Author's Note: Ryan (I) am not having schizophrenic nor does do I have multiple personality disorder. Ryan just likes to argue with himself on stuff in his own head. Honestly not many people would understand what they are talking about in their own head.

As for reviews, THANK YOU SO MUCH. Although romance is not yet there, there are already two possible relationships that exist, wonder if you found them? Also as of this timeline, Shepard is 19 and has JUST enlisted in the Alliance.

Pointless Questions: Since I already said I'm blowing up canon and the game does not exist in this universe (hence no canon), should Garrus resign from C-Sec? Should Wrex become a mercenary leader? Should Rannoch be freed without bloodhsed? Should Virgil be saved way waaaay early? Should the Illusive Man be killed? And finally should I continue writing this story?

I own the story and Bioware owns Mass Effect… and together we created a new universe… where Mass Effect is not a game. Might need someone to check up on grammatical error and stuff…

Last Chapter

Eventually Shani quieted down enough to ask me the dreaded question, I knew that I wouldn't be able to answer truthfully, "What happened?"

I looked at her for a few seconds before giving her the answer I knew that was the truth, "I'm all alone now…"

Chapter Two: Starting Anew

January 21, 2173

The Citadel - Wards

Shani (Quarian)

Shani looked at the human in front of her in concern, as he shared a startling revelation. She empathized with his situation and knew that it was quite difficult to be suddenly alone with no one to rely on, as she reached over to take his hands in hers once again.

"You're not alone, Ryan." Shani said earnestly, "You have me. I won't leave you alone just like that. Besides you still have to tell me about that machine in your hand."

Ryan could only stare at me blankly before chuckling softly as he nodded his head, "Your right about that."

Shani just smiled, seeing that Ryan was at least laughing instead of moping.

Ryan asked as he placed the iPad on the table, "So you really want to know what this is?"

Realizing that he really was serious, Shani just nodded her head.

Ryan smiled softly before continuing, "Now I'm no expert but this machine is called an iPad. It has many various functions but one drawback is it has limited space. This particular model only has 280 gigabyte worth of space that I can use. Since I only use the iPad to play games as well as record documents that are important for me, this model is good enough for me."

Shani digested the information quietly that Ryan had just shared before asking a question, "So it's similar to the omni-tool then?"

Ryan paused for a few minutes before answering, "Yes, I guess you could say that."

Shani smiled to herself, proud that she got it right as she glanced at Ryan's wrist before realizing something, "Ryan? Where is your omni-tool?"

Ryan looked up guiltily, "Uhm… I don't have one."

Shani looked at him alarmed at the situation, "What do you mean you don't have one? Did you lose it somewhere? Don't you know that there are hackers who can take your identity just by having your omni-tool?"

Ryan just looked up at Shani in mild surprise, "I did not know that. Fortunately for me, I don't actually have an omni-tool so I doubt that anyone can steal my identity."

"You mean you really don't have your own omni-tool? What do you use then?" Shani asked incredulously.

Instead of answering me, Ryan just shrugged his shoulders and lifted up the iPad.

As she stared in shock at the human, Shani wondered about the situation she currently found herself in, considering the absurdity of what was happening and how it happened. She was just minding her own business when there was a small explosion at a nearby alley. Shani ran to the alley, curious as to what had happened as well as to help if she could. She expected to find a small crater from the explosion everyone just heard but instead she found a completely intact and normal alley, the likes of which could be found anywhere in the wards except there was a human male lying down a few meters inside the alley and a small bag beside him. When Shani knelt down beside the human, she fully intended to check if he had any injuries but instead was drawn immediately to a portable machine that was visible inside the bag. As she picked up the bag, she was…

Shani looked up in alarm suddenly, "Ryan, where is your bag?"

Ryan looked up at me and was about to answer when he suddenly realized it wasn't with him, "Oh shit… its back at the alley!"

Without a word, we both stood up and ran out the diner, just as the waitress was on her way to our table.

"The nerve of some people!" The waitress muttered as she made her way back to the counter.

