Authors' Note:

I'd like to extend a 'thank you' to the (surprisingly many) readers whom have found my fic worthwhile; your interest and support is invaluable.

A special thanks to those who take the time to review. Even if you have issues with what I write your opinion will still give me an new angle or perspective which helps me think of things I may have overlooked. Criticism is invaluable when it comes to evolving as a writer.

Subsider34; First, thanks for reviewing. And yes, I slipped up on the reference part. I'll correct that in this chapter's addendum. To be honest I didn't know Calinstel was a she even. Not that it matters but still an embarrassing mistake on my part.

Gavoon; I totally get where you're coming from; I've got the same issue with asari. Except with Liara. She's a-okay in my books.

Though I'll have to disappoint you by saying that I've kind of a soft spot for quarians. My main point of nerdrage regarding ME3 was the shitty quarian face reveal. And lack of non-masked romance dialogue. That's where they should have put the reveal if you ask me. So there will be some quarian related stuff in here. Maybe it will be of some comfort to you that the quarian content will get significantly dwarfed by my own additions to the verse later on.
Not to mention that this
is an SI, which means that the human perspective on things will naturally take over.

As for whether Raenna will be on the Normandy crew or not; just finish this chapter and the answer will be revealed.

Thanks for bringing up the whole issue about Tibbs past though. Why no one has caught wind of it yet is really quite simple; a combination of it being old history and good old human nature. I mean, if there were to be some young fellow popping up now in our verse called Adolf Hitler then our first assumption would be that it was simply an unfortunate name given by parents who weren't quite as they should be in the head. We don't want to see the worst but only viable option or uncomfortable truth unless we are forced to. And the aliens generally won't know human history well enough to make the connection.

Rest assured that it will be addressed inside of tops three chapters.

And a special thanks to my countrymen who found this fic and took the time to read/review it. Ni är grymma, gubbar!

Anyways, thanks again good people of Fanfiction! Now let's get this show on the road.


SSV Normandy, February 4th 2183.

The hushed, ordered buzz of the CIC instilled a quiet air of urgency as the crew made the last preparations.

Shepard stood by the galaxy map, her steel-grey eyes roaming over the holographic map projected in front of her. Suddenly a small orange circle lit up on her wrist.

"Shepard here." She answered the call distractedly.

"I just got word on the shipment from Hahne-Kedar. Unfortunately it's been delayed, commander." The Normandy's newly appointed requisitions officer had proven invaluable for handling all the minor, but in Shepard's eyes far too time consuming, details regarding logistics.
A surprisingly large amount of new gear and equipment was needed for their mission. Some of which were troublesome to come by.
Had Shepard not used her new Spectre status to bulldoze her way through the bureaucracy involved, acquiring said items would have taken months instead of a couple of days.

"So what's their excuse?" The commander sighed.

"Issues with their systems, they didn't really go into details. They assured me that it would be here no later than oh-sevenhundred-hours tomorrow."

"Alright, officer, have it stowed and sorted the minute it arrives."

"Aye, aye."

Shepard went back to studying the galaxy map, but her eyes weren't moving. In her head, she was double-checking everything once again to see if there was anything she might have overlooked. She knew all too well that being too prepared was always preferable to being unprepared. Especially when it came to missions of this gravity.


Meanwhile, at the Zakera ward.

"I'm not sure what is drawing the most attention; your clothes or, well, me." Raenna stated with an equal measure of warinesss and amusement.

She was right. As we made our way through the crowd, everyone we passed turned their heads. Frankly, it was starting to annoy me.
Especially since I'd never been a fan of crowded streets in the first place.

At least not well-lit ones.

"Do I look that weird?" I asked the petite quarian at my side.

"Keelah, yes. I've honestly never seen anyone dress like you. Not even other humans."

Smiling, I cocked an eyebrow at her. "Well, so long as I have your attention, it's doing what it's supposed to."

She bumped her shoulder into me, a brief giggle escaping her. We kept walking for a while in silence. It was…nice.
Though I still had to suppress the urge to gawk at everything. I mean seriously; aliens, dude. Aliens everywhere.

I spotted the now familiar sign above Aldyne Arms in the distance. For some reason it got me thinking.

As far as illusions went, this was arguably the better kind. I glanced at the red-clad quarian walking beside me, a barely audible sigh escaping me.

Ignoring just how strange the whole situation with me and her was, this was starting to get too complicated. I'd been pretty clear about what I thought about her and me.
At least I thought so. Still… It was probably best if we went our separate ways after the whole business with getting her a job.

