Chapter 2

"So?" Maura was on the edge of her seat, her chocolate shake forgotten.

"What did he say about the eezo? Did you even find any?" asked Gem, who was equally as excited, which manifested by making him talk even more quickly than usual.

"Yeah, I did," Elle held out her arm, activating her Omni-tool and showing them the readout. Around them other workers leaned in to see as well, chattering amongst themselves about Elle being led to the boss' office. Elle had never been so popular. Half the workers seemed sure that she was some kind of hero, while others kept shooting her sympathetic looks, as though she was probably fired, but just didn't realize it yet.

"Sure enough. Wow. What did he say, did he say it was because of the spill? Was he worried? Should we be worried?"

"Gem, settle," Elle put her hand on the salarian's slim forearm. "He didn't seem worried. It didn't even seem like he cared. I don't think the eezo came from the spill. When I mentioned that he blew me off right away."

"Weird," Maura commented. "Could the biotic have left eezo behind when he went crazy, instead of it causing him to?"

"Unlikely. Element zero is usually found in powder form, but biotic humans are exposed when they are still in-utero. They wouldn't have any eezo one them. Well, not unless they brought some with them to work," Gem's eyes opened wide, which made them almost comically large. "Oh my gosh, what if the human did bring some into work? That stuff is big time illegal! Did any of the supervisors mention anything about it?"

"Why on Quarren would be know that?" Maura asked, folding her arms. "It's not like they talk to us."

Gem looked dejected. "True. They don't even change in the same locker rooms as we lowly grunts. Why would someone bring a rare and dangerous element into work? Do you think it was sabotage of some kind?"

"No idea. It must have cost him a lot of money. I don't know any merchants who would sell eezo. It's illegal, along with red sand and other stimulants," Elle said, resting her head on her palm and eyeing her Omni-tool as though it could reveal some secret if she kept staring.

"You could ask him," Gem gestured to where Ferris was sitting at his usual table, drinking his usual tea and studying a data pad with a look of concentration on his hard features. Elle gave a little snort of laughter, "yeah, right."

"Why not?" asked Maura jokingly, "he took you up to see the boss instead of firing you. Aren't you like, pals now?"

"Shut it Maura," Elle said, giving her friend a playful shove. "He's still an ass, no matter how you slice it. We'll figure this out on our own."

"How about we figure it out tomorrow?" Gem stretched his long limbs, and yawned.

Elle and Maura agreed and the three friends walked home through Dark-side. On the way they passed several small street shops that were still open. Candle light illuminate their wares as various shop-owners tried to entice passing plant workers over to buy. Mostly the merchants were volus, some asari, and a smattering of elcor, but there were also some Quarren natives there.

Elle and Maura were both tempted by a stall that was selling beautiful broken glass wind chimes. Though not much wind ever made it into the city, so tightly packed were the buildings, but there was a gentle breeze from an air vent and the bits of glass turned prettily, shimmering in the dim light. Elle's white face was turned from purple to green to yellow as the glass turned and shone against her velvety skin.

"Too bad your species don't have more skin color variation," remarked Gem, who was more interested in a different stall that was selling cheap, second hand tech. "You look good in green."

"You do," said a muffled voice.

Elle looked up to see that the shop owner was a male quarian. His eyes shimmered faintly behind his face mask as he watched her. His voice amplifier must have been slightly faulty because his voice sounded a little stifled. Elle was surprised, he was the first quarian she had seen in a while. As she looked at him a sensation seemed to rush over her. Like deja-vu. "Do I...have we met before?" Elle asked, squinting at the quarian.

He tugged slightly at his suit, shifting slightly as though he might be uncomfortable. "No," he answered after a moment. "Never. I'd remember someone as pretty as you."

Elle felt herself flush at the compliment. She was too busy with work to think about relationships, but still, the quarian was charming, and mysterious, with his face hidden behind his health sustaining mask. His bright eyes winked at her and she giggled a little girlishly.

"Oh brother," Maura grabbed Elle's arm. "Come on girl. No time to be flirting. We have work in the morning."