January 21, 2173

The Citadel - Wards

Ryan (Human)

Ryan ran through the corridors of the wards, determined to get back to the bag before anyone else got it. He tried to dodge as many people as he could that were in his way but was forced to push his way past several of them nonetheless. Whenever Ryan had a chance, he turned his head back to see if Shani was able to keep up with, which she was able to do so easily but she also occasionally stopped to apologize to someone he had pushed down in his haste.

"I'm glad I met someone that didn't try to kill me immediately when I got here" Ryan thought to himself as he leaped over small flight of stairs to a long hallway that he thought was vaguely familiar.

"If it wasn't for her I would have gone insane."

"Now you're just pessimistic, Ryan, you know that eventually you'd have gotten your head out of the gutter."

"Probably… but at least with her around, I don't have to go insane."

"Quite right… but you'd best keep your past a secret."

"Of course…" Ryan pointed out to himself in his head, as he ran past a corner, accidentally running into a couple of guys a few meters away, who had just left what looked like a diner. Muttering an apology, Ryan was about to continue running before he heard Shani calling out to him and pointing to the corner he had passed by.

"Better keep your wits about you if you're just going to get lost, Ryan."

"Remind me why I'm arguing with myself again?" Ryan thought to himself as jogged back to where Shani was and followed her as she ran ahead of him, his eye catching a glimpse of someone vaguely familiar inside the diner before losing sight of him as he turned the corner.

"It's because you think better when you do argue with yourself and besides you don't have much of a social life especially in this universe, that it's best to argue with yourself and there's also the fact the we both know that you just want to justify your actions with a clear conscience. Although how THAT even works when you're just talking to yourself in your own head is beyond me."

"Meh… if it works… it works."

Ryan saw Shani ran into a corner ahead of him, with Ryan shortly coming up from behind and found himself in the very alley that he was first found and Shani already holding the bag.

Ecstatic that the bag was still there, Ryan jogged towards Shani who handed over the bag to him.

"Thank god, no one got here before we did. I wouldn't want anyone to get their hands on my bag." Ryan exclaimed gratefully as he opened the bag enough to check inside the bag.

Ryan mumbled what he found in his bag while comparing what he found in the bag to what he expected to find in the bag, "Alright then, time to check what we have here… iPhone… check… Wallet… check… Box of… yeah never mind that… Android… check… PSP… check… DS… check… oh what's this? I forgot I had this in my bag… is it safe?… check… Everything's good."

Smiling to himself, Ryan closed the bag, content that everything was in order and was about to tell Shani that everything's alright, when I noticed her being silent and looking straight at me. I wondered what was bothering her, so I turned around and saw the three guys who I had accidentally bowled over earlier. Unfortunately for us, they had what looked like pistols pointed at us.

"There you guys are! I thought we lost you back there when you suddenly disappeared but lucky for us, we found you two in a nice secluded alley. You two found the perfect place for a loser and a suit-rat to die in." The guy in charge of us said, as he positioned his gun on Shani who hand was on her own pistol but she hadn't had time to pull it out.

"The name's Lothar, not that it's gonna matter to you. What's in the bag?" Lothar asked us.

"What's in my bag? There's nothing inside. Well… nothing that you should be concerned about anyway." Ryan told him.

"I'll be the judge of that." Lothar answered, "Show me what's inside. Nice and easy or your suit-rat might end up with a bullet to her brains." He added while his companions chuckled at the threat.

Ryan just grimaced before opening the bag carefully so that only I could see inside and placed my hand inside the bag.

"We need a miracle if we're going to get out of this…" Ryan thought to himself, as he closed his hand on the object that he was now happy to have found in his bag.

"Alright… nice and easy… take it out slowly and…" Lothar began to instruct me when we heard a voice behind them.

"There you are you filthy pyjacks!" someone bellowed from behind Lothar and his two friends before the sound of a gun being fired was heard.

Seeing that Lothar and the other two were distracted, Ryan pulled out what he was holding in his bag, quickly aimed at Lothar and fired.

January 21, 2173

The Citadel - Wards

? (?)

He was contracted by a group of store owners who were complaining about a small-time gang lord wannabe who was harassing them constantly. C-Sec was unable to act because they had no spine for this kind of justice and the other mercenary groups couldn't find the time to handle this because they had their own problems, so it was up to other mercenaries to pick up the slack. Fortunately for them, he was in the Citadel for a few days waiting for a large juicy contract and didn't have anything else planned.

