Once again, I suck at keeping time.

I'm just going to say this. Basic went horribly. I'm sure that in spite of the progress in creating an effective training program for b-synths, I would forever be remembered as the absolute worst trainee in history.

I couldn't do push ups with the rest of the recruits since I was already moving on all fours.

My fingers weren't big enough to hold a gun so I was constantly dropping it or getting knocked on my ass from the recoil. I got pretty good at shuffling around on two legs with a shotgun in my arms though so that's something. I just wish I didn't look like I was carrying a giant fish while I walked. Good bye stealth.

I finished a mile in about a minute, which was pretty neat. The time dropped to about three minutes once I hopped off the treadmill, which was not so neat. No. I did NOT mean to break the sergeant's leg when I skidded off the track and fell on my face. Whoever says otherwise is a liar.

The obstacle course was fun until I got stuck in the tire tracks. On a totally unrelated note, I need to get better at tumbling because turning was hard at running speed. I did an excellent impression of a starfish when my legs gave out.

The years of childhood I spent in the pool were no longer applicable because of one single fact. Metal sinks in water. Good thing I can't rust.

I guess...

Defensive driving was a terrifying experience because I was too small to use the wheel and the brakes at the same time. I tried to get around the size issue by mentally connecting to the camera ports outside the skycar…..

Um… Yeah.

Ask anyone from that unit to tell you the story of Crazy Chuck behind the wheel.

The name Chuckie came from me coughing up my dinner in the form of a dry hard pellet. I'm pretty sure that incident would've been forgotten if my stomach hadn't decided to repeat the act every single morning. Apparently the cafeteria food was terrible enough to make a robot puke.

I am never going to live that down. Ugh.

Surprisingly, once I got over my dislike for physical violence, I was pretty decent at hand to hand combat. By this I meant that I could usually take down my opponent because they were unused to fighting something as small and fast as I was. Also, being covered in metal has its advantages. Many an unfortunate officer has bruised their knuckles punching my head.

Okay. Moving on.

Once that nonsense was over I moved in with Garrus where we became the best pair of investigators in C-sec. It was a match made in heaven between my biometric scanner, adjustable sense of smell, recording abilities, and Garrus's tenacity, connections, and detective skills, we interrupted quite a few crime operations.

We'd arrive as the scene of a crime, I'd get the scents and readings of the people who'd been there, garrus would figure out what happened and get the necessary information, and then I'd lead him right to them.

After that we'd either stop the thing from happening, or we'd watch the whole thing happen, I'd record all their faces and high tail it back to the labs and hand the footage to the techs.

Pffft. Yeah right. As if it were that easy.

No.

Garrus doesn't know much about training police dogs. He keeps forgetting that locking a dog in one small space is a really dumb idea. Then again, getting bitten repeatedly might just be a dog training thing. I don't think he's going to try and become a handler though. It doesn't look like he has the patience for it.

If anything, he's going to be stuck with a cat surveillance mech.

Me.

That's my cover actually. C-sec commissioned a secret company to try and recreate a sturdier version of the K9 unit as well as a sort of surveillance system. They got a bunch of cats because cats just sit around sleeping and watching everything. Naturally, it was chaos for a while because a bunch of cats and dogs locked in a confined space with nothing to do was a recipe for disaster, not that the majority of C-sec knew that. Most of them were aliens and few had ever really known about cats and dogs beyond the pages of an article. Anyways, because cats are awesome little buggers one of them decides to mess with some computer system and gets a VI uploaded into its systems.

Behold! Yours truly.

Normally I'd be a little miffed at being forced to play the part of an animal, but cats are fucking awesome! They're really independent, elegant, cute, and they don't give any fucks about anything. If I wasn't so allergic to them I'd totally buy one!

Wait. Tiny robot. Never mind.

I can actually get away with doing a bunch of things because I'd be playing the part of a really annoying but smart cat. As long as I kept out of the way and acted as a productive member of society I could more or less do what I want.

So there's that.

The council still thought I was a safety risk so I had to be monitored at all times. I think it's safe to say that most of my coworkers know me well enough to trust me with their safety, if not their skycars. I did move in with Garrus though which is better than I expected.

Apparently his father bought him an huge apartment when he started working at C-sec. Something about deserving to have a place to relax after work. The apartment was pretty sparse. It didn't have any decorations or art on the walls. It was clean though, and didn't have any weird smells which is better than most bachelor pads I've seen.

