Chapter 2

Main Deck, PFS Trianis – 07:46 P.M.

"Before we head to the Cafeteria, I'll give you the tour of the Trianis," she says motioning for Ranan to head on and then for Max to follow her. As they walk out the Engine Room Ranan and the rest of the group walk off together down the hallway to the right while Annali and Max take the left Hallway. They walk down a small flight of stairs down to the lower level where there is a more open space. There are personnel everywhere working on consoles and some sitting on tables discussing something, "Here is the Main Deck; where all the hallway's leading into the Rec Room, up the Med Bay, the Ships Gym-"

"Nice" Max says cutting her off. He realizes what he did and shrugs, "Sorry ,continue,"

"The Gym entrance is over there marked by the sign, obviously, and then next to it is the sparring ring where people can train with others or settle disputes," she explains. Max squints at the last few words; settle disputes?

"Wait you guys fight over who is right in a ring?" Max asks confused.

"Yeah, does your government not allow that?" Annali asks shifting herself.

"Well, no not really. If there were a fight in the ship then it would mean the two fighters would either have to settle it with the Captain or get discharged completely from the Navy. How do you guys deal with fights honestly?" Max asks.

"Well, the challenger has to instigate the fight first. Once they make the first move a date is set for the two fighters to spar on the ring. The winner gets bragging rights and wins the argument while the loser has to deal with eternal humiliation!" Annali explains looking up at Max whose face suddenly changes to nervousness; the thought of living with eternal humiliation not sounding well from him.

"Ooooh boy, I guess I won't be fighting anyone at all now or probably ever," Max says shrugging his shoulders. Annali notices Humans do that to express themselves in different way, their body language seem quite complicated but she doesn't question it.

"What, you scared? I thought Humans didn't back down from any challenge whatsoever. Are you really going to let down your race now?" Annali says bringing back nervous face but this time with a hard stare, not at her but at the door.

"Well the thing is I'm not a fighter you see. I merely do repairs or help a ships fighting capability," Max explains shifting to his right to lean on the wall.

"Sure, you are totally not called a 'Combat Engineer' for nothing. Especially for the mission we have with your government," Annali states stumping Max for the count again. Max squints his eyes making a new face unknown to Annali.

"Are you intimidating me?" he asks suspiciously. Annali knows he's caught up to her so she changes the subject.

"Come on, let's go to the Cafeteria; Ranan and the others are expecting us there. They seem eager to get to know you," Annali says quickly motioning for him to follow her back up the stairs.

"You seem to be well acquainted to them, they your friends?" Max asks.

"They were my friends as I grew up when I was a kid. They are the only people here on the ship I can talk to without anyone…" Annali trails off. She felt as if the Human was trying to gather information on her somehow. Not sure what his superiors would need the information for but it had to be something with Manipulation.

"Without anyone- what?" Max asks confused at her sudden trailing off.

"Sorry ,not in the mood to talk now, let's just head over to the cafeteria quick," Annali says quickly, her voice a bit harder than she meant to as she walked up the stairs quickly. Max follows her up, unsure if he said something offensive or triggered a memory from her past, he decides to stay silent a they head over to the cafeteria.

Did I say something bad? Damn this might be a bad first impression. I'll have to talk to her later about it, maybe clear things up with her Max thought to himself. He speeds up to catch up with Annali down the hallway and maintains an even pace at her side.

They enter the Cafeteria only to be met with the sweet scent of Turian cuisine already cooked for the people on lunch break. Annali and Max stand by the entrance scanning the cafeteria for the Ranan and the group. Max catches an arm waving at them and sees Ranan and the others on table at the far right, "There on the right, I see them," Max points out. Annali sees Ranan and the others and waves over to them and the two make their way over to the table. Annali takes her usual spot at the edge of the table while Max sits down opposite of her but one down to the right of her, thankfully.

"Hey Annie, how's the new promotion working out for ya?" Ranan asks taking a swig from his cup.

