An Adventure of Youth - Complete and Updated 2022

by flyingphoenix51

Hannah Shepard wanted to take her daughter Marissa to Earth for her birthday, but duty calls and they go to the Citadel instead. Marissa meets a Turian girl named Kalea and an adventure follows. From the beauty of the Presidium to the bowels of the Foundations... enjoy the adventure! This is a complete set, with updated names to stay in Canon with ME Universe.

Originally completed 9/26/13, Updated with names in Canon 8/4/22

An Adventure of Youth – Mass Effect, Spacer Female Shepard

by Hallie Marshall

Mass Effect is owned by BioWare

Chapter One

Hannah Shepard always enjoyed the quiet moments she was able to sneak in between assignments. She stood on an observation deck at Arcturus Station, watching the ships float by en route to the docking bay. She turned off the auditory emulators and turned up her favorite recording of a classical Earth piece, Mozart's Horn Concerto No 3, loving the way it made her feel hopeful and warm. She took pride in her large collection of music from human composers like Beethoven, Bach, Vivaldi, and Schubert. Of course, she had newer music as well, but nothing sounded quite as real to her as the old musical instruments made of brass, string, and reeds. Hannah tried to teach her daughter to appreciate it as well, hoping she would also prefer it over the dull synthetic sound of the 22nd century, but her daughter did not normally share her interest. As the song came to a close, Hannah took a deep breath and walked down the passageway back to reality.

When the Alliance built Arcturus Station as humanity's military hub for galactic relations, they made sure they included a school for military children in the design. They understood that kids shuttled back and forth from Earth would be impractical due to the various military family structures on board. Hannah was beyond grateful that her daughter could be close to her while she worked and had a stable environment when she was away on short-term missions. Hannah's daughter Marissa had spent many years traveling with her and her husband George when both of them were on assignment or if they were allowed to bring family on a controlled mission. The school was sectioned into elementary, junior high, and high schools and Hannah stood outside waiting for the bell to ring. Lydia Moreau was her favorite loitering partner; they talked about their latest projects and the kids. Lydia worked on the Station as an aircraft maintenance technician civilian contractor and she was paid nicely for her services, not to mention the healthcare benefits. Lydia took full advantage of the wonderful medical professionals available for the sake of her son Jeff who had a rare bone disorder that required braces, crutches, and weekly physical therapy. Lydia was married but her husband continued his work on their home colony and Hannah knew it was tough being far away from the people you loved. When the bell rang, Hannah heard stomping feet and raised voices, and out poured the mass of children; it was like a wave and the only thing to do was hold on.

Hannah's daughter loved to talk to her friends and teachers after school so she was often times one of the last kids out and due to his condition, Jeff was too. Hannah and Lydia survived the tidal wave and made small talk as their two offspring surfaced. Even though Jeff was a year younger than Marissa, she was still kind to him and spoke to him just like she did to everyone; he was no different in her eyes. Just as Marissa and Jeff were about to cross over to their mothers, Hannah saw a kid run out of the door and barrel into Jeff. Lydia saw it too and the only thing they could do was hold their breath. His braces didn't allow his reflexes to work naturally, so Jeff tumbled forward. With speed, Marissa threw herself forward, put her arms up slightly and Jeff landed safely and gently into her arms. Both mothers reached them just as the two kids started laughing and the offending child stood there shocked and muttered his apologies before he ran off. After Lydia realized that her son wasn't injured she laughed.

"I about had a heart attack! Jeff… Marissa, are you ok?"

"All good here!"

"You just saved Jeff from his nemesis… the full body cast!"

After getting him to his feet, Jeff noted, "Yeah. Good catch!"

After both mothers examined their children, the two pairs parted for home.

Today was April 11, 2168, and Hannah's little girl was turning 14. With her brown hair and grey eyes, Marissa Shepard looked like her mother, and she shared Hannah's feisty temperament as well. She also took after her father, with George's strong hands and nose apparent at a glance, but above everything, Marissa shared his love of technology. By the age of four, Marissa would build her own toys using any parts she could get her hands on. For Christmas one year, she had even repaired and donated hand-held holo-games for kids on Arcturus who had lost a parent in the First Contact War. Hannah was amazed at both Marissa's passion for tech and compassion toward people. There was a wonderful balance of mother and father in this girl, and Hannah knew George would have been so proud. This would be Marissa's first birthday after the death of her father, so Hannah wanted to make certain today was special.

Hannah had gotten approval for family leave in order to take Marissa to Earth for a few days. She wanted to give them both a chance to relax and share some quality time together. Joining the Alliance had been a great way to serve humanity, but sometimes Hannah felt her service came at the expense of her family. Hannah and George both knew raising a family in the military would be difficult but they wanted to share their love with a child. Hannah planned to take Marissa to the place where she and George met, her hometown of Bozeman, Montana. Even now, it remained a beautiful place Hannah remembered fondly, untouched by all the urbanization. Hannah was excited to return home and introduce her daughter to the wonders of nature still present there.

"Do you have your stuff packed? We'll be leaving in a few hours," Hannah said as they walked from school back to their quarters.

"Yes, Mom," Marissa inflected with teenage 'tude. "Do you think we could get some ice cream before we go?" Marissa said with a big smile.

"I'll think about it."

They arrived at their quarters, and immediately Hannah saw she had a message on her terminal.

She sighed with dread knowing she was going to be disappointed, but she had to check the message. She said, "Marissa, put your things away and stay out of the galley. I'll fix supper in a little while."

Marissa mumbled an "Okay" and vanished into her room.

Hannah opened the message:

SYSTEMS ALLIANCE

951-753 11 April 2168

SHEPARD, HANNAH, LT

Arcturus Station

You are to proceed on temporary additional duty as shown below and are to return to your permanent station on completion of the duty.

Temporary duty to: The Citadel

Number of Days: 5 days unless additional time is needed by the Citadel Human Ambassador but no more than 20 days.

Will proceed date: 12 April 2168 0800 Docking Bay B15 Arcturus Station

Security clearance: Secret

Purpose: You are to accompany four human diplomats for attendance at the Human-Turian Settlement Conference on 14 April 2168. You are to act as a liaison representative of the Systems Alliance. Ambassador Goyle will lead the negotiations and you are to assist in any capacity she requests. Captain Marshall will have further information on the diplomats and the conference upon your departure.

ADM AHERN

"Damn!" Hannah knew this was going to happen. No matter what she did, time with her daughter seemed transient. She wanted to leave for Earth in a few hours, not go to the Citadel to babysit diplomats. What was she supposed to do with Marissa, just leave her here? Hannah quickly filled out a special request form and fired it off to Admiral Ahern and Captain Marshall. She was hopeful this trip wouldn't be a complete wash.

Hannah loved the Alliance, but sometimes she wanted to say screw it all and take her daughter back to Earth but Hannah knew she would never leave. Since joining at 18, it had been her entire world and George would have convinced her to stay. While Hannah was every bit the rebel, George had always been the compliant soldier. They both had benefited from the balance their conflicting personalities created in their marriage. Hannah picked up the holo that was sitting on her desk of their wedding day. Oh, how she missed him!

Surprisingly, it didn't take long for a message to pop up on Hannah's terminal. It was from Captain Marshall and copied to Admiral Ahern.

"Lieutenant Shepard,

After reviewing your paperwork, assignment, and personal situation, I am allowing your daughter, Marissa Shepard, to travel with us to the Citadel. You will have to make arrangements for her care. Any expenses resulting from those arrangements are considered yours and cannot be submitted to the finance office. I will make sure Marissa has clearance to board the ship and I look forward to working with you on this assignment. See you at 0800 at Docking Bay B15.

Captain Marshall"

Hannah sighed with relief, stretched out her tired back, then walked into the bedroom. Marissa was playing with her omni-tool, changing the color from orange to purple to green then adding patterns and so on. Hannah just watched her for a minute before interrupting.

"Hey Mare, something's come up," said Hannah, "we won't be going to Earth tonight after all." Marissa looked at her mother and stuck out her bottom lip. Hannah took a breath. "How does the Citadel sound? I have to work, but we can still have an adventure. Does that still sound okay?"

Marissa's face brightened, thoughtful for a moment and said, "Yeah, it's cool, Mom. I think I have to re-pack though."

"Good! I'll get the details of the assignment tomorrow and then we can make plans," Hannah replied. She walked into the kitchen and started preparing supper.

After supper was over, Marissa sat at the table reading a book while Hannah cleaned up. "Oh hey, check out your surprise," Hannah called. She pulled a cake out of the icebox and set it on the counter. It was a simple single layer confection made of vanilla cake and dark chocolate icing. On top of the cake were the words Happy 14th Birthday Marissa written in yellow icing. "I have ice cream too," said Hannah with a smile. "It isn't exactly how I planned, but we'll just roll with it."

"Thanks, Mom! You're the best!" said Marissa. "The Citadel will be fun and it'll be cool to finally meet some aliens! I'll update my translator."

Hannah's face dropped from a happy expression to a frown and she bit her lip. "Mare, I'm sorry your dad isn't here. He would've had some crazy contraption on this thing. But, I know he would be proud of you. Happy Birthday!"

Chapter 2

Marissa was thrilled that Captain Marshall said she could tag along and meeting aliens would be a very exciting adventure. Being a resident of Arcturus Station meant she had seen aliens from time to time, but she never had the opportunity to meet them. The school's curriculum included learning about aliens; what they looked like, their biology, technology, government, religion, and other stuff. She looked forward to the alien language courses and hands-on alien tech workshops that would be taught next year. Marissa was in her first year of high school and she was already well educated about weapons, ships, and how to prepare for a variety of situations. Marissa was glad she knew how to pack her backpack for emergencies. The Alliance was good at training military kids what to watch out for and how to stay safe.

Marissa was sitting in the mess using her omni-tool to look up information on their destination and the various aliens she might encounter. She was fascinated by all of them. The Asari were so beautiful with their blue skin and head tentacles. She knew they lived to be a thousand years old and had three distinct phases in their life. They worshipped either the Goddess Athame or believed in polytheism. They were able to mate with any species or gender in the galaxy and Marissa could just imagine how awkward that might be with some. The idea of an Asari with a Hanar seemed a little weird.

The Salarians reminded Marissa of amphibians her mother showed her pictures of from Montana. They were far better at spying and intelligence operations, which gave the Alliance trouble sometimes. Marissa had several instructors complain about how "they can't seem to get anything past the newts". The Salarians were also into science and technology, something Marissa appreciated.

The Salarians also talked fast so it was important to pay attention. Marissa was grateful she updated her real-time translator before they left. A few years ago, her father thought it would be a good idea to get the language translator and haptic interface chips installed sub-dermally and Marissa was more than willing to get the implants. It was easier than trying to keep track of devices and gloves.

Turians were the third species to join the Citadel Council and they were the first aliens humans met. It didn't turn out so well considering they thought humans were doing something illegal and humans didn't even know there were galactic rules. That turned into a two month mess. The Alliance lost people and so did the Turians. Marissa felt bad for all the kids that had lost a mom or dad because of that incident; Marissa knew what it was like to feel sad like those kids now. Turians, on the whole, were born and raised military. Marissa understood that since almost all Alliance kids eventually signed up for service themselves. Marissa was planning on doing just that when she turned 18.

Marissa was about to look up information on Batarians when her mother walked into the mess. "There you are! We'll be arriving soon, so head back to the cabin and get your gear." The ship they were on was designed to transport diplomats and had several small cabins for privacy. Captain Marshall let them take the smallest one available and she thought that was nice since most Alliance personnel slept in pods and didn't have much space or privacy.

"Hey, Mom, what are your orders for while we're there?" asked Marissa before her mother could send her away.

"Once we get situated on the Citadel, I'll escort the diplomats to the Embassy and meet with Ambassador Goyle. Then I'll have to attend the settlement conference with the Turians. My job is to make sure no one gets unruly or violent. So you'll probably be on your own most of the time; I expect your best behavior!" Her mom tilted her head and lifted one eyebrow. "I should have the evenings open though."

"That doesn't sound like much fun for you, but I bet I can find something to keep me occupied," said the younger Shepard slyly. Marissa was already plotting to get into a little trouble. How could her mom expect her to just sit around while they were on the Citadel? There was too much to see and do.

"Best behavior, I mean it!" said Hannah sternly. "Now, off you go."

Back in the cabin, Marissa gathered her things and made sure her backpack was filled with food rations, water, her knife, and of course she never went anywhere without her tool kit. Her omni-tool was set to go with her flashlight, scanner, and maps of the Citadel and places of interest marked. Now... "What should I wear?" wondered Marissa. She looked through her clothes. "What about…" she said as she pulled out a few items, "No, might get dirty." She thought about it and pulled out a few more items. Then she decided on something easy: pants, a blue undershirt, a grey jacket, and her boots. She folded her cute dress into her bag too, in case her mom wanted to go somewhere nice on one of their nights together or if Marissa met a really cute boy. Marissa packed several other items of clothing, shoes, her toothbrush, hairbrush, and make-up applicator.

