A/N: Reviews:

Guest: The pacing of this story has come up a few times as a concern. Now that all of the pieces are in play so to speak, it should pick up a bit from the next chapter hopefully. Thank you for your time and encouragement, I really appreciate it!

Chapter 13: Discovery

Shaela stood in silence, staring at the wall opposite her. It had been three days since the fight between Rassen and the Sith. Three days since she had intervened and saved her friend's life. Rassen was receiving medical attention right now, yet she didn't feel happy.

Truthfully Shaela didn't know exactly how to feel.

When Rassen had passed out in front of her, she had been terrified. They had gone through so much together in the time that they had known one another. The idea that her friend could be dying right in front of her had frightened her more than anything else in her life had. The message that she had sent before he had lost consciousness had been to a clinic that she had visited due to an infection not long after she had first arrived on Omega. The station had no hospitals, so this was the best that she could do.

She also felt anger.

The Sith, whatever his name was, had nearly killed Rassen. If what she had seen and if what the doctors had told her was right, then in addition to his other injuries, the Jedi had been subjected to prolonged asphyxiation. The Sith had hurt him badly. More than that though, the monster had been content to draw it out, he had found pleasure in hurting Rassen.

Then there was betrayal.

Shaela understood what Rassen had been trying to do. He had left her behind so that he could fight the Sith on his own, ensuring that she wouldn't be anywhere near the confrontation. She also understood that if she hadn't caught him off-guard, if the Sith hadn't been badly injured from fighting Rassen, then she would be dead right now. Several days later, Shaela still found herself shuddering as she remembered the sensation of helplessness as she was pulled along the ground by the Sith, the scarlet blade in his hand drawing closer and closer. How he had raised his lightsaber to cut her in two as she had lain there unable to move due to his powers. Now she understood far better than she had when Rassen had tried to explain to her that Sith were powerful and extremely dangerous. The first-hand experience had been terrifying.

But a large part of her resented that she had been left behind.

Rassen had gone to fight alone, knowing full well that he could be seriously injured, possibly even killed. He had used the Force to make her stay behind even though she had wanted to help. Perhaps she wouldn't have been able to do anything. Perhaps she would have died fighting the Sith. As much as she had agreed to Rassen's condition that she not be involved in the fight itself, ultimately when the time arrived she couldn't stand the thought of him going alone. She had wanted to help him the way that he had helped her in that corridor so many weeks ago.

She had been scared and angry when Rassen's suggestion had worn off soon after he had left her in their shared apartment. Even though she understood why he had done it, she knew that she should feel furious with him. Keelah, she wanted to be angry with him as much as she did the Sith for doing that to her and going to fight the latter on his own.

Yet try as she might, Shaela couldn't find it within herself to be angry at Rassen. Betrayed yes, but not angry.

Within only a few minutes of her sending a message via her omni-tool, two of the staff from the clinic had arrived on the scene, placed Rassen onto a stretcher and then taken him to the clinic itself. She had hurried alongside, eyes fixed on the human's mask as he took slow, shallow breaths. Once they had arrived and reached the reception area, she had been prevented from following the stretcher any further, a doctor quickly explaining that they had to examine Rassen without any interruptions. She had paced anxiously outside the door, wheeling round to face it whenever a staff member came out, until finally after what seemed like years, the same doctor had emerged.

The doctor's report had caused her stomach to turn unpleasantly after he had asked if she wanted to hear about the extent of Rassen's injuries or not. She had told him that she wanted the truth. "He's suffered serious electrical burns of some kind across much of his body," the human physician had begun. "There is also a severe burn across one knee which has destroyed much of the flesh in that area and he is also showing signs associated with asphyxiation. Finally, he has a concussion, though that at least is mild."

As much as part of her hadn't wanted to know the answer, Shaela had asked him if a full recovery was possible. The doctor had sighed unhappily before glancing back in the direction that he had come from and then back to her.

"Much of that depends on him. Modern medical science is a wondrous thing, but some degree of physiotherapy may be necessary. Certainly there will be some significant scarring."

She had then asked if Rassen was permitted guests, to which she had been told that due to how the doctor and his staff were still unsure about what had caused him to almost suffocate to death, they were currently monitoring Rassen closely and thought it safest to keep him isolated until he woke up. As she had tried to protest, the doctor had calmly said that as soon as Rassen was awake and stable, they would tell him that she was waiting to see him. Shaela had nodded thankfully and then found herself a seat in the reception area. It wouldn't be long, she had told herself. She had seen Rassen do things that she would never had considered possible before meeting him. He would be awake and healthy in no time.

