It's been too long! FINALLY AND UPDATE! (more at the end I'll see ya then!)

Everything seemed back in order, well as much as it could. The next morning I contacted Bailey and explained everything that went down. Sure Lavia was dead; not exactly the way I'd pictured this cased turning out. Then again a lot of things hadn't gone as planned. Bailey had sighed but none the less said I'd done well and he was glad I was alright.

Now Thane, Kolyat, and I made our way back to Mordin's clinic to check on Mira and the other, now freed, prisoners that had checked in for medical treatment.

Upon entering, the salarian's assistant, Daniel, waved us over. "Mordin's in with Mira now, I'm just checking over the other survivors. You can go in if you want."

I thanked him before entering into the small windowless room, lit by dull yellow tinted ceiling lamps; the door hissing as we walked through.

"Vital signs gaining strength. Shows promise." the salarian looked up and smiled. "Will make a full recovery."

Nodding slightly I looked over at Mira who was sporting a good deal of bandages over her head; the faint tint of blood was visible. Her face was bruised slightly, it stood out deeply from her seemingly paler face.

"You came." her voice was faint; light yet raspy.

A ghost of a smile hinted at my lips. "I told you I would." I looked back at Kolyat and Thane. "They would."

"Lavia.. she is dead?"

I nodded. "And never coming back."

The young drell smiled slightly, her gazed seemed distant and I guessed she was probably lost in a memory. After a few beats she closed her eyes tightly. "So many memories..." when her eyes reopened she looked towards Thane and Kolyat. "Eidetic memory can be such a burden."

"That it can." Thane agreed.

Kolyat huffed. "You can say that again."

"I can't even imagine having to remember all of this perfectly for the rest of my life." I said. Even with my imperfect memory I'm going to have a hard time forgetting this place.

Mira sighed. "You learn to live with it, move on." she smiled almost bitterly. "Try not to dwell on the whole 'getting shot in the head' thing."

"What will you do now that you're free?" I asked. "Will you go back to Belan?"

Mira seemed to think for a moment as Mordin shuffled through some things on the table; singing under his breath as he did so; something about 'I study species turian, asari, and baterian' if I heard correctly.

"I don't know, maybe I'll head to the Citadel; start over." she tried to shrug but winced. "Just put as much space between me and Omega as possible."

I couldn't argue with that; if I never had to see this station again I could die happy. "Maybe I'll see you there." I turned to Mordin. "You got any paper?"

The salarian looked up, nodded slightly and handed over a sheet of thin paper. I grabbed a pen off the desk and scribbled down my Comm and Extranet addresses. "Keep in touch." I handed it to her. "I wanna know how you're holding up. If you need anything, I'm in Zakera Ward."

Mira smiled. "I will, and Thank you, for everything. You're a good friend."

Something warm spread it's way into my chest at her words. No one had ever said that to me.

I was a good friend?

"Stay safe, Mira." I smiled.

My young drell friend gave a weak thumbs up. "Will do, Tech. Same goes for you."

"I'll try." I smirked and clapped Kolyat on the shoulder. "I don't think this one can take any more excitement like that for a while."

Kolyat huffed.

After all the goodbyes had been said, and I was sure Mira was going to be ok, (Mordin assured me again and again she was) we headed back out to the main room where Daniel was tending to the other ex-slaves.

Slowly I made my way over, taking them all in: all together there were about 25 of them, and those were just the ones that had opted to come with us. Others had struck out on their own, maybe to find family around the station.

The group consisted of four anorexic looking human woman; two had their hair shaved off like mine; the other two sported long wavy curls, now dulled and matted; both however had lost their sheen and looked as though they hadn't showered properly in weeks, if not more.

Next to them were 3 drell woman, one with bright orange scales, another teal like Kolyat but with different markings along her face; almost like human freckles. But the last I found to be quite stunning; deep coloured scales, I couldn't tell if they were blue or purple; maybe both. But her eyes, those were what drew me in; I'd seen golden eyes like that before, when I died; they reminded me of Irikah's. It was almost eerie...