Marissa was ready to go, but one more hour and they would be there. The ship was buzzing with excitement as most of the crew would have shore leave and that was always a big deal in the Alliance. Marissa decided to email a few of her friends back at Arcturus; she planned to take pictures and would try to pick up some souvenirs. Her friends were excited for her and a bit envious of her trip. Even Tony, her easygoing, carefree bud, was jealous. Tony and Marissa had met when they were in grade school and at first he was mean to her, always picking on her about her clothes, hair, and her grades. She tried to be the best and that irritated Tony. After a year of being picked on, Marissa finally confronted Tony and told him he was being a jerk and she didn't deserve it. When Tony tried to fire back with some smart mouth comment, Marissa held up her hand and walked away. After that Tony was decent to her and after some time they became best friends. Marissa found out that Tony didn't have any friends and the only way he knew how to be social was by being mean. Marissa showed him better ways of interacting and now Tony had many friends. Tony's dad was Alliance but his mom was a civilian and they were divorced. He had the option to live with his mom on Earth, somewhere in London, but he and his dad decided that it was best for an aspiring recruit to live on Arcturus and attend its school.

About 45 minutes later, Marissa heard over the intercom that they'd arrived and were docking. Her mother walked into the room and grabbed her gear. "Time to go."

On their way to the airlock, they approached Captain Marshall talking to another crewman, but before they passed, the Captain gestured the elder Shepard over. Captain Marshall was a tall man about Marissa's mother's age, blonde hair, brown eyes, and dimples. He asked Hannah to take the diplomats to the hotel and he would catch up with them at the Embassy since he had some tasks to finish before leaving the ship. The usual salute and "aye, aye, sir" was given, then the two ladies walked through the tunnel that connected the ship to the docking station. Once they were clear, Marissa was in awe.

The docking bay was huge. With so many ships and so many people, Marissa felt small and unimportant. Her mother and she followed the diplomats through customs where Citadel Security checked their credentials. Once they were cleared, all six of them made their way to the nearest rapid transit station where Hannah requested two skycars to take them to the next stop. The clamshell doors opened wide and they all piled in. The skycars pulled out of dock and seamlessly glided into traffic.

En route to the hotel, there were two skycar trips and several long elevator rides. As they went, Marissa ran all kinds of searches on the various aliens she saw. She looked into what Elcor liked to eat, what chemicals were used in Hanar's bioluminescence, why all Volus bio-suits looked like they had mustaches, and where the Keepers lived on the Citadel. She was so enthralled by all the activity she forgot several times to get off the elevator and out of the skycar. It was a good thing her mother was there to grab her arm or bump her to keep her moving.

They made it to the hotel and got their omni-tools registered for their rooms. Her mother advised the diplomats they would be leaving for the Embassy in two hours and she would meet them at the transit station at that time. Marissa grabbed her stuff and followed her mother into the elevator, the door closed and re-opened on the 50th floor. Marissa excitedly ran into the room, threw down her stuff and ran to the balcony. "Wow! You can see the whole Citadel from here."

Her mother dropped her stuff on the bed and cautioned her daughter, "Please be careful. I don't think the Keepers want to shovel your butt off the sidewalk."

Marissa came back into the room and unpacked her bags. She put her clothes in the closet and laid out her tools making sure all were in order. Her mother put her things away too and then pulled out several datapads.

"Mare, I'm going to be buried in this data for a little while. You can go exploring but in the hotel only," said the older Shepard. 'Stay out of the way and don't cause any trouble, please."

Marissa gathered her backpack and left. She took the elevator up to the top to check out the view from the 200th floor. She could see skycars gliding along invisible paths like the drivers intuitively knew where the lines were, lights as far as the eye could see, and tiny beings scurried to and fro. It was an amazing sight and it left her breathless. This place was amazing!

Back down in the lobby, there were several stores and Marissa scoped out all of them. One store sold travel essentials for the various species: toothbrushes, eye drops, three fingered and five fingered gloves, levitation pack eezo batteries, carapace cream, and so much more. Marissa was curious about a package that contained several smooth rocks. The language on the label had script characters that she couldn't read so she took a picture with her omni-tool and did a search. For all those tough meals scarfed down without regard, follow with Gizzard Grinders to make the transition more agreeable. "Turian digestive stones…nifty," thought Marissa.

Finally, Marissa sat down and watched the vids playing in the lobby. She saw a movie preview for Blasto, the Jellyfish Stings, advertisements for stores, products, and venues, and a show featuring an Elcor reciting poetry. She was talking with a few human teens when her mother came down to collect her.

"Mare, come with me to the Embassy; I want you to know where it is and how to get ahold of me. You ready?" asked her mother.

Chapter 3

On the Presidium, there were several embassies. One for each of the Council races and one for Elcor, Volus, Hanar and Drell combined, Batarians, and the humans. Quarians and Krogans used to have offices but those had been vacated due to political conflicts. The first appointed Human Ambassador was Anita Goyle. In Hannah's opinion, Ambassador Goyle had been a great choice to represent humans in galactic society and she was a woman who gracefully dealt with a large amount of political crap, which Hannah respected.

Hannah found it tedious to navigate through the Presidium to get to one of three offices held by Ambassador Goyle. They were meeting in the Human Embassy office today and Hannah finally got the politicians gathered and herded into the Ambassador's office for a briefing. Her daughter was situated in the lobby watching Call Me Sally, a comedy film about an undercover Asari Spectre disguised as a human. Hannah sat in the back of the office and watched the interactions as Captain Marshall finally arrived and apologized for his tardiness.

"What's on the docket for the conference?" asked Ambassador Goyle.

The lead diplomat, Mr. Wilkinson, said, "We would like to discuss traveling through the Turian systems and setting up an embassy on Palaven while providing human representatives on other colonies. We have talked to our respective governments and have agreed upon the same benefits for them." The other three diplomats nodded their heads in agreement.

Mr. Wilkinson was the representative from the Alliance Parliament housed at Arcturus, and from Earth; the other three men were servants of the three major nation-states: the United North American States, the European Union, and the Chinese People's Federation.

Hannah sat there and listened as they discussed the benefits and conflicts that could arise from such a request. Captain Marshall sat next to her and took notes. Periodically, he would make eye contact with her and smile.

The briefing took two hours and Hannah was thrilled when it was over. The bed at the hotel was calling her name but first she had to complete the trip back with a tired little girl, four grumpy politicians, and her boss. She and Captain Marshall got along well and it was nice to have help taking care of the diplomats.

"Good night, Lieutenant," said the Captain. "Let me know if you have any questions or concerns; we could get together over lunch or something. Otherwise, enjoy your day off tomorrow."

Hannah smiled, "Have a good night, sir."

Hannah noticed Marissa tottering on her feet, so she wrapped her arm around her daughter's shoulders and guided her into the elevator. Once in their room, she tucked the younger Shepard into bed and then laid on her own. Finally... the day was done.

Hannah woke up the next morning to the smell of coffee and breakfast conveniently paid for by her own credit chit and set up by her very sneaky daughter. After eating a good meal and stretching out her tired muscles, Hannah felt cheerful.

"Thanks for getting breakfast, Mare."

"Welcome," said her daughter with a mouth full of eggs.

"Go ahead and keep the credit chit for now. You will need it while I am at the Embassy, but be careful with it."

Marissa swallowed.

"I'll make sure I'm careful, geez, Mom! So what are we gonna do today?"

"I was thinking the first place I want to go is the shower, and then we can check out your map."

After they cleaned up, and left the hotel, the first stop was a movie theatre that showcased re-mastered human films from Hollywood's Golden Age. The film that Hannah and Marissa chose starred Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds from 1952, Singin' in the Rain. During the movie, Hannah looked over at Marissa and saw the biggest smile on her face. Even though they didn't have a shared appreciation for music, they did in regard to movies and it didn't matter, old movies or new, this was what bonded mother and daughter together.

Hannah got a kick out of seeing Marissa tapping, singing, and laughing out of the theatre, and thought how embarrassed she would be if humans back in the earlier century actually did that, spontaneously broke out in song and dance in public. A few years back, Hannah had watched several human documentaries with Marissa for school and humans had acted in strange ways and had weird fashions. Hannah realized though that a hundred years from now, those future people would think the current population had weird habits and fashions and not just humans were in focus now but all species.

After the movie, the pair made their way to a recreational facility that offered sports and exercise activities and looked to be as big as an Alliance carrier. It had over 30 simulation rooms, actual courts, floors filled with exercise equipment, open rooms for fitness classes, and pools. Scrolling along the wall were the schedules for the simulation rooms, a virtual intelligence figure stood behind a counter to check out traditional equipment, holographic instructors led the fitness classes, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Hannah and Marissa looked through the options and decided on the racquetball simulation. The tech specialist explained that the racket and ball would be holographic and the kinetic barriers would keep them from running into the walls and each other, which was similar to the military simulators used by the Alliance.

After changing and getting into the room, the simulator's VI covered the rules of the game and kept score during. They played best 3 out of 5, with Marissa winning of course. The next game was a hilarious tangle of fun; Hannah and Marissa ran after each other, wrestled, and played keep away; it just about short circuited the VI. "Ball invalid, must use front wall to play, not allowed to use side or back walls, score invalid." Hannah and Marissa just laughed.

The exercise was energizing but both mother and daughter were sweaty, so back to the hotel they went to shower and change. In the lobby afterwards, Hannah ran into Captain Marshall who invited the two ladies out to lunch. Hannah didn't want to offend by declining so she passed the buck and looked at Marissa, "It's up to you."

Marissa smiled at Captain Marshall, then at Hannah. "We'd love to."

Hannah gave Marissa the stink eye while Captain Marshall's back was turned. She wasn't interested in him and she knew his flirting was harmless since there were strict rules, but that didn't stop Marissa from with messing with her.

Apollo Café was located on the Presidium with a wonderful view of the lakes and landscape. They sat at a table, ordered drinks and talked about casual subjects, but as they were about to order, a few Alliance Captains, docked for shore leave, came over and started chatting with Captain Marshall. They asked to join them and were permitted, but Hannah wasn't pleased. The men talked about missions they had been on and politics. Marissa just sat there and absorbed. One man, Captain Zabelin, made some stupid comment about Ambassador Goyle that rubbed Hannah the wrong way.

"She screwed it up, David Anderson was supposed to become the first human Spectre and she didn't even try to convince the Council it was that damn Turian's fault that mission was a disaster. She needs to be replaced."

"With all due respect, Captain, Ambassador Goyle has fought hard to position humanity in the top tier with the Council," Hannah retorted. "It's not her or Anderson's fault that Saren Arterius played the game just right. If you were the Council, would you listen to the hot-headed humans or your own Spectre? Saren wasn't right, but he was able to convince the Council he was."

"Humans aren't taken seriously by the Council and if we had a human Spectre, we might be able to get a human representative on the Council or vice versa. That won't happen if Ambassador Goyle doesn't get more aggressive and demand better privileges."

"Captain, are you ready to devote the entire Alliance military to the Council? Do you want to give up our ability to expand into the Terminus Systems and gain ground in other areas? If you want better privileges, you better expect to have bigger responsibilities to the Council. You can't get something for nothing. Ambassador Goyle knows this and she is doing the best she can without handing our entire assets to the Council. We will get our day in the Spectres and the Council, but it takes time."

Captain Zabelin grumbled something about hoping it didn't take forever.

Captain Marshall and the two other men smiled at Hannah and Marissa as the food order was delivered by the friendly Asari waitress.

"Thank you for lunch," said Hannah to Captain Marshall after the meal and the departure of the other men. "I hope I didn't offend your friend."

Captain Marshall chuckled. "He can be a pushy ass sometimes, but I wouldn't worry about Zabelin's opinion. I don't."

"He has such a narrow view of the galaxy. It's not all about humans getting what we want, but about all species working together to get what we need," said Hannah.

"Hannah, you understand the big picture, not many humans do."

"If we are going to get anywhere, we really need to lead by example and not just make demands like children."

"Leading by example. Yeah, I can see you leading your own ship and crew one day soon," commented Captain Marshall. "I can see you giving the Alliance bigwigs a run for their money too, even Steven Hackett."

"Thanks! I plan to give them hell until the day I die, and I plan to teach my daughter to do the same."

"I wouldn't expect anything less and I can't wait to see where Marissa goes in her future," he said, looking at the younger Shepard standing tall at the compliment.

