Wow, lots of time have passed until I got this chapter ready. Sorry for the wait, I had a major writer block… Just to know that I am not going to abandon my stories, only trying to get past some things before I continue. Now, I am looking for Beta Readers for my stories. Now, enjoy!

Nazarius POV

After dealing with the shop assistant, now Marcus was the proud owner of a Predator M-3; a good weapon even if I wished that Marcus didn't have a weapon on his person. But I dare anyone to say no to a krogan who wanted someone to be protected… At least Marcus didn't seem to like having a weapon on him too, so that was something. After that, we went to another shop, this time one specialized in technology. If the krogan wanted to buy thing to keep Marcus safe, I wouldn't be less.

After pushing a lot; and dealing with the insecurities of Marcus about buying him more things, he had a basic shield which would let him get to cover in case it was needed, and some software to his omni-tool. It wasn't much things, more like purchasing some pack of first-aid kit with medi-gel for emergencies, being able to watch the local news and use the omni-tool as a flashlight; along an Incinerate to burn the enemies if he was in danger… I really doubted that Marcus would be able to hit someone with the gun until he had practice.

I looked at the time, and it was the moment to go to deal with the Council. – "Marcus, we have to go. It's time." – I said, and Marcus turned pale in an instant, but nodded. His eyes were determined, so maybe he was focusing, but the krogan looked rather angry at me, surely because the sudden condition of Marcus now.

- "Go where?" – Kardak said, and his fingers twitched as his eyes narrowed. Really, a krogan battle-ready wasn't something I wanted to enter in the meeting, it could make everything go haywire and I wasn't going to let that happen… but Marcus started speaking before I could explain.

- "Kardak, is fine. I am meeting the Council… I am the ambassador after all." – Marcus said, and Kardak looked incredulous at the news. Then, he looked at Marcus, and after a look, he sighed a bit defeated, surely identifying the same look as I saw on Marcus as one that; even if he wasn't ready, he would do his best to come out on top.

- "Surely you have a plan, Grothnack." – Kardak said, and a smirk appeared in the face of Marcus, a look I never saw on him… Well, it was better than sullied or constantly worried about something, but it was strange to see it in his face now, and the way Kardak lifted an eyebrow at that, was a bit amusing.

- "When do I go without a plan, Kardak? I am not you who always charges without a plan, and remember, I am always the one who have to shout at you to go to the right direction." – Marcus said with some cheek, and the fact that Kardak laughed at that, it was good to see the effect of a friend in Marcus. It was kind of refreshing, and it was better for Marcus being relaxed instead of worrying about everything. And the fact that Marcus had a plan… that was new, but maybe it will work out.

- "Come on, better not make them wait." – I said, and restarted walking toward the rapidtrans to go toward the Tower of the Citadel. The fact that we had to squeeze inside them was something I didn't count, as the krogan occupied a lot of space inside. That was something I should have thought of, but as we finally reached the Tower, we just went outside and breathed to recover some air.

- "Kardak, when was the last time you took a shower!? We nearly died inside that lift! – Marcus said, and the silence which followed was enough answer for both of us…

- "Kardak… when we finish this, you will take a shower, whenever you want it or not." – Marcus and I said at the same time, and we both ignored the protest of Kardak about that. He WILL take a shower, even if I have to stun him and put him on the shower and drown him in cleaning products.

After this, we started going inside the tower, which was impressive and the typical open mouth of Marcus was present, so I just put my hand in the lower jaw, and pushed it up, receiving a glare from Marcus, but no comment about it. Kardak laughed at the interaction, before the lift reached the floor and started going toward the place where the Council were present, ready for the meeting.

Then, a turian from the Seg-C stopped Kardak and me. – "From this point, the human have to go there. The rest stay here." – He said, and Marcus paled a moment, but nodded, possibly determined to do this even if he was feeling vulnerable without someone he knew in his side. It was like fighting a war with only himself as a soldier.

