Disclaimer: I don't own the Mass Effect universe or Bioware.

«4.02: The Citadel: Upper Wards: Wards Access Corridor»

«or Old, Unhappy, Far-Off Things»

Shepard and Ashley exited the elevator in complete silence. They did not want to talk to each other. Not at the moment at least. They were thinking of other things. Ashley, about her current predicament. Shepard, about what Ashley had told him before. About how he didn't really care about other people. In a way, it was true. He didn't really care about his teammates. They were just that: his team. Like before, he just saw faces, not lives, not personalities. Just faces.

Shepard scratched his head. Was it true? Shepard wasn't really sure, himself.

He suddenly smelled a massive amount of alcohol from somewhere.

"Hey there," said the filthy man. "Long time no see."

Shepard looked over and saw the filthy looking man. He was slumped on the ground, covered in the smell of decay. Dirt and grime covered his features so much, Shepard had a hard time discerning a face of any kind. A scruffy beard covered the lower half of his face, mixing in with the grime and dirt. In short, this man looked quite disgusting.

"Do I know you?" Shepard asked, not really caring. The man laughed.

"Well, I guess you wouldn't remember me," the man said, chuckling. "You were only 13 years old when we plucked you off Mindoir. Name's Ernesto Zabaleta. Was a friend of your mother. Talk to her, she can vouch for me."

Shepard furrowed his brow in confusion. He was on Mindoir? Now that he mentioned it, the man seemed vaguely familiar to Shepard. He couldn't tell where, though.

"You look like crap," Shepard stated, crouching down on the ground in front of the man. Ashley turned and listened.

"Yeah, well, to each his own," Zabaleta muttered, chuckling. "I served with your mother on the carrier Eisenstein. Was part of the patrol that picked you up a few miles south of the settlement…" Zabaleta paused, his smile fading. Shepard could see his mind was elsewhere. He could see that Zabaleta's mind was back on Mindoir, to the fire and screams of that night. This man was completely and utterly destroyed.

For some reason, this disgusted Shepard.

"I take it you're no longer part of the Alliance," Shepard asked. Zabaleta laughed.

"Nope," the filthy man chuckled.

"Hey," Zabaleta tried to laugh it off as he leaned forward. "I really hate to do this, but could I ask you for a favor? Could I get some credits from you? Just twenty should be enough."

Ashley watched the exchange in silence.

"20 credits isn't enough to get you back on your feet," Shepard noted.

"Uh, yeah, I know," Zabaleta scratched his neck, dirt flinging off his nails. "I just need it to get some, um, food. A man's gotta eat right?"

Everyone knew that it wasn't for food. Shepard stood up and looked down at the man, no remorse in his eyes.

"No," Shepard said coldly. "You want booze, get off your ass and get it yourself."

With that, Shepard turned and strode down the hallway, passing Ashley and leaving the man behind him, giving him no second thought. Ashley watched as Shepard left the poor man behind. Ashley looked back at Zabaleta, whose eyes were downcast and empty. He didn't even seem to notice Shepard had left, so lost was he. Sighing, she dropped twenty credits on the ground in front of him and followed after Shepard.

On the second elevator down to the Upper Wards, silence filled the elevator, broken only by the music and the occasional radio host giving the news.

"Why did you give him the money?" Shepard asked.

"Because he needed help," Ashley replied.

"You know he's just going to waste it on alcohol," Shepard noted.

"Yeah, I know," Ashley said.

"Then why bother?" Shepard asked.

"Because it's the nice thing to do," Ashley said.

"He gets to drown in alcohol while you're 20 credits short," Shepard scoffed. "Yeah, it's the nice thing to do."

"Well at least I actually tried help him," Ashley said pointedly.

"No you didn't," Shepard said. "You just enabled him to get more booze."

"Well at least I did something," Ashley said. "You just walked away."

"Why not? He didn't want my help," Shepard said.

"So you just walk away from someone when they don't want your help?" Ashley asked.

"I left you alone, didn't I?" Shepard quipped.

"You know what I mean," Ashley stated.

"Why should I help someone who clearly doesn't want it?" Shepard asked, resting his head against the wall.

"Why shouldn't you?" Ashley asked. "You're the mighty hero of the Alliance. You help the weak and the poor." Her tongue dripped of sarcasm.

"Where the hell did that come from?" Shepard shot at her. "I'm not a hero. I'm just a soldier. Sorry to rain on your parade."

"You didn't rain on anything," Ashley said.

Shepard looked at Ashley, trying to see what was bothering her. He replayed in his head he knew: it had something to do with the man who ran out of the bar nearly in tears and Ellison. He furrowed his brow.

