A/N: Hey everyone, thanks for reading! I'm very thankful for the reviews I've received, and hope that you will continue to give me your feedback. As before, please don't hesitate to leave a review or comment of whatever sort, I greatly appreciate anything you have to say about the story and where you believe it's headed.


We decided to rent connecting rooms for the night at a modestly priced hotel near the address given to me by Talek, so as to help ease me into whatever was waiting for me, which I was grateful to the girls for considering. Despite knowing how early I would have to wake up the following "morning" to start with my new occupation, I found myself filled with a million questions and apprehensive thoughts as I lay in bed.

What would the training be like, something similar to military boot camp? I had never been one to have a disciplined regimen implemented in my life, or any tendencies pertaining to something similar, which anyone could see plain as day if they looked at my past life. With this second chance, though, I had a sense of purpose and a motivation for pursuing this opportunity, and I was going to try my best at it. Do or do not, there is no try, the quote echoed, suddenly springing to mind. Right. This really was an all-in sort of thing. I needed to excel at this, otherwise, it seemed, I'd really be stuck.

Finally, I realized there was no point in continuing to mull it all over and finally managed to drop off to sleep, being abruptly and rudely awoken by the alarm seven hours later. I dressed in the clothes provided to me and slipped out, not wanting to bother Helen and Oriana with my worrisome expression and thoughts. A few minutes later I stepped outside the hotel into the perpetually bustling Zakera metro and activated my guidance app, which took me ten minutes walking in the direction of the Presidium and brought me to a stately and grand judicial looking building that had four stories, which in turn was surrounded by a high concrete wall. Several banners hung limply on the outside walls and building, all displaying a side view of the silver Citadel against a blue background. Next to the entrance on the wall was a plaque that read, Citadel Security Special Response Division. Right place it seemed.

I took in a deep breath before walking into the compound and ascending the steps to the traditionally gilded double doors, where two ceremoniously dressed turian guards with odd looking rifles stopped me with practiced unison by their uplifted hands and looked warily, almost suspiciously at me.

"I.D." the one to my left said gruffly as he frowned at me. "I- don't have an I.D., but Talek Vraxis gave me this," I said, extending my arm so he could see the pass on my omni-tool, and hoping he was acquainted with the man. The guard bent down and squinted as he scanned the document, and several nervous seconds went by before his eyes went wide and he looked back at me with a flabbergasted look, then traded looks with his confused compatriot, who then came over and inspected the pass as well, except he didn't allow any shock come to his face, instead he frowned deeply and looked back up at me with a look of near distaste, and said, "You're going to be late, candidate."

The turian nodded to his counterpart, and they slowly stepped apart and relinquished the way ahead to me, and I cautiously walked forward, half expecting that they'd stop me again out of spite. Entering through the open doors, I was surprised to see the interior was in stark contrast to the outside façade, it having a modern décor made with contemporary materials that synced with most of the rest of the Citadel. Going forward, there was to the left and right wide staircases that led to the second floor, with multiple corridors branching out from there and a set of elevators placed in the center. To my immediate front was a large desk with several aliens behind it working on holographic computers, and I approached them and spoke to the female turian in the middle.

"Um...I'm here to see Talek Vraxis," I said to her, guessing she was the receptionist out of the bunch. Her eyes briefly flitted upwards to look at me before darting back down to whatever she was doing, and with a neutral tone said, " Take the elevators to the third floor, he'll be right in front of you." I said my thanks before taking the stairs to the second floor where the elevators were and rode my way to the indicated floor. The doors opened to reveal a narrow hallway that ended a short ways at two sliding doors that parted as I reached them, ushering me in to decently sized waiting room with a desk placed directly in front of me, an asari in similar police clothes to those Waseel had worn working behind it.

Before I could say anything to her, she looked up and smiled congenially and said, "Oh, you're the one Commander Vraxis mentioned would be arriving. He's upstairs already in the practice arena." Seeing my blank look, she expounded, "It's on the fourth floor, right as you get off." I thanked her and went back to the elevator, picking the fourth floor. Several seconds later I arrived, and was greeted as the doors opened by a massive space at least half the size of a football field in measure, with several sections cordoned off for different purposes it looked like. Down the middle ran a shooting range, but as I would see, it wasn't the conventional type.

Several people were standing behind a barrier that was a few yards in front of me, and were flinging biotic energy in several different forms down the line at dummies and other larger objects, encapsulating there targets in a swirling blue, even managing to catch them on fire a second later. I continued to look on as these skilled biotics relentlessly dispensed an amazing amount of ordinance downrange, until I heard someone clearing their throat next to me, making me turn and see Talek standing next to me with his hands folded behind his back, eyes focused on the display as well. Unlike yesterday, he was wearing what I had deduced by now to be standard C-Sec fatigues, as was the rest of those in the room.

"What is your purpose for being here Derek?" Talek suddenly asked, his gaze still on the range. His question took me slightly off guard for a second as I tried to figure out if he had meant it to be rhetorical or not, but he stayed silent, eyes still glued to the biotics practicing in front of us. "I...want to help people," I said after a moment of thought. It was a vague mission statement for my purpose here, but it was true all the same.

A chuckle suddenly came from the taller turian, and he turned to me with a smirk and said, "A generic answer made by many who have come through this place. I just hope that conviction of yours is enough to push you through what's next, unlike many of those that have tried and gone away." He was silent for a minute as he turned back to watch the range stoically, allowing that statement to sink in to my processes, before saying, "Training starts now."

The turian suddenly let out a high pitched whistle that caught the attention of those at the barrier, who all straightened up and immediately ran over and joined us, quickly snapping to attention, forming a rigid semi circle next to me and Talek. There were four of them; the one to my immediate left was a turian with oddly green eyes and a fierce expression, and with similar colony markings to that of everybody's favorite turian, Garrus Vakarian. Next to him was a magenta colored asari, lacking none of the staunchness of the turian to right. To her left was to my surprise a drell female with red undertones to her green skin and jet black eyes, making her impossible to read with her current neutral expression. Finally, beside her was a ridiculously tattooed from head-to-toe salarian, drawing the strongest amount of focus from me. First, I didn't know salarians were biotically-capable, and second, what the crap were all those tat "scenes" supposed to be depicting? It all looked like gibberish to me. Well, this group was definitely not lacking in the diversity department.

