The next couple of days placed Amani on edge.

A Blue Suns bodyguard escorted the chemist to and from work.

The same bodyguard escorted them on their second date. They ordered from Tentacle Delights, this time taking the food to-go. A third and fourth date exposed deeper desires for connections and want of affection from both parties.

"Are all humans like you? Aggressive?" Amani asked over dinner at the lab on their fifth date.

Amani's working hours doubled since Aria demanded an extra edge over people trying to remove her reign in light of the reaper's population thinning. The stress of being a target lowered the attention retention of the surprisingly fragile asari chemist. Mycerra perfectly understood the position and tried to lighten the load by arranging dinner at the lab.

Mycerra spotted the dark circles under her eyes from across the lab table. "Anyone can be aggressive."

"You're especially aggressive."

"It's Omega." She explained away.

"I know Omega. It's not Omega." Amani insisted. "Were you like this before the Reapers?"

She mulled it over, pondered if indeed she acted more aggressively than other humans, and imbibed cold water to wash down the cheesy food. "I've had a bit of a rough raising. It's from that."

"What did you say to Aria to piss her off?" Amani switched subjects.

"I told her no." Mycerra said. "Except when someone with superior biotics can rip you apart has their hand on your thigh and is inches from you, you change that no to a yes."

Amani nodded slowly.

"You live, I live." She answered darkly. "And she knows about the kids. And I can't tell the kids she knows about them. I should check my armor for cameras or audio bugs. I'll do that tonight."

"Aria keeps Omega from tearing itself apart. Could be civilians reporting back to her." Amani offered. "She's beloved by the people."

Mycerra frowned and pushed away her empty dish. "There is something I did want to talk about tonight, though. With you. First, I've never mind melded with anyone. I don't know what to expect if we go that far. Second, I never shared a bed with another partner. I know how to…I never involved someone else before."

Amani listened intently. "Mind melding is more than bodies touching, although bodies touching and mind melding can be a unique experience on its own. It's like sharing yourself with your partner. Your memories are theirs. Theirs are yours. If you open yourself to it all. Otherwise, it's a darkness that swallows you in a warm embrace superior to everything you've ever known."

"You don't care I'm a virgin?"

"Do you?" Amani reversed. "We share similar physical features, but virginity is a social construct. The asari moved past that millennia ago."

Mycerra breathed.

"Does this mean I have to take it easy on you?" Amani teased.

Mycerra's cheeks flushed.

"I promise to be gentle." She winked.

"Actually, there is something I want to try, but after we're more comfortable with each other." She said in a small voice. "After a few times between the sheets."

Amani added her empty dish to the bowl in the center of the table. "You can kill people without flinching, but talking about sex is difficult? The disconnect is strange. Amusing but strange. How's your hand?"

Mycerra extended the hand. "Buzzing a little. I think my run in with Aria triggered the stress again. I don't understand. Is it stress causing it or a biological malfunction?"

"Then it's something else causing it." Amani suggested. "We'll solve this mystery."

She leaned forward. "I like you and I don't know why."

"I stalked you for two months. Could be Hyterian Syndrome." Amani joked.

"We called that Stolkholm Syndrome back on Earth."

"Hyterian was an asari commando who went crazy and took a group of scholars hostage. They paid for her lawyer fees- "

"Funny thing, also happened on Earth." Mycerra almost smiled.

Amani biotically massaged the hand. "We're all more alike than we'd like to admit. We let species stop us from having a hard conversation because it's easier to hide behind."

"You mean race."

"I mean species. You use the word 'race' wrong, but it's forgivable." Amani argued. "We're a cross-species liaison that is progressing into serious territory. And you saved my life. I owe you."

Mycerra moved around the table and threw her arms around Amani. She hugged the asari from behind. "How about we remove some clothes and shower?" She whispered in Amani's ear. "That's how it goes, right? Light stuff in the shower, heavy stuff in the bed?"

Amani laughed hard at her inexperience. "You warm the water up, I'll join you."

"Don't take too long or I'll make a mess on your precious sterile work top." Mycerra kissed her exposed neck.

"They're sterile for a reason!" Amani laughingly whined.

