Ch 1

No Fortunate Son

Orbiting far above the atmosphere of the gas giant Thail, a small station sat in the cold recesses of space. It fell silently into the shadw of the planet, protected from the light given off by the Tasale system's lone star, almost skidding across the bottom of the planet's eccentric rings. The unnatural satellite could go completely unnoticed, staying peacefully in its cycle around the Thail, forever away from the reaches of the Asari colony of Illium, the sole planet of any worth within the system. And it came with a kind of silence that could only attract the most introverted of individuals, which is exactly why Benese found her temporary home so appealing.

She sat in a chair, her feet set up against the terminal in front of her as a song blared through speakers overhead. Sitting there, half asleep as she fumbled through a game on her omni-tool, Benese couldn't help but feel content with her small little place in the Universe. It has been fifteen years since she had left her home on Thessia to further her studies at Illium University, a decision her mother couldn't help but protest.

"And you're sure you want to do this?" she asked on the day of Benese's departure. It had been their last meal together, the pair sitting around the table as Liara shifted nervously in her chair. "Wouldn't you rather stay here for another decade or two, what's wrong with the universities here?"

"I'm sure, the university has been very accommodating. And they have the best deep space facility in the Republics," Benese answered her, practically bouncing as her voice filled with glee at the prospect of the coming adventure.

"But it's Illium," Liara protested, her eyes fluttering from her plate to her daughter, still full of concern despite her growing age.

"I'll be fine, mother," Benese said mused, laughing over her mother's almost overprotective concern. "It's not like I'm running away and joining a merc gang, it's a scholarship opportunity."

Sighing in defeat, Liara pushed herself away from the table, her appetite lost long ago as she slowly came to terms with her daughter's decision. "I just worry about you is all. Promise me you'll write," she said, wiping away a tear that had managed to fall to her cheek.

"Of course I will," Benese responded, standing up and walking around the table to pull her mother into a tight embrace. Still sitting in the chair, Liara accepted the hug whole heartily, nuzzling her cheek against Benese's stomach as she wrapped her arms around her bare legs.

"Okay mom," Benese started, rubbing her mother's shoulder in a vain attempt to comfort her. Compassion had never been one of her greater strengths. She had always been more inclined to remain separate from others, finding what little interaction she had with her mother and Wheatlen to be tiring enough. Struggling to push herself away, Liara wiped her eyes again, fighting back the urge to hug Benese and never let go.

"Have you told Wheatlen yet?" she said, standing up from the table and taking her plates to the counter.

"Not yet, hopefully he won't try to hug me. Might fall over and crush me before I even get off the planet."

Liara chuckled at this, the tiny morsel of humor doing much to soothe her saddened mind. "You better get going then, Goddess knows you've procrastinated enough already."

An obnoxious alarm snapped Benese out of her memory, bringing her back into reality. The song had stopped playing through the speakers, being replaced by a continuous low buzz as a small red light flashed. Sitting up straight, Benese dropped her feet to the ground and scanned over the console to deactivate the alarm. In a moment, the blaring noise was gone, replaced again by a soothing tone and melody.

"Give me the beat boys, and free my soul. I wanna get a lost in your rock in roll and drift away," it went, providing the only source of noise on the empty station.

"And now we're outside of Illium's communication range, fantastic," Benese grumbled aloud to herself. No one else was on the station to hear her, meaning she would be the only one to listen, at least her and the dozens of cameras watching over the observatory she was now in. Everyone else had left the past week, returning to the University for a shift change and to bring back fresh supplies. In the meantime, the station was put into a kind of stasis, providing only enough power for its computers and life support to run. Benese had volunteered to remain behind, as she so often did, and watch over the place in case of any unforeseen problems. To which her fellow students were only so happy as to oblige her.

Which is how she found herself alone now, spending her days reading after running through the the station's diagnostic checkup for the day. It was a relaxing sort of pattern, each day carrying on the same as the last in an almost habit forming routine for Benese. Only having to check on the data brought in through the observation instruments, once the station's VI had shifted through all the static.

"Computer," she said aloud, waiting for the VI to sound a small tune when her call to it had been recognized. "Shut down all secondary systems, and lock it up for the night." The machine responded with another chime, as the console's holographic panels deactivated and the lighting faded. Even the music stopped, ending the song short of its finale. Standing up, Benese walked towards the back of the room, her path illuminated by orange hazard lights on the floor. Not that she truly needed them, by now she had managed to memorize her path back to her room easily, a simple turn here and there, followed by climbing the stairs at the end of the hall.

