Mass Defect
An Mass Effect FanFic by SILVER THE SWORD MASTER
C-C-COPYRIGHT W-W-W-WARNING: Mass Effect and all it entails are COPYRIGHT Bioware and EA Games. Any other characters from series that may or may not be used are COPYRIGHT their creators. A hint: YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS ALREADY.
RATING WARNING! (X2 COMBO!): This Fan Fiction is rated M FOR MATURE. It'll deal with graphic violence, high drama, coarse language, sexual themes, drugs and alcohol, and other such things that are not meant for kids!
F-F-FINAL WARNING! (X3 COMBO!): READ THE PROLOG FIRST. Seriously.
N-N-NEW NOTE! (X4 COMBO!): Again, a bit of rewriting here and there, but nothing particularly major done. I like the changes, and I think you will too.

Author Notes (C-C-COMBO BREAKER): Ok, fair warning, I did mention before that I'm kinda playing fast and hard with my writing style and the story, so I should point out that this is definitely an AU fic. There are going to be parallels to the Canon Mass Effect that we all know and love, but I am changing a few things here, adding some things there, such as how C-Sec training works and a little program. And if you got a complaint, hold it right there, because I got an answer for it before you let one damn word escape your lips:
The Goddess did it. Now shut the FUCK up and read. (I probably wouldn't actually say the 'fuck' part, but I think it emphasizes my point pretty well. So please, kick back and enjoy!)
Gonna try to make this a long one…

/C/O/M/B/O/S/Y/S/T/E/M/E/N/G/A/G/E/D/

\\CHAPTER 2: Intro the universe

"Doc, he's waking up again…"

The weary, cautious voice of Garrus Vakarian, C-Sec officer and sniper, slowly starts to filter into Eric's ears as he slowly starts to blink his eyes open, now understanding that he's been shot up with another sedative and was just starting to shake off the effects… without the benefit of that warm, soothing balm that had been rubbed on his chest that cleared it out last time.

"Mng… did someone catch the number of that steamroller?" Eric groans softly, a wry smirk lightly spreading as he winces, slowly sitting up.

"That's a new one for relating shock." Dr. Michel muses, looking over what looked to Eric like a tablet of some kind. "Or perhaps an older one. Are you alright, Mr. Midore? You gave us quite a shock when you started off like that…"

Now, such a question as that is a difficult one to answer honestly when you're a time traveler, as answering it honestly usually ends up with said time traveler being put in a room coated in padding and rubber and being taken care of by the happy men in the white scrubs.

Eric's mind raced for an answer, trying to think of something to use as an excuse for his odd and irrational behavior… well, irrational by their standards, if what Nayru told him was true… which, considering she was the Goddess of Wisdom, it probably was.

"I… am not." Eric finally settles on an answer, looking down a bit. "I… can't remember much, and I've got a hell of a headache… I think I vaguely remember something… about a production, a reenactment…" 'Yeah, let's go with that,' he thinks before continuing, "W-we had a stunt gun to go through with a 'shooting' scene and…"

Eric shakes his head softly. "I… I… I can't remember…"

Now, this was a massive crock of bullshit, as I'm sure we're all quite aware, but it sounded solid enough, and Dr. Michel and Garrus knew of several different roaming bands of performers that enjoyed preforming reenactments from various parts of history of the races. More recently, human history had been rather popular.

However, said bands of performers were… well, comparable to Old Terra Carnies. A little deplorable, many criminals… and many willing to settle grudges the lethal way.

Garrus shakes his head. "That explains the old-fashion weapon damage." He says. "Mr. Midore…"

"Please, just call me Eric… 'Midore' isn't even my last name anyway… at least… I'm pretty sure it isn't…" Eric says, frowning now as he looks like he's trying to remember something. He actually is pleasantly surprised with himself at how well he's pulling the act, keeping his face scrunched a bit as he looks up and too the right, the classic view of someone trying really hard to remember something.

"Midore isn't your last name?" Garrus asks, looking intrigued.

"No, I'm an orphan." Eric says, shrugging, scrambling to come up with a plausible sounding excuse when he remembers something he saw on TV one time. "I wouldn't be allowed to travel or act in the group without an ID and… well… I'm underage. So I got a fake and when I had to come up with a name, I went with Midore. I read it in a book once…"

Eric frowns. "At least, I… think I did."

