Shepard was showing Feral around the lower deck of the Normandy, getting him acquainted with the various crew members down there including Wrex, the requisitions officer and engineer Adams. The meeting with Wrex had been quick, the stories clearly hadn't reached him yet and Wrex quickly dismissed the human as yet another squishy meat shield. Feral laughed at that comment, and he had a smile on his face for the rest of his brief tour.

"So that's it Feral, and this is your terminal" The commander gestured towards the computer screen, it was on the left hand side of the middle section. "From this terminal you can access most of the Normandy's software systems, which is your field right?" Shepard stepped to one side as Feral approached the terminal, typing away for a brief moment before looking back up at Shepard.

"Yup, I'm your software guy…and you're borderline psychotic weapon...and you're 'meat shield'" wiggling his head slightly with his last words, laughing again as he remember Wrex's words. "But yh, I can clean this system up, hopefully you're systems will be running a lot smoother by the time I'm done. Just let me reacclimatise…I have been locked up for 4 years" he leaned back against the railing and stared towards the engine room doors.

"So Shepard, I'm sure you have many questions to ask me and I'm sure I'll answer some truthfully and some with snide, brushing remarks. I will answer them but first things first. This ship isn't standard human, unless things have changed a lot since I've been on ships. So what's the deal?" Feral looked dead at the commander, his eyes unwavering "Oh and commander don't lie, I can smell a lie from miles away, and yes I mean that literally, and no I won't tell you how until you answer my question soooo…..yh" Feral rotated his hand around in the air, waiting for Shepard to talk

Shepard shook his head, chuckling off the comment about smelling a lie before realising Feral was dead serious. If he lied to this man, he knew he would be instantly caught. He had no idea how but it was just his gut feeling, and Shepard's gut had yet to let him down. He sighed "Ok then, no lies Feral. You're right this ship isn't standard. This is the SSV Normandy, a human and turian joint project and a state of the art infiltrating cruiser" he noted the surprised look on Feral's face

"Human-Turian joint project?" his voice was filled with surprise

"Yes Feral… is that going to be a problem? I don't need any more xenophobia on this ship and if it's going to be an issue I need to know now." Shepard was stern, he could handle Ashley but he really didn't need more.

Feral just responded by laughing, again. "It wasn't an alien race that locked me up for 4 years and turned me into what I am Shepard. Trust me I have nothing against non-human races, it's just….when I left relations were….sketchy at best. Just surprised to see we're making bridges" Feral shrugged the question off but his answer had clearly satisfied Shepard, who then moved on with his story

"Good point" Shepard just shook his head, it wasn't the greatest reasoning in the world to trust aliens but he was right. It had been other human beings that had transformed him. "The Normandy is my ship and I'm on a mission for the council as the first human Spectre, we're hunting down a rogue spectre named Saren Arterius. He attacked Eden Prime a few weeks ago and we're hunting him and he geth army down" Shepard simply stated

Now it was Feral's turn to be stunned, if it wasn't for the fact that both his eyes and nose were telling him Shepard was telling the truth. He'd have never believed him. A human spectre? Eden Prime was attacked? Geth AND a rogue spectre? Feral couldn't hide the look on his face, his eyes and brow contorted in a surprised grimace before he finally spoke up. "Here I am thinking I coined myself something nice and simple, should've known. Nothing is ever that simple huh?" sighing as he looked back up at Shepard

"Never seems that way, and I doubt it'll simple at any point in the future" Feral's new commander replied, clearly amused by his response. "Still on board for this?"

"Oh yh you can count me in, just…..just wow…so this is big right? Of course it's big, they made you a spectre." Feral snorted "Couldn't have picked anyone better though, hell I still remember the stories they told about Elysium" he grew quiet and briefly retreated into his own head 'hell it's one of the reasons I joined the marines'

"So that's the mission Feral, find and stop the bad guy and save the universe" smiling as he said it as he leaned back on the rail next to Feral. "So then, how about you? What's your story?"

