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Councilor Tevos marched through the dimly-lit corridor, her huntress guard struggling to keep up behind her. People in lab coats jumped aside or were encouraged to find a better place to stand than in her path. At the end of the corridor, two turians flanked an unassuming door, assault rifles clutched in their talons.
She spared them no glance and gave no courtesy of slowing down as she closed the distance between them.
A three fingered, armored hand stretched toward her. "I'm sorry, Ma'am, but you can't—"
She brushed passed them, the door hissing open.
"Ma'am!"
Their protests faded into the background as she marched into the room.
The stench of antiseptic burned her nose. Holographic displays pierced the darkness like beacons in the night. A commando stood in the glow of the displays, eyes wide in surprise.
In the center of the room, a limp form lay on the bed, tubes running from every limb.
She stopped in her tracks, her lips parting. John.
The commando took a step toward her. "Councilor... This—"
"Leave us." She kept her eyes on the limp form in front of her.
"I'm under orders not to—"
She leveled an icy stare at the young maiden.
"...Yes, Ma'am." The commando ducked her head, and scurried out the door.
"Alara," Tevos said. "No one enters this room."
Her huntress guard nodded and stepped out, the door sighing shut behind her.
She didn't remember walking, but she found herself standing next to the bed, her eyes taking in every detail of the man before her.
His chest rose and fell in shallow breaths. Red lines criss-crossed his face. Purple bruises blotched ashen skin like pools of ink.
Oh, John... She traced a jagged cut in his cheek, the ridges passing under her touch like braille. Each line on his body was a story. Some he had told her. Most he hadn't.
She wanted to hear all of them.
A drop of liquid splashed against her hand, and she flinched, staring down at the droplet. She didn't know when her vision became blurry.
John's eyes fluttered, an almost inaudible moan humming in his throat.
Her hand was on his in an instant, and she lowered her lips to his ear. "John," she said softly. "John, can you hear me?"
He remained still.
She rubbed a circle in his hand with her thumb. "I'm here, John. You did it. It's over."
The monitor next to the bed continued beeping steadily.
She gently pressed her lips to his temple. "You will not die, John. That's an order. My job would become much too boring without an upstart human SpecTRe keeping me on my toes."
Muffled voices rose outside.
She grit her teeth, and placed one more lingering kiss. "Be strong, John."
She pulled herself away from him and sniffed, running a finger over her eyelids. She would not wait for them to come to her.
She squared her shoulders and walked to the door, the metal barrier retreating at her approach.
Alara stood in the threshold between her and a small group of guards, including the two turians from before, waves of blue fire rippling across her body.
"Come, Alara." She calmly walked passed them. "If we are not welcome here, then we will leave."
Alara fell in behind her, biotics still flaring, and they left the way they came—leaving a group of dumbfounded guards behind them.
She brought up her omnitool, and punched few holographic buttons. "Reena, get me Matriarch Lidanya."
OOO
One month later.
Tevos sat at her desk, rubbing her temples with one hand and tapping a finger on her mug of hot tea with the other.
"...Oh, and the Salarian Union wants your response by tonight," her assistant finished.
She took a sip of her tea. Sometimes she really wished salarians lived longer lives. "Thank you, Reena."
"Of course." The girl disappeared out the door, leaving blessed silence in her wake.
She set the tea down on the desk and closed her eyes, exhaling deeply. The last six months had felt like two centuries, and she was feeling every year of it.
The door hissed open again.
She bit back a curse. "What is it now, Reena?"
"Just repaying a visit."
Her head shot up.
John stood in the doorway, his arm resting in a sling, and a playful smile on his lips. "You know you're the talk of the Citadel? When I woke up, the first thing the doctors wanted to know after checking my vitals was why the Asari Councilor tore a path of destruction through their staff just to see me—and why a team of huntresses showed up the next day and took over security of the wing."
She bit the inside of her cheek. "You're an important figure, Commander. We can't afford to leave anything to chance."
He crossed his arms as much as he was able with the sling. "Uh-huh."
She rose from her seat, and closed the distance between them. "Like it or not, Commander, you've made some very powerful enemies over the years." She reached up and traced one of the red lines now faded to a light pink. "Fortunately, you've also made some very powerful friends."
"Is that why two huntresses followed me over here?"
She gazed into his eyes. "Nothing to chance, Commander." Her fingers wrapped around the back of his neck, and she pulled him down, pressing her lips against his.
She didn't know how they would make a relationship between them work, or if it would even last. But in this moment, she knew one thing with absolute certainty:
The Salarians could wait.
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