They all talked among themselves but cast gazed over at us before lapsing back into hushed conversation.

Across the room from them were 5 turian females, each sporting different clan face markings; the clothes they had been forced into hung off their lithe bodies terribly; they definitely hadn't been intended for turian bodies.

Near them sat four baterian women, each seemed grouchier than the last; I couldn't blame them. Their eyes, all four of them, seemed dull. Their skin pulled taunt over unhealthy faces. They seemed wary of everyone around them.

Against the far wall in their own group was 7 asari, all in varying shades of blue or purple, varying tattoos made them discernible. They talked among themselves and behind them I spotted 2 salarian women, I supposed; salarians mostly look the same, no matter the gender; aside for colouration.

As my mind tried to wrap around this group of unfortunates in front of me, I hardly realized the deep purple drell with the golden eyes walk over to us. She stopped in front of Kolyat.

"You came before, as a buyer." she said, her voice was higher than any drell I had heard before. Even her accent was different, I likened it to the middle eastern dialects of Earth.

"I was looking for someone," Kolyat revealed, his arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me over to him. I wondered vaguely if they spoke the same language... what drell language even sounded like without a translator.

The drell woman regarded me. "You're the human who fell through the vent when they were taking Liala away."

I nodded assuming Liala was the albino drell I'd seen that night, bought by the turian. "I came from C-SEC to shut Lavia down."

"We are all in your debt." she inclined her head. "Thank you for freeing us."

I broke away from Kolyat and laid a hand on her shoulder, a lopsided grin on my face. "Glad I could help."

She smiled slightly as a few more of the survivors gathered around.

"If it hadn't been for your intervention," a deep purple asari said quietly. "Well, I don't even want to think of what would have happened."

"We won't forget this, any of us." one of the turian female said.

I noticed one of the baterian women come closer, cautiously until she was in front of me. "I never thought I would have anything kind to say about a human," she started. "But you've made me think twice. Thank you."

I nodded slightly, surprised by her words. In response she smiled slightly before returning to her seat.

Someone tapped my shoulder and made me turn round; it was Daniel. "Mordin told me to tell you not to worry, they'll all make it. He's giving them nutritional supplements to combat the malnourishment. Most will be OK to leave by tomorrow." I nodded slightly and thanked him. "He also wanted me to give you this;" he handed me a bottle. "Said he thought you'd need it."

I turned the bottle over in my hand and read the label; Sirta scalp nourisher; Grow long and strong hair in triple the time!

"Funny, Mordin." I mumbled. "Thanks, Danny."

The assistant nodded and walked back to the main desk.

For the next few minutes we stayed and talked with a few more of the survivors. It seemed they'd all grown extremely close within their own groups. I wished the best for them, no one deserved this.

The three of us opted to head back to the hotel room; Kolyat seemed uneasy the whole time we were at the clinic, he relaxed only slightly on the way back.

As much as I wanted to celebrate this achievement, all the women we had freed; I couldn't stop thinking about the drell, Liala. I hadn't been able to save her; I hadn't been cautious enough and she had been taken. God only knows where she was now.

The feeling of melancholy seemed to haunt me.

"It's good to know they'll all recover." Thane said to my left. "You seem troubled however."

Was it that obvious? "I'm fine, Sere." I could hear the lie in my own voice and almost feel Kolyat's concerned expression I was sure he was now sporting, even without looking at him.

No one said anything until we arrived outside the hotel and a turian in Blue Suns armor stopped us. "Hey you. Aria wants to speak with you."

I looked up and cocked an eyebrow lazily. "Later, not really in the mood right now."

For a moment the turian looked taken aback, obviously this was not a response he was used to getting when he told someone Aria wanted to see them.

"It's not smart to keep her waiting-" he tried but I cut him short.

Today was not the day. "You know what else is not smart? Pursuing the subject, I am not in the mood!"

I didn't even stop to wait for a response before retreating into the shitty excuse for a hotel; the grumpy baterian watched me boredly as I entered and thumped the elevator button repeatedly.

"Elevators out, stairs are through the door." he growled.

Perfect.