Feral just snorted again, a smile forming on his face giving the commander an accidental peek at his slightly longer than normal canines "yh…I guess you earnt a little bit of a story Shepard" crossing his arms as he leant back, shoulders in line with his new commander's. "Pretty normal life until 4 years ago, born and grew up on Earth. England first then south west America. Normal parents, normal life and then Cerberus got me. Then I spent 4 years in and out of various facilities and bases as they…..well….you can see what they did to me"

"What exactly can you do Feral? I've seen glimpses but I'm interested in knowing what exactly they changed" Shepard asked, his voice quiet. He knew that these were probably memories wanting to be forgotten.

"2 years….2 years I was their lab rat. I'm barely human anymore, I just look it…apart from the eyes and some of my teeth" Feral opened his jaw and rolled his tongue along his canines. "The teeth are just a side effect but the eyes…god I don't even know what they are I just know my vision is way better than it should be and I have…I guess cat-like night vision, handy in combat but it's a pain in the ass trying to sleep though" Feral laughed again, the human in him still alive as he complained about the little things.

"Then of course there are the rest of my senses; smell, hearing and taste are all radically improved. When I told you not to lie to me because I could smell it? I meant it. You don't notice but little things change when you lie because you're scared of being caught in the lie. Adrenaline gets pumping and that's why your heart starts beating faster. I can smell the adrenaline and I can hear the heartbeat, luckily it's only when I'm concentrating on it. It's the whole…close your eyes and you can hear things more clearly thing, I just concentrate on the sense I want to use and ipso facto….I can hear or smell you lie"

"I'll have to take you along to council meetings and when I have to take you to Udina, sniffing out a lie around politicians might drive you crazy though" Shepard laughed, earning a loud laugh in response from Feral.

"Trust me; you don't need my nose to know their lying. Politicians are born bull-shitters, everything they say is fabricated…..plus it really might just make me gag" Feral said chuckling some more, earning some glances from the rest of the engineering crew as they wondered what was so funny.

"Anyway….and then the really big thing. All the stuff before this was just….accidental from what I heard, they never meant for me to be able to do this it just sort of happened along with the main goal. Cerberus understood that the krogan are possibly the toughest species out there, but Cerberus being Cerberus. They didn't want anything to do with them, so instead they had the wonderful idea to try and make the human equivalent using krogan genes. Specifically the regeneration one and again…you'd need a scientist to explain this, they kept me generally in the dark but some of them were very much in love with their own voices. Loved to tell me what a success I would be, how humanity would benefit from this….Shepard they needed to die…every single one of them" Feral was growling, a low vibrating growl emanating deep from his throat as he tightened his grip on the railings.

"Yh…..they did, so if that only took 2 years? What about the last 2 years?" trying to move Feral on, noticing his grip was crushing the metal railing

Feral sighed, finally releasing the now squashed railing and placing his hands on an unbent piece of the bar. "The genes they conditioned me with…..the survival rate was in the toilet. Most of the 'subjects' died, I was the only survivor. Something about the right….ah what did they call them?" pushing his fingers to his forehead before snapping them "AH! Single nucleotide poly….morphisms…or something, either way I had the right ones…..so once it was confirmed I had it…..they tested it and Shepard how do you honestly think you test a regeneration factor?" Feral looked over at Shepard, hoping Shepard would get the hint

He did….and the thought was horrifying. How do you test if someone can rapidly heal from gun shots? From any sort of attack? How would an organisation like Cerberus test it? The answer was simple….put him in all of those situations. Shoot him, stab him. Hack and slash to see how much could be taken…..they tortured him. Would wait for him to heal and then start over again.

"…..Jesus….Feral….how long?" Shepard was speechless, no wonder Feral had panicked at seeing a medical lab. How long had been subjected to one as scientists poked at him.

"It was 6 months before they were fully convinced and happy with the modifications they made…..turns out that while I can heal most things very quickly. I only heal like a normal human being, just thousands of times faster. My bones still break as easily as other humans and I can't grow back appendages or limbs. The skin just closes up faster" Feral raised up his left hand, wiggling his little finger for Shepard to see, it had been cut off at the knuckle.