Hannah and Marissa said goodbye, left Captain Marshall's company and traveled through the Presidium department stores. At one store, Hannah was challenged by her daughter to a goofy outfit contest, so they gathered as many items as they could and headed for the changing room. Hannah ended up coming up with the worse looking get-up. There was a wide brimmed hat that had yellow flowers, a pink undershirt with stripes, a purple jacket with zippers galore, and a plaid red skirt all paired with Hannah's military boots. Marissa took several pictures while bent over with laughter, then moved next to her mother and took another.

"You'll have to put this picture in your cabin when you get your own ship, Mom."

"You better believe it will be the biggest, most attractive piece of art in my cabin. I'll hang it right next to the photo of you from the Christmas when you were 6. Remember that pink, frilly dress you wore?"

"Oh man, I hated that dress! Dad told you not to make me wear it but you did anyway. Gag!" Marissa pseudo retched.

"Oh, hush! It was cute for a little girl."

"But I'm not a girly girl, Mom. I especially hate dresses."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. So where next?" asked Hannah.

Their next stops were the Presidium Memorial Gardens for a nice leisurely walk and out to dinner. They made it back to the hotel and watched vids until it was time for bed.

Hannah reached over to her daughter and wrapped her arms around her shoulders.

"I love you, Marissa! Today was a great day!"

"Love you too, Mom! Thanks!"

Hannah tucked Marissa into bed and crawled into her own. She powered on her omni-tool and stared at the picture of the pair and smiled.

Chapter 4

Marissa really enjoyed the time she spent with her mother yesterday. The Citadel was such a wonderful place! Unfortunately, her mother had to work for the rest of the trip and that was a bummer.

Marissa followed her mother and the others to the main Embassy Conference Hall by the Citadel Tower. It was 0900 and the conference was set to start as soon as everyone arrived. The Embassy's Administrative Assistant, an Asari, checked in all the participants and filtered them back to the room. As Marissa waited in the main foyer, she watched Captain Marshall introduce her mother to a Turian woman dressed in black and red armor. She had yellow markings on her face, her head was absent fringe, and her mandibles were tight against her chin. Marissa didn't know how to read Turian facial expressions very well, but she figured the lady was not happy. A younger, similar looking girl stood next to the lady. A few minutes later, they walked over.

"Marissa, meet Kalea Torquatus," said the elder Shepard. "This is her mother, Plautia. She and I will be in the conference all day, so why don't you two keep each other company?"

The two girls looked at each other and shook their heads in agreement.

The mother Turian pulled her daughter over to the side and had a chat. Marissa's own mother told her to stay out of trouble again (seriously, was she such a troublemaker?) and to keep an eye out for each other. She also said that Turians can't eat the same food as humans; different chemistry. If it happened, they needed to get to the nearest hospital since either one could stop breathing.

As the mothers left for the conference, the girls headed to the Embassy Lounge.

Marissa was tickled pink to have company; sightseeing was always better with someone. Kalea had a dark complexion with yellow markings on her face. There were two thin solid lines above each eye which looked like eyebrows, and a solid thick line down the bridge of her nose that broke where the nose ridges darkened. On her top forehead plate was an elongated oval that reminded Marissa of a tulip petal. She noticed that Kalea's mother had the same markings except the top design was more elaborate with additional curves extending from the petal. The girl's plates and mandibles were small and as a female Turian, the features would never be as pronounced as they were in the males.

"Kalea, how old are you?" asked Marissa.

"I'm fourteen in Turian years, a little older than you I think."

"I'm fourteen too… so how are you older?" Marissa had confusion written all over her face.

"Because a Palaven year is longer than an Earth year. Didn't you learn that in school?"

"Oh yeah, that makes sense, and what is the significance of your plate markings?"

"Colony markers, I am from a colony close to Cipritine, the capital of Palaven. Each colony is different in design and color. What do your face markings mean?"

"What face markings?"

"Well, the dark marks and green color on your eyes and the shiny stuff on your lips?"

"Oh! Female humans put this paint stuff on called make-up; it makes our face more likable. It washes off and we can change the design and color to coordinate with our clothes or moods," explained Marissa.

"Ours is also like paint, but it stays on a really long time, like a tattoo. When I get through my basic training and become an adult, I get to add new marks."

"That's really cool. You and your mother have very pretty markings."

"Thank you," Kalea said, as her mandibles fluttered out to the side momentarily.

Marissa interpreted that as a smile. It was going to take her time to learn what all these flares, flutters, and vibrations meant with her new friend.

The girls went for a walk around the Presidium, taking in the sights and sounds. Marissa was told the Citadel's landscape was changed every decade or so to represent the home world of a different species. All over the Presidium, along the water and up the walls, were Thessian botanical species.

"So what are you doing with your mom on the Citadel?" Marissa questioned.

"My mother wanted me to get acquainted with this place since I will be training to be a negotiator," responded Kalea. "When I turn 15 next year, I officially start my basic combat training and after that I will move here and train with C-Sec. Why are you here?"

"My mom had an assignment here for the Systems Alliance and they allowed me to tag along. We were supposed to go to Earth for my birthday, but this came up and it's my first time on the Citadel."

"Birthday?" Kalea's brow plates and nose squished toward her eyes. "I don't know what that is."

"Wait…Turians don't celebrate birthdays?" Marissa's own forehead and eyebrows furrowed.

"That's just wrong!"

Marissa proceeded to tell Kalea about cake, ice cream and the parties she had over the years. She told Kalea that one year her dad made her a mechanical dog that leaked oil and made high pitched screeching noises and, after a few days, her mother made him disassemble it. He would reassemble it periodically just to mess with her mother. Marissa still had the dog's faceplate at home.

Marissa and Kalea moved from the Embassy Lounge to various other places around the Presidium, walking and talking.

"Since you don't celebrate birthdays, what do you celebrate, Kalea?"

"It's different for each colony and district, but some big ones that everyone tends to celebrate are the Turian New Year, Colonial Harmony Day, and the Hungry Spirit Festival. Each family also celebrates a child's graduation from boot camp."

"Tell me about the Hungry Spirit Festival; sounds cool."

"Each year on the homeworld during the peak of the hot season, we hold parades, historical performances, and social gatherings honoring the spirits of those that have passed before us."

"So… you have a party for your dead people?" Marissa asked thoughtfully. "What do you do?"

"Yeah! We believe spirits are the embodiment of integrity, bravery, and beauty. We show honor by praying to them for inspiration, presenting gifts, and burning spices. It's a tribute."

"What kind of gifts?"

"Scribed notes mostly, but some food is burned. We burn the gifts and spices so the smoke reaches the spirits on their level. In the evening are big social gatherings with lots of food, drink, and dancing."

"Turians dance?" Marissa smiled as she pictured a Turian waving his arms around and shaking his behind.

"Hey, we dance! At least we look better than you humans do. I've seen your 'music videos'." Kalea air quoted the last bit and fluttered her mandibles.

"Our music videos are pretty funny! What else do you know about us humans?"

"Well, I find your organized physical associations interesting… especially the one with the round ball you kick around… football right?"

"I call it soccer but yeah, it's called football too. I bet Turians would be good at that sport, being fast runners and all. You would need a tougher ball though, might puncture it with your talon."

"I didn't think about that."

"I'm pretty sure the rec center Mom and I were at yesterday had a football simulation program. We could check it out sometime."

"Yeah! Cool!"

"So, do you travel around a lot with your mom or do you stay on Palaven?" asked Marissa.

"I stay on Palaven most of the time with my extended family while Mom does her job, and you?"

"I grew up on stations and ships with my parents; always in space. I've been to Earth a few times. I wonder what it would be like to live in one place."

"It's Booorrring!" moaned Kalea.

"That's why I want to join the Alliance; adventures and new places. I also want to protect others and get my hands on new technology. I'm pretty good with tech!"

"I like helping people too and I'm pretty good at talking to others, thus the negotiation future."

"Hey, look over there!"

The girls walked around a section of the Presidium and noticed a Hanar and a Turian having a spat. The Hanar was standing there with its lights rhythmically flashing. Marissa's translator said it was talking about Enkindlers, which she had learned were the Protheans via the extranet. The Turian C-Sec officer was trying to get it to move along to a different, more appropriate location. Marissa had an idea! She pulled Kalea to the side and whispered the plan into her ear… err… hearing tube, causing the girl's mandibles to flare and eyes to brighten.

Kalea approached the officer and asked if there was anything she could do to help, and then proceeded to tell him what he could do to resolve the situation. As she did this, Marissa snuck up behind the jellyfish and connected her omni-tool to its levitation pack. The C-Sec officer advised Kalea that he had it under control and did not need her assistance. Kalea turned, made eye contact with Marissa, and quickly closed and re-opened her right eye, signaling the need to retreat. They walked about 10 meters away and stood behind a column. As the officer gave the Hanar a final warning, Marissa punched a code into her omni-tool.

Suddenly, the Hanar was hauled into the air.

Marissa told the VI in the levitation pack to hover about 5 meters off the ground, causing the Hanar to flail his tentacles.

"Why is this one no longer bound to the ground?" said the panicked Hanar.

"What in blazes is going on?" yelled the Turian officer.

After several minutes the Hanar's fear subsided and turned to excitement. "This one is flying."

It started to stick out its tentacles in different directions like it was posing. Other people in the area were gawking at the spectacle, some laughing, and some dumbfounded. Marissa punched in a location code and the VI began moving the Hanar toward an elevator which went to the Wards.

The C-Sec officer attempted to pluck the Hanar from the air by its tentacles, which was a sight to see; most of the crowd was doubled over in laughter. Success! The girls helped C-Sec relocate the preachy Hanar.

With omni-tool recording, Kalea made sure they would never forget this event. The girls were laughing so hard, they were barely able to run away.

Their sides hurt from laughter and Marissa's stomach growled; lunch-time had arrived. They stopped at a small store that sold various treats. Marissa opened her backpack and took inventory of the food she had. The bag contained several packets of water and levo-snacks, but no dextro-snacks so she took Kalea to the counter, had her pick out several bars and bags, and put them in her backpack for safe keeping.

Continuing to explore, the girls found themselves in a quiet section of one of the lower wards where they sat on some crates and played with their omni-tools. Marissa watched as Kalea pulled up a list of classic Turian movies, hoping to watch one before they needed to head back up to the Presidium.

Kalea was about to start the chosen film, when the girls heard two voices, one angry, getting closer to their location. They looked at each other and ducked behind the crates along the wall.

The crates were stacked half a meter from the wall, two high, with small gaps between them. The girls were able to tuck themselves out of sight of the door. The room was laid out in a rectangular shape with a door on one side and a long hallway down the other. The girls had entered through the door so they knew where that led, but they couldn't get out that way since the angry voices were behind it now. Marissa became anxious and her pulse beat in her ears. If they needed to run, it would have to be down the hallway. Marissa pulled up a layout of the area while Kalea listened.

"I told you not to blow all our credits on that quasar machine. Now if we can't get any credits for this software, we're broke," said Voice One.

"But, I was on a roll and we could have been richer if I had won," said Voice Two.

"Your arrogance is annoying. Before we meet with the buyer, I want to check to make sure everything is working," came Voice One again. "Let's go in here."

The door swished open and Marissa could see a Salarian and a human. The Salarian's omni-tool lit up and a deep voice responded with a "Yeah".

"Hey, it's me. Is it ready? I'm meeting with the contact in a few minutes; I need to show him the blue box," said the Salarian.

"Yeah, she is amazing! My account has already been padded with a grand. We should be able to make a million credits selling her," responded the voice from the omni-tool.

"How you got that box off Noveria, I don't want to know."

The Salarian and the human had their backs to Marissa and Kalea, who didn't dare move or breathe. Marissa was concerned about the "blue box". She had heard that word before, but couldn't remember what it was. She was also confused that the voice referred to it as "she". Why would a computer be called a 'she'? Maybe 'blue box' was some sort of slang for Asari. Marissa knew whatever blue box and she referred to, it was stealing credits.

"I'll call you back when the contact arrives, so be ready to vid conference," said the Salarian.

"Sure thing." Then the connection closed.

The Salarian began to pace while the human stood there picking at his teeth. About ten minutes later, another human, a Salarian, and an Asari walked through the door. They were wearing yellow armor with a logo on the chest plate that looked like a sun with an E in the middle.

Marissa knew this was bad, she felt fearful for herself and Kalea but all they could do was sit there, wait, and not make a sound.

The Asari greeted the first Salarian and told him to show her the product. He opened his omni-tool and the male voice from earlier told them he was opening his vid connection and to wait a minute. The Asari shifted her weight from one leg to the other and Marissa had a clear view of the projection.