Three days later and she was still waiting.

Shaela turned away from the wall, having found nothing of interest from staring at it. That wasn't surprising; she had found herself examining it on several occasions over the past few days, while she waited for news. The doctor, whose name she had later learned was Daniel Abrams, had learned to expect her to ambush him at every opportunity by the end of the first day and so had taken to telling her what the situation was every time that he passed through the reception. Though Rassen's injuries were healing courtesy of the clinic's efforts, there was no indication as to when he would wake up as of yet.

"You really should try and get some sleep, dear. These things often take time."

Shaela tiredly turned to face the speaker, whom she recognised as one of the receptionists. The red-haired human woman with the kind face had occasionally tried to convince her to try and rest, even saying that she could stay in the reception if she really wanted to. Shaela appreciated the gesture, but seriously doubted that she could. Her mind was constantly racing, and the Sith was still out there somewhere. If he had been willing to come to a new galaxy, then she doubted that the injuries he had suffered would deter him forever. She was just hoping that Rassen would recover first.

Despite her best efforts, she couldn't suppress a yawn as she replied. "I know, but I'm just worried that something will happen while I'm asleep."

The woman smiled at her gently. "I'll wake you up if anything happens in the meantime. I'm sure that he's doing well, he seems like a fighter."

Shaela blinked in surprise at the woman's statement. "Why do you think that?" She asked curiously.

"Well the armour and weapons were a pretty good indication. The fact that you've chosen to stay is what convinced me though."

Curiosity growing, Shaela asked what she meant.

"A lot of the time when someone is brought here, any friends or family head home. Often it's because they want to distract themselves from what's happened to someone they care about, but sometimes you can see in their eyes that they've resigned themselves. They really think that they're going to lose that person." The woman smiled that kind smile again. "I can see it whenever you pester Daniel about his condition; you haven't given up on him. That's why I think that he's a fighter."

Impressed, Shaela nodded to the woman behind the desk. "A fighter. That definitely sums him up pretty well, though I wish it didn't." She glanced away for a moment, before then looking back at the receptionist, who was waiting patiently. "Thank you," she admitted. "I needed to hear from someone else that he's going to be all right."

The human smiled again before pushing away from her desk and rising to her feet. "I'm not supposed to offer this," she began, "but I'm going to get myself something to drink from the staff room, would you like something?"

Shaela couldn't help smiling at the human's generosity. It was a pleasant reminder that not all aliens distrusted her because she was a quarian. "No thank you," she replied. "I'm fine for the moment."

The receptionist nodded, smiling that same friendly smile, before leaving the room as Shaela began slipping back into her thoughts. A second later however, the receptionist poked her head back around the door.

"I've just realised that I haven't introduced myself yet, sorry about that. I'm Jenna, dear and you are?"

"Shaela. Shaela'Tole nar Kilal."

"Well Shaela, he's very lucky to have someone like you looking out for him." Jenna winked at her before vanishing from sight. It took Shaela's frazzled mind a moment to realise what the human had not so subtly been implying.

Oh keelah, that's a whole other thing I have to worry about.

The sound of a door opening nearby caused Shaela to whip around as the by now familiar figure of Doctor Abrams stepped out, rubbing his brow with tiredness. Shaela hesitated before trying to get his attention; it had been a few hours since she had last seen him and the doctor appeared exhausted. As the human removed his hand from his face he happened to glance up in her direction, a smile overtaking his features. Shaela felt her tension drain away as he walked over to where she was standing before he began talking.

"It's the most remarkable thing; I just gave him a quick scan and noticed that he had suddenly started healing much faster of his own accord. Your friend is going to be fine, he's stable and awake though he still has a ways to go. He's been asking for you actually."

Rassen gently leaned against the wall closest to his bed and slowly stretched out his wounded leg. He had woken up only a few minutes ago to see a uniformed figure examining a series of files on his omni-tool. Upon noticing that he was awake, the man had quickly introduced himself as Doctor Daniel Abrams. The doctor had then explained that all of his injuries were healing, courtesy in large part to medi-gel, but even so the rate had sped up considerably in the last few hours and he was showing less scarring than would normally be expected. Rassen had muttered something about having advanced experimental medical treatment in the past. His quick recovery in reality was a result of having a close affinity with the Force and knowledge about how to use it to heal. A Jedi's body could repair itself surprisingly well compared with that of a non-Force user if the damage incurred wasn't life threatening. It appeared that the doctor and his staff had done enough for his instinctive abilities to kick in. He hadn't told Doctor Abrams that though, he doubted that the man would believe him.