Dr. Michel checks her datapad, as Eric decides to think of it as, before switching to the glowing-arm-holograph thingy and hitting a few of the floating panels before running it by Eric. "Mmmm… there are definitely some signs of minor memory loss, probably from the concussion of hitting the ground. What's the most recent date you can remember, Eric?"

Eric's frown deepens as he concentrates, and sighs, shaking his head. "Today, but in the year 2000."

Garrus sighs. "Whatever memory he must have lost must have been less embedded memories. You know, recent stuff, dates around here… I'm sure he's got his part for the reenactment memorized by heart…" The Turian says, looking… pensive, kinda. Eric isn't sure how to read the alien, the metallic plating and mandibles making the Turian all that more alien to Eric.

"I… can barely even remember that." Eric says, shaking his head sadly. "All I can remember is that my name is Eric Midore, though it's not my real last name, I'm sixteen, and that I was 'Born in 1984…', though I realize now that it's just a crock of bull…"

Being able to lie like a dog and make it work is a very valuable skill to have in any profession or lifestyle. Doubly so if you happen to be a time traveler who had no idea about the universe you've arrived in or how life works in this century. As such, Eric currently has the advantage of the blessing given to him by a Wisdom Goddess, that little mark on his hand glowing slightly, not that anyone would notice that.

Garrus crosses his arms, evaluating what Eric says. "Maybe, but at least you got a name and your age."

"Garrus, could you take him in to C-Sec?" Dr. Michel says, looking to the Turian with a soft nod. "Maybe they'll be figure out what to do with him… set him up with a real identity at least, get him registered and the like. No reasons to just leave him running around with a case of amnesia like this, and besides, I recall that C-Sec was looking for new recruits for officer training. He may be… an 'inspired' choice, but if not, he'll have schooling and a job."

Garrus lets out a little groan, resisting the urge to do a very human gesture he's seen repeated several times and bury his face in one of his hand's palms. "Dr. Michel, that program is meant for the sons and daughters of C-Sec officers once the reach 'of age' and don't want to return to their respective military for training." Garrus says, frowning as only a Turians can as he explains the program and what entails. Training, Duty, How to use a weapon, Galactic History, Cultural History for all species, Advanced Omni-Tool use… things that a C-Sec officer should know.

"… but even then, it's again, only open to C-Sec officers children, and only a hypothetical at the moment." Garrus finishes, looking slightly aggravated as he crosses his arms again, looking at Eric and Dr. Michel.

"What about adopted children?"

That stopped Garrus cold, causing him to look at Dr. Michel in shock. "Ado… Dr. Michel, what are you suggesting?"

Dr. Michel smiles knowingly at Garrus. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. You said yourself the other day that you wish that you had a rookie officer to take under your wing. Well, why not Eric? He's a literal blank-slate right now. Anything you teach him is new information, minus any muscle memory. Train him and teach him, and kill two birds with one stone, so to speak."

Eric blinks. "Um… not to be a downer or anything, but what in the world is C-Sec, and err… well… what are you Garrus?"

Garrus and Dr. Michel turn to Eric in surprise, realizing that they had entirely forgotten to include the person they were talking about in the conversation. It happens, but it's none the less annoying to people who pride themselves on attention to detail, doctors and officers of the law alike.

Now, it is at this point that you would be amused to note that the Goddess is watching quite carefully, interested to see how this one, single change would effect this timeline as compared to the multitude of other branches that she had eyed down. Most of them ended with Eric's death in some form or another, but where was the fun in that?

"… I guess we should start there, at least." Garrus says grudgingly. "I'm a Turian, one of the Council Races."

"Ok, great. What the heck is the Council Races and what is a Turian beyond you?"

In case you haven't guessed, Eric's wit and snarky attitude has existed before now. He's rather proficient at it, it appears.