"You work at the plant?" asked the quarian, idly polishing a large shard of glass with a rag.

"Yeah," said Maura, still trying to move Elle, who was at least a head taller than she, along towards the apartments.

"We don't see many xelons around here. You're a rare treat," said the quarian. It was impossible to tell, but the tone of his voice seemed to indicate that he was smiling.

"There are a few other xelons at the plant," Elle said, allowing herself to be slowly shunted along by Maura. "I'm the only one in my section. I don't see many quarians around either."

"Perhaps I'll see you again?" asked the quarian, as Elle was moved almost out of earshot.

"I hope so," Elle called back, still feeling a little bit giddy.

Gem caught up with them, holding what looked like a spent plasma converter. "What just happened?" he asked.

"Elle was flirting with that quarian. It was disgraceful." chuckled Maura, who still had a firm grip on Elle's arm.

"It was not. I was not," Elle protested, still allowing herself to be herded along.

Gem grinned slightly and shook his head, "and I thought humans were flirts. I expect that Maura only made you stop because she was jealous that the young man wasn't paying attention to her."

The three friends laughed and chatted all the way home. Elle thought a little more about the friendly quarian as she dressed for bed. Had he been flirting with her, or just trying to make a sale? She still couldn't shake that feeling that she had seen him someplace before. She didn't remember seeing his stall there on other nights. Perhaps he had had a different job before opening a sales stall on Dark-side.

As she showered and went to bed her mind was as active as ever. Sometimes she wondered if she could just stop thinking about all the mysteries around her and just let her mind go blank, and she guessed that she probably couldn't.

The next few days were quiet. With her project finished, and a nice bonus waiting for her on payday, Elle went about her work in good spirits. She seldom thought about the eezo that she had discovered. Her job kept her mind busy, and her nights were filled with times spent with Gem and Maura. The three were so seldom apart that when Gem said that he wouldn't be walking the girls home that night they were both very surprised.

"I'm sorry," the salarian said lightly, "I have to spend some time with my family. They complain that they miss me."

"They're on the other side of the city," said Maura dejectedly. "Which means we won't see you until work tomorrow."

"Most likely. I'll sleep at my family's house." said Gem.

"Will you at least be eating with us?" asked Elle.

"Not tonight," Gem sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's a bit of a trip and I have to catch a train."

"We understand," said Elle, patting her friend's arm. "Your brothers don't get to see you very often."

"Thanks for understanding," Gem smiled. "I know we've formed our own family, and the two of you don't have anyone on-world."

"If I had brothers here I'd want to visit them," Maura admitted as the friends parted ways outside the plant.

That night the girls sat at their usual table. The conversation was slightly lacking without Gem's quick interjections and fast-talking rambles. Still, the two managed to enjoy their meal. As it was payday they both splurged a bit. Elle enjoyed a human dessert of apple pie, shared with her best friend.

As she munched another fork-full of pie, Elle got a prickling feeling at the back of her neck. Slowly she turned her head, glancing out of the corner of her eye. Her heart gave a little lurch. Ferris was looking right at her. He had a slightly quizzical, searching expression on his angular face. He was wearing that white face paint again, as always it made him look slightly tribal and dangerous. His small, intelligent eyes watching her made her feel like a thousand needles were tingling over her skin.

"What?" asked Maura, noticing Elle's distraction.

"He's staring right at me," Elle said in a hushed voice, turning back to her friend and hunching her shoulders uncomfortably.

"Who?"

"Him, Ferris. Is he still looking?" Elle asked, still feeling like her skin was covered in biting insects.

"Yup," Maura's voice was a little breathless. "Why on Quarren would be he staring at you?"

"Why not me?" Elle asked a little playfully, "Should males not look at me?"

"Not what I meant and you know it. Though maybe you're right. Maybe he is looking for that reason." Maura pointed out. "Oh, now he's gone back to his reading. You must not be very interesting."