"Well first off; One, my name is not Annie and two it's more of a Demotion for me," Annali says disgusted.

"Oh come on you have a better bed than the one you had before," Dray says.

"It's the same one," Annali says plainly.

"Oh, well never mind," he says.

"So, Tereshkova is it? You ready to start work with us?" Dray asks.

"You can call me Max, my last name is way too long to complete. By the time you say it, someone's laundry is already done," Max says making everyone laugh. Annali chuckles at his joke, comparing himself to a real situation just makes her want to hear more from him. Something about him was changing the way she saw Humans entirely, however the thought of her mother always attempted to pull her back to her hatred for humans, which usually happened. However, not today.

"Yeah I'd prefer to call you Max than that last name. Where'd you get it anyhow?" Cay asks curiously.

"Back on Earth we have the Eighteen Nations that made up the Alliance. Russia, which was one of them, was where my father came from. His last name was Russian, understandably, he married my mother who was Mexican. She came from Mexico whom was also another Nation that made up the Alliance. She and my dad met in the Americas, which again was another member of the Alliance, and married there. My first name was Mexican in her countries terms, she adopted my father's last name and so when I was born; Max Tereshkova was my name," Max explains. The group nod at the origin story for his name, including Annali.

"So the Alliance is made up of the Eighteen greatest Nations of your Home Planet? Are there more Nations?" Dray asks.

"A total of 195 countries exist in the world, and only Eighteen of the most Powerful and well developed Nations on the Planet came together to try to Unify the planet. Of course I wasn't there to see the establishment of the Alliance," Max explains. The group 'ah's' in fascination at how many countries are still not with the Alliance, seeing as they are the main sponsors for the Human race.

"Why doesn't the rest of the world join the Alliance?" Ranan asks.

"Political and cultural bullshit. Most of the countries there believe joining the Alliance might change their Nation's culture when in reality we just want to explore the Galaxy. The Eighteen Nations saw that their culture wouldn't change so they decided to Unite and share their resources with each other for the sake of Human advancement. This was after we discovered the Prothean Data Drives on Mars," Max explains the Alliances story. Information Annali thought to be useful. Just a little bit of Political Disagreement and the Alliance is left in shambles, "There are some Nations who are requesting they join the Alliance so that's good for us. Little by little the world is coming together and maybe at one point, we'll gain the full support of the motherland," Max says leaning back but realizes there isn't a support for his back and goes back to his default position.

"It almost sounds like our Unification War except less violent and without space battles taking place. All in all, this makes up a great bed time story," Dray says making the others laugh.

"Hey, it isn't something to snooze away to. Your Unification war sounds like a Soap Opera set in Space. Nobody likes Drama," Max retaliates, smirking.

"Bah, hey Ranan when you thinking of playing Skyllian Five?" Dray asks.

"I'm up for it anytime you guys are," Ranan states.

"I'm looking forward to stealing your money boys. Just mark the day and I'll be there," Annali states determined.

"Really? Well we'll see how you fare with my new and improved skills," Dray brags stretching his arms out in front of him.

"Ha, improved? Last time you said that you lost everything you betted on the table," Annali reminds him.

"You pulled that Ace from your sleeve, I know it. Besides, at least I won't be at the bottom of the cup when Max is there," Dray says. All eyes are on Max now, "You do know how to play Skyllian Five right Max?" he asks.

"Psshh, of course I do. I have a relatively good poker face when it comes to gambling, Deal me in," Max says acting confident in his skills.

"What do you have to bet with?" Annali says doubtful he has anything to even bargain with.

"I got a little something from the Motherland, I won't spoil the surprise," Max says crossing his arms.

"Alright then, we'll see you at the Rec Room when everyone's out cold," Dray says and gets up from the table and takes one last swig from his drink, "I gotta go guys, see you all tonight," Dray says and walks out to the doors.

"Lates Dray," Ranan says. Somehow the overcrowded cafeteria became almost desolate and eerie. Only the cooks and a few groups were left and it was almost time to turn in while the ship travels through Hyperspace to the Matano System.