Garrus lets out a sighing breath. "The Council is the Government of a large area of space that encompasses a wide verity of species. Don't ask me to recite them all, because I don't know that many planets and nebulas off the top of my head. There are eight 'Council' races, or races that follow the laws the Council passes and agrees to listen to their authority to trade and act in unity. My race, the Turians, the Asari, and the Salarians are the three 'core' races, and hold the three seats of the Council, and make the final calls for political, law, and some military decisions for Citadel Space, which is the name of the area that Council races inhabit and Citadel Law applies to."

Eric frowns and turns his head a bit. "Only three races run the whole show? What about the other five?"

"Good question, I was just getting to that." Garrus says, looking approving of the sensible question from Eric. "The Volus, Elcor, Hanar, and Drell followed soon after, and have some say in the political part of Citadel Space, and more recently came the Humans, or rather, your space-time government known as the Systems Alliance, that also gets some say in galactic affairs."

Eric nods at the information. "Well, nice to know the names, but what am I supposed to know about each one?"

Garrus frowns slightly. "It would be best if I could show you each one and explain what I know, but at the moment, it probably would be best if you just stuck with me while I get you set up as a citizen and…"

Garrus blinks as he realized that Dr. Michel was smiling at him from where she had slid away. He had been lecturing to Eric and she apparently took it as a sign that Garrus had it all under control, and he couldn't really count on her to back him up at the moment.

Garrus crosses his arms, pondering that, his brow, such as it was, furrowed in thought as Eric speaks up again. "Ok, I understand that I got a lot to learn apparently. Where am I supposed to go to school or do from here… err… Mr.….?"

The boy was looking at him pretty solidly, looking a little hopeful that the Turian could help him, which made Garrus's expression soften a bit.

"I… damn it." Garrus mutters, shaking his head a bit. "Please, no 'Misters', just call me Garrus. Can you walk, Eric?"

Eric softly pushes up and finds himself on surprisingly sturdy feet. He nods. "Yes."

"Good. Come on, we'd better go visit C-Sec so I can deliver my report, and then we'll need to visit the Human Embassy… the Alliance will want to hear about you." Garrus says, nodding to Dr. Michel before turning towards the door, looking a little troubled, not that anyone but a Turian would be able to tell anyway.

/L/I/N/E/C/U/T/

"H-HOOOOLY SHIT!" Eric says in shock, his jaw dropped as he steps out of the med clinic, getting his first view of The Citadel and the Serpentine Nebula. Perfecting timing too, as at that moment the awe-inspiring view of the Destiny Ascension drifts into view, Eric's head tracking it as it moves across the view port.

"The Destiny Ascension, flagship of the Citadel fleet." Garrus says. "It's massive and rather impressive, but you aren't going to understand the importance of the details just yet so I suggest we move on."

Garrus watches Eric, amused at the human's reactions as he looks around in awe, and slight shock. He really was missing most of his memories if he couldn't remember any of this.

"Jeez… we really are in space." Eric says, letting a low whistle slide out as he looks out the window. "What in the world is the city-scape down there?"

"Those are the Wards. Like this one." Garrus says. "Each one is akin to a small town or a big city, or a small city, depending on where you go. Come on, keep walking."

Eric shakes his head again as he lets Garrus lead him away, heading down a flight of stairs just by the Med Clinic. As they reach the bottom, another human calls out to Garrus, dressed in a blue uniform with a similar visor on his head. "Garrus, hey, good timing. Pallin is looking for you, said he was still waiting for the report of the kid who had the unusual projectile wound."

Garrus nods. "I figured he would." Garrus muses. "Thanks Eddie."

Eddie then notices Eric, who is wearing a new black tee-shirt that Dr. Michel supplied for him on the way out, and his jeans, which got a very small amount of blood on them, thankfully. "Hey, Garrus, is this the kid who got shot?" Eddie asks, looking at Eric curiously.

"He's the one, yeah." Garrus confirms. "It was a simple patch job for his gut. Arm was broken pretty badly, but nothing some medigel couldn't solve. Whoever was trying to kill him did it as thoroughly as possible, clubbed him across the head or hit him with enough shock that he's lost a lot of his memory. All he remembers is a fake last name, his first name, he's orphaned, and he's sixteen."

"Damn." Eddie says, looking a little stunned before looking to Eric again. "Nice to meet you kid, I'm Officer Lang, Eddie Lang. If you ever need anything, you let me know, ok?"