"I sure hope he's done," said Elle. "He was giving my the creeps big time. Goddess, I hope he wasn't looking at me for that reason. Ugh."

"He's not that bad looking, for a turian," Maura pointed out, grinning now.

"Too bad about that stick he has lodged up his ass," Elle giggled.

The two girls laughed and Ferris kept his eyes to himself for the rest of the evening so the event was all but forgotten. The friends left the diner and headed home through Dark-side. Elle looked around as they went for the quarian selling the glass decorations, but she didn't see him. Maura poked a little fun at Elle's expense about her crush on the salesman.

The two came around a corner into a street where the stalls were either all packed up, or hadn't set up at all that night. The going was a bit challenging because it was so dark. Light from other parts of the city illuminated the way somewhat, like man-made stars. This far into the city the true stars could not be seen thanks to the light pollution.

"Evening ladies," a deep voice echoed towards them from down an alley.

It was only a matter of moments before the girls found themselves faced with three, surly looking batarians. "What can we help you with boys?" Maura asked, trying to keep her voice level.

"Oh, not much," said the lead batarian in his deep, intimidating voice. He blinked at her with all four of his eyes. "Well, I heard it was payday down at the plant and we were just hoping that you ladies might be carrying full credit chits. How about you hand those over and you can both go on your way, no problems."

"How about we don't?" snapped Elle. She wasn't sure where her courage was coming from. She turned into a quivering mass of fear when a supervisor happened to walk by her work station. Out here though, her route home, this was her domain.

"Elle," hissed Maura uneasily.

"No. These guys have no right. We earned this money." Elle snapped dangerously. She was well aware that she was a little bit taller than the batarian who was threatening her and she straightened to her full height, squaring her shoulders.

"Oh really?" the batarian signaled one of his buddies and a pistol was drawn, the metal of the barrel glinting dangerously in the faint light.

Elle felt her bravado fail. She began reaching towards her personal bag for her credit chit, vaguely wondering what she was going to do for food until her next payday. Also wondering if she could afford to pay to ride the transport home from Light-side every night. She certainly wasn't going to be walking home any more.

"I really think you should leave these ladies alone," a gravely voice broke in.

The batarians turned as one, growling dangerously, "what do you want, turian?"

Elle realized who the owner of the new voice was and she wasn't sure how to feel. On the one hand she was glad that someone was here to help them out, and on the other she wondered why it had to be him. Why Ferris, of all people?

His face stood out specterally from the darkness, marked as it was with white face paint. His eyes glinted green, making him look even more menacing. "I want you to leave," growled Ferris.

"We don't think we will," smirked the batarian, "we think we'll take your credit chit too."

"Oh really?" Ferris reached for something at his belt.

There was the sound of a weapon discharging. Elle jumped, unable to tell in the dark quite where the shot had come from or gone. The batarian holding the gun gave a yelp and dropped it. Ferris glared dangerously at them. He was now holding a pistol of his own. "I really think you should be going before I call the authorities." Ferris stood tall, glowering at the batarians in the same way that he did at his subordinates at work. His chin high, his eyes glinting, he stared down their aggressors.

"The plan's gone south," snarled the head batarian to his comrades. His expression had changed to one of unease, even fear. "let's go." He skulked hurriedly away, followed by his pals.

Maura had a death grip on Elle's arm. "Easy Maura, they're gone."

"Dear god," breathed Maura. "No more walking home through Dark-side for us." Then Maura turned to Ferris, "thank you! I don't know where you came from, but thank you."

Ferris smiled wanly, "it's a good thing they're easily fooled," he said. He held up his pistol, turning it so that the girls could see that it had no heat clip in place. "If I fired this I would get a nasty burn on my hand. I wasn't eager to fire."

"But you did," Elle pointed out, glancing at the gun that the batarian had dropped.

"Actually no," Ferris said, "they must have had the same issue. He dropped it because of the heat."

"So he missed?" Elle said, looking around for where the projectile may have gone.

"Not exactly,"

"What?" Maura asked.