"Maw Squad, this is the new candidate, Derek Masterson. Derek, the members of Maw Squad. Killek," Talek said, nodding to the turian, "Teirla," he said, indicating the asari, "Myrna," the blank faced drell, "and Larcks," the tattooed salarian. All outright scowled or at least looked suspiciously back at me ; except the drell, who might have been also, but I couldn't tell based on her undecipherable facial expressions.

"No disrespect meant Commander, but what is this piece of s'kak doing here?" the turian known as Killek suddenly spoke up with an aggressive edge to his voice. I glanced over at him, but he hadn't moved his gaze, instead he was directing his inquiry straight at the turian opposite of him.

"I am the one that invited him here operative, and I expect respect given to him like any other candidate that has set foot here, understood?" the commander replied sternly, giving the receiving turian a warning look. Killek's eyes never lost their fiery conviction, but he replied, "Yes, Commander, understood."

No one else spoke up, prompting the commanding turian to continue, "Now, I think it's time we had an assessment of readiness for the team, Derek included. Everyone to the OC out back."

The squad fired off stiff individual salutes, all in their custom forms, which I attributed to them being all from different backgrounds, and then sprung into action as one and took off towards a side door, leaving me feeling befuddled as I stood next to the Commander. I looked at him for direction, and he simply gestured after them suggestively, at which point I caught on, giving him a lackluster human military salute before trying to catch up to the team.

Now, I think everybody by now could've figured out what OC stood for, but, as I arrived at the indicated place outside after descending several flights of stairs and was huffing and puffing from the exertion my body wasn't used to, I groaned inwardly as I saw the setup of different large and almost insurmountable looking objects that were placed one after the other. OC, Obstacle Course. The team was already there, and of course hadn't broken a sweat or was breathing hard in any way, and were inspecting me as I jogged up with judgmental frowns and squinted eyes. I stopped several feet away from them and regained my ability to breathe normal as they continued to scrutinize me in an awkward silence, until the Commander appeared at my side, making them straighten up and look away from me.

"Ready?" he asked everybody, but I knew he was looking at me out of the corner of his eye. "Sir!" they shouted in unison, and moved to the starting line, preparing themselves with classic runner stances. I hastily joined them, remembering my 800 meter race stance from track in high school. "Don't screw this up rook," I heard from my left in a muttered voice. It was Larcks, the salarian. I looked over, and saw he was actually grinning back at me. Something sounding like a bell went off, and the crew shot off the line, me a fat second behind them.

Suffice it to say, it didn't go well. After tumbling and tripping my way across the whole course, I finished a full thirty seconds behind everyone else, much to the disapproval worn on their faces. I keeled over involuntarily once reaching them, breaths coming heavy and ragged. After a few moments of awkward silence other than my embarrassing wheezing, I heard someone say, "Not bad." Seriously? I was blown out of the water, last place, and actually got a compliment? I straightened up to see the Commander was nodding his head, not in commendation, but more of an evaluating sort of way.

"Decent physical shape and cardio, probably due to lack of muscle mass or fat. Better than most for their first evaluation, will improve over time." Sounded like he was making a checklist and was marking off the different boxes on it. The turian didn't say anything else for a moment as he continued to scan me while the squad maintained their scowling gazes in silence, until he abruptly said, "Squad dismissed." The members of Maw Squad looked surprised at the command, but quickly regained their composure and fired off their individual salutes before slowly dispersing from formation and walking back inside, coagulating together and speaking in hushed voices, occasionally looking back towards me and the Commander.

I watched them uneasily until they had fully filed back into the building, then looked to the Commander, who was back to his stoic stance from earlier. Seeing that he had gained my attention, he motioned for me to follow him as we skirted the edge of the obstacle course, silence reigning as he appeared to be in thought.

"My decision to recruit you was unpopular to say the least, as you have probably seen already," he said after a few moments. " The Executor was personally against it, saying I was being a fool tapping into a source of biotic potential not yet evaluated thoroughly. And he is correct, there are many unknowns, but considering what I've heard of your actions, it's a prospect I am willing to take on," he said, continuing to look ahead. I didn't understand, why did this turian, when most of his race and many from others would be opposed to it, have faith in me?

Probably sensing this question would come to mind, he continued on, "I have had the opportunity to cooperate with those of your race several times, giving me a new perception of your species most have not been exposed to. So, I have the ability to make an educated decision when others have a issue with your species and and falter in their judgement due to their biases." He then stopped in his tracks and regarded me seriously. "From what I've seen, your fellow man can accomplish nearly anything they set their minds to if devoted to it. Will you have that same level of commitment when it comes to your training, squad, and the people you will serve?" he asked. I had come this far, I wasn't going to wash out now. "Yes," I replied, holding his gaze.

He replied with a nod and a small cryptic smile as he placed his hands behind his back and said, "Then, welcome to the Adepts candidate. Executor Pallin did require several conditions to be met if you are to complete your training and join us. Call them, 'first contact procedures'," he said, an amused look coming to his face. "First, you must pass all comprehensive tests with flying colors as your people say, and second, I will be your personal instructor." What? He wasn't flinching though, so it seemed he was being serious.

"Won't that...keep you from your doing your job?" I asked tentatively. He sighed and said, "Yes, it will, but XO Dorn, whom you have yet to meet, will be taking over my duties for the time being. Now, enough of the questions, back to your training. I want four laps through the OC, go."

The order was so sudden and I wasn't prepared, but the bell from earlier resounded again as Talek tapped a command on his omni-tool, making my brain instinctively propel my legs to action on towards the first obstacle. Seeing that I had already completed the course once I was more equipped and knowledgeable of how to overcome its hurdles, leading to a better time on the first lap, but nearly instantaneously after that fatigue set in and retroactively destroyed any advantage I may have had through experience with the obstacles, and by the time I crossed the finish line the final go around I was a full minute behind my original time. Every inch of my body hurt, reminding of the last time I was in this much pain, but that was after several months of strenuous workout to get ready for my final race in high school. Through my heavy breaths of inhaling oxygen that my body couldn't seem to get enough of, I heard the Commander approach and stop at my side.