She cleared her throat multiple times after Mycerra disappeared into the bathroom and turned the water on. Clapping her hands, she then put her palms to the side of her head and closed her eyes. She breathed in and out several times and then opened her eyes.

She joined the shower late, Mycerra's face to the showerhead. Water cascaded down her the human body in delicious drops and rivulets.

"This is divine, Amani." Mycerra looked over and beckoned the asari over. "Perfectly hot with a touch of sting."

Amani clumsily undressed and slid into the small shower with her. She pressed her body to Mycerra's back and put her hands on Mycerra's outer thighs.

"You feel great." Mycerra whispered.

"So do you." Amani kissed her back and tracked a scar. "How did this happen?"

"If it's between the shoulder blades, I think boarding school."

"And the one on your left hip?"

"Reaper Assault. I scratched myself defending myself on the third day. It bled heavily enough I noticed. Scarred over. No infection."

"Your arm?"

"Nearly died at age sixteen. Almost fell off a ladder at fifty feet in the air on a training obstacle course because my arm seized up." She explained breathily. "They made me complete the climb. I would have made it if my foot didn't slip up and I almost hit ground. My tutor saved me. Singularity yo-yo."

"Your neck?" She asked, tracing the thin line on the back.

"Childhood training."

Amani traced each scar leisurely, asked about each one, and received an honest answer. Mycerra submitted to her soapy scrubbing and shameless exploration, happy to be a sex object for the person of interest to her. What the guards didn't hear and what Mycerra would never tell a soul about is the first orgasm stimulated by a partner. Amani treasured the submission, teasing Mycerra about it while leaving little love bites and dropping hints she wanted to have dinner again in a more risqué fashion.

Mycerra left the lab late that night flustered and intrigued.

She walked right into the barrel of a gun. Another pressed into her back.

The turian motioned for her to follow. "Keep quiet and you'll be returned to your apartment unharmed." He promised.

A pair of kinetic cuffs linked around her wrists. "Why not?" She replied sarcastically.

They walked along familiar streets until they descended to lower levels of Omega, an area she hadn't explored yet. They shoved her into a sky car supped up to evade potential pursuers.

The salarian sported a bruise on his flat face.

She braced herself for an escape. The turian sat in the back seat with her.

"We don't want to harm you."

Her eyes swept between the backs of the front seats. The teenagers were right. She never noticed anything unless she stumbled on it. She'd remedy that tomorrow. "Then why am I in this sky car?"

"Amani Ysett is a formidable chemist working for terrorists." The turian defended himself.

"Don't know if you noticed, but everyone on Omega has done something illegal to survive." She pointed out dully.

"You're excusing her choice of associates?" The turian criticized.

Her brow lifted. "No. But it's Omega. I'm held captive here by Aria and lack of funds. Three to four months ago, I lived on Earth. You're too clean for Omega. Where you from? Colony or Palaven?" She asked.

The salarian and turian exchanged looks.

The staccato of gunfire remained ignored by the occupants.

"How is Palaven coping?" She asked and hoped to delay and earn clues.

"The human is a shifty one. I wouldn't trust her." The salarian warned.

His instincts hit close to home. If she managed to escape the sky car, she'd take cover and lay low. Blue Suns proved themselves capable of protecting Amani.

A whining sound preceded the lurching of the sky car.

She tensed up.

The salarian freaked out. "Losing altitude- "

She braced for impact.

The turian threw himself over her. Her stomach dropped. The sky car nosedived.

"What did you do?!" The salarian demanded of Mycerra.

She tried to speak.

The sky car impacted, metal meeting metal in a devastating collision.

Mycerra slammed off the top of the car, dropped back down, and slumped over.

She grasped the lip of the mangled bridge.

Reaper horns blared in the distance.

"Help!" She shouted. The horns drowned out her voice.

She shouted again.

Cement crumbled and her fingers slipped.

She threw out her hand beneath her.

A human hand wrapped around her forearm.

The horn blared again. A red beam cut another tower in half.

"We got you!" She looked up at one of the teenagers they rescued less than six hours ago. Another pair of hands reached for her other arm. She abandoned the singularity yo-yo plan. They hauled her over the edge.