Eric nods, feeling a little better talking to the friendly C-Sec officer and a human at that. "Nice to meet you Officer Lang, sir. I'm Eric… err… well; at least that's what I remember."

Eddie smiles and softly shakes his head. "It's fine Eric. Please, just call me Eddie. Only need to call me Officer Lang if you're reporting a crime or asking for something that requires C-Sec assistance, ok?"

"Ok, Eddie." Eric says, smiling a little, looking much more relaxed. At least it seemed that even out in space the police were still friendly and open as long as you followed the law.

Garrus nods to Eddie. "That reminds me, did you know if Pallin had decided on the idea of that training program?"

Eddie blinks, looking thoughtful as he rubs his chin. "Mmmm… actually, yeah." He says, nodding a bit. "He wanted to go through with it, but they still need a volunteer. A real fresh start, so to speak. The problem is that Pallin wants it to be a human, but well…" Eddie says his voice kind of drifting off at the end of his sentence.

Garrus sighs. "None of the other officers wanted to get involved still?" Garrus says with slightly disappointed tone. His superior's pet project had been kicked around the C-sec offices quite a bit at this point, and really should have been moving forwards by now. It might have been a human idea, but the idea of a 'police acadamy' that would supply training and schooling for young men and women to make new C-sec officers out of members of the galaxy that hadn't had the opportunity to get the schooling or training required was rather fascinating to the Turian, and many others members of C-sec, even if the military background that every Truian received made the program rather ineffective for them.

"No, not particularly. None of the other human officers have much family around this ward and the Presidium." Eddie says. "I mean, they do, but no teens that want to get involved, and Pallin is dead set on having a volunteer."

Garrus shakes his head. "That's what I was afraid of." Garrus mutters. "And they need to be family, right?"

"That's the rule as far as I know. Remember this is kind of a test run project." Eddie says, shrugging, blinking at Garrus as his mandible's flare lightly as if he's contemplating a new idea "Something up? You look like you got your thinking cap on."

"No, nothing in particular. Thanks Eddie." Garrus says with a nod as he motions for Eric to follow him, Eddie smiling at Garrus and giving him a jaunty little wave. "Alright, see you around Garrus. Nice to meet you Eric."

Eric, who has been spending most of his time looking around in awe and was observing a keeper that was walking into the area, blinks as he notices Garrus's gesture and falls into step, smiling at Eddie was he walks by, walking slightly back and to the side of the Turian towards the elevator. "Nice to meet you too Eddie, talk to you later." The time-lost human grinning as they step into the elevator.

/L/I/N/E/C/U/T/

"That is probably the most boring thing I've ever ridden on…" Eric mutters. "Why in the world are the elevators so slow?"

"If we knew that perhaps we would be a step closer to having peace on the Citadel." Garrus says. "Less people venting their frustrations from the elevators on each other could only be a good thing."

Eric nods thoughtfully at that, even though he didn't quite get it as Garrus walks ahead of him, turning left and heading for a flight of stairs. "Come on. We're going to meet with The Executor. You'll need to meet him anyway, but this will be a good way to make my report and formally introduce you to him."

Garrus moves to a slight jog up the stairs, listening for how Eric handles the pace up the many stairs. It's quite the work out for a civilian, or someone who isn't used to climbing so many of them quickly as he leads Eric up the stairs and to another lift. "This lift goes to the Presidium, where Executor Pallin's office is."

Eric looks a bit confused at that, taking some light breaths to catch himself after the jog up the many stairs so Garrus explains, "His office is next to the embassies. The reason is so that he can quickly respond to anything going on in the Presidium, leaving the Wards to the more proficient officers as the rookies work the Presidium to get a feel for being a C-Sec officer."

As if a light bulb flashes in Eric's head, his hand slaps into his palm. "OH! Like a police officer!" He says, smiling brightly as if he had just remembered that. Garrus nods. "From what Lang told me about them, yes, Earth's 'police' are very similar to C-Sec officers, though we're structured differently."

Eric frowns. "I wouldn't know… I just know what police officers are." Eric says with a soft shrug, and mutters when Garrus turns back to hit the switch on the lift to take them to the Presidium, "And some of them were not good."