The doctor had then explained that he was currently in a clinic on the same level of Omega as Afterlife, albeit a fair distance away from the night club. That made sense; Shaela had mentioned something about getting help before he had presumably passed out. Given that he was currently able to stand without too much pain, even if he was using the wall for support, he fully believed the doctor's claim that he had been unconscious for three days while being treated.

As if on cue, the door to his room slid open to reveal Shaela, who paused in the doorway, looking at him with wide eyes.

He isn't wearing his mask.

The thought raced through Shaela's mind as she stared at the human in front of her uncomprehendingly for a moment. It seemed so strange, almost wrong for Rassen not to be wearing his ever-present mask. He also wasn't wearing his armour or cloak, the dull-white plates and brown fabric lying neatly folded in a corner along with his weapons. Instead her friend was wearing the kind of simple white clothes often given to patients. Without the mask he just seemed so… normal.

Rassen was certainly well-built, but not quite as bulky as his armour had made him appear. He appeared built for speed as much as pure brute strength, with his baggy clothing hanging off of him just slightly. What really surprised Shaela though was his face. Rassen looked young, like he had told her he was, but she had imagined that all of the fights that he had been in would have resulted in him looking rough, worn and dangerous.

His appearance seemed relatively standard for his species, at least as far as her knowledge of humans went. Brown hair cut short, blue eyes and a layer of stubble that she guessed wasn't much more than a few days old. He certainly wasn't bad looking but still, she hadn't expected him to look as young and healthy as he did considering all that she had learned about him.

"You… you're, um… Rassen?" She asked, part of her mind being unable to grasp the fact that the man in front of her was the same one that she had spent a month living with, despite the obvious evidence that it was.

Rassen smirked slightly at her hesitation. "Yes," he said, clearly enjoying himself, "and you are Shaela."

Bosh'tet.

"I-I wasn't expecting you to not be wearing your mask. I've never seen you go without it, or your armour for that matter."

"Would you prefer that I put it back on? I don't want you to feel uncomfortable."

"I don-… no, no there's no need for that," Shaela stammered, thinking quickly about how she could change the subject before she said something embarrassing. "How are you awake and up already? After everything that happened I thought that you'd take much longer to recover."

"Force healing. Enough practise and it becomes something that a Jedi can do subconsciously. It's much slower than being conscious to direct the healing, but coupled with medi-gel, it seems that it has been enough for me to mostly recover. It would likely be a good idea to stay here until I am fully recovered though, the Force is certainly useful, but a professional opinion as to if there is any serious lasting damage would be of great benefit as well."

Shaela looked him and up and down carefully, searching for any obvious signs that he was over-exaggerating how much progress he had actually made. "Why are you leaning against the wall?" She asked, noticing that he had yet to move away from it.

The Jedi casually indicated his left knee. "As I said," he began, "I have mostly recovered. I expect that there will be some permanent scarring from the lightsaber wound," he paused for a moment, "and perhaps some from the lightning as well."

"Lightning?" Shaela asked confused. "What do you mean lightning? The doctor mentioned electrical burns, but lightning?"

"A Force attack. It's popular among some of the more well-trained Sith, it can be lethal and even when it isn't, it's rather painful." Rassen seemed to wince at the memory and Shaela stepped closer to him, again looking him over for any signs of damage.

"Where did he, um…"

Rassen indicated his torso. "It was directed into my chest," he explained, "but the area is a little ah, sensitive at the moment to changes in temperature. As much as I appreciate your concern, I'd prefer to keep my shirt on for now."

Shaela felt herself blush heavily and quickly changed the subject before Rassen could pick up on it. "So what happens now?" She asked awkwardly.

Rassen sighed guiltily, before glancing off to the side. "I wait until I'm fully healed and then go after him again." He turned to look back at her. "What are your plans?"

"You complete and utter bosh'tet."

"I'm sorry?"

"After everything that happened Rassen, you want to just go after him again on your own like the last few days were a bad dream?"