She lay on the ground and spread out her arms. "Sweet, solid solid ground."

"We have to move." The teenager worried.

She turned onto her back and stared up at the stars. "Just one moment." She held up a finger. "One minute to enjoy the stars." She requested.

She closed her eyes and breathed, the dust and debris in the air mixed with decay and pollutants from the destroyed structures.

Then it went black.

Muffled voices invaded the groggy mist.

She tried to focus on them, eyelids opening reluctantly.

"…one survivor. The human. Mycerra Colton. Don't know who attacked the sky car…"

"Find out." Aria's voice cut in and out.

Mycerra groped around. Her hand fumbled along the railing of the bedframe. She grasped weakly at the metal.

The communications cut.

She blindly searched for the clicker equipped to most medical beds.

The blurry view cleared up enough to identify a drell male in a white clinic uniform.

She tapped the metal railing and dragged her fingernails along the metal.

"Don't move." The drell said. "You survived a sky car crash. You suffered heavy bruising, and the scans show potential for a broken foot."

She looked down her body at her feet. Medigel and a foot wrap enclosed her left foot.

"Two casualties. A salarian and a turian. Unidentified." The drell answered readily.

She lifted her head weakly and fell back to prone again. "Why am I still alive?"

"Civilians onsite pulled you from the sky car."

"Would I know them?"

The world shifted and floated, the medication potent in her blood. She coughed and curled up on her side. A monitor beeped in a healthy pattern.

"I don't believe so. They were good people. Wanted to help."

"You have good bedside manners, Doctor." She coughed again and covered her mouth.

He hovered over her and scanned her head to toe with his medical omni tool. "You're in good spirits."

"I'm alive."

"Omega standards." He tried to lighten the mood.

"Reaper standards." She corrected him. "As much as they've taken from us, they've given us much more."

"How so?" The doctor asked curiously.

She covered her mouth and closed her eyes. "They've showed us what we're made of, how we can improve our lives, and what we really lost. If you think about it – what we miss now is what we valued. Who we miss. What our normal was."

He handed her a glass of water and placed it in her hand. "Drink and rest. We'll talk more tomorrow morning."

She gulped down the water.

"I'll contact your human doctor to inform him you're awake and aware."

"Thanks, Doctor." She tried to smile and winced.

The next day Dr. Parsi and Amani visited after the drell doctor cleared them. "Dr. Firan suggests that you don't transfer clinics." Dr. Parsi said.

High on medication, she waved her hand in the air like a ship on water.

"Are you in pain?" Amani fretted.

"If I was, I can't feel a thing."

"I can see that."

"Not even my biotics tingle. It's a miracle." She sing-singed.

Dr. Parsi turned to Amani. "I'll grant your privacy. She is clearly well cared for. I'm going to speak with Dr. Firan if you need me." He patted her shoulder.

Amani sat on the bed next to Mycerra. She ran her hand along Mycerra's leg to her shins. "I can visit every day."

"No, no. You're a busy woman. "

"I want to." Amani whispered. "I want to invest my time in you."

"Really? But I'm just a human. You don't want a human. You want someone who can live hundreds of years. "

Amani put a finger over Mycerra's lips. "It's not about quantity but quality." She leaned over and kissed Mycerra. Mycerra sunk into the bliss. For a moment, her mind slipped away to the view of the stars and the hard debris against her back. She opened her eyes to Amani again and grabbed her hand.

Mycerra held Amani's hand against her bosom. "I like you. You're too pretty for someone like me. And your skin is gorgeous. Did anyone tell you that your coloration is gorgeous?"

Amani laughed.

"And your eyes. I could investigate them all day and lose myself."

"I'm flattered."

"I can't wait to have kids with you."

Amani laughed again. "The population needs a boost." She allowed.

Mycerra nuzzled the blue hand. "Think about it. About us. A little you. Something good to bring into the world. Someone to give a good life too. And think! We can move to Earth, live under open skies, and free oxygen. We can have a garden. Oh! We need a name- "

Amani laid down next to Mycerra and put her head on Mycerra's chest. She threw her arm across Mycerra and listened to the loopy woman drone on about the beauty of Earth and its many advantages. She fell in love with the vision.