Garrus's mandible's flare lightly as he overhears Eric's muttering. Perhaps that was connected to him getting shot? A few moments of thought pass as his mandible's settle and he decides it'd be best to ask him about it later.

/L/I/N/E/C/U/T/

The Presidium, as far as Eric could tell, was very posh.

Very high class.

And very, very boring.

He felt uncomfortable up here, but he couldn't lay his finger on why. The artificial lakes were huge and beautiful. He contemplated the thought of asking Garrus to go fishing in the lake, but decided to skip it as he looked up at the 'sky'. A massive Vid-screen showing a blue, sunny sky day with some spattering of clouds… it reminded him of the day he got shot, sort of. The sky was the same, but the location was definitively not Kansas anymore.

"Come on, keep moving. Sightseeing can wait Eric; you're going to have plenty of time to see it all." Garrus calls out, Eric turns his head and reluctantly keeps walking, all of these amazing things continually flooding his senses as he follows behind Garrus.

"Soooooo… what's the plan here Garrus?" Eric asks, tilting his head a bit as he follows behind Garrus on the way to the Emissaries.

Garrus looks over his shoulder at Eric. "Well, first things first we're going to report to my superior, and inform him of what's going on and that you're alright, and no, we haven't found who did this to you. Second, we're going to try to enroll you in a special program for training."

Eric blinks. "What? You were serious about that?" He asks, his eyes going wide in surprise. "I can't believe he was actually being serious about that… I guess that's a good thing though." Eric thinks on that as he glances at his right hand, looking at the triangular 'birth mark' and thinking about what Nayru told him.

Garrus chuckles softly. "Indeed I was. Dr. Michel is many things, stupid or naïve are things she isn't. She is right, it's a good way to get you to being an active member of society, as well as placing you in a good position in case your memories return and you know people you can talk to about it."

"Also, I was serious when I mentioned that I've been considering training another officer. If you're given the opportunity, you take the shot." Garrus says with a nod. Eric frowns lightly as he looks at the Turian. "But doesn't that mean I'll have to be adopted?"

Garrus nods, "By a C-sec officer, but I'm sure we'll figure out what to do soon enough. Besides, it's a good job, and frankly, your amnesia might start to fade and you could start to remember things, even if you won't remember everything. Better to do so in a controlled environment then just putting you on a ship back to Earth with no one you know and no family. We'll... what's the expression? Jump that hurdle when we come to it?"

Eric thinks over that quietly as he trails behind Garrus, walking into a sheltered area that must be the emissary, blinking in surprise at the glowing blue figure standing on a small platform as he follows Garrus up another flight of stairs and through three doors, only to find himself facing yet another Turian.

"Garrus." Executor Pallin says, looking at the Turian that Eric has been walking with a nod.

"Executor Pallin." Garrus responds in greeting. "Sir, allow me to introduce Eric. He's the boy who was shot."

Eric gulps softly as a very level, hard glare is turned his way. "Is that so?" Pallin says. "Hmmm… he looks ok. What did your investigation bring up? Anything about him?"

Garrus shakes his head. "Whoever shot him took their time, and they're probably long gone by now." Garrus says. "As such, we're lucky we got to him when we did. Much longer and he would have bled out, he left quite the mess behind."

Pallin sighs. "Understandable. What of the boy?"

Garrus looks over to Erik and motions for him to step forward so Pallin could get a better look. "He's got acute amnesia. He's remembering little bits and pieces, but Dr. Michel at the clinic is fairly positive that he'll never regain his full memory. All he remembers is his name is Eric; he had a fake last name, no parents, and is sixteen years old."

Eric nods. "And I know what police officers are… but that's just kind of a side thing." Eric says.

Pallin looks a bit bewildered at that side comment from Eric, but shakes his head and continues, his mandibles flaring softly. "That's unfortunate. And you didn't find a solid ID or a make a match on the databases?"

Garrus shakes his head. "Like I said, he's an orphan, and was possibly part of a roving band of reenactment performers of human 20th to 21st Century history. As such, he was able to sputter something about the date 2000, and something about his getting shot. I'm guessing it was part of the show."

