Chapter 1

The Market was crowded, as Dvorak entered it, the air filled with strange and alien smells and the chatter of buyers and sellers. Turians, Asari Hanar, Volus and, of course, humans darted in every direction, only to be replaced by even more people.

Even a pair of krogans argued with a tiny salarian Shopkeeper about the Price of a Shotgun. Although the Two of them could crush his slender frame with ease, he didn't let himself be intimidated and angrily waved with his arms when one of the Two named a price he deemed too low.

Dvorak stood with his bag slung around his should and a datapad in hand in a door frame that led back to a small alley where he came from. He could easily be mistaken for one of the many customers and onlookers that flowed into the market, were it not for his full combat hard-suit he wore.

For lack of space, he had already donned his armor on the shuttle ride to the citadel, filling his bag with all his other belongings that he may need during his time with the SSV Poltergeist.

Despite him looking ready to fight, almost no one paid him any mind. Soldiers regularly embarked and disembarked from this part of the Citadel, to be shipped to the Hot Spots of the War or distract themselves from the constant fighting with shore leave, respectively.

Frustrated, He put down his bag on the ground and fumbled with his datapad. Did he even hold it right side up? He moaned, beaten and annoyed.

"Hello, and Welcome on the Dulzura Market. My name is Avina. How can I be of service to you?". With a flash a hologram of an asari sprung to life beside him. Startled, he recovered and began to articulate his question: "Eh, hey, I'm searching for Dock 24b? On this map, the docks end at 20, so …?"

" To reach Dock 24b from here, you have to use lift 7a, 25 meters to your right. Once in the lift, select 'Level 12'. Then, walk 30 meters, and take a left turn. Walk 14 Meters and take a right turn. Congratulation, you have reached your designated location! Thank you for using Avina!". With that, the hologram disappeared, leaving behind an even more confused Dvorak.

"O-Kay ..." he murmured, shouldering his bag, spinning on his heels and walking right into a tall figure. He landed on his rear, rather ungentle, the bag still clinging to him, but the datapad spun away and crashed on the floor. The tall figure, as he now made out, was a female Turian. She too, had landed on her rear.

"Ah, spirits, watch where you're going, human!" she said, rubbing here face where Dvorak had collided with her. "Damn, I'm so sorry!" He apologized, picking himself up from the ground and then offering his hand to the Turian. At first, she hesitated, but grasped it in the end. With both parties on their feet again and dusting themselves off, she asked: "In a hurry?".

"Just lost." The datapad didn't seem to have survived the impact. "Which lift?", he murmured to himself, before turning to her. "You don't happen to know where Dock 24b is, do you?".

Her Mandibles twitched into a form he recognized as a smile. "24b? Yeah, I know where that is."

"You do? Could you describe the way for me? The hologram was a little bit too fast..."

"I'll show you!". And with that, she was off. Dvorak took a moment to realize what just happened, and followed her.

After a while, just after they had taken a turn into an alley, she broke the silence: "So, what are you doing on Dock 24b? And what's with the Armor?"

"I'm getting transferred to a new unit. Aboard the SSV Poltergeist? She's supposed to be anchored at that Dock."

"So you're the new guy there?", she asked as they approached a sealed door, indicated by a glowing red interface.

"You could say that. Are you sure this is the right way?" He asked. Internally, he readied himself for a possible ambush, focusing his biotic energy. If this Turian wanted to prey on a new arrival at the citadel, she would be in for a surprise.

Coming to a stop, she didn't answer. Instead, she raised her Omni-Tool. With a soft hum, the interface changed colors to green. Dvorak tensed.

The Door slid open, and revealed an empty level, completely hollowed out for renovations. The female Turian stepped inside.

"Yeah, I'm sure. About a week ago, this whole floor was cleared for renovations. There's a shortcut to the Dock over there!"

Now Dvorak just felt silly. He relaxed, releasing his grip on his biotics.

"What's your name?" She asked, her voice echoing through the empty story.

"The name is Dvorak. You?". "Kajira. Call me Kaj. What kind of a name is Dvorak?", she relpied.

In his mind, He cursed his parents. "Not the kind you give your kid if you want it to have friends, that's for sure.". To his surprise, that raised a smile from her. "I like it. Easy to remember.".

They took another turn, past an empty elevator shaft. "Here we are!", Kajira announced, as she opened another door. "Dock 24b!".

A long hangar opened in front of them. Below them, multiple ships hung on docking clamps, being repaired, refueled and restocked. Dock personnel scurried between the ships, while soldiers went on or off board.

Dvorak whistled in awe. "That's the Poltergeist, down there!", Kajira pointed. Her Talon led to a compact little ship of turian Design, which appeared to be a former Bomber of some sort. Designed for Ground support, these Types of Vessels were equipped with a variety of air-surface weapons, to help their troops in a pinch.

From the Dossier he had received, The Poltergeist was damaged a few Weeks prior, and was being retrofitted to house a unit of the so called 'N7-Ops'. 'N7' originally was a designation for a renowned military branch of the Alliance, but since the reaper war started, anybody who could fight was being welcomed into these outfits. Dubbed 'N7-Ops' by the Operatives themselves, Alliance Command let the Violation of Protocol slide in favor of improved morale and an identity for the ragtag bunch of misfits these Outfits were.

As they descended down to the level of the ships, Dvorak began to wonder how and why a mere pedestrian had access to the military hangars of the Citadel. He couldn't finish his thought, as they, finally, reached the airlock to the Poltergeist.

"Thanks for guiding me. Who knows how long it would have taken me to find this on my own ..."

"I think I'm going inside with you. You know, just to be save you find it...", she smirked, showing the Guard at the Airlock her ID-Card, turning around and smiling. "Are you coming?"

He could have slapped himself. He wanted to. Instead, he fished his own ID-Card from his Bag, showed it to the guard and stepped into the Airlock, defeated. "Please don't tell anyone how long it took me to realize you're part of the Crew ...", he said, his head hung low.

"My lips are sealed ..." she smirked as the doors closed behind them.