Mass Effect - Strength Of Heart

by IAmElvie

This story is different from my others because of the lack of mythology. It begins when she is five years old and ends up a duct rat in the underbelly of the Citadel's Wards - and will continue past ME3. It will have all the main characters and some of my own. Remember, I'm not an editor, there will be typos. The story is for mature readers only.

7. Strength of Heart Ch7 - The Alliance

Strength of Heart

Chapter Seven

The Alliance

But moments are just that…far too brief. Her friends and family had to return to their lives, and so did she. At least, she was still blessed with a number of friends she could see regularly when she was at the Citadel. Cowboy, Lanna, Thane, Soli and Yarl were their constant travel companions, both close friends and paid employees. Though, of course, Lanna and Thane were paid by father Torin. Unfortunately, she didn't get to see Kaidan, Morra or Tayln's brother, Nik, as much as she would have liked, but Kaidan was pulling double duty by working with Guardian Security and taking Advanced Minor classes in Law Enforcement. Morra was spending nearly every free moment immersed in her medical courses. And Nik was busy learning everything he could about the Teiner Towers and how they operated.

Not that she wasn't kept busy, she was. It almost seemed like the Valkyrie was her home now. When she wasn't flitting about for the Council, she was splitting her time between the Citadel, Sur'Kesh and Ilium. The Ilium Tower was her least favorite place to visit. The planet was crowded and loud. There was always something going on and her inner Valkyrie itched to be set loose. Unfortunately, most things were considered legal on Ilium and she really didn't have the time to muck about in Ilium's underbelly. It was also not easy to forget what Nik went through on that planet. Even her husband grew unusually quiet whenever they visited Ilium Tower. To top it all off, she even took a few extranet classes on the side during her downtime when she wasn't working on her projects. Unlike her earlier youth, she didn't have to hack in to establish herself as a student. She seriously doubted she'd ever need the degrees, but it was a chance for her to learn more than the Citadel Archives had taught her.

Her greatest achievement would be Stein. The combat drone was up now, he could interface with terminals and other technology and he was deadly if he needed to be, but that was last resort protocol. What she still needed to fine-tune was his core. His core was made of nanites, thus was relatively solid. If he popped out of existence or had to go through a wall, he would drop his core. What she was working on now, was to program the nanites to disperse into fine enough particles that they could get through barriers and reform on the other side. Not only that, if Stein was damaged, the nanites needed to reform and reactivate him. She grinned. This would be far better than her husband's Savvy. Savvy had to be released again if she was damaged, losing the ground she'd made before she was damaged. Of course, that was if she could figure out the coding for Stein to do those things. And she knew she would - she was determined not to fail. She wanted Stein to be able to use her sleepy-time darts and webdisks and that required a nanite core. For now, the core simply returned to her OT when Stein lost holoform, much like Savvy returned to Tayln. Soon…he would be perfected.

She forced her eyes to open and stretched. She briefly frowned when she realized the warmth next to her was too small to be Tayln. No, it was Shadow. They had been on an assignment for the Alliance when Tayln had to return to the Sur'Kesh Tower. Thane and Yarl had left with him. It would seem Cowboy was going to be surrounded by estrogen for the next however long. She scratched behind Shadow's ears and under the large cat's jaw before she forced herself to get out of bed and take a shower.

The others were already eating breakfast by the time she grabbed a plate to join them. "Sorry, I'm late. I was half-asleep and half-awake, my brain running overtime and not wanting give up what it was thinking about for me to wake up all the way."

"That happens to me all the time," Lanna commiserated. "What were you thinking about?"

"Everything. Friends, family, work, Ilium, school and my projects," Elvie responded with a wave of her hand.

Soli choked over a bite of food before swallowing it down a sharp-teeth filled grimace. "You weren't kidding…everything."

Lanna hid a grin behind her forefinger and cleared her throat until it was safe to move her finger. "Thinking? I thought you meant dreaming. I can't imagine thinking while I'm sleeping. Hell, some nights, dreams are exhausting enough and they are anything but productive."

Soli nodded absently, only half paying attention, her thoughts returning to their current situation. "I can't believe Mindoir is under attack again. Pirates! Those poor people are still trying to rebuild after the last attack. I hope Jett and Rahna are safe."

Cowboy wiped his mouth with his napkin. "We'll drive those no-good, thieving pirates out and they'll think twice before comin' back to Mindoir."

"We will," Elvie agreed, sliding her empty plate to the side to pull her warm cup of caf closer. "And then, we'll make sure this planet is equipped with greater defensive measures." The unscannable, underground bunkers Tayln had sent a crew to construct would save lives if the batarians raided again. But pirates raided for wealth – not usually slaves. Having people hidden would save their lives, but not their belongings. Mindoir was a farming colony, but their vastly favored produce and meat had put them on the map. The credits earned made them wealthier than most colonies. But they didn't flaunt it, and since tourists and offworlders weren't welcomed, few knew of their wealth. She suspected the pirate attack was a response to the batarian raid. The pirates wanting to take advantage of the chaos.

Cowboy tapped a finger on the table. "If we hadn't been sent to check the anomaly that roving satellite picked up, we never would have been close enough to get there in time."

Elvie's lips thinned, but she nodded. The anomaly had been a deactivated mass relay and they were traveling through an uncharted system that Val was even now taking readings on, despite shooting through it in FTL. There was no need to point out that it would take days to reach Mindoir, despite the two systems being next to each other. Cowboy knew it too. All any of them could do was hope that they arrived in time.

Over the next few days, they spent time in the Sims, honing their skills. Right now, she was sparring with Soleya, both of them working up a sweat. "Remember, don't ever take your eyes off your opponent, their body will tell you what they are about to do. Look for the tells."

"Elvie, my long-range scanner has picked up something," Val warned. "It appears to have changed course and is heading straight towards us."

"What - " She hit the ground hard, the air expelled from her lungs. After a brief moment of reorienting her thoughts, she sucked in a harsh breath and looked up to see the needle-sharp grin on Soli's face.

Soleya shrugged, her grin almost painfully wide. This was the first time she'd ever taken down Elvie. Granted, she'd used a distraction to do so, but she'd still done it. "What were you saying about never taking your eyes off your opponent? Seems you didn't see my tells."

Elvie stuck her tongue out at her friend and accepted a hand up. "Let me know when you discover what it is, Val. Or if it makes contact," she added as an afterthought. She turned to catch the eye of their pilot. "Cowboy – take a quick shower and then turn this bird. We're going to plot an intercept course."

A few minutes later, she sat down at Yarl's weapon's station chair and turned to face the front of the cockpit, slightly behind and to the left of Cowboy's pilot seat. She watched as the little dot slowly approached. It was still too small to make out what it was. If it hadn't changed course, she would have thought it was an asteroid or comet. No, it was a ship - and it was coming from the direction of this system's relay. What was odd, was that it looked no larger than a shuttle. Shuttles could handle using a relay, but they weren't designed for long-range travel. Who would be crazy enough to try to make it Mindoir in a shuttle?

"The approaching vessel is an Alliance shuttle in distress and it is hailing the Valkyrie," Val informed them.

"Patch it through," Soleya responded crisply. She took her job as navigation and comm specialist to heart.

"Ma.. .ay… This…. ce shu..to ….. ship. My shu… has mal..ioned. Life …ort is fai…. Requesting ….sist… I repeat…."

"Damn it!" Soli growled. "The shuttle's com is failing." She turned her head to look over at Elvie. "Its other systems are as well."

"You don't think this is a trap?" Lanna asked as she stared out at the distant shuttle.

"I don't know," Elvie replied with a shake of her head, "but I'm unwilling to take that chance. Full speed to intercept, Cowboy."

"Yes, ma'am" Cowboy frowned as the shuttle began to list to the left at their approach. "The shuttle ain't gonna be able to land in our shuttle bay."

"My scans are picking up a single lifesign," Val informed them.

Elvie rose from her seat and hurried towards the bridge's door. "Then I'm going out after them. Lanna come with me. I'm going to grab a few armor disks and meet you at the airlock."

Lanna nodded, already following the young woman out the door. She had no intension of letting her friend go out there alone.

They met up at the airlock, fully armored. Elvie patted the pouch on her magbelt that held several armor disks and nodded to her friend. She hooked the umbilicus to her armor and watched as Lanna did the same.

Once clipped to the tether, Lanna looked over at her friend, her brow lifting in curiosity. "If there is only one lifesign, then why bring that many armor disks?"

Elvie's breath rushed from her lips and she connected a second lifeline to her armor for the survivor. "Because there may be others in the shuttle. If there are, the easiest way to get them aboard is to have Val activate the suits and fly them into the medbay, where they can be put into stasis for safe keeping."

Pale blue eyes widened through the visor of her helmet. "And that's why I'm glad you're the boss. I never would have thought of that," Lanna admitted.

She shook her head at her friend's words as the door closed behind them. "There may only be one person aboard," she told her with a shrug.

"It's an Alliance shuttle," Cowboy informed them. A smile slowly turned up his lips. "You won't need to play space monkey, Elvie. The drift has slowed to a stop. I can get in front of it, back up slowly and when we've got her, I can magnetize the bay's flooring long enough to ground the shuttle."

A moment later the airlock disengaged, the outer door opened. "No margin for error, Cowboy?"

"Pshh," the pilot scoffed. "That hurt's, Elvie. That really hurts. Ain't a being alive that can handle a ship like ol' Cowboy – and don't you ever believe different."

Her first thought was to ask Val for the odds of success but stopped herself from doing so. If Val didn't think it could be done, she'd speak up. "Fine, Cowboy, we'll do this your way. Lanna and I will be heading down to the bay."

The airlock closed. Since they hadn't crossed through the protective field, they did not have to go through a decontamination scan. She unhooked the two tethers from her armor and they slid back into the wall. The umbilicus hadn't really been needed. If she couldn't control her suit, then Val could have. Regardless, there was no reason not to have an added level of protection.

The flooring vibrated with impact of the shuttle hitting the magnetized floor just as the door slid open for them to enter the shuttle bay. The outer shuttle bay door was lifting back into place; the hum of the air purifier kicked in when the smoke from the shuttle was detected. Soli rushed in behind them. A shnick sound followed by a slight hiss alerted them to the shuttle bay door disengaging.