"Same drill tomorrow," he told me in an uncaring voice. Or at least that's how I interpreted it through my pain consumed perception. "Stand up," he said in his commanding tone. I shakily rose, my legs feeling like Jello, until I was level with him.

His gaze towards me had turned hard and uncompromising as he stared me down and said, "You're lacking in discipline Derek. I can see it in how you hold yourself, how you walk, even your speech. There's a fear in you, and it shows. No exceptional biotic, much less an Adept, can be prone to these things. You must gain control, and I intend to show you how."

I felt completely transparent and naked in front of this turian. He hadn't even known me for a full day, yet he had seen past any meager defenses I could put up, simply by reading my body language. I didn't even try to form a rebuttal, it seemed futile, so I simply stood there at attention. "To the range, run," he said next, pointing to the building. I forced my body into motion, even though it screamed back at me its unwillingness to do so. I sprinted back inside, taking the route from before back into the large practice complex, only to find Talek there already and waiting on me as I opened the door, hands clasped stereo-typically behind his back.

"Humans have an advantage over turians in the fact there body mass is made up of completely non-metals, allowing them to be more an agile than us. I expect you to beat me here, but until then you will give me fifty push ups," he said, pointing to the ground. I almost died inside when heard him say this, but I complied, and a couple of minutes later I struggled to my feet and looked back at the turian, whose face betrayed no emotion whatsoever. He motioned to the barrier, which was now empty of occupants, and we walked over to it, I leaning on one of the support beams for strength upon reaching it. Talek pressed a button on one of the side panels, and several hatches opened inside the range, bringing up new objects scattered across the area.

"I want you to target those two things there," he said, pointing straight down the line at two jelly-filled mannequins in the shape of a turian and human. Then it occurred to me: I didn't know how to release it. The two times that I had used my biotics, I had something to act as a trigger like Helen said, a conduit. Now, it was just inanimate objects in front of me. I didn't have the slightest idea of what to do. I strained in every way possible, even putting emphasis on my outstretched hands, as if I could expel the energy through them, but nothing happened. I reluctantly looked helplessly over at Talek, expecting him to look disappointed, but instead the same emotionless expression looked back at me.

"I..." I began to explain, but trailed off, afraid to say something to disqualify myself. " It's a common channel for biotics, anger," he said after a moment, " I've seen it many times during my time here. In fact, it's how I found out about my ability."

I looked at him in shock. Of all the people, I wouldn't have thought him. He gave a chuckle at my reaction, releasing some of the tension I had been feeling as he said, "It was in a really inconvenient spot though. Turian military service is far from a lax post, basic training being no exception. I was irritated at my instructor for driving us too hard, and push came to shove as you humans so cleverly say it, so...I pushed him." He got quiet as he processed the memory. " Only a few broken bones, but it gained me enough notoriety to transfer me to a different unit, one specializing in our field," he said, looking at me. Sounded similar to Kaiden's Alenko's story, a fellow biotic on Shepard's team who was segregated because of his biotic abilities. I was pretty sure too what unit that Talek was assigned to, a branch of the turian military called the Cabals, but I didn't want to reveal that knowledge just in case he saw it as suspicious.

"So how did you learn to channel it then?" I asked, leaning in to hear the instrumental answer. He appeared to be thinking again, but then stopped the train of thought with a quick snap of his eyes as he pulled his attention back to me and said, "Not today. I think you've exerted yourself enough for now. Stamina is key for any combative biotic, and has to be developed first and foremost. If you have stamina, you can outlast any opponent and eventually wear them down. First lesson by the way," he said smirking. "In the meantime," he continued, " I believe it is lunch time, so I'll give you a thirty minute break before we begin again. The cafeteria is on the second floor. Don't be late returning here, or it's another fifty," he said, the instructor voice returning. I sighed deeply inside at begin again and fifty, but wasted no time darting off after giving him a salute into the elevator and making my way to the second floor.

I found the cafeteria about five minutes after walking aimlessly through the different corridors on the second floor, cursing myself for not asking for specific direction from the Commander and making myself look like a dufus to the aliens I came across in the hallway, who regarded me with looks spanning from curiosity to brimming hostility. I finally found the place with twenty five minutes to spare and found the expansive room packed with the lunchtime crowd. I ordered from the limited selection of food clearly designed for species' other than humans in mind, settling for a steak-like veal of salarian origin (seeing I had had enough of asari seafood and I couldn't eat dextro-based turian food) and tried to find a place to sit and hastily cram as much of the food into my eager mouth before having to most likely sprint back to Talek. Most of the tables were taken up by the different members of the Special Response Division, which surprised me in their number, making me surmise that there were different divisions within the Division itself, probably with each having its own specialty to offer. This realization would come later though as my thoughts were mainly on all the weighted stares I was receiving as I was the only see-able human in the room, perhaps in the whole building.

As I tried to maneuver to different empty spots to take a seat, the places either suddenly became occupied by glaring aliens, or they blatantly put their hand out to take up the space. I finally came to the middle of the room after a useless search for amiable neighbors, when I suddenly stumbled upon Maw Squad, who had been watching my progress throughout the room with different, ambivalent expressions.

Seeing their gazes I felt myself turning red in the cheeks with embarrassment at my situation, and would've turned away if it weren't for the open space next to the drell named Myrna. I looked at the space, then at her, then the squad, and turned to leave, but I heard a loud slap on the table behind me, making me turn back and see the female drell had her hand on the table, and was pointing the seat out to me. This had caught the attention of nearly everyone around, and nearly all hushed and waited in near silence to see if I would dare to to take the invitation.

I hesitated; I didn't know if this was a ruse of civility or an actual offer. What else was I supposed to do though, sit criss-cross on the floor and eat? I quickly walked over and took my place next to the drell, eager to get away from the attention the masses had directed at me. I gave a short nod to the female drell as I sat down, which she reciprocated, and I hastily buried my head in the plate of food in front of me, averting the gazes of those around. I cautiously tried the salarian "meat" I had picked out, and nearly gagged at the unexpected tangy taste. A snicker came from across the table, and I looked up to see Larcks covering his mouth, trying to reign in his amusement at my reaction to what was probably a native dish for him.