Dr. Parsi walked in on the vision detailed in loving detail. He lingered in the doorway.

Mycerra painted a fairy tale of the perfect place to live. He studied Amani's reaction to it. Amani mindlessly stroked her hand along Mycerra's side and fell asleep to the idyllic dream. Mycerra soon joined her in sleep, the ladies undisturbed by the doctors.

"The good news is the injured foot will heal quickly. The unwelcome news is we don't know who the people were that kidnapped her or what they wanted. We only know the civilians pulled out her with her hands cuffed behind her back. The code to disrupt the cuffs was easy enough to break, but her omni tool lacked the programming necessary. I'd suggest an upgrade once she's off the medications. She can stay for two days, and then she's free to leave."

"I'll see to it." Dr. Parsi promised.

"The people who helped her – they were good people, but they were batarians. I understand she eats at a batarian vendor called Varren Bites or something to that effect?"

"Her daily portion of protein." Dr. Parsi answered. "The food is verifiably delicious and always scans clean."

"I know that the cook and owner of the vendor is one of the better batarians, but most of them aren't Hadar Voldek. I know Hadar. He wouldn't hurt anyone, nor would his wife and son. His comrades are not as peaceful as he is. What I'm saying, Deepak, is that you need to be careful. That she needs to be careful. Everyone on Omega wants a favor. What's theirs?"

"I'll take that under advisement, Rivvan." Dr. Parsi said.

Dr. Firan nodded to the women. "I'll lock the door for their protection."

"Dr. Firan, theoretically speaking, if she were to become the father for Amani Ysett's child, would her biotic imperfections pass on?" Dr. Parsi asked critically.

The drell looked at Dr. Parsi and through him. "Maternity rates highest among races regardless of location. Lower on Omega. Asari children less targeted on Omega." He recounted robotically. "My apologies. We have eidetic memory. It's an involuntary process, I'm afraid. To answer your question, it is not my field. I do know asari assimilate the strongest of genetics. Without exposure to eezo, it is possible the biotic capable of the child will pale in comparison."

"Aren't all asari biotic?"

"It is curious all asari are biotic. Those exposed to eezo in the womb tend to be stronger. Research suggests those born on Thessia possess the most potential due to Thessia's high eezo levels."

Dr. Parsi absorbed it all and added it to his topics to research later. "Is there a databank for biotic research on Omega?" He asked.

"It's not concentrated, but the clinics share information. Omega is known for its mercenaries, not it's research. If you want results, you should visit the Citadel." Dr. Firan advised.

"I'll look into that when I leave Omega."

"If you're lucky, it'll be soon." Dr. Firan said and motioned for Dr. Parsi to follow him. Dr. Parsi looked one last time in the direction of the sleeping women. He said a quick prayer for them before Dr. Firan locked the door to anyone except himself and the women.

Amani welcomed Mycerra to her apartment after Dr. Firan released her from the clinic.

They used an air taxi to expedite the travel and avoid people.

Mycerra's jaw dropped upon seeing the shiny apartment tower complex. "Is this complement of Aria?" She asked Amani seriously.

"Aria helped pay off a debt I owed on Illium. In exchange, I'd work for her. Omega may be dirty, and crime ridden, but Illium is Omega with more polish and manners. You dump grime and dirt on Illium and it's a copy of Omega." Amani explained. "She gives me this, and I ensure she has superior product. It's not the best living, but it's an honest way to work off the debt I owe."

"How much?"

"I owe another five years before I can leave Omega." Amani answered honestly. She looked at Mycerra. "I know it sounds worse than it is. I want to work off my debts honestly, Cerra. I know who I help, but it's not the end all, be all for me. I plan to leave Omega. I was even thinking about visiting you on your mudball."

Mycerra didn't know what to say.

"I don't have to pay anything. And it's safe. Which means you're safe. And we can enjoy each other." Amani hugged her.

She lost herself in the embrace. "You're always welcome to visit me on that mudball."

Amani motioned for her to become comfortable.

The layout of the apartment, according to Amani, was prefabricated. Most places on Omega strongly resembled similar purpose spaces in layout due to convenience and time saving. Aside from the furnishings and décor, Amani maintained the original charm of the apartment.