"What's the alternative?" Rassen asked and Shaela bit back her retort as she saw how sad he looked. "I still don't know why he came to this galaxy, Shaela. I know how, though I only have his word for it. Something tells me however that he wasn't lying, he seemed too smug about it." Rassen limped over to her and Shaela had to crane her head back to look up at him. "He could be planning anything right now Shaela and that scares me, terrifies me even." The Jedi turned away from her, running his hand through his hair before turning back. "You were there at the end. You saw what kind of person he is, someone has to stop him."

Shaela stepped so close to him that they were almost touching. "Maybe it doesn't have to be just one person."

Rassen looked at her in astonishment, eyes widening. "I made you stay behind," the Jedi began, "you tried to come with me even though I had told you how dangerous it would be. I understand why you wanted to, but I still took that decision away from you. Why are you still so determined to help me after I did that to you?"

Her mouth was dry as she croaked out her response. "Because you're my friend."

"Is that the only reason, Shaela?"

Shaela looked down at her feet. Was it the only reason? Quarians were a tight-knit species, they had to be. Would she be willing to go so far for a fellow quarian, even if was in part to make the galaxy a better place?

Shaela thought back to her conversation with Rissel several days ago. When she had mentioned Rassen, her younger sister had eagerly pressed for details, having never met a human before. Shaela had left out the Force, the Jedi and quite frankly everything regarding life from another galaxy. Those all seemed like things that were better told in person, ideally with some kind of demonstration to prove that you weren't mad. The first thing that she had told Rissel about Rassen had hinted at his abilities, though now she wandered if she had meant more by that sentence than she had first realised.

I made a friend, a very interesting friend.

"Rassen, I-"

The door opened suddenly and she quickly backed away from Rassen, feeling equal parts frustration and relief. Right now she wasn't sure whether she wanted to hug or shoot whoever had interrupted them.

As it turned out that someone was the doctor. "What do you think you're doing!" He demanded, looking in worry at Rassen. "I don't care how fast you heal; you'll make your injuries worse if you don't get enough rest. Please get back into the bed, sir!"

Rassen glanced at her curiously and Shaela felt her stomach do flips as the Jedi seemed to look through her. She hated it when he did that while wearing a mask and it was quickly turning out she hated it when he did it without one as well. Rassen then turned and nodded to the doctor before limping back to the bed and gently sitting on it before lying down. The doctor calmed visually at the sight before turning to her.

"As much as I appreciate your dedication to him miss, he needs rest. I've never seen a human heal as quickly as he is right now, but he's weaker than he's letting on. His recovery will be even faster if we give him some peace and quiet."

"Doctor, please let her stay for a little longer, there is something important that we need to discuss." Doctor Abrams looked like he was about to protest before Rassen spoke again.

"I wouldn't be asking if it wasn't serious, doctor. Please believe me when I say that."

"I… very well, I'll give you both ten minutes, but after that I really must insist."

Rassen smiled gratefully. "Thank you, doctor and thank you also for saving my life. Sometimes simply being able to heal quickly isn't enough on its own.

A few moments had passed since the doctor had left and Rassen stared at Shaela, carefully examining her as if he could physically see it. He couldn't of course, it wasn't something that could be detected by sight, but for some reason he still felt the urge to. Shaela looked almost exactly the same as she had when they had first met, the only real exception being how her enviro-suit hung slightly less off of her slim frame than before. Aria's money had made sure that she was no longer starving and was approaching a healthier weight; or rather what Rassen guessed was a more healthy weight for a quarian.

"What is it?" Shaela asked, clearly a little uncomfortable being under his scrutiny.

"I'm sorry about that, I'm just a little curious about a few things."

"Curious about what exactly?"

Rassen tilted his head at her. "How did you find me?" He asked finally, coming right out with the main question that he had.

"I… why does it matter? I found you in time, isn't that enough?"

Rassen smiled reassuringly at her. "I'm very grateful for that Shaela, but how did you know where I was? You knew that I was going after Zaressh, but I never told you which level of the station, nor did I mention where on that level I would be." He tilted his head at her again. "So how did you know where to go?"

"Who's Zaressh?"

"That's what the Sith called himself. He was much chattier than last time." Rassen glanced away in thought before looking back at the quarian. "That is a whole other matter though, what really confuses me is how you were able to find me when you hadn't the slightest idea where to begin."