She managed to find her room with ease, waiting patiently as the door slid open to reveal the brightly lit interior. Despite her normally neat and orderly manner, time had found a way to create a mess in the little hole she now called home. Her desk was cluttered with papers, a data pad or two glowing from underneath the stack. Writing by hand had always been easier to her than typing something out on a keyboard, unfortunately she had a habit of keeping almost every piece of note she took. The bed was in even worse shape, with bits and pieces of clothing stacked by the baseboard, threatening to fall down unless something was done soon.

Reaching to her waist, Benese pulled her shirt over her head, sliding it off her tendrils with ease, exposing her bare chest to the cold air inside the station. Throwing it onto the pile, the shirt was quickly followed by her suit pants, as Benese walked through the bathroom door directly next to the one she entered. Calling it a bathroom would have been generous, as the closet sized room served as little more than a toilet facing a shower, with a sink sticking out of the far side of the shower. The entire room was barely an arms length across, providing only enough room for a single person to occupy at one time.

The water turned on with a touch, immediately adjusting itself to a comfortably warm temperature as Benese tested it with her toe. Satisfied with the results, she gladly stepped under the shower head, closing her eyes as the soothing warmth massaged her skin. She took a moment to enjoy herself, the warm water doing wonders for her worn and tired self. Another perk of her classmates being on world was that there was now plenty of warm water to be had, something the station lacked when the others would hog it, skipping some of their duties early just to be the first to have a warm shower. But now, Benese had it all to herself, a fact she relished in.

Another blaring alarm interrupted her moment of zen, causing her mood to sour. Turning off the shower, Benese waited for a moment as the warm water rushing down her body ceased, replaced with a cold sensation as the few remaining drops clung to her blue skin. A second later, and a burst of air left her relatively dry, expect for a small trickle of water she could feel falling down her head tendrils and onto her shoulder blades.

"Computer," she shouted, "what's the error?"

"Unknown," the machine said, coming through the speaker in her room.

"For the love of..." she cursed, rushing from the bathroom back into her cabin. Grabbing a white pair of pants she slipped them on, the cloth removing any possible water left on her legs. "Computer, what's happening?"

"Unknown," it said again, only furthering Benese's frustration.

"What do you mean 'unknown'? Is there something wrong with the telescopes or any of the other equipment?" she asked, looking at the roof as if to glare directly at the VI itself.

"Negative," it responded.

Throwing her arms up, Benese shook her head in frustration, before slapping her hands against her thighs. "Is there an incoming meteor shower? An issue with life support?"

"Negative. Negative," it answered again, with a noticeable delay in between. "Warning, unknown error."

"Well I can see that," Benese grumbled, waving her omni-tool to signal the alarm to silence. She had expected nothing else to follow, for the warning sirens to cease and be followed only by the gentle hum of the station's mass effect field, but something else came through the silence, seeming almost deafening by comparison.

A huddled bunch of footsteps could be heard, echoing up from some deck below Benese's cabin, pounding away through the metal in the walls and floor. No one was due back on the station for another week, and there wasn't a possibility they would just walk aboard unannounced. They seemed to be growing louder, coming closer to Benese's room with every step. She could feel a small lump grow in her throat as Benese hurried over to her desk to pull open a drawer and grab a pistol from inside, something her mother had insisted she bring with her for some unknown reason.

Fear threatened to consumer her, as Benese struggled to find a steady grip on the weapon, her fingers still damp from the shower's water. Every bone in her body was shaking, the deafening footsteps only quickened in pace. Turning around to face the door, Benese could almost feel her heart jump into her throat as a shadow approached the doorway.

"Well what do we have here?" it asked, stepping closer into light, revealing a massive creature in its place. The creature looked down right terrifying, towering over Benese by a good four feet, with an ugly half shaven head covered in small bristles of dark brown fur. It was ape like, massive arms gripping two bladed weapons that seemed to be used as more of an intimidation factor than anything else, while its twisted face carried a snout like mouth with a massive under bite, giving the alien an even fiercer presence. It stood almost naked, with the exception of fur covering its entire body, save for a red piece of armor strapped to its chest sporting the gruesome symbol of the Blood Pack.