"They hoped it was going to grow back but it never did, just closed up and healed up and that was it. The broken bones were starting to annoy them as well. It still took me a few days to heal any serious fracture so they…..implanted a titanium allow into the hollow space of just about every single bone in my body. The bone will crack, but the alloy holds it in place. Much faster repair and I'm moving again in about 10 minutes after a femur fracture now. The smaller bones were just given a small weaving over the outside to hold any cracks in place" Feral sighed, pausing as he let it all sink in

"Basically commander, I'm tough as hell to kill. But I'm not invincible. I can't grow back anything that gets cut off and if I'm blown to pieces I won't just regrow. A krogan is stronger than me but I can still hold my own…..I can survive bullets to the head though. After the testing was over, Cerberus tried to insert a control chip, but…the regeneration factor meant I closed up faster than they could operate so they…tried to dispose of me. That's why I was locked up for 2 years….they still thought I'd eventually prove useful. Soldiers that can take bullets to the head and walk away are apparently 'valuable'" Feral quietly laughed, finishing his story at long last. It felt good to talk about it, but god….god he just wanted to forget.

"That's it for now Shepard, maybe I'll tell you more later but for now, what's our next move?" Feral quickly said, pushing himself forward and looking back at the commander. The quiet voice gone, he was back to his confident self again…at least for now

Shepard found himself smiling again; it reminded himself of him after the Skylian Blitz. What he'd see had been horrifying, but he didn't let it stop him being himself. Feral was the same, he just wanted to live. "We're heading to the Citadel, we need to pick up some things and check in with a few people"

"Perfect, I need to grab some gear anyway. I need a new omni-tool this Cerberus one has the smell of death on it" shaking his hand as he chuckled "plus I need some armour and a couple of other things" Feral noticed the look on Shepard's face at the word armour, "Hey! Just because I can survive bullets to the face doesn't mean it doesn't hurt like fuck. I just need a few pieces anyway, enough to cover my torso and the fronts of my legs. Other than that I like the feeling or freedom." Feral just smiled

"Fair enough then, I'll send you with Tali to get your equipment. She knows where the right stores are and I figure you'll need to get to know her anyway. You are working with her down here" Shepard smiled as he pushed himself off the railing, walking back towards the exit to the room. "I'll let you know when we're getting close, until then…think you can manage with the omni-tool you have?"

Feral giggled as he stepped back up to his console "Yh, but if you see me with a nose peg on my nose you'll know why. Later Commander" Feral looked back up briefly "Hey Shepard, don't tell anyone else. Please?" He looked back around briefly at the commander, who replied with a simple nod.

Sighing loudly to himself, he looked back at the computer. Cracking his knuckles and tuning out the noise behind him as he immersed himself in his work. 'Christ this system is filled with crap' laughing to himself as he started to clean up the system.

- 1 hour later, Citadel Space –

"ETA to the Citadel, 10 minutes. Hey Feral, Commander said you should join us in the cockpit" Joker's voice rang out through the ship. 'Damn, how long have I been at this?' Feral stood back from his terminal, stretching out his arms and legs slightly as he started to move again. He slowly started to make his way out of the engine room, he was happy with the work he had gotten done. True most of it had been acquainting himself with the Normandy's systems but after that he started to scrub out all the junk code. The computer systems were already running slightly faster, but he still had plenty of work to do and then maintaining it would be a challenge.

Stepping back into the elevator, he caught a glimpse of a small huddle around the Mako. Garrus was telling Wrex and the requisitions officer Kaidan's story, he managed to make out a few words but before he had enough time to concentrate on listening in the elevator doors had already shut. He already had a feeling that once Wrex found out what the 'human' was actually capable of, something would kick off. He remembered the marine's tales of the Krogan, they always wanted to prove their strength, and he was designed to be capable of holding his own against a Krogan….whatever happened….it was going to be painful.

Once the elevator final stopped moving he stepped out and walked up onto the main deck, walking past the turian inspired CIC and up towards the cockpit, he had instantly noticed that his presence was drawing stares. Not that he really cared but it still felt unnerving, the image of scientists looking down at him when he was their test subject still plagued his mind. He was so deep in thought he never even noticed her.

"So Feral ever seen the citadel?" a small, slightly synthesised voice came from behind him

He practically leapt out his skin, bolting around to look at the origin of the voice, his eyes wide in surprise as he stared with his shocked expression before breathing out loudly "Jeez Tali…where did you come from?" he looked at her eyes, they were behind her tinted helmet but he could still clearly see the two glowing orbs.