So here he was prowling the Wards looking for his target, which wasn't all that hard since they didn't know anything about keeping a low profile. He had been trailing them for quite awhile as they barged into several businesses and extorting them for their money, but still he bided his time until they could go somewhere alone where no one else could get hurt. That put a cramp in his style since he loved a good fight but his client's wanted it done discreetly and without civilian casualties, fortunately for him these guys hadn't noticed him just yet.

His quarry entered a diner that looked shady, so he went in as well thinking that this would be the place, but saw that there were several other people in the diner but no sign of his target. Wondering if his target had somehow slipped away, he took a seat and was approached by a female human.

"So what is it you wanted?" The female asked me.

"Uhm… I'm not here to…" he was about to tell her that I wasn't interested when he felt hunger gnawing at his belly and realized that he hadn't eaten in a while, "You know what… give me one burger."

"Alright then, so that's one order of burger coming right up... You sure one is enough? You know, we don't hardly see your kind down here but then again money is money right?" She said, as he paid for his order.

"You don't say…" He muttered softly as the human female left him alone, a few minutes later he saw his target leave the rest room and took up shop in one of the tables nearby.

When he saw that they were here to stay for awhile, he tried eavesdropping on their conversation, thankful that he was sufficiently hiden. He was both surprised and pleased to find out that they weren't particularly being quite about their shady dealings at all.

"So Lothar, how much did we get from the stores that we offered 'protection'?" one of them asked.

"We got around 10k credits in total." The guy he assumed was Lothar said.

"What? Last week, we got around 30k from the stores around here, what happened?" the other guy exclaimed in anger.

"I don't know, but I suggest that after we finish up our rounds, we'll visit them again and find out why they're holding out on us." Lothar told the group.

"Wouldn't you like to know why they are paying you less…" he thought to himself, grinning at the thought that most of the profits the stores had earned this week went into the 50 thousand credit bounty on Lothar's head.

Just then the human female came back and dropped the burger in front of me before moving on to my target's table where she placed the food he assumed they had ordered as well. After awhile, he noted the target and his companions were eating in silence, so he began to eat the burger in front of him.

Over the years, since the introduction of the Human race into the Galactic community, there have been several introductions of human culture to the galactic community that had a profound impact on the other species. The most notable of course was their food and culinary ability, which was surprisingly appreciated by the other species. Hence the number of diners that began to hire human cooks in the wards that were able to cook both levo-based and dextro-based food depending on the customers.

Over the years, he had eaten several kinds of 'burgers' whenever he happened to indulge in this luxury, but the burger he was currently eating bested all of the other burgers by a wide margin. With a big grin on his face, he devoured the burger in just a few bites. Realizing that his target wouldn't be leaving just yet, he called the human female over and ordered a dozen burgers much to her delight and his pleasure when it was delivered promptly.

After devouring eleven burgers in silence, he noticed his target approach him and was just about to grab the shotgun on his back when they passed him by. Apparently they had just finished eating, seeing no point in hurrying up to catch up to them just yet, he had just finished the burger when he heard a loud commotion at the entrance of the diner. Concerned about what might have happened outside, he stood up just as a human male ran past the window before disappearing. A second later, he saw his target and his companion ran past the window as well, the three of them holding their guns.

Grunting in frustration, he ran out the diner and started to run after his target. He barely managed to keep until he saw his target enter what looked like an alley. He smiled as he approached the alley, his hands holding the shotgun steadily before bursting into the alley with a shout.

"There you are you filthy pyjacks!"

January 21, 2173

The Citadel - Wards

Shani (Quarian)

Shani was afraid. No… that's wrong… she was petrified of the thought of dying, as she stared at the three guys who had accosted them in the alley. Shani glanced at Ryan and was surprised to see him calm in this situation.

"If only I had gotten to my gun in time, this wouldn't have happened." Shani berated herself as she stood still, her hand placed on her gun.

Shani was barely aware of the conversation that Ryan and the apparent leader were having as she tried to think of a way to get out of the situation.

