Dear Reader,

How've you been? Been a while since we last spoke, or rather since you last read my story. I don't think I apologized enough in the message that I left yesterday. So let me start off the new chapter on an apology.

I'm sorry.

Will you find it in your sweet and big heart to forgive me? If so than I'm forever in your debt and to repay it I'll continue trying my best to post quality chapters for your enjoyment. If not….then I'll still try to do so until the immense awesome that radiates from my story rubs off on you! ^^

Anyways honestly I'm real sorry, and I hope you guys aren't that mad at me. This story started off just being a story for me but then I realized the potential behind it and how I would be wasting the idea if I left it to die. So here I am a year later (couple months if you want to be technical) trying to restart the heart of the story. I'll stop wasting your time with my pleading and begging for your forgiveness because I know that it can only get you so far. So without further ado~~~~

Chapter 4

"Omega is definitely the last place I would ever want to go! The time we enter the port we would be shot and robbed faster than we could blink!" Shepard argued stomping on my killer idea.

"Me either. It's dirty, and not to mention dangerous." Seen remarked as he looked for any punctures in his suit. "Plus I need supplies to fix my suit. If we went to Omega I'm sure to catch something." He added. This was how fast my plan was shot down, immediately after I had even uttered the word Omega. My pride was a bit deflated but I wouldn't let that bring me down just yet

For the most part it seems we escape the pirates, but as we left the ship we searched for what had attacked the ship. We saw exactly nothing, the only evidence there was of the ship being attacked was that it was on fire. Seen had tried to get ahold of anyone via comms but his endeavors weren't fruitful and he only received static so we ended up being alone in space as we drifted ever slowly away our enslavers ship.

I tried to convince them once more but it seemed that they had no intention of changing their minds. I relented, "Fine. If we aren't going to Omega where then?" I asked, the galaxy was limitless but I only had a handful of planets that I knew from heart, and even so what would we have done at omega? Become badass mercenaries that stopped evil? So cliche. Suffice to say that our first idea was thrown out the airlock as soon as it was conceived.

Seen had somehow deemed his suit somewhat safe because he walked up to the console of the escape pod, and after a few seconds of Cindy and I disagreeing about our destination, he said "We shouldn't focus on where we want to go. But where we can go. Look." Seen said going through the pod's information and moving aside to show the screen.

"What do you mean by that?" Cindy inquired, standing up and walking closer to view the screen. I followed suit and we both saw the exact location where we were. Actually where we weren't, other than the ship there was nothing in range for what seemed like forever.

"Well first of all right now, judging from the map and the information, we're in the Typhon system." He explained. The system wasn't very familiar, but I felt like it should have been. I motioned for him to continue. "Our pod can't make a trip to any of the places we want to go. We don't have enough fuel, and obviously an escape pod doesn't have the necessary...anything to go through a mass relay. Which I'm sure is the case for many of the other escapees too. What I can say for sure is that any thoughts of visiting the Citadel or Mindoir aren't going to happen, at least for now." Seen informed us as he tweaked with the controls once more. "Lucky for us though…" he said tapping various buttons on the console "We can make it to one planet, with the fuel available to us." the screen switched to a visage of a planet with faint rings going around it, it's name was bolded out as Aite."Maybe we can land there and hitch a ride with some friendly strangers?" he suggested.

I paused, the planet's name was ringing only a few bells. I started to remember that it's a planet similar to earth in climate and habitability for life, but that is where the similarities ended. It has no government, and it's basically in anarchy. Citizens had to protect themselves from groups who would strong arm them into paying collection money or worse.. That wasn't even the worst part, the worst part was that in only two centuries the moon would collide with the planet causing an extinction event like that of the dinosaurs to occur on the planet. I prayed that if anything did, this planet would stick to canon and not have an early destruction. "Anything you can tell us about this planet?" I asked trying to keep the facade of me being the clueless guy.

He shook his head, it seems he has no idea. I turned to Cindy wanting to know what she thought about the Idea. She saw my gaze and turned around thinking, there wasn't any alternative so the choice was already decided before she had time to give her input. "We have no other option. Let's just go." She said sitting back on the seat and fastening herself to the chair.

I could tell she wasn't exactly happy about this decision, I wouldn't either if I was her. I sat directly in front of her to convince her it would be all right. "Cindy, I promise you the first chance we get, we will board the first ship to Mindoir and find out what happened to your family." I said this to pacify her, and in an effort to sell it home, gave her a reassuring smile. Although I wasn't sure I could go through with it, for whatever happened when we landed was up to chance.