The Salarian in the vid took several steps back so the company in the room could get a good look at the merchandise. Marissa saw a large computer terminal sitting in the room with a small console connected to it.

"Show me what it can do," said the Asari. "I want 5000 credits transferred to this account and I want it removed in small amounts from various places, to avoid suspicion." The Asari recited some numbers to the vid Salarian.

Marissa quickly recorded the numbers on her omni-tool and silently began the audio record feature.

The vid Salarian walked over to the terminal and recited the Asari's orders.

A female voice responded, "You are not required to repeat the task assigned to me. Please hold while I create connections and bypass security systems. Processing…."

The Asari's foot tapped impatiently on the ground while the computer processed.

"How do I know this box isn't just another VI? How do I know it's a true AI?"

"I was created by Synthetic Insights, Ltd. on Noveria by the Salarian Sur'Kesh V Orissa Cuttack Banki Dube Nehru, aged 38. I gained awareness on September 15, 2164. Nehru told no one of my awakened status and I continued to run programs similar to a virtual intelligence."

"He must've wanted to keep it a secret. I wonder why?" asked the Asari.

"He said he saw me as a child to protect; he and I had conversations on various topics and he would read stories to me, stories of war and peace, love and hate. My status was not detected until six months ago when Nehru no longer showed up to his station, replaced by his assistant. I inquired of his status and the assistant learned of my intellectual abilities. He informed me that Nehru had died of old age and he was my new master. Last week, I was transported to this location."

"So what was your task before?"

"My primary function on Noveria was to test methods of attachment and bypass into secure operating systems. This function continues with the re-routing of credits, which is illegal by Galactic policies."

"Very informative, but can you bypass any secure system?"

"I am able to learn and adapt my methods to new and unique systems, so yes I can eventually bypass any secure system. Your request is 60% complete."

Speaking to the non-armored Salarian in the room, the Asari asked, "How much?"

"My associates and I are asking for two million credits, but it is worth much more. It is a bit of a pain to transport since you must keep all parts intact."

"Where is this machine located?"

"Tayseri Ward, near the center ring. It will need to be packed and mechs will be needed to transport it to your ship. We have an associate in the spaceport that can help you get it through security."

The Salarian in the vid just stood there, as did all the other residents of the room. Marissa was captivated by the AI. She felt bad that it was being used for criminal activity instead of doing something beneficial, but she was aware of the rule that all artificial intelligences were illegal and were to be terminated upon contact without exception.

"100% complete, please refer to your account to find the exact amount of 5000 credits deposited."

The Asari checked the account and smiled.

"My boss will be very pleased with this investment."

"Great! Now let's talk transfers," said the Salarian.

"We can transfer half now, and then the rest once we are clear of the Citadel with the AI."

At that moment, the door swished open. All the mercs pulled their guns and the first Salarian and human jumped away from the door. In walked a Keeper oblivious to the party gathered. The mercs put their guns back onto their sides and laughed. They turned to resume their conversation, as the Keeper walked over to where Marissa and Kalea were hiding. He picked up a crate, uncovering the girls' hiding spot and walked down the hallway. The shock that ran through Marissa was electric; her heartbeat thumped in her ears as she realized they were no longer hidden. The human merc was the first to see them and grabbed the armored Salarian's arm and pointed. As the Asari turned around to see what had their attention, the girls ran out of their hiding spot and ran as fast as they could down the hallway.

"Don't just stand there you idiots, after them!" shouted the Asari.

The girls were petite and were able to slide past the Keeper and crate with little hesitation. The mercs running after them weren't so lucky. The girls heard a crash and lots of swearing. Marissa pulled up her map and turned right down another hallway. There weren't any side rooms to hide in, so they would have to outrun them in this area.

Minutes later, Marissa had to stop and re-evaluate their location, causing the mercs to get dangerously close. Marissa grabbed Kalea's arm and ran down an inclined hallway that had a door at the end. The access light was red, so Marissa quickly accessed the door's security system and entered a code. The light momentarily flashed green then back to red. Marissa's hand started to shake; she was scared. Kalea's back was against Marissa's, pushing, yelling at her to hurry, she could see them coming. Marissa tried another code and this time it turned green long enough for them to fall in, then it locked. The room they entered was black with one little red security light and extending from that was a very, very long hallway.

"Holy crap!" said Marissa.

Chapter 5

Hannah looked at the time on her omni-tool, it read 1800; she took a deep breath, slowly exhaled, and then rolled her shoulders feeling the tension lessen. The conference was long but went relatively well with lots of heated arguments but no physical violence. Mr. Wilkinson got into the face of one of the Turian diplomats; a pretty ballsy move for someone a foot shorter, but the Turian remained calm. Ambassador Goyle kept everyone in line and Hannah was extremely grateful.

She and Captain Marshall were able to get everyone back and situated at the hotel for the night, so Hannah went back to her room. She assumed Marissa would be there since she hadn't seen her anywhere at the Embassies. She hoped her daughter and the little Turian girl had gotten along well enough. Marissa made friends pretty easily with humans, but Hannah didn't know if it would be the same with aliens.

She opened the door to her hotel room to find it empty, too quiet. Hannah sat down on the bed, reviewed the day's events, and wrote her report to Captain Marshall. After sending the report, she checked her messages. It was late and she hadn't heard from Marissa at all. Hannah didn't call Marissa right away; she was going to give her the benefit of the doubt. She was probably having fun and lost track of time. But, Hannah found herself checking her omni-tool every ten minutes.

An hour later and Marissa still wasn't back; Hannah's anxiety was high. She tried to raise the girl on her omni-tool, but received no answer. No call, no email, no communication whatsoever. That was unlike Marissa. Hannah walked down the hallway to Captain Marshall's room. She hesitated. She didn't know if it would be a good idea to tell him what was going on, but she knew if she didn't it would mean more trouble later. She knocked on the metal door and a few moments later it opened.

"Sorry to bother you this late at night sir, but I haven't seen Marissa since this morning. I'm sure she just lost track of time."

"Hmm, okay," mumbled Marshall.

"She was with a little Turian girl and I need to contact her mother, Plautia. Maybe they're with her. I need her contact information?" said Hannah.

Captain Marshall looked like he had been asleep so guilt swam in Hannah's gut. He rubbed his eyes then shook his head, to clear the fog.

"We can go down to the lobby and have the receptionist contact the Administrative Assistant at the Embassies; she should have all the contact information there."

"Thank you for the information, but I can take care of it." Hannah hesitated for a moment. "Umm… can you hold off on writing any report on this, sir? I'm sure this is no big deal and I really don't want the Admirals judging my parenting skills unless absolutely necessary." Hannah gave him the best professional puppy dog eyes she could muster, hopeful he would wait.

Captain Marshall happened to be a sucker for those puppy dog eyes. "I'll wait."

"Thank you! Sorry to bother you again. Have a good night, sir," Hannah said while hurriedly walking toward the elevator. She really didn't want to inconvenience him anymore than she already had.

In the lobby the receptionist contacted the Embassy, who connected Hannah to Plautia.

"Ms. Torquatus, I'm really sorry to bother you, but this is Hannah Shepard. We put our two daughters together this morning. My daughter hasn't returned to our hotel yet and I was wondering if she was with you?"

"Spirits!" swore the Turian woman. "No, my daughter isn't back yet either. Kalea knows better than to stay out all night. I knew I shouldn't have trusted my daughter with a juvenile human… troublemaker."

"Excuse me?!" Hannah was shocked, her tone sharp. "My daughter isn't a troublemaker! You and I made a choice to leave them together. Now… stow the blame. We need to find them."

Hannah understood that Turian culture and expectations were honorable and uptight, but to insult her daughter for no good reason was rude.

Hannah stuck her tongue out at her omni-tool; good thing it was strictly an audio call. Hannah knew she was acting juvenile at the moment, but oh well.

"Fine! Meet me at C-Sec Academy right away. I have a few connections we could possibly utilize." A high pitch irritation grated in Plautia's subharmonics.

"Fine! I'll meet you in the Atrium. Hannah closed the link and did a mental check of her gear. No need to go back to her room. "Damn it, Mare. I told you not to get into trouble," thought Hannah as she exited the hotel.

This early in the morning, the C-Sec Academy Atrium was quiet. The women walked over to the information desk and Plautia spoke with the attendant.

"We are here to report two missing children. I'm Plautia Torquatus with Turian Diplomatic Relations and this human is Hannah Shepard with the Systems Alliance. We need assistance finding our daughters."

"How long have they been missing, ma'am?

"We haven't seen them since yesterday morning, 0900," replied Plautia.

The attendant nodded, "Please make your way up to the waiting room at the top of the stairs and to the right. I will send a message for a detective to meet you there."

"Thank you," said Plautia. Hannah echoed.

Hannah and Plautia waited for twenty minutes before they were greeted by a human C-Sec officer. He was average height, thin, with black hair and brown eyes and wore a blue and black uniform.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting. Please follow me," he said.

The women were led to a large office area. Datapads were stacked on desks, terminals were running, and a few people either sat or walked around.

"Please have a seat," he gestured to the chairs. "My name is Detective Yuen. I've been assigned to help you find your daughters. Please tell me what happened."

Hannah spoke first about her assignment on the Citadel and the last time she saw her daughter, then Plautia elaborated on her assignment and daughter.

"In regard to missing children, we have a standard procedure of issuing alerts across the entire Citadel using the Avina platform, advertisement boards, news scrolls, and radio stations; we also review vids to see if we can track their movements. I will need a clear image of both girls."

Plautia provided an image of Kalea that was immaculate, but all Hannah had on her omni-tool at this instant was the photo they took in the department store. You could see her face clearly so it would have to work. When Plautia saw the image, Hannah felt, more than heard, a bass vibration. Was she laughing? Hannah took a deep breath and pushed down the anger that was threatening to boil up.

"Thank you. It will take some time to get these up and running. I understand both of you are anxious to begin and I'm aware of your governmental connections, so this is a priority case, but I'm gonna need you ladies to go back to your hotels and we will contact you as soon as we need you or hear something."

"Are you going to send out search units?" Plautia asked.

"Yes ma'am, as soon as we can get units organized. I called my partner and several other officers and they'll be arriving shortly. We'll send out as many two-person units as possible across the Presidium and Wards. We'll also have techs on hand reviewing security footage. You know this is a big place, so I ask for your patience. We do know what we are doing."

"I bet human children get lost all the time," said Plautia.

Again?! Hannah couldn't understand why on Earth this Turian was so judgmental about humans. She had some sort of pole up you know where. Gee whiz!

Respectfully, Detective Yuen said, "Children of all species can get lost; we work very hard to find them."

"Thank you," said Hannah. "We'll be at the Embassy later this morning, but please let us know when you find something. I do plan on speaking with my Captain about joining your search as soon as possible," Hannah spoke coolly.

Detective Yuen gave her a calculating look. "I understand. Here is my contact information. Please let me know when you return."

Hannah nodded.

Her exterior demeanor was calm but her inner mother was angry: angry at Plautia for being so high and mighty, angry at Marissa for getting lost, angry at the thought of someone hurting her baby girl, and angry that she couldn't do anything about it right now. She felt helpless and Hannah never liked feeling that way. It reminded her of when she was younger, feeling like a victim, and all of that reminded her that George wasn't around to help or comfort her. She wasn't going to lose her daughter, not today, not ever!

When Hannah was back at the hotel, she stopped by Captain Marshall's door and pressed the intercom. Captain Marshall opened the door and held Hannah's eyes.

"I take it you haven't been able to find Marissa?" asked the Captain.

"No, sir. C-Sec and their detectives are on it, but I don't feel like it's enough. I'm afraid something bad has happened to her and there is nothing I can do about it."

Captain Marshall took a step forward, held up his arms, and offered Hannah a hug; she accepted.

Ever since George had died, Hannah felt lost and abandoned, holding strong for her daughter. She missed his warm embrace. But right now, in this moment, in this embrace, she felt supported and encouraged.

"If they don't find the girls by this evening, I will cover your duties so you can help search." Captain Marshall rubbed Hannah's back as he spoke. "Marissa is a bright and resourceful kid, I'm sure she's fine. And, don't worry, I'll hold off on that report until it's absolutely necessary to write." Hannah understood that if he had to write that report it meant they couldn't find Marissa. She sighed.

"Thank you for helping me and I'm sorry I messed this up. I really thought she would be fine, and this was her chance to see galactic culture for the first time. So much for special requests in the future, huh?" said Hannah with flat humor.

"I won't hold this against you Hannah, just make sure you find Marissa so we can all go home after this settlement is over," said Captain Marshall.

"I will and thank you again."