Once inside the room I dropped the bottle of shampoo in the bathroom and flopped down on the bed and sighed loudly. Kolyat shuffled awkwardly near the door. "You ok?" he tried softly.

I didn't look at him, nor did I remove the hand that I had cast over my eyes. "Fine."

"Don't give me that. I know something is bothering you."

Damn Kolyat and his persistent nature. "Fine." I growled. "The drell, Liala, she mentioned. She was in the process of being bought by some asshole turian when the duct gave way and I fell. If I hadn't fucked up, if I had been more cautious... I could have saved her." I confessed.

Truthfully, as much as I may try to hide it behind my tough girl exterior, some things really bothered me and I had regrets regrets that hung over me like a wet blanket and lurked persistently in my idle mind. Liala could be several hundred light years away now and subjugated to god knows what because of my mistake.

Kolyat sat on the edge of the bed looking me over with a concerned expression on his features. "That's not your fault."

I half laughed sarcastically. "Bullshit."

"No, don't. You couldn't have known." He tried.

My eyes snapped open and I sat up. "I should have! When I was a kid, crawling through ducts was second nature to me. I should have taken into account that I'm not seven anymore! I thought I could do this all by myself and she paid for it." I snapped. "That's on me."

I didn't wait for his reply, honestly I didn't feel like accepting any of whatever comfort he might try to give; quickly getting up I headed to the bathroom, locked the door and flipped on the shower.

Thoughts were running amuck in my head and it was starting to ache; add that to the nauseous feeling that was hammering it's way into my gut.

I went to run my fingers through my hair only to growl in frustration when I was reminded I had little to none now. My eyes wandered to the bottle of shampoo that Daniel had given me from the clinic. Grabbing it angrily I slid into the too hot water and let it do its thing.

The feelings that now consumed me were new, something I didn't expect. At my time with C-Sec I had seen many different things that 'citizens' didn't have to. Murder scenes, I'd been to a few; mostly for hacking encrypted terminals and consoles. But something about these captured women had hit strong within me. How many had been sold before our intervention? It was so... Barbaric.

I popped the top of the shampoo container, the shower filled with the smell of some fruit I couldn't place. Pouring some in my hand I frowned; it had the consistency of mud and the look of phlegm.

Hell, at least it smelled good. I slapped some on my head and sat back for the recommended 10 minutes the instructions listed.

Sometime around fifty minutes later I emerged bringing with me a wave of steam that floated out of the bathroom and dissipated quickly. I looked around expecting to see Kolyat laid out on the bed or sitting watching a vid but the room was empty.

Quickly I threw on some street clothes and headed across the hall to Thane's room. "Hey, Thane, is Kolyat in there?" I asked through the door while knocking; no answer. "Sere?" Nothing.

They left me. Huh, well isn't that just a fine how do you do.

I decided to head down to Afterlife and get that over with. As I exited the building I turned to the Baterian who was behind the counter still regarding me boredly. "Did the two drell I was with leave?"

He grunted and nodded, "About forty minutes ago."

"Did they say where they were going?"

The baterian scowled. "No. Do I look like I'd give a shit."

This guy is such a pain in the ass.

"Somebody likes their job." I muttered under my breath but just loud enough for him to hear me before exiting the building.

The walk to Afterlife was filled with druggies trying to sell me goods and Asari prostitutes trying to talk me into 'Embracing Eternity', like hell; that crap weirded me out. God I want off this rock, Citadel druggies I could deal with; the guys here were a whole other breed.

The bouncer at the door let me slide in ahead or everyone again, much to the disdain of the line, many of which I think I remembered seeing the first time around. Even in the long hall that lead to the main club the lights and dull thud of the bass was giving me a headache; it forced itself in your body as if you take over as your heartbeat.

As the doors slid apart I looked up at the raised platform that held the 'dancers'; I'd noticed Kolyat giving them more than a brief glance over the first time we were here.

I watched for a few moments as one did some sort of sliding backwards while spinning trick, I wasn't sure all the mechanizations of it, all I knew was that it would break my spine.

I walked past the bar making a mental note to have at least one drink before leaving and headed up the stairs to Aria's personal area.