She looked me in my eyes, and what I had guessed, tried to find truth in my promise. She apparently decided I hadn't let her down yet and smiled at me and then said "Thanks Austin. That means a lot.". I put my hand on her shoulder in a friendly gesture. Taking my hand away from her shoulder I fastened my seatbelt and alerted Seen that I was buckled in. He nodded and, since he had already buckled himself into the pilot seat, set the pod onto a course towards Aite.

The landing wasn't as smooth as he hoped it would be. Actually the landing was in no terms smooth at all. It took a bit longer than estimated and fuel tank was almost depleted, we guessed there was just enough for slowing down the pod when we entered the stratosphere. We had gotten just close enough for the planet's gravitational pull to grab the escape pod and pull it towards the surface. The pod had safety measures and a few nifty tricks. It was shaped like a big metal wing, and regulated itself so it wouldn't go too deep into the atmosphere at once.

When we finally entered the stratosphere the screen on the console started beeping, which said 'Initiating Slow-Down procedures'. I blew out a sigh of relief, it seems we were safe for now. I laid my head back, we were moving slowly and in a rocking motion the rockets on each side shutting on and off to stabilize the pod. I felt tired and almost wanted to fall asleep but I knew that that wasn't an option, at least not yet. That didn't stop Shepard though, who was currently asleep like a sloth.

Suddenly the pod's interior lights changed from the normal yellow light into a more alarming and warning red. A siren went off on the console, Seen gasped. "Shit! We're out of fuel!" He struggled with the controls switching the pods autopilot to off and manually controlling the shuttle. From what I saw I knew that Seen was at least a decent pilot but that couldn't stop me from feeling a sense of dread.

Shepard had slowly woken up from the sounds erupting from the pod. "W-What's happening, guys?" she asked rubbing her eyes, unaware of the dire situation.

"Um...Seen said there's no fuel, but I'm plenty sure he can land us safely. Right Seen?" I asked trying to get a hold of the situation.

"No. We are definitely going to crash. The best I can do is make sure we don't crash face first." He said reassuringly.

"Oh well if that's the case then I'm going back to sleep….." She then choked "WAIT WHAT?! What the hell? Why didn't you wake me up earlier?!" She growled and then I received a punch in the arm from the redhead.

"Ow! Don't get angry with me! This is startling new information!" I responded.

"It's your fault we even considered this planet, so of course I'm going to get pissed off you!"

"It was an unanimous decision! You and Seen thought it was a great idea!"

"What other choice was there?! At least if we stayed in the middle of nowhere we could've gotten discovered by some ship!" Cindy argued. Just as I was about to explain why that would've been a horrible idea given our recent escape of a ship, Seen interrupted.

"Uh...guys?" He said.

"WHAT" We both yelled out at him.

"Brace for impact."

And with that it all went black.

I groaned, my head felt like a krogan was battering it repeatedly with a biotic charge….Is that okay now? Have I been here long enough to start using the analogies of this universe? I probably should to avoid suspicion. I tried opening my eyes and realized they were already open, it was just incredibly dark in the pod. I activated my omni-tool and fiddled around for a flashlight, which I am not ashamed to say took me a few more seconds than I would have liked, to find. I also checked to see if I had any mobile future aspirin, I didn't find any though.

I aimed the omni-tool around the pod, next to me unconscious was Cindy. Her face was aimed towards the ground, but I could tell that she was okay for the most part. I aimed it at Seen, and gasped. There was a large rupture in his suit, and he was bleeding. It looks like he must've hurt himself on impact. I cursed ignoring my own pain and undoing my safety straps. I practically pounced on Seen as I gently stirred him awake.

Moaning his white eyes flickered open and closed. "A...Are you and Cindy okay?" he asked, letting out a few short coughs.

"Thanks for asking, but me and her are fine. What I'm worried about right now is you." I gestured to the large opening in his suit.

"Oh….That isn't...very good." he muttered as his eyes closed and he fell under.

"Shit!" I was running out of time, he would soon succumb to the wound. I had to close it, but I didn't have anything remotely close to sealing it. I remembered seeing a first-aid-kit near the entrance of the escape pod I ran to it and ripped it off the wall. I emptied the contents on the floor positioning my omni-tool to where I could see the items.

The contents were borderline basic with almost nothing that would help Seen, but I found a saving grace in the form of Medi-gel. I was clueless on how to use it but knew that since it was a gel it had to be applied. I fumbled around and inserted the Medi-gel into my omni-tool which was fairly easier than trying to turn on the flashlight.

