My shortest chapter yet, but an important one. Since I was able to release it so close to chapter 12, I don't begrudge its length. Enjoy.

Chapter 13: Memoriam

Wraith was standing on the landing platform he and his fellow soldiers had landed on. But he was alone; no marines, no civilians, no transports. He looked around, watching for any sign of activity. He remembered being shot by a Nemesis, yet nowhere was there a Cerberus soldier. Then he remembered everything fading into black.

"Am I dead?" he said aloud. This didn't look like any form of heaven, hell, or purgatory he'd ever heard of. Then, a ball bounced across the open platform. A young boy ran after it, giggling as he tried to catch it. Wraith leaped out of the kid's path, but the boy didn't as much as blink at the former obstruction. The ball rolled up to the guard rails, in danger of falling over. As it was about to topple into the abyss, a shimmer of dark energy whirled around it, causing the ball to jerk back toward its pursuer. Wraith's eyes widened; that had been a biotic pull. Still, no one took notice of him. The boy picked the ball up, turning to see another child behind him.

"No fair! It was my turn to catch it." His companion pulled out a tissue, using it to wipe the blood coming from his nose. Wraith couldn't help but smile, remembering how long it had taken him to master the nose bleed. This whole scene seemed strangely familiar to him; like déjà vu. He watched curiously as the biotic tucked the dirty tissue in one jacket pocket.

"But it was ganna go over Ralph." He said. The other boy, Ralph, walked past him, going for the top of the ramp.

"Mamma said she doesn't want you doing that. You keep getting nose bleeds." Ralph reached his destination, turning to prepare the ball for its next roll. But the other boy crossed his arms.

"It's stupid. Why can't I do what I can do? Mamma's just afraid I'll be moved to a special school." Ralph, seeing that their fun had been spoiled, put the ball under his arm.

"Mamma loves you; of course she doesn't want you to go away. And I do too. Come on, I bet everyone's having fun in the alley." The two began walking toward the alley that Wraith had been shot in. Unable to shake the feeling of familiarity, Wraith hurried after the two boys. He had figured out that nobody could see him, making him feel surer that that bullet had killed him. Just as they were passing the steps of a structure, Ralph looked up at the encroaching clouds.

"Uh-oh; its ganna rain soon." His brother put a hand in his pocket. His expression dropped.

"Oh! I forgot my rain-shield at home."Wraith frowned; uncertain why protection from the rain would be needed. Ralph stuck his hand in his pocket and brought out a device that resembled a watch. He handed it to his brother.

"Here, you take mine. I'll run home and bring you yours. Wait here, okay?" His brother nodded. Ralph hurried off in the opposite direction. The remaining boy, who looked ghastly familiar to Wraith, clipped the device to his wrist. The lot was empty; only Wraith and his oblivious companion were remaining. The boy moved into the shelter of an overhanging awning, waiting for Ralph to return. The child was distracted by a beetle carrying a piece of fruit. Wraith smiled at his innocence. But then there was the sound of footsteps. He and Wraith looked up at the same time to see a man walking out from the alley. The man stopped short of entering the light, looking down at the unnamed boy.

"Hello young man." He said in a friendly voice. "Are you lost?"Wraith recoiled; that voice belonged to Operative Granite, the man in charge of Project Phoenix. The boy shook his head.

"No, I'm waiting for my brother. He went to get a rain-shield." Granite nodded. Wraith had an incredibly bad feeling about this exchange. He was racking his brain trying to find out why he was seeing this.

"Going to play back that way?" Granite asked. The boy nodded. "All the children have left; they heard it was about to rain and headed home." The boy looked disappointed. Granite cocked his head.

"Is that blood on your nose? Were you hurt?" Wraith glared at the man; something was off. No way Granite coincidently was on Benning and had stopped to talk to a kid who happened to be a biotic. He'd planned it; probably had waited a long time for the perfect time to strike.

"No, I… no wait, Mamma told me not to tell anyone." Granite smiled warmly.

"Tell anyone what? Do I look like a bad man to you?" Wraith nearly spit on the man. The only thing preventing that was the helmet he was wearing and the fact that it wouldn't phase the spectral figure. The boy looked as if he was pondering.

"Well, I can move things with my mind if I focus really hard. When I do that, it gives me nose bleeds." The man kneeled down so that his face was level with the boy's.

"Really? Do you think you could show me? Just this ball here." He pulled out a small metal sphere. That ball had been Granites main training device. It was a mass effect generator, capable of increasing or decreasing its mass, depending on the training. It could also resist biotics if needed, simulating a biotic opponents barriers. The boy nodded, probably eager to impress. He stared long and hard; after a moment he raised his hand, wobbly lifting the sphere a few inches from Granites hand. A moment later, the boy sighed and the ball fell. A trail of blood lazily ran from his nose. The look in Granites eyes was one of a lion about to snag its prey. Wraith felt sick.

"Would you like me to show you how you can do that without bleeding?" The boy looked up, wonder in his eyes.

"You can do that? Right now?" Granite smiled and shook his head.

"No, you would have to go to my school. What do you think? Do you want to come to my school?" Wraith knew what he was doing. He was searching for potential candidates for his "Phoenix" program. It was no school. He'd be using this child for his own research. Said boy brightened.

"Yes I would!" Then his expression fell. "But my mom doesn't want me to go to special schools. She wants me to stay here, with her." Granites eyes flashed briefly with annoyance. But the child didn't notice it.

"Well, come with me to my ship. I'll call your mom and tell her to meet us there, okay? Your brother too." Wraith was saddened when he saw the boy was giving in. A chill passed through his body; this all seemed too familiar, and it was starting to scare him. The boy nodded slowly in agreement. Granite stood up straight, the glow of victory in his eyes.

"What is your name young man?"

"Alex," said the boy. "Alex Rook."

Wraith's heart nearly stopped.

Images sped through his mind. He was young, playing with his older brother on the lots of Benning. The rain was acidic sometimes, so they needed special shields to protect themselves. His mother, tall, a brunette, cooking in their meager apartment. His dad, who worked too hard to provide, with his brown hair cut short and cleanly, watching the news while sipping a cup of coffee. His friends, playing hide-and-seek in the alleys. His mother's face when the biotics tests came back positive. His parents afraid they would take him far away if anyone saw. He and his brother playing ball on the platform. A strange man finding him, telling him, promising him a better life. Ralph and mamma never came why didn't they come? Why was he alone in the ship with the suited man and one with glowing eyes? Why didn't anyone save him? Why was he taken to the cold place of metal, where the kids are too scared to talk and they don't let you use your name? Why couldn't he use his name? Why did they keep calling him Wraith; his name was Alex. Alex Rook.

Alex.

"My name," He whispered to himself, "is Alex Rook."

For more information on the characters, please visit my companion story

"Alliance Database: N7 Special Ops"

Hope you all liked this one. By the way, as I didn't mention this before, thank you all my readers for getting me past the 1,000 view milestone. Rapture never would've made it this far without you. until next time; remember to never lose hope, and keelah se'lai.