Chapter 54 - Citadel

Date : 4.11.2173

Location : Widow Nebula - Citadel Approach

Jane

"Attention Citadel control, this is the Alliance special operative vessel Pale Horse, requesting a berth."

"Pale Horse, this is Citadel control, we acknowledge your signal and are transferring you to an Alliance controller. Please stand by." Jane taps her foot on the floor as she waits. They'd taken it easy over the last month with just a few small listening posts targeted. That meant lots of flying around, analyzing transmissions, and not a whole lot of killing. Thankfully Century has been more than up to the task. As if his body had been nothing more than a toy, the geth hadn't lost much of his efficiency, despite the runtimes lost in the emergency transfer.

With his help, Jane didn't have to spend much time digging through the raw data herself. Unfortunately, it did leave her with plenty of free time, which Hackett and Anderson had 'helpfully' filled with tons of paperwork. Most of it was reports on their targets, each one requiring pages of in depth description and analysis. Century offered to take care of it, but that didn't really seem fair to her. After all, it was technically part of her job. So Jane filled out page after page to keep Anderson in the loop, who in turn, kept Hackett in the loop. A week ago Kalia asked why she bothered with every single bit of paperwork, "Because they asked me to. I've been in contact with the people that are helping Anderson keep track of me. Apparently when I don't keep up with this stuff, they get stuck trying to fill the gaps and that's not right. So I'll take care of it, no matter how dull it is."

It was a decent time sink, despite how boring it was. She also spent a lot of time managing her assets beyond the Pale Horse. Three dozen Q-ships in the Terminus, a massive web of financial holdings throughout Citadel Space, new mineral claims to share with Joshua, the occasional update from Doth, they all needed attention. Jane was still working on it all when the ship dropped out of FTL inside the Widow Nebula an hour ago. "Pale Horse, this is Alliance dock 9. Please transmit operative codes for clearance." She enters the codes Hackett gave her, "Codes received. A berth will be made available at the following coordinates. Welcome to the Citadel Lieutenant Shepard." Kalia sets the autopilot, letting the nav computer take them to a dock on one of the Citadel's colossal arms.

Most of the crew was on the bridge to watch as the station came into view. It was the largest artificial structure any of them had ever seen. The triplets were especially amazed, "Keelah… you could fly a Liveship down the center."

"Oh sure Kal, as long as you don't mind snapping that tower off to get out."

"Would it even break? I heard that the Citadel is almost indestructible. Father once said that even a group of dreadnoughts wouldn't be able to damage it."

"Maybe… what I wouldn't give to rip a few cross sections away and spend a few months studying them." She can hear Kalen practically salivating just over the idea, which makes it even funnier when Kalia shoots down his enthusiasm.

"What do you think you could learn that someone else hasn't already found out? The Citadel's been inhabited for thousands of years. Everything that can be learned has been learned."

Jane leans back into her chair as the ship slowly drifts into their assigned berth. "Careful with that kind of thinking Kalia. There's almost always something new to learn and the council races aren't too keen on taking risks with the Citadel for the sake of scientific advancement. If they had any balls at all, this station would have been ripped apart for reverse engineering millennia ago. But, it's big and pretty and so much easier just to treat it like a gift from God."

Once the docking clamps have locked the ship in place, Jane calls the whole crew together. "Okay everybody, I've kept you a little busy for the last few months, so for the next three days, you're free to do whatever you want. As long as I don't have to come bail you out, I don't care what you do. Have fun and I'll see you April fourteenth at fifteen hundred. Don't be late." The triplets are almost bouncing with excitement as they head for the airlock. Doctor Chakwas is leading Vollor and John out, probably to take them to the medical convention she'd been talking about since Jane announced the impending trip to the Citadel. Gavin is off to see his parents.

Lia is the only one left, apart from Spits. "What're you going to do while we're here Jane?"

"I've got a friend to check in with on Zakera ward. Then I'll probably look around for a while. It's my birthday today, so I'm going to go out later. What about you?"