Lanna and Soli's pistols were out in a blink, aiming into the shuttle as the door slid open. Elvie held her hand out to her friends and moved cautiously towards shuttle. Something felt… familiar. A harsh inhale followed by a hacking cough moved her feet quicker. A hand gripped the side of the shuttle door and a man stumbled from the shadows and into the light.

Barely able to see through irritated, watery eyes, Loki could feel his sister's presence and made out the blurry barrels of two pistols. "Thought…I'd get a…" another hacking cough… "warmer welcome." Another round of coughing caused his vision to dim. He heard vague sounds, but those, too, quickly faded.

"Loki!" She dashed towards her collapsing brother and pushed her power into a low jump to get there before his head cracked into the deck. "Get a hover bed and mask!" she yelled at no one in particular, her focus solely on her brother. She settled his head onto her lap and stroked his cheeks. For so long, they looked like the identical twins they were, but now she was seeing signs of the man he would become. There was even a bit of blonde stubble on his chin. But why hadn't he notified her that he was coming? Why hadn't Father David and mom? Why was he here? So many questions floated around in her mind as her fingers combed through his hair in what she hoped was a comforting gesture – if he could feel it at all.

She glanced up at the thud of feet, to see Cowboy rushing towards her.

He pulled one of the injectors from its place on his magbelt, dropped down next to Elvie and yanked the kid's shirt up. He settled the injector on her brother's chest and activated it. There was a slight hiss as the medigel ejected at such a high velocity that it shot through the skin. He slapped the injector back onto his belt with a grunt. Already, the boy was breathing a bit easier. "Val kept me updated," he mumbled. His glance rose to meet hers. "Family is everything – sometimes it's easy to forget that…until it's too late."

"Thank you," she told him as the two women hurried towards them, one carrying an inert hover bed, the other an oxygen mask. "I was unprepared – won't be again." If she were out, she'd have had injectors on her magbelt, but on the ship…it had never occurred to her.

Soli deployed the hover bed and it expanded to full size. When she settled it on the ground, Cowboy took Loki from Elvie's arms and moved him onto the bed. She saw her friend's fingers grasp, momentarily, as if she didn't intend to let her brother go, but it was only a reflex.

Lanna hunched down and settled the mask over the young man's face. Her heart ached; his face reminded her so much of Elvie's that it hurt seeing him like this. Stats flashed over the mask's surface, relaying information about oxygen saturation and lung volume.

It didn't take them long to get him settled onto a medbed. He was so still, yet his color was improving. She leaned down and kissed her brother's cheek. "You've got some explaining to do when you wake up, little brother. Keep me posted, Val. We've got some pirates to see to."

"Of course, Elvie. He's in safe hands with me."

"Funny, Val." Though, the AI's statement held just as much truth as irony. While she didn't have actual hands, she could take control of the medbed and use that control to inject or help regulate a patient's vitals.

"I wonder why he's here," Lanna mused as they exited the medbay.

"If he's not up by the time we finish things with the pirates, I'll try to reach my parents."

"But a shuttle?" Soli asked with a shudder. "Why would they ever let him take a shuttle this far?"

"I don't know," she murmured. "It doesn't make sense – and worrying will only distract us. Right now, we need our focus to be the pirates. Mindoir has suffered enough. Gear up, we should be nearly there."

Once the hit the main deck, they went their own ways. As her bedroom door swished shut behind her, her legs threated to give out. She took a deep, relaxing breath. It wasn't easy to come down off of an adrenaline hit. Her fear for her brother and what might be happening to her parents had slammed into her like a brick wall. She took a moment to force it down and lock it away, like so many other memories that fueled her when needed. Unlike the others, this was only worry and fear, both of which would dissipate once she knew what was going on. She just couldn't deal with it right now.

She added medigel injectors to her magbelt and activated her armor disk. The armor flowed over her. "Helmet down," she told the suit. She then added her bats, pistols and snapped a sniper to her back. Last, she grabbed a small container of hydrogel balls and meal-tabs. Not that she expected to be gone that long or even in a survivalist situation but, like her husband, she liked to be prepared.

She quickly braided her hair back and wound it into a bun. A slight tug would unravel it, but her armor suit worked best with short hair, long strands were itchy against her back under the suit.

"We are in shortrange scan of the three pirate ships. It would appear a fourth was taken out – nothing left but a debris field."

"Thank you, Val." It had been smart of them to send a single ship in closer. The Teiner defense cannons may have destroyed it, but the pirates learned just how close they could get before deploying shuttles. The defense cannons would have a hard time with such small targets. Though, she was sure more than a few would have been taken out. "And, Val? Don't let Loki leave this ship if he wakes up before we return." Her gaze fell to the large cat that was rubbing itself against her thighs. "Sorry, girl, I need you to stay this time. Keep my brother company and out of trouble." She knelt down to rub the cat's jowls and ears. I'll be back soon," she said kissing her darling Shadow's soft forehead. With a last pat, she rose and hurried down to the shuttle bay, where she found everyone waiting for her. A flush heated her cheeks. "I had to let Shadow know she was staying to keep my brother company."

"I bet she loved that," Lanna quipped with a roll of her eyes.

"Not a bet I'd take," she returned as they entered the shuttle. Cowboy settled into the pilot's chair and in moments, the belly of the Valkyrie opened up and their shuttle slipped out in stealth mode. Val would harass the pirate ships while they cleared out the pirates topside. It wasn't her thought to kill them all – but to make them realize Mindoir was not the easy gem they thought it was. No, that wasn't right, if she let the pirates escape, maybe they wouldn't come back to Mindoir, maybe they would, but they would most certainly find other colonies or ships to raid. Those unknown innocent lives would weigh upon her as much or more as the pirates' lives.

"I changed my mind, Val," she said aloud, knowing they were patched into the Valkyrie. "Take down all three ships. I won't let them prey on anyone else." She closed her eyes briefly. She preferred to weigh a man's deeds before taking justice. And some of the lives on board may be slaves or men who would change their professions, if given the chance to escape, much as the batarians had. There was no time to sort the possible good from the bad. Her thoughts came full circle. If one ship escaped, it would continue to prey on those unable to defend themselves. She couldn't let that happen. It was her call and it was her weight to bear.

Cowboy whistled in glee, a broad smile on his face. "Sweet music to my ears, princess, you have made me a very happy man." He was okay with getting the pirates off Mindoir, ensuring every one he found would remember him…but this was so much better. They wouldn't live long enough to remember him. His reputation might not benefit but they wouldn't be hurting anyone else.

"Maplecrest appears to be the main objective," Val told them.

"Figures," Cowboy muttered. "The sweetest plum is hard to resist – but it's also the most well defended. They should have spread out their attack, like the bats did. Then every province would have to protect its own. The pirates done kicked the hornet's nest. Bet they're feelin' the sting."

The shuttle shuddered and alarms went off. "Hang on!" Cowboy shouted as he tried to gain control of the shuttle.

Soli gripped tight to her chair. "What the hell was that? Were we hit? What's the shield integrity at?" she demanded.

"We weren't hit!" Cowboy yelled back. "An explosion rocked us somethin' fierce!" His hand slapped the console to stop the alarms. Moments later, the shuttle responded to his commands and ceased its dizzying spiral. With a grunt of satisfaction, he aimed it back towards the planet below.

"Val!" Elvie bellowed.

"Sorry, Elvie. I didn't aim for anything vital, not when your shuttle was still close," Val told her. "I'm scanning the wreckage now….Ah…The debris pattern and damage shows that the ship was set to self-destruct. Likely, in a foolish attempt to destroy me. Escape pods en-route to the surface. Shall I take care of them?"

Damnit! All she could think of was Soli and Yarl. The couple had done the same with the bat ship. "Have you been able to reach the surface?" she asked the AI.

"No, Elvie, the coms are down."

She took a deep breath of her helmet's filtered air. "We can't know what's happening down there. I can't risk more innocent people dying over the small hope that they are deserters." She shook her head. These kinds of decisions never sat well with her. "Take them out, Val."

Lanna reached out and settled her hand on her friend's armored thigh. "Regardless how hard and cold your voice was, I know that wasn't easy for you."

"No, it wasn't," she admitted. "And you see too much."

She slapped Elvie's thigh and pulled back. "Of course, I do. I've known you since you were a child."

"I've never been a child," she muttered under her breath. She hadn't considered she'd been heard. If it weren't for the sensitive link between their helmets, they never would have heard such a whisper. She also didn't see her friends glance at each other or the frown on Cowboy's face.

"We're hitting atmo! Hold onto your seats, kids. It's gonna be a bumpy ride," he warned. "In three…two…one."

Elvie gritted her teeth and hung on tight when the shuttle's vibrations became nearly bone-jarring. She didn't turn on the holowindows. She didn't need to see the shuttle's exterior heating up. It wasn't a fear, exactly, she knew the shuttle could handle it and it certainly would never stop her from doing her job. Not fear, no. It was more like irrational nonsense.

The moment they cleared atmo, she felt lighter. She briefly considered comming the surface, but she wasn't sure who was in control of the spaceport and if it had been taken, she did not want to alert them of their arrival.

Cowboy set them down next to several other shuttles on the landing pad. He used the shuttle's scanner. "We're clear," he told them. "No exterior movement."

"Okay," Elvie agreed. "We're good for go."

The shuttle door slid open. She stepped out, dropping low, hoping they would not be detected until they were inside.

With slow and steady movements, they reached the door and slipped inside. She darted behind a long counter and motioned Soli and Cowboy to get to the opposite counter on the other side of the door. She tossed out four spidercams, directing two of them to go up the stairs on the right. The other two darted through the main room. She picked up two individuals, though no one she recognized. Several bodies littered the floor, both upstairs and downstairs. She held up two fingers and pointed ahead to let the other two know where the two men were located.

She heard a round drop into a chamber and stilled.

The soldier gripped his weapon tighter. It had been a hell the last few days. The pirates didn't launch an all-out assault. No, they hit and ran. Sometimes killing people and hiding the bodies, but more often just tying them up or sneaking in and out without being noticed. They had not shown any mercy to the invaders. He hadn't been there when the bats invaded. He lost his father and a close friend. He was lucky his mother and younger brother survived. He didn't care how many pirates landed. They weren't getting past him. "We know you're there. We saw you come in. Come up nice and slow. If your weapon is drawn, we will shoot – and we won't miss," he warned.

Elvie motioned to the others to stand down as she rose from behind the counter.