The studio apartment portioned off the bedroom via privacy screens and two steps up from the base floor. A kitchen on the opposite side of the bedroom captured the space between for a table and bench booth. Opposite the kitchen and bedroom were a comfortable sized bathroom and shower, extensive built-in closets and an office space co-opted into a mini lab. The entire apartment smelled sterile, a fact that Mycerra did not mind as much as she thought. Minimal wall art of molecules decorated the walls at precisely measured intervals.

"What you said in the clinic. About having a baby." Amani started.

Mycerra turned red. "I'm sorry about that. I know we've only dated for a month and half. I was under a lot of medication."

"I know. The thing is, for years, I wanted a child. My debts on Illium made it impossible. Working for Aria, it's possible. And when you leave Omega, you could take our daughter to that mudball and give her a life I want. That she deserves. Please. Think about it."

Mycerra blinked rapidly. "I planned on being a surrogate. I never planned on being a parent, but I keep thinking about those teenagers. And the teenagers I helped saved. The teenagers that made me give 200% at Haven 1. You see- "Her breath hitched. "Back on Earth, we had schools. For the kids. I know Omega has schools, but attendance isn't compulsory here. When the Reapers attacked, they filled the sports areas with spikes to turn humans into husks. You can fill in the rest yourself. All I remembered when I cleared the first school looking for survivors was this deep dark hole, and you know how you cry without trying to? I broke down sobbing. Hid in a closet and just sobbed. I never had good examples of parenting, but Mr. Wallace was a good father. He spoiled his son, but he was a good father. I- "Her voice wavered.

"You don't have to."

"The point is, if I help bring a child into the world, a child that would share my genetics, or the asari version of my genetics, I want to do it right. To be there every step of the way. My parents never raised me. They lied to me. They never gave me answers. What if I turn out like them?"

"I know you well enough to know that won't happen. You help people, Cerra. You tip the batarian extra every day. You keep an eye on his child to and from Rom Institution of Learning. You check in on his wife, Yusa, too. You wouldn't be like your parents." Amani argued.

Mycerra pulled on her hair. "I'm not saying no, Amani. I like you. Hell, I may even love you."

"You love me?"

"I mean you're neck deep in trouble, and you work for a war lord and you're no innocent but you're passionate about your work and there's no personal grudges. Nothing is personal for you. You have this ability to brush everything off. To keep moving on. You're strong like that. I'm not. There's so much good beneath the obligatory work that you do. I don't know how you compartmentalize it. It's amazing, Amani, what you do. Someone like you was the right person for Haven 1, not someone like me. A complete and total fuck up failing upward by accident."

"Landing on Omega isn't failing upward." Amani whispered.

Mycerra laughed. "Before Omega."

"You earned that, Cerra. I may not have seen it with my eyes, but I know you earned that. What you do for people here, you earned it. The information you collected and sold. You didn't hurt anyone that didn't have it coming to them. And tipping Hadar and taking care of his wife and child, that's charity. Working with those kids, agreeing to, that's a choice you made. You're a good person, Cerra. You'll be a wonderful father too."

"On Earth, I would be a mother."

"We're on Omega."

"We haven't dated that long."

"I wanted a child with someone I know who will raise that child right. With love." Amani stepped closer. "If we don't work out, we can coparent. That's what people do."

Mycerra embraced Amani. "If it makes you happy, we can have a child together. I'll raise her on that mudball while you serve your years."

"By the Goddess Athame, we will give our child a good life." Amani promised.

"I never knew you were religious."

"Do you realize how long five years is? After serving thirty-five years already." Amani whispered.

"I can't stay on Omega. I have people who need me, and if I stay too long, I may shoot myself to end the misery." Mycerra rubbed her back.

Amani gripped tighter. "I know."

"How did you want- "

"Perfectly. I want the moment to be perfect." Amani said and pulled back. She wiped away tears. "There's no perfect time to have children. But some people are meant to be parents."

Mycerra teared up. "I suppose so."

"I loved you the moment Dr. Parsi told me all about Haven 1 and how you protected them. If anyone