Then again, turians might just be different. I mean, they're really conservative about things. I couldn't really get many answers of their bodily functions when I asked and the guys at the office nearly fainted when I explained the human menstrual cycle. You can never have too much sex ed after all.

Man, for a civilization of warriors in law enforcement you'd think they would be used to blood. Then again, not many things can bleed for seven days and not die.

Also, I kind of got sick of listening to racist and derogatory comments and well, let's just say that none of them will ever speak poorly about a woman again. Seriously, the details of monthly bleeding and pregnancy are great for shutting people up. Especially guys.

I may or may not have caused a slight gender bias in the recruitment center. I know that the female applications are getting second glances.

Fortunately for me and my roommate, no uterus means no periods. Period.

Ha!

Oh yeah. No sex or kids either.

… Still worth it.

I think.

So anyway, it was more or less agreed that I would keep to my space and Garrus would keep to his. He kept his bedroom while I got the unused studio. He'd cook since he was the only one who needed it. Sometimes I'd help myself to a bite. Not too often since I get sick if I eat too much.

Something that happened more than I'd like to admit.

As a side note, turian food is really spicy. Like really really spicy. I really wish szechuan cuisine had a dextro equivalent. I'm sure it would be a real hit. Oh well, I'll save that as a future project, just as soon as the thought of eating carnem stops making my eyes water.

Kinda like how chocolate is a major luxury on the station. It's like 50 bucks for a cheap bar at the store, which kinda makes sense. Cacao beans only grow in a few areas on earth. I think some of the more expensive stuff goes for hundreds of dol- chits. Hundreds of chits.

Kind of like expensive wine.

I miss being able to buy a hershey's with my bus fare.

I liked the studio. It was pretty quiet and I had a nice view of the citadel from the window. I had plenty of shelf space to keep my books. The desk was the perfect place to keep yarn and unfinished sweaters. I had plenty of wall space to post my drawings.

I even have room to start my hairpin collection again.

… AWWW MAN! I just realized that cocoa powder is at a premium too! Ugh! So much for making my bi-annual chocolate cake! Garrus had a perfectly good convection oven too. Darn, I was really looking forward to using it.

Okay. Don't think about it.

I sank into my seat and rested my chin on the table as I watched a man pass by with a wrapped box of Godiva chocolates.

Lucky bastard.

Garrus worked some pretty irregular hours as a detective. He was a good detective but he usually ran into problems getting proof. Hence my unofficial assignment to him. I just tagged along on his shoulders and stared at everything important so that video and audio could be taken.

Sort of, it's mostly practicing forensic science for me and animal handling for him. After all, I can slap him if he hurts me.

I'm probably being really mean when I say this. But I don't think he's going to be joining the K9 unit.

Garrus doesn't care much for it aside from the fact that his father wasn't involved in it. He's not very enthusiastic when he handles the dog mechs and he gets angry really fast when training doesn't go well and sometimes he'll try to force the dog mechs. It's actually pretty scary to see. I thought I'd die that night when I suggested he leave the dog alone and treat his bitten arm.

He still hasn't spoken to me much beyond mandatory interactions. This was a week ago.

I'd really hate think what would happen if he set an attack dog on the wrong person. He's a bit too… unyielding to work with a dog.

I think Jaxom can see that too, he never really lets Garrus stay after the training session is over like he does with the others.

I'm not going to say anything though. That's just asking for trouble. And pain. Lots and lots of it. I live with him after all.

So back to forensic science.

I don't have much experience with this sort of thing aside from dissecting rats in my anatomy and physiology lab in college and watching autopsies at the station. Since I'm not much good for an actual investigations until my skills are up to par I get left behind for the actual cases.

A lot.

The boredom between those shifts was awful. I must've painted over my ceiling twice during all the free time.

Note to self, do not paint eyes on the ceiling unless you want nightmare fuel. Or eye charts for that matter. That shit's creepy.

In the end, to fill up my extra time, I got a second job.

I got a desk job as a secretary. I was to be right at the entrance and direct people to where they needed to go and interfere with the Royal Entitled Ass aka Harkin whenever he decided to embarrass the human race. At least I got a cute outfit out of it. Or rather, what constitutes as an outfit for me, seeing as I can't wear pants and move at the same time.

Wow, there were lots of things I couldn't do…

Best not to think about them.