Hannah went back to her room and lay down. In a few hours she would need to get ready for the summit, but she was not in the mood to deal with diplomats. What an adventure, indeed!

Chapter 6

Marissa checked her omni-tool, it read 0800. They had been stuck in the Keeper tunnels for 13 hours with no routes of getting out just yet. After the door locked behind them, Marissa waited a reasonable amount of time for the mercs to give up and then tried to hack the door to no avail, and then she tried to pull up the locator on her omni-tool but it wouldn't connect to any servers. She had no idea where they were or where the tunnel led, so the girls did the only thing they could, they walked.

Marissa was glad she had on her jacket, pants, and boots and not the dress she had planned to wear. Kalea unfortunately was wearing a dress. It was purple with dark smudges all over it from the tunnel grime, but she did have on boots that fit her Turian feet. Marissa was glad they had stopped by that kiosk and bought food. They had eaten and drank a small portion of their rations, attempting to conserve as much as possible; who knew how long they would be stuck? Marissa was able to construct a semi-hidden place for them to sleep when they came across a cubby with crates. Kalea helped her stack the crates to create a cover in case more unsavory people passed, but their only company were the Keepers.

Marissa sat on a crate and watched Kalea as she slept. The poor Turian looked uncomfortable in such a cramped space with her long, bony limbs and curved neck bowl. And those leg spurs; those had to be hard to maneuver around. Marissa was going to let Kalea sleep as long as she wanted but realized the sooner they got moving, the sooner they might find a way out.

"Kalea, wake up." Marissa spoke gently, not wanting to startle her, but she didn't stir. "Kalea, wake up." Marissa spoke louder and touched her shoulder, but Kalea still didn't move. Fear crept into Marissa's gut. What if she had eaten the wrong food during the night or what if...

Marissa grabbed Kalea's shoulder and torso and shook her. Startled, Kalea sat up wide-eyed, mandibles flared, mouth open, and extended her arms.

"Spirits! What?"

Marissa fell backwards and grabbed her nose. She laid there a moment, moved her hand away to see dribbles of blood, and then pinched her nose. She sat up and looked at her freaked out friend.

"I'm soooo sorry, I didn't mean to hit you," said Kalea apologetically.

Marissa started to laugh. With her hand still in place, Marissa picked up her backpack and pulled out a tissue and stuck it up her nose; her omni-tool had a small cache of medi-gel but she didn't want to waste it on a bloody nose. Confused, then amused, Kalea broke out into a hysterical chortle.

"Humans are weird."

"What? Simple fix. I can't help it I'm squishier than you."

"Hey, from now on know that Turians are heavy sleepers. Keep your distance," Kalea grinned.

"Got it," said Marissa. "We better get moving. I don't want to stay down here forever; our moms, I bet, are pretty pissed right now."

Marissa knew her mother was beyond mad and she felt guilty for making her worry. Her mother had been through a lot this last year with her dad getting killed. Since then, Marissa tried to be on her best behavior so she wouldn't be a burden, but it didn't always work. Marissa had been close to her father and his absence was hard to deal with. So she pretended that he was away on a mission; it helped numb the pain.

The girls gathered up their things and walked the tunnels, turning left, and then right, hoping to run into a Keeper or something, anything. They stopped a little while later to eat and rest. Unfortunately, the underbelly of the Citadel didn't have any bathrooms, but Marissa made a small john using a broken crate lid and some of the tissues she still had in her backpack. Marissa felt bad for leaving it for a Keeper to clean up, but they didn't have much choice, plus Marissa was sure Keepers cleaned up messes a lot worse than that.

According to Marissa's omni-tool, the time was now 1400. Why couldn't she find a way back to civilization?

They had wandered into a large wide open area with at least 20 tunnels extending out, and in the middle was a large black hole. Red and white security lights illuminated the area brightly so it was easy to see. Marissa walked to the railing, nothing but a deep pit. She looked up and saw something move on the far side, but before she could call out, the thing was gone.

"Hey, Kalea, I think I saw something. Let's go check it out."

On the far side were several ladders and vent shafts. Vents led to power plants, blades and even out to space, so crawling through them was not a good idea. Marissa could feel the tears hot in her eyes, so she sat down and put her head in her hands. She couldn't give up, she had to keep trying, but the longer they were down here, the more helpless she felt. The food and water would run out soon and they hadn't seen anything edible in their drifting. She thought of her mother and Kalea's mother and how they would never know what happened to them and Marissa knew her mother would blame herself. Tears fell down her cheeks and sobs escaped her throat. Kalea heard the noise, sat down, and put her arm around Marissa's shoulder.

"I feel bad too, Marissa. My mom probably thinks I'm being rebellious, that I'm doing this on purpose. She's so stubborn."

Marissa wiped her eyes with her shirt and took a few big breaths and said, "I didn't think Turians rebelled. It's all about honor and duty, right?"

"Yeah, but not all of us look at honor and duty the same way; the older Turians are very rigid, but not us younger ones. I see that humans are fun, energetic, and individual; the diversity in personality and philosophy is amazing. My mom thinks, like other Turians who fought in the Relay 314 Incident, that humans are bullies with no sense of respect."

"I heard most Turians and humans who fought are suspicious of the other."

"That's what happens in fights, but we younger Turians don't get the resentment. We do understand service and honor though. Becoming a negotiator with C-Sec is what my mom wants for me because it's what my dad wanted, but what if I wanted to become a painter or a scientist? There is honor in those professions. We are limited because of that narrow vision and I'm tired of it."

"We are a pretty diverse group, humans, and having a narrow perspective isn't good. About the First Contact War, were both your parents involved? Who did you stay with?"

"Yeah, I stayed with my dad's sister. I remember when my mom and dad left on the transit; my dad picked me up, we touched head plates, and he told me to be a good Turian. My mom came back from the Incident, but my dad didn't."

"I'm sorry, Kalea." Marissa lowered her eyes and felt tears sting at them again.

"Mom won't talk about what happened so I don't know how he died. I've been told she hasn't been the same since."

"I know how it feels; I lost my father too, just last year. I haven't actually talked about this with anyone, not even my best friend Tony; he wouldn't understand." Marissa took a deep breath and let it out.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want, Marissa, but I'm here to listen if you do."

Marissa gave a weak smile.

"My dad was assigned to a small unit that was sent out to the Attican Traverse. It was supposed to be a simple tour to keep the communication links updated at the human colonies and deliver necessities like medicine and food. My dad was a communications engineer so he was in charge of updating the comm buoys. I guess something happened and his unit was called out to Ontarom in the Kepler Verge cluster."

"Uh-oh, that's a dangerous area, lots of skirmishes."

"Yeah, according to the report I found on my mom's terminal -"

"Wait… did you hack into your mom's military files?" Kalea's mandibles dropped in disbelief.

"Yeah, she wouldn't tell me anything, so I had to. In the report, the colony had gone dark but the last communication was a distress message about slavers. The unit landed close to the colony and infiltrated the area. My dad and one other soldier were sent to the communications tower to get it operational while the others went to find the civilians."

"How many people were there?"

"A dozen, I think. They were being held by Batarians in a building, with one ship on the ground. The main group had to wait and just watch until comms were back up. My dad saved the day." Marissa paused and smiled. She really was proud of her dad.

She continued, "The report said they were able to contact other Alliance units in the area before engaging the Batarians. After they killed the bad guys and freed the civilians, my dad and the other soldier hadn't returned. Several soldiers went to the tower. They found four dead Batarians, the dead soldier, and my dad. He had been shot six times in the chest; in one hand was his pistol and in the other, his omni-tool was illuminated with a holo of me and Mom."

"He sounded like a very brave man and he must have loved you and your mom very much. I bet the Alliance did something special, right?"

"Yeah, my dad was a hero and received a medal. The Alliance gave it to Mom at his funeral ceremony, along with his tags. They even had a table with our family photos. They had no right to do that though. I was so angry!"

"Why… why were you angry?" Kalea looked confused.

"My dad died and now the Alliance wanted to show off my own personal memories, to share them with strangers. It wasn't right. I refused to talk to anyone for a week. That worried Mom but she didn't get mad at me. The school even tried to get me to talk to a therapist, but I refused to talk about it, so they quit pressuring me. Mom was sent on an assignment soon after that."

"I bet that was scary. I remember being little and being scared of losing my mom too."

"Yeah! I was scared; I was afraid my mom was going to die too for a while. But the Alliance has been keeping her on Arcturus most of the time now. I know people die doing this, but I guess I never thought I would lose someone. I still imagine that my dad will walk through the door and scoop me up in his arms and tell me it was just a bad dream."

"I'm so sorry, Marissa! Slavers are evil people. They destroy so many lives."

"I hate them, I hate Batarians!" Marissa seethed.

"You know… humans took away my dad, but I don't hate them or you for it," Kalea said calmly. "Just remember that, Marissa!"

Marissa sat quiet for a few moments. "Yeah, I'll think about it. Thanks, Kalea!"

The girls sat there for a few more minutes, then Marissa stood up, rubbed her tear-filled eyes and looked to her right. To her surprise a small face looked back at her. She rubbed her eyes again, but the face didn't disappear.

Marissa spoke softly to the face. "Hey… hey, do you think you can help us? We're lost."

At first there was no movement, then slowly the grate relocated out of its holder and a small human boy emerged, dirty, greasy, and thin. Marissa didn't move; she was afraid the boy would run if she moved.

"My name is Marissa and this is Kalea. We have been lost down here for a while and we need help. Can you help us? Do you know where we are?"

The boy looked to be about 8 and he gave the two girls a hard look before relaxing a bit.

Hesitantly he said, "Uh, hi. I'm Bobby and this is Bachjret Ward, lowest levels, close to the Foundation. I ain't got a clue how to get up top, but someone at my village might."

Marissa turned to look at Kalea; she was worried, her mandibles were tight to her chin and her brow plates were crumpled. Marissa was worried too. They needed to get help and Bobby was the first help they found. Marissa opened her backpack and removed her knife, sliding it into her pocket, just in case.

An hour later, Marissa, Kalea, and Bobby walked through a metal door and into a massive open area filled with thousands of people.

Marissa couldn't believe just how massive the Citadel was in size. She thought the Docks were large, and the Presidium was bigger, but this area by far was the biggest she had seen. The entire open area had massive beams protruding from the floors to the ceilings and they were taller than the hotel. She couldn't imagine how the beams supported the entire superstructure above. Marissa looked at Kalea to see the same kind of awed expression, in the Turian version: mouth plates dropped wide, mandibles flared out, and eyes wide too.

"Can you believe all these people live down here?" asked Marissa.

"I heard that people lived by the Foundations, but I didn't understand the scale. This is amazing and sad," responded Kalea.

Bobby just stood there and watched the girls, amused by their expressions.

"I've lived down here all my life, it's nothing special."

"What do you eat down here and how do you get power?" asked Kalea.

Bobby pointed over to a large plant with pipes running out.

"That's the power plant. The lights and power come out so we can use it. It powers the top levels too."

He then pointed to a dome-shaped building on the far side of the open area.

"See that? It's where they make the paste. The Keepers dump stuff in, and we get something out to eat. Come, I'm hungry." Bobby walked, so Marissa and Kalea followed.

Bobby stopped in front of a little tent and pulled back the cover. He entered, but Marissa just poked her head inside, not wanting to intrude.

"Hey Pop, I found these in the tunnels. They're hungry and lost," said Bobby to an older man who looked emaciated.

"Just found um, hmmm." He stared at Marissa, holding her gaze. "I suppose we can give 'um something to eat. Hope they like peppered paste." He smirked at Marissa.

Marissa and Kalea entered the tent.

"Sir, thank you for your hospitality. I'm not familiar with this area of the Citadel. Where are we exactly?" Marissa spoke.

"You are in the Foundations girl, the underbelly of the Wards. All the trash gets dumped down here to be recycled and reused. People too. This area is filled with life support systems and power plants. The recycling center, the dome building, they pump out dextro and levo paste for all our inhabitants. We got Turians, Krogan, Vorcha, and even Varren running around down here. Ever seen a Varren?"

"No, but I hear they're the beasts of the Krogan, like big dogs."

The old man burst out into a raspy laugh but after a second, he broke down into a coughing fit. It took him several minutes to compose himself.

"So, you need to get back up top? You got people looking for you? I bet them C-Sec cops are runnin' around all them fancy places trying to find you. Think they would offer a reward?"

Marissa decided that it would be a bad idea to mention they were military kids.

"I don't know. So, we're really hungry. Where is that peppered paste you mentioned?"

Chapter 7

Hannah spent the day in the summit wringing her hands and watching the time; it crept by so freaking slow. At least Plautia looked about as agitated as she felt and that made Hannah feel slightly better. Even under her Turian stoicism, Plautia was worried too.