- "Kick their arses in the meeting." – Kardak said, and that made Marcus snort, before starting to put himself in front of the Council, with another politicians looking in curiosity. Then, Kardak turned to me, dead serious and not laughter in his expression; as he held himself with the hand ready to go for the shotgun in his back.

- "He is bottling everything inside him. I know, enough times I had to force him to speak to me about his situation to know the signs. And he is in the breaking point." – Kardak said, and that made me start fearing what would happen in the meeting. It would be incredibly bad if Marcus had a breakdown in front of everyone.

- "Do you think he will break there?" – I asked, but Kardak laughed at that, before turning serious again, and there wasn't a bit of laughter in his eyes. That in this krogan was usually rare from what I knew about him in the short time, so now I knew that I had to pay attention.

- "He won't break in front of people. He is a master hiding everything in front of people, but alone…" - Kardak continued, and it was something that calmed my fears, but not entirely… because we would need to keep an eye on Marcus, in something akin to a suicide watch. And that wasn't something I would wish for anyone. And now, Marcus was going to confront the very people who could determine if his species was worthy of going to the space or not.

Marcus POV

I was nervous… no, that was downplaying how I was feeling, I was plainly terrified. What would happen if I say something wrong? What if I make my species unworthy of being in the Citadel? What if they make me go back to Earth, to the hands of my father and those bullies bar criminals? There was so much in risk here, and I only had my omni-tool with the contents of my computer to convince them, and the knowledge of my species in general… It was going to be a hard battle here.

I could see the members of the Council, a turian with a look that indicated nothing good for me, an inquisitive asari that maybe I could win with some well said things, and the salarian… hell, I couldn't even read his face as I wasn't accustomed to them. Well, the lips were an indicator at least, but those eyes were hard to look at them without thinking funny things related to frogs… Shit, don't think of the character Umbridge of Harry Potter with that face…

- "The Council is in session now. We would like to welcome Marcus, of the human race, to the Citadel." – The asari said, and it was clear that the battle started now. I would need to use everything, even things that… I doubted it would be good to show as there wasn't even created right now except in some shows and so on, but I could use them as a bargain point… God bless the anime and the imagination behind them.

- "We want to know things about your planet and your species. The preliminary analysis of your planet doesn't look… good." – The turian councillor said, and with a snide remark to my current health state. I breathed, trying to control my nerves and make my voice steady enough to not show any sign of my current nerves, that in normal circumstances would make me go to the nearest bathroom possible and pass at least one hour inside… with losing weight.

- "The way I was treated is not of consequence. I don't downplay the way they treated me, but it isn't common. There are laws that forbid the way I was treated, it was the circumstances around myself, if that is what didn't look good." – I said evenly, but the way the turian councillor looked at me, it was like he sucked a lemon. The asari looked at me with something akin to pity, and the salarian I couldn't read it. Before anyone could say anything, I started speaking again, to avoid interruptions.

- "About my species, we are multicultural, so we have a lot of different beliefs, and that's the tip of the iceberg. We have different gastronomy, traditions, customs…" - I continued, but a hand was raised and I stopped. It was the turian again, and it was clear that he was going to be the front of this interrogation about my planet, or at least the part where he could try to find a fault to exploit.

- "But that much differences surely have its detriment. As it is in the report, your planet is at war." – The turian said, and I sighed. It was something really natural for me that my planet is in that way, but for what I know, they will use everything they could to make my life very difficult to make a good standing in this place… And of course, I needed the help, so I was a bit tied in what I could say or do at the moment.

- "That's true… But only in focused places, and is not affecting all the planet. Either way, even if we have some problems, we can adapt. And even then, is not something to worry about at the moment." – I said, trying to steer clear of that way. It wouldn't be good to keep it that way, I had to try to make better impressions than that. If I had to guess, now the expectations were that Earth was a place for warmongers and so on. I didn't want Earth to be compared to the krogans… not that they don't have good cualities, but being peaceful was not one of them.

