Marcus POV

I sighed, as I snuggled into the linens of my bed. I was so comfortable, and I didn't want to wake up and try to survive another day of bullies and the same shit every time I had to go to my degree. And I actually felt good too… Wait… Why am I feeling fine, not pain in my body? That made me open my eyes and check around… I wasn't in my home… I was in the Citadel, having to live my life now as an ambassador… and without an idea of how to make that stick.

- "I just went from hell to another hell…" - I said to myself, as I got up from my bed, and went to the bathroom to take a shower. The water made my muscles relax and my mind get clearer, forgetting about everything for a moment, but soon I started to think again about it… It's not like I could promise anything from Earth, I didn't have that authority in my own world. But maybe I could use the anime and so on to stall for time, or even reach good deals.

I turned off the shower, and dried myself before grabbing the clothes of yesterday. They were comfy, and actual clothes that I actually liked. The clothes I had back home were always decided by my father, so the only thing I could do is namely select the colour. Not that it mattered at the end of things. When I started looking at the kitchen; now dressed, to look for something to eat as a breakfast, I received a ping on my omni-tool. I nearly forgot that I had that too.

I started trying to remember how to work it; even though I was able to remember at least to use it for things like turning on and off the water at the shower and opening the doors, and with a flick of my hand, soon enough I had displayed enough to read the message.

From Nazarius
To: Marcus
Message: Good morning, Marcus. Today we will begin your schedule as an ambassador. They prepared your office at the Presidium, and you must be there at 11:00. Please, be punctual. Kardak will escort you there.

Until later.

As I finished reading it, another message appeared.

From: Kardak
To: Marcus
Message: Wake up, Marcus! Don't bother with breakfast, we will grab something on the way to your new office. Just be ready to go in five minutes.

I sighed at that, as I went to grab the only other thing I had in physical format… a gun. It was called a Predator M-3; and I didn't have any experience in using it… nor another type of weapon. Maybe the most I could use is a kitchen knife… with luck in my side. If I knew how to defend myself, I wouldn't be in this situation after all… The other thing for my protection was a shield… not the normal type of shield, but a shield that just covered me and blocked bullets or so… and some type of software that could send flames to an enemy. So… at least I had a chance to hit something, even if my objective in a battle would be to flee.

I sat at the couch of my new apartment… And that was another thing that was strange. I had an apartment of my own, without problems or things like that, with better things than in my last home… The television for example, was bigger, and had better quality. Still, the apartment was lacking something, so for the moment for me it was the place where I would sleep until I customise it a bit.

Before I could even try to sit down to wait for Kardak, I received another beep from my omni-tool, but this time it was Kardak telling me that he was here already, and that I had to open the door. I sighed, and put my omni-tool just in the part of the mechanism to open the door. After a moment, it opened, and Kardak was smiling at me… never thought that I wouldn't find the smile of a krogan between intimidating and something to become happy to see… Well, when it wasn't a homicidal smile of course.

- "Come on, we must hurry a bit if we want to take the breakfast." – Kardak said, before grabbing my arm and starting to drag me. I just let him take me, as I was still new in the Citadel. If I was to find my way to the Presidium and so on, the probability of getting lost was very high. The main problem now was… what would be a "proper" breakfast for a krogan?

Nazarius POV

It was near the time they arrived, so I was checking again the equipment in the office. There wasn't much things in there, just some shelves to be filled with books, a desk with a computer, and some chairs to sit. It was a small office, but enough for him at the moment, and if things end well for Marcus, this would be just temporary.

Then, the doors opened and I found myself staring at Kardak carrying Marcus in his back. – "What happened?" – I asked worriedly, but then Marcus made a "burp" sound, the one thing that most of us do when filled to the brim with food… And Marcus wasn't accustomed to eat large quantities yet…

- "He just ate breakfast… Should have gone to a place that serves less… "- Said Kardak, apologetic as he dropped Marcus in a chair, before Marcus got up and fled to a bathroom. The sound of vomit splashing the toilet was heard… Yeah, bad idea to let Kardak take Marcus for breakfast… I will have to ask what they did have, no sense of having a repeat if they go to the same place again.

