When Bionus next awoke, his muscles were more sore than he ever remembered them being before. He was lying in a soft hospital bed with a bright light shining down on him. The turian held up his hand and looked around, trying to figure out just where he was.

A salarian dressed in white medical clothes walked over to him. "Ah. You are awake. This is good."

"Ugh," Bionus moaned, shaking his head. The bright light was giving him a headache. "What happened?"

"You were injected with a levo-amino acid based solution. It functioned rather like a poison for your biology. The administrator managed to get you here before it caused a fatal reaction."

That explained the fire in his body, the last thing that he remembered. "What... what else?"

"I do not know what you mean by that inquiry. If you mean what happened after you were injected, I only know that there was a struggle. Those who harmed you and the administrator were dealt with. They did not survive."

Bionus shook his head. While the salarian had told him what had probably transpired, he hadn't told him just exactly what had happened. That was to be expected though. Salarians had that habit of being literal.

"I need to talk to my crew," the turian said.

"You need to keep yourself rested," the salarian said. "Your body is still suffering from the after-effects of the solution. It will take some times for you to recover your strength."

Bionus grumbled. "How long?"

"Seven days or so. Luckily you are healthy, or the period of time might be longer."

The turian tried to move so that he could get up. His muscles protested at this. "I have a job," he said. "I have to be ready."

The salarian moved and stopped Bionus from getting up. "The administrator said he would find another to do your job in light of these circumstances."

"Great. Just great." Bionus's shoulders slumped. That job was his chance to get a way to provide the Astral Hind with decent and steady employment. And he had been powerless to prevent it from slipping through his fingers.

"Now now," the salarian said as he helped the turian lay back down on the bed. "The administrator is not quite through with you. He will speak with you once you have recovered from the poison sufficiently enough."

"I am recovered enough," Bionus said, though he sighed as he relaxed on the bed.

"Not quite yet. You need more time. Rest, captain. Let your body heal."

Bionus grumbled a little at this, clearly displeased by what was being asked of him. The salarian did not respond to it, merely going off to take care of some other matter. He did turn off the light over Bionus's head before he left though. The captain was at least grateful for that. It let him rest his eyes, drifting off into a somewhat relaxing half-sleep.

Colleen stood outside a nearby one way window, looking in at Bionus. She knew that he couldn't see her, but she hoped that somehow he knew that she was there and that it was a comforting thing. Lorik Qui'in was there as well. He had invested a great deal of his personal time in this, only leaving the medical ward once or twice to take care of previously scheduled things. Colleen was rather grateful for the administrator and what he was doing for them. His presence had been a rather comforting thing these past two days. Though she wondered if perhaps he was behaving like this now because he felt guilty that both Bionus and the musician had come to harm.

The nameless musician. Colleen had heard about his condition from Lorik a few times. The liquid in the vial that Berkley had thrown had been a corrosive acid. The past while had been spent frantically trying to save as much of his face as was possible. While the medical ward on Noveria was one of the best facilities of its kind in the galaxy, even it had limitations. While they had managed to save quite a bit of the musician's face, his eyes and his nose were quite beyond repair. Cybernetic implants were being installed to compensate, free of charge on the orders of the administrator.

As for the others, there was nothing that could be done. Berkley had died not too long after Colleen had shot him in the gut. Mira had hung on a bit longer, long enough to spit in Renarra's face and accuse her of betrayal before dying. That had hurt the asari quite a bit. She'd stayed in the ship through all of this. Naviss had said that she was keeping to her quarters and playing soft music. Having seen what Renarra could do if she was in a agitated mood, Colleen was glad that she was keeping calm.

"You should rest," Lorik said to her as they both looked in on Bionus.

She took a deep breath. "I should. Doesn't mean I'm going to."

"You're not helping him by worrying yourself to death."

"I'm not worrying myself to death, believe me. I'm merely keeping vigil."

Lorik nodded. "Very well then." He turned to walk away.

"Thank you, Mr. Qui'in," Colleen said to him. "Your charity has been quite unwarranted."

The turian paused and turned around. "Unwarranted? You and your captain have saved both my business reputation and my life. If that does not warrant what I do here, then I do not know what does."

"I didn't mean to be rude," Colleen clarified. "It's just, well, you've been like he would have been."

"What do you mean?"

"Captain Bionus would have done the same thing, were he in your position."

Lorik nodded his head. "Ah, I see. It is a turian peculiarity. Our duty is to our tasks and to those who help us in those tasks. You and your captain have helped me in my task, so it is my duty to help your captain along to a speedy recovery."

"Still, I must thank you. Your presence... it has been rather calming."