"How do you know Ellison?" Ashley asked, as if on cue.

"He was my Drill Instructor during boot camp," Shepard asked. "He was the one who put my name forward to join the Special Forces personnel and receive what they called 'elite training.'"

"You then rose to level 7 in proficiency?" Ashley asked.

"Yes, along with some others," Shepard replied.

"You and Ellison seem to get along fine," Ashley said. Shepard noticed a soft tone of disgust in her voice. Barely audible, but there.

"I guess we did," Shepard said. "Actually, I don't really care much for him. He was just my instructor. One of many."

"Then why were you two so pleasant?" Ashley asked, he hint of disgust still there.

"He was pleasant for his own reasons," Shepard replied. "I was trying to calm you two down before you started killing each other." Ashley was silent for a moment, seemingly absorbing this.

"You should have let me kill him," Ashley muttered quietly to herself.

Shepard overheard her and was slightly disturbed by the coldness in her voice.

"So, after you get your head scanned," Ashley went on. "What will you do?"

"Head to an extranet port," Shepard replied. "Get in contact with Hannah and see if she can vouch for that Zabaleta fellow."

"Why? You already said you weren't going to help him," Ashley noted.

"Curiosity," Shepard answered simply.

"What do you think the Staff Commander will say?" Ashley asked.

"Dunno," Shepard said. "She'll probably ask me to help him."

"Are you going to?" Ashley asked.

"No," Shepard replied. "No point. But she's always the been the kind of person to go above and beyond the call of duty to help a person."

"Like you?" Ashley asked. Shepard was silent. "She adopted you and took you in, didn't she?"

"Yes she did," Shepard replied distantly. "But I'm not like her."

"I know," Ashley said. "Do you care about her?"

"It's complicated," Shepard replied.

"How so?" Ashley asked.

"Well," Shepard began. "I wasn't always a good little boy. I hated other people. I was content to ignore and be ignored by them. Hannah tried her best to rectify that."

"She didn't succeed, I guess," Ashley said bitterly. "You still hate other people."

"Not quite," Shepard replied. "Just those that deserve it."

"Like the civilians on Elysium?" Ashley asked. "The survivors?"

"No," Shepard answered. "The ones who weren't grateful to those who died for them."

"You just hate the ones who made Peter's death meaningless," Ashley stated.

"You got it," Shepard replied. "Haven't we been over this already?" Ashley sighed.

"We have," Ashley said quietly.

The doors opened and Shepard walked through as Ashley followed. None said a word for there were no words to be said. They both thought of the things in their own pasts that made them sad and the problems that came with them.

\::/::\::/::\::/

Garrus walked down the hallways, Tali close behind him, looking around from left to right, looking uneasy. The sounds of the patients filled the building: the steady beeps of their hearts, the soft moans of their respirators, and the clicks of their loved ones as they gathered around. The mood of the hall was hard to describe. It was a mix of elation, sorrow, boredom, happiness, grief and dullness. Tali could feel these emotions even through her suit. That wasn't what made her edgy. It was the feeling of contamination that the hospital had.

She knew she had nothing to fear. Her suit was tight against her body and bound shut. However, she still had to be wary of potentially sharp objects. Ever since she was young, her immune system was almost completely gone. Any contaminant of any kind could kill her, even the common cold. She knew she was being overly cautious but it still made her edgy being around a place filled with all kinds of infectious diseases.

"You know you don't have to come," Garrus told her.

"I know," Tali replied. "I want to."

Garrus nodded and knocked on the door. He waited patiently for the door to buzz and open for him. The turian walked in and Tali followed behind him. Inside, she was greeted to the sound of machinery beeping and the pumping of a respirator. However, none of this could drown out the weak breaths of the young, turian girl, struggling to live. Her body was thin (Tali was sure she saw bone poke through the skin). Tubes and needles stuck into her body, trying to keep her alive.

"Hey there, Adaravella," Garrus said quietly.

"Garrus," young Adaravella whispered, weak and fragile. "How…are you?"

"I'm fine, Adara," Garrus answered. "How are you?"

"Tired," Adaravella answered. "I want to…go to sleep, but…the doctors…want me to…stay awake."

"You should listen to them," Garrus whispered. "They're going to take care of you."

"I…know," Adaravella said.

"Adara, I've brought a friend of mine with me," Garrus motioned towards Tali. "She's a quarian from the Flotilla. Her name is Tali'Zorah nar Rayya."

"Tali…?" Adaravella asked.

"Tali'Zorah nar Rayya," Tali finished for her, moving closer to frail body. "But call me Tali for short."