"Jir...Jiralhanae," Benese said, stuttering as fear caused her throat to constrict.

"Observant of ya," he said, slipping his weapons into holds on his belt. Another voice came from behind him, turning his attention away from Benese for a moment, who was still frozen in fear. "Got an Asari in here," he roared, his voice carrying with it a deep tone that seemed to shake the very ground he walked on. "Pretty little thing, she be a good price."

"Just hurry up," the voice said, carrying with it a sign of frustration. Its owner obviously disappointed they had not found Benese before him.

"Now come here," the alien before her said, taking a careful step closer to her. "I ain't gonna hurt ya too much., if you don't give me a reason to." As he spoke, he gave her a wicked grin, revealing twisted teeth and horrid breathe that almost caused Benese to vomit. She could almost see bugs running across his skin, hidden from full view by the padded and dirty fur.

Before she was able to react, the brute was on top of her, grabbing her arm with one hand and her neck with the other. Benese groaned in pain, struggling as massive hands tightened around her. "Good girl, just hold still," he said, obviously enjoying himself far too much. It was at that point Benese wished she had been able to finish dressing, as the beast drooled over her naked skin. Dazzled by the bright blue, the Jiralhanae was left completely unaware of the pistol still in Benese's free hand, instead feeling completely in charge over the comparatively small alien in his grip.

Benese's fear was quickly being replaced with disgust and anger, as she shuddered at the hairy hand around her neck. Her temporary moment of paralysis was gone, even as the prospect of a coming death seemed to be ever approaching. Using her free hand, Benese pushed the pistol against the foreboding brute, brushing against his body's mangled hair. He was so preoccupied with his prize, he failed to notice anything, until he heard a loud ringing sound, followed by a sudden pain in his chest. Unable to register what had happened, the Jiralhanae released Benese from her grip, falling down on top of her bed, which gave off an audible thud in protest.

Hearing the footsteps again, Benese shot out her door towards the empty stairwell beyond, bullets ricocheting across the metal wall.

"She has gun!" a Vorcha yelled, halting the others from proceeding upwards. Tripping over the now dead alien, Benese ducked against her wall, prepared to use it as cover should the rest of the mercenaries decide to charge her. Sliding down to the ground, she buried her head in her hands and knees, unaware of the red blood as it was brushed from her hands to her scalp. She could hear the aliens fighting among themselves, as they debated which would be the one to lead the way up, all of them unwilling to be gun downed.

"Goddess, help me," Benese cried, her voice quacking as her eyes started to water. She had never take a life before, let alone been caught in the middle of a band of mercenaries putting her life in danger. She wished she had never left Thessia, that she had stayed with her mother at home, safely nestled in her arms like she had been for so many years.

"Look out!" The same Vorcha shouted again, followed shortly there after by a loud explosion that caused the floor to vibrate. There were sounds of gunfire, as groups of aliens screamed in defiant roars, before being silenced by another deafening explosion. It wasn't long before all motion and noise ceased, and Benese sat her self up right to stare out the door.

She could see as a shadow fell down the stares, lifeless and flopping like a doll. Yet another one approached, unwavering as it took its time coming up the steps. Readying herself, Benese aimed the pistol towards the railing, waiting for whatever it was to come into view. She struggled to ease her breathing, desperate for the pounding in her chest to cease so that she might focus. A small piece of black armor appeared, immediately causing Benese to twitch and fire at it. Its wearer ducked down out of sight, causing her to loosen a sigh of relief.

"Don't come near me!" she shouted, hoping whatever it was that had started to come up would simply leave again.

"Can you please not shoot me?" it asked, shouting just to be heard clearly. "I did kind of save your life down here!"

"Who are you?" she asked, her aim wavering slightly, but still ready to snap back in case of any movement.

"Sork, Council Spectre. Now I'm going to put my rifle right here." A small hand appeared from below, bringing with it a dark blue weapon and putting it on the floor. "And I'm going to come up very slowly, please just don't shoot at me."