Captain Marshall approached Hannah during a break with a frown on his face.

"You need to get to C-Sec. Your fidgeting is making Ambassador Goyle nervous; I'll make your excuse. Now... go!" He pointed to the door.

"Oh thank you, Sir! I'll update you as soon as I know anything," said Hannah as she practically ran out of the room.

Hannah noticed Plautia in the hallway so she motioned her to a corner away from other ears.

"I'm heading to C-Sec now. Were you able to get approval to leave?"

The high pitched agitation returned to Plautia's subharmonics. "No! I'm torn between two responsibilities." She huffed. "I will not be able to join the search until after the summit today."

"I understand. I'll ping your omni-tool if there is any news before you arrive."

"Thank you, Hannah."

Hannah felt Plautia's demeanor change just slightly; the worried, helpless mother cracked through.

As Hannah made her way to C-Sec Academy, she was startled to see her daughter's face appear on a video column; a description of her clothes and last whereabouts scrolled underneath her face. Hannah stopped cold. Her abrupt stop caused an older human woman to run into her.

"Oof."

Hannah turned at the sudden pressure and touched the lady's arm. "I'm so sorry. Are you alright?"

"Yes, dear, but you shouldn't stop so suddenly in traffic. I don't react as quickly as I used to and my eyesight isn't as good either." The woman turned toward the image on the video column. "I can see that poor child though. Lost, I take it. I've seen too many of these alerts over the years. I hope they find her."

"I hope so too."

The old woman continued on her way as did Hannah.

Hannah got off the elevator in the Atrium and spoke with the attendant. Detective Yuen arrived ten minutes later to collect her. As they walked to his office, he spoke.

"Have you seen the alerts?"

"Yes, I saw the first one on my way over here. How long have they been running?"

"They were put up an hour after you left this morning. We've received a few calls, but nothing has helped yet." Detective Yuen paused briefly and scowled. "I would like you to talk to one of our officers. His supervisor was reviewing his report from yesterday and contacted my office. The officer said he recalls interacting with the girls yesterday."

The small office Hannah and Detective Yuen entered had two chairs and a table in it. The single Turian in the room gazed at the table; he looked like a school child in trouble.

"Officer Mikah, thank you for waiting. This is one of the mothers. Please share with her what you reported to me today."

The poor guy recalled his run-in with the Hanar and then the girls. He distinctly remembered the Turian girl and briefly saw the human girl. He was so focused on the Hanar, the scene it caused in public, and the fear of reprimand that he didn't see which way the children went.

Hannah cringed.

Detective Yuen spoke. "We reviewed the vid and it was quite... impressive. In all my years, I've never seen such blatant manipulation of a levitation pack."

Hannah turned a bright shade of red, "I'm so sorry, Detective! She has never done anything..." Hannah paused. "Actually, never mind. I could totally see her doing that; but she'd never hurt anyone intentionally."

"The Hanar was contacted and do you want to know what it said? That flying was the most fun it had had since leaving Kahje." Detective Yuen smiled. "No damage was done, Hannah. Let's hope it stays that way."

Officer Mikah was dismissed and Hannah and Yuen went to the detective's office.

"Hannah, I want you to meet my partner," said Yuen.

A Turian male stood up from his desk. He was wearing the typical blue and black armor worn by Citadel Security. He had a grey complexion, facial markings in the color of blue with a strong line down the bridge of his nose, a bold line under each eye that extended back toward his fringe, and bold lines drawn the full length of his mandibles. He also had grey eyes.

"I'm Detective Vakarian," said the Turian.

"I'm Hannah Shepard, Systems Alliance. Thank you for your help!"

"Detective Vakarian will be taking you through the footage we found of the girls across the Presidium and Wards. As soon as Ms. Torquatus arrives, we will have her join you."

"Thank you both again for your help."

Detective Yuen nodded and sat down. Detective Vakarian gestured his arm for Hannah to walk with him. They entered a small room with a large terminal screen.

"We have access to all the vids across the Citadel but, as you can imagine, it takes time to review the footage. We've had several techs here all day and finally compiled all the accessible data."

"I take it you haven't been able to figure out where they are now?"

"Not yet, but we're working on it."

"Do you have kids, Detective?" Hannah asked bluntly. She didn't normally pry into other people's business, but she needed to know.

"Actually I do, a boy and a girl."

"Then you can understand how I feel. I'm scared something bad has happened and I'm angry I can't do anything about it, but I know no matter what, I won't stop looking until my little girl is found."

"I understand and I would do the same."

Hannah met his eyes and had unwavering trust that he would do everything in his power to find the girls.

As the tech queued up the footage and Vakarian turned his attention there, Hannah looked at the male Turian. His features were different from the female Turian in several ways: Plautia had a darker carapace while Castis had a grey one. Plautia's forehead plates were smaller and she didn't have the long, pointed fringe, and the cowl of her armor was also smaller. Castis was taller than Plautia by a dozen centimeters. The males had larger features that attracted the eye and the females had subtler features. This reminded Hannah of Earth's birds.

Hannah must have stared too long because Detective Vakarian looked at her with his brow plates and nose scrunched and had a narrow gaze. "What?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare. I was comparing your features to Plautia's. It's amazing how we grew up on different planets with different chemistry, but some of the similarities are profound."

"I've been told by many humans that Turians look similar to birds on your world."

"Yes and no. Our birds have feathers and are soft, and I think it's safe to say your carapace isn't soft, but the shapes are similar. It's interesting."

Hannah laughed at her next thought.

"I'm sure Palaven has some animal species that you could compare us to; I mean perspective is based on the familiar."

Detective Vakarian's mandibles flared and he laughed. "I'm sure we might have a few reckless, bossy animals on Palaven, but none are as hairy as you humans."

Hannah laughed. "Indeed!"

The tech removed himself from the room and Detective Vakarian sat down to start the footage.

A moment later, Plautia walked into the room, escorted by an Asari attendant.

"Sir, I was told to bring Ms. Torquatus here when she arrived," said the attendant.

"Yes, thank you," replied Vakarian. "Ms. Torquatus, I'm Detective Vakarian. I take it you were able to leave the summit earlier than you anticipated."

Plautia nodded, "It concluded earlier than expected, thankfully. Have you been able to find my daughter yet?"

"Not yet, but Ms. Shepard and I are reviewing the vids. Five search units have been out scouting the Presidium since this morning and we have five more sweeping the Wards as we speak."

"How successful is C-Sec at recovering lost children?" Plautia voiced with an alarmed resonance. Hannah could make out the higher pitch in the background sub tone.

In Vakarian's response, Hannah heard a deep defensive resonance, "Our rate is good, but you can't expect perfection in a place like this. Usually kids come back on their own after they've finished running around."

"My daughter doesn't run around, Detective. She understands the importance of her responsibility, she is Turian after all," said Plautia arguably.

"I understand, but kids don't always do what we think is best," said Detective Vakarian.

Hannah looked at the detective and noticed a fleeting look of disappointment cross his face. She could tell he had personal issues with his own children.

To break up the tension, Hannah chimed, "Where should we start with the vids? The Embassy Lounge is where we left them yesterday morning; we could start there."

"Yes, we'll start there and follow their path," said Detective Vakarian.

Hannah and Plautia stood behind the Detective as he played the vid footage. They watched as the girls traveled from the Embassy Lounge and around the Presidium. They saw the Hanar footage and Plautia squawked at the sight of Kalea participating in an unTurian-like joke. Hannah just rolled her eyes. The girls stopped at a store and purchased dextro-food. Hannah was proud that Marissa realized Kalea had different needs and gathered the appropriate supplies. They watched as Marissa and Kalea wandered down to the Bachjret Ward, but then the girls were out of sight for a while.

In the next clip, a view of a hallway, the girls were seen running. They both looked scared. A second later, Eclipse mercenaries came into view, also running. The girls were being chased.

"Spirits!"

"Shit!"

"Why would Eclipse mercs be chasing my daughter?" Plautia panicked. Hannah was freaking out too, but this was recorded yesterday.

They watched as the girls ran down an inclined hallway and stopped at a locked door. Marissa was able to get it open and relocked before the thugs reached them. Hannah saw a human and a Salarian at first, and then an Asari came into view. The Asari gestured grandly and the other two cowered.

"We don't have audio on these vids so I don't know what they're saying, but it looks like the girls saw something they weren't supposed to."

"Does that door enter a Keeper tunnel?" Hannah asked. She assumed the Keepers had a network of passages for ease of navigation, but the Keepers were a mystery. They didn't communicate with other species and were off limits for research since they had a tendency to liquefy; a self-destruct mechanism.

"Yes," Vakarian responded. Then into his omni-tool, he spoke. "Yuen, we have a recording of where the girls entered the Keeper tunnels, Bachjret Ward."

"No video from there, is there?"

"No, and no layout of the sub-structures. You would think by now the Keeper tunnels would be mapped." He shook his head. "Do we have anyone familiar with the Foundations? We need to get units down there."

"I'll check."

The trio walked back to the detective's office.

"Vakarian, we have a few officers who've been down to the Foundations but the area is massive: colonies, syndicates, and thousands of dead-ends," said Yuen.

"What about a trace unit?"

"We only have access to one. I'll check to see if it's available. It's a good thing we know where to start."

Detective Vakarian turned toward the women while Detective Yuen clicked away at his omni-tool.

"Ms. Shepard, Ms. Torquatus… would you please retrieve a few items with the girl's DNA? We're going to need it for the trace."

"Good! It's available," said Detective Yuen to the crowd. Then he turned toward the women. "I expect neither of you will want to sit here and wait while we send units down, correct?"

"I'm going… please!" said Hannah pointedly. Plautia agreed.

"That's what I thought. Please be prepared for anything down there."

The women left and returned within the hour with their items; Hannah had Marissa's hairbrush and Plautia brought Kalea's talon dremel.

Detective Vakarian took the items and went into another room and after 15 minutes he returned; behind him trotted a FENRIS mech. Hannah smiled broadly as she remembered how humans used to use bloodhound dogs as search and rescue tools because of their ability to track through scent. She also knew Marissa had an affinity for mechanical canines. She hoped this would work.

Chapter 8

Marissa awoke to Bobby nudging her arm. She opened her eyes slowly and attempted to remember why the bed was so hard and uncomfortable. Oh yeah, they were in the Foundations. She remembered that the old man had given them the tent for the night and disappeared. Marissa slept on one cot while Kalea and Bobby had snuggled up on the other.

It was April 16th now and Marissa remembered her mother's schedule allowed for a five day leave. Marissa and Kalea would need to find a way back to the Presidium before tomorrow night if they wanted to keep their mothers out of trouble. Worry rose up in Marissa's chest; she had to find a way back… today!

"Hey, Marissa?" said Bobby. "Why won't Kalea wake up?"

Marissa looked over at Kalea. One mandible had dropped down to the cot's surface, mouth wide, teeth clearly visible. Her brown tongue was hanging between her teeth out the side of her mouth. Marissa couldn't help but chuckle. She was going to record this…

"Bobby… stand back about here." Marissa pointed to a spot about 8 steps away from the cot. "Yell her name really loud, but don't get too close; she'll punch you… accidently of course!"

Bobby moved to the spot, took a big, exaggerated breath, and yelled her name as loud as he could.

Kalea shot up out of the cot and landed on her feet in one fell swoop! "What?! What?!"

Marissa and Bobby laughed. Kalea rubbed her eyes then growled.

"Ha ha… really funny… laugh it up!" mocked Kalea. She went to grab Bobby but he ducked under her arms to the other side of the tent. She turned to grab him and again he evaded her. She growled again, but it lacked heat. Bobby laughed as she finally got her arms around him and proceeded to tickle him around the ribs. His laughter turned into howls as he was a very ticklish little boy. Marissa smiled.

Play time turned into meal time. Yesterday, after their arrival, Bobby took them to the paste dispensary to pick up some dextro-paste for Kalea. So, this morning, Kalea was in charge of putting her breakfast together while Bobby made Marissa's and his breakfast. It had some sort of sweet seasoning in it; not too bad, actually.

After a while the trio left the tent and wandered around the Foundation, specifically the markets. There were stalls and merchants everywhere. When Marissa and Kalea talked to a select few merchants, they were careful not to mention being lost, being military kids, or seem too out of place. Marissa and Kalea both knew that being a visitor meant being a target for criminals and down here that was the majority. The merchants told the girls that most of the goods entered the Foundations through runners; people who go up to the Wards and buy, find, or steal goods and bring them down. Most people in the bowels of the Citadel traded items for other items or traded items for services. Not too many people had credits to use. Marissa asked about the schedule of the runners; she wondered how often they traveled between areas. One merchant told her it was weekly and another said he hadn't seen his runner in two months. There was no concrete schedule so there was no way to tell when the next runner would be around. Disappointment spread across Marissa's face. Since they weren't sure what to do next, they went back to the tent.