"Cause a commotion? That's it… but with what? I should have learned how to make my own droid."

"How about I fire first… they don't look like their pros but… no… they're guns are all aimed at us. I'd be dead before I manage to get my gun out…"

"Think Shani… THINK!"

Just then she heard a voice behind the three.

"There you are you filthy pyjacks!"

Then she heard a gun being fired upon and saw the legs of one of the two companions of Lothar being blown right out of him, blood smearing the floor as he screamed in agony. The second after that, Shani saw Ryan pull out a strange gun from his bag and fire at Lothar, the bullet going through Lothar's chest. Seizing the chance, Shani pulled out her Kessler III pistol and opened fire at the other guy and was surprised that her rounds went right through the guy's stomach.

Now that they had some breathing room, Shani looked up and saw a Krogan slowly approaching them, his shotgun aimed at us.

"What happened here?" The Krogan asked warily.

Noticing that Ryan quite for some reason. Shani decided to answer for them "They tried to rob us. Thank you for your assistance."

"Don't worry about it. I was hired to kill these guys anyway. What a bunch of losers… they didn't even bother buying shields." The Krogan exclaimed as he kicked over the guy whose leg he had shot off and placed his shotgun against his head before firing point-blank, the guy's blood splattering on the floor.

Shani could only stare at the carnage and ease with which the Krogan had killed that man, "I think I'm going to be sick…" she muttered softly as she turned away from the sight.

The Krogan laughed at her reaction, "Don't worry about it. Eventually you'll get used to it."

The Krogan made his way to Lothar and exclaimed in surprised, "Now that's a lot of blood for one round… You're friend must have shot the heart or something… He's dead… Do you humans always bleed this much? Oh well… There goes my bounty… "

Surprised at what the Krogan had said, Shani turned around to see the Krogan making his way towards Ryan.

"Hey kid… Are you okay?" The Krogan asked Ryan as he had yet to say anything since the shooting began.

Shani looked on in concern at Ryan as they could see he was opening his mouth but no words were coming out.

"You think he's in shock or something?" The Krogan asked her.

Shani was about to nod her head when Ryan did something totally unexpected, he turned around, grabbed a hold of the wall and vomited on the floor.

Seeing what he just did, the Krogan just smirked before saying, "Yeah… he'll be alright."

Ryan breathed heavily as he turned around to look at us, his face slightly pale.

"So Wrex… what brings you to the neighborhood?" Ryan asked wearily.

January 21, 2173

The Citadel - Wards

Ryan (Human)

Ryan silently laughed at the expression Wrex was expressing at his sudden question.

Shani just looked at me in silence before asking, "You know this Krogan?"

Ryan shook his head, "Not really, but I have heard about him. Urdnot Wrex, the baddest Krogan in the universe."

After hearing what Ryan just said, Wrex just smirked, "I see my reputation has even reached you Humans."

Wrex pointed out to the three corpses in front of us before kicking Lothar's corpse, "As to why I'm here, I was hired to kill this guy but you took care of him before I could."

"There's a bounty on his head?" Shani asked in amazement.

"Yeah, several store owners had put out a hit on his head and it was my job to kill him…" Wrex said before adding begrudgingly, "but you're friend there killed him so the bounty is his."

Ryan just stood there silently, trying to understand what had happened when he heard Wrex suddenly ask, "So what's with that gun in your hand. I haven't seen anything like it before."

Ryan looked up in surprise before looking at the gun he held in his hand, a Desert Eagle. It was a gift from my gun nut friend when he heard that I was moving to a neighborhood that was known for a number of muggings.

Looking up at Wrex, Ryan answered truthfully, "It's an old fashioned human gun, given to me by a good friend."

"For such an old gun, it sure packs some heat, Ryan." Shani pointed out.

"Yeah… it does…" Ryan agreed with a smile.

"Well I have to go. Take care of yourselves, you two lovebirds." Wrex said as he made his way out the alley.

"We're not -" Shani started to say.

"It's not what you thi-" Ryan began.

"I'm kidding… Kids today… can't take a joke. Anyway Ryan was it? Just go to 'Lorenzo's Café' to get your payment. I have places to go."