"Okay guys, let's head back to our stations it's almost time for curfew, remember the game," Annali orders and the group salutes then stands up simultaneously and disperse, only leaving Max and Annali, "Let's go Engineer Tereshkova, you have a game to prepare for so it's best you head back to your headquarters," Annali says starting to get up. Her tone hard and forward.

"You know you can call me Max besides that name. Sounds so stressful when you say it," Max says getting up as well.

"I call my friends by their first name," Annali states and begins to walk for the doors. Max frowns at her tone and follows her through the doors.

"So, what? Am I not considered a friend to you?" Max asks. Annali continues down the hallway not responding to his question, "Hello?" he asks again. She doesn't respond. Max decides to be a bit more forward, "Hey, are you ignoring me?" Max asks again and places a hand on her shoulder. Not even expecting it, Annali grabs hold of his arm and flings him over her and down onto the floor creating a loud thud. Max looks up to see Annali standing over him. Her feelings for Humanity taking over again and speaking out loud.

"I was never fond of humans human. I'm not sure why the Hierarchy decided to spare your kind but I don't fully sympathize with their decision. I believe they have something in mind for you but it isn't with me being friendly to you," she says and walks over him and disappearing into the hallways.

Max lays there not knowing what just happened and tries to get up. He rubs the back of his neck to where he felt his spine hit the metal floor. Oh god what the hell just happened. *sigh* I think I should have let it go. The hell was I thinking for grabbing like that? I think I'll just wait for the right moment to make it up to her he thinks to himself as he walks back to engineering. He passes the hallway Annali disappeared through and sees nothing down the hall. He makes it back to Engineering to see Ranan, Dray and Caylio walking out.

"You guys already starting the game?" Max asks.

"No, we're heading back to our bunks, ours is pretty close by which is convenient. I'll send you a message saying when you should come to the Rec Room to your Omni-tool," Ranan says and begins to walk away.

"See you there Max, bring that surprise you were saving to the game," Dray says and follows the group into the hallway to their bunks.

"Alright, see you guys," Max says and walks into the Engine Room and into his room. He throws his bags to the side and flops onto the bed and groans loudly, his body relaxing finally. Oohhhh how I missed you bed even though you belong to someone else Max says to himself mentally. Bringing his arms up he sets his Omni tool to go off if a message arrives. Switching it off he let's his face flop back onto the bed, not caring if there's a pillow.

[

"SPIRITS WHAT THE BLOODY HELL WAS I THINKING? I just went off on him just like that. Spirits that was uncalled for, Ugh," Annali says to herself as she punches the wall in frustration. She let her feelings get in the way of her better judgement and for that she reacted out of anger beside responding logically. She could've said and done anything else but what she did. A part of her was saying her actions were justified; he grabbed her shoulder, she was an officer it was considered insubordination. She thought it was defiance against an officer but she made the first move by saying he wasn't her friend. Spirits, I can't live in the past anymore. Mom wouldn't want me to still be mourning her after all this time. Max didn't do anything to me that was offensive. He was just trying to be… my friend. This thought broke her down and she started sobbing. Leaning back and sliding down to sit on the floor, her hands on her face. I have to apologize to him today, now. *sigh* "Spirits help me" she says and recomposes herself enough to get up and lay on her large bed. Her bed was large enough to accommodate another person but she never did think about sharing it with anyone. She flopped on to her bed and flipped on her Omni tool to check the time; 20:00.

"Alright, it's almost time. *sigh* Maybe I can get some sleep before it's time" she says to herself and closes her eyes. Almost immediately she falls into darkness. Small figments swirl around her mind, memories of her mother and father were still together on Palaven. How she was always excited to see her when she got back from duty, "Momma" she said in her memory. She smiles at the warmth she felt when she hugged her from a long day's work, "I missed you mommy" she said in her memory, "I missed you two dear," Her mother's voices so soothing and calming. She smiles unconsciously at her voice, "Momma," she mumbles in her sleep.