- "But what can your homeworld offer to the Citadel, when is it like that?" – Argued the Turian councillor… It was like a dog with a bone, he didn't want to let go until he received an answer he could quantify, instead of vague words and promises. In this case I respected and resented that, because it told me that he was a man of proof and results, but I resented it because it made my life more difficult right now.

- "Well, one thing we have is imagination for a lot of things, for example… I want to ask about the military. Do you still have to see how to solve the problem of close quarter combat, even if you have good knowledge of martial arts or self-defence?" – I asked, preparing a video that probably would kill more than one stone if I played it well, but it was going to be a bet to try to do it well. I took the silence to take the floor, and so that I could try to impress them.

- "What I am going to show you is a show they put on the net in my homeworld, but it surely give an idea of how to solve it. You are halfway there as it is, only need to try to adapt some more. Also, this show will let you hear some music of my planet, and entertainment. It's only about three minutes more or less." – I said, as I tried to link my omnitool to the projector. Finally, I connected it, and started the video, showing the Red Trailer of RWBY.

Kardak and Nazarius POV

- "Oh, man… This is going to be a good show." – Kardak said, with a smile on his face as he identified the music from the video. Narazius looked confused, but kept attention to the video, as he was surprised to see a little girl in that video, along with the music, not knowing what was to come right now.

Marcus POV

I saw how the turian was unconvinced at the moment, with the music sounding and only showing Ruby covered in her red hood, in the winter forest and then I had to maintain a plain face while I was restraining myself from laughing at the surprise of his face at the Beowulfs, and then how Ruby was killing them. The rest of the councillors were like that too, but the asari was looking interested and the salarian was taking some notes…

When the video ended, there was silence, and then… - "All humans can do these things?" – The asari councillor asked, and I denied with my head. – "It's fiction, councillor. We humans don't have these kind of powers, but it can be explained either way how to achieve the same result, even if only some people can replicate the same effect." – I said, internally giving Monty Oum the respect of making things the most realistic possible early on the show.

- "Then explain how that girl is able to wield that scythe, and how it works that weapon." – The turian said, challenging me. I smiled nastily at that… he is in the palm of my hand right now, and I was going to have fun with it… But without making an ass of myself, as this was a unique chance to gain some leverage. Maybe in the future add some trades or something like that if I could, but for the moment, I had to nail it.

- "First, the girls capacities. You can replicate some of hers abilities with training, add biotics specialised only in increasing her speed, and you got it in a nutshell. And how she wields her scythe, she is the backslash of the sniper rifle, firing to add power to her slash, or sending her flying away or towards her enemies. As she is light enough, is possible." – I said, and left him with an open mouth, trying to process everything, before closing it and trying to look stern… and I caught a hint of approval in his look? That was so strange…

- "About the weapon, is a sniper rifle mixed with a scythe. Using the scythe as a base, it only had to add the sniper part. It's more complicated than that, but it's like that." – I finished, as I was wishing that the meeting was over, with good results at least. The councillors started to speak between themselves, without me hearing them, so it increased my nervousness and the feeling that I could drop at any moment.

- "We would like to ask more questions, but it will be now in a more private setting at a later date. You will have accommodations in the Presidium, and a stipend to live. We want to see noticeable results. This meeting is adjourned." – The asari councillor said, and I breathed, relieved that I didn't need to do anything else at the moment. I stepped out, only to see Kardak laughing at the face of Nazarius… Probably because he was still recovering from watching the trailer.

- "Spirits…" - Nazarius said, before I started laughing a bit, making him start reacting better, and soon enough, I could see Septimus Talid coming here, probably to see about my accommodations and so on. I could see that he was amused, probably because the video and so on. But for now, I was finished and I could try to rest a bit more… And maybe try to see what the hell I was going to do to survive and make things better.