"To be honest, I don't really have any plans of my own. Would you mind if I accompanied you?" Jane rolls her eyes. Lia insisted on always being with her when they left the ship.

"I doubt there'll be much danger here. You can go off on your own, I won't mind."

"I'd prefer to stay close to you… just in case." Jane bows in surrender. She wraps up the last few bits of paper work for Anderson before leaving the ship. The dock is a little crowded, but they get through easily enough. They're about to leave the area when a familiar voice calls out to her.

"Jane! Jane!" She turns to find who's calling her. A smile immediately lights up her face as the caller comes into view.

"Miri…" The raven haired angel looks as lovely as ever. As soon as she's close enough, Jane takes her in a tight hug. "It's wonderful to see you again. I didn't know you were going to meet me here."

"I wanted to surprise you. I've been on a job for a while now and it's nice to see someone I know I can trust for once."

"A job? Is that why you're not in that suit you like so much?" Miranda is wearing a relatively tame dress the same color as her eyes.

"It's the right thing for the job. Although to be honest, I can't wait to get out of it. A simple dress works for blending in, but it's not very useful in a firefight." Miranda backs away a little bit, giving Jane a sad look. "Jane… I just want you to know, I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you when…" She holds up a hand to stop her.

"It's fine. You might not have been there in person, but you've been there for me emotionally ever since. After she… after it happened, I almost gave up. You and Samara are the only reasons that I'm still around…" Miranda pulls her close again, just holding her gently. Eventually she pulls away again, taking notice of Lia for the first time.

"We haven't had the pleasure Miss…?"

"Lia."

"She's been looking after me since I left Liseera. Lia, can you get a car for us? I want to go visit my friend soon." The former justicar nods and leaves the two of them alone.

"Do you trust her?" Miranda is whispering to her now while scratching Spits behind the ears.

"Yes, with my life. She's sworn to protect me, to make up for failing to save… her. I don't know all the other details about her, but Lia has already taken more than one bullet for me."

Miranda sighs quietly, "Good. And the rest of your crew?" Jane nods, "That's a relief. I'm glad you've got people with you that will be there for you. Especially this big oaf right here." Spits is rolled onto his back kicking the air as Miri pats his belly.

"You know… there are still a couple rooms on my ship. If you, I guess, wanted to come along, I'd really like that."

"I wish I could Jane, but I've got too much to do. My job keeps me pretty busy. As much as I hate to say it, I actually need to get going." Jane's shoulders slump down. She'd been hoping to spend at least a little more time with Miri.

"Already? Are you sure you have to?" Miranda nods sadly, "Is there anything I can help with?"

"Not right now. Just stay safe out there Jane." Miranda gives her another hug and kisses her on the cheek, "I'll keep an eye out for any information that can help you. Goodbye Jane, and don't you dare do anything too reckless out there. I'll never forgive you if you go and get yourself killed. Give me a little more notice for your next visit. I'll make sure to keep my schedule open for dinner next time."

Jane watches her walk away. Somehow, even with her enhanced vision, she still loses Miranda in the crowd. Sighing sadly, Jane heads for the exit gate. While she's walking, Jane talks into her wrist, "You good Century?"

"Affirmative. Creator Kalen'reegar has created a more than adequate node to house us. Please be aware that you need not speak directly into the node. We will be available for communication at any time."

"Good. If anyone asks about you, you're my VI assistant.

"Acknowledged. This is to conceal our identity, correct?"

"Yeah. Even though the rest of the galaxy might not care about what happened between the quarians and geth nowadays, AI is still a touchy subject."

In a convincing facsimile of a whisper, Century quietly responds, "Understood. We shall maintain discretion." As Jane exits the terminal, she spots Lia waiting by a public use aircar. Once they're in, the vehicle's VI requests their destination. The flight is a fairly short one, just a quick skip from the terminal to a spot two kilometers further down the station arm. Back on the ground, they hop out and head for her first stop. It's a small shop with a flashing N7 sign hanging over the service window. Jane waits patiently, happy to see how busy the place is. Service appears to be excellent and in no time they're waiting at the window. Jane stifles a laugh as Lia gets a good look at the proprietor and gasps in shock. The big man behind the counter spots them, steps out from behind the counter, and stands right in front of them. He's even taller than Jane, has a nasty scar bisecting the left side of his face with an eye patch covering the hollow socket, slate grey hair, and a scowl that would look perfect on a Krogan. The only thing dispelling the whole hulking brute look is the pink apron with 'kiss the cook' written in glitter.