"Erm…I followed you up the stairs from the mess hall" pointing back towards the door "…are you alright? I didn't mean to scare you" rubbing her hands nervously and looking down at her feet

"What? Oh…OH! No! You just surprised me that's all….I tend to get…pretty involved in my own thoughts…..old habit. 4 years with nothing but your thoughts….makes your thoughts pretty loud." Feral said, smiling awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his neck "soooo…..cockpit?" he gestured towards the front of the ship.

"Mhm "simply came the reply from the small woman, she was still slightly unnerved around him. His eyes and what he had done back on Nepheron. The fact he was slightly awkward with social interactions made her feel better though, she wasn't totally confident around the crew yet either.

"Well then, ladies first" Feral stepped aside, letting Tali step past him before he followed her up. He may not technically be human and he'd spent most of his adult life in a cage but he still believed in manners….especially after spooking someone….especially if you were going to be working with that person for the entire mission you're on.

Feral and Tali walked up the cockpit to find Joker talking to the commander, Tali only slightly ahead of him before Shepard finally turned around. "Ah good, you're both here. Feral have you ever seen the Citadel?" The red eyed simply shook his head "Well then, port side window" The commander pointed to his right with his thumb and stood back as Feral stepped up.

'Holy crap' Feral's eyes were wide, a small grin appearing on his face. It was huge; it made all of the stations he had ever served on look tiny. Each arm of the superstructure was practically a city and there were five of them. Words couldn't describe what he was seeing, so in typically human style he did the first thing he thought off.

He wolf whistled. "That…..that is pretty damn impressive"

Even Tali was staring wide eyed at the structure, she'd seen it before but she was still so used to the flotilla that the Citadel still amazed her but she was more surprised that Feral had never seen it. "You've never seen the citadel?" she cocked her head to one side looking at this increasingly strange human being

Feral just looked back at her, cocking his head so her eyes were level with hers. "Well….no, I mean I spent the last 4 years as a science experiment and I'd only left earth 3 years before that…so…not much opportunity to see this place" he noticed that even the commander was looking at him, slightly surprised

"Wait…how old are you?" The commander said

"I'm 25….is that important?" he turned back before he could see the looks on their faces. He had always looked older than he was; he seriously hoped that it wouldn't be a problem.

Both Shepard and Tali were speechless; they had both figured he was older than that. The thought that he had only been 21 when Cerberus had kidnapped him was horrifying…..especially to Shepard. The details of Feral's experiences becoming increasingly horrifying with every revelation, when he considered that this man was 2 years younger than him.

Tali was speechless for another reason, she didn't know what Cerberus had done to him but she had seen the results. A 21 year old human being had been kidnapped and experimented on, and she was 22. Feral had been younger than her when he went missing, and she couldn't feel her heart drop for the man. She had only just managed to survive in the citadel before the commander had turned up and yet Feral had been through hell. She had seen the results of his hell, the bodies of the soldiers and scientists still fresh in her mind. Whatever had happened to him, it had driven him to that.

The silence was finally broken by Joker piping up "Wait you're only 25? Holy crap! If I had known Cerberus were looking to do that stuff I would've signed up earlier" his comment rewarded by the dead pan looks on Shepard and Feral's faces…he just assumed Tali was doing the same, he also swore he could hear Feral growling but he just brushed that off "What?...just saying, if I had to choose between Vrolik syndrome and being able to brush off gun fire to the chest, it's kind of a no brainer" shrugging as he turned back into his chair, muttering to himself.

'Damn it Joker, always got to open your mouth haven't you?' Shepard said nothing, simply shrugging off the Flight Lieutenants comment as he turned back to Feral who was still growling as he stared off into space. "When we dock I want you to go straight to the markets, you have my authority and I'm wiring credits to your accounts. Tali knows where to go so just follow her lead and pick out whatever you want within your budget" the commander's omni-tool lighting up briefly before Feral's lit up as well, pinging in recognition of the transfer

"No problem Shepard" Feral quietly said, the growl underlying his words "I'll be sure to pick out something really nice" a smile returning to the man's face, he clearly already knew what he needed.