*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*

"Huh? Whaa-?" Annali wakes up to the sound of her Omni tool beeping for a call to connect. She gets up quickly and swing her legs over the edge and flicks her Omni tool and connects the call, "Who is it?" she asks rubbing her eyes.

"You coming? Its time, just thought I would let you know. The Rec Room is open today so hurry up," Ranan says. Annali blinks quickly and nods.

"Yeah I'm coming ,don't worry I'll be there. I promise," she says rubbing her eyes.

"Aright cool, I'll see you there," Before he disconnects Annali remembers something she was going to say.

"OH wait Ranan, is… Max coming to the game too?" she asks hesitantly.

"Yeah I just called him, he's coming with his 'surprise'. Why?" he asks suspiciously.

"Just… wanted to check is all, thanks," Annali says and disconnects the call. She stands up stretching her arms up and legs to get some blood flowing through them. Walking into the hallway she makes her way to the stairs leading down to the Main Deck. As she nears the stairs, she wonders what she's going to say to Max to start the conversation What do I say to him? 'Hey I'm sorry for that move I did on you! No hard feelings?' Nonono that sounds dumb. Gosh what do I say? It's not like he's going to- Just then Max walks out from the Hallway from the left. He sees her walking and she freezes on the spot. The two eye each other, not saying anything or moving at all. For a while neither side moved until Max spoke first.

"Annali I-I'm sorry for what I did back there, I didn't mean to grab you like that. You're my Commanding Officer I shouldn't have pushed on the question like that-"

"No I'm sorry. I acted out of Anger and I wasn't thinking rationally. I regret saying what I said back there, it was uncalled for me flipping you on you back. I hope I didn't hurt you," Annali says looking down shamefully at the space between them.

"I wasn't hurt at all… physically I mean. I pushed on because of what you said 'you only called friends by their first name'. I know I'm bad at first impressions and I probably said something wrong. If I said something offensive-" his words were getting to her. Not only was he apologizing, he was blaming the entire incident on himself. Not once pinning it on her slightly. Everything she had thought about humans being so cruel and self-minded was being disproven by this one Human. If there was one thing she looked for in another Man, it was sympathy for other people, "-Please, if there is anything I can do to make it up you-" Annali walks up to Max, her move making him silent. Unsure as to what she was going to do he leans back, not taking a step back. She moves up close to him and her face very close to his. Her eyes scanning his face for any sign of dishonesty of his words. She sighs and her head falls to his chest, Max unsure as to how to respond.

"A-Annali I-" Max says but is interrupted when she brings her head up to his face and her hand behind his head. She brings her forehead to his, her hand not letting go of his head but rather feeling his soft silkiness of his pelt. Max doesn't protest to what she is doing but interprets it as a sign of respect… or something. Finally, she lets him go and he pat's the back of his hair down, "So what was that about?" he asks curiously.

"It's a sign of respect and the establishment of good friendship sometimes something else," she says clarifying. Max nods slightly and smiles.

"I guess we're friends now, eh?" Max says. Annali nods, "Well, since we are I guess it's no harm to share the possible winning in accordance of our newly found friendship. Here, hold on…" Max says handing her a sort of, bronzish, bottle and then running back into engineering. Some rustling could be heard from outside the room, Max rushes out with two glass cups from his room holds them both in his hand. He takes the bottle from her and hands her the glasses. Uncorking the top a small pop can be heard from it, "Tequila, Mexico's and the world's strongest liquor… strong enough to make any scientist, street smart," Max says. Annali giggles at his small joke and Max smiles at her reaction. He pours the liquor into the glasses and takes his.

"Is it Dextro-protein? I might die from this if it isn't you know?" Annali questions looking at the coloration from the glass.

"It's universal, able to be consumed by both Dextro and Levo-Amino based people. It's totally safe trust me, I even shared one with a Quarian on the Citadel. He was a good guy," Max says and chugs down all of the liquid just like that. Nothing happening to him, Annali decides it's probably good for her then if he shared it with a Quarian.