"So, human, which politician of yours did you have to buy off to get this post?" The sudden question had come from Killek, sitting diagonal from me, who I saw hadn't looked up from the food he was picking at. How was I supposed to respond to such a question that was clearly meant to draw me out into an open confrontation with this belligerent turian?

"I...none," I replied, my heart's pace going a little quicker now. He chuckled in a very disconcerting way as he looked straight at me for the first time. " Don't worry, I'll figure out your angle at some point human, then things will change, and you'll find yourself groveling in the streets again, like before."

He gave me a calm, but threatening glare that held until I heard to my right someone mutter, "That's enough Killek, back off." It was Teirla, the asari, who was regarding her fellow squad member with an exasperated look. "Just stating a fact Teirla, nothing to get your tentacles worried over," he said, glancing over at her with an amused smirk. "He doesn't deserve any criticism...yet," she replied, then looked to me.

"Teirla C'den," she said, reaching behind Myrna's back to give me a traditional handshake, which I took and shook with a mixture of surprise and relief. "Ignore Killek. Every human he runs across it seems he wants to punch in the face," the asari said, giving her turian counterpart a reproachful frown, which he simply looked back down at his food as a reply. " And every human fur ball that meets him wants to do the same," Larcks added humorously with a grin, drawing a low growl from the turian next to him, effectively silencing the salarian, but not wiping the smirk off his face.

"So, I believe the question we're all waiting to be answered is how you got our esteemed commander's attention?" Teirla asked between bites as the squad resumed eating. "I...stopped a home invasion," I replied technically, not sure how else to phrase it. A giggle came from my right, along with a chuckle from across from me, and I looked to see both Teirla and Larcks were both openly cracking up, presumably over what I had just said, while Killek just snorted and even Myrna allowed a small smile to reach her face. I felt myself getting hot again at their reactions, but wasn't sure how to respond, so just endured it until they had contained themselves and Teirla spoke again.

"Sorry," she said, still trying to reign in her amusement, "it's just it's not...usual to recruit from crime scenes in this place, most everyone here has a professional background." "What do you mean?" I asked. "Military and such, maybe other police forces on our home worlds. Loners are pretty rare." Yep, that sounded like me alright, always not part of the normal scheme of things, and the issue seemed to be even larger for me in this dimension.

Teirla eyed the meal I had in front of me. "You'd better eat that," she said suggestively. I realized I had only taken one bite of the so called salarian meat, and cautiously took another another, and found myself becoming used to the funky, yet appetizing taste. After another bite, I felt enough courage to speak out a question of my own. "Where are you guys from?" I asked them.

"I'm from Thessia, Larcks there is a former Lystheni, Killek is from a colony with a complicated name, and Myrna here is from Rakhana," Teirla replied for the team. Diverse group indeed. Two of them stood out especially in my mind though due to my other-dimension knowledge, namely the salarian who apparently had origins with an outcast group of salarians, and an actual drell from Rakhana, not Kahje.

"You're from Rakhana, not Kahje?" I asked to the silent drell next to me, deciding to choose the latter of the two to ask about. Myrna didn't reply, only sipped her drink and nodded. "She doesn't like to reminisce about her past, neither does Larcks, so don't bother," Teirla informed me, a slight edge coming to her voice that surprised me. She was giving me a warning look that warded me off from say anything else. I guess the group was really close-knit, judging by Teirla's reaction to a question directed at a fellow team member, and they seemed suspicious of any one trying to gain admission to their circle on such short notice. I understood and wasn't trying to force anything, just attempting to make conversation.

I glanced down at my omni-tool unconsciously and suddenly realized that I only had four minutes remaining before I had to be back, and so darted up hastily in realization and took off for the door, not even saying goodbye to Maw Squad or dumping my tray of half-eaten food, which I would apologize later to the team for having to pick up my leftovers. I didn't care about the expressions of the aliens I passed on the way up, only worrying about what the penalty would be if I should be late.

The elevator doors opened on the fourth floor, and I saw Talek waiting expectantly. He glanced down at his omni, and then said simply, "Fifty." My heart sank almost literally in sync with my falling body as I dropped to the ground and barely put out the required amount, and then stood again shakily. I looked to Talek wearily, my body already remembering its past exertion, and readied myself for the next exercise, which came promptly.

Over the next few hours I was exerted in ways I had never heard of, although the commanding turian did hearken back to the "old days" a few times with exercises I was familiar with, from mountain climbers to wall sits and more. I have no doubt my body would've shut down of its own accord several times if it wasn't for the Commander's seemingly impeccable timing when it came to knowing when to stop the exercises just before the threshold would have been reached, and due to a disgusting paste the turian kept on giving me to eat to keep me going, saying it was a turian military concoction used for long-term deployments. Despite the near un-palatable taste, it kept me going through it all, and all the while the turian continued to spout out different proverbs his people had about "enduring through trials" and something similar to what the Japanese said about how "duty is heavier than a mountain", or something of that sort, but I was too concerned with keeping myself from throwing up the paste to care what he had to say. Finally he said the blessed words, "That's enough," and I barely stood at attention in front of him, my whole body trembling with the effort I'd given.

He fixed me with a softened gaze different from earlier and said, "Stamina. It's essential to all biotics, but it's only one half of the equation. The other is control. Control over fear, anger, all your emotions and faculties in fact. I want you to think about this overnight, and let it tone your attitude as you come in tomorrow. Dismissed candidate." Then he turned on his heel like the other day and left through one of the side doors, leaving me to stumble into the elevator, half dead. Let it tone your attitude? What kind of cryptic bullcrap was that? All I could feel was pain, there was no room for anything else for now.

I came into the lobby, getting looks from the different aliens there, several doing the equivalent of raising their eyebrows at me as I passed by. I progressed out into the open city, and gruelingly made my way back to the hotel, and found to my surprise Helen and Oriana in the lobby foyer doing something I was too fuzzy in the brain to take notice of, but whatever it was they came quickly over and assisted me to some chairs, where I collapsed gratefully. I didn't need to say anything to let them know how everything had went, they seemed to understand by reading my composure. A few minutes later I was able to get up enough energy to follow them after they invited me to join them in the hotel restaurant if I was up to it, which I agreed to after realizing I was more hungry than tired.