"Get a load of what they're wearing, brother," Brice nodded towards the invaders. He'd never seen armor like that before – almost skin-like and he sure didn't like not seeing their faces. "Go back to your ship, pirate. There's nothing for you here except death."

Nik shot his brother a stunned look. "Seriously, Brice? If we let them go, they'll either come back or they will go after another colony or ship. What the hell's gotten into you?"

Brice shrugged. "They have nice armor."

Nik nearly choked over that and lifted his gun into position. In a blink, it was wrenched from his hands. Both his and his brother's guns flew across the room and landed in, what was obviously a woman's hands. She placed the guns on the counter. His hand dropped to his knife.

"Don't make me take that too. We're not pirates. Helmet down. We came here to help." But it appears you already have the situation well under control." She shrugged.

Cowboy grunted his displeasure. "Helmet down. I was hopin' to shoot some pirates," he complained.

Nik shot Brice a look. Unbelievable. Talk about a ghost from the past. "Cowboy? Well, isn't this a surprise. I haven't seen you in years. Who are…your friends?" he asked as he approached his old friend. His gaze narrowed briefly on the batarian. Damn if she wasn't pretty – at least for a bat.

Cowboy gripped Nik's hand and clapped him on the back. "And look at you all grown up," he teased Brice and treated him to a handshake as well. He looked at Soli standing next to him. "This pretty lady is Soleya. That over there," he motioned to the other counter, "is Lanna and Elvie. Shepard. Teiner," he stated slowly. "And these are my friends Nik and Brice, his younger brother."

Nik blinked, his forehead wrinkling in confusion until recognition settled in. He turned to look at the woman named Elvie. "You and your husband headed the rescue teams during the bat invasion. And you…set up our defenses."

"Wow," Brice all but whispered before a grin lit up his face. "You are a local legend around here. A hero."

She held up her hand. "I did what anyone would have done."

"Right," Nik scoffed. He didn't know any people that would have or hell, could have done what she had. "Did you chase off their ships?"

"Val?"

"The pirate ships have been neutralized."

"Thank you." She nodded at the brothers. "They won't be hurting anyone else. Did you need any assistance - "

Cowboy saw the blood-covered turian that rose up behind, his whirled out, the body flung backwards by the forced of the shot. He spun his pistol and dropped it into the holster with a cocky grin.

Brice walked over to check out the body. The bullet had hit clean through the turian's eye. "Bullseye!" he congratulated Cowboy. "Damn, I forgot how good you were." He muttered as he rejoined the others.

Elvie handed back their weapons, now that there was no reason to worry being shot…at least by them.

Brice snapped his rifle back into place. "Looks like you won't be riding in to save Mindoir this time." He blinked and a flush crawled into his cheeks. "Except for the ships… but you did save my brother's pretty face and that's more than worth something. He's Mindoir's golden boy."

Nik shot a glare at his brother. "Don't listen to him. He's full of beans most of the time – or so his barking buttocks tell me."

"Hey!" Brice exclaimed.

He waved his younger brother off. "Would you, perchance, be heading back to the Citadel soon?"

She tilted her head. "We could be. I've just completed and assignment and don't really have anywhere else I need to be. Why, did you need to get there?"

"Not me," Nik answered with a brief shake of his head. "Our mother wants to gets offworld. She's been granted her former position on the Citadel and intends to return to work. We've got money – we can pay for her passage."

"That won't be necessary," she told him. "We're not a passenger liner, but we certainly got room for her onboard."

-BREAK ONE-

"It could have been a lot worse," Brice interrupted. What he'd said hadn't been sitting well with him. "What I said before – about you not riding in to save Mindoir. I was wrong. Our scanners showed there were four ships out there. We took down the closest… they were testing our defenses. And so were the first shuttles they sent down. A lot more lives could have been lost if you hadn't come when you did. If you'd have been a few days later…"

"But we weren't. And I'll make sure a team is sent out here to look over the grid and help fill in the weak spots."

"Why have you done all of this for us?" Nik asked. "I never understood why you'd care about a backwoods colony planet."

Her lips lifted into a smile. "I intend to retire here. So, there needs to be a here to retire to. More than that, it's Morra and Cowboy's home and I want to make sure they have a home to return to someday."

He nodded. "I understand now and know what needs to be done." Now he knew what he was going to do with the south-eighty. There was a parcel of land in Whisper Valley that they'd never developed due the stream that separated that plot from the rest of their ranch. There was a twenty-acre plot that had stream that ran along its edge. It would be beautiful location for a house that he would have built for her. And if any of her crew wanted to settle, well that left sixty more acres that could be developed. He nodded to himself. That felt right. They saved Mindoir not once, but twice and asked for nothing in return.

"What needs to be done?" she asked, confused by words that made no sense.

"Later," he responded, the rumble of a glider turning his head towards the side entrance doors. The pirates hadn't used gliders, so he kept his hand away from the trigger. Regardless, a rush of relief hit him when he recognized his mother as she approached the doors, weapon in hand, her black hair pulled back in a messy braid that hung over her shoulder.

Reena saw her sons through the glass. A weight lifted off her heart. Her babies were alive. It didn't matter that Brice had been adopted as a young child. A survivor of the awful Trinity Colony massacre so many years ago. He was as much her baby as her son, Nik. She barely survived Kipton's loss, she couldn't have born it to lose them too. The doors slid open and she ran directly to them, throwing her arms around them both and holding on tight. She'd hated that she hadn't been able to come with them to secure the porthub.

The older woman pulled back at the silence and realized they weren't alone. She kissed her sons' red cheeks, after all it was a mother's duty to embarrass her sons. Realization dawned on her when she faced the others in the room. She smiled at Cowboy. "Good to see you are doing fine, son." Her gaze shifted to the others. She held back a flinch, seeing the bat and continued on to meet the eyes of a woman she knew only from vids. "You are well known here." She stepped forward and held out her hand. "It was unfortunate that I could not meet you after…after the batarian assault. I lost my husband to the bats and my mind was not in the right place." She swallowed hard, pushing back the pain of her husband's loss before it could overwhelm her. Now was not the time. She shot the batarian woman an apologetic look. She'd heard about the batarian couple who'd fought on their side and were responsible for the destruction of one of the bat ships. "Honestly, I'm not sure what to call you? Shepard? Teiner?"

She shook the older woman's hand. "Elvie is fine. My full name is Lorianna Valkyrie Falkr-Anderson-Shepard-Teiner. So," she said with a grin, "you could take your pick. Shepard is the name I use for military matters, but you can call me Elvie. Please, call me Elvie. I want to call Mindoir home, someday – if you'll have us."

Reena blinked, a small smile brightening her face. "What you and yours have done for us – we don't consider you outsiders. We already consider you one of us and hoped you'd want to settle here like your friends. Rahna and Jet Stevens are such a wonderful couple. We are proud to have them here. They've done an amazing job with the ranch they…inherited. I'm babbling," she admitted, her cheeks warming a bit.

"I appreciate the warm welcome. I'll have to talk with the towns to see where I might be able to purchase some land. All I have to call home now are hotel suites. It would be nice have something more traditional."

"You already do, Elvie. Brice was one of the children you rescued. If you hadn't been here, he would have been dead or enslaved. That isn't the kind of debt I could ever repay." She lifted a hand to halt the words she knew they younger woman wanted to say. "So, I did the only thing I could do. Give you a home on our beautiful planet, hoping you would want to settle here someday. We have land we weren't using. A stream separates it from the rest of our land. I've already had it deeded to you. There's plenty of land for you and any of your crew who want to call Mindoir home. In fact," she continued, her grin widening. "The house and side-house sit at the back of the property on a hill overlooking the stream behind it. The drive bisects the fenced in 25-acre parcel from the rest of your land. There are three pastures, each having their own barn. One for northern ruffalo, one for horses and one for winocks. We have all donated time, sweat and livestock to get you set up here. Since you can't live here permanently yet, we decided norther ruffalo would work best, since seasonal workers can shear them. In total, you have a dozen young cows, six horses and ten young hens. If you want to farm, well you have another 55 acres of grass. Or, you can divide it up for any of your crew that want to settle here."

Elvie was stunned, a brief glance showed even her sons were stunned.

Nik shook his head. "I was just thinking of doing the same thing!" He looked at his brother, who just shook his head. "You didn't tell us?"

"I didn't think about it," Reena admitted. "You, young man," she said, pointing to her eldest, "are rarely here anymore – running off on secret military missions. All I really did was donate the land and financial investment. After that, I really didn't think about it. I had my own ranch to run. I didn't intend to keep it secret; it was just an afterthought.

The people on Mindoir continued to surprise her. At first glance, they were cold and unwelcoming. But it is like that was little more than a mask to hide the warm and giving hearts within. "I can't believe you did all that for us."

Reena shook her head in amazement. "How could any of what we've done compare to you saving our lives? Bringing our children back home? This is us welcoming you – thanking you. Nothing more. Now," she said, matter of fact. "If we are done here, how about we show Elvie her home? They can use the hub's speeders."

"I'm retiring here," Lanna whispered.

"Me too," Soleya agreed. "If I can talk Litu into joining me."

While they followed the Stanton brothers back outside to the gliders, Elvie's mind was already awhirl over the land she'd been given. There were 55 remaining acres. Maybe she could divide them into eleven five-acre parcels for her friends and family? Or less, for those that didn't want a lot of land. She flipped on her OT. "Val, please have CJ and CC upload and then send them down here to me. It would seem they are to have a new home. How's Loki?"

"He's physically fine, but won't stop complaining about not being down there with you."

She rolled her eyes. If she could have chosen a time to bring him to Mindoir, this wasn't it, but she did want him to see it and wasn't sure when she'd be back. "Fine. Have CJ get him set him up with an armor disk and a pistol. Link his suit with mine. Shadow can come too. Call for the shuttle, no sense having two down here."

"Thank you, Elvie. He's getting on my last nerve."

She giggled at the A.I.'s words. It was a phrase Val had picked up during one of their sims battles.

Cowboy sidled up next to Elvie and leaned over to keep his voice low. "The Stantons were rich as Midas when they got here and they are the largest and richest landowner on the planet. Whisper Valley is massive. But money doesn't define them - they are good people. They are the first to help anyone here that falls on hard times." He sighed. "I didn't know Kip died in the bat raid. He was a great man. I can't help but wonder if the people will build a monument to him someday."