She watched hesitantly as another alien appeared from below, making sure to face her with his hands raised high in the air. He wore black armor, covering almost every part of his body except his joints and shins, where a more flexible cloth tightly wrapped around him. His armor was smooth in design, looking slick by military standards, covering even his massive two toed feet, and a rounded helmet with a large blue visor covering most of the top half. On the shoulder plates, where a blue glow shown out into the dark hallway, was the six pillar symbol adorned by all Spectres in a similar shape to wings. What stood before Benese now was a Sangheili Spectre.

"Are you alright?" he asked, stopping once he reached to top of the stairs. "They weren't able to hurt you at all, were they?" Sork still had his hands raised, doing his best to appear harmless, though even he could admit her fear was completely rationale. From his perspective, all he could see was a half naked Asari, huddled on the ground shaking with a pistol in hand, with a dead Jiralhanae behind her.

"No," she said coldly, still unwilling to lower her gun. "Why are you here?"

"Saving you of course," Sork replied, grinning slightly behind his helmet. "I'd get ready to move. There will be more coming."

"Not until you answer my question," Benese said, her voice cracking as she tried to stay calm. "Why are you here?"

"Last week, this station received a distress signal from an unknown source."

Looking away, Benese struggled to recall exactly what he was talking about. "We didn't receive anything. We're not even listening for distress signal's. This is a deep space research station. We're supposed to be watching stars!"

"It was buried in static, but you got it. Council got wind of it, sent me, and it looks like they weren't the only ones." He motioned towards the alien behind her. "Now grab what every you need, and hurry. There's an Elcor drop ship waiting for us."

Standing up, Benese nodded in understanding, though still unsure of exactly what happened. Grabbing a sweater off of her desk, she slipped it on, cringing slightly as it pushed more alien blood against her skin. Finding a pair of white boots, she put them on, almost tripping over the alien still sprawled out across the room.

"That everything?" Sork asked, now standing in her door way, weapon back in his hands.

Benese shook her head in the affirmative, before stopping herself suddenly. "Wait, one second." Opening another drawer, Benese reached her hand in to pull out a small box, the same one she had carried with her since childhood. Pushing it into her pocket, she turned back towards Sork. "Sorry, ready."

Silently, he turned around, beckoning for her to follow. "Stay close behind me, I won't let anything happen to you," he whispered as they descended down the stairs, almost falling over the body of dead Krogan. "I need to make a stop in your archives, how do we get there?"

"Left hall," she said, pointing in that direction. Carefully, Sork started down the hallway, keeping an eye peeled in every direction for motion. Benese followed close behind him, almost completely shielded by the larger alien's body. "Door on your right."

The door slid open, as Sork quickly scanned the room for movement. Finding none, he was satisfied enough to move towards a terminal on the far side's wall. "Pull what you can," he ordered, facing back towards the door to cover her. "And make it fast."

Rushing over, Benese placed the pistol on the terminal, before her fingers danced across the interface punching in commands. "What am I looking for?" she asked, looking back towards Sork.

"Any information you have from the last three weeks, download it all to my omni-tool."

She went to work, finding every bit of data in the time frame from information on stars, to the crew's extranet history. Something she wished there was time to separate for.

"Got it," she shouted triumphantly. At least when she returned home, she wouldn't lose every bit of data left archived there. "Now what?" she asked, making sure to grab her pistol from its place.

"The Elcor fleet gave me a ride here, there's a shuttle waiting. You'll need a breather or something, have any aboard?"

"Follow me," Benese grumbled, pushing past him into the hallway. "How did the Elcor give you a lift here?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"They offered to help lead the mission. I'm not going to turn down free help on a mission."

"I thought you Sangheili were all about gaining honor through combat, no matter the cost."

Shrugging, Sork continued following her close behind. "That's old fashioned thinking now a days. Used to be we wouldn't accept any kind of medical help either. There's some new age thinking among the younger generations, such as myself."

"I didn't even know your kind were eligible for the Spectres," Benese said, stepping through a door. In the room that followed were mask hanging from the wall, perfect size for an Asari space walk.

"A lots changed since the Reapers. Council can't be so simple minded. We haven't been barred for entry since well before I was born."

Grabbing one of the mask, Benese slipped it over her face so it covered her nose and mouth, forming an airtight seal against her cheeks. A small mass effect field pulsed through her from the mask, giving her a slight tickle as it created a thin atmosphere around her body and exposed parts so she would be able to survive the vacuum of space. "I'm not one to follow the Council's politics very much."