Once we had sat down, Helen filled me in on what had happened to them that day. Oriana had gone back to college, albeit reluctantly, while Helen had checked up on Richard, who was out of intensive care, but under C-Sec watch, and not allowed to have any visitors. She then had proceeded to contact his mining company to ask what was next for them, also seeing if she could possibly get hired on, but she was swiftly denied in every avenue, the company officials citing their need to keep things "strictly un-biased". I was about to raise an objection on this, but Helen gave a small smile and put up a hand while saying, "That's not the end of it." She told me that she had then gone back to her old clinic she had worked at before, and, though it had been nearly a decade, there was no shortage of need for people qualified like her, and so she had been hired back on nearly on the spot.

I perked up at this and congratulated her, feeling a slight pull of optimism coming back to me. Helen replied with a larger smile and said her thanks, then telling me that her and Oriana would start looking for a place to rent soon enough, and I was welcome to join them. Something felt odd about it though, the prospect of staying with a mother and her daughter and nobody else, even if I was on good terms with them. I ended up saying, "I'll think about it," at least until I could sort everything out and see where I was headed. She looked slightly surprised at my response, but she nodded her head anyways and kept the smile, and then we moved into general conversation as I asked Oriana about her day and the food arrived.

I was really getting used to the local cuisine, which since it was the Citadel meant almost anything the galaxy had to offer. This time it was some sort of strange pasta looking substance merged with chicken from Earth and an Alfredo like sauce, and through bites of it I told the women about my day, which they listened to with pensive, but concerned faces. "I knew you'd use it for good," Helen said at the end of my recounting with a respectful smile, speaking about my biotics. "We'll have to come to your graduation," Oriana added with a bright smile.

Graduation. I hadn't even thought that far ahead, not with the crap load of things in between. And I could tell there would be a lot. If it wasn't for the impending invasion of extinction minded A.I's I would have almost certainly already quit the course, and even now I was having second thoughts, even though it was only the end of the first day.

"You can do this Derek," I heard across from me. It was Helen, she must of seen my wearied and tense face as I had thought about what was to come. I looked up from my thoughts and saw her looking back at me reassuringly. I felt a certain measure of strength come through her words into me at this, and I lifted a little bit. But good gosh, why the heck did they have so much faith in me? What had I gotten right? How had I verified myself in there eyes? Does it matter Derek? I finally thought tiredly. I needed sleep. I thanked the two girls and took my leave up to the room, and quickly collapsed on the bed in absolute exhaustion.


One of the first things I noticed when I woke was the all-encompassing soreness that pervaded my body, and for a minute I wasn't sure how I was going to get up and out of bed, much less go through the physical hell Talek had planned for me that day. I willed myself to get up, and then suddenly remembered from my track days how stretching was helpful for soreness, so I did the few I could remember, which only slightly helped, and brought shooting pain through the tendons in my leg as I tried to touch my toes.

After this I left the room and snagged an energy bar of human origin downstairs, recollecting that I forgotten to eat the morning before, and it had cost me. I took a different route to the SRD this time, trying to see what my options were, along with just wanting to explore the area in the process. This was the Citadel, the center of the galaxy in all respects besides literally, and I wanted to become more acquainted with it. This was, after all, supposed to be my dream, living out my life in a futuristic society that had scores of species just waiting to be discovered, nifty gadgets, and a million and one worlds to visit, all with their completely unique set of creatures and biology. I could list another set of amazing characteristics I was absolutely infatuated with in this universe, but the thing was that they all might be made null by the fact that this was a living and tangible universe, not constrained by computer processing power, meaning there was a billion and one potential differentiations that could possibly be already or develop in the future, kind of like Shepard's bio I had learned about.

I thought this over as I navigated through the clustered side streets, taking in the interactions between their inhabitants and the environment. The salarians I came across acted pretty congenial in general, and seemed to be most of the time scurrying about and weren't too keen on distractions, as if they had nothing to lose, which was true in a sense since their lifespan was one of the shortest in the galaxy. The asari on the other hand seemed to take things with a grain of salt, and looked to have more of a tempered attitude towards the people around them and the situations they were in, probably due in part to their age and experience. Then you had the turians, who seemed to have sterner demeanors than most, and didn't take crap from anybody. Then you had us, the humans, and we seemed to take our place between all these different colorings of personality. We lived slightly longer than turians, but only had a about a tenth of the lifespan of asari if I remembered correctly, so we had a bustling nature similar, but not as extreme as the salarians. We weren't warmongers unless provoked, yet had an extensive history of warfare likening to the turians. All in all, we were middle of the road in terms of species, not counting the volus, hanar, batarians or elcor. Tens of billions of life in all, maybe even hundreds, and each with a different story to call their own. Was the dimension I had left on the same path as this one had progressed to, or something different? How many universes were there exactly?

It was mind boggling and above my understanding, so I let that debate in my head lie as I approached the SRD. Unfortunately (kind of), the two guards at the entrance from the day before had been replaced and I was stopped again, but this time by a duo of asari, who looked more surprised at my presence than disgruntled by it and let me through easily. They really try to promote cohesion here don't they? I thought amused as I passed by the two guards.

I went straight to the fourth floor, being greeted as the doors opened by Talek and what I was surprised by to be a batarian speaking together. They both turned to see who the newcomer was, the Commander's eyes lighting up with recognition, and he gave me a cordial smile.

"Derek, glad you're here. This is X.O. Dorn, who I spoke of." The batarian extended a hand to me with the same smile as his counterpart, but as he did so the only thought that was running through my mind was, he's a fracking batarian! He clasped my hand in a firm shake as he said, "Kethul Dorn actually, the Commander is a little too uptight with his titles," he told me with a wink that shuttered his two left eyes.

"X.O. Dorn," Talek emphasized as he looked at me, "is the field squad leader and weapon specialist for our outfit. He is, however, taking over my responsibilities per Pallin's orders."

"So, I get to miss out on the action, listen to a police radio, and be the bureaucrat for a few weeks is what he means," he said with a fake exasperated sigh. "He will eventually be giving you a crash course on firearms, if you proceed that far," Talek continued, ignoring his associate's humor. "Yes, a very interesting topic. I don't know why you gave up time in the field in the first place Talek, seems like a bore already," Kethul grumbled as he rolled his eyes.