"You wanted to see me?" I commented, the Asari's eyes felt like they were boring a hole through me.

She motioned for me to take a seat, which was unexpected; I complied and slid onto the couch as far from her as I could.

"You've been causing quite a stir round here." she started, her voice was clipped and not amused.

Her head turned as she looked me over again. "You managed to take down the entire operation; and put a bullet in A'teria's brain."

"Does that mean something to you?" I questioned.

Aria narrowed her eyes at me. "This is my station, what happens here... is my business." she responded curtly. "But that's not the reason I called you here."

"Then what was?" I wondered aloud.

Aria uncrossed her legs and leaned back. "I called you here because I have a proposition for you."

This piqued my interest. "What kind of proposition?" What would Aria want from me?

"While you were out doing your 'investigation' I have a few of my guys run checks on you." she leaned forward. "If your hacking skills are half as good as what they tell me, it would be in my interest to keep you around."

My eyes widened slightly. Now this was something I definitely hadn't expected. "You want me to work for you?" I was completely baffled and at a loss.

"As of late there has been certain, information, that has been slipping the net. I need someone who not only can monitor the data flow but hack through nearly any terminal I need." she cast a look at the two armed baterian's on the landing below. "People with skills like that are difficult to find."

In my head I was trying to assess this new development quickly. Could I really accept? Was that even an option? Working for Aria? Living on Omega? This was the first time I'd actually been off the Citadel, I couldn't abandon it. Could I?

"I appreciate the offer, but my place is with C-SEC." The Citadel was my only home, I couldn't leave it.

Aria shrugged dismissively. "If you ever change your mind... you know where to find me."

Well at least she took it well...

On my way to the bar my omni-tool pinged, I could barely hear it over the bass: and quickly I hurried out into the street before answering.

Kolyat.

"Tech, where are you?" His worry filled voice rasped into my ear piece.

I rolled my eyes. "I went to talk with Aria, you both were gone so I didn't bother waiting."

A sigh hissed through my ear piece. "Well meet us back at the hotel."

"Shhhh... your... shhhh breaking up... shhhh..." I tried my hardest not to laugh. "shhhhhh"

In my head I could almost see Kolyat's 'less than amused' expression. "Tech! Just get back here, I don't want to have to rescue your ass again."

"Forever your damsel in distress, Koly." I cooed before hanging up.

Guess that drink I promised myself would have to wait, I thought as I headed out of the Gozu district.

The same hookers were in their respectable spots; the insane baterian was still preaching about the end being neigh and still called me a blight as I passed. Asshole. Do people go to sleep?

I passed the commercial hub and entertained the thought of buying Kolyat something. As I passed a small shabby store I stopped and approached the counter; an elcor greeted me.

"With barely contained excitement: Welcome to Omega Mementos, we sell all matter of items to commemorate your visit to Omega."

"You don't get many visitors do you?" I questioned as I eyed the kiosk.

The elcor looked down, at least I think it did. "Lugubriously: The shop does not see many patrons. Please feel free to browse the kiosk."

I nodded in response and shifted though the line of merchandise. Cups, model ships, wow they even have snow globes. However I thought it would be funnier to get Kolyat something he could wear so I settled on a t-shirt that read "BLUE SUN IN TRAINING" over a picture of their logo.

I think that had a less chance of getting me killed then the one with Aria's displeased face on it that read; "I KISSED AN ASARI AND LIKED IT"

"Happily: Thank you for your purchase, come back soon."

I gave a two fingered salute to the elcor as he handed me my shirt before I took off vowing to get a picture of my stoic drell in this shirt.

When I arrived in the lobby the baterian grunted at me; what does he sleep in this place, dear god go home or something.

"Your boyfriend wants you ASAP. He was asking where you went. Do I look like a VI to you people?"

I boredly stared at him. "No, a VI doesn't bitch as much."

He narrowed his eyes and growled. Away I fly! … Before he throws a chair at me or something.

Up on our floor I slid the key card into my door and it popped open with a beep, it didn't surprise me to find Kolyat waiting impatiently for me.