"We can hear you, Cowboy," Reena told him. "He wouldn't want that. He wasn't that kind of man. But he would approve of the land going to the people that saved us. He would be proud to call all of you neighbors." She wiped a tear from her cheek. One day, the memory of her husband would foster smiles rather than pain. But right now, she needed to leave behind his ghost, even if that meant leaving behind her sons. Brice wanted to stay at the ranch and she knew she could count on him to oversee it. Nik would come back home when his duty was served. But it was time for her to go back to work, heal other people's problems and her own in the process.

She told them her brother was coming, so they elected to wait a few minutes. She didn't want him to go off exploring on his own rather than following her signal. After the stunt he pulled, she wasn't sure if she could expect anything else.

In the end, they waited about twenty minutes, talking about Mndoir's recovery after the bat attack. When she asked if they could help with body disposal, she told them there was no need, it was already being taken care of. They would be treated to same as the bats were. Gathered and sent to laser disposal. The ashes would be mixed with permacrete to pave or repair roads. There was very little left to go to waste on Mindoir.

When the shuttle returned, this time it was not cloaked. She marched over to the landing pad. After the door slid open, she stepped in. Anger and worry took a backseat when she launched herself at her twin and wrapped her arms around him. He'd been working out. She could feel his hard muscles against her. They also stood eye to eye, no longer was she taller than him.

She pulled back a bit to look into his face, her hand lifting to run her fingers across the stubble on his cheeks. No longer did they look identical, he was growing up. Now that she could see he was fine, anger flooded her. She grabbed his hand and yanked him over a bench seat and pulled him down next to her. She settled a hand on Shadow's head and glared at her brother. "We don't have a lot of time, but you need to tell me what the hell you were doing out here in a shuttle."

His sister had not yet let go of his hand so he decided to let her keep it for now. "This is my last year before I join the Alliance Navy. I've already signed up. After I join, I'm not sure when I'd ever be able to see you. I've been planning this for some time. I told Rissa and she supported me. I worked hard and tested out of class early. I asked mom and father David and they said no. So…I stole a shuttle to reach you."

"Shuttles were designed for deep space travel!"

"I know that. I thought we were close enough to make it."

This was all too much; her head was spinning with everything that could have happened. With what almost happened. "How did you even know where to find me?"

He cocked his head. "I didn't think you forgot anything. You taught me how to hack into the Archives. Everything concerning the Council was kept there. Even the fact that they'd sent you to investigate an anomaly. I factored in the coordinate, but you weren't there. So, I headed towards Mindoir, though I wasn't certain I'd make it, to be honest. That's when I saw a ship and hoped it was yours."

She let go of his hand and gripped his hair, pulling him down to kiss his cheek. "You are an idiot, Lokirian." She gripped his hair tighter and shook his head. "Don't ever do something that stupid again or I will kick your ass. I don't care how much bigger you get. I will always be able to kick your ass."

He chuckled softly. His sister was a force to be reckoned with. "I have no doubt."

She released her hold on his hair. "When we are done here, we'll be using the QEC. Our parents need to know where you are and that you are safe. I suspect that shuttle won't come cheap and they'll be docking your pay for some time to cover its loss," she warned. She had considered having Tayln replace it, but this was a lesson her brother needed to learn. People have to take responsibility for their actions. "You're lucky you are still considered a minor. I'll do what I can to make sure you can stay with me, because I want this time too – but the rest is on you."

One corner of his mouth curled up. "Whatever happens -it's worth it."

She could only hope that remained true. She rose from the bench. "We've kept the others waiting long enough. Some wonderful people built a home for me here and we're going to go see it. Despite how you got here, I'm glad you're here to see Mindoir. I'm going to retire here someday."

She'd already told them about Shadow, but she still suspected there would be a reaction when they first saw her. Knowing about something and seeing it were two different things. With her large sickle claws, she could look fearsome. So, the shocked expressions didn't surprise her. "This is my cat, Shadow and my brother, Lokirian Shepard. Loki, this is the Stanton family: Reena, Nik and Brice. And for my newest crew, this is Cowboy, my pilot, and Soli, my navigation and communication specialist. She and her husband also helped us during the bat attack. You'll meet him later. He's with Tayln right now." She then quickly introduced CJ and CC, who would be remaining behind to learn what they could about taking care of the property. There was no reason to tell the Stantons that CJ and CC were A.I.s. They didn't look the part and she didn't want to take the chance of irrational fear spreading.

After Loki, CJ and CC shook hands with everyone, they adjourned to the glider rentals, selected the ride they wanted and followed the Stantons. She had chosen a glider with an attached car so that Shadow could ride with them. She slowed a bit so that she could ride at Loki's side, occasionally glimpsing the look of awe on his face. A look she knew was mirrored on her own face. "Helmet up." She motioned him to raise his as well and then told him about the wildlife and crops found on Mindoir.

He risked a quick glance over at his sister. "You can actually eat the grass here," he asked, his voice displaying how skeptical he was of such an absurd thought.

She shrugged. He'd find out soon enough. "It's delicious. They put in almost everything: salads, soups… it can also be ground and used to flavor foods. It's one of their main staples and one of their leading exports. Don't knock the grass, little brother."

He found it difficult to keep his eyes on the road when he wanted to look at everything around him. "It's still hard to believe. But no more so than feathered dinosaurs they rode or the wyvern dragons. This place is unbelievable. I've never seen anything like it."

She pointed out different locations in Maplecrest, but they soon left the town behind, going in a northwestern direction. She hadn't been this way before and since this would be her home someday, she wanted to make sure she memorized the trip from Maplecrest to her new home. She couldn't wait to share this news with Tayln… with everyone. This was one dream that didn't have to wait to come true.

They flew past fields and orchards and even a couple of pastures. Eventually, they passed a road heading north that had a wooden sign arching over the road that had 'Whisper Valley' written on it. So that was where their generous neighbors lived. Quite a few minutes later, they reached another road. New, by the looks of it. Above that road was a sigh that had 'Shepard's Reach' written on it. How fitting, she thought, as they sped down the new road. She wondered how many batarian bodies she was driving over. The bats may have done no good in life, but at least in death they did good, willing or not.

On the left were half-grown cows, their long, silky hairs blowing in the breeze. That pasture went on farther than she could see. On the right was a far narrower pasture, where they could see small red heads barely visible over the long blue-green grass. They raced beside the gliders until they grew tired and fell behind. Soon, they would tower over the grass and be able to keep up without a problem.

They passed a barn outside of the cow pasture on the left and then another pasture, where young horses frolicked in the tall, nutty grass. She spotted a golden one with a flaxen tail and mane and knew that she would claim it for her own. There was another large barn on the right with an attached paddock for the horses and a smaller barn on the left for the hens. Though, she suspected it was a henhouse, since it was actually inside the pasture with the hens.

Beyond those barns, the land opened up. The road came to trident fork. The large, two-story house sat in the middle. There was a side-house, ranch style, on the right and room to the left of the main house for another house, if she chose to build one. Large trees peppered the ground, throwing shade over much of the front yard. The took the middle road, which eventually spit off, each side circling around to the back. Typical, from what she'd seen, of houses on Mindoir. As she circled around, she saw the garage on the right-hand side and a large parking area behind it for visitors. This is where they parked their gliders. Further down was another long barn. The only use she could imagine for it was for visitors who came on horses or winocks. "Armor off." The others followed suit, their armor sliding off and back down into their armor-disks.

"That was insane!" Brice exclaimed.

"Yes, it is." Loki agreed. He

Wooden tables were strategically placed near a few barbeque stations. There was ample area for pets and kids or games. You could just hear the water that raced along some distance from the back of the house. It was a soothing sound. Someone had tied a couple of rope swing to a large tree branch. Big enough to seat an adult. She turned to look at the back of the house. The large, covered porch had two bench swings facing swings facing each other, for lazy evenings she supposed. She couldn't begin to imagine living this kind of life.

Shadow took off the check out the area, but she knew her cat wouldn't go far. "I can't believe you did this for us." This is the one thing she'd always dreamed of having. When she was a little girl, she'd watch the other kids and their families living a life somewhat similar to this. It wasn't a beautiful, but they lived in close-knit family homes, where they'd get together with their neighbors for parties or just fun.

Reena looped her arm through Elvie's and led her to the porch steps. "We can't believe what you did for us. Saved our children, saved our planet and set up a defense grid, including a bunker for each farm and business. This," she said, waving her hand, "is our appreciation. And, perhaps, our encouragement for you and yours to come live here with us. We feel safer with you around," she admitted as she led the younger woman into the house.

The house was typical. Living room, offices, kitchen, laundry room, den and such, downstairs and six large bedrooms with their own baths upstairs. The furnishings were moderately expensive, but not flashy. The counter tops were marble, the wood a dark, rich mahogany color. There were even paintings of wildlife and sunsets adorning the walls. She hugged the older woman. "Thank you. It's everything I've always wanted in a home. I'll come as often as I can, I promise."

"I'm glad you like it, honey." Reena hugged the young woman and quickly wiped her eyes as she backed away. "The side house has eight bedrooms, three baths. Each room has two twin beds. The workers are used to sharing rooms."

"That sounds perfect. I don't think I'll ever farm; I want my friends and family around me too much. But I think the side house would be perfect for my family."

Reena nodded. "I can understand that." She hugged the young girl again. "I'm glad we could meet. It is unfortunate your husband couldn't be here, but we'll meet soon, I'm sure." She headed back towards the backdoor. "I'm going to get cleaned up and grab my bags while you all look around."

She watched Reena and her sons circle around the house, their sounds of their gliders slowly fading to nothing. "I know Father David considers London his home, but I suspect Mindoir will change their minds. I think the side-house would be great for them. Plenty of bedrooms for all their kids. Let's go check it out, see what changes need to be made."

While they waited, they checked out the side-house, after which they went straight to the horses, who were curious enough to want to see who the strangers were. Her gaze landed on the dark-golden mare and went no further. She climbed the fence and went straight to her new horse. She held her hand out and felt the steamy exhale and soft lips against her palm. Once the animal had her scent, she started talking softly to the young horse, telling her how pretty she was and how she hoped she could come back soon and ride her. "You're my Pumpkin." She heard the sound of the gliders in the distance. "I'll come back as often as I can, Pumpkin."