Pallin does not look pleased at that report as Eric shifts uncomfortably, keeping quiet and off to the side. "Great. So an unregistered, unknown sixteen year old human gets shot, no one to pick him up, and we're not even sure what to do with him. We don't exactly have anywhere to take him, and I doubt the Human Emissary has anything special they could do for him."

"My thoughts exactly, which is why I came up with an idea." Garrus says, nodding to Eric. "You still want to run that project, right? The one training the 'sons and daughters of current C-Sec officers to be Officers?'"

"Yes, I... Garrus, that's some dangerous territory you're walking towards right now." Pallin says, looking a little shocked as he realizes what Garrus is talking about. "We don't even know who he is and you're suggesting that?! Not to forget that he isn't a son of a C-Sec officer, he's just a kid. Worse, he doesn't have ANY training, formal or otherwise!"

Garrus looks nonplussed, by Eric's guess, and continues on in a smooth, calm tone of voice. "You said you wanted to try it with a human child. He's sixteen, that's the age that we enlist in the military, Pallin, you and I know that. Come on; give the boy a shot… I'll adopt him myself and train him myself. It's the perfect test run for your project and you know it."

The standing Turian crosses his arms behind his back, "Part of the idea is that it takes civilians who have no training, nor formal education in the area of investigation or other possible C-sec activities beyond basic education and trains them to be officers. You said yourself we can't just keep on picking up ex-military. This is a good way to test the system."

Garrus hides any pride in what he's about to say quite well as he continues on trying to persuade Pallin, "Besides being his 'father' by adoption, I'll be his mentor and trainer and the senior officer who is training him. He'll be learning and training as consistently as we can manage, and it'll put him in a safe, secure environment as he adjusts. Eric's a clean slate, nothing there but what we write on it."

Eric decides to throw in his two credits as well, looking at Pallin. "Garrus seems like a good guy, erm, Turian, Mr. Pallin sir. I'm willing to do whatever it is, and I think I could learn quite a bit from him."

Eric might have been a little shocked, but a lot of good information had come up from the point leaving the clinic and walking to the Executor's office. Besides, it might be a good opportunity to hang out with Eddie some more- the human C-sec officer seemed rather nice and Eric was hoping he could make a friend out of him.

Pallin looks at the two of them, his mandibles twitching in thought as he swivels from one to the other before sighing. "Alright, I can see I'm out maneuvered here." Pallin says, holding up his hands. "Come on then, we'd better go talk to the Human Ambassador... that meeting should be over by now."

Pallin matches out of his office a bit stiffly, in Eric's opinion, but he looks at Garrus who gives him a shrug and what could pass for a smile, so Eric just nods and follows the two Turians, fascinated by the byplay and a little surprised on the course of action that the alien he had just met and possibly the officer who had covered his case had decided on.

The walk to the human embassy was thankfully short, though it involved three more flights of stairs and quite a few more doors which struck Eric as rather pointless. Pretty, sure, but pointless.

Pallin raised one clawed hand and rapped at the door to the office, which slid open to accept them. "Come in." A rather droll, weathered voice that sounded like it was going to bore Eric to death, along with anyone else in the general vicinity, rolled past Eric's ears as Pallin and Garrus stepped inside, followed by Eric.

A single human, lightly balding and dressed in rather immaculate white-ish clothing looks up from a holographic screen and keyboard, looking rather annoyed at the distraction from the message he was sending. Eric also noted another one of the Turians, who was wearing this neat looking Red and Black armor, and another human who was dressed in a blue and gold trimmed uniform. They were talking about something under their breath, and from a glance, the human in the uniform looked like a military man, very straight upper back and muscled under the uniform from the way it rested on solid shoulders.

Eric's attention was dragged away from the Turian and the military human to Pallin as he starts speaking. "Ambassador Udina. C-Sec is caught in an interesting situation and I figured you might want to know what is going on." Pallin's voice is a little cold, and Eric guesses that Pallin doesn't like this Udina fellow very much.