At the desk I wore this scaled down version of a C-Sec uniform. It was a cute little black vest with a few blue streaks running down the sides and a quick release collar. The vest was pretty thick and it was lined with some sort of bullet proof material. I had a more dressy version with elbow length sleeves that I was supposed to wear for ceremonies. It was just as thick, which was bad because it meant I had problems moving my arms.

I mean, my legs.

Old Jaxom said that the first K9 unit wore them for protection. He showed me a picture of his old partner, a burly rottweiler named Addie, wearing one.

You know… Jaxom talked about his partner a lot on the rare occasions we spoke. He always spoke about how brave and energetic she was, how she died in the line of duty saving his own life, and how much he wished she was still with him. I always thought she was an asari.

Shows what I know right?

It kind of explained why he was so happy working with the dog mechs despite nearly getting mauled by them every day. I kind of wish we spoke more, but dealing with robotic animals eats up a lot of time.

I'm glad he has that job. I might be able to command the mechs, but I have no clue how to train them. Plus the council doesn't want me forming an army.

Yeah, the council actually believes that I'll have time to form an army between training with Garrus, at the desk, drawing, crocheting, and working.

I asked Palin how an art turned science student without any military experience would be able form an army and he just shrugged his shoulders and told me to go back to work.

He thought that having a friendly looking face would be less intimidating and be better for public relations. I'm sure that my years spent in retail and babysitting had nothing to do with that decision whatsoever. I mean let's be honest, who would be scared of a robot space cabbit in a snazzy suit? Come on, as weird as it might sound, my robot form is actually pretty cute.

Plus I had plenty of experience pretending to be energetic and upbeat. I'd fooled plenty of people in headquarters hadn't I? Long hours at a register doing email blasts and dealing with rude, pretentious assholes tends to do that to you.

I've even been making a bit of money on the side from people paying me to prank the Royal Entitled Asshole and people paying me to entertain their kids while they sorted stuff out with an officer.

Sometimes I'd get paid to watch my coworker's kids too.

God bless studio Ghibli, Disney, and Pixar for making all those wonderfully entertaining movies. Kids love them. Princess mononoke and other animated classics are surprisingly popular with the non human crowd. I know Jaxom's nephew liked Nausicaa Valley of the Wind, possibly for it's premise of war.

Broadway shows were pretty popular too, but a projected show pales in comparison to the real thing.

Oh well.

So while my official salary was eighty chits a day, my actual earnings were more like 200 since I charged six an hour for babysitting and I usually ended up watching five kids once every few days.

I didn't have regular office hours either, but it fills the time.

Single parenthood was still tough, even in this day and age and trauma victims are no slouch to care for.

Besides, the rules only said that children weren't allowed in the office. They said nothing about the lobby or the entrance. Palin can grumble as much as he likes, but it's still true.

There are so many rules on the Citadel.

If I hadn't read the entire book of laws I'd have mistaken it to be a joke.

Seriously, there are some really weird ones in the book. I can't imagine the circumstances that prompted the creation such nonsensical rules. For instance, there is a law against the creation of AIs but this law predates the geth rebellions. Where did it come from?

There's another law stating that wearing neon pink socks is prohibited unless it is worn with a matching neon pink helmet.

What's up with that?

Anyways, I'm always glad for rules against stupidity. Idiots are great inspirations for comedy. I just don't like to be surrounded by them. If it can pull on a rule to get something done I definitely will. It's really cathartic to watch someone get their comeuppance.

Plus it's really fun to screw over assholes by following rules. There's a reason why white mutiny is so effective.

I just have problems with rules that don't apply to reality. Those are a violation against common sense and ought to be burnt to a crisp.

There shouldn't be any laws against whaling in the state of Utah because THERE AREN'T ANY WHALES IN UTAH! IT'S LANDLOCKED!

Yes that's still illegal, along with other stupid things like having sex with a porcupine, sleeping on top of a refrigerator outdoors, whistling underwater in west virginia, or fishing from giraffes in Idaho.

Seriously who does these things? Why would you fish from a giraffe? How would you get one in IDAHO of all places. They live in Africa! Plus they're huge. Like, you'd need a ladder or a really big foot stool to get on one and a really long pair of reins.

Ugh.

A very anxious looking turian approaches the front desk. "Um… Hello?" He looked around, probably expecting me to actually be the receptionist. "Could someone help me? Please?"

I sat up and replied. It wasn't good to slouch on the job after all. "Hello! C-Sec headquarters, How may I be of assistance?" I did a quick biometric scan of him too. Garrus said it would be handy for finding people and monitoring squad mates.

