Saren

Only the night time guards were awake at this time. Thinking back on the conversation with my brother I started patrolling the halls of the laboratory building before getting some rest. I opened the door to my brother's lab and stepped into the darkness.

I was a master at tracking and could move trough a room without making a sound. Silently I approached the human's cage.

I thought the smell was bad before, but now it was only worse. She didn't smell bad it was just that it was her smell, before it was masked by dirt, sweat, and blood. He had hoped that the solution of cleansing that was discussed by the doctor and the human would rid her smell from the lab completely.

I laid my hands on the door and realized that it wasn't locked per our agreement. Of all of the demands he had made to allow them to keep her there and that was the one they would break first.

I don't know who's the bigger fool? My brother for trusting the human girl or well, Fiona, for trusting her captures. Obviously it was an oversight made by whoever was in charge of locking her up. She must have tricked them into it. It's a good thing he is here to double check everyone.

Looking over her sleeping form she really did look quite small. She is going to be big trouble. I'll address the situation in the morning; find out who is a fault.

Fiona

"Wake up, Fi."

Solidus was standing over me and dropped a package of human rations on my stomach.

"Wake up, were starting earlier since we have you in the lab at our full disposal now."

I got up from the cot and rubbed my eyes. I laughed slightly when I remembered what I was now wearing. I had been given a t-shirt and bike shorts like the ones I had been wearing before with the exception of size. It seemed that the turians had no concept that not all humans were the same size. The shirt was two sizes too large and the shorts were a size too small. It was difficult to see them from under the over sized shirt. In a way it looked as though she was wearing pajamas.

I carried my rations to the table out side my cell and sat down. It looked as though everyone had brought a food item to the table with them.

"What do you have doc?"

Dr. Kesler poured a second cup as he spoke. "This is tea make from a flower on my home world. Would you like some, Fi?"

"Yeah, I'll try anything. I bet it's better than these rations."

"Has the supply of human food spoiled?"

"No… it's just there fine at first, but day after day after day they get a little gross."

Solidus laughed at my remark as he seemed to understand opening his own package of rations.

Kesler handed me the hot tea. I slowly took a sip. The warm tea was bitter at first, but faded in to a soft sweat flavor.

"That's delicious; did you sweeten it with something?"

"No, that's just one of the properties of that particular flower and why it's most commonly used in tea on my planet."

After trying tea from another planet I was interested in tasting other things, as I turned to Solidus and asked, "So… what have you got?"

"Nothing for you."

"That's a little mean."

Solidus replied, "You didn't want your rations why would you want mine?"

I looked at his container of food. "I've never had it. We could trade? What is it anyway?"

Solidus described what was in the package food, but I didn't understand any of it.

"Doc, my translator didn't get any of that?"

"These foods are native to Palaven, they have no translation. Just as the name of the flower on my world wouldn't be translated. These are words that you will just have to learn to add to your vocabulary. "

"Oh… like from Earth we have tomatoes, lettuce, turnips, carrots, and onions and those words don't translate."

"Precisely."

Turning back to Solidus to get a better description of what he was eating I asked. "Now what do you have again?"

"Fruit."

"I wish I could share Earth foods with you. I wonder how the garden is doing. Has it been destroyed...? We brought small plants and seeds from earth go grow our own food here."

Solidus's Omni-tool beeped. He excused himself to the corner of the lab as if he were checking a message.

Dr. Kesler turned to a monitor, "Fascinating, we will find out if the plants have been destroyed. Locating the ruins of the garden would be a great find."

It was at that moment I realized I was completely unsupervised. My curiosity got the better of me and I picked up one of the chunks off of Solidus's plate. I inspected the fruit chunk between my first finger and thumb and even smelled it before tossing it in my mouth.

Its smell was a little off putting, however it tasted okay. I chewed slowly as I noted how sweet it was and just a little tart. Everything I loved about blueberries on earth. It didn't taste like a blueberry. It actually tasted a lot like the way anti-freeze smells.

It was at that moment. Solidus had apparently finished his business and turned his attention back to me.

"You didn't…"

I swallowed has he spoke wondering how rude it was for me to have taken something off his plate without asking.

Solidus's shocked expression probably said all it needed to. Dr. Kesler was no longer direction his attention to the monitor.

I had been caught red handed and assumed the best thing for me to do would be to apologize. "I'm sorry I took it without asking."

"What?"

I didn't understand why Solidus would be confused. "I said I'm sorry."

"No, Fi, I'm not mad. You can't eat turian food. It will make you sick."

"Why didn't you say that before?"

"I told you, you couldn't have any!"

"There is a big difference between you can't have any and that will make you sick!"

"I'd thought you would have taken the hint that it wasn't for you!"

"By joking around with me?"

Our voices seemed to escalate higher and higher after each remark until we were almost yelling at each other before the doctor intervened in his calm unwavering voice, "It might not make her sick. It might kill her. Human consumption of turian cuisine not fully studied yet."

Almost in unison Solidus and I calmed down and stated, "Oh that's great."

Solidus went on by saying, "Well, Kesler, here is your opportunity to study it."

The effects of the turian food didn't hit suddenly, it was slowly. Like getting food poisoning. At first I just felt queasy and then began to sweat.

I remember being asked to lie down and being escorted to my cot as I started to feel weak.

I can't place how long I was out, but as I awoke I felt a hand go through my hair. I tried to speak, but instantly found my self gagging and coughing due to something tickling my throat. With one of my hands I reached to my nose and felt a tube.

"Don't mess with that." I not only heard Solidus's voice but felt it reverberate through my body as I realized my head was in his lap.

He stopped playing with my hair and I motioned for him to continue. "It's comforting don't stop."

"Really, I…" and he stopped, "I thought you wouldn't approve."

I chuckled slightly in my sickly state, "No, my mom would do it when I was sick. I think most humans find it comforting."

"No other species has hair. I thought you would think I was being too curious."

"We have a saying on earth, Curiosity killed the cat." I tried to hold my laughter, "I can't blame you for your curiosity when mine has tried to kill me."

Solidus continued to run his talons though my hair as I thought about how long it had gotten. When I left the academy my hair was in a short cut and now it was long enough to have a stubby pony tail.

After a pause Solidus spoke, "You had us worried for a while. Even Saren, he came in periodically to check on you."

"Probably hoping I wouldn't die so he could kill me later."

Solidus laughed loudly and I could feel his flanging voice course through my body. It made me smile. It was soothing like a purr of a cat.

"Well it seems as though our patient is well enough to make jokes."
I now opened my eyes to see that Dr. Kesler was also in the room.

I addressed my next comment in his direction, "What did you do doc, a stomach pump?"

"I don't understand?"

"It's a procedure on earth for digestive system blockages and poisonings. " As I spoke I pointed to the tube in my nose. "Nasogastric tube… you pumped or emptied my stomach."

"Yes… you seem to be perceptive to your situation."

The doctor then began to inject a substance from a syringe into a bag a fluid above my head. "This will help you rest, Fi."

I followed the tubing with my eyes and noticed the I.V. in my opposite wrist. I suddenly felt very tired and closed my eyes. I could still feel Solidus playing with my hair as I drifted off to sleep.