"Ok then, down the hatch," she says and chugs the liquor down as well. The taste is unlike anything she's tasted before. As the liquid falls down her esophagus she feels it stinging her throat slightly but later a refreshing feeling overwhelms her and she breathes a sigh of satisfaction.

"See even you like it. Let's see if the Tequila doesn't kill you, I just ordered it the day before," Max says. Annali's eyes open widely at his statement and her mouth drops open. Max smiles and chuckles, "I'm playing with you, relax Annali, god you Turians sure do take things seriously," Max says walking past her and down the stairs. Annali closes her mouth and shakes her head in disbelief, she was played by him again. She was already starting to like him… as a friend that is.

Maybe.

[

"Guys unfortunately I couldn't find the cards to play for Skyllian five so we might have to find a different game to play," Dray says. Everyone groans in disappointment at the poker table, expecting to be able to bet.

"Now what? We have no cards to play with," Cay says resting his head on his hand. The room falls silent, the hum of the core being white noise to the group. Max takes a deep breath and gets up from his seat.

"Where you going?" Cay asks.

"I have my own set of cards but not the cards that we would normally use in a regular poker game," Max says and walks out the room and running through the Main Deck up the stairs. Dray and Ranan exchange looks of Confusion, not entirely sure what other card game Max brought with him. Annali is still looking at the door Max exited from, waiting to come around the corner at some point.

"Hey Annali, what do you think so far of our new engineer?" Ranan asks. Annali perks her head up and turns back to the group.

"Huh, oh, uh, well of course I still barely know him. We just met him today," Annali says looking down at where Max was, only to see the bottle of Tequila he brought for the supposed poker game.

"True- true, though, he's already giving me the impression that I've known him for a long time. Like we were old friends meeting up for the first time in years," Ranan explains, the others nodding as well in agreement.

"He seems like a nice guy. Still, I'm curious as to see his skills in action when it comes to an actual battle situation," Dray cuts in.

"We will, the Captain might schedule a simulation soon!" Annali says.

"You mean Caepraka? Are you giving us a heads up or…" Dray asks.

"I'm just saying there might so don't go expecting it will come in the morning when we wake up," Annali says. At that point, Max bursts in through the doors startling everyone.

"Found them, they were so deep in my bags I couldn't find the little bugger. Alrighty now!" Max says pulling out a small red rectangular box with fancy lettering that Annali would assume was the Human language.

"Alright, what are we playing? Is betting involved? Because I would hate to waste my skills in a pointless non-gamble," Cay says, crossing his arms.

"We can play betting but it has to be all in," Max says and everyone frowns at the new rule. Whoever wins first gets the Pot.

"What? What kind of game rule is that? You might as well take my crap, this is your game!" Dray says putting his hands up.

"I'll explain the rules now but first; What is the game, right?" Max says trying to regain the trust of everyone, they all nod in agreement and listen carefully, "Okay, the name of the game is Uno! It's a relatively easy game to understand. Winner of the first game moves on the Semi-finals. It will be an elimination match, more or less," Max says. Everyone bobble heads him in understanding.

"Ok so how do we play the game exactly?" Annali asks first.

"I'll try to make this sound as easy as I possibly can because not everyone gets it. Basically, there are four different colored cards; Green, Blue, Red, and yellow. Each one numbered from one to nine," he explains showing them cards.

"How will we now which number it is, I can't read your human way of writing numbers," Dray says.

"Scan it with your Omni-tools before playing but don't show them to anyone, obviously. Anyways, there are these wildcards that allow you to change the color of the next starting card. There are also +2 cards and +4 cards that, depending on the color presented, will allow you to get the other person to draw two more cards thus adding to his deck. The +4 card is universal and you can put down anytime, regardless of the color presented. If the person has the same +2 or +4 card you can place it down for a follow up, as I like to call, adding up the value to either 4 or an 8. Depending on the card you have. Moral of the game is to get rid of all your cards before everyone else," Max explains. He shuffles the deck and hands everyone 6 cards each. They all take their cards, with their Omni-tool, and scan the cards, translating the numbers to their symbols. They nod at their hand and hide it under the table. Max places the deck in the middle and gets six cards for himself and sits down next to Annali, but not too close to see her deck, or vice versa.

