Dear Mom,

I've finally made it! I'm at the Citadel. It's so much more amazing than I ever dreamed. The different species of aliens are everywhere, and the architecture is fascinating. There are more people here than they could ever dream of fitting on Earth, and almost all of them live or work here. It's better than going to New York City. I'm so glad I've been given this opportunity.

They've put me to work here on the Citadel. My job is to interview newcomers, just like what they did to me when I came in. I've got to figure out their strengths and weaknesses and their preferences, and assign them a job somewhere they'll like, as well as construct a psychological profile for those who will be in charge of them. And, of course, if they seem a little off, I'm supposed to report them to the administrator on site, where they'll take care of them and send them back home (they had to do that with one person in the group I arrived with). They've put me in an apartment nearby, and the view I have is incredible. In fact, the only downfall I can think of is that one other person was assigned the same job as me. She's this freakishly annoying girl named Naomi. Maybe she'll get better and more bearable as we work together, like you always say, I should give her a chance.

Anyway, I'll definitely keep you updated. We're allowed minimal contact with people back home, partially because most of what we do is supposed to be top-secret. A message to you every now and then couldn't hurt me, though, so I'll do what I can. I hope you and dad are doing well.

Love,

Kelly.

"Alright, here's a file for your omnitool, describing your job assignment. You'll be assigned to the planet Aite, as a part of the guards there. Your ship leaves in about two hours, you can find the boarding information in the file I gave you. If you'll follow the door to your left, there's someone in there who can give you your uniform and set you on your way." With a shining smile, she transferred the data to his omnitool. The young man was excited, although he probably didn't know that most people who joined this organization to fight were doomed from the start. After having done this for a week, Kelly had learned from the more senior employees that kids fresh out of high school often came here to carry a gun, thinking they would come out a hero, when they really came out a corpse.

She learned several things from the older coworkers, in fact. The relations with Cerberus and most of C-Sec were tense right now, and it was likely that this entire office would be removed from the Citadel within the next year. It turned out that in the past few years, some Alliance officer had uncovered horrible things about the organization that had only been true more than a decade prior and somehow got that information to an official on the Citadel. Combined with that and the occasional out-of-control recruit, similar to what had happened the other day, the Citadel Security was beginning to doubt whether Cerberus had benign intentions here. If it kept up, they would be forced to move to another base.

Kelly was doing fine, however, thoroughly enjoying her new job. Thanks to the wonders of medigel, a bruise which would have lasted about a month was faded to nearly nothing in about a week. Kelly was able to cover it up with a thick layer of makeup, making her seem even more friendly and personable to her clients than she had been before. Of course, that didn't keep Naomi from giving her a smirk every time she turned her cheek in that direction.

"Oh, look, Kelly, that blemish on your cheek is finally gone!" the woman had squeaked the first time Kelly had walked in, for once feeling a little less insecure about the large blotch. The psychologist had smiled at her coworker, a thank you on the tip of her tongue, when the mousy girl continued. "Oh, never mind, I can still see a faint outline of it. Maybe tomorrow."

At least she didn't have must else to pick on.

After a solid week in the workplace, Kelly was confronted with a day off. While back at home, this had been a blessing, right now she didn't know what to do. The Citadel was so overwhelming, and it had so much to do, she didn't have a clue where to start.

After some debating, the thought of that disgruntled salarian officer stuck in her head. He had been so upset by the disturbance made by the new arrivals, and it had basically been her fault. Reverting to what she knew about making people happy, she decided to do what she would have done any other day at home, which was to bring him some sort of food.

Unsure of exactly what salarians ate, she ventured out in one of those simple, skintight outfits that she had never even considered wearing back on Earth. Here, though, it seemed appropriate, as it helped her blend in with everyone else. She was just another civilian, who had made the Citadel her home. The redhead liked that thought.

Fortunately, most of the shops she encountered in this area of the Citadel were open booths, with the shopkeepers anxiously awaiting their next customer. It was much more crowded here than anywhere she had seen in photos of the Citadel – those pictures must have shown the richer parts of the station. She was fascinated at how efficiently the translator in her omnitool could make her able to understand what the signs around her were saying, although she wouldn't even begin to question the system wired into her flesh. Finally she came upon a yellow hued salarian, smiling behind a booth labeled "Sweets of Sur'Kesh." She approached him a bit nervously.

"Can I help you, human?" the man asked, seeming a bit surprised that someone not of his own race would approach, but perhaps it was just his already oversized eyes.

"Uh…" she trailed off, staring at the names of foods she most certainly didn't recognize. There was a long pause, before Kelly blushed, giving the vendor a small smile. "I'm looking to buy pastries for a salarian… friend. As a thank you." The salarian returned a small smile.

"You've come to the right place," he responded rapidly, pulling out some odd-shaped cookies (at least she thought they were cookies). They smelled slightly different, but they seemed to have the same concept as any batch of cookies at home. "These will do. Salarians have a high metabolism, so any food is almost always appreciated. Twenty credits for a dozen. Is it your first time on the Citadel?"

Fumbling with pulling out her credit chit and handing it to him, Kelly nodded. "I've been here for about a week," she professed. The salarian nodded as he ran the chit through, then handed it back to her as well as a bag of the cookies.

"I could tell. You seem nervous. Loosen up a little, enjoy your stay." He turned, obviously intending that last statement as a dismissal. She left, a little disgruntled. A salarian, telling her to loosen up? They were known for being the most energetic, uptight species in Citadel space. Nonetheless, she tried to relax her shoulders a bit. What she could really use was a massage.

The next part was easy – finding the Salarian officer. After talking to a turian officer, it seemed that it was actually rare for the man to be out and about, and actually did a lot of office work, being more akin to a Captain than anything else. The salarian often told others what to do, putting together schedules for the officers below him. The turian directed her to where the office would be, and Kelly was on her way.

After walking through some winding corridors in the C-Sec , she finally came upon the office. Pressing the holographic button on the door, it slid open with ease, and she put on a beaming smile when she laid eyes on the C-Sec officer. He had pale green features, with darker brown speckles and the occasional black stripe on his skin. The redhead noted how bizarre the salarian skintones were, how they created patterns, unlike the asari or turians.

Captain Harsin looked up from his datapad, his eyes narrowing when he saw her. It didn't take several steps for Kelly to cross the room and stand in front of his desk, the paper bag of cookies clutched in front of her as if she weren't quite sure what to do with them. With a deep, exhausted sigh, the salarian put the datpad down and leaned back in his chair. The smile fell from the psychologist's face as he began to speak. "You're that Cerberus girl from the other day. What do you need? It had better be important, I'm busy."

Biting her lip, Kelly was blushing again. "I- I brought you something, as a thank you for the other day," she told him, placing the bag on the desk, suddenly glad it was out of her hands.

The officer snorted, exasperated, and shook his head. "I appreciate the sentiment, but I have no time for expressions of gratitude. It's my job. Please leave my office."

Disappointed, Kelly turned unceremoniously and left.