"Your name…is so…long," Adaravella noted.

"Yes," Tali agreed. "Tali is my given name, Zorah is my family name while Rayya is the name of the ship I was born on."

"Wow…" Adaravella said. "I heard…quarians…change their…names…after their…Pilgrimage…are you…on…your…Pilgrimage?"

"Yes, I am," Tali answered. "Once I find something of value, I may return to the Flotilla and to my people. Then I can pick any ship I wish, my name changes, replacing the 'nar' with 'vas.' So, if I chose to be a crewmember of the Rayya, my name would be Tali'Zorah vas Rayya."

"What if…you…chose the…Normandy?" Adaravella asked. Tali looked like she was smiling.

"Then it would be Tali'Zorah vas Normandy," Tali replied.

"Doesn't really have a good ring to it, does it?" Garrus noted. Adaravella's soft laugh was sweet and tranquil, like the calm wind over a lake.

"I heard…you are…a member of…the Normandy's…team," Adaravella said to Garrus. "Under…Commander…Shepard…"

"Where did you hear that?" Garrus asked.

"The nurses…love…to talk…" Adaravella replied.

"Well, it's true," Garrus answered her.

"Are you…saving…the universe?" Adaravella asked.

"Something like that," Garrus replied.

They talked for an hour or so afterwards. Tali couldn't help but be touched by the young girl. Her questions ranged from why Tali wore a suit to whether or not they were dating (Garrus was speechless and if she wasn't wear her suit, she would have been bright red). But Tali was mostly touched by her strength. Despite being incredibly tired, she still had enough strength to talk to them. She was so full of life, despite it being drained away. Or maybe that was why she was full of life. Tali couldn't be sure. What she was sure of was that she was saddened when they had to leave.

"I must leave now, Adaravella," Garrus whispered to her. "But rest assured, I'll visit you as soon as I can."

"I'll…miss you…Garrus…it's…so…boring…here," Adaravella said weakly. She slowly turned her head to Tali. "It was…a…pleasure…meeting you…Tali…I…hope I…can meet…you…again…"

"So do I, Adaravella," Tali said. Adaravella turned her head back to Garrus.

"Kiss…?" Adaravella asked. Garrus chuckled and leaned forward, planting a small kiss on her forehead.

"I will see you soon, little beauty," Garrus said affectionately.

"See you…soon…handsome…" Adaravella answered.

With that, Garrus and Tali exited the room. If they didn't then, they would never have been able to leave. The power all children share would have drawn them back in without mercy.

Outside the room, the hospital seemed so much darker than before. Like the source of all light was in her room. If that was so, they shouldn't shut the door on her. Tali wished that very much.

"What are you doing here, Garrus?" came a voice that was a mixture of fury and disgust. Tali turned and saw an elderly, female turian facing them, carrying what seemed to be groceries. Her face was full of frustration and exhaustion.

"Mrs. Aella," Garrus said. "I was just visiting Adaravella-"

"You really think your welcome here?" Aella snapped.

"Mrs. Aella-" Garrus tried to say.

"It's your fault she's like this right now," Aella snapped again, voice thick with hatred. "If you had done your job, she would be living a normal life. But, I'll admit, you bring her happiness. But don't forget what you did to her. Don't think I'll ever forgive you for that."

Aella walked through Garrus, bumping his shoulder hard and walking into the door. Garrus sighed and continued walking. Tali watched the exchange, not sure of what was going on. She caught up to Garrus and grabbed his shoulder, stopping him.

"Garrus," Tali said, warmly, hand on his shoulder. Garrus didn't look at her. They stood there for a minute, the sounds of the hospital surrounding them and filling the silence. Tali was patient.

"A few years ago," Garrus began. "I was assigned to investigate black market trading on the Citadel. During my investigation, I noticed an increase in the sale of body parts. C-Sec wasn't sure if it was a lab selling organs illegally or some psychopath chopping up people and selling their parts. However, the truth was…far more complex than that."

Tali waited for him to continue.

"I ran a DNA check on a recovered turian liver," Garrus continued. "Imagine my surprise when I found that the 'donor' was very much alive. I later found out that the turian was working for a certain salarian, named Dr. Saleon."

"The one working with Saren?" Tali asked.

"The same," Garrus nodded. "I inspected Saleon's lab, but I found no sign of any cloned body parts or the machinery to grow them. No salarian hearts, no turian livers, not one krogan testicle. I was running out of options, so I began bringing some of Saleon's employees for a little 'chat.'"

Tali waited patiently.