She was, after all, quarian. She had the Fleet and her people to consider. And I couldn't ask her to turn her back on all that for me. And, selfish as it might sound, I didn't want to tie myself up.

I hadn't been lying to her about her being the kind of girl I might fall for. And that was sort of the problem too. I didn't want to go down that road again.
And she deserved nothing less than to have someone who loved her. I'd rather that someone wasn't me. For both our sakes.

To be honest, I didn't know why I was being so serious about it all. I mean, her being quarian added a few unique variables, but otherwise… Hell, we'd just met.
This was nuts. And yet I was somehow feeling guilty about it all. Damnit, it's not like I'm playing her.

I was brought out of my thoughts by a nudge in my side.

"A credit for your thoughts." Raenna was looking up at me, snaking her arm inside my coat and around the small of my back. Oh, yeah, I'd bought a black synth-leather long coat as well. My inner nerd won that battle, I unashamedly admit defeat.

I absent-mindedly put an arm around her shoulders, giving her shoulder a little squeeze.

"That's all I'm getting?" I smirked at her in a teasing voice. I hissed a little as she dug her fingers in just beneath my ribs.

"Careful… Do you really think this will work?" There was a healthy dose of doubt in her voice. Can't say I blame her.

I scowled subconsciously at the neon sign in the distance. Its glow suddenly seeming ominous.

"Well, it should. We've a few things going for us. One, he owes me a favor. Two, he's quarian too so he's the good kind of biased. And thirdly I don't think there'll be much resistance from his superiors. I mean, you've got a useful skillset and Aldyne seems generally tolerant of other species. This will work." I gave her my most reassuring smile.

"Really?" She wasn't falling for it.

"Yes. Now no more negativity from you, alright? You'll jinx us."

Raenna huffed and seemed to suddenly find the neon sign as unsettling as I did. We were coming up on the shop now, it was just twenty or so meters away. I could see Tir standing behind the counter tapping away at a terminal. Yar had probably spotted us already, as he stood like an oversized gargoyle by the door, surveying the ward.

Raenna suddenly stopped me, making me swivel about to face her.

"Look… I appreciate you trying to help me, but you don't have to."

I stared at her like she'd grown a second head. A krogan head at that.

"Are you nuts? Of course I do, I'm not going to let you live the way you do now when there's something I can do to help. This isn't me trying to repay you for… You know. You deserve a fair chance and you damn well deserve better than cleaning hotel rooms and being spit at for no reason." I fixed her glowing orbs with my own dull human ones. "Let me help you." I added in a softer voice. "Please."

Raenna nodded in silence then stepped into my coat, her small frame almost disappearing as she pressed hers into mine.

A couple of asari passed us, scoffing and chattering amongst themselves as they saw us embracing. A few less polite words came drifting towards us. "Ugh, disgusting." "Humans really have no shame, do they?"

I could feel Raenna sort of shrink into me as if trying to hide inside my coat. Torn between reassuring her and confronting the offending asari, I hugged Raenna tighter. Settling for a low growl and throwing the offending blue bitches the dirtiest stink-eye I could muster as they disappeared into the crowd.

"I don't care what you say, Rae. I'm getting you out of this shit. Let's go." The quarian pilot made a small nod; at least I think she did judging from how her visor brushed against me. We separated and with newfound determination strode up to the store.

"By the way… Rae?" It was nice to hear a smile in her voice again. Not returning it felt damn near impossible, too. Which, of course, I did.

"Yeah, he-he. Sort of slipped out. Don't like it?"

"Oh, it's alright, I guess." She said in an excessively nonchalant voice as she hooked her arm around mine. "So long as it's you calling me that." She added in a decidedly more… sultry voice. I swallowed hard and cleared my throat, trying to focus on the entrance to the store. And failing miserably.

"My kingdom for that sterile suite right now." I muttered. Raenna giggled and bumped her hip into me.


"Target is entering Aldyne Arms, Zakera branch."

"Copy that. Maintain a low profile and keep updating."

The blonde man in cheap formal wear settled into a more comfortable position on the bench and resumed reading his datapad. His eyes darted up for a brief moment, spying the odd couple walking into the shop. A brief smile crept over his features.


"Whelp."

"Yar."

The towering krogan scrutinized me with his yellow eyes, features about as forgiving as a stone statue.

Suddenly a large smile broke over his reptilian face.

"Ha! First geth guns and now a quarian girlfriend, aren't you just full of surprises?"

"Well, I'd hate to disappoint." I chuckled and shook the krogans hand. I reckon that being tossed around by Godzilla's paw for a bit feels the same. Ouch. "Is Tir in?"