Jane smiles up at the big man, "Hey Calvin. How's business?" The old N7 finally cracks a smile at pats her on the head.

"Pretty damn good kid. You wouldn't believe how many people never had a muffin before. Well, I'm fixin to change that. Got customers from pretty much every race, even a couple batarian regulars." Calvin heads back behind his counter, "So, what can I get you kid."

"Half a dozen banana muffins, a dozen ruby melon, and whatever Lia wants." Her asari shadow looks completely lost.

"What is a muffin?"

"Go ahead and make it seven banana Calvin. I'll start her with something simple." The big man disappears into his pantry for a few minutes. After all the ingredients are brought out and mixed, he loads them into a flash cooker.

"Took almost a month to figure this damn thing out. Not as good as a slow, home cooked muffin, but it gets the job done." After thirty seconds he removes the tray from the cooker, revealing seven of Jane's favorite, non-meat treats. Calvin gently wraps each one and places them in a bag. The cherry ones go in another bag for Spits. After she pays, Calvin leans in close, "So how's that quarian kid doing?"

"Really well. You were right about him needing the occasional kick in the ass, but otherwise he's been doing a great job. He's even teaching another crew member how to fight. I really appreciate your help with him Calvin." Jane grabs the bag of goods and starts to lead Lia away.

"Anytime kid. And remember, N7 Muffins for life!" Jane chuckles as Calvin's voiced echoes behind them. They find a bench next to a window looking down the length of the station arm. Spits is already pawing at the bag with his treats. She hands a muffin to Lia before tearing into her own. The asari is a bit reluctant but eventually takes a bite after Jane's already started in on her second one.

"Oh my. That is an odd taste."

"Yeah he wasn't kidding. The ones he used to make back on Mindoir were better, but these are still good. It's too bad he couldn't salvage that old stove from his kitchen, but I guess that's what happens when a tank runs over your house." By the time Lia finishes hers, Jane has downed her fourth. "You want another one?" Lia shakes her head so Jane wraps up the bag, intent on saving the last two for later, along with the pistol that Calvin snuck into the bag as a gift. After that they just start walking, taking in the sights of the Citadel. Hundreds of stores, thousands of people, and this is just one arm of the station. "This all feels kind of familiar."

"How so?"

"So many people from so many races, all scrunched together. It reminds me of Omega, except this place doesn't reek and I'm not expecting anyone to take a shot at me." That didn't mean she wasn't ready for it. Even if she hadn't left the ship so heavily armed, Jane was still covered in heavy plating with double layered shields. Even with that, the general feeling of being surrounded is still unnerving. "Let's go find somewhere less crowded. I keep feeling like someone's going to step up behind me and put a knife in my kidney." Lia leads her to a quieter spot near the crossing point between the wards and the presidium. There are still plenty of people here, but it's a little less uncomfortable.

They check out a few stores, mostly hardware retailers to pick up useful things for the ship, like a second omnigel fabrication machine for Kalen since Gavin tended to hog the one already on board. Regular supplies aren't an issue. Jane arranged for a full resupply while they were on route. Delivery won't be until tomorrow so they've got time. Eventually Jane gets tired of wandering and they head to a decent looking bar simply called Targan's. The music is a little loud, but nothing like the earsplitting crap that played in Afterlife. The people inside are mostly humans, turians, and salarians, with a couple asari thrown in here and there. There's a pair of unoccupied stools next the bar so they can sit down. The owner, an older turian with red colony paint and a missing left mandible, comes over, "What can I get you ladies?" The absence of a mandible blurs his speech a little, but not so much that they can't understand.

"Do you have any Liseeran Greela?"