"Wait…" Ryan called out to Wrex, who stopped to look at him.

"What is it?" Wrex asked.

"Why don't you come with us? I might have a job for you." Ryan said seriously.

"You have a job for me? Sounds intriguing… what the hell, I might as well. There's nothing else to do anyway." Wrex said after giving it some thought.

"Alright then, let's go before C-Sec arrives and we get arrested." Wrex pointed.

Shani just nodded her head in agreement, "He's right. We should get out of here."

"Not yet, there's still something I need to do." Ryan said, as he knelt beside Lothar's body.

"Shani, can you take out everything that's in Lothar's omni-tool? There might be something there we can use."

"Sure. It will be easy, just give me a minute." Shani said, as she also knelt beside Lothar's body and grabbed ahold of his arm where his omni-tool was located.

Wrex idly picked up one of the pistols the three used, "Kessler I? That's pathetic…" he muttered idly as he tossed the pistol into an open trashcan.

Looking up, Ryan saw Wrex throw the pistol in the trashcan, "What are you doing?" he asked, as he stood up and retrieved the pistol from the trashcan.

"That thing's a piece of trash, Ryan. Kessler I Pistols are a waste of money, it has so many flaws it's a wonder Hanhe-Kedar didn't run out of business from selling these." Wrex pointed out, as Ryan placed the pistol in his bag.

"It doesn't matter. For the job I'm aiming for, we're going to need everything we can get if we're going to succeed. Ryan told him, as he picked up the two other pistols and placed them in his bag.

"I'm done." Shani exclaimed as she stood up.

"Alright… Let's get out of here." Ryan told them before looking at Wrex, "Wrex? You know where to go, why don't you take us there?"

"Sure. Just follow me, we don't want to get lost." Wrex said as he went out the alley.

Wrex lead us out of the alley and out into the Wards. Ryan and Shani followed Wrex quietly as he led them towards several hallways until eventually they found their destination, Lorenzo's Café.

January 21, 2173

The Citadel – C-Sec Headquarters

Chelsea (Human)

Chelsea sat at her desk as she tried to write out a report of the day's happenings during her round but couldn't concentrate since she kept thinking about that guy she met at the alley.

"Ryan… I wonder what it is about him that's intriguing me so much. He's not that handsome and he doesn't look like he's strong… but I can tell that there's strength within him… Now I'm just being silly… I only just met the guy…"

Chelsea shook her head to try and clear her thoughts when she heard Janus and his closest friend in C-Sec enter the office where she and Janus were assigned. Chelsea glanced at the photo on her desk, showing her entire family, majority of her siblings were already married and had nice safe jobs unlike her. She didn't have anyone special in her life unless you counted Janus but he's a turian but he was still special to him… she just didn't know in what way yet.

She sighed in frustration as she grabbed the cup on her table. Her action did not go unnoticed as Janus looked at his partner for almost a year before approaching her, "What's eating you?"

"Nothing… just this damn report I'm trying to write. For some reason, I can't think straight." Chelsea said before sipping her coffee.

"Hmmm it wouldn't have anything to do with a certain human we found in an alley is it?" Janus asked, his tone lightly teasing.

"I have no idea what you mean." Chelsea denied although she was blushing.

"Oh… what's this? Little Chelsea found herself a man already? When do we get to meet him?" the other Turian said in mock surprise.

"Shut it Garrus. He's not my man and he probably left already." Chelsea told him in frustration.

"Nah… I doubt he would leave just like that, besides he still has to repay you for the translator you lent to him." Janus pointed out.

"That's right!" Chelsea answered, perking up happily before frowning slightly, "I forgot to give him my contact information though."

Garrus upon hearing that couldn't take it anymore and just laughed at the seemingly distraught Chelsea. Eventually Janus also joined in laughing as Chelsea continued to pout, slightly put off at the way they were teasing her.

"Guys it's not that funny…" Chelsea pointed out quietly.

"I know… but still…" Garrus started to say when they heard a voice coming from the intercom,

"Kandros?! Report to my office now!"

"Sounds like trouble… what did you do?" Garrus asked Janus.

"I did my job." Janus answered before leaving the office.