"Yep. So what you got this time, huh? Prothean guns? He-he."

"Not quite." I looked at Raenna with a silly ol' smile. "Something better."

"Uh-huh. I'm not keeping you." Yar gestured toward the counter and resumed leaning against the doorway. Frankly I was surprised to see it support his weight.
Don't krogan weigh like half a tonne or something?

I nodded at Yar and strode up to the counter. It seemed vacated for the moment. I craned my neck and made a quick look-around but didn't see the quarian clerk anywhere. Well, I could use a moment to think through what I was going to say.
With a sigh I turned and leaned with my back against the counter. A snort and a smile escaped me as Raenna came into my view. If I were to guess she'd been looking exactly like that since we walked into the store. Nervous, wide-eyed and with her looks casting all over the place. She looked at me and took a different stance entirely.

"You know, most species think it rude to look as if you own the place. Perhaps not the best start." Ah; disapproval.

"But everyone falls for a confident approach." I tried with what I thought was a winning smile. Hand on her hip. Okay, very disapproving.

"Relax, Rae. Think happy thoughts, m'kay? Flowers and butterflies."

Raenna laughed, visibly relaxing.

"You're telling me that that's what you're thinking about right now?" She chuckled as she made her way over to me.

"Not quite. But it's something pretty." I couldn't help but let my eyes wander. Raenna shook her head and laughed.

We fell quiet after that. Just looking into each other's eyes. I still hadn't quite gotten used to quarian eyes, to be honest. I mean, they were these shiny little orbs in the game but in real life? Damn. The visor obscured enough to make it impossible to make out the face entirely but if you really tried you could see hints of the features. That makes for some serious allure when it isn't pixels you're staring at.

"I see my warnings fell on deaf ears." Turning I found the owner of the icy drawl staring me down with his arms crossed and a finger tapping against an elbow.

"Tir! Just the man I was looking for!" I put on my best salesman smile and send a silent prayer to whichever deity who was enjoying the show, as I felt every speech and winning argument I'd thought of the last half-an-hour or so fly out the window. Attans!

"That so?" Icy. Though I swear I saw him arc a brow inside that fish bowl of his.

"Indeed. See, I'm here to cash in my chips, so to speak."

"Already?" He studied Raenna for a moment. Then shook his head. "Ah. I think I can see where this is going. Credits are only a temporary solution though…"

"That's not what I had in mind." Tir eyed me curiously but motioned with his hand in a 'go on' kind of gesture. "I'd like you to get my friend Raenna'Dovas here a job. Either here or if you could pull some strings with your boss and land her a position in Explorations. She's more than qualified as a pilot." Tir was silent and motionless for a moment.
The air was tense, to say the least. My arm is going numb, Rae. Right … Dog han därinne eller?

"Deal. Now, if you could come with me for a moment, Raenna'Dovas. I suspect we'll need to do some work on your resumé. My name is Tir'Legar. Pleased to meet you, fleet sister." This guy, I swear… The quarian merchant didn't miss a beat as he gave a polite bow to Raenna and motioned toward a nearby terminal.

Speaking of Raenna, she was pretty much overflowing with 'thank you's' in both mine and Tir's direction and seemed torn between pouncing on me and bouncing after Tir. After a few adorable seconds of twisting back and forth in indecision she did pounce on me, hugging me tight enough to choke me. When she loosened her iron grip I found myself staring into her luminous orbs again. Only this time they were literally sparkling.

"Don't thank me yet, Rae…" I whispered, breath taken away for more than one reason. She on the other hand trailed her fingers gingerly down my face, leaning in as she did so. "No. I'm saving that for tonight. Nehya." Her thick whisper made me shiver and burn all at the same time.


Author's Addendum:

Attans! = Blast! ( Comparable to, at least. It's the kind of light, semi-polite swearing old folks do. Technically "Attans" is a very light version of "Damned".)

Dog han därinne eller? = Did he die in there or what?

Nehya = (quarian) roughly translates into 'interesting one'. Comparable to the human term 'sweetheart'.
A term of endearment used primarily at the early stages of quarian courtship to signify an interest in developing a deeper relationship.

If you want to look up other quarian words that will likely pop up in this fic too, here's a link to Calinstel's glossary: s/6065449/109/To-Survive-Alliances

And as for the getup, well… If you give a ton of money to a semi-nerdy metalhead and let 'im go nuts, then that's what you get.

Oh and I know that we're off to a very mushy start so far but I promise you; rivers of blood will be flowing in the future.