The turian didn't flinch as he was called by his first name, simply looking expressionless at the batarian. "Duty, Dorn, duty, which I believe is your prerogative right now," the Commander rebutted, suggestively flitting his eyes to the door.

Kethul got the hint, making him stand at attention and salute as he said, "Sir!" He took his leave, giving me a nod and a wink as he exited. I hadn't been expecting that in the slightest. Talek turned to me after watching him leave, hands clasped behind his back as usual. "How are you feeling?" he asked. Judging by the knowing look he had on his face, I think he already knew. "I'm sore," I replied bluntly. Talek nodded his head in confirmation. "To be expected. Today we will we going through another set of drills; now..."

This was how the rest of my week went, an almost continuous succession of "endurance-building" exercises that tested my ability to stay with the program and not quit out of sheer pain inflicted on my body. I thought about it multiple times, but several things kept me floating during this time: my mission statement that kept echoing in my mind in Cleander's voice, Helen and Oriana's continuous encouragement, even though I saw them less and less often, and simple pride, which steadily grew in me each day that I didn't decide to surrender to the pain. By the second week the soreness was slowly but steadily abating, and I was starting to feel confident I could finish the stamina aspect of my training. I hadn't been given a chance to exhibit my biotics during this whole time though, making me wonder when the opportunity would be presented. I also hadn't seen Maw Squad at all, at the range or in the mess hall, making me raise the question to Talek, who vaguely replied, "They're on an exercise."

By the end of the second week, I had begun to increasingly think about why the stoical turian wasn't allowing me a chance to at least try to summon up my powers. It hadn't helped either that Oriana and Helen had left the hotel a few days before after they had found an apartment close to Helen's work. It wasn't that I didn't like or found it discomforting being by myself, I had plenty of practice with that, I'd just become used to their uplifting nature and care towards me, and my moral seemed to take a dip downwards without their presence. I had been the one that had refused their offer to come stay with them, so it was mostly, well, completely, my fault. And not that I couldn't go see them, fast travel transit was an amazing thing, but I never could seem to shake the dog-dead tired feeling I obtained each day after the workout Talek had me do, and so I'd come back to the hotel, collapse on the bed exhausted, and sleep until the alarm woke me.

I'd finally had enough of the routine by the end of that second week though, and so with the clout I could muster I spoke up before the Commander could issue his regimen for the day. "Sir," I had gotten used to saying that, "I'd like to try to use my biotics, with your permission," I said, standing at attention, but not looking him in the eye.

There was silence for a moment, and so I cautiously looked up at him, afraid it would be firm no in response, but a small, cryptic smile had formed on his face, puzzling me as he said, "Do you believe you are ready?" This I wasn't sure about. But how else was I supposed to learn how to bring it out without anger? "Yes sir," I replied in a hesitant voice, which I guess defeated the purpose of me saying it in the first place, seeing that he could read me so easily.

He didn't say anything about it though, instead motioning me to follow him over to the range. I did, and arrived as he brought up the same mannequins from the week before. "Hit the targets," he said.

For some reason I believed that the training and grueling workouts I had gone through would give me some sort of key on deciphering out how to let loose the illusive energy, but as I went through the motions again, nothing produced itself, and I let my hands down slowly, reluctant to give up and hear Talek's response.

"What was the source of it in the beginning?" He asked me as I turned to him. His face betrayed no emotion, but his tone was soft; he was simply asking a question, person to person. I remembered back to the alleyway, the hurt, rage, and hatred flowing out of me. It had carried over from my past, baggage that came from feeling disenfranchised and unloved and judged. I had been tired of feeling this way, and all that pent up emotion had boiled over at that second, letting loose the energy. It had been a slightly different situation at the house; I had been protecting those who had cared for me, but anger still had been the carrier for my biotics to be manifested. Those gang members had threatened to take away something I had been searching for for so long, a place to belong and not be privy to old world troubles. I...was so tired of being beat down, feeling like I meant nothing to the grander scheme of things, like I had no control over my problems, that I couldn't progress any further than my issues allowed me to. I didn't want it anymore, and I had expressed it through my biotics. That's when the realization hit me, and I voiced it.

"I...don't want to be worthless," I said in a small voice, my head down. There was a moment of silence as these emotions welled up within me again and nearly brought tears to my eyes, but were stopped as I heard Talek say in a firm voice, "Derek." I glanced up, and saw he was looking back at me with a firm resolve in his eyes that held a fire behind them, something I hadn't seen before in him.

"This is the universal meaning of life, Derek. Each of us trying to understand our own specific purpose. The question is, will you allow your feelings to dominate you, or will you push even harder to determine what you're here for?" he asked. The turian gestured to the awaiting mannequins. "If you truly believe this is the way for you, use it as a channel. Focus your mind on all you wish to accomplish, your fears of failure included, and then let it pour into what you know you already have. Use it to find your purpose. You can only have a calling if you wish to Derek," he said, then stepped to the side, leaving the range open to me.

Focus it into what you know you already have. You only have a calling if you wish to. I thought back to my past life, and how aimless I had felt, then to my death and the second chance. I was given a purpose then, a very distinct one. I already knew what I needed to do, the only thing standing in my way were past memories. Was it possible though to actually use these past experiences to propel me forward? Could they harden my resolve to push more towards the goal? I was willing to see.

I allowed everything to come flooding in; the failures, the heartbreak, the worthlessness. Then I thought of the future; the Reapers, Shepard, Helen and Oriana. I brought it all together in my mind, swirling it into one large pool of passion and emotion, then I exuded it outwards out of me and into the real world. A flash of blue tinted light, and then the targets were no longer there.

I gazed in amazement downrange at the smoldering remains, and then the reality of it set in and I felt my heart suddenly lighten, as if a certain weight had been take off of it. I looked joyfully at the turian opposite of me, and saw he was smiling as well. "Well done candidate," he said with a commending smile. "How..." I started to ask, but got lost in thinking about what I'd just done.