"So how do we start the game?" Ranan asks.

"I pull a random card from the deck and whatever color it is we start with. I'll explain on the way, this just a practice round so nobody loses anything… yet," Max says giving everyone a mischievous look. Annali smiles as he smiles, his smile giving her certain warmth she had never felt in a long time… love? She catches this and shakes her head at the thought. Whoa what the hell was that? Did I just… no i can't. Not now. She looks as her cards again, reading them again to take her mind off what she just felt. Her deck is rainbow colored but the some of the symbols looking identical and she one she saw looked like the 'Wildcard' he mentioned.

Max pulls a card off from the top of the deck and flips to reveal a blue card, "Ok, the color is blue! Ranan, pick a card that is blue, any will do," Max says. Ranan nods and pulls a blue card with a 6 and shows it to Max, "Good now place it on top of the blue card I just pulled and we'll continue," Max says. Ranan plops the card on the starting card and the turn moves to Caylio. He inspects the cards he has but looks confused.

"Um, I don't have a blue on me. What do I do, forfeit?" Cay asks.

"Do you have a card that has that symbol on it?" Max asks.

"Yeah," Cay confirms nodding and holding up the yellow card.

"Then put it down and that's the new color we'll be going with now," Max says. Cay places the card down but before Dray can go, Cay raises his hand quickly.

"What if I have another card with the same symbol but different color?" he asks.

"If you have the same card but a different color you can place it down as well," Max explains. Cay place's two more cards down, a blue then a green, and is down to 3 cards, a sort of faint smirk growing on him, "Alright Dray, your turn, the card is green," Dray nods and takes a card from his hand and places it down, a +4, "Oooh, that's gonna hurt Annali, draw four cards," Max says smiling. Annali frowns at the card Dray put down but notices she has a similar card to the one he put down and places it down, not sure what happens then. Max's smirk fades and his mouth drops open, "Whaa-?" Max doesn't say anything but shake his head and reaches for the deck to pick up his cards.

"Wait, why are you drawing? What did I do?" Annali asks confused.

"Dray placed down a +4 card, you saved yourself from drawing the four cards by placing your +4 card down. The two cards add up to eight cards in total so the next person has to draw that many cards," Max explains as he continues gathering cards for himself.

"Oh, well then, yay!" Annali says smiling at her lucky save.

"I have a feeling this is going to be a long match, I'm usually not psyched out like that *sigh*," Max shakes his head in disbelief.

"You know I'm starting to like this game, I think I might win this," Cay says confident.

Main Deck; Rec Room, Trianis- 20:00 P.M.

2 Hours Later

"I can't believe I lost all my crap," Cay says walking with his head back hunched and his hands in his now empty pockets.

"Pfft, I lost my prized possession of good genuinely made Tequila-" Max turns around to Annali holding her winnings from the game, "- To a woman. *groan* I was going to save it for a special occasion… for myself. Guess not," Max says as they walk.

"Hey you were the one who brought up the game. Don't blame me for being so good," Annali says walking past them in between.

"Yeah, it was MY game. It wasn't fair, you had the swap hands card. Can't believe it was an amateur," Max mumbles reminding her of her lucky call.

"*giggle*" Annali simply giggles. Both Cay and Max shake their heads gloomily. Dray and Ranan had already left before the game ended because they didn't want to lose any more stuff, leaving Cay, Max and Annali to play against each other. Cay splits off from the group to head to his room saying his goodnight to the new Engineer and Officer Veren. Together, Max and Annali walk to the Engine Room, Max stops and turns to Annali who stands there expectantly.

"Well, goodnight Officer Veren. I had a good first day on board the Trianis. I guess I'll see you at 0600," Max says and turns to the doors.