The turian jumped when I replied but quickly got over it. "I-I found a..." The man shuddered at what he was about to say. "A d-dead body."

"I see." Oh that's not good. Sadly, it's not that uncommon either. Crime still happens and it will probably keep happening until the end of time. Evil is subjective, as is the definition of crime. I pulled out a pen and started taking notes. I left out his name when he requested it. "Where is the body located?"

"I-in the Zak-kera ward. Lower sector."

"Zakera ward." I wrote that down too. "Got it."

After I took down the rest of the details I turned on the intercom and made a few calls directing patrol to the area in question. Once I was finished I turned back to the turian and thanked him for him information. "Is there anything else you need help from me?"

"N-no. That was it."

He turned to leave when I called after him. "Sir, please wait a moment."

I'm not sure if his vitals are going overdrive because he was terrified or if he had an existing health problem. I haven't seen many turian autopsies to get a good look at their anatomy. But even I could say with certainty that organs that bled in closed circulatory systems were not a good thing. "You don't look well. Maybe you should see a doctor. Dr. Michel perhaps?" I suggested.

"O-oh. Um… I can't afford it. It's fine really. U-Um.. I can handle it. Really."

That's not uncommon either which is something that really needs to get fixed. I've heard too many accounts of disease and injuries going untreated due to the accessibility of healthcare and I don't know if medicaid covers this sort of thing. Or if it still exists at all.

I still had to help him or else I'd have an extra corpse lying around for no good reason. "Sir I can't in good conscience let you leave like this. Internal bleeding from the liver is no joke."

"Thank you for your concern but my health is none of your business." Insisted the turian. He was becoming more aggravated and defensive by the minute. Wow. What ever he had must be really embarrassing. A result of an STD maybe?

Well whatever it was, it's pretty serious. He's gonna be dead real soon if that liver doesn't get checked.

I'm not allowed to bring civilians to the C-sec infirmary on account of it being considered a poor resource investment. Not unless they were in a life or death situation or they were important witnesses.

"There's no need to be embarrassed about going to a human doctor. Everyone gets sick ever once in awhile." I hopped down from my seat and dragged him inside by his sleeve. "We have a good salarian doctor too."

"WHat! HEY! LET GO-"

I just picked up my pace so that he would be too busy trying to keep up to make a big fuss.

Once we arrived at the infirmary I shut the door before the turian could leave and called over a nurse. "Please give him a full examination. And maybe explain to him that his anxiety is largely unwarranted."

The nurse gave me an unimpressed look. "Didn't you already get in trouble for bringing people here? This isn't a public clinic."

"Yeah. But this is an actual life or death situation. He has liver failure!"

"No I DON'T" Protested the turian.

"You realize that if our time is wasted the money will come from your wages right?"

"Really? Well [LOUD AIR HORN]." I pondered the new information for all of a few seconds before speaking again. "Treat him anyway. He's already here."

"Very well. It's your money." The nurse's demeanor changed from irritation to worry, which, as far as I'm concerned means that my job was over. She knew as well as anyone else, Palin included, that my biometric scanner was really accurate. If I picked up something serious, they were definitely going to look at it. "Lucia, you may go. I'll handle it from here."

Sepin did a really good job adding to it's prior capabilities. I could actually tell heart rates and muscle contractions now. It's kind of gross to watch, but really fascinating too. I just wish that blood vessels didn't look so much like centipedes. It gives me the willies. He told me that my next update would mean I could see injuries.

I nodded to the nurse. "'Kay. Let me know what happens." Then I turned to the panicking turian and chirped. "Don't worry. Nurse Joy is really good at her job. I hope you feel better!" Before trotting out the door.

Garrus swore loudly when he got the call from Sepin and changed his course to Zakera ward.

His idiot roommate had gone off to check out a homicide ON HER OWN! Even if the perp had left, Zakera ward was definitely not the safest place to carry out a first investigation much less a solo one.

It wasn't like her to do something like this. Lucia was usually smarter than that.

Then again, maybe that wasn't so surprising. She was incredibly nosy, constantly butting into everything and talking to everyone. Occasionally she'd even try to do their jobs like right now.

No to mention she sometimes acts without thinking.

He'd almost gotten that dog mech to go down when she dragged him off to get a scratch fixed. By the time he'd gotten back from the infirmary the dog mechs had been put away for the night and he had to leave.

It would probably be weeks before he'd get the mech to respond again.

At least she knew to leave him alone when he was angry.