"A biotic's ability is based solely upon himself, no one else can manipulate him into action. This is the first rule of all biotics," Talek said, answering my unfinished question. "And congratulations, you have passed your first test." I looked at him surprised, and he nodded affirmingly. "Tomorrow you begin your weapons course, although you will continue with your conditioning," he said with a knowing eye. Crap. I was hoping that'd be over, but at least it would probably be lessened to give me time to become knowledgeable with this age's firearms, which I was extremely eager to become acquainted with.

"I believe you've earned yourself the rest of the day off to prepare for tomorrow. Dismissed." the Commander said, and I gave him the crispest salute yet before bounding in to the elevator. My level of happiness had reached an all time high, and I needed to share it with someone, specifically two women with the last name Henderson.

I kept an acceptable fast paced walk suitable for the building as I exited it, but then broke into a run as I went to the nearest mass transit station and caught a cab going to the Kithoi Ward, Middle District. The car touched down a speedy several minutes later outside their new apartment building, and I cheerfully jogged inside, pulling out the key Helen had given me for "just in case". I reached their door a moment later and knocked, and then remembered foolishly that it was only past lunch, and they were both most likely out to work and school. I was willing to wait though, and so I opened the door with the key and entered the apartment.

The place was cluttered with moving boxes, most everything not being unpacked yet. I did notice a familiar sofa placed in the considerably smaller living room, and so sat down and looked about. The place was in a simple arrangement, there being no upstairs, just a kitchen, living room, and two rooms down a short hallway. As my gaze came full circle, I noticed something else familiar, the entertainment system from the other house. An idea popped into my mind, and I grinned as I put it into action, walking over to the extensive media setup and establishing a connection between it and my omni-tool and pulling up a media file. It was a tune before even my time, but it hadn't lost its hype in my mind.

The song Tenderness by General Public began to blare out of the speakers in even more clarity than in my day, and in response my brain synced with the music and generated a form of dance to go along with it, something similar to the shuffle.

I don't know where to start or where to stop... the singer declared along with the upbeat melody as I made a path across the apartment with my unorthodox dancing.

As I did a 180 twirl to go along with a guitar riff, I came smack dab into contact with a baffled looking Oriana, who had come in through the front door, me not noticing with the music blaring on its highest setting. We both stared at each other for a long second, her mouth almost all the way agape and my cheeks going red for the millionth time, and then something I couldn't process happened.

A hidden courage suddenly welled up inside me, and before my brain could catch up I had grabbed her hand and twirled her around, drawing a startled gasp from her lips as I pulled her near and led us spinning to the music.

We danced and danced, but I was scared to go much over with it, the lyrics professed as I led her in an impromptu assortment of different dance moves that held no similarities to each other, but seemed to work as I noticed Oriana start to smile and then break into laughter as she added her own moves for our duo to the sound of the track.

Towards the end I decided to lead her in one last and especially risky twirl, but this one went too far and sent us slamming into the media system itself, my body taking most of the damage, making me grunt as I hit my back against it and sending her careening off of me to the side, making her hit it also but not as hard, drawing a pained gasp from her.

I looked over and saw she was on the floor, and rushed to help her, but she put up a hand to stop me, and of all things started chuckling. This sent me into a fit of it also, and we both couldn't contain ourselves for a moment as we laughed it all off. Finally, I put out a hand to pull her up and she grabbed it, and I lifted her up swiftly towards me, which put her face and mine inches apart, giving me the perfect view into her passionate and clear eyes. The urge was irresistible, and I leaned in and brushed my lips against hers, she at first resisting due to surprise, but then relenting and leaning in to the kiss. My senses exploded as I put everything I had into pressing her lips against mine, and I felt absolute bliss for an everlasting moment.

It all came crashing down suddenly when I picked up the sound of the front door opening again, and Oriana separated from me with lightning speed and rushed off to the kitchen, making herself look busy as Helen entered the apartment. I stayed stock still, still trying to interpret what had happened as Helen approached me with a frown on her face. The music was just fading as she had entered, making her look questionably at both me and Oriana, who didn't meet the gaze.

"You two having a party in here?" she asked, her gaze alternating between me and her daughter. I was slow to respond, as I quickly looked over to see my accomplice and her reaction, but she seemed frozen in place and didn't know what to say.

"I...was just playing some music, from Earth," I replied in a voice that was bordering on stuttering. She seemed even more suspicious at that as she looked over at her daughter, who nodded along with what I had said. For a minute I was sure she didn't buy it and was going push the issue, but then she sighed and chuckled softly, a smile coming to her face as she said, "Kids will be kids. Now, would you like to tell me why you're here Derek?"

I could see Oriana visibly relax out of my peripheral vision, and I did too as my heart stopped beating so rapidly due to the confrontation and...kiss. I went ahead and told Helen about why I was there in the first place, but my mind was in a completely different realm as I did so. Everything had been so spontaneous that I couldn't seem to understand how it all had come about. First, I had grabbed her and we were dancing, then we had laughed like I never had before, and then...

Helen was replying to what I said, making me stop that train of thought in my mind as I heard her say congratulations and motion me over to the table, saying that a celebratory lunch was in order. She moved to the kitchen and started to whip up something and enlisted Oriana to help her, and me sitting there, watching the younger of the two, seeing if she would meet my gaze.

It ended up just being some sandwiches and chips, seeing that both Helen and Oriana had to get back soon, but it didn't matter to me, I was fixed on the girl opposite of me, trying to get her to meet my eyes, which she did her best to avert. We talked about Helen's new/old job, and how she loved being back into things, and I even asked Oriana about her classes, she giving a short and curt reply without looking at me. Lunch was over pretty quickly and Helen went to freshen up before going back, while Oriana hurried off to her room before we could get a moment alone.

I sighed out loud; I didn't know how to handle this, I had never been in this position before. I had to follow this up though, otherwise it would just fade away like so many other things in my life. I ventured down the hallway to Oriana's closed door and knocked. There was no answer, so I said, "Oriana," loud enough to where she could hear me, but not her mother. Again no reply, and so I made my way back to the living room, sat down, and waited.

A few minutes later the two women came out almost in unison, Oriana behind Helen, and made there way towards the door as they talked in low voices to each other. I darted up and came towards them, but Oriana was already making her way out and to the elevator.