A booming roar caused them to go silent, as the duo both turned to notice a Krogan at the far end of the hall start to charge towards them in the room. It reached them before Sork was able to act, knocking the Sangheili clean off his feet and against the wall. Both Krogan and Snagheili were left dazed, jumbled against each other in a pile of limbs. Recovering first, the Korgan proceeded to smash his head against Sork, knocking him out cold. By now Benese had managed to find Sork's rifle on the ground next to her, having been knocked out of his hands during the Krogan's charge. Picking it up, she pointed it at the Krogan as it turned to face her.

"You're cute Asari," the Krogan mocked. "Put down the gun and I promise not to hurt you," he paused for a second, holding his words back like it was the final punch line of a joke, "much."

Gritting her teeth, Benese gripped the rifle closer to her chest. It was large for her, the butt pushing against her shoulders was almost an arms length, leaving just barely enough room for her to hang on to the grip, which proved to have ample room for her slender fingers, with one hand and the barrel with the other. It looked almost comical, like a small girl trying to carry her father's rifle, something that obviously didn't help her intimidate the Korgan.

"Screw you," she cursed, pulling the trigger as soon as the words escaped her mouth. Immediately, hot ionized plasma formed at the end of the barrel, launching at the Krogan who stood mere inches away. It was followed by another, and another, until a steady stream of matter struck against the Krogan's chest, quickly boiling away its shields and armor to reach the tender flesh underneath, which quickly sizzled against the rapid fire.

Benese didn't let go of the trigger until she was sure the alien finished its twitching and convulsing, even after the weapon stopped shooting and refused to continue. Luckily for her, by then the Krogan had been left charred, its face left as a barely recognizable piece of black bone. Hurrying over to Sork, Benese leaned over his still unconscious body, dropping the rifle as she did so.

"Hey wake up," she said, shaking his body as violently as she could manage. "Come on damn it, get up!"

Shaking his head, Sork reached up to grab her by the wrist, causing her to cease her shaking. "I'm up, he didn't hit me that hard." Leaning up straight, Sork took a moment to clear his head from the throbbing he could feel in his skull. It didn't hurt so bad now, but by tomorrow, the pain would easily triple. "Thanks for the assistance," he said, noticing the now dead Krogan for the first time.

"Goddess, I thought you were dead," Benese cried out, louder than she had intended.

Standing up straight, Benese helped Sork to his feet, only to have him fall almost on top of her. "Demon broke my leg," he spat, leaning against Benese for support. "Can you help me towards the air lock? Once we're outside, you need to grab onto me tightly." She nodded in understanding, before helping him climb over the body and through the door back into the hallway. The air lock was only in the next room, and Benese struggled under the weight of the Sangheili as she punched in the code to open the door.

"There," she said as the door opened in front of her, only to seal shut as soon as they had stepped through. "It'll take a minute to vent the atmosphere in here."

Putting his weight against the wall, Sork activated his omni-tool. "Dekuuna-3, do you read me?" He was treated to a greeting of static, before a quiet voice emerged through the background noise.

"Relieved: We are awaiting your signal. Was your mission successful?'

"Data's secured, and I found the only one stationed here."

"Affirmative," the voice said, fading away as Sork wrapped his arms around Benese.

"When you open the air lock, what ever happens, don't let go of me," he said, starring down at the Asari.

Nodding her head, Benese used her omni-tool to activate the air lock's control, resulting in the door slowly sliding open. What little air remained inside, was quickly jettisoned out into space, as the pair floated off of the floor, the artificial gravity having turned off upon the door's opening. Gripping Benese tight, Sork activated his thruster pack, pushing them slowly outside into the blackness. Benese wrapped her arms around his chest, holding on to her wrist on the far side tightly as the view of the station was replaced with the orange hue of Tasale, encompassing Benese's entire vision as the two drifted slowly to an object in the distance.

AN: And done! Hope you guys like this. If you do, please send a review my way. If you don't, still send a review telling me how terrible or atrocious you think this story is! I accept all kinds of criticism you can dish =P.

And for those who actually care about the lore at all, I'll be explaining in the next chapter through a codex entry at the end what happened to the galaxy after the events of The Cycle. I've gotten enough polls done to at least do that.

As always, thanks for reading!