"Ohhh looking to get something good for a party? I've got a few bottles. Let me grab you one."

"Six." He stops in his tracks before turning to look at her.

"Uhhh are you sure about that? The Liseeran stuff is very, very expensive. Not to mention that it doesn't take much to get hammered with it."

"Not a problem, on either account." The bartender shrugs and opens a padlocked door. He disappears for a moment before emerging with a small bundle gently cradled in his arms.

"Okay miss, here you go. That's six bottles of Liseeran Greela at ten thousand each. Total's sixty thousand credits." The man is stunned when Jane transfers the credits without a hint of hesitation, and even more so when she pops the cork on one before chugging the entire thing in one go. Even Lia, long accustomed to Jane's inhuman resilience, starts to panic slightly.

"Jane stop! That much can be poisonous!"

She wipes her lips with her wrist before talking, "Damn that's good stuff. Don't worry Lia. I downed four bottles of this stuff on my seventeenth birthday and I was fine. Had a migraine, along with… other problems, but alcohol poisoning wasn't one of um. In fact…" Jane pops another cork and signals for the bartender to bring over a couple glasses. She pours some for Lia, "Here you go, let's drink together."

"I don't think I should. I might not technically be a justicar anymore, but I would still prefer to try and stick to the order's strictures."

"Either drink with me or leave and go do your own thing." Jane holds out the glass, scowling at her asari shadow. Eventually, Lia gives in.

"I guess a few sips won't hurt."

Date : 4.11.2173

Location : Citadel - Presidium

Five hours later

Chellick

"Come on, We've got a possible drunk and disorderly at the krogan memorial." He double checks his sidearm and cuffs. Once sure that everything is secure, Chellick heads out to his aircar with his rookie partner a step behind.

"Do we have an ID?" They strap in and take off immediately. Hopefully this won't be the same as last week. Seeing that drunk trip over the railing and fall to his death had been rough. With lights flashing, the car speeds around the presidium.

"Not yet. All we know is that it's a human female, heavily intoxicated. When we get there I want you to handle it. No worries about this one taking a dive over the railing. Just keep her calm, go by the book, and everything should be fine."

"Right…" The young man was good at his job, but still a little too military in his thinking. It's perfectly understandable. He was the same way at the end of his mandatory service. They land just around the corner from the statue and make their way over. "Where is she?" There's no one there. At least that's how it looks in the beginning. As his partner starts looking around, Chellick lets his eyes drift upward, leading him to let out a chuckle. "She must have wandered off, what do you… What're you looking at?" Chellick points to the top of the statue, "Oh spirits…"

The human they're looking for is currently sprawled out on top of the statue. Chellick's not even sure how she got up there. Plenty of people have tried over the years and more than one ended up falling to their death. With poor handholds and a fairly continuous patrol circuit of C-SEC officers, no one has made it to the top in his time on station… until today. "Well, doesn't really matter. Grab one of the lift harnesses from the car and get her down from there before she hurts herself." With a device almost identical the kind hanar used to get around outside of water, his partner slowly levitates upward until he's eye level with the inebriated woman.

"Excuse me! Miss, are you alright?" It takes a couple tries but eventually his partner's call wakes her up with a start. Even from here, Chellick can tell she's still heavily intoxicated.

"What?! Wus? Wha you want?" The human shakes her head a few times before realizing her position. Rather than the panic he'd been expecting, she actually starts laughing. "Oh crap thiss iss real high…" The drunken slurry of words devolves into another bout of laughter.

The rookie keeps his calm and barrels onward, "Yes ma'am, this is quite high. High enough to be too dangerous for someone to be sleeping up here. You need to get down. In fact, I need you to come down and leave the area with us." His partner holds out a hand to the young woman, gently trying to wave her over. She laughs again before reaching for the outstretched hand, but this is a mistake. Before he can call out, she's overextended herself and tips off the top of the statue. The human plummets to the ground with an almighty crash. Chellick is already getting ready to call in another unfortunate, drunken fatality, and his partner is not so calm now, "Oh Spirits! Shit! Shit!" Both of them are struck speechless when the laughter starts bubbling through the air. Much to Chellick's astonishment, the woman rolls onto her back, holding her stomach and laughing like a loon.