I read the tutorial on how to dispense Medi-gel only briefly, I didn't have enough time to get into details. The gist of it was I activated the Medi-gel and hover it over the wounded area and the Omni-tool would do the rest. Doing just that the Medi-gel sealed the wound and begun the process of healing. Just to make sure he was fine I wrapped a few bandages I found in the first-aid-kit around his leg.

Hoping Cindy wasn't in as dire of a shape as Seen, I checked her condition. save for a few cuts and maybe a medium-sized bruise on her arm she was going to be ripe as rain. That's from my limited medical standpoint I hadn't gotten that far in my medical school before I was picked off my universe and placed here.

The next course of action was to leave the pod. I didn't want to go into danger without any backup so I tried waking Cindy up again. When I did however she yelled and punched me in my face claiming I 'scared her'.

"Don't try sneaking up on a girl like that Austin, doesn't end too well." She reminded me, unbuckling herself from her seat.

Rubbing my chin I said "Yeah, I'll keep that in mind….Seen is hurt, but don't worry I patched him up as best I could. We need to get out of here though, so I need you to cover me while I go check out what's happening outside." Cindy nodded and armed herself with her generic looking rifle. I crawled over to the emergency hatch and readied myself. I looked back at Cindy and she encouraged me on.

I pressed the button.

The escape pod depressurized and the hatch of the door opened. I was spot on, it looked almost exactly like earth. I could see trees and bushes and birds, it was almost as if I was home outside in my backyard, but I knew I wasn't. I was in a different universe, on a different planet that was infested by gang wars and violence.

Not wanting to be caught unawares I raised my rifle as I stepped out. My feet hit the bare grass, it was a bit chilly but nothing compared to the harsh winters I faced at home. The area was for the most part trees and grass. Deciding it was clear for the moment I yelled back into the pod "The coast is clear!" I waited for Shepard's response.

It was silent in the pod for a moment and then followed a rustling sound that was Cindy urging me to come back in the pod. I followed her back in and saw that Seen wasn't getting any better. It seemed that the medi-gel only gave him more time and didn't fully heal him. In order for him to be fully functional we would need a place that could provide sterile conditions and was quarian friendly.

That would be harder said than done. I sighed "Things are just going to get harder from this point on…Cindy, are you ready for this?" I asked her. I wasn't underestimating her in the slightest. I knew what a Shepard was capable of if given the opportunity, it was just that this was uncharted territory for the three of us and one of us was in very rough shape.

"You shouldn't ask me if I'm ready for this, I've been ready for almost 10 years. You should ask yourself if you're ready for this." She said turning the question back onto me.

Was I ready for this? Breaking out of a pirate ship while it was being attacked was one thing, but to make our way through a battle-torn planet without any outside help was another. There wasn't going any back though. Literally our only way back was lost when we fell from the stratosphere. I looked at her and nodded, from this moment forward I vowed to bring her back to her sister and create the most amazing, badass, and dangerous sister duo in the galaxy, no the universe!

"So what's our next plan of action? I mean obviously it's to find medical supplies for Seen, or better yet to find someone to mend his suit." She said as we both worked together to put Seen in a more comfortable position.

"That's easier said than done. That would require one of us to leave to find supplies and the other to watch and protect Seen…I'll go and look you should stay here with Seen." I told her. She seemed to be okay with that for the moment so I equipped my rifle and left the pod.

Before I could actually leave the pod Cindy warned me "Hey Austin…We don't know what's out there so…be careful."

"I will…I'll be back in no time." I assured her as I left the downed pod and went in a search for help.

I didn't get far before shit hit the fan.

Like I said the planet was in constant battle against each other so about almost a mile away from the pod I found myself at the edge of a turf war. I seemed to have found somewhat of a settlement with steel walls and guard towers. It almost looked like a castle in some weird and futuristic way.

A huge group of people were firing off blasts from their weapons without any precision or skill at the castle. It seemed to me that they were just shooting blindly in hopes of hitting someone, or something. I hid behind a rock and used it for cover because somehow the shots were heading in my direction.

I could make out that there was two factions. Both majorly human with the exceptions of maybe a few batarians. From the very beginning I knew it wasn't a fair fight. The defenses the castle had were more than a match for the offense of the unskilled raiders. It would be over soon and maybe than I could ask for some supplies for Seen.

I almost choked when I saw a huge krogan (mind you it was my first time seeing a krogan in person so it may have been an average sized krogan) holding an almost as big shoulder cannon. That would definitely be enough to break into their defenses and slaughter them all. My good nature took ahold of me as I began quickly making my way towards the krogan.