"During the interrogation," Garrus continued. "One of the employees began bleeding profusely. I had the C-Sec medics check him out. They found fresh incisions all over his body. It turned out that Saleon was using his own employees as living test tubes. Cloning their organs, growing them inside their own bodies, then removing them and selling them on the market, giving his employees a small percentage of the profits. They were poor, anyways and needed the money. If the organs didn't grow properly, Saleon would simply leave them inside the body, killing them if they were lucky."

Garrus took a deep breath before he continued.

"C-Sec for ordered his immediate arrest," Garrus explained. "By the time we got there, the clever salarian bastard had already blown up his lab. However, we managed to catch up to him at the spaceport, where he had hijacked a small ship, filling it with his employees. When I approached him, he grabbed a nearby employee and held her as a hostage, sticking a syringe in her neck and threatening to inject poison into her body. She was just a completely random employee, nothing personal to him. She was 6 months pregnant with Adaravella."

Tali watched worriedly as Garrus' expression became pained and horrified.

"I ordered a sniper to blow the bastard's head off, but C-Sec countermanded my order," Garrus said with growing disdain. "Too close to Saleon, they said. I still wanted to try. But, Saleon made his way onto the ship. And then injected half of the poison into her neck and the rest into her womb. Then he tossed her off the ship before he closed the door and took off."

Garrus shuddered.

"She was taken as soon as possible to the hospital," Garrus said. "I ordered Citadel defenses to shoot down the ship, but C-Sec again, countermanded my order. They worried about the hostages, worried about the risk of civilian casualties if the ship was destroyed so close to the Citadel. I told them those hostages were dead anyways. But they didn't listen and he got away."

Garrus looked back at the door where Adaravella rested.

"The poison killed the mother upon arrival," Garrus explained. "Adaravella wasn't so lucky. Her immune system was completely destroyed, her digestive system was eaten away; her body is just a complete mess. The doctors gave her a week to live. That was nearly 5 years ago. She's still trying to march on. Such a strong girl."

Garrus lowered his head and shuddered again. Tali could see tears brimming in his eyes.

"She did nothing wrong," Garrus voice was hushed and trembling. "Nothing to deserve that fate. She wasn't even born yet. Her mother wasn't bad either. She just needed the money. She was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. In one second, her life was ruined. In one second, Adaravella was born to die."

Tali reached forward and turned Garrus to face her. She looked up into his eyes, filled with tears that he tried to force back.

"That bastard didn't even think twice of it," Garrus's voice dripped of anger. "There was no life in his eyes. He just didn't because it was convenient. And even then, he wasn't there. He was lost in his research. The world could be falling apart around him, and he still wouldn't care. Just so long as he's doing his blasted research into god knows what, he doesn't care."

Garrus wiped away the tears before they fell, while Tali rested her head against his own, comforting him. They stood there for a moment as world passed them by. Soon, though, Garrus' shuddering receded and he composed himself, taking deep breaths and wiping the rest of the tears away.

"Suffice it to say," Garrus concluded. "I was trying to do my job, and C-Sec wouldn't let me. I lost faith in C-Sec right then and there. I almost quit. Adaravella was put under the care of her aunt, Aella. As you can see, she doesn't like me at all. But, that's in the past I guess. I just…"

Tali nodded, agreeing with him. He didn't need to say anything else. They stared at each other for a moment longer. Then Garrus nodded and turned away, continuing down the hall. As he did, his fingers found Tali's own and they interlocked, connecting their hands together. Each of their hands had only three fingers. A perfect match.

On a random note here: why is every Sci-Fi currency called credits? Are people just being lazy here?

Went through a kind of writer's block during this chapter. Nothing major, but it was noticeable. Here's my writing style: go in without any idea what I'm doing and just wing it. I have a start, I have an end, how do I get there? When writing this chapter, I continually came across the same answer: I have no godly idea.

But eventually, I was able to write it that I deemed it…passable.

I've been thinking of another FanFic as I was starting up Diablo II. Since most of my stories are just me combining different aspects of the games together (Mass Effect with all six backgrounds, Fable with Fable II and Fable I), I was thinking of writing a story where it's all five classes of Diablo II together in one story. I've actually already written the backgrounds and personalities of the characters and I have their names down. What's stopping me is that I'm pretty much preoccupied with this story and my Fable story. Tell me what you guys think.

Since most turian things stem from Roman history (turian comes from the word Centurion), Adaravella comes from the name Adorabella meaning "adored beauty." She's not based on anyone in particular. Nor is Aella (meaning "storm wind").

Looks like I'll be the first one to say this: I enjoyed Pinnacle Station. Crazy, right?

EDIT: Switched the two sections around to see how people like it.