"Hey Kol." I waved slightly as the door shut behind me.

Quickly he stubbed out his cigarette as his dark eyes looked me over. "I have good news for you." he waved me towards him. "You know that drell woman you were talking about, Liala, well we found her."

My eyes widened. "You bat shit crazy drell... She's still on the station?" I questioned. Honestly I couldn't believe it.

Kolyat shook his head. "No, the turian caught a shuttle to Illium, however, I told my father about it and he did what he does best; called in a few contacts, he said the bastard will be arrested right off the shuttle, the authorities will forward any inquiries to Bailey but father said they'd find enough evidence to convict him."

I made a sound between a shriek and a laugh as I promptly glomped him. "You are the best boyfriend ever." I mumbled into his chest.

When he laughed lowly I could feel it resonate through my entire body. "No, I'm not, but thanks." he ran his hand over my head and held me closer. "I just couldn't stand you beating yourself up."

"I usually don't make a habit of it; lately it seems though I've been doing a lot of things I never thought I would." I murmured. "Thank you."

Kolyat leaned away for a moment, a brief smile flitted across his lips before he leaned down and pressed them to mine. It was sweet and everything was said with just that simple gesture. Altogether it lasted a few seconds and was followed by a comfortable silence.

Kolyat spoke first and broke it, "What was it Aria wanted?" he asked as he released me.

I picked up his disregarded pack of smokes and helped myself to one. "It was funny really," I said, lighting up. "She gave me an opportunity to work for her."

Kolyat who had been shuffling through his clothes looked up, brow raised. "She wanted you to what?"

"Crazy innit? Wasn't what I expected at all." Smoke laced my words as I spoke; Kolyat eyed me, taking in this development.

He seemed to hesitate. "Did you accept?"

"Hell yeah, think about it; You and me, living like outlaws on this dodgy rock!" I said with finesse. Kolyat's eyes widened; the criminal life was not for him. "That was a joke, dumbass. I can't up and leave the citadel."

He relaxed slightly. "Goddess of Oceans, Tech. Why do you fuck me around like that?" his eyes darted to the shirt I'd left on the bed and he frowned slightly. "What's that?"

I bit my lip and smiled; trying (and failing) not to look like an evil elf. "I got you a present. You know a little souvenir of our time on Omega."

He grabbed the shirt up and sighed exasperatedly. "Couldn't you just have bought me some dances at Afterlife?" the corner of his mouth ticked up.

I contemplated putting my cigarette out on his arm but decided to settle on simply using my words. "And ruin your innocent virgin mind? I think not."

He rolled his eyes at me as he unfolded the shirt. "Oh this is a joke..." his eyes settled back on me as he flipped the shirt around. "Blue sun in training? I'm not wearing this."

My face adapted the saddest look I could muster. "But I bought it just for you..."

"Don't, don't do that." his brow cocked up accusingly.

One way or another I was going to get him to put it on and there would be pictures. "Kolyat, please... just wear it tonight." I tried. "You don't have to walk round the street with it on."

"Yeah, I'd probably be shot." he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back slightly. "You can't be serious."

I frowned. "Just put the damn thing on."

Even from across the room I could swear I heard a low growl of irritation resonate from his throat. But surprisingly he pulled the loose fitting shirt he was wearing over his head and threw it on the bed.

Subconsciously I bit my lip; damn he had a nice body. Unfortunately, Kolyat caught this and raised a brow as a smug smile took over his lips. "Sure you want me to put this on?" he dangled the shirt in front of him. "Or do you just want to admire the view?"

Well damn, that certainly was proving a difficult decision. I did love all the red areas that seemed to highlight his already pretty defined body even more...

"Put the damn shirt on." for my sanity you damn drell.

Not sure if he rolled his eyes or not, from this distance it was hard to tell but he did put the shirt on all the same.

The smirk that crept upon my lips was something I couldn't hold back. Don't get me wrong, the shirt looked good on him; meaning it was nearly skin tight and left little to the imagination.

"It's too small." he complained; arms crossed over his chest.