He parked his skycar a little distance away. Parking was usually terrible in this area. He'd have to cover the rest of the distance on foot.

Sometimes I regret my weird hours at C-sec.

I got word that the patrol officers would be busy for a while so I decided to go and investigate on my own. After leaving a note and telling someone where I would be of course.

It wasn't hard for me to get there, I just hopped from skycar to skycar until I arrived.

I hate doing that. Being so high above the ground is fucking terrifying. But I hated driving too and I still do it if I have to.

I won't go so far as to say I was gathering evidence, but I was recording what I saw, heard, and smelled.

The body in the Zakera wards? It was completely eviscerated. The torso cavity was emptier than the stomachs of my passengers when I drive. I'm fairly certain that if it showed up in a movie, it would be rated T. It's not that gross or disgusting, but rather clean.

I really wish the dead human showed more signs of conflict aside from missing half of his head and the lack of internal organs.

That's ones of the reasons it's so disturbing. That and the blood splatters on the walls.

Okay. Rated M in movie theatres then.

Poor guy.

It looks like someone smashed his head into the wall to kill him. I guess that would make the weird unidentifiable objects on the ground the pieces of his skull.

I can't believe I have to work on a murder case, alone no less. I'd much rather go back to practicing on robberies or vandalism. At least those didn't smell like a butcher shop and crap. Humans tend to pee and poop due to the sudden relaxing of the muscles. The same happens during a fear response you know.

He died in his own home. No one would've discovered this if not for the building attendant noticing the open door.

I tried to repress the shudder but failed.

I am so pestering Garrus to upgrade security once I get home because the idea of death by invasion is terrifying. Holy shit.

Brain, stop conjuring images of me dying horribly. I'm fairly certain I don't have those organs anymore.

I should probably get some more in depth visuals, but I'm a bit too wigged out from this. I hope the other officers get here soon.

Maybe I can distract myself by looking for less obvious clues.

Okay, I'll start at the beginning.

I hopped onto the wall and began to narrate my thoughts. I have no idea how Garrus does this. There are so many things to take in that I'm overwhelmed. I think the knowledge of the dead body is throwing me off which is weird because I'm no stranger to dead bodies.

Mind you, they weren't human bodies but still.

"The door was perfectly functional, either the guy left it unlocked or the intruder found another way in. Of course, the intruder could've been just as good at picking locks."

I paused to move closer to the ground.

"The rug has some pretty big indents pressed into it. Judging by the depth, they belong to a heavyweight species. They look like they have been swept in an attempt to hide the prints. I think it's either the prints of a krogan, elcor or a big turian with really big and heavy shoes."

I didn't notice anything else unusual in the room so I sat back and cranked up my smell sensitivity by just a sensor: {6/10} Medium-high

Oh look. There goes my lunch. At least I got it in the garbage bin this time.

I took a sniff and promptly wretched again. The stench was overpowering.

But… I now smelled more then excreted waste products. "Ignoring what just happened, I smell [TOILET FLUSHING] and [WATER SLOSHING]." I slammed my head into the wall. Stupid internal censor. I sound like an idiot. The mothball smell must be getting to my head. "Allow me to retract my previous statement. I smell something akin to mothball scented cologne with just a touch of feces and urine. There's something very musky here too. It's heavy but not very strong. It does NOT smell like a male turian if Garrus is any comparison. I don't think it smells like a female either but I can't really say since I haven't studied it in depth."

Right, that was another reason I needed to narrate my thoughts. Smells aren't very easy to capture or to describe. Learning to recognize them is a nightmare and I've only just begun They don't last long in everyday conditions which means I have maybe a minute to pick it up and describe it.

I can't believe they're used me to practice dog trainers. I mean it makes sense since I'm not inclined to bite and crush bones but it's pretty undignifying. At least I got some pretty good art supplies out of it. Alcohol markers are still fucking expensive.

Wait a minute. Strong smells. "The intensity of the smells indicates that the window is still shut. The intruder must've closed the window once he was done, that or he left through the door."

Given that It wasn't particularly difficult for me to get in I can't say I was surprised. Then again, I've never had much problems getting a door to unlock. If I stare at it and mentally reach out I found out I could fiddle around with the flow of data until it gave me what I wanted. I thought it was just a few some games stored away in my head until the door to a restricted hallway opened for me and Captain Bailey caught me.

I'm not sure how long we stared at each other but since he wasn't supposed to be there either, we agreed that it never happened.