Ferris stepped further into the light. He had his free hand clasped to his stomach, where dark blue blood was already staining his clothes. He bent forward slightly, grimacing, showing off his long, dangerous looking teeth.

"Goddess!" gasped Elle, stepping forward and grabbing Ferris' arm, "he shot you? We need to get you to a hospital, now!"

Maura also rushed to help, taking Ferris' other arm, "come on. We'll get you there. It's not far."

Between them the two women half carried the wounded turian towards the nearest hospital. "What were you thinking?" demanded Maura, trying her best to assist the much taller and bulkier alien. "Threatening those thugs with that useless weapon?"

"I was thinking that they might fall for my bluff," explained Ferris between gritted teeth.

"Is that the same gun from the plant?" asked Elle.

"No. I bought this one cheap. I figured I didn't really need it to fire. I could use it to intimidate people."

"That didn't work," Elle said, shouldering the turian's arm more firmly. "Where did you come from anyway? Were you following us?"

"No. I was walking home," Ferris grunted.

"You live near Dark-side too?" Maura's tone was skeptical.

"I do," Ferris shifted his weight mostly on to Elle, as though sensing that Maura was growing tired.

Elle shouldered the new application of weight easily. Xelon were normally quite lithe, but their build belayed their strength. Nothing compared to a krogan of course, but at least a match for the average turian. "Why don't we ever see you walking our way? We take this route almost every night."

"I avoid contact with others," Ferris said simply. "Especially workers from the plant. I seem to make them...nervous."

"Gee, you think?" hissed Maura to Elle.

Elle shot her friend a warning look, "well, thanks for changing your policy tonight or we might have lost our credit chits."

"You might have lost more than that," Ferris pointed out, "I've seen those batarians around. Never caught them in the act, but they're bad news. They're especially cruel to humans," he shot a glance down at Maura, who avoided eye contact.

"Nothing new there," Maura admitted resignedly. "Here we are," she gestured to the large, tan building in front of them. "I'll run inside and get some help," she gently took Ferris' arm from her shoulder and rushed through the automatic doors to the hospital building.

Ferris leaned against Elle, though she sensed he was still doing his best to support his own weight. She glanced at him a little uneasily. "Do you have any family I should call for you?" she asked nervously.

"Not on-world," answered Ferris simply.

Then people were rushing out of the hospital and loading Ferris onto a stretcher. He sat down on the stretcher, and allowed himself to be laid back, but as he did he grabbed Elle's wrist. He squeezed slightly, letting out a little moan from the pain, then let go. Elle stood there watching the nurses wheel him hurriedly inside. Maura came back out, her face was pale in the overly bright street lights outside the hospital building. "Alright," Maura sounded a little out of breath, "I gave them all the info I knew about him."

"You were only in there a minute," Elle pointed out.

"Yeah," Maura gave a slight shrug. "Pretty much all I know is his name, and where he works. Come on Elle, let's get a cab and go home."

"We have to file a report with the police VI before we do anything else," Elle pointed out. "Otherwise we'll never hear the end of it."

"I suppose you're right," sighed Maura, walking over to the VI terminal that served as a sort of pay-phone and information hub for the hospital. Maura tapped a few buttons, "we need to report a shooting," shes said.

In moments there was a flickering light and a quaren face appeared, transparent and sapphire in color. He had a dull, emotionless expression. "Identify yourselves and make your report please," said the VI in a tinny voice. Elle and Maura took turns relating the story of what had happened. They tried their hardest to give a description of the batarians that had cornered them. "Do you need police assistance?" asked the VI when they had finished.

"No," Elle replied.

"Is the victim of the shooting available for questioning or should we send someone around later?" asked the holographic head.

"Send someone later," Maura instructed.

"Understood. Your report will be logged. Thank you for your cooperation," droned the VI before flickering a few times, than vanishing.

"Alright," said Maura, heaving a sigh, "let's call that cab." She tapped a few numbers on the VI display and soon she was making arrangements for pickup. The girls stood together and waited, not really talking at all, but when the cab came Elle felt a little unsure.