Chelsea could only look at Janus' back as he left the office, fearing the worst.

January 21, 2173

The Citadel – Wards

Shani (Quarian)

Shani and her two companions were walking the Wards after they had left Lorenzo's Café after conducting their 'business' with Wrex' clients. After clearing up the mixup as to who had killed Lothar, Ryan was paid the 50 thousand credit bounty who then used it to pay for Wrex' services as a bodyguard, as to what being a bodyguard entailed she did not know but had a feeling Ryan would tell them soon. She was further surprised and irritated when Ryan asked them if there was an antique store dealing in human technology since she could have told him the answer herself. Shani led the two to the antique store herself since she already knew where it was located.

Shani noticed Ryan pull out another portable machine that was somehow smaller than the other machine she found in his bag. She was about to ask what it was when she noticed that Ryan looked like he was getting frustrated. Deciding to leave him alone for the moment, Shani decided to check out what she had recovered from Lothar's omni-tool.

"Let's see now… various spam messages… useless… hmmm interesting a decryption program... nah… my program is way better than this one… several contacts that sound promising… and… what's this large folder?"

When Shani opened the folder, she stopped in her tracks and stared at what she was seeing. Ryan didn't notice that Shani had stopped and ran into her.

"Shani? You okay? What happened?" Ryan asked her, concerned as to what might have happened.

"Uhm… I'm okay… nothing happened okay… let's go!" Shani blurted out suddenly before running off.

"Quarians are weird…" Wrex muttered to himself before jogging after them, as Shani left them with Ryan running after her shouting, "Wait for us!"

January 21, 2173

The Citadel – C-Sec Headquarters

Janus (Turian)

Janus left the office of his superior, his fists clenched tightly as he seethed with rage at what had transpired in the room. Quietly he went to the office, ignoring the greetings of both Chelsea and Garrus as he made his way to his desk and started cleaning it up.

"Hey Janus… what are you doing?" Garrus asked in surprise at what he was doing.

"Cleaning my desk, effective as of right now, I have resigned from C-Sec." Janus answered stoically.

"What! What do you mean your resigning?!" Chelsea asked in shock.

"Was it the investigation you were doing?" Garrus asked quietly.

"Yes…" Janus raged at Garrus, "I can't take all this bureaucratic bullshit anymore. My investigation was stalled once again by politics and he had the nerve to order me to stop investigating it for the good of the people. People died because of what those bastards did and there's nothing C-Sec can do because they are protected by people like our superiors."

Garrus placed his hands on his arms and tried to calm him down, "Janus, calm down… we're going to get those bastards. I promise you that."

"It's too late, Garrus. I'm done playing by their rules. Now it's time to play by my own rules." Janus vowed as he finished up clearing his table.

As he made his way to the door, Janus stopped by Chelsea and muttered, "I'm sorry Chelsea… It has to be this way for now…"

Chelsea just nodded her head, resigned to losing Janus.

Garrus called out to Janus just as he was about to leave the room, "Janus... wait… Good luck… If you find something worthwhile let me know, I might just join you…"

Janus looked at Garrus in the eye for a few seconds, before nodding his head and leaving the office.

As Janus made his way out of C-Sec, he thought about his future plans.

"I've done the only thing that could atone for the deaths of those I failed to save… it's time to take matters in my own hands… the first thing I'm going to need is to find a decent rifle…"

Having made up his mind, Janus made his way to weapon dealer that he knew very well at the Wards.

January 21, 2173

The Citadel – Wards

Ryan (Human)

Ryan ran after Shani as she led them through the wards, he was curious as to why she was running but decided to ask her at another time. Ryan gradually noticed that the stores that he passed by slowly became more reputable and the people looked more or less civilized than in the rest of the wards.

Eventually Ryan saw Shani stop in front at a store, jogging up to her he asked as he took deep ragged breaths, "Why did you run? I thought something happened to you."

"I told you, nothing bad happened… I just felt like running that's all…" Shani answered before gesturing to the store, "Well this is the store you wanted to see. Let's go in."