The krogan wasn't alone he was accompanied by a group of 4 humans it seemed that they were supposed to be protecting him. The thing was they were all facing in the same direction so they weren't expecting an attack from behind. That, as cowardly as it was, was what he was going to do.

My gun alone had no chance of killing the krogan so I had to think of a different way to go. Maybe if I let out a few shots to try and hit the shoulder cannon it would explode? It was a very crude rocket launcher for the time period. The rocket was in plain sight for the whole world to see making it entirely vulnerable to projectiles. The only kicker was I myself am not an entirely great shot and hitting that from far away wouldn't be able to happen in just one shot, or the amount of time I had before he launched the rocket.

So in order to hit it I would either A, spray and pray I hit the rocket, B distract him and focus his attention on me so he wouldn't immediately destroy the town or C, get in close enough to where I can hit it.

I decided to combine all three, and ran in yelling as loudly as I could and holding the trigger for as long as I could. It wasn't my best plan but it was entirely sufficient. The only downside of my plan was that I didn't calculate just how much of an explosion there would be so as I was running to him and firing I hit the rocket and was launched back as the explosion was large enough to incinerate the krogan and damage some of the guys standing next to him.

I was sent flying back into a tree and hit face first on a branch. So for the second time today I fell unconscious.

Pain greeted me like a mother would a child when I awoke. My body hurt and ached, but was tolerable for the moment. I just needed to know where exactly I was. I tried opening my eyes but all there was to see was darkness.

I panicked "I-I'm blind!" I started thrashing around but that only brought more pain on my body.

"Oh my god Austin…shut up." A familiar voice spoke.

"Cindy? Oh Cindy it's so good to hear your voice. But I'm blind Cindy where are you?!" I asked hoping everything was okay.

"You're such an idiot." She said as I heard some shuffling and steps moving towards something. Then with a flick a brightness attacked my vision. I waited until my eyes adjusted to the light and saw exactly where I was. I was laying on a bed in a room that resembled a med-center, and directly in front of me was Cindy glaring at me while rubbing her green eyes. "You're not blind. The lights were just off." She explained making me feel quite idiotic.

"Oh…well…I could've been blind." I told her.

"No you couldn't."

"Still a possibility."

"No there wasn't."

"…Damn." I said.

Cindy told me exactly what happened after I left the pod, it seemed that these guys were aware of the escape pod falling from the sky and were on their way to retrieve it when they were attacked by the raiders. When I had defeated the krogan, who turned out to be their boss, all the raiders fled and ran away for dear life.

"They all saw what you did for them and were like super grateful. How did you do that by the way?" Cindy asked.

I blushed slightly and looked away "Oh you know...the usual Austin special…" I would never in my life tell anyone what happened today.

"He ran in like a mad man and shot Grimlock until the missile exploded. Then he went flying like a bird into a tree branch and was out for the count". A woman said coming through the door with an air of authority with her. "Hello it's nice to finally meet the man who defeated Grimlock. I'm Elber Portlock 1st lieutenant of the Aitian Army." She put her hand out for me to shake. Which I tried to raise my arm but it was just too painful.

She pulled back her hand and from her face I could tell she was slightly embarrassed. "Oh my apologies …Anyway, you're 100% okay the only reason you're in pain was because of the crash and you flying into a tree. On behalf of the entire Fort Sécurité, we thank you for helping us in the attack." She gave me a small salute and I couldn't help but smile.

"My pleasure, though I have to ask. Is my friend Seen okay?" I worried about the answer given how bad of a shape he was in the last time I saw him.

"Other than a few very treatable infections, we were able to save him. Though he will be bedridden for a day or two." She informed me and pointed to the bed next to me. It was Seen sleeping in a sealed capsule. It was most likely to prevent anymore infections.

I started to relax knowing that my friend wasn't in critical condition anymore was a load off of my shoulders. I looked up at Cindy, because I was worried for her health, but she just gave me a look that said 'I'm fine' and I was content with that. "Alright you two. It seems that I should give you all some more time to rest, when you're ready I'll almost always be in the control room. It's right across the hall and should be clearly labeled 'control room'."

I thanked her for her hospitality as she left the room. "So…what made you charge face first at a krogan? Not a great idea." She asked me after a moment of silence. She pulled a chair next to the bed and sat down.

"Oh you know…just asking for directions." I joked which got a small smile out of her.