She hesitated. Maura took her hand, but Elle let it slip out again as her friend began to lead the way. "Hang on, Maura. I think...I think I might stay for a little while. Make sure he is alright."

Maura came back, looking up at her companion, "are you sure?"

"Yeah," Elle rubbed the back of her neck, a little uneasily.

"I'll stay with you then," Maura said determinedly, starting back towards the building.

"No Maura," Elle felt suddenly guilty. Her friend was loyal to the end, but Maura was also obviously freaked out and exhausted. "I can't ask you to stay too. Please go home, have a warm bath and do your, what is that thing you do, yogi?"

"Yoga," Maura gave a little chuckle. She wrung her hands, "are you sure Elle. I'll stay for sure if you want me to."

"I'm sure Maura," Elle stepped forward and hugged her companion. "Thanks for being so willing to stay with me though."

"Last chance to come with me."

"I'm fine," Elle smiled.

"You're really going to hang around to make sure Ferris, who I may remind you, haunts your waking hours, is alright?"

"Yeah," Elle sighed, "I feel like I should, and as you know I tend to follow my impulses."

"Like scanning for eezo when you're supposed to be working?"

"Yup, like that." Elle chuckled.

"Are we ready ladies?" asked the cab driver, leaning towards the open passenger door to look at them.

"It's just me," Maura said, climbing in. "You make sure to get a cab when you go home too Elle."

"Of course," Elle replied emphatically. "Good night Maura."

"Good night," Maura called, smiling from behind the glass as the door of the cab closed.

Elle sighed again, turning and looking back at the hospital building. Steeling herself, she walked into the building. The asari at the desk looked up from her work, blinking deeply blue eyes, "can I help you?" she asked in her silky voice.

"I'm here to make sure that the turian who was just brought in here is alright."

The asari gave a little smile and flicked a button, activating a bright, yellow screen on front of her. A few quick wrist flicks and the screen flashed to a picture of Ferris, with words scrolling beside it. It was all backwards for Elle, but she wondered vaguely how the hospital had a picture and apparently somewhat thorough file already made out on the turian supervisor. She let the thought leave her head as the asari looked back up, "He's been taken in to surgery. He should be out in an hour or so, if it goes well. Would you like to wait."

"Yes," Elle said, a little timidly. She felt slightly uneasily in hospitals, which didn't make much sense as she had not been in hospitals much at all in her life.

The asari gestured towards a small waiting area with chairs that looked a little bit like they needed a good wash. Elle walked slowly over and sat down, taking in the beige hospital décor. For whatever reason almost everything in the city was colored that particular, uninteresting pale brown. Elle glanced around the waiting area, taking in the small, wooden table and flat screen suspended in a high corner. The tele-viewer was switched off because it getting so late so it looked like Elle would have to entertain herself with what reading this place had to offer.

There was a little data pad chained to the table with a thin tether. Elle wondered who would want to steal a data-pad from a hospital. She turned it on with a flick of her thumb and checked her reading options. An out-dated women's magazine, a children's book, several pamphlets about various health concerns and several job listings. Job listings were everywhere on Quarren. The planet was terminally understaffed. Perhaps because they had so few natives. She wasn't sure what had happened to the planet. A deadly virus, a mass exodus, a war? Something had wiped out over half of the industrial planet's populace, and it was still recovering.

Elle checked over the job listings, all looking for skilled workers for varied positions. Elle sighed and clicked her thumb against the pad again to look at the medical pamphlets. They all had titles meant to draw you in and keep you calm. She squinted at the first entry, "Quarian and scared? Don't let fear of disease rule you any longer. Quarren has the best, state-of-the-art medical facilities that can help with even the largest suit ruptures." Elle read on, "Are you a turian and concerned about your special dietary needs? Just ask one of the hospital's friendly staff to get you a nutritional guide for Quarren dining options." Elle scrolled her finger down the list, looking for anything interesting. "What is Disphoria Syndrome?" Elle stopped scrolled. That word sounded familiar. Disphoria? She tapped her thumb to select the pamphlet.