- "Kardak… Never again…" - I heard Marcus say, between deep breaths. Moments later, we heard a flush and saw Marcus getting out of the bathroom, a bit pale but better than before. Then, he looked around for the first time; as the only thing he saw when he entered was the toilet for obvious reasons.

- "So… This is my new office." – Marcus said, and I nodded. He looked a lot better than yesterday, I remembered when he started panicking because the door couldn't stop opening and closing for a while until he learned the proper mechanism. It was a bit enlightening teaching someone new to all of this.

- "Yes. This have the necessary equipment, but you can add to it later with your salary. The computer here will have all the things to check and will receive the mails from other people. Apart from it, make yourself home here." – I said, as Marcus reached to the computer and turned it on, starting to try to learn how to operate it.

- "Do you have something in there?" – Kardak asked, while putting himself near the door. It seemed that he was going to be the bodyguard there, so it wasn't a bad thing if someone stupid tried to kill Marcus.

- "For the moment, I don't have anything in there… It will be a while until something appears. No emails there too." – Marcus said, and then started to think a bit. He seemed like he was trying to find what to do, as he just staying inside the small office all day was a bad idea.

- "Would be possible to ask for classes or to meet people by myself?" – Marcus asked, while typing something in the computer. It was something typical, and maybe some classes would be better for him, to get accustomed to everything.

- "We could look for someone, but for some things we could try to teach you." – I said, and Kardak nodded. Then, I received a message… I was being recalled for training between other things, so I couldn't stay more time here today, or at least until lunch time.

- "Sorry, I have to go. I will try to pass by later, but if you want to go home, remember to go with Kardak." – I said, before I went out of the office. I didn't want to go back there, but I had to deliver some reports, some paperwork, and apart from that, the typical training. I just wish that they didn't end up in troubles.

Marcus POV

Never again I would go with Kardak to eat breakfast. The amount of food he did ask for breakfast was insane, and then he drops me that not eating it all would be an offense to the chef, so I just ate it all… leaving me queasy and wanting to vomit all the way to the office, with the Rapidtrans; I didn't remember exactly how they are called but at the moment I was cursing for the movements in the air. Finally, I just reached the bathroom and left my breakfast at the toilet.

And now, Nazarius had to go, leaving me without an ounce of an idea of what to do. It was the truth that I didn't have any meeting or something to do, but it's not like I could do much more for the moment. The main problem is that I had to obtain positive results for Earth before the communication array was completed. If not, I could end up in so much trouble than I had before.

- "What is the plan, Grothnack?" – Kardak said, naming me as my nickname. It was better for me using it than my own name with him… Strangely enough. Grothnack; that nickname, was someone else. Someone else without problems, able to be free… And now, maybe I could obtain it, but the task for it was so… big.

- "I don't have one… I don't know many facts, and without them, I am blind. I survived the Council meeting by sheer luck that they don't know better. I can't pull that again on them, they would think that Earth is only about brutes with imagination." – I said, and that was true. The ones at the council weren't stupid, and if I kept up showing videos, the most I could obtain would be addicted to series like RWBY or some anime. Not the ideal way to obtain benefits.

- "Well, you got probably the turian with the idea of the weapons. Just exploit that." – Kardak said, and I sighed. That was a temporary measure, and well, it's not like I had the blueprints for that, neither the knowledge. The most I could do is show the people there the chapters when the weapon is wielded, but apart from it, I couldn't do much more.

- "That was a desperate move, and you know it. I need to try to find something to exploit. Something they can't refuse or try to make me sign something that put Earth on a disadvantage." – I said, and it was just a headache that was too big. The most I could use was the music I had, and the anime shows, but apart from that, it was going to be a bit difficult to try to do things right.

- "Maybe you are thinking too much? Remember in our role-play games that I had to plunge forward, before you had time to think a tactic." – Kardak said, and maybe he was right in this matter. I was thinking too much in the consequences, but after all, it's not only me who will be affected in this.

- "Maybe, but think that in those games, the result didn't affect anyone in real life… nor the victims were millions." – I said, but then I received an email in my computer, so I checked it.

From: Councilor Tevos
To: Ambassador Marcus
Message: Welcome to your new office. I expect it to be what you would be expecting, but I would like to hold a meeting between us about some matters. If nothing is said, I will be by your office in an hour.