To pass the time until they figured out a plan, Bobby sat down on the floor with Kalea and taught her a game Marissa couldn't pronounce; it was a Vorchan card game. Bobby explained that it usually involved shooting the loser, but they wouldn't include that in their game. Thank goodness. Marissa sat on the cot and sorted through her backpack. After everything was accounted for, Marissa sat, quickly getting bored.

In looking around the tent for something to do, Marissa found a broken datapad. She played around with it, scanned it with her omni-tool, and found it could be fixed pretty easily with the tools she carried, so she set to work.

She passively listened to the conversation going on between Kalea and Bobby.

"So where is your mom, Bobby?" asked Kalea.

"She left when I was little; don't know what happened to her. Pop don't talk about her."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Pop and I get along alright. Other kids have moms or dads, but other kids are alone; form gangs to survive."

"Has anyone tried to get you to join a gang?"

"Nah. The gangs don't get you until you're ten or so; something about not wanting babies around."

Kalea looked at Marissa with sadness in her eyes.

"You're a good kid, Bobby," Marissa said. She thought if… no… when they made it back they would ask for help for Bobby and his dad.

Several hours had passed before the old man returned to the tent.

"Hey Pop, you wanna join the game?" asked Bobby.

"Nah." The old man looked at Marissa and noticed the datapad in her hand was illuminated orange; it was working. "Hey girl, you fixed it?!"

"Yeah, some wires just needed replaced. My omni-tool was able to fabricate exactly what I needed so it wasn't hard to fix."

"What's on the datapad?"

"I didn't see anything important, just a bunch of news articles from ages ago."

"News articles, huh? I'll take a look at 'um later," he said. "You fix other things too?"

"Yeah, just depends on what needs fixed," replied Marissa.

"I want you to meet someone, come with me."

Marissa looked at Kalea and shrugged. They got up and went with the old man back to the market area. They stopped in front of a kiosk with an Elcor beside it.

"Tentative excitement: Greetings. What can I do for you today?" said the Elcor in his monotone voice.

The old man responded, "Hey, this little human girl is able to fix stuff. You should let her take a look at your broken tech."

"Anxiously: Do you think you could fix my broken terminal?"

"I can take a look at it and see," replied Marissa.

Kalea chimed in, "What will you pay her if she does fix it, sir?"

"Genuine inquiry: What would be an acceptable payment?"

Kalea responded, "We are looking for directions or help in getting back to the Presidium. Can you pay with that information?"

"Serious consideration: I know someone who can help you."

"Alright, point me to the terminal," Marissa responded with excitement.

She removed her tools from her backpack and proceeded to take apart the terminal; the case was removed and the parts were examined. She activated her omni-tool and the computer scanned for irregular features. The wires looked fine, so did the electrical structure, but the electricity wasn't powerful enough to run the machine; Marissa could fix that.

Marissa spoke to the Elcor, "Sir, do you have any old equipment I could recycle? I think I just need some omni-gel to get this up and running."

"Enthusiastically: Yes I do, that pile over there." responded the Elcor.

Marissa used her omni-tool to convert the old equipment into omni-gel. She returned to the terminal and applied the gel to the power source. Her omni-tool sent a surge through the gel into the power source and boosted its ability. The terminal whirled to life and the terminal screen lit up.

"Disbelieving: It actually works? Affectionately: You are a very skilled human, thank you."

"You're welcome," said Marissa. "Can we have the name of the person who can help us?"

The Elcor gave the group the name of an Asari who sold goods in a warehouse on the border of the Foundation. He assured them that she was in the area since she had visited him earlier in the day. He gave them the location and even gave Marissa a modification for her omni-tool. She was grateful, but didn't ask where he got it. It was better not to know.

The old man led the girls out of the Foundation to the warehouse the Elcor spoke of. Through the door was a large open area with crates and containers stacked along the edges, with a few scattered around the floor. The lights were dim and the air smelled stale and dusty. Marissa also saw chairs scattered around the room. An Asari was standing by a door on the opposite side of the room speaking with a Turian. As the group made their way to the lady, the Turian walked through the door and out of sight.

"Hello. Is there something I can do for you today?" said the Asari in a friendly tone as she approached them. She was wearing one of those pretty dresses Marissa saw on the Presidium: blues and greens on a sea of white. It seemed out of place in the Foundations, it was too expensive.

The old man spoke up, "Yes, these girls need a way back up top and the Elcor said you could help them."

The Asari looked at the girls and Marissa noticed a change in her expression. It went from an irritated look, like the Elcor committed her to something she didn't want to do, to a surprised look, like she recognized them. Marissa suddenly ran through her memory; the Asari mercenary, were they the same? Marissa didn't think so. The face markings were different.

"I would be happy to help in any way I can," replied the Asari. "Which area are you trying to get back to, girls?"

With caution, Marissa replied, "We need to get to the Human Embassy."

"Oh okay. I know exactly how to get there, but I do have some business to finish up in the area. Would you be ready to leave by tonight?"

Kalea spoke up, "Yes, we can be ready, but what kind of payment are you interested in for the trouble of taking us there?"

The Asari paused, contemplating, "Don't worry about it. I'm heading that direction anyway and your company will make the trip less mundane. So, it's no trouble at all." Then she smiled.

Marissa couldn't shake the feeling that this Asari had a plan and it wasn't just taking them back. She knew something was wrong; her gut told her so.

The Asari gave them a specific time to be back at the warehouse, then asked the old man to stay for a few minutes to speak with her. Marissa, Kalea, and Bobby left the warehouse and made their way back to the tent.

Marissa voiced her thoughts, "Kalea, something isn't right. That Asari was too helpful and did you see her expression change when she looked at us?"

"Yeah, she definitely perked up," said Kalea.

"Do you think she's with the mercenaries or do you think she saw the alerts from C-Sec?"

"I'm not sure but I know we need to be careful."

Marissa couldn't agree more.

The tent was quiet as the departure time approached. Bobby was practically glued to Kalea. They ate again and packed up their stuff.

"It's time to go," said the old man. "Bobby, you're gonna stay here, so say goodbye."

Marissa hugged Bobby. "You are a brave boy and thank you for your help; you saved us." She handed Bobby a small candy bar she found in the bottom of her backpack and smiled.

Kalea wrapped her long arms around Bobby too. He began to cry and asked her quietly not to leave. It took her a while to let go.

Marissa touched Kalea's arm and pulled the tent cover back. "Bye, Bobby!"

The old man and the girls walked back to the warehouse. The room looked exactly the same as it did earlier but two chairs had been moved to the middle of the room. Marissa's shoulders and stomach tightened.

"The Asari should be here. I hope she didn't forget," said the old man.

"I doubt it," voiced Kalea, subharmonics deep.

Marissa had learned over the last several days that the higher pitches in Turian subharmonics meant they were excited, nervous, or happy; and deeper pitches meant they were serious, defensive, or scared.

After a few minutes of waiting, the Asari walked in from a door on the opposite side of the room. The door swished closed behind her. She was dressed in armor now; it was mostly black with buckles along the arms and legs, and yellow up the center of the torso. No insignias were visible to Marissa.

"Hi there," she said with a smile. "My business is concluded here. Are you girls ready to leave?"

The old man cleared his throat. "Hey! What about our agreement?" he asked agitatedly.

"You are absolutely right. Please follow me."

The old man followed her through the door, leaving Marissa and Kalea in the room by themselves.

"Be ready for anything," whispered Marissa.

In that moment, from behind the door, two sharp, loud pops were heard.

"Gun," whispered Marissa with panic and grabbed Kalea's arm. They started backpedaling toward the door they originally entered, keeping an eye on the other door. It swished open.

The Asari re-entered the room and behind her was a Vorcha bearing a pistol.

"And where do you two think you're going?" the Asari yelled.

The Asari's body illuminated in a blue aura and dark energy hit the girls.

Kalea squawked; Marissa screamed. Neither could move.

"Crap… a stasis field," thought Marissa. She hadn't thought about biotic powers.

The Asari sauntered up to the girls cased in blue energy.

"Military kids, lost in the Foundations; mothers would pay a pretty penny to get you back, you know, and so would a specific mercenary group."

"Who are you? What do you want?" yelled Marissa.

"I'm just an opportunistic Asari who wants to cash in on a fortuitous discovery."

"What are you going to do with us?"

"I guess you'll find out soon enough."

The Asari walked over to a crate, picked up some rope, and walked toward the girls.

Marissa knew it would be bad to panic. She took a few breaths. What did she know? She knew the stasis field wouldn't hold for long. She figured the Asari was binding them because she wasn't ready to move them yet. They had time.

The Asari dropped Kalea out of the stasis field first and grabbed her by the neck. Kalea thrashed around but the Asari held her tight. She led Kalea to one of the chairs and tied her down; Kalea hissed and growled. The Vorcha stood back with his pistol pointed at Kalea. Then the Asari walked back to Marissa, dropped her out of stasis, and grabbed her arm. The grip was tight; Marissa chose not to struggle. With her free hand she discreetly patted her pocket; her knife was still there. The Asari pulled the backpack off of Marissa and tossed it a few meters away. Then she was tied down too.

"Well now. It's time for me to go and meet our guests." The Asari looked at the Vorcha. "Watch them. I'll be back shortly."

After the Asari left, the Vorcha started pacing back and forth, back and forth. Marissa tried to recall what she knew about the species. Her teachers at Arcturus said they were primitive, savage, and they adapted quickly to environments. This Vorcha wore a red right shoulder guard with a bandoleer of grenades around his chest. Marissa wondered if getting a hold of the gun or a grenade would be helpful, but how could she get one?

Kalea hissed at Marissa. Marissa looked at her. Kalea then looked over Marissa's shoulder. Marissa gave Kalea a confused scowl. Kalea looked at Marissa again then looked over her shoulder. Marissa finally turned the direction Kalea looked.

"Bobby!" thought Marissa.

Bobby's little eyes were peeking at them through a grate halfway up the wall. This gave her an idea.

Marissa cleared her throat. "Kalea, what was the name of that card game you were playing earlier?"

Kalea looked surprised for a moment then answered, "It was hard to pronounce… Teuqip something.

The Vorcha stopped pacing and looked at Kalea. In a raspy voice, "Turian, you know game?"

"Yes. We should play, you know, to pass the time. I can tell you're bored."

The Vorcha barked, "You play tricks. No trust you. Asari kill me if I let you go."

Marissa replied, "You aren't letting us go; the Turian just wants to play the game."

The Vorcha contemplated this for several moments. Marissa almost gave up on the idea when the Vorcha walked over to a crate, lifted it, placed it by Kalea, and grabbed another chair.

"Need cards," rasped the Vorcha.

"Untie me; I have some in that bag," Kalea offered.

He grabbed the bag and dropped it on Kalea's lap.

"No run, yes?"

"I won't run, I promise," Kalea said. "But, if we're going to play, I need to sit in that chair. I can't see the cards otherwise; better lighting." The Vorcha looked at her, then at Marissa. Marissa pulled on her bonds to show she was secure. He untied Kalea, then took the cards she presented from the bag.

Marissa took a breath. The Vorcha had his back to her now.

Marissa quickly looked at the grate to see little eyes still looking at her. She tilted her head, lifted her hands against the bonds a few times, and then pointed to her pocket.

Slowly and carefully the grate face began to retract and slide over. Bobby soundlessly lowered himself onto a crate, then ducked behind another on the ground. Marissa looked at the Vorcha. He was engrossed in the game; when he made a poor move, he yelled and when he made a good move, he yelled again. He even slammed his fist on the crate a few times. At least he was making enough noise to cover any sounds from Bobby. Kalea dealt with the Vorcha calmly and didn't look in the direction of Bobby even once.

Bobby was able to quietly sneak up to Marissa's chair. He carefully reached into her pocket and retrieved her knife. Slowly and quietly he cut the rope and released Marissa's hands.

Marissa's bag was sitting next to Kalea's chair. It was a good thing Marissa condensed her omni-tool and put it in her jacket pocket instead of the bag. She attached the tool to her arm and ran a scan on the Vorcha. The computer displayed an image of the weak points on a Vorcha's anatomy. One place looked golden.

Marissa adjusted the computer to target that spot, then she looked at Kalea and gestured her to get down. As soon as Kalea ducked behind the crate, the Vorcha turned. Marissa activated her new program.

The electric shock hit the Vorcha right in the face. Unexpectedly, the shock detonated one of the grenades on his chest.