She gave the horse one last rub and followed the others back over the fence. She kicked it up into a steady jog, heading back towards the garage where they left the gliders. As the riders passed them, she noticed there were only two gliders, one which had a side-car attached for luggage. The other, held two riders, with Reena clinging to the back of her eldest son.

Shadow broke off from running beside the gliders to slip in beside her. A few minutes later, they were back on the gliders and heading away from her new home. Despite the luxury suites she'd been living in, this… this was home. She felt it clear to her bones. Once they reached the garage, she hugged CJ and CC before she hopped onto her glider for trip back to the porthub.

"I've already told your staff that someone would be coming out tomorrow to show them what's what. We'll get them going, don't you worry about that. The community will always be there if they need any help," Reena shouted to assured her.

"Thank you!" Elvie shouted back over the din of the glider. She felt the sting as something slammed into her cheek. She lifted a hand to wipe it off, glanced down at her fingers and shook them in disgust. "Helmet up." The armor flowed over her and covered her head. At least her face could no longer be peppered with bug guts. She would have preferred a normal helmet to all the armor, but she'd completely forgotten to look under the seat to see if one was there.

It seemed like it took longer to get to Shepard's Reach than the return trip to the porthub. "Armor off," she said as she settled the glider back into the rental rack. She led them over to the shuttle and settled her hand on the pad to disengage the door. When it slid open, she stood back to allow them to get on. "Put her luggage in the cupboards above the seats in the back." She didn't want the suitcases flying around while they were going through atmo.

Brice was overwhelmed when he carried his mother's bags into the shuttle. It was an opulent display of wealth. "How come we don't have a shuttle like this, mom?"

Reena laughed at his remark. "Where would we go in such a thing? Hal's feed store? Shelligan's? Don't be a goose." She tweaked her son's nose and smiled when his cheeks grew red with embarrassment. She was going to miss that. She'd just have to find someone else to embarrass when she reached the Citadel. She hugged her boys tight and told them how proud she was of them.

When the shuttle door closed, she slid into a chair closest to the holo-window. She thought she heard Elvie telling the auto-pilot to take us back to the ship, but her mind wasn't focused on what was going on around her. Tears slipped down her cheeks as she waved to her boys. She didn't stop waving until they disappeared from sight. A table slid up into position and a box of tissue slid along it, stopping in front of her. "Thank you," she said, with a hitch in her voice. She grabbed a tissue and blotted her face. "I'm not usually this emotional… at least I didn't used to be. That's why I'm leaving. I can't heal with his ghost everywhere I look. Sometimes I feel like I'm losing my mind." She grinned and dabbed her eyes again. "I would know," she told them. "I'm an Alliance military psychologist."

"So, you're returning to work," Soli stated quietly.

Reena nodded at the batarian. She'd never seen a female batarian before. She wondered if all females were a pretty as this one. "I am. Helping others has always helped me. I'll miss ranching and I'll miss my sons and my friends, but this is what I need to do for me." The shuttle started to shake as they entered the atmosphere, but she ignored it, her gaze returning to the sight of Mindoir slipping further away. "I'll come back someday. My heart is here…in my land. It's my brain that needs a fresh start."

-BREAK TWO-

As they approached the Valkyrie, Soli spoke up. "You can give Reena my room. I'll bunk in the crew quarters with Loki."

That was not why she was here. She didn't want to take anyone's room. "I appreciate the offer, young lady, but I won't accept it. I'm not here to oust anyone from their room. If there's a bunk in the crew quarters, I'll take it."

"No," Cowboy disagreed. "I want you to have my room. I don't have a wife that could return any day – and it has its own facilities so you won't have to streak down the hall after a shower."

"I'll have you know I enjoy streaking down the call, Kip would…" he would chase after her, just as gloriously naked, until he caught her and took her against the wall or on the table - where ever he could find to…she clamped down on the painful memories and pushed them away.

"It makes far more sense for the men to bunk together in the crew quarters," Cowboy continued as if she hadn't spoken. "Look, the crew quarters don't have bunks. They have enclosed cubicals – what amounts to sleeping in a large coffin. So, no. While the cubicals are comfortable, I'm not letting you sleep in one. In fact, I won't take no for an answer. When we dock, I'm taking your luggage straight to my room." The cubicals had holo-displays that made it look like you were sleeping on a beach or in a bedroom, whatever scenery you chose to make it seem like you had more space. But the reality was still the same.

She wasn't a fan of tight spaces, not unless Kip was with her. Just being near him made her forget her fears and insecurities. He'd always brought out the best in her and… she shut down that train of thought. She would not let him be a part of her every waking thought. It had been over a year and she needed to try to start letting him go. She lifted her gaze to scan Cowboy's face. She could see the determined glint in his eyes and the stubborn set of his jaw. She'd known him since he was a child. Not everyone understood why he left behind a girl like Morra. But she understood. The kids deserved to marry someone they were madly in love with. She could see the father in the boy, though she knew he'd hate that. "Fine, Cowboy. I'll take your room. It's fare mor appealing than the alternative." She saw his smile and that brought one to her own face. There were far too few smiles in her life. Everyone walked on eggshells around her, not daring to smile or laugh. She hadn't meant to take that away from them in her grief.

Reena wished her sons could see the Valkyrie. The ship was as magnificent as the shuttle, dark and sleek. They slipped through the field that enclosed the hangar bay. Her holowindow went dark as the auto-pilot settled her side of the shuttle near the starboard side of the bay. Cowboy was the first off the ship with her bags, as if he feared she'd change her mind. She smiled again as she exited with the others.

She followed them, passing several rooms, such as the med-bay and armory. The hall ended at an elevator. They took it the second deck. At some point her mouth fell open. She always thought of herself as a wealthy woman, but it soon became apparent that the credits dumped into this ship made her wealth seem like a rolling hill compared to a mountain. "You have an extraordinary ship."

Elvie looked around her beautiful ship and smiled at the older woman. "My husband gave her to me as a surprise when I returned from a long mission. My Val is even better than his Ase." She laughed softly. Val was probably biting her circuits to keep from saying something would alert Reena that she was more than a V.I..

The cat was the first off of the lift. It darted forward, turned to the right and disappeared from site. "Your… cat doesn't mind living aboard a ship?"

"She's pretty much grown up on the ship. She's not like other cats. She doesn't kill anything unless it attacks her or us. Cattle, horses, even small animals like squirrels are safe from her. She doesn't see animals as toys or food. She's more likely to think your shoe's a toy than anything breathing. Or, at least she did when she was a cub. She leaves shoes alone now. If she needs to run, she has her own treadmill that was designed to withstand her claws, should they come out. She seems happy and content with her life. She's also loves visiting her sisters. They are the size of a large housecat, but she is very careful with them." Elvie smiled. "She was the anomaly in her litter. The salarians created miniature versions of their wild merlot cats. Something went wrong in her code sequencing. She kept growing. Merlotics are highly intelligent and easily trained. I honestly can't imagine ever having any other kind of pet. In fact," she said, stopping just outside of the pilot's quarters, "Cats are the most popular pet on the Citadel…followed by fish. If you decide to get a cat, let me know. I can pick you up a merlotic…a small one," she said with a smile. "They are far better pets then the other cats I've seen."

A cat. Something to keep her company that wouldn't remind her of home. "I think I'd like that. I'm going to need the company."

"As luck would have it, my husband is at Sur'Kesh. I'll have him bring one back for you. You should be settled into your new quarters by the time he arrives." She took Reena's hand and squeezed it. "You're going to love her!"

The door of the pilot's quarters slid open and Cowboy came out with a small bag of his own. "You're all set, Reena." He looked over at Elvie. "I look forward to getting' to know your brother."

Elvie nodded. "At least you are not the only man onboard anymore."

"This is true," he agreed. "Not that being surrounded by beautiful women is a hardship. Now… y'all being unavailable – that's the hardship." He chuckled and then started whistling as he headed back towards the lift.

"Go ahead and get settled in. you are welcome to explore the ship. The ship's… V.I. sees everything. If you are lost, just ask where to find something, Val will light you up a path and may even talk your ear off. My husband put a lot of work into her design, trying to make her as personable as possible." She thought she'd throw that in there incase Val forgot herself. "I've got a few coms to make, I'll see you soon, Reena."

Reena put her hand out and touched Elvie's sleeve. "Thank you for coming when you did and thank you for taking me with you."

The older woman stepped back and the door slid closed behind her. Elvie had to admit that she was glad the Council had sent her to check on the anomaly. Her life had changed for the better once more. She'd met more amazing people and had the house better than any dream she'd had as a child on the Trinity colony.

She moved through the lift and out of its back doors, turning left to enter the QEC. She dropped into the chair and flipped on the terminal to go over the results of Val's scan of the system with the deactivated relay. She looked over the data, a smile stretching her cheeks. The unmapped system was west of Mindoir's system. Tabion Crest. Yes. She knew that if she named it, it would stick, for lack of anything better to call it. From what she could see, the system contained a volcanic world, an arid world, two garden worlds, a gas giant and a frozen wasteland, rich in minerals. "Val, when we pass through the new system that I've decided to call Tabion Crest, get further readings on the two garden worlds and the arid world. I want to know for sure they will support life. The drell need a new planet and that arid world might be just what they need. The other two worlds could very well be future human colonies.

She pinged her husband's QEC frequency and settled back in her chair for the wait. The ping would have hit his OT and he would know to find QEC terminal and reach out to her. She expected to wait at least a half hour, if he wasn't doing anything important, but she got the com nearly immediately and leapt up to answer it. "It's good to see your face again, my blue-boy. I thought I'd be waiting for some time."

His gaze drifted over her beautiful features, his need for her became more acute. "I'm on the ship," he admitted. "I'm still at Sur'Kesh, but I'm going to be spending my nights on the ship. I want to be near the QEC if you need me."

She would do the same, if she arrived at the Citadel before he did. "So, what happened out there?"

"Someone injected lines of code into the mainframe on Sur'Kesh. It should have been impossible. I had so many fail-safes and redundancies in place. I've been able to neutralize the code. Once I find the injection site, I'll make sure it never happens again. What about you? Did you find out what the anomaly was?"