- "Problem ahead… Councilor Tevos want to speak with me here… And I don't know how I am going to survive… Maybe it is nothing, but if things go wrong here, it will destroy my chances." – I said, and soon enough, a flick in my head made by a powerful finger of Kardak made my head go back and stop my panicked ranting.

- "Just keep calm. Just leave destroying things literally to me. The speaking part and making deals is yours." – Kardak said, and I just sighed. It was going to be a long hour until she reached here, so I just started to organize my computer, making directories inside the computer to classify the things, and so on.

When I finished uploading all the data from the omni-tool to the computer, the door opened and the Councilor Tevos entered. – "Good afternoon, Ambassador Marcus." – She said with grace, and I got up from my chair, and smiled. I was good at faking smiles to transmit that nothing was wrong…

- "Good afternoon, Councilor. Please, take a seat." – I said, offering a hand which she accepted, before taking both of us the seats. Kardak was still at the door, but he was joined by another asari, which by the looks they were just looking for a reason to kill each other…

- "How was your first day at the Citadel?" – Tevos asked, with a soft smile.

- "It was… confusing to say the least. So much new things, and I think I will find more yet. But it's being good. Thank you for preparing my office." – I said with another smile. I knew that with lies I would not go anywhere at the moment.

- "I am glad. But I have come to speak about the terms of your stay at the Citadel, and for your race." – She said, and I immediately tensed.

- "I am not going to accept anything that would put my own species in danger nor become slaves." – I said, glaring at her, but she laughed at that, like a joke I just pulled off.

- "We are not going to do that. We aren't so uncivilised. We just need you clarify some of the conditions for you. Not your species in general." – She said, but I could sense danger ahead. She wasn't a councilor for nothing… and the worst is that she wasn't taking me as someone who can present a danger. She just knew that she could crush me in a moment.

- "What are the conditions?" – I asked, resigned to the possible conditions that I needed to fulfil, as she had the upper hand in this.

- "Nothing too bad, Ambassador. First condition is that you need to learn about everyone, our traditions, our laws… Second condition is that you must report your progress without fault once a month, until the communication array is established." – She said, and I frowned at the second one.

- "What progress are you talking about?" – I asked, to clarify what she meant, since it wasn't good that point if I wanted to make some deals that I didn't want for them to know. Not that I wanted to enter into illegal situations, but why close the door.

- "The progress of the first condition. It's not useful to have you try to learn everything if you can't seem to hold onto the knowledge. The third one is that we hold meetings like this once in a while, just to speak and maybe make cultural exchange." – She said, and I just have to rethink about this… She wasn't making any absurd condition on myself, and didn't want to make something bad…

- "Alright… Seems good enough, but… Those conditions are hardly something difficult as I was planning to do most of it, so why are you helping me with that?" – I asked, and she laughed again, before making a predatory grin. It was the one grin that you could see before losing your life, even if you were still alive after seeing that.

- "It works well enough for us. If your learn enough, you can make good enough deals later on, and that means the asari and the council can profit from it when the time comes. A puppet is not the best business partner, after all." – She said, and I believed her. If she wanted to control me completely, she could have done so already. After all, I didn't have any power inside the Citadel. All the power and things I had, were because they wanted me to have them. And she was clearly reminding me of that.

- "I understand. Maybe you will like to listen to a song from Earth. The violin is impressive, and I think you will like it." – I said, putting the song of Lindsey Stirling; Transcendence in Orchestral setting, on my Omni-tool.

- "I would like that." – She said, and as the first notes of the song started to play, it was like the first deal to make human accepted was signed… with its own set of problems.

So sorry for making you wait for this chapter. So much happened, and well, I am trying to make my own videogame storyline and so on in between. I will try to write more of my stories whenever I can. And about the Councilor being so "soft"; is not that. She knows that she can serve Marcus on a silver plate whenever she wishes. But after all, she is the most less dismissing of the councillors, so she wants to obtain positive results in the long run to improve the standing of the asari. In a summary, politics are so annoying... Well, I continue to look for a Beta Reader to read this story along others to correct me, and possibly make better my chapters. See you soon!