"Ha ha ha ha oh crap that hurt…" As his partner reduces power to his lift harness to get down, the human slowly gets to her feet after stumbling a few times, giving him his first good look at her. She is imposing to say the least. The woman is as tall as he is with glowing violet eyes, bright crimson hair, and heavy armor plating covered with a thick magenta tabard. There's a large scar running back across her face. Once she's reasonably steady on her feet, the woman brings a wrist to her mouth and speaks, "Hey Century!" He's surprised when a new voice is emitted from her omnitool.

"Yes Shepard Jane?"

"I fell… ha ha ha… is, is anything broken?"

"We detect no serious damage, however there is currently significant strain on numerous points of cartilaginous connection. As doctor Chakwas would likely tell you, you will be sore in the morning."

"Oh okay… Where'ss, where Lia?"

"Lia Not-Justicar is currently embedded in a shrubbery 4.21 meters to Presidium south." Jane staggers over to one of the decorative plant stands set up for some historical celebration for next week. She digs around inside stand for a few minutes before dragging an unconscious asari out by her feet.

"Huh, ha, you drank too much…"

"Lia Not-Justicar ingested large quantities of alcohol with you. There will be no lasting damage, however we recommend that she be returned to the ship in order to recover safely. Doctor Chakwas has returned for the night and will be able to assist." Jane pulls the passed out asari over her shoulder.

"And, and where, where's my little buddy?"

"Your 'little buddy' is currently swimming in the artificial lake behind the krogan memorial." The woman gives a piercing whistle that nearly drives Chellick to his knees in pain. Moments later he can hear something attempting to scurry out of the lake. A set of mechanical legs peeks over the edge of the railing with long talons stabbing into ground. With a heave, the largest varren he's ever seen pulls itself out of the lake. The beast shakes madly, sending water flying in all directions, before trotting over to Jane. She pats the animal on the head. Seeing that it's apparently her pet, his partner lets his hand fall away from his pistol and steps over to her.

"You'll need to come with us ma'am."

"Why's that?"

"It's illegal to wander around in public while inebriated and climbing the memorial is also a violation of station safety codes." She starts giggling again

"Uh Ohh. Thas not good." His partner starts an arrest file on his omnitool with a scan of hers but a red warning flashes across the screen. Chellick was wondering when the rookie would get to that.

"What the hell?" He taps on his tool a few times before turning to Chellick and receiving a nod.

"By the book kid."

"Alright. Ma'am you're free to go, but I do need you to return to the vessel you arrived in. It's not safe to wander around the Presidium when you aren't in your right mind."

"Okay nice Blue guy… C'mon guys, let's go back to the Horse." With the asari over her shoulder and a varren at her side, Jane staggers away singing something about a 'wild rover' and spending all her money on whiskey and beer. Once she's out of sight, his partner steps over.

"Should we really let her wander around with no one watching her? She might get hurt."

"Don't worry rookie. We've got a couple people tailing her to make sure everything will be okay." His comm chimes at him and one of the tails he mentioned gives him some bad news. Chellick swears loudly, drawing his partner's attention, "She's gone. Spotted one of the tails and just slipped away." He shakes his head before sending a stern demand for the tails to find her. With their role here finished, they head back to the car.

"You knew she had a diplomatic exception, didn't you?"

"Yep, and you handled it well enough. Got messages from half a dozen ambassadors calling for it. She must have some friends in high places. Next time, make sure to check for anything before saying you're going to arrest someone. Some people would cause a lot of grief after something like that." His partner nods at him before running a hand across his blue flushed fringe. "Careful Vakarian. A flush like that and one of the ladies of the night out there might get the wrong idea." Chellick takes off for headquarters with his partner cringing slightly at his little joke. "Take it easy Garrus. Battle scars like that would excite any young Turin, even if they are on an alien."