"Are you concerned about Disphoria Syndrome? Some of the symtoms include:

Fatigue

Dizziness

Paranoia

Deja vu

Sudden onsets of Depression

Phantom Memories

If you have at least two of these symptoms, maybe it's time to get tested. It's also time to look at the situation calmly. Disphoria Syndrome is very treatable. A simple operation will have you feeling like yourself in no time!"

Elle sat, staring at the little screen. She wasn't sure about the fatigue or dizziness, but she felt like she might have had more than one instance of deja vu and possibly 'phantom memories'. She swallowed. Was it time to get tested? What kind of operation was required to cure the illness? She flicked her finger and went on to the next pamphlet, which was a reassuring one about the extensive maternity ward, complete with extreme clean-room for quarian mothers.

She was walking down a long corridor. Grey walls on either side. The quarian was walking on her right, his hands were still tied in front of him. She felt cold, sore and hungry. The quarian looked at her, his eyes glinting brightly behind his mask.

Elle snapped out of her daydream. Was it a daydream? It had been so abrupt, she hadn't even really felt herself drift away, or her eyes become unfocused. Was it more of a memory? Her heart started beating fast. The data pad slid from her hand and clacked against the beige tiled floor. The asari at the desk looked up abruptly, her eyes narrowing for a moment.

"Sorry," said Elle, sheepishly picking up the pad. "I think I fell asleep."

The asari seemed placated by her explanation and went back to looking at her own data pad. Elle slumped back in her chair, clicking through the magazine choices too fast for her to read. She let the little screen flip and flip through the list. This time her eyelid really did get heavy and she was starting to drift off.

"Excuse me," Elle felt someone tap on her shoulder.

"Maura, what is it?" Elle mumbled, waving her hand vaguely.

"Miss," the voice was more insistent. "Wake up."

Elle's eyes snapped open. She blinked owlishly at the woman in front of her. It wasn't the asari from the front desk. It was a xelon woman wearing beige doctor's garb. "You were waiting to see about your turian friend? The one with the gunshot wound."

"Yes," Elle wiped her eyes, standing up a little unsteadily.

"Alright, I can take you to see him now. His surgery went well."

"Is he alright?" Elle asked, following as the doctor began to lead the way through the hospital.

"Now he is. We had to stitch up his insides a bit, but he's doing much better. Good job bringing him in right away. So many people think turians are somehow more hearty than other species, but that's just not true. Getting shot is as life threatening for them as it is for a human, or a xelon."

Elle followed quietly along as the doctor chatted about the dangers of some parts of the city. How everything was supposed to be completely safe here, but you could never get rid of crime. Not entirely. Elle let her eyes glaze over a bit as they walked down on bland hallway after another.

Finally they came to Ferris' room. "Now be gentle," the doctor warned. "I brought you up because he said he didn't have any family or friends on-world that I should call. I just didn't think he should be alone with this," the woman sighed wearily. "Some turians are so stubborn. Hang on, I'll let him know you're here."

Elle waited, hands clasped nervously in front of her as the doctor quietly entered the dimly lit room. Ferris was laying on a specially made bed, with a hole in the headrest for his fringe, so he could lay on his back. Elle thought the bed looked a little bit like a massage chair she had seen once.

"Ferris Orridan?" the doctor said in almost a whisper.

Elle saw Ferris' eyes open, flashing green, "what is it?" he asked. His voice sounded strained and exhausted, lacking all it's usual dominant resonance.

"You have someone here to see you."

"Who? I told you I don't have any family or friends here." Ferris' tone was cold and suspicious.

"Well, this young lady waiting for some time, so I think she has earned the right to speak to you for a little while," said the doctor, whose tone was still gentle, but took on a slightly commanding edge.

Then Ferris turned his head towards the door and his small, intense eyes widened, "you?" he said, barely loud enough to be heard.

Elle swallowed nervously and entered the room, "yeah," she said quietly. "Me."