of his own and his brow ridges narrowed in frustration. "Must be malfunctioning. Just sleep tonight and drink plenty of fluids. If it gets any worse we'll get ya looked at."

I still felt hot and shaky but I nodded and tried to get up so I could go back to my room and sleep but I felt too weak to move and the effort made my body shake even more. "Oh son of a-" I didn't get the chance to finish my sentence cuz Scyth scooped me up from the bed. The sudden movement made me very dizzy and I buried my head into Scyth's cool armor and groaned. Krogan never took their armor off and I felt very grateful at that moment for it. It felt like the room was swaying everywhere and I just wanted everything to lie still. Scyth carried me into my room and pulled the blankets back. Then he set me down gently which surprised me and he drew the blankets back up and tucked me in. For a moment I felt like a kid being put to bed by their parent and I couldn't help but feel safe and taken care of while Scyth entered my bathroom and filled up several cups with water for me to drink. "We'll check on you every hour to see how you're doing. Night Sapphire." Scyth was closing the door and I murmured back, "Night Scyth." And I fell asleep.

White walls surrounded me and I felt partially blind from the artificial lights. I was in a room and my heart was hammering. Two figures were on the other side of the glass and bent over a terminal. One was human the other was salarian. Their voices were excited and muffled. They thought I couldn't hear them but I could hear them a little bit and I had learned to read lips. Sometimes I wish I didn't learn how to read lips. I was strapped down. My wrists and legs were in cuffs that were bolted to the table and there were wires taped to my head. I figured out that's how they got information from me. Every time they did this there'd be more tests to follow and I hated these tests. They made me tired, cranky, and sometimes it hurt. I didn't like it at all.

The human talked first. "Look at her psych levels they're even higher than before!"

"DNA fusion 1 is holding steady as always for the past six years. I think we should have attempted distributing DNA fusion 2 six years ago along with this fusion. Her body accepted one DNA fusion very easily. She would have been perfect candidate to have two DNA fusions."

"How'd they get this DNA fusion? That Spectre's been dead for almost two centuries now!"

"Klimek let me give you some advice for this job. Don't ask questions about where this comes from, why we're doing it, and how we get the funding for it. Just do what they assign you and nothing more."

"Yeah, sure, whatever Bruel. Okay let's attach DNA fusion 2. Engaging DNA fusion sequence…now."

"What? No Klimek don't engage sequence!"

Pain seared my skull and it spread to my neck, then my chest, after that my arms and then it spread out to the rest of my body. I was screaming in agony. It felt like fire was following my bloodstream and burning everything that was in its path.

"GODS! Stop the program!"

"I can't stop it! Once it's in her bloodstream that's it. What the hell is going on?!"

"DNA fusion 2 should have been given to her at an earlier age. Body is having trouble adjusting to DNA fusion. Early age body doesn't fight back so much. Willingly accepts DNA mutation. Been done millions of times in other studies. She's too old!"

"What do you want me to do Bruel? I can't just undo the program!"

"You shouldn't have done it in the first place! I'll kill you myself if she dies! She's valuable!"

I jerked in my sleep and startled myself awake. I gasped and sat up in bed. I didn't know where I was and I didn't want anyone hurting me again. I was hot, sweaty, and my heart felt like it was going to burst. I heard quick, heavy footsteps and a door slam open. A krogan was in my room with an assault rifle in his hands. His face was dark brown, crest was tan though….krogan…dark brown…tan crest….Scyth! I knew where I was now. I was in a hotel room adjoined to Scyth and Rudnek. Scyth quickly scanned the room for enemies and I was still trying to get myself to calm down. Rudnek came rushing in next and looked for enemies as well. Rudnek stepped over to the bed to check and make sure I was okay. "What happened?" "If they hurt you I'll kill em!" Rudnek felt my forehead and frowned. "She's okay Scyth. Her fever spiked again. Get her some more water." Scyth grabbed one of the cups next to my bedside and went into the bathroom to fill it up again. When had I drank the other cups? I didn't remember drinking them. Rudnek got me resettled and put a cooling pack on my head. "We heard you moan and grunt. We thought someone was trying to kidnap you. You must have been dreaming." I was still shivering. There was a knot in my stomach. A cold, hard knot that made me feel like something awful was going to happen. Just like I did in my dream. "I-I was in a room. I was strapped down. Helpless. I-I couldn't escape. Some people were torturing me. It-it felt so real." Scyth came back with my water and held it for me while I drank it. When I was finished they both sat on the end of the bed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up." "Don't be sorry Sapphire. I told you we'd protect you and that's what we were prepared to do." Rudnek grunted, "Scyth's right Sapphire don't apologize. You were dreaming. You didn't know you were making noise." Scyth grabbed the door knob and started closing the door. "Go back to sleep sprout. We're gonna go gun shopping tomorrow and then head out for the job." I closed my eyes and slipped into a black dreamless sleep while Scyth stayed in my room and cleaned his armor.