Ryan was about to enter the store when noticed the store adjacent to it. He's mouth dropped open and he could only stare at the store he was seeing in shock. Wrex noticed that Ryan was apparently out of it, so he grabbed his collar and dragged him inside the antique store muttering to him, "We'll go in there LATER, kid."

Once inside, Ryan tried to compose himself from the shock just as the proprietor of the store approached them.

"So what can I do for you folks?" asked the owner, a middle-aged human male, as he glanced at Ryan's companions.

"I was wondering if you also bought items from customers." Ryan said as he placed his hand inside his bag.

"Yes we do. On occasion and if the customer has something I want, I…" the proprietor started to say when he noticed what Ryan had pulled out of his bag, "Is… Is that an iPhone 5S?"

"Yes it is" Ryan said, confusing the rest of his companions when they saw how excited the proprietor was.

The proprietor glanced at them before continuing, "Suffice to say, this model looks surprising well-preserved. Where did you find it? Oh well, it doesn't matter anyway. So you wish to sell it?"

"Yes that's right. I'm very interested in selling this, at a fair price, of course." Ryan told him, the proprietor excited at the prospect of having a real artifact in his store.

"Yes… of course, the price will be sufficiently adequate. I'm willing to offer 900 thousand credits for the iPhone." the proprietor told them.

"Nine Hundred Thousand Credit?!" Wrex muttered, impressed at the amount.

"That is a lot, but I'm sure this piece is worth more than that." Ryan said, hoping that his gamble would work.

"While it's true that the iPhone is more than what I am paying you but the store just doesn't have the credits to offer you." The proprietor said dejectedly, sensing the opportunity to be lost.

"Ryan, give the man a break, will you?" Shani said, feeling sorry for the proprietor.

"I MIGHT consider parting with the phone but only on one condition." Ryan said, fidgeting under the intense stares of both Wrex and Shani, "Am I correct in assuming this business is owned by you?"

"You are correct to assume that, sir." The proprietor said, confirming Ryan's suspicions.

"Alright, I have with me several other 'artifacts' that might interest you. I'm willing to provide them to you at a later date but for now I'm selling you this iPhone for 900 thousand credits and a 50% stake of your store." Ryan told the owner his proposal.

"Really… you wish to go on a partnership with me? Whatever for… never mind the reason, I can live with your offer. As you can see, this store has been going downhill but I'm willing to take a chance on you. What choice do I have? You have yourself a deal, partner. The name's Sven." The owner said after thinking about it for awhile.

"Very good, I'd like the 900 thousand credits in a credit chip. Sad to say, Sven, I don't have an omni-tool yet." Ryan told his new partner, as he handed the iPhone to Sven.

"You don't have an omni-tool? Don't worry about it, I have myself an extra. It's a slightly older model but it should suit you for now. The money is in the omni-tool already." Sven said, as he went to the counter and placed the iPhone inside the cabinet before pulling out an omni-tool and giving it to Ryan.

"Thanks for the help, Sven."

"Anytime partner, now if you'll excuse me. I need to contact my lawyer in order."

"Good luck with that. I'll see you in a few days, alright?" Ryan said as he made his way out the door, his companions following him.

Outside the store, Ryan could tell Shani and Wrex had questions about what had just happened, but he kept quiet since he knew that they wouldn't really understand what he was doing just yet. Making his way to the store beside Sven's, he turned around to face Shani and Wrex. Unknown to them, someone who was just passing by noticed the group and tried to eavesdrop.

"You know… when I first got here, I didn't know what to do. I felt lost and alone but with you guys with me, I know that things will get better. There are a lot of things that I want to do, but I'm going to need your help. We're going to need a lot of help and resources. That's why I took a chance and it succeeded beyond my wildest dream. Now it's time. Time for us to make a stand and do what others should have done. We are going to keep those we care about safe from harm and make a difference in this universe. We are going to show them all that there are still those who care about others without malice. I'm not so good with long speeches, and what I'm saying might sound strange at this time… but believe me when I tell you. That this… is the start of something new." Ryan proclaimed to his friends.

With his speech done, Ryan turned around to look at the store that had both shocked him and given him hope, its sign glowing brightly on top of the entrance, CRESCENT STORM ENTERPRISE.

Author's Notes: What do you guys think? Continue or not…