"Executor Pallin," Udina begins, and Eric's eyes slightly narrow. "Oh yes, I don't like him… dunno -why- I don't like him, but I'm sure I'm about to find out." Eric thinks as he listens to Udina talk. "I am sure whatever information you have is important, but you're coming at a crucial point for an important project. You've picked a horrible time to-"

"Garrus Vakarian, one of our senior officers, would like to formally adopt this orphaned human boy." Pallin says, cutting Udina's rant off short.

That got him to shut up real fast, and made the political man's jaw drop several inches beyond how low it probably would usually drop.

"Pardon me, but did you say that a Turian wants to adopt a human boy?" Udina says, looking a little scandalized at the idea.

"I did." Pallin says, looking rather annoyed at having to repeat himself. Eric grinned. 'Glad he's on my side.' He thinks to himself as the Executor continues to speak. "Recently, a new idea was brought up amongst the officers around the office... an idea for something similar to your human police academies, but more in-depth and specialized, offering formal schooling and training with the idea of graduating into the C-sec ranks immediately after finishing their cadet training with a higher rank then an entry level officer."

"… Executor, do you know the meaning of the term 'Political Shit Storm?'" Udina asks, wide-eyed as he stands up from his seat. "The boy is sixteen! He isn't even of age for Military service in the Alliance, he—"

"I am quite aware of what he is, who he is, and how old he is Ambassador. That's why he would be adopted by a Turian. Turian law is different, and as C-Sec counts as quasi-military, then he would be following our law to the letter by joining the program. The boy has volunteered for it himself." The Executor says with a grunt of annoyance, partially because he didn't like Udina's additude, and partially because was using 'Political Shit Storm' wrong. "And it's a -training- program. The boy won't be an officer till he graduates, how soon that is dependent on him."

It's at this point that Eric speaks up again, looking at Udina. "Sir, respectfully, I know jack-shit about anything around here. I'll get the education I obviously need, and if you think about it, this could look really good for you, wouldn't it? A human boy training and growing up in C-Sec and coming out of it a well-trained, well fed and intelligent officer and adult, ready to face the real world?"

Udina rests his chin on his fist and his elbow on his other arm, thinking about it as Garrus speaks up. "He's got a point, and I'm fully willing to take responsibility for him Ambassador Udina. Plus, think of how good this would look- A Turian and a human, adopted father and son, training and living together and acting as a family. That doesn't just look good, that looks great for Human/Turian relationships."

At this point, the military man and the other Turian are standing by Udina. "I like the idea Udina. You know C-Sec has been pushing for this program for a while now. Perhaps we should give it a shot." The military man says his voice warm and welcoming, and very strong. A commanding voice, like that of an officer or high-ranking official, Eric realizes, a small smile coming onto his face. He liked this man. He had a very calming presence about him.

The other Turian doesn't say anything, just looking over Eric with a complacent look of reserved curiosity. Eric had to physically restrain himself from fidgeting under the watchful eyes that seemed to take in his every movement.

Finally, Udina sighs and shakes his head. "You're not putting me in a very easy position, Executor, but I suppose we can try that out. It'll look good alongside the initiative we are working right now anyway."

Udina turns, looking to the military man. "Anderson, I'll need you to finish my message the Alliance brass. They'll need to know and with this development I have a lot to do in a short amount of time. I'll deal with getting the boy's identity set up."

Eric looks to Anderson, curious as he assumes he was correct about the man being military as Udina gestures to Pallin to lead the way, the two of them leaving the room as Udina brings out another one of those glowing arm-sleeves and starts tapping away on it.

Garrus lets out a long breath, and Eric lets out one he didn't realize he had been holding as Anderson and the other Turian settle down into two chairs, Anderson typing away as Eric looks for a chair to sit in.

"Well now, I'm sure you're finally ready for things to calm down a little." Anderson says to Eric, smiling at him as Eric looks back.

"Yes sir." Eric says with a nod. "It's… been an interesting day, or possibly couple of days if I've heard right. Between getting shot and losing my memory, I'd say that I'm ready for things to settle… if only so I can get used to it all."

Anderson nods with understanding. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Captain David Anderson." Anderson says, smiling and sitting up a bit straighter.

Eric grins. "So you are military!"

Anderson nods. "I am." He says, smiling. "Glad to have remembered something?"

Eric nods. "Yes sir. Oh, and if you didn't hear, my name is Eric."