She smiled at him. "So much has happened, I can hardly even believe it. Hell, I'm not even sure where to start. The anomaly is a deactivated mass relay. And I need you to send a team out there to see if we can get it working." She hopped back over to the terminal and sent off a datapacket. "I'm sending you the scans of the system, which I've named Tabion Crest. Three of the planets in that system look feasible. Two garden planets and an arid planet. I'm having Val runs some deeper scans on those three, but I hope that arid world can become the new homeworld for the drell. Not that they need to be on an arid planet anymore, they are certainly welcome to one of the garden worlds, should they want it. But if they wanted something to remind them of home…" she shrugged. "If we invest the money to get that relay working and drop some modular homes and people on one or two of the worlds, then humanity can't say a damn thing. It's our find and our expense, our colonization."

He could see the excited gleam in her eyes. He felt it too. What she'd found could very well save his people. Rakhana was a death sentence, no matter how many supplies he sent. "What you have found means everything to my people. I see nothing in the preliminary scans that would show an inability to support life." He flipped on his OT, sending messages out to get prefabs into the long-haul freighters and two teams, one for each planet. Those teams would occupy those planets until the colonists arrived. This would be a long-term mission for them. He shut off his OT and raised his head to look at his wife. "I've already put into motion two teams and the freighters required to get prefab and supplies to two of the planets. We're going with the arid world and the garden world closest to it. The humans can do what they wish with the rest. Rakje," he told her. "Rakje, a name combining the two worlds of my people. A place they can come together as one people once more."

"The meaning behind the name is beautiful, Tayln." She hoped it would turn out to be everything he hoped it would. It would be devastating if the prelim scans were off and it couldn't support life. But she also knew he was right to jump in now. When it came to planets, it wasn't necessarily first come first serve. There had to be a colony for it to be considered habited. "Luster will be the garden world next to Rakje. It's silly, but from a distance, the atmosphere looks pearlescent. I want Luster to be like Mindoir. I don't want another Earth or Ilium. I want a place of harmony and beauty."

He agreed completely. "Then I'll make sure it obtains farming colony status, just like Mindoir."

"That sounds perfect. You know just how to win a girl's heart… over and over again. And," she sighed, "since you are to far away for me to show you how grateful I am, I might as tell you what else happened out here. First off, my brother stole an Alliance shuttle and took it through a relay to come fine me. If we'd have been earlier or later, he would have died. When we pulled the shuttle in, he was in rough shape – but he's okay now," she assured him. Second, we discovered Mindoir was under attack by pirates, who probably thought it would be an easy strike since the devastation after the bat attack. Val took out the three remaining pirate ships, but the fighting was already done by the time we had boots on the ground."

"Thank the Gods," he muttered.

"I will pretend I didn't hear you say that. Anyway, we met the Stanton family. They own Whisper Valley, the largest and richest ranch on the planet. Apparently, colonists wanted some way to pay us back for saving them and their children, that they put land in my name and built us a home to live in. they want us to be a part of their community. It's beautiful, Tayln! We have winocks, ruffalo and horses. And you should see our house! It's not opulent like our hotels, but it has so much heart in it. And there's a side-house. Usually used for workers, but it would be great for mom and Father David and the kids. And there's so much left-over land. We can divide it up and build homes for any friends and family that want to retire or live there."

Outside of Elvie's precious trinkets that were dear to his heart and the Kepral's vaccine she was responsible for finding, no one had ever given him something. "I'm stunned that they did that for us. I know how much they dislike outsiders."

"They don't see us like that, Tayln. They want us there. Oh – I left CJ and CC behind to steward the land in our absence. I have their uploads for when I get the chance to pick up another couple of units. I'm also taking Reena Stanton to the Citadel. Her husband died during the bat attack and she needs to get away from the memories for a while. She's going to resume her old position as a psychologist for the Alliance troops. And, one last thing. I need you to acquire a merlotic kitten while you're on Sur'Kesh, please. Reena could use the company for her new quarters on the Citadel."

"Slow down and catch a breath," he teased. "I'm overwhelmed by all that I have missed." His OT beeped and he turned it off. "I have to go. I have a meeting in less than thirty." There was no need for him to tell her the ache he'd been suffering since they parted. "I have missed you, my heart. My love for you grows stronger every day. I'll meet you at the Citadel."

"Love you, my blue-boy. I'll see you soon."

She cleared her throat when the coms went dark. She missed him like mad. She missed his touch, his beautiful blue eyes and his spicy-sweet cinnamon smell. Ven if she wanted to, she couldn't sit here and moon over him. She needed to leave a message for her mother and Father David. She flipped on her OT and commed David. She was waiting for the automated voice to tell her to leave a message. Instead, David's face popped onto the holo. She blinked in surprise. "Father David, I didn't expect to see you. I'm guessing you are heading in my direction?"

"Am I?" he asked in surprise. "Your brother stole an alliance shuttle and we are heading for an intercept. It is an expensive piece of equipment and the captain did not want to lose it. I, on the other hand, did not want to lose my son." He had not expected the Valkyrie to be close enough for contact. The rascal may have been trying to reach his sister. "Have your long-range scanners picked up a vessel?" This not knowing anything was had become a living nightmare for his family.

"Yes. And we picked him up. He's fine, dad. The shuttle, however, didn't survive the journey. It's in our bay, but it certainly won't be cheap to repair it."

A hug weight lifted from his heart. "Thank God. I don't give a rat's ass about the shuttle. But I'm glad the captain did." He cleared his throat when he saw Loki's face next to his daughter's. "You've got a lot to answer for, young man. Your little stunt has scared us all. We didn't know where you were or even if you were alive! What were you thinking! I know your mother brought you up better than this. You stole an Alliance shuttle! A shuttle not designed for deep-space travel! What were you thinking!" He took a deep breath to try to control his anger.

"I wanted to spend time with my twin! You two wouldn't let me go! I'm seventeen, dad. I've spent years with all of you and almost no time with Elvie. Don't you understand? This is my last year before I join the Alliance Navy. I deserve this time with her. No, dad, I need it. I've felt her loss every day of my life, even before I knew I had a twin. I should have grown up with her. Now, all I get is a few months. I'm not going back, dad. Please don't force this – and don't let mom."

His son was right. This was his last chance to spend any time with his twin. They should have seen that he had more time with her. In that, they'd failed him. But that didn't excuse what he'd done. "We were wrong, son. We should have arranged for you to spend more time with her. When I'm wrong, I say I'm wrong. But that doesn't excuse grand theft of government property. There will be consequences for your actions. And you will have to pay them. Understood?"

"Understood. Tell everyone I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt anyone or worry them. This was something I had to do before it's too late. I hope they will understand and forgive me."

"What do you want me to do with the shuttle?" she asked. "Bring it to the Citadel?"

"No. Just dump the damned thing. It's got a tracking beacon. The captain wants to retrieve it so badly, I say let him."

She smiled over that. That was David through and through. "Roger that. Commence operation shuttle dump, Val."

"Right away, Elvie. Operation shuttle dump in progess. Priority mission successful. No casualties except for the shuttle," Val quipped, playing along.

"Very amusing, child. It does me good to hear your voice again. I miss you so damned much. We all do."

"Me too, dad. Give everyone my love. We'll have to make time to meet up again, soon. Before I forget, Tayln and I have been gifted some land and a couple of houses on Mindoir. One of those houses belong to you and mom. It's got eight bedrooms and it's not too fancy – I think you'll love it. Retire there, vacation there, I don't care. It's yours. There's horsed and winocks to ride…well, once the winocks have grown some. There's unicorns and wyverns and hell, you can even mow your own grass and serve it for dinner."

"She's right, dad." Since he was no longer near her OT, he had raised his voice a bit to make sure it was heard. "I tried one stalk of grass because I didn't believe her, then I couldn't stop eating it. Once I'm done chasing space, I know where I'm settling down."

"I'll be damned. Looks like I'll be able to retire and graze away my golden years, like a well-fed cow."

"You joke because you don't know any better. Just wait. You'll become addicted to the beauty of that place, just as we did. Next time you take a vacation. We're going to Mindoir," she told him.

"That sounds mighty fine in my books, child." He sighed. He hated to say goodbye to her, but he couldn't let Hannah continue to worry. "I better go let your mother know what happened. Talk to you soon, baby."

The holo went dark so she shut off her OT. She thought about contacting the council, but she knew they'd contact her as soon as they looked over the datapacket she'd sent. She rose from her chair and looped her arm in her brother's as they left the QEC. "Looks like you got your year, Loki. Or what's left of the year. You do know my life's not always filled with excitement. It could be weeks or longer before I get another mission."

"I don't care what we do, so long as I get to spend time with you. I've waited a lifetime for these few months."

"Me too." She squeezed his arm. "You do know you will be training with me?" She reached over and tapped his hard abs. Stamina and agility are more important than raw muscle any day of the week."

"I've kept up with my training," he proclaimed with a wink. "I think you'll see I'm not so easy to beat anymore, sister mine."

-BREAK THREE-

The secondary scans confirmed her husband's belief. All three planets could sustain life. The air would be breathable. All three planets had large bodies of water. Even the arid planet had oceans and rivers and vegetation, just not enough for it to be considered a garden planet. The two garden planets were more akin to sister planets. They virtually shared the same orbit, but on opposite sides of the sun. One was slightly further out, but the data showed there was likely only a fifteen to twenty degree temperature difference between the two planets. Finding three inhabitable planets in one system was nearly unheard of without artificial means.

Two days later, she was standing before the Council at the QEC. "As the data showed, the anomaly was a damaged relay. It may have been struck by a comet."

"Or it may have been purposely disable for a good reason," the salarian pointed out.

"That's possible, I suppose. Or it could have been damaged during a war before our time or a comet, as said earlier, or even intentional fire from an enemy, wanting to cut off help… or retreat. This is all just speculation. There is no way to know what happened to it without closer examination of the damage. That is what my husband has sent a team out there to do."

The turian grumbled. "I hope he is as wise as he is rich. We would not want to let something through that could destroy us all."

He was certainly being cryptic. "He would not turn it on unless he had a way of turning it off, if need be," she assured them. "My bet is that it is simply another relay jump."

"Keep us posted," the asari stated and then shut down the communication.

And, that was that. She looked over the scans again. There were no signs that intelligent life had ever stepped foot on those planets. Of course, intelligent was stretching things, since most intelligent lifeforms pillaged or destroyed whatever they touched. The planets did not appear to be new by any means. She suspected that the relay had been disabled for multiple thousands of years, if not longer.