"No…seriously. What possessed you to take on an alien that was three times your size?" She asked once again which made me have to actually answer the question.

"I guess...in the heat of the moment it seemed like a good idea. Help the people getting attacked so they could help me, so they could help you and Seen. I probably could've done something that didn't involve me getting hurt this much but I didn't have the time….I can live with this pain if my friends are alright." I answered truthfully. All jokes aside these two are all I have right now and I'm not going to let anything happen to them.

"I'm your…friend?" Cindy asked as if she couldn't believe it. I paused, if Cindy had been in captivity for 10 years then that means she wouldn't have had any actual relationships like friends or family. I felt insanely pissed off at the batarians for taking so much time out of one little girls life.

"Of course you are!" I said sitting straight up ignoring the pain. "I know that ever since we left the ship we've been arguing and disagreeing…but I feel that it was warranted. You had just escaped from something that had been your life for almost a decade. I know I can't ever imagine your pain, but hopefully I can learn to understand it….I mean we all can understand it." I felt a bit passionate when I told her this. I maybe should calm down a bit, so I don't scare away my only friends.

Cindy looked away and I worried that I had said something wrong but she turned back to face me and I could see that tears were streaming down her face.

"Cindy! Are you ok-" I was interrupted by Cindy as she wrapped her arms around me into an embrace. I was shocked I sat as still as a stone not knowing how to react. After a bit I realized it might be common courtesy to…hug back. So I in turn did so and put my arms around her as well.

"I…I haven't had a friend in such a long time…as pathetic as that sounds." She said after a while of us awkwardly hugging. Maybe it was just me who thought it was awkward because the longer we hugged the longer I was in pain. Breaking the hug she looked me in the eyes and gave me a smile. "Thank you. It feels amazing to actually have friends again."

"You don't thank your friends for being your friends When Seen awakes I think he deserves just as much credit as I." I said to her and she nodded and went over to Seen waiting until he awoke.

All I had to do now was wait until my body didn't hurt as much.

I was given a new set of clothes because the rags from the ship I had on were basically incinerated save for the places where they were desperately needed. Basic camo pants, and a long sleeved shirt of white variation.

Seen was still bedridden but he was awake and livelier than ever just pretty pissed off at the moment seeing as he wouldn't be able to do anything for the rest of the day. After today he said he might be able to get up and help around the base. I use the term base loosely just because it really isn't a base but a place where a bunch of people with guns decided to call home. Also the 'soldiers' in the base weren't really soldiers. They were just men and women fighting for their home against those who would try and rule over them.

Though I still have no idea why people would try to live in a place where death was inevitable.

Currently Cindy and I were with the 1st lieutenant discussing a way off the planet. "It isn't as simple as you would think." Elber started bringing up a holo screen that displayed the world, she pointed to a place on the map that was indicated by a small orange circle. "This is where we are at the moment." She then zoomed a large amount into the planet and pointed again which was then indicated by a blue circle. "This is where the nearest shuttle station is the good thing is that it is safe and far away from any type of bandits or hostile faction. The only problem is that it's very far away, an estimated 80 klicks. Between us and the station is the faction that we were fighting before. The only way to get to the station is straight through them." She informed us.

"Why don't you just go around them? I asked.

"The area they are in is somewhat of a mountain pass. The mountains are impossibly difficult to navigate and are filled with dangerous wildlife that could kill with a swipe of their claws. They inhabit the only part of the terrain that is traversable. Our only option would be to go through them and at the moment that seems impossible." Elber closed the map seeing as it wasn't useful anymore.

"So what you're saying is that there is no way of getting off this planet?" Cindy said saying what I had feared.

"Not exactly...This is classified but seeing as how you proven yourself to be with us and not against us...we're in the middle of creating a plan that would diffuse the foundations of their faction and make them dissolve and run away. If you help us complete this plan and it's a success I can guarantee that you'll be able to get off this planet. Basically you help us and we help you." Elber said.

I looked at Cindy again it seemed that nowhere you go you will never be able to escape danger and adventure when you're traveling with a Shepard.

"So lieutenant….what's the plan?".

So yeah, this is the chapter. Was it awesome? Was it not awesome? Give me your input via Review! Oh and follow and favorite too.

So I'm looking for a BETA READER. If you want to do that than PM me. I just think I need someone to give me some outside input, because while you're by yourself you don't realize the faults of your work. Don't worry! I don't bite…on the face.

Thanks again for reading and there is definitely more to come!

Sincerely, Otaku4now.

Fix the bold idiot.