Garrus nods. "Captain Anderson, a pleasure to get to speak with you again."

Anderson smiles at Garrus. "Ah, Garrus. Good to see you again. So you're going to be training Eric and adopting him, so to speak?"

Garrus nods. "Yes, I've decided to take up the duty… Dr. Michel is very persuasive when she tries." Garrus says, shaking his head some in amusement.

Anderson chuckles. "She's a smart girl, good head on her shoulders. Nihlus and I were actually discussing going to see her about a crick I've had in the small of my back while we discussed a project I'm working on."

Garrus blinks at the name and looks to Nihlus. "The Specter, Nihlus?" Garrus asks, a little bemused. The other Turian, the aforementioned Nihlus, nods. "The one and only."

Garrus looks surprised, but Eric is just confused. "Uh… forgive me, still no memories… what's a Specter? Isn't it some kind of ghost?"

Nihlus chuckles. "Of a sort, I suppose. No, I'm a member of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel."

Eric tilts his head. "And what's that?"

Nihlus considers Eric's question as Anderson continues to type away at the holographic keyboard, looking intent on finishing whatever Udina was working on quickly.

"A Specter is sort of a free-range police officer, I suppose you could say. A good way to think of it is that a Specter is a special ops agent with no boundaries and no restrictions, and the ability to do and act as they see fit to secure the Citadel from any threat."

Eric nods at Nihlus's explanation. "Cool." He says.

Garrus blinks. "I'm surprised to see you at the human embassy Nihlus, what are you doing here?"

"Not much. Working on a joint project with the humans, a hush-hush deal involving a prototype frigate." Nihlus says, nodding again.

Eric blinks, looking a little confused. Garrus nods and then looks to Eric. "I'll explain later."

Eric seems to accept that, and looks around the room, trying to get a feel for the place.

The room is pretty big, and almost immaculately kept, everything smooth and clean. The whole area is a bit too bright for his liking, but it gives it a cheery, relaxed feeling. Perfect for a political office, he muses.

The group falls into silence, Garrus looking out over the lake of the Presidium, Nihlus looking at whatever Captain Anderson is writing, and that leaves Eric to take a seat and wait for the Executor and the Ambassador to return.

He wasn't quite sure what to think of the situation, as he settles into the chair he found earlier, pondering the strange things that were happening to him. He was being adopted. By an ALIEN. To be trained as a very-high tech equivalent to a Police Officer back on Earth. In space.

He considered cracking a joke about boldly going where no man has gone before and banging green-skinned space babes along the way, but when he tried to, he found he just couldn't break the silence, and kept his mouth shut.

Without much else to do, his thoughts turned to his talk with the Goddess Nayru, and the 'birthmark' on his hand, which he looked at for a while as he thought. "Well, so far so good. I've listened to what she told me, accepted the goodwill as it has come, and played the amnesia act well. It seems much easier than I thought it would be, that's for sure."

He leans back in the chair, his thinking continuing onwards. "From what Garrus told me, there's a lot more races out there, all of them sentient, and many of them dangerous. Heck, I'm guessing that humans still like to fight humans, so that should be interesting to see at least…"

Eric looks over at Garrus. "It's weird and kinda subtle, but I think that he's starting to grow on me. He seems… human. Heck, they all do, even if they are kinda alien. I'm definitely going to keep on my toes, but I don't think I'm going to have to worry too much."

With that thought, Eric is about to settle in when Udina and Pallin return, Pallin and Udina both looking rather smug and pleased with themselves as Udina speaks up, handing Eric a 'birth certificate'.

"Congratulations. You're now Eric Vakarian, adopted son of Garrus Vakarian."

/C/O/M/B/O/E/N/D/

AN: Ha-ha I'm such an asshole. Cutting you right off right that right there. Ha-ha-ha! Sorry.

Chugging along, trying to extend the chapters as much as I can. This one is over 6k for words, so whoo!
Anyway, hope to see more reviews. Also, I want to put a special thank you in here to one Mr. archerstar and one Mr. TZDOOM83 who has given me my first Favorites (ever!) on . Hope you're all enjoying the story. As usual, you like it, leave a review. Don't like it, leave a review. Happy reading!