Lorik bowed his head at this. "I am glad that I could help in that respect then. It is what any respectable being would do, I like to think."

"It's certainly gentlemanly enough."

The turian chuckled. "As you wish, then."

He turned to go. "Wait, Mr. Qui'in," Colleen said. He paused and looked back to her. "When we spoke before, at the spa, you said that I would not want to hear why you were paying so much attention to me."

The turian nodded. "This is true, I think."

"Why don't you tell me anyway? I'm not one for bullshit, after all. It means I can handle the truth."

Lorik paused for a moment, thinking all of this over. Colleen waited for his response. She herself was not quite sure why she was bringing the matter up again. Something about the way that the administrator was personally attending to this matter made her curious though. And when Colleen was curious, it mean that she wanted to know the truth even if it might hurt her. After all, she was a no bullshit kind of woman.

"I am a lonely one at times," Lorik said at last, putting his hands behind his back and looking off at the wall.

"Everyone gets lonely sometimes."

"This is true. I did not mean that there was anything unusual about this loneliness."

Colleen crossed her arms in front of her. "Mr. Qui'in, if you're implying that you want to romance me, I've got to say that I'm not a stay down kind of girl."

The turian held up a hand. "I do not mean to imply that at all," he said. "I have neither the time nor the patience for a long term commitment with a member of my own species, much less a member of another."

"So why are you paying attention to me?"

Lorik paused. "Because I am looking for a female upon whom I can dote from time to time, whenever she may come around Port Hanshan."

This was slightly odd, but Colleen brushed it off. "Why not ask a turian female though? Surely there are plenty of them that come through from time to time."

Lorik looked around, as though he was afraid of someone catching wind of what he was about to say. "I have to admit that what I wish to do is not something that is considered proper in turian culture. We do not, oh, what is the word I am looking for, court, as you do. When we court it is usually somewhat violent. To pamper as I wish to do is seen as somewhat deviant."

"So let me get this straight," Colleen said. "You want to pamper me?"

"I wish to be in a state of perpetual courtship with you," Lorik said.

"Say that in another way, because that sounded too odd."

The turian paused and thought. "I wish for it to be as though I am always trying to get you to commit, yet such a thing never happening."

"You want us to be eternally boyfriend and girlfriend?" Colleen asked.

"Now I must ask you to say that another way, because you make it sound odd as well."

"Never mind, I understand what you're saying," Colleen said.

"You do not have to accept," Lorik said. "I merely approached you because we will be seeing quite a bit of each other in relation to the employment of the Astral Hind here, and because you are somewhat attractive by turian standards."

This part really through Colleen for a loop. "Pardon?"

"Your height and your posture. They are pleasing."

"Oh, I see," Colleen said.

Lorik turned and looked off towards the wall, as though he was suddenly slightly embarrassed that he had been speaking at all. Colleen thought over what had just been said. Well, it could be a lot worse. Thankfully all that this turian was wanting was a fling every so often, as opposed to some long term relationship.

But should she go for it? Should she cater to the administrator's somewhat innocent whim? She figured it was innocent, anyway. While one could never be too sure in matters like this, Lorik seemed to simply be interested in how humans did things. Perhaps he had gotten interested in how humans courted, and wished to try it out himself for a while. No harm in that. And he seemed to be quite gentlemanly enough anyway.

Colleen walked forward and stood beside Lorik. "If I were to say yes, would you make sure that the Astral Hind was put on the preferred list?"

"If that is the only reason you would say yes, then I would rather you say no. I have enough of people doing things like that in my work. I do not need it when I wish to relax."

"It's not the only reason I would say yes. But would you do it?"

"I might." Lorik looked over at Colleen. "What other reasons do you have though?"

"Because someone pampering me doesn't sound like all that bad of an arrangement," Colleen said in reply. "And you have been quite a gentleman throughout this entire affair, enough of one for me to be trusting of you."

"Is that a full yes, then?"

Colleen chuckled. "I think so, Lorik."

And the tying up of loose ends begins! Yay!

Originally I was going to have the poison never really leave from Bionus, and him have to take something every day to keep it under control. But that would require me to have either a working knowledge of chemical biology, which I do not have, or to do a lot of research on the subject, which does not interest me.

Oh, and I keep forgetting to inform everyone about this. Some of you may notice that I have a very irregular schedule. This is mainly because I am writing this in my free time and posting the next chapter almost as soon as it is done. Usually I'll read it over first, but not always. I can at least say that you will see a new chapter of this at least once a week. I can't say that there's a specific day of the week it will get posted, but rest assured it will come about at least once a week. If I end up posting two, it's because I'm having a good week.