"Good, oh and Feral?" the red eyed man looked up at the N7 as he walked off towards the CIC. "Don't break anything in there, last thing we need is a political shitstorm"

Feral just burst out laughing as he stood back up, the sound of Feral's giggling slowly fading out as Shepard went to get Kaidan and Garrus. They had business with Anderson, Kahoku's death needed to be announced and there was the outstanding issue of Feral. Shepard was sure he had a history and he needed to find it, Cerberus didn't just find him wandering around in space.

- The Citadel, elevator leading to the markets –

Feral was banging his head on the side of the elevator. "Are these things this slow for a reason Tali? Or does C-Sec just like dragging out the bodies of people who die from boredom?" Feral groaned, he hadn't escaped captivity just to be trapped in an elevator for the rest of his life.

Tali just giggled in response, Feral just looking at her questioningly although he had to admit it was pretty cute. The little quarian was very bubbly and it was pretty refreshing, he had enough serious, scientists to last him a life time. "Oh come on, gun shots are easy but an elevator? That's you're weakness? Don't worry I won't tell the Geth"

Feral smiled at that, actually smiled. "Yh well, I didn't escape one prison just to get stuck in another one. Though the company is nice" Feral leaned back against the edge of the elevator, sighing to himself. It had been 4 years of hell, but he still hadn't forgotten the rest of his squad. Keene, the captain…..O'Hare.

They were gone now, his friends were dead, but being aboard a crew again. It made him feel better, and his quarian companion was definitely helping. The Normandy was going to do him good. He could feel it.

Tali was actually surprised to hear Feral's comment, shuffling her 3 fingered hands together as she fidgeted slightly "You…you don't mind that I'm a quarian?" she slowly said, pain obvious in her voice

Feral looked at her, trying his best to decipher the hidden look on her face, he could only see one of her eyes but it was lidded. "Why would I?" he finally said, utterly oblivious to why she was even questioning it.

"Most people see my race as vagrants, thieves. I believe the word in your language is gypsies." Tali slowly said, her eyes still planted on the floor "even some of the Normandy's crew is suspicious of me being aboard that ship"

Feral instantly understood, she wasn't used to people being comfortable around her and why should she? The only person who had been truly good to her was Commander Shepard. On their way to the elevator they had talked...well…she talked and he just listened. She told him about her pilgrimage and how she had ended up on the Normandy. Feral sighed, he felt bad for the woman. He knew what it was like, once someone labels you its bloody hard to take it off.

"Tali you're the first quarian I've ever met, my knowledge of your race extends from what you've told me and that 300 years ago you created the Geth." Feral shrugged, "I can't judge what I don't know and so far I've seen nothing to suggest that you're anything but a good person"

Tali looked up at him, the significance of Feral's words was clearly lost on him but he had called her a person. Not a thing, not a quarian but a person. She smiled inside her helmet and her fidgeting mechanism stopped "….thank you Feral"

"Hey, in all honesty. Unless you lock me up for 4 years and experiment on me. There's really not a lot you could do to make me hate you" Feral smiled at her, earning a giggle from Tali

BING! "OH THANK GOD!" Feral threw his arms in the air, bouncing slightly on the spot as he waited for the doors to open, bolting out the moment he could. Sighing happily as he looked back "…sorry…..Erm…." Feral patted himself down, regaining his composure as best as he could as the woman just raised her eyebrow at him….at least that's what he assumed she was doing before Tali followed him out and walked past him

"C'mon Feral, let's get your gear before you embarrass yourself even more" she laughed, but not at him. She was enjoying his company more and more, maybe she was wrong about him. Feral was about to respond but just jogged back up to her, following her as she walked towards the markets. The arm of the citadel stretching out in front of the window beside them, it really was impressive. Feral could barely keep his eyes off it, until he noticed people staring but not at him. They were staring at Tali, he finally started to realise the significance of his words. Quarians really were treated as thieves, he mentally sighed as she walked along inside her.

They had entered the markets, Feral looked around. He had hoped he'd have a better idea of where he was going when they got there but the nameless stalls really didn't help, but Tali had clearly been here before. She knew exactly where to go and before too long, he had picked up a new omni-tool, a combat blade, a pistol and a rifle.