Date : 4.12.2173

Location : Pale Horse - Citadel Docks

Jane

She wakes up with god's own migraine and an pulsing ache all over her body. Everything hurts terribly as Jane levers herself off the floor. It take her a minute to realize where she is. It's the bridge of the Pale Horse. Spits is snoring loudly behind her and Kalen is tapping away at a panel nearby. The young quarian notices her stirring, "Well, about time you woke up captain. I was starting to think we'd need the doctor to come back early after all."

"Jesus, what the hell happened?"

"You got really wasted and staggered onto the ship about six hours ago." Jane stands for a second before needing to sit back down in her chair. She rubs her temples miserably. The pain recedes slightly and she looks up, only now spotting the new occupant on the ship.

"What the hell is that thing?" A massive green insect is poking around inside one of the panels next to Kalen. The creature looks like an eight limbed praying mantis.

"Oh him? That's a keeper from the Citadel. Yeah when you got here Lia was over one shoulder and it was over the other. I still have no clue how you got through customs with it."

Century's voice comes blasting out of the bridge speakers. "Shepard Jane, we have data that may be useful."

"God, Century lower the volume a little…"

The geth speaks again at a far lower tone this time, "You encountered the keeper in question on your way back to the Pale Horse. We are unsure what prompted you to take it, but sensors indicated biotic activity before you took hold of the keeper and dragged it back to the ship. In order to avoid trouble with the local authorities, we employed a ghosting program found inside your omnitool. Then we used false signal transmissions to distract the local authorities. This allowed you to return unimpeded. Since your return, the keeper has performed thirty six separate tasks to aid in the maintenance of this vessel."

"That thing has been a huge help. It even found a few microfractures in the reactor's coolant tanks. Not an immediate problem but it could caused a few issues down the road." The keeper finishes whatever it was doing and reseals the panel with a torch from its tiny backpack. Jane carefully staggers over to the creature before gently reaching out for it. When her hands make contact with its face the creature goes completely still.

"Shepard Jane, we are detected biotic activity identical to that which preceded your acquisition of the keeper." The world fades away as she opens her mind and pulls the keeper in. No need for anything complicated, Jane opts bring it to a simple dais under a light. Once settled she tries to speak to it.

"Um… hello there. I'm sorry I took you away from the citadel." The keeper tilts its head to the side in confusion. A tiny voice echoes from all around, clipped and high pitched.

"Error, unknown command."

"Uhhh… it wasn't a command. I was just apologizing."

"Error, unknown command." She starts thinking that maybe it's not a truly sentient creature. Maybe keepers are just organic machines.

"Okay then. Keeper, state your name."

"Name - a social construct utilized by inhabitants of the Citadel to differentiate between units. Error, no data indicating name. This unit's designation is 2213Z-2045."

"What is your function?"

"This unit's function is to maintain the Citadel."

"Then why are you here and not on the Citadel."

"Processing... Error, this unit is on the Citadel."

"No, you're on my ship, the Pale Horse."

"Analyzing...Priorities modified. The Pale Horse is now equated to the Citadel. This unit is on the Citadel." How did she manage to make that happen?

"Don't you guys have like, little acid bombs inside you to stop people from taking you away or something?"

"This unit's liquidation charge has been disabled and digested."

"Alright. Do you want to go back to the Citadel then?" The keeper cocks its head the other direction.

"Error, this unit is already on the Citadel." Jane sighs heavily and breaks the mental connection. Once free, the keeper turns away from her to leave. Kalen steps up to Jane's side.

"What was that about?"

"I looked inside his mind. Somehow, I rewrote his programming. He thinks the ship is the Citadel." Kalen whistles at that.

"That's pretty amazing… can we keep it? It does amazing work and I've been able to finish tons of little jobs in no time with it's help."

"He thinks the ship is home so he doesn't want to leave… at least I don't think he does. So, yeah, we'll keep him. He's gonna need a name though. His assigned designation is 2213Z-2045."

"Doesn't really roll of the tongue does it?" Jane thinks to herself for a moment.

"I think I'll call him… Skittles." Kalen looks at her a few times.