"Good to see you again Derek, can't wait to come to your graduation," Helen said, stopping me with a smile. I saw the elevator doors closing with Oriana inside, her head down and away from me. I said my thanks as Helen closed the door behind us and we walked out, me saying I'd rather take the stairs. I didn't want to ride down with her, not with her having the suspicion of what happened, plus I needed some time to think.

We said our goodbyes, and I began to descend the flights of stairs and then came out into the metro, mulling things over as I went. She hadn't necessarily been the first girl I'd kissed, but there was definitely something different about this time. I actually wanted to pursue something with this woman and get to know her more, but she had pushed me away. Granted, it had been an embarrassing moment for us both, but she hadn't even given me a chance to talk with her afterwards! I'll repeat it again, I have no finesse when it comes to girls, only adrenaline-induced courage. I didn't know when I'd see her next, but maybe then we could talk.

I arrived back at the hotel and went to my room, trying to figure out how to spend the rest of my day, preferably without thinking about girls. What was really funny was that I decided to do some the exercises Talek had run me through repetitively to clear my mind and take up some time. By now I was able to do at least a hundred push-ups without stopping, along with significantly more crunches, and did these and others until I felt nearly as exhausted as when Talek ran me through them. I got up and took a shower after this, put on another change of clothes, then went out walking the streets of the Zakera Ward. This was my new habit, especially when I wanted to clear my mind and simply take in the sites. I did this for what felt like hours, losing myself in the large masses of people, thinking of nothing but those around me, what their stories could be and where they were going.

After wandering through an indeterminable amount of streets, avenues, and back alleys, I finally started to feel a bit tired and hungry, and so stopped at a closest thing to me that could offer a relief to both: a pub. It had an Irish theme to it, funny enough, and had a corresponding green and brown color tinting the insides to go along with it. I sat down in a nice and comfy booth and a human waiter came up and took my order of fish and chips, which I think actually came from England, not the Irish.

As I waited I surfed on my omni-tool, simply trying to pass the time when the entrance opened with a ding of a bell, admitting in a salarian in full combat gear minus the helmet, which immediately caught my attention. His squinted eyes scanned the whole area, also getting the notice of other people at the bar and in the restaurant. He began walking up to several different patrons, showing something off his omni-tool, a photo it looked like, to which all shook their heads, making his mouth become even more thin-lipped as went on.

"Hello friend, don't make any sudden movements," a voice suddenly said to my right inside the booth. I froze in place and looked ahead as I felt the edge of a gun barrel go against my side. What the heck was going on?

"See that salarian over there? Let's say we're not the best of pals. He'll eventually find me if I stay in this form, so I need you be my cover for a moment. Can you do that for me?" the woman's voice asked in a foreign accent. It sounded Asian almost, maybe Japanese? Wait, where did my mind come up with that? Then the idea struck me, and I slowly looked to my right, but saw nothing. No.

"Look to the front!" the voice hissed. I hastily looked away again, and saw the salarian was getting closer to me, stopping to talk to each person in the restaurant it seemed. "Will you do it?" the smooth woman's voice asked again. I paused, and then said, "Yes." "Good. Now, in a few seconds I'm going to appear to your right, and you're going to kiss me, OK?"

What? I thought, taken aback, but there was no time for anything else as I heard an electronic de-powering noise to my side, and I looked to see an Asian woman, probably a few years my senior, sitting with hands clasped on the table. She had dark brown hair with several streaks of pink highlights in it along with chestnut brown eyes and a grey hoodie to go with some sweatpants. It couldn't be, but there it was, the purple ink adorning her bottom lip that stretched out onto her chin.

"Ready?" she said, then with no consent from me grabbed me into a passionate kiss that completely took me off guard and I could barely reciprocate. We stayed like this for several seconds until there was someone who cleared their throat above us, making her break off the exchange and making me look up into the grey tinted salarian's silver eyes.

"Jondum Bau, Spectre. It has come to my attention this criminal here," he said, bringing up a picture of a black cloaked humanoid figure vaulting through the air, "is in the vicinity. Have the two of you noticed anyone of this sort around, or maybe your personal items have been stolen?" he asked, eyeing us sternly. I made an effort to look authentic and looked again at the image, as if working out the details of it.

"Uh- no, I haven't. What about you honey?" I asked the woman to my right. She gave an innocent, oblivious face while shaking her head and saying, " No, hmmph, I haven't. Sorry officer," she said with a child-like smile. He stared at us both for several seconds as if trying to figure out a puzzle, then suddenly straightened up and said, "Thank you for your time," and left to quiz more customers. I relaxed and rubbed my eyes once he had gone and then turned to look at somebody I already knew what there name was.

She gave me an enigmatic grin as she said, "Nice touch with the honey. Now, that wasn't too traumatizing for you, was it?"

"How did he not know that was you?" I asked bewildered, even though I knew she was wearing a disguise.

"I think I will keep trade secrets to myself dear, if that's fine with you. I do still need your help in getting out of here undercover, just in case he's still watching, so lead the way," she said, gesturing to the door. I looked at her like she was crazy, to which she gave me a lopsided smile in return and pushed me with a playful shove towards the door.

I stood up hesitantly and walked towards the door, she behind me, and we exited the pub, and she suddenly grabbed my hand as we walked down the street. We went several blocks without talking before she let go and we stopped. "Nice job accomplice, or- Derek Masterson it seems...Oooh, you're a candidate at the SRD, congrats!" she said with another grin after tapping a few buttons on her omni-tool. I grabbed my left arm and checked my bank account, and saw with relief that she hadn't siphoned any credits out of it.

She chuckled when she saw how I reacted and said, "Don't worry so much, I don't steal from those that help me get away from Spectres. Let it be known though that you have come into contact with Kasumi Goto herself!" she said in a loud voice before activating her cloaking program and darting away, her footsteps pattering down the alleyway, leaving me alone, staring after her. Kasumi Goto, master thief and con artist. Another one of Shepard's future crew met in one of the most circumstantial of ways. Despite myself, I started chuckling. Great way to end the day. I found my way back to the hotel, still smiling over how absurdly things had turned out, and found sleep pulling on me as I got in bed.