Shaela seemed as puzzled as he was. "I don't know," the quarian admitted thoughtfully. "I just felt that I had to find you and ran as fast as I could once I was able. I didn't have time to think about it."

Rassen looked away from her in thought again. So that was it then. He kicked himself mentally for not noticing it sooner. In retrospect, it had been obvious, the signs had been there, but he had been too wrapped up in worrying about what Zaressh could be up to and adjusting to a whole new galaxy to notice it.

Shaela'Tole nar Kilal was Force sensitive. That was the only explanation.

There had been so many moments since they had met where the events that had transpired could have fallen under simple coincidence. When you stepped back to see the full picture though, it seemed implausible that just so much could have happened in the way that it had through chance alone.

The fight in the market was the first example. He had knocked Shaela to the ground and dispatched most of their attackers, only to be nearly killed himself. Shaela had saved him by shooting the final attacker with one perfectly aimed round. The obvious reason behind the action was that she hadn't wanted him to die and had reacted instinctively. Nonetheless although she had some small amount of training, the quarian had never had to kill someone before, yet she had managed to do so perfectly on that first occasion, even though she still hated herself for it.

Then she had chosen to try and help him even though he had explained that it would be immensely dangerous. Rassen had simply chalked that up to the reason that Shaela had given; she wanted to make her galaxy a better place. Indeed, if that had been the only occasion that she had made that commitment and she had later told him that she wanted them to part ways (perhaps as a result of seeing Zaressh first hand) he would have completely understood. Yet even after he had used the Force against her and she had faced off against the Sith, she had decided to stay and try to help him, determined to face the danger that she knew lay in her future if she did so.

Then there was the Force persuasion itself.

Rassen normally would have considered this one a fault on his part. If the batarians that he had encountered on his first day on Omega had been any indication, then as he had thought at the time, he needed to try and improve his ability to persuade others through the Force. However, when he had encountered that first group again it had been several hours after he had first met them. The manipulation had worked perfectly when he had needed it to, presumably holding for a while afterwards even and against seven targets at once on top of that. He had also managed to convince the vorcha and Aria's elcor bouncer successfully, the first to change an entire aspect of its life (though he didn't know how long that suggestion had held) and the latter to allow him into its boss' headquarters. In order for Shaela to find him successfully, she must have shaken off the effects of his persuasion very quickly, the quarian being able to gather her wits enough to run after him in just minutes.

Finally of course there was the fight itself.

Shaela had managed to find him with no idea as to where he could be on the station in record time. She had also managed to catch Zaressh off-guard and severely injured his shoulder. The Sith had of course been wounded, but plenty of soldiers from both the Republic and the Empire alike had learned the hard way that it was almost impossible to launch a successful surprise attack against a wounded Force user.

Shaela was untrained and had no idea that she possessed the ability to wield the Force as a Jedi or a Sith could. Truthfully while he could feel the Force in this galaxy, Rassen had simply put that down to the Force being generated by all life. Where there was life there was also the Force. He hadn't considered the possibility that some of its inhabitants would be able to wield it, but of course with hindsight it seemed obvious that it was a least a possibility. Perhaps there had been some who possessed the ability to use the Force centuries ago, millennia even. The gift had just never been discovered and taught the way that it had been back in his galaxy.

Rassen glanced back to Shaela, who had been watching him in puzzlement. Taking a deep breath, the Jedi moved his legs over to the side so that a corner of the bed was available. He gestured to it and Shaela stepped forward hesitantly, her silver eyes meeting his in confusion.

"What do you remember of our conversation that night where I first stayed in your apartment?"

The quarian sat down slowly before answering. "You explained to me about the Force and how you used it to heal me. You also mentioned the Jedi and the Sith among other things."

Rassen felt himself grin. "Excellent memory as usual, Shaela. What did I say about the Force specifically?"

Shaela's eyes narrowed in concentration. "You said that life is responsible for the Force and that it is responsible for life. When I asked if it was possible for me to learn how to use it, you said that it was very unlikely, though not impossible."

Rassen stared at her silently, smirking just slightly. He could practically see Shaela's jaw drop as she realised what he was getting at. The quarian shook her head in denial as though she couldn't quite believe it.

"But I don't… I mean how is that possible? You're from another galaxy and you've fought in a war and seen things that I can't even imagine. I'm just… me."

Rassen let his smirk slip away as he gently placed a hand on the quarian's shoulder. "That," he said seriously, "is all you need to be."