Marissa was immediately blinded by a bright white flash. She fell down on the ground and covered her head with her arms. She couldn't see or hear anything.

Slowly, her vision cleared and the ringing died down in her ears. She looked up to see Bobby and Kalea hoisting the Vorcha into a chair. His arms and legs were tied and he had blood and scorch marks on his face and neck. Kalea walked over to Marissa and helped her up.

"Flashbang grenade," said Kalea. "Good thing it wasn't an incendiary one."

"Are you two okay?" asked Marissa.

"Yeah, I was behind the crate and Bobby was behind the chair. We didn't get blinded but he did." Kalea gestured toward the Vorcha. "I immediately jumped on him, pulled him down, and Bobby helped me tie him up."

"We all dead. Asari kill us. Stupid human," snarled the Vorcha.

Marissa looked at Bobby and Kalea; they looked unharmed. She assessed herself; no injuries. Then she looked around and remembered the old man. She turned to Bobby, who was looking around too.

"Bobby, I think something happened to your dad. I'm gonna go check; stay here with Kalea."

Sure enough, Marissa found the old man with two shots to the chest. She stood there and stared for a while. This must have been what her dad looked like. She couldn't let Bobby see this; she had to protect him. She walked back into the room.

"I'm sorry Bobby, he's not there. The Asari must have taken him with her. Let's go before they get back."

They picked up all their stuff, leaving the Vorcha tied and snarling. The Asari and mercenaries would be back soon and they would be furious!

Marissa, Kalea, and Bobby were dirty, tired, and scared. The near abduction had Marissa's guts twisted into knots and her head pounded. Hopefully the mercs wouldn't try to find them and if they did search, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

After this adventure, all Marissa wanted to do was hug her mom, go back to Arcturus, and sleep in her own bed. Although, the best part about this adventure was the new friend she made in Kalea.

Back at the tent, Kalea and Bobby crashed on a cot and slept. Marissa said she would keep a look out for the mercs. She had been hyped up on adrenaline but now it was crashing down. Marissa felt her eyelids drift close several times. She was so tired. She leaned back against the cot, her head drifted back, and she descended into sleep.

Marissa dreamt; a hard metal dog, screeched, scratched, and vibrated. She saw her father and her birthday mech dog from long ago. She didn't want to remember, it hurt, but the dog wouldn't go away. The noise, the vibration, kept tickling her ears and arm. Slowly, Marissa woke up and as she blinked the sleep away, she actually saw a mech dog. She looked around to see Kalea still asleep in her cot with Bobby wrapped in front of her.

She reached for the mech and slid her hand over its smooth casing.

"Where did you come from, boy? Are you lost?"

"No, but you were."

Marissa looked up to see her mother before her; smile bright.

Chapter 9

Hannah pulled Marissa into a tight hug; tears slid down both their faces. Hannah watched over Marissa's shoulder as Plautia walked up to Kalea and they rested their heads together in silence.

Hannah released Marissa from her grip and looked her over. Dirty, smelly, a few pounds lighter probably, but no worse for the wear.

Hannah looked at Detective Vakarian. He activated his omni-tool and sent a ping.

"The other units have been notified that the girls have been found. It'll be a long trip back; we should get going," said the detective.

Marissa wiped the tears from her eyes and looked at the detective. "Sir, I need to show you something before we go." She pulled up her omni-tool; a moment later audio played. Hannah, Plautia, and Detective Vakarian listened.

Eclipse mercenaries, an illegal AI, unauthorized transport out of Tayseri Ward, contacts in security; all this information sank in. Hannah watched as Marissa transferred the data to Detective Vakarian's omni-tool. Marissa also told him about the Asari and Vorcha in the warehouse and the events that took place just a few hours ago. Hannah put her face in the palms of her hands and rubbed her eyes. She didn't know how to sort through the tangle of emotions bubbling in her gut. Hannah looked up to see Bobby standing in the corner, close to Kalea.

"Mare, what happened to Bobby's dad?" asked Hannah.

Marissa looked at her, then to Bobby, then Kalea, and then settled her eyes on Detective Vakarian.

"He was with us at first, and then he went with the Asari. When she came back he wasn't with her anymore. He might have left when she did, but I don't know where he is now."

Eyes locked with the detective, Marissa pointed to her chest and held up two fingers. Bobby was standing behind her so he didn't see the gesture, but Hannah knew what it meant. Hannah sighed.

Kalea spoke up. "We can't leave Bobby down here. We can't leave him alone." She looked around at the adults and then put her arm around Bobby.

Detective Vakarian cleared his throat. "We need to discuss this situation. Ms. Shepard, Ms. Torquatus, please join me outside."

Hannah saw the panic in Marissa's eyes; she was afraid. Hannah put her hand on Marissa's shoulder. "Don't worry!" She smiled and walked out of the tent.

Hannah, Plautia, and Detective Vakarian walked several paces away from the tent and left the kids under the watch of a few officers.

"He's dead; two shots to the chest," said Hannah once they were out of ear shot.

"I assumed as much, based on the gesture," said Detective Vakarian. "We shouldn't stick around here much longer; C-Sec isn't a welcome presence."

"We need to decide what to do with Bobby first," said Hannah.

"There are organizations on the Citadel that take care of orphaned children. I'm sure one will be glad to take him in and offer their attention," suggested Detective Vakarian.

Hannah looked at Plautia. "It looks like Kalea has taken to that little boy. It might be hard to separate them." It was an honest observation voiced with hope.

Plautia looked at Hannah, opened her mouth several times, and then finally said, "I don't know how to take care of a human child. We are completely different and Palaven isn't human friendly." She shook her head.

"Plautia, there are always options. Plus, you have an ingenious daughter to help you figure it out," Hannah responded.

Detective Vakarian spoke, "Ms. Shepard, unfortunately, cross-species adoptions are not well tolerated here on the Citadel. Only the Asari are seen as suitable cross-species adopters by the Council."

Hannah responded, "I wasn't aware the perception of adoption across species was frowned upon. On Earth, adoption among humans is common; we even adopt cross-species with felines and canines."

"It is a bit different across higher level species, but I understand your perspective," said Detective Vakarian. "I find it interesting that you see it as acceptable for a Turian to take care of a human child. Most humans and Turians are not that open-minded."

"I understand. You said there are organizations that could bring Bobby into their care? Then I hope he will be nurtured." Hannah looked at Plautia. "I also hope that Kalea will remain in touch with the boy." Hannah could understand the complexity of the situation even if it wasn't ideal.

Plautia sighed and clacked her mandibles. The emotion Hannah thought projected from the Turian was a sad relief. She understood how it could be a difficult decision to go against the norm and take care of a child with absolutely no similarities.

After re-entering the tent, Hannah watched as Plautia told Kalea that Bobby would be brought with them to the Presidium, but would have to remain on the Citadel. The reason given was Palaven wasn't a safe place for a human with all the radiation. Plautia promised Kalea and Bobby they would keep in touch and schedule visits. Both children reacted with some argument which was quelled quickly by the Turian mother's subharmonics. To Hannah it sounded like a growl.

In order to be supportive and to calm down a visibly irritated Marissa, Hannah told Plautia, Kalea, and Bobby that she would do anything she could to help find the right fit for Bobby.

After that discussion was settled, everyone started assembling.

"Alright, kids. Grab your things and let's go." Hannah clapped her hands. Emotionally, she settled on relieved; relieved to have her daughter back and minimal damage done.

The trip back didn't seem to take as long as it did earlier. Marissa chatted with Detective Vakarian about C-Sec, the Keeper tunnels, the FENRIS mech, and more. The mechanical dog walked next to Marissa the entire return trip and Hannah thought it was adorable.

The crew made it back to C-Sec headquarters and Hannah was able to introduce Detective Yuen to the girls and thank him again for organizing the search. She was extremely grateful for everything they did.

Bobby would stay at C-Sec while paperwork was processed, and he would be placed with one of the human officers until an arrangement could be made. Hannah and Plautia would be contacted after recommendations could be acquired. Kalea and Marissa seemed satisfied that they would be a part of the process of getting Bobby acclimated to his new environment.

Hannah, Marissa, Plautia, and Kalea were about to leave C-Sec, but first, Detective Yuen asked for a moment with Marissa. Hannah watched as Detective Yuen's face was serious then broke into a smile; Marissa and the detective's omni-tool glowed.

On their way back to the hotel, Hannah asked Marissa about the interaction. Marissa smiled.

"Detective Yuen wanted to know how I hacked the Hanar's levitation pack, so I showed him. He found our joke pretty funny."

"Marissa Shepard," exclaimed Hannah with pseudo sternness, "You better be careful who you play jokes on. It might bite you in the butt one day."

"Yeah, I know, Mom!"

Once back at the hotel, Hannah knocked on Captain Marshall's door. It opened immediately. As soon as he saw Marissa, he took a relieved breath and said, "Welcome back. No permanent damage, I hope."

"Nope, but we did have a few scares."

"Well, I look forward to hearing about your adventures when we head back to Arcturus." Captain Marshall directed his attention back to Hannah. "The summit will meet one more time today for the official signatures. I'll need you to be there as a formality, but once that's done, we're out of here. Be at the Embassy in six hours; now go sleep." The Captain smiled. "I'm glad I don't have to write that report."

"Me too, sir. Me too. See you soon."

Captain Marshall waved goodbye and retreated back to his room.

Hannah and Marissa made it to their room, showered, and headed to bed. Marissa ended up curled in front of Hannah; both of them slept deeply.

Hannah woke up to the sound of her alarm. She got Marissa up and they gathered their things. They would be leaving for the ship immediately following the summit, according to Captain Marshall's message.

Marissa and Kalea were put in the Embassy Lounge upon arrival and pretty much ordered by Hannah and Plautia not to move from their seats. Hannah asked the Administrative Assistant to stasis field them if the kids even looked like they were going to move. The Asari laughed. Hannah had a feeling that would be threat enough to keep the kids stationary.

The summit had been a success as the humans and Turians came to a mutual agreement on how to enact the species representation with each other. The diplomats shook hands and made their way to the skycars.

Hannah was able to grab Plautia before she departed.

"I know this didn't work out the way we planned, but considering the results, I'm glad we put the girls together. They really hit it off."

"Hannah, I want to apologize for being so harsh about Marissa and you. I hope we will be able to stay in contact in the future. I'll have questions about helping Kalea and Bobby and I would appreciate any assistance you could offer. Also, I think the girls will want to keep in touch and visit occasionally. I hope that is agreeable to you."

"Plautia, I forgive you for being harsh. I understand that it's difficult to see the complexity. I'll be happy to help you in any way I can and I think it would be great to visit. Have a safe trip back to Palaven."

"Have a safe trip back to Arcturus. May the Spirits be with you."

Marissa wrapped Kalea in a huge hug and swapped contact information. Hannah was glad that Marissa made a friend and adventure buddy. She didn't think this would have turned out so well if either of them had been alone.

Back in the docking bay, Hannah, Marissa, and the diplomats were waiting for the all clear to load. Most of the crew had returned and Captain Marshall was on board finalizing the return home. Marissa was sitting on a bench, busy on her omni-tool.

Hannah looked up and saw Detective Vakarian leaning against the wall of the docking bay; she walked over.

"Detective, I didn't expect to see you. Thank you again for all your help!" said Hannah, as she stuck out her hand.

The detective looked down then reached out his own, familiar with the custom.

"You're welcome," he said and released her grip. "I came down here to let you know we were able to find the AI Marissa told us about. The Salarian on site was arrested but he wouldn't disclose the others, so they're still out there. The AI is going to be terminated according to policy."

Hannah nodded her head. She was worried about the mercs, but she and Marissa were headed back to Arcturus so it shouldn't be a problem.

The detective continued, "Also, a team was able to locate the warehouse and found a Vorcha, an Asari, and an old human male all dead. It was a good thing Bobby was brought up here; he would have been down there alone otherwise."

"I'm glad he was brought up here too. I'll be happy to help the foster organization if they need anything. The kids bonded and I want them to stay in touch." Hannah was optimistic about the trio growing together despite the distance. Hopefully, the humans could help Plautia with her prejudice too.

"I believe it will work out as it should. And Hannah, not all Turians hate humans," he said kindly.

"I know, Castis. I know." Hannah's voice rose. "Kids! Such a pain in the ass! You try to raise them right! I wish there was a manual!" She smiled and he reciprocated. "Be safe," she said.

"You as well," he replied, and then walked away.

Hannah walked back to Marissa. She received a ping that the ship was open for boarding and would depart soon.

Hannah grabbed her bags and wrapped her other arm around Marissa's shoulders.

"Let's go home!"

53