"Weird but okay. So what now?"

"Now we go about like nothing weird is going on. The supplies are arriving today and since you're here, you get to help." Kalen groans at her as she leads him to the cargo bay. The dock's crane helps get everything inside in short order and thankfully no one notices when Skittles the keeper shows up to help organize the incoming goods. What should have taken close to four hours only takes one with the huge bug's help. Once the job is done, Skittles disappears back into the ship. "Go ahead and go back out Kalen. I'm going to stay in today to take inventory." The young man nods his thanks before heading out, whilst Jane stays behind to get one of the rooms ready for the crew member she'll be picking up tomorrow. Lia is still in bed resting and will likely be there tomorrow as well. Some people just couldn't handle their liquor. Doctor Chakwas, Vollor, and John are the only one's that come back that night. Jane is still getting the new room ready when the trio get back.

"My word, what is that doing here?" Jane heads to the mess hall to find them all staring at Skittles who is currently fixing one of the burners on Vollor's flash cooker.

"It would appear to this one that noble keeper is repairing this one's favorite cooking appliance." Jane clears her throat.

"Hey guys. This is Skittles. Yes he is a keeper and he's going to be staying on board. Just… don't ask." Confused but willing to accept it, the three of them head their separate ways. Jane spends the rest of the evening in her room, going over what she's going to say tomorrow. She hasn't seen him in person for over six years. Will he even remember her?

Date : 4.13.2173

Location : Citadel - Zakera Ward

Kaiden

The flight to the station was uneventful. He arrived a few hours ago and was blown away by the utter immensity of this place. He'd read about the station on route but had never really considered just how huge it could be. Now he's standing at a window looking out over one of the arms, gawking like a rube. "Big place huh?" He turns to face the speaker. It's a woman, one of impressive stature. She's easily taller than him and wearing heavy red armor with a helmet modeled after a stylized human skull. The helmet has bright amber eyes lenses that feel like they're boring into his soul. Right next to her is a huge beast with armor of the same color and a single glowing eye.

I takes him a moment to find the words, "Uh yeah. Real big place. My name's-"

"Sergeant Kaidan Alenko. I know. I'm here to escort you to the ship." The woman hands him a datapad, confirming his transfer orders. "Follow me." Without another word, she turns on her heel and walks away. Kaiden snatches his duffel bag off the floor and trots after her.

"I didn't catch your name."

She calls back without breaking stride, "Tell you what, I want you to try and guess once we get there." How the hell is he supposed to do that?

"Umm, I don't know anything about you."

"You know more than you think." Confused, Kaiden wracks his brain trying to figure it out. He can't remember ever meeting someone like this before.

"Not sure what you mean but okay. Can you tell me about our captain at least? How well do you know Lieutenant Shepard?"

The woman chuckles at him, "Oh, I know everything there is to know about her. You've actually met her before, you know."

"I don't recall ever meeting someone by that name. I've met plenty of girls named Jane, but never one named Shepard."

"That wasn't her name when you met her." They make their way into one of the private Alliance berths and Kaiden sees his home for the foreseeable future. It's a heavily modified turian ship, bone white with red highlights. His mysterious escort waves him forward and takes a few steps before hearing her again, "Tell me Kuva…" The word stops him in his tracks. He hasn't heard that nickname in years, not since… "Do you ever think about that little girl in the cell? The one that asked you to call her Zarka?" He rounds on the woman, voice barely more than a whisper.

"How the hell do you know about that?"

"Answer the question Alenko. Do you ever think about her?"

He looks down, balling his hands into fists, "Yes… I think about her almost every day. I should have done more to help her. Those bastards treated her like a lab rat, and I didn't do enough to help her. And then they made me leave…" The woman nods at him, apparently satisfied with his answer. "Now tell me how you know about her. I never saw her again and I… I need to know. Did she ever get out of that horrible place?"

The woman hits a few controls on her omnitool. The helmet retracts into her collar, revealing hair of brilliant crimson, and a pair of eyes he could never forget. "Yes, yes I did."