"Wait, Engin- sorry, Max! Um, before you go I just wanted to say I'm sorry again, for what I said about you after I flipped you on your back outside the Cafeteria," Annali says walking up to him but not looking up at him.

"It's okay, I understand why you said it. It wasn't that long ago, your kind took over one of our colonies and we sort of surprised you by retaking it. Of course there's still going to be some tension between us but what we did back in the Rec Room was proof that we can get along great," he says reassuring Annali her actions were justified. This made Annali more ashamed of herself for continually blaming his kind for the death of her mother.

"It's not just that… I… hated your kind when my mother died… she was part of the force that occupied your planet. When I heard she was executed by your military, I took upon myself to train and become the best special forces agent in the Hierarchy so that when the day came when I would face a Human, they would be sorry they even met me," Annali reveals herself completely. Max doesn't move or anything he's just standing there. Did he hear what she said?

"I understand if you're mad, I-I feel ashamed for having these thoughts about you *sigh*," Annali explains placing her winnings on the floor and steps back slightly. Max sees what's she's doing and moves towards her.

"Wait what are you-" Max starts to say before she steps back again.

"I… I don't deserve this… I'm sorry," she says. Before Max could reach her she's already sprinting the opposite direction through the Hallway.

"WAIT," Max calls out but she's already gone. Damn it he thinks to himself. He looks back at her winnings and picks them up. He looks at them, his tequila, Cay's credits, her words ringing in his head I don't deserve this… I don't deserve this. She must have had a rough past to give this all up to me, but not even that makes sense. He takes her winnings into the Engine room and to his room where he places them on the side of his station. Sitting down on his chair, he replays everything that happened from when he woke up to Annali's confession. Taking every bit of detail into account, he searches for the possible mistake he might've made early on, Was it how I greeted her? No, that couldn't have been it. Somehow I triggered a memory from her, I don't know, he thinks to himself. Staring back at the Tequila, he wonders it's taste again and reaches and uncorks it, pouring himself a shot. Already the first day and it's already interesting. Whelp, down the hatch, he says and raises the shot in the air for a toast and throws the liquid in his mouth. The liquor already taking effect he shakes his head to rid himself of the dizziness and walks over to his biggest bag. Pulling out his father's guitar he had kept with him since he was a toddler, he sits back down and fiddles with the strings, adjusting the tightness. Once calibrated, he takes position and plays a tune he had heard was made from the early 2000's.

"Staring at the ceiling in the dark

Same old empty feeling in your heart…" playing the night away.

[

Annali, still running down the hall, tears running down her eyes, slows down to an even pace to catch her breath. Unable to see, she wipes her eyes of the tears accumulated and sits down leaning her back against the wall. Small sniffs occasionally escape from her creating an echo through the hallway. Eventually, she wipes away the excess tears and recomposes herself, her breathing back to normal. She looks up at the dark ceiling, closes her eyes and taking a deep breath, she opens them back up, Spirits… why is this so hard. First days are never this complicated. This human… Max, is different from everyone else that I've met before. He opened me up so easily, the only other person who managed to do that was Ma' Rice.

Getting up slowly, she quickly walks back to her room and locks it, not wanting anyone to come in on her. Hanging up her uniform in her closet, neatly straightening it out for tomorrow. She strips down to her underwear, and quickly puts on some pajamas to shield her from the cold. Flopping onto bed she pulls out a small instrument she used to play with her mother. She had taken inspiration to play it when she felt down. It looked like a Human Flute but more intricate in design. She places her lips on the mouthpiece and blows into it. The flute had no holes to control the airflow so the tune came depending on how hard or how light you blow into it. She steadied her breathing and blew into the Turian flute creating a small whistle then increases in pitch and a nice beat starts up.

Mentally she sings a small song her mother taught her, one she would never forget:

"Accept me for who I am and I will accept you for you.

Despite your words

Despite your woes

I am with you…"

Singing the night away.