Afterwards, Vereus couldn't remember much about the crime scene. He recalled trying to look attentive while he was anything but. He thought he could possibly recall the sensation of his olfactory system shutting down… he hoped. The smell, he'd never forget. The sights however, he was trying his hardest to. He'd seen what had once been people, now patches on the ground. The closest victims to the blast had left only their shadows behind, as lighter shapes on the blackened, broken walls. Of course, it hadn't helped that Saul had kept up an emotionless monologue almost the whole way through.

"Blast shadows show fearful poses," she observed, "some even in preperation to flee. They knew something was wrong, all saw it clearly enough to be afraid. Terrified, with not enough time to act. Horrible last feeling. Parents, children, now all just shadows on a wall. You can tell by the sizes. Won't need burial, nothing left."

Some of the other turian officers present were giving her angry looks. Vereus' brow plates shifted in a concerned frown. This was a small community, and most of these officers would have known someone caught in the blast. Caught like Lavern, he thought. I hope he's okay. I'll go visit him after work. But first...

"Um, detective Saul."
"Yes, hesitating acting detective? Am I not performing to your standards?" She smiled sweetly at him, and he sighed.
"Well yes, ma'am. But some of these men had friends here. They'd react better to a more tactful and less objectified view of the deceased." He answered plainly, trying to keep to the facts and the frustration out of his voice. She was proving… difficult, and this seemed to be the best way to deal with it. Saul glared at him, and then rolled her big eyes.
"Really? We coddle officers now?" She asked, frustration hanging heavy on her words.
"Yes, detective Saul." He nodded and pointed to himself. "Tactful social skills, remember? I'm pretty sure it was in my job description somewhere."

She gave him a withering glance, before continuing to pick her way across the debris. A stream of what he was pretty sure was profanity drifted his way.

Later, with time to think, Vereus had begun to suspect that there was a further reason behind why he'd been assigned to this job. With someone like Saul on the case, impartial or not, he wasn't surprised her superiors had sent him to balance things up. She was intelligent, to the point, and impressively observant... But came with the social skills of a pyjak. In context however, she was a salarian. They often struggled to understand the protective mental padding that other species built around themselves in difficult times. It wasn't in her species' nature to be sensitive, they saw it only as wasting time.

Once they were done, and sufficiently decontaminated, he'd headed for the hospital. A few enquires later and he was standing outside a hospital room with a very tired doctor before him.
"Vereus, my friend. It's good to see you." The asari beamed at him, and he smiled back.
"You too, T'dana. How are the supplies holding up?"
Her delicate brow creased. "Not good. Without your C-Sec donations, there would be a lot of people here with not enough medigel. As it is we're barely managing."
He nodded understandingly. She looked down in surprise as he pressed some credits into her hand. She looked at him sternly.

"Now, Vereus. You can't keep putting every needy soul over yourself, there'll be nothing left of you."
"It's okay, doctor, I've got a promotion. Take it, it'll do more good with you than me."
She sighed. "All right, but I'm watching your health closely, officer."
"Much appreciated," he smiled again. "How's Lavern."
"Oh, he's doing good. You're a resilient lot, aren't you?"
"So I've been told, " he said, sighing inwardly. I'm going to need it. I don't even know why, but I sure believe it.
"Well, he's fully conscious, and will be very glad to see you. He seems very tense, being out of the action, you know."
"Well, I don't know if I'd call dock watch active," Vereus laughed, ignoring a dark little voice that said, until recently. "I'll go see him."

"Vere!"
Lavernis Ceryx sat up in the hospital bed, his sand coloured face beaming up at his friend. Vereus smiled back. After a quick explanation of recent events, Lavern was bursting with questions.
"So you're a detective now, that's so cool! Do you get special gear?"
Vereus smiled, and pulled out a datapad. "Yeah, a little. I've got Phantom Armor and an M-97 Viper." He passed the pad over.
"A sniper rifle? Awesome!" Lavern studied the image and grinned.
"Hah, yeah. Hey, you can play with it if you promise not to shoot anyone," Vereus joked.
"Sweet!" Lavern laughed, and then his expression became serious. "But really, Vere, what exactly happened out there?" He jerked his head in the direction of the ruined eatery.

Vereus sighed. "Well, we don't actually know. But damn it, I am going to find out."

~

Detective Saul wandered through the cold, artificially lit streets. She'd been working too late again. Salarians needed little sleep, but every species needed to rest more than half an hour a day. She sighed and looked up at the station half a kilometer away. As the walkway wound it's way forward, she heard something rustled in the gap between two buildings. The dark blue skin above her eyes creased in a frown. She'd walked these streets often enough, and always without fear. She was a member of C-Sec, and even the duct rats knew that messing with one officer would lead to the whole towering structure of C-Sec coming down on their heads. But tonight felt different. The streets were too quiet, the lighting too dark. She knew that such a thought was absurd, as the lighting was artificial, controlled by machinery. The Wards' lighting didn't change with the day/ night cycle like the Presidium's did. Nevertheless, she picked up her pace. Maybe she should call Vereus, maybe he would be in the office. He could step outside, just watch her approach. She need not tell him she was worried, just that she wanted to discuss evidence. No. Stupid thought, Saul, you're getting paranoid. It would be-

Noise assaulted her. Light blinded her. The entire building in front of her lit up, blossoming into flames. Unable to hear above the roar, she watched as glass smashed, bursting out of the twisted window frames.
Saul stood in the middle of the street, frozen. Glass rained down around her, as she stared at the smoking pile.

No. No, no, no.
Vereus, her captain, and her lieutenant... All inside the burning heap.

Instinct screamed at her to run in, to help. Training told her to stay put, as secondary explosions would be possible. I'm no use to anyone if I'm dead, the calm voice said. Go to hell, she replied. She began to walk forward.
Something scraped behind her and she turned quickly, pistol drawn, in time to see someone sprinting towards her.

Vereus staggered to a halt by her side, barely glancing at the gun leveled at his chest. His gaze was immediately drawn upwards to the fire. She sagged in relief.

"I thought you were in there," she said over the noise.

His gaze didn't move. His voice, when he spoke, was cold and monotoned. "A lot of people were."
Saul seemed startled, "I- well, yes. Where were you?"
"Hospital."
"Oh. I'm sorry."

He looked up at her, frustration and grief evident in the tense lines of his face. "Really? Are you?"
She looked offended. "Yes!"

She scowled at him, but her expression changed as she watched his shoulders visibly sag. He cringed.
"Spirits no... I'm sorry," he said, words almost lost in the crackling of falling beams. "Really. I shouldn't have- I just don't..." He lapsed into silence, taking in the devastation around him. Saul placed an awkward hand on his shaking shoulder.
"Thanks," he whispered.

They stood in silence, as emergency services arrived and began putting out fires.

A/N: You may have noticed my little salute to a certain dedicated Spectre, in the mention of Nihlus Kryik's signature armor. A brave and honorable turian, I wish we'd gotten to know him better.