Before I could reply a knock made me turn. "Hold that thought, Koly."

I smacked the panel and the door slid open. "Hey, Thane." he inclined his head slightly and I moved to allow him entry.

"Good Evening, Tech." he smiled. "I assume Kolyat has already informed you of the good news." his brow raised slightly as he noticed Kolyat.

Kolyat beat him to any remarks he might have had. "Don't... don't say anything."

"Charming as ever." I joked. "Yeah he told me. Thanks for that, Sere." I gave him a quick one armed hug, didn't want to over do it by glomping his ass.

He reciprocated the gesture and smiled. "No thanks are necessary." his eyes flitted to Kolyat. "And you needn't worry, the shirt looks... very flattering."

Even from here it was hard to miss the how dark his cheeks grew. "Very flattering." I agreed with a quick wink.

"It's too small..." he rebooted his earlier complaint.

I looked him up and down. "No tighter than that body suit getup you usually wear. Seriously do you guys both shop at the same store?"

Even Thane couldn't hide his amused smirk. "His suit used to be mine when I was his age." he answered so Kolyat didn't have to. "Though blue was never my colour."

"Yeah, doesn't compliment your shade of green..." I said seriously, Kolyat made an intelligible sound. "Shut up, it looks fine on you, your not green you twit."

You know, Kolyat has some of the best facial expressions known to galactic kind. As of now he was halfway between a scowl and amusement. "Whatever."

"On another topic, I wanted to let you both know I booked passage back to the Citadel, we'll be leaving tomorrow afternoon."

Kolyat grunted in acknowledgement.

"Good, I've had enough of this station to last a lifetime." I stated. "Or I guess two in my case."

"Don't remind me." Kolyat interjected.

Thane inclined his head slightly. "I'll allow you two to bicker in privacy." his voice held a hint of amusement. "I'll see you both in the morning."

The door hissed closed behind him and I heard Kolyat fall down onto the bed with a sigh. "Never thought I'd be missing the Citadel." he said lowly.

"Well compared to this place it seems like the most wonderful place in the galaxy. I know I'll be happy to never see that grouchy baterian again." I said while gathering up an old tee and a pair of loose pants for sleeping. "Put a movie on or something." I instructed as I headed to the bathroom. "And no porn."

Before I closed the door I heard him groan and mutter, "Fine..."

...

The incessant beeping of my omni-tool woke me from a peaceful sleep, I didn't open my eyes right away, my half asleep mind not really grasping the concept that I'd have to turn the damn thing off eventually.

"Shut that thing up..." a low raspy voice groaned near my ear.

I frowned grouchily as I opened my eyes and tapped off the alarm feature; the orange glow vanishing from around my left wrist.

"That movie sucked..." the voice groaned again, more awake this time.
My arm jerked and elbowed my surly bed companion. "Harry Potter is a classic; still has a huge cult following."

"Good to know there's a cult of child wizard loving crazies out there." He grunted.

I rolled over and glared at him as he rearranged his pillow in some hope of going back to sleep. "He gets older." I argued.

"Well shit I'd hope so, needs to get laid if you ask me..." he yawned closing his eyes again.

"I could say the same about you." I retorted with barely contained laughter.

His eyes flew open as I hopped out of bed and rounded up some cloths. "Get up, we have a shuttle to catch."

"Tease..." A pillow slammed into me and I nearly fell into my bag. I rounded on him as he laughed on the bed.

Quickly I grabbed one of my boots and whipped it in his direction, it hit him squarely in the chest.

"The fuck?!"

I shuffled to the bathroom without looking back. "It's too early to fight with me..."

In the bathroom my reflection caught my attention and I couldn't help but stare. Mirrors are evil that way.

The shampoo was apparently working, an inch or so of growth had appeared; I'd take that as a good sign. I just needed some black hair dye and the whole thing would be better.

The dark circles had deepened, or maybe it was just me, and my forehead was bruised slightly; I didn't want to count the ones I had elsewhere.

The melancholy feeling tried to push its way back into my mind but I pushed it away as best I could.

Suck it up, Tech.