It was often easier to build on what past colonists had left behind, but at least they would not have to combat past damage to the planets. Rahje truly was a most exciting find. Granted there was a lot of work to do, especially on the arid portion of the planet, such as: wicking condensers that draw moisture from the air, wells had to be piped, prefabs laid, wildlife and vegetation needed to surveyed and identified. And, if done correctly, the scientific and exploration team would stay there for at least a year before colonists were brought in to settle.

"I know I should be concerned about what's going to happen," he told her. "I will face it when the time comes. I have no regret."

"Honestly? I'm glad you're here." She rose from the chair, motioning with her head towards the door. "Come on, little brother. Time for me to kick your ass again."

"You know," he said with a grin as he rose from his own chair. "one day, I'm not going to let you win anymore. When that happens, you'll realize how much I've been holding back."

"You wish," she teased as the entered the lift and took it to deck one.

As expected, she did kick his butt. Muscle slowed him down and she used that against him. But she was also teaching him how to compensate. She knew she was hard on him. Almost merciless in his training, both biotic and physical. She had less than a year to make sure he was prepared for anything. The downtime with him, however, was just as meaningful. Watching vids, playing vid-games, cooking meals – such trivial things – things they would have done together growing up.

When she reached the citadel, the replacement units boarded the ship as soon as soon as the arm-bridge locked into place. The greeted her and immediately plugged in to download their counterparts' datastream. In a blink of an eye, she had her CJ and CC back. Mostly. All their A.I.s shared the same memories and even feelings could be passed between them, but each would have their own particular likes and dislikes. They weren't forced to share memories with each other, but they wanted to. It was the most efficient means to understand everything that was going on with the families they cared for.

She waved the others towards the airlock. She knew CC would immediately go to the galley to find out what was needed and make sure everything was in order. CJ would immediately patrol the ship and communicate with Val to see if anything was needed.

They all helped Reena load her luggage into a taxi on the outskirts of the docking bay. Reena hugged each and every one of them. "I had a wonderful time getting to know you all. Com me anytime you're aboard the Citadel and we will arrange to get together."

"Don't forget, Tayln's going to be bringing you back a kitten soon, so make sure you get ready for her," Elvie warned.

"She's probably going to be spoiled rotten," Reena admitted, a warm blush staining her cheeks. "I can't wait to meet her."

They waved to her as her taxi lifted off and then took one of Tayln's shuttles to her place. Since Lanna and Soli's husbands were here yet, they elected to stay with her for the time being. She was certainly grateful they had enough guest rooms for everyone. In fact, after having her whole family there, until they had their own flats, it often seemed too vast for just two… and Shadow.

That evening she took her brother down into the Wards. Fully armored, they kept to shadows and she took him to the first place she'd called home. She opened the grate and slipped in. It had become the Guardians headquarters briefly, until they took over Dagger's base in the Between. She ducked down and moved through ducts until she came to familiar door. "This is it."

He'd been horrified when she'd led him down into the ducts. He could not imagine anyone surviving down here, much less his sisters actually living here for years. "You must have been a lot smaller when you lived here."

She choked out a laugh. "I was. Towards the end, I was always banging my head on the ceiling." She swung the door open and slipped in. Her brother closed the door behind him. The first things she noticed were the changes. Someone had dumped some credits into this hell hole. There were two beds with a decent path between on either side, where she and Rhynn use to sleep. There was a main, low table and sofas on either side of it. It looked like a dining room setup and beyond that was her old desk near all her camera monitors, with a chair facing away from them and towards the monitors. Monitors that were on.

Kaidan lifted his pistol and slipped between the two beds to face the intruders. His gun leveled on them. One male. One female. "I don't know who you are, but you are not welcome here." He inhaled. "Leave and do not let me see you here again. This is private property."

Elvie's hand shot out in front her brother to keep him from drawing a weapon. "Let people use your home and then they go and kick you out," she teased. She touched her armor on the wrist and it changed from black to sporting a fiery Phoenix.

He would never forget her voice or the phoenix that appeared on her armor. "Elvie.." his gun lowered slowly from shock. He fumbled it and nearly dropped it before he managed to snap it onto his magbelt. It was so good to see her, he was actually shaking.

"Helmet down." She grinned. She slipped around the sofa on the right and launched herself into his arms for a hug. If he held a moment too long, she didn't notice. She kissed his cheek and pulled back. "I didn't think I'd find you here – didn't think I'd find anyone here."

He forced his arms to release her. Damn, but she was a sight for sore eyes. "I like it here," he admitted. Partly because it had been her home and partly because he liked the peace. "The Between can get to be a bit much." He inhaled. "I like to come here for the solitude." He found it difficult to take his eyes off of her. "We've spruced up the place. There's a small kitchen behind where you used to sleep and we've improved the bathroom and added a sani-clean behind Rhynn's bed." He knew he was telling her inane gibberish because he couldn't tell her what he really wanted to say.

Loki grunted. There was no doubt how the man felt about his sister. He held her like a drowning man and she was the only thing keeping him afloat. How could this end well? He felt helpless in the path of an oncoming storm. He shook his head with frustration. With luck, the storm would blow over and everyone would be left standing. He forced the frown from his face. "You must be Kaidan."

Elvie blinked. "Oh! Sorry!" She grabbed Kaidan's hand and led him to her brother. "Kaidan, I'd like you to meet my twin, Lokirian. Loki, this is my best friend, Kaidan." She beamed a smile when they shook hands. "I wanted to show my brother where I used to live and my life as Valkyrie." She stepped around Kaidan to look at the monitor feeds. "You heard of the name Berty Green?" she asked Kaidan as she scanned the live feeds.

"No," he said with a shake of his head. "None of the Guardians have mentioned anything about a Berty Green. Who is he?"

"A smalltime thief. No one of real consequence, but he stole from the wrong person – or the wrong person's wife, and they aren't letting it go. A bounty's been put on his head. I took it, since I'm here."

"What did he steal?" Kaidan asked.

"A one-of-a-kind white emerald fairy-flower pendant." She pulled up a new screen and swiped a picture of the pendant onto it. She smiled at the gasps. It was a truly amazing piece. The gems weren't clear, like a diamond, but were whitish that seemed to almost glow. They were definitely not earth gems and she wasn't sure if they were actually emeralds, but they were all but priceless. The pendant, itself, was in a cross formation that showed a fairy, feet together, toes pointed, arms and wings outstretched, behind the fairy were what looked to be flowers in various stages of opening up. The closest to the fairy were buds, the further the buds were, the more open they were until the flowers furthest from the fairy were in full bloom."

Loki whistled. "I've never seen anything like it before."

She nodded. "The pendant itself is almost priceless, but the meaning behind makes it sentimentally priceless. The couple's daughter passed away. They had one of her last tears crystalized – and it was added to that pendant." She motioned to the pendant. "The fairy's face is the tear."

She swiped the screen away and deactivated her OT. "No one should have the last piece of their child taken from them."

Loki moved in next to his sister and slipped his arm around her while she scanned the monitors. "No one should have their child taken from them either."

Her lips tightened. She couldn't disagree. No parent should have their child stolen from them. But she couldn't regret it either. "I know," she said quietly as she focused on the datafeeds while she waited for the software to scan for his face.

"There!" she said, a moment before a face was highlighted by the system. "That's the target. Berty Green. Bachjret Ward. Underbelly." She touched the screen, enlarging the detail. "Heading into the Watering Hole." She turned to look at the others. "Not a place for decent folk. We need to wait until he leaves – no need to stir up trouble, when we can wait it out." She smiled at Kaidan. "Want to come with?"

His brow lifted in surprise. "You know me better than that."

She shrugged. "Maybe college changed the man I knew," she teased.

His gaze drifted over the woman he'd given his heart to. "Some things will never change," he told her, one corner of his mouth turning up.

Loki tapped his foot impatiently. "Don't we have a fairy to rescue?" His gaze raked over the Phoenix on his sister's armor and the Guardian logo and colors on Kaidan's armor. "Just so you know… when this is done, you are going to show me how to color my armor like yours." His finger bounced between the two of them.

"Deal!" Kaidan answered before Elvie could say anything. This was Elvie's twin. He would help the young man any way he could.

"Helmet up," She returned her armor to an all black state and then grinned. A Valkyrie upon a winged horse appeared on her armor, purple and violet swirls swept away from long hair and wings. Instead of a sword, the Valkyrie held the weighing scales of justice, her sword at her hip.

"Show off," Loki growled, his smile belying his tone.

She set her armor back to black. "I love how the design turned out, but I don't want anyone to see me coming. If they see me, I didn't do it right. After I catch them, I don't mind them seeing – if they are still awake."

Kaidan set his armor to black as well. Since he was with Valkyrie, it was probably best not to draw unneeded attention to himself.

She nodded to him. "Good thinking."

She led them out of the duct and kept to the shadows until they reached a stairwell. "Armor off." When they were all in plain clothes, they took the steps up. "I'm cheating. I don't want to crawl through the ducts to the ring and then back through more ducts. It's faster this way."

"Still finding time to work with Gardian, it seems."

"I enjoy it," he admitted. "And honestly," he inhaled, "It is nice to take a break from my classes."

They left the stairwell and took a lift to the beltway. She filled Kaidan in on what she'd been doing as they walked the conveyer belt towards Bachjret Ward. They steered around others that were just standing there, letting the belt move them to their destination. They stepped off the belt and took a lift down. She then led them to the stairs that descended down into the underbelly of the Ward.

"You're really joining the Alliance in a few months?" Kaidan asked Loki.

Lokirian smiled. "The Navy," he replied with a nod. "I've lived my life aboard one ship or another. It's a part of me. Don't get me wrong – I'm going to retire on Mindoir. But retirement is a very long way away. I have a whole life to live first."

Kaidan certainly understood. "My father was a military man. He chose to perform his duty on Earth, he never wanted to be that far from his family. I want to be out there," he motioned upwards with his hand and inhaled. "But the Alliance has made some piss-poor choices that many people paid the price for. People I cared about." He absently rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm just not sure I can give my life to them again."

"At least if you decide to join, you'll go straight to officer's training. I'm starting at the bottom," Loki told them. "But I'll be damned if I'm staying there. I'll be taking advanced minor classes while I'm in the navy. Once I have a degree, it's straight to officer's training for me. Next stop N7 – I'm going all the way."