The combat knife was a small favourite of his, the scientists had him stay fit by fighting other creatures and he usually was just given a knife. He had grown fond of a bladed weapon and this one was perfect, a single serrated edge along the blade and it was perfectly balanced. His pistol and rifle were pretty standard, a decent high powered pistol with a rapid-fire assault rifle. They would do just fine for any long range situations. The last thing on his list was the combat armour, he didn't need an entire suit and he explained what he needed to the vendor Tali suggested. He was quickly taken back into the stock room to gather the pieces.

A chest piece, similar to 21st century Kevlar vests but made of the thinner material of the era. Shoulder pads that ran along the curve of his shoulders, covering his upper arms. Elbow pads and arm bracers which ended in a pair of fingerless gloves. As for his lower body, he needed far less protection. He obviously had a piece that attached to his vest and ran over his groin, he was already barely human…he didn't need to get that blown off. Then he had simple armour sections that covered his thighs and shins, with knee pads that all moved independently of each other. It would keep him flexible, keep him quick but the armour covered enough to keep him from getting too badly hit. Plus the kinetic shielding that came with it was strong, meaning he didn't need to worry about the backs of his legs or his head, the shield would stop anything from doing too much damage.

He fitted all the armour in place on his body, paying the vendor who then left him to gather his equipment properly. Fitting his omni-tool onto his left arm, briefly rubbing his stump of a little finger as it glowed into life. Perfect, he could tinker with the software later but right now, the lack of stench of death was good enough. Grabbing his combat knife he slowly pushed it into the sheath he had attached just below his right collar bone, the perfect placement for when he needed to wield both the knife and his pistol. He then shouldered his M-8 Avenger rifle, locking it onto the magnetic rails on his back. Picking up his M-5 Phalanx and placing it on the rail on his right thigh. Quickly inspecting himself to make sure it was all in place. He went to leave when he caught a glimpse of himself in a reflective wall and froze.

He looked at himself, how much he had changed in 4 years. His hair was darker and his skin was paler, a side effect of not seeing natural light in so very long. His eyes were blaringly obvious, the red standing out and he wondered how other people truly viewed him. He was used to them, they had been the only friendly eyes he had seen for those 4 painful years…..regardless, and they were his eyes now. What really caught his attention was his armour and uniform, he finally looked like the marine he had once been. He rubbed his hand over his back pocket, his dog tags sitting within them. "I'll make you proud guys…..this is all for you" Tearing his eyes away from his own image and walking back out into the market place.

"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO BE HERE! You're probably just looking for something to steal!" a voice shouted from a small crowd of people to the one side of the market. It instantly caught his attention, whatever was happening was bad and when he heard a familiar voice he started storming towards them.

"WHAT? I wasn't doing anything! I was just waiting for my friend you bosh'tet!" shouted back Tali, the human had started accusing her out of the blue and she wasn't going to take it sitting down.

"Oh how typical of a bucket head! Resort to foul language. Why don't you just get out of here, you're 'friend' clearly isn't coming back. You honestly believe that a beggar like you could have friends?" the human snided, pushing the small quarian back

"Tha…that's not true!" Tali started rubbing her hands together, the words had stung her more than they should've. Feral couldn't really be her friend after such a short time, she wasn't even really sure if he was trustworthy yet. Her fidgeting started up and she started to shrink as the human seemed bigger and bigger, the crowd of humans, turians, volus and salarians starting to hum in agreement with the leader of the forming mob. Tali knew that eventually she'd just have to leave and hope Feral could find his own way back to the Normandy when suddenly a voice broke above the murmuring.

"HEY! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING ASSHOLE?" Feral barged his way through the crowd, Tali barely saw his face but it looked exactly like it had when they had caught him clutching the dead soldier after being shot. She had no love for the human, but she suddenly feared for his life.

Feral grabbed the man's collar, lifting him in the air and shoving him into a stack of crates the crowd had formed around. The man's feet hovering several inches in the air. Feral was a tall man, a couple of inches over 6 feet but he was holding the man above his own eye level. Glaring straight into his eyes with his furious, genetically modified irises. Growling every single word out, his teeth clenched and his knuckles turning even whiter as he gripped the man's clothing.

"Now then, it would appear you have been rather unkind to a friend of mine" Feral said slowly, enunciating every word slowly, a deep vibrating growl present as the crowd stood in utter silence, watching the scene unfold.