"I can't quite place the heaviness of the air. It's really quite thick, almost like motor oil or formaldehyde. I can almost taste it. I suspect the windows were shut to hide the smell of waste and blood."

I wandered around the walls some more taking in the information. I found a pretty dull scalpel in the bathroom and I made a note of it. I wasn't sure what the resident did so I left it alone. Maybe he was a doctor?

My eyes found their way back to the body against my will.

It was still there.

What was I supposed to do with it?

I'm going to have nightmares about this. His eyes (eye?) are still open. I should close them. But if I do that would it be interfering with a crime scene?

Well, judging by the blood spatters on the wall, his head was slammed into the corner of this desk in the corner.

There wasn't anything else for me to do until the other officers arrived. So I sat around outside the apartment and waited.

That was probably a really dumb thing to do but hindsight is 20/20.

It never occurred to me that danger was still near by.

At least until the tingling began.

Synchronicity: 92%

It was pretty small at first, it happened often enough when I sat for too long. I figured it would go away soon enough, so I ignored it.

Synchronicity: 80%

Then it just got stronger and more painful until I could practically feel my brain scrambling. Until my skin felt as if it was burning. I figured that I was in serious trouble at this point.

Synchronicity: 76%

Unfortunately I wasn't in any shape to do anything about it. The ground was somehow moving underneath me and it was all I could really do to stay in one place. It didn't work much, I ended up staggering several times before I had to stop moving.

Synchronicity: 59%

My legs weren't cooperating and they buckled under my own weight. Traitors. I tried to call for help but the words wouldn't form in my mind. I felt the chip in the quick snap collar activate in spite of the electric pulses. At least the distress beacon still worked.

Synchronicity: 40%

Then everything faded to white static.

AN:/

I've made some typographic corrections as well as grammatical corrections in the previous chapters.

My inability to write cross cultural kerfuffles was driving me nuts. I think I'll just explain it here. Garrus hasn't been exposed to humanity outside of the professional setting, thus he does't know what that human's don't have a social hierarchy. As a result, he has problem's slotting Lucia into a proper tier. She has gone through basic so she's technically third tier (people who've completed their military training) of sorts, but at the same time it was a crash course to keep her from being completely useless when she's by herself. Thus she is woefully unequipped to deal with genuine danger.

This is why Lucia comes across as really nosy and not knowing her limits.

That and the fact that she is quite a bit younger mentally than just about everyone else. She's not even mature for her age like Liara. As with all people who have to deal with someone less mature. She annoys the crap out of a lot of turian veterans with her habits and she doesn't really realize that. Salarians, asari, and humans don't care as much as long as the work gets done. Plus they're much less conservative and are better able to redirect her attention.

Lucia also doesn't have a digestive track. At least, not an alimentary canal. What ever she eats, she sucks the nutrients she needs out of it and then the rest comes back up in a hard dry pellet. They're still edible, but you'd definitely need water and vitamins to make up for the deficiencies.

Yes, having a sensitive nose can make you sick. It's why pregnant women who can;t smell don't get morning sickness.

Yes, the US has some pretty weird laws. All of the ones I listed are true and they do exist. I'm trying to come up with some strange ones for the other aliens but I'm drawing a blank.

A friend of mine who once owned a police dog told me that the most determined dogs are usually picked for training and the most level headed trainers are selected. The handler and dog are supposed to work as one unit feeding off each other. Forcing actions just interrupts the flow as well as interferes with the subconscious signals the dog gives when they're on to something.

Being a trainer of such dogs means that you have to prepare to get bitten a lot and you can't get angry at them for it. Dogs pick up energy.

Our favorite sniper has proven several times that he doesn't always react well when confronted with things that fly in the face of what he believes. At least when he's young. He's also prone to hotheadedness.

Somehow, I don't think I've been getting him right.

I'm also posting this after being up for close to 24 hours. I'll clean this up at some later point when I feel like ti.

And now for responses:

TheRangerBoy: I know right?! Stories like that are great!

shugokage: I look forward to writing more : )

eurodox59: I'm flattered really but alas the lack of badassery is a little necessary on my part. I don't know the first thing about the military, shooter type games, or mercenary work. I'm kind of an oddball so I have to forge my own path amidst all the other SIs.

Blaze1992: I looked them up. They look really cool and I'll probably apply the weaponry at some point. But right now, Lucia's strength and weakness is her current size. Even with settae, most guns and cannons will knock her off her feet.