"I'm so proud of you both!" She took both their hands and squeezed them. "You'll both be out there living the future you want. You'll see! Armor on," she said as the stairway fell to shadows.

She led them through the belly and slid into a dark alley on the side of the Watering Hole and leaned against the wall, her suit completely concealed in the dark.

"We're just going to wait here?" Loki asked. "He could be in there for hours."

"That's true," Kaidan replied. "We'd get made the moment we walked into a place like that. A stakeout will get much safer results."

Before Loki could respond, he saw his sister toss out a couple of small balls that sprouted legs. Spider cams! "Those are so tot-flipped!" He looked at her in shock when they winked out of sight.

"A small shielding upgrade," she proclaimed with a grin. "It's not a normal cloaking mechanism, it's camouflage. Their nanite coating becomes almost mirror-like."

They all watched the cameras proceed into the make-shift bar. Once they located the target, they hunkered down and kept watch.

The trio got comfortable and talked to fill in the boredom of the wait. Thanks to their helmets, their conversations went unheard by anyone else. They watched him drink. They watched him scratch his balls. They watched him dig for treasure in his nose and wipe it on the bottom of the table. Eventually, they watched him rise and head for the front door. They quietly moved deeper into the shadows as he turned into the alley.

Elvie grabbed her bow. It expanded outward, the arrow sliding into place just as he began urinating. With a wrinkle of her nose, she loosed the arrow. It slammed into the exposed side of his upper hip, injecting the sleeptime potion as the webbing spread out to encase him and the post he was defacing. She aimed her OT at the chip on the web and downloaded his list of crimes.

"That's it?" Loki asked. "I thought there'd be a fight or something."

"A fight would risk one of us getting hurt. Elvie was right," Kaidan explained. "The most successful mission is a mission that is completed without injury."

While it was disappointing, Kaidan's words were logical. He wouldn't have wanted anything to happen to his sister. "How are we going to check to see if he has the pendant?"

With a grin, she held up her OT and released Stein. His globe was pale compared to Savvy. "This is Stein - he's almost complete. I've already shown him the pendant, so he'll be doing the searching for us."

They watched the drone, hover around the body, scanning it.

"Found it," Stein told her.

A few moments later, the drone came back into view, the pendant within an elongated pincer claw. She carefully took the pendant from the drone and wrapped it in a cloth she'd take from her pouch and slid it back into the pouch. "Thank you, Stein. Go have some fun. Come back when you're ready."

"Have I told you wonderful it is working with you?" Stein asked before he camouflaged and zipped away.

Loki shot anther glance at the captured, snoring man. "Couldn't you have waited until he was done pissing?"

"Nope!" she answered with a shake of her head. "What he did was disgusting. C-Sec can throw another charge or two on the list for indecent exposure and urinating on Council property."

As they ascended the stairs, their armor disengaged. Loki looked over at his sister. "I'm guessing they are not all that easy."

"Most are, because they don't see me coming - unless I want them to hurt," she admitted. "If their crimes are rape or assault – especially on children, then I may bruise them up a bit before capturing them," she admitted.

She came to as stop near a lift and turned to Kaidan. "When you get the chance, come to the penthouse and see us."

Right now, nothing was more important that spending what little time he could with her. He was a volunteer Guardian, paid by the hour. As such, he wasn't bound to a schedule. He clocked in and out when he had the time. He raised his arm, flipped on his OT and clocked out of work. "I've got a chance now." He grinned.

-BREAK FOUR-

For the next three days, the six of them, along with Reed, Laura, Litu, Rafe, Nik, Bree and Morra, spent as much time as they could together. They'd even invited Reena to join when she could. Swimming in a pool Talyn had installed while they were away. He'd definitely surprised her with that one. Water was worth it's weight in gold on the Citadel. They watched vids, played games and enjoyed the downtime. Three-year-old Hanska, though everyone called him Hans, was a joy to be around. He didn't talk much when she'd last seen him, but could talk an ear off now. Shadow was very careful with the baby and Reena was the happiest Elvie had ever seen her when she was playing with Hans. It was a heart-warming sight. Truly, she wanted a child. Someday. She just wasn't ready for it right now. Her life was hectic and that was the way she liked it. For now. Unfortunately, Father Torin, Ari, Rallo and Irikah and their children were not aboard the Citadel at this time. She missed them fiercely.

Tayln arrived the evening of the third night. Within a week, she was sent out again by the Council. She, Tayln, Yarl, Soli, Thane, Lanna and Loki were off on another adventure. At least, that is what Loki called it. And, perhaps, that was a good way of looking at her assignments.

In between assignments, they would take short breaks on Sur'Kesh, Illium, the Citadel, and Mindoir. They even checked in on Rakje and Luster, to check out the construction progress. Luster was a little warmer than Mindoir, thus a little more humid. The grass was a medium shade of purple with a yellow stem. Strikingly beautiful, but it tasted sweeter than Mindoir's grass. She didn't see why it wouldn't end up as a major export crop too. There were several mountain ranges, forested valleys, grasslands and swamp lands. But there were no arid lands on Luster. Rakje, on the other hand, was about a third arid. There were river valleys filled with lush pale-orange grass, tasting some-what like squash. From the original scans, the grass blended in to the scrublands and deserts. The oceans were smaller, but would provide settlers with ample food. The planet was beautiful at night with its two moons. Both planets had both prey and predator wildlife, but nothing that looked too dangerous to handle, if needed.

Loki grinned, staring out the holowindow to watch the new planets as they receded. He reached for his sister's hand and took it. "These last few months - they've been magical to me." He'd been disappointed when he'd had to remain on board during her missions, but he understood the reasoning. He imagined he'd be having his own classified missions after he joined the navy. At least he hoped he would. "I'm glad I was able to spend this time with you." Never once did he feel like he was in her shadow. No, his sister was a force of nature. He wasn't trying to compete with that. He was under no illusions though, he would always be compared to his sister, but that didn't matter to him. He would never begrudge her for what she'd been able to accomplish. He was too damned proud of her. One day, his name would stand on his own merit and that was good enough for him.

She drew her brother in for a hug. "I'm glad we've had this time too. We deserved it."

"Damned straight," he told her, squeezing her until she gasped before letting her go.

They were heading back to the Citadel so that he could join the Alliance Navy. "Come on, our time is limited."

He groaned, knowing she'd spend these last few days training him hard. He wondered if his drill sergeants would be as demanding as his sister. His groan turned into a soft chuckle. At least he'd end up at the top of his class, due to all the training he'd already had.

Those few days had come and gone and Loki found himself packing up what little he'd brought with him, along with the new wardrobe purchased his sister had insisted on. His bag was nearly bursting at the seams. The magbelt around his waist held his Valkyrie pistol, hoverboard, armor disk, two bats that were freeze augmented, a first aid pouch – which included hydrogel capsules and mealtabs, and a mostly empty pouch. He would be coming in with more than most soldiers, but no doubt he'd have to use standard issue going through bootcamp.

Once they docked, he didn't prolong the stay. Today was his birthday – their birthday and today was the day he would be signing up to join the Alliance Navy. It was the day he'd dreamed of for years. He regretted not being able to say goodbye to Rissa and the rest of his family, but the time he'd been able to share with his twin had been worth the regret. Besides, Lissa and Rissa had already departed the Hastings. They were enrolled in an Arts Institute, working on their Advanced degrees. Lissa wanted to be an Interior Designer and his Rissa wanted to be a Culinary Master. It would be a while before he would have the chance to see Rissa – or anyone, again. His heart clenched with pain. No doubt, it was just as hard for his parents to let go as it was for him. He was glad Father David and his mother still had Rhynn and little Kiara to cling too. He smiled. He was glad he wasn't in his younger sisters' shoes. They would have the full brunt of parental smother.

"Ready?" Elvie asked her brother, who seemed to be deep in thought.

"What? Yes…absolutely." And he was.

They took a skycar, leaving the rest of their party to take the shuttle, and flew directly to the Human Embassy. They set down on the landing pad and entered the embassy. She, Tayln and Shadow followed her brother to the Recruiting Room. Though Shadow was given many stern glances – and a few fearful ones, no one requested for her to remove the large cat.

They stepped into the room when the door slid open. Various Earth and Alliance flags stood in stand, all but encircling the room. There were desks for each of the military branches, with smiling recruiters sitting behind them. Each of them was beckoning her brother to them. Army. Navy. Air Force. Marines. There were none of the smaller branches here, those were solely Earth branches. Army was an Earth branch as well, but many spacers jumped at the chance to go to Earth and serve. But not her brother. The Navy and Marines were the top branches in space, with the Air Force and the Army, respectively, backing them up, if needed.

She watched him walk up to the Naval Desk with mixed feelings. He would be out of her reach now, further than he'd ever been. But that was the way of growing up, wasn't it? He signed something, they scanned him and the recruiter pointed to a doorway. This was it. She felt her eyes heat up. Damn, she hated tears. She swallowed hard as she closed in on her brother. When he turned around, she took his hand and led him away from the desk so that no one would have to wait on them if they wanted to sign up. She swallowed hard again when he pulled her into his arms. "I'm going to miss you, little brother."

He grunted; his own eyes hot with unshed tears. "I already miss you," he admitted.

"You're going the one place I can't follow."

He laughed softly. "You'd probably get dishonorably discharged, if you tried."

"I would," she agreed, her voice more unsteady than she'd tried for. "Don't stand in stupid – and if an order feels wrong…you do what you need to do." She pulled back to poke his chest. "Don't you ever become a yes-man."

He covered her hand with his. "I promise you - I'll do my best to never stand in stupid and to never become a yes-man. It's against the law to break a promise to your twin," he murmured with a grin.

She nodded. "Very true. And you do not want me to hunt you down and kick your ass for being stupid."

He smiled and wipe a tear that slipped from her eye. "That scares me more than any drill instructor ever could." He kissed her forehead and then lowered his to settle against hers. "Love you, you know."

"I love you too, little brother." She cleared her throat and took a step back. "Now, off with you before I decide you can't leave."

"Yes ma'am," he said as he threw her a salute. He shook hands with Tayln and rubbed the top of Shadow's head. He released a harsh breath and turned around before he could change his mind. When he reached the door, he turned and waved before stepping through the doorway that would take him to his new life.

"I'm not crying!" she said to herself as she viciously wiped the stupid tears away.

"Of course, you're not," Tayln cajoled as he led his wife from the Recruitment Room.