"T-the quarian?" the man said, his voice quaking in fear as he stared back into the angry red eyes glaring at him, shaking and jolting back as the man shouted again

"SHE HAS A NAME! DID YOU EVEN BOTHER ASKING WHAT IT WAS BEFORE YOU ACCUSED HER OF BEING A THIEF!" Feral slammed the man back into the crates, snarling even louder "next time you decide to gang up on an innocent person, that she may be working for a spectre" his words dripping with hate "and that she may have a heavily armed friend just around the corner" Feral dropped the man, who instantly collapsed to the ground. "Get out of here….NOW!" Feral roared, turning around and glaring at everyone in the crowd. No one questioned him, no one had even called C-Sec. This man's eyes were terrifying, fiery red and full of hate and it paralysed people in fear before he ordered them again

"I SAID GET!" he roared again, spitting slightly at the mob as they quickly turned and started to walk away from Feral and Tali. Feral was left standing there panting, wiping spit off his chin before leaning against a wall and breathing heavily to calm himself down.

Tali couldn't believe what had just occurred, a mob ganging up on her wasn't a first, but someone defending her was. Not once did Feral refer to her as a quarian, he had only ever said she or….friend. He had called her his friend. She had made friends on the Normandy; Shepard, Garrus and even Ashley were kind to her on occasion but Feral had just stormed into a crowd and scared a whole group of people away. She barely knew him and yet here he was, standing up for her. Her train of thought just kept going until suddenly...

"Are you ok? Tali? Are you ok?" Feral had a hand on her shoulder and was waving another in her face, instantly Tali blushed. She had been so deep in thought that she hadn't even realised that he was talking to her

"Y-yes I'm fine….thank you for that Feral" Tali looked up at him, standing up straight and brushing herself down slightly as she looked into his eyes. Those same eyes which had been so full of rage and hatred and anger only moments before, just looked so kind and calm.

Feral snorted to himself "Yh well, I hate bullies. Figured I'd lend you a hand" he smiled at her, his canines obvious as he grinned "I'm just glad you're feeling ok Tali" standing back up in front of her "Although…it's probably best we get out of here…..I get the feeling people won't come back here until I'M gone" Feral laughed, earning a small giggle from Tali

"Yh well, it was fun watching you shout Feral" Tali was starting to beam as they headed for the exit. Their walk turning into a brisk jog when they noticed someone was calling C-Sec, they didn't have to worry about it obviously, but Shepard had asked Feral not to cause trouble.

Eventually they came to a halt in the hallway leading to the elevator, leaning against the wall as they waited for the elevator to come back down, causing Feral to groan "Oh god not again" he whined, and slid down onto the ground, sitting with his back against the wall. "Maybe that's why I was so angry with that guy, maybe he made this bloody thing"

Tali just pushed her back against the wall and slid down next to Feral "He knew your only weakness and you couldn't have him leaking it out could you?" earning another laugh from Feral. The pair sat in silence for a moment

"Feral…really thank you so much for what you did back there. Not many people would defend a quarian they barely knew" she looked over at him, Feral tilting his head over to her slightly, smiling gently back at her

"Well like I said, you've been nothing but good to me Tali. I spent 4 years locked in a box and being experimented on. I am what I am now and I might as well use what they gave me defending my friends…otherwise what's the point?" he looked down at the ground and sighed "What they did to me was monstrous; I won't let them turn me into one"

Tali smiled at him through her helmet, she may not have known a lot about him but she knew that he was her friend. Someone who would defend her that publically could never be anything but that "you could never be a monster Feral, not after what you did for me" she smiled at him yet again. Feral just smiled back at her.

"Thank you Tali"

BING, the noise turned both of their heads towards the now opening elevator doors. Feral sighed as he stood up before turning to offer his hand to Tali. "if I'm going to be stuck in that thing again, I'm glad I'm with you Tali'Zorah" lifting her light frame easily off the ground when she took his hand in her own, before they both made their way into the elevator. Feral was happy, he had truly found a friend in the young woman even if he had to practically chew some poor bastard out to figure it out.

"Hey Tali?"

"Yes Feral?" the quarian looked over at him, smiling happily as the elevator doors started to close

"Let's take the stairs next time"

The door finally shut, sealing in the sound of the two squad mates laughing.