I exited the bathroom in a haze of steam, after my quick in-out shower, Kolyat was dressed but still laid back in the bed, both eyes closed.

Wait... was he was sleeping? I couldn't help but smile when I noticed what he was wearing. Were those jeans and the shirt I'd bought him?

In the time I'd know him, mind you it hasn't been that long, but I have never seen him in jeans.

This called for pictures. My omni-tool would have to suffice since I didn't have my old school camera on me.

The orange glow encased my forearm as I loaded up the camera app and snapped at least 10 shots from various angles.

"The things I do for you."

My eyes snapped up from the screen and to the now smirking alien on the bed. "Bastard."

"If I get shot on the way to the shuttle depot it's on you."

We met up with Thane in the lobby 30 minutes later, after saying farewell to the ever friendly baterian, who grunted and scowled after I told him how much of a pleasure he'd been, we headed towards the space port to finally be off this rock. Thane had smirked lightly upon seeing his son's shirt. Even though Kolyat still opted to wear his trademarked 'assassin' jacket over it, it still didn't hide the shirt very well.

As a plus he wasn't shot at even once. So it was a pretty easy walk to the space port.

I never realized how dodgy commercial space transports were. Seriously. After riding here on the Normandy I felt like the hull on this shit boat was going to beach any moment and everyone was going to be spaced. The creaks and groans did little to make me feel any better. Don't even get me started on the horrible noises it made when we hit the mass relay. If I never have to leave the Citadel ever again I would die a very happy camper.

Thane would be staying on the Citadel along with us; he apparently was going to Huerta Memorial to see some specialist when we got back. I'd never thought much of his disease before but while we were speaking on the transport I suddenly started feeling very worried. What if Kolyat contracted it?

"Isn't there anything that can be done?" I grasped at hope.

Thane shook his head slightly. "The Hanar are working towards adapting-"

"Yeah, I know but I mean they only just started, right? Why didn't they get on this project sooner? Get some salarians on it."

A thin smile creased the elder drells lips. "The drell are so rare a disease that affects only us is hardly enough to concern the salarians."

"That's bullshit." I growled. "Just because there aren't that many of you doesn't make you any less important then any other race."

Kolyat laughed darkly. "Haven't you noticed most of the people staring in here? Most people have never even seen a drell. No one gives a fuck about Keprals."

That is such crap. "So there is nothing that can be done?"

"With a healthy lifestyle it can be delayed for a few years, though, my allotted time as come and gone." his voice faded off as he looked towards Kolyat who was staring intently at the floor, his face set defiantly.

I put my arm around him and allowed him to lean his head against my shoulder.

Somehow I managed to fall asleep, not sure how on this rickety pile of crap that someone classified as a shuttle, but I did. But by the time I woke up we were already docked at the Citadel.

When we disembarked I couldn't help but smile and take a deep breath; no place like home, right?

Now, I'd like to say things went back to normal after this whole investigation, well as normal as things could be lately but true to the flow so far, things were shifting; changing.

Thane didn't speak much about his Doctor visit, Kolyat didn't say much either. I know the whole thing was hurting him but he was trying to keep it all together. I wasn't sure how to help him; the whole situation frustrated me.

Oh and Bailey has been acting on edge lately. I'm not sure what to make of it, however his Inbox contained correspondence with Councilor Udina with references to an investigation into the current C-SEC executor. That couldn't be anything good.

On top of all that Fak had received another huge shipment request; exactly like the first.

What the hell is going on?

Gah! It's been too long! It's been an interesting time around here, I'd been studying for my GED test (Which I just found out I passed!) That's been crazy. I started this chapter right after the last one and only just now got on to finishing it. Jeez it was like every time I started writing I'd just go blank.

I really hope to get another one out in a speedy manner I really do, I have so many cool ass ideas for the future of this, I just have to get there! However the next few are going to be mostly filler chapters, no earth shaking investigations or near deaths. I have a 6 month gap to account for between the games before the reaper war kicks off (Thats where shits going to get real) so hoping y'all bear with me for it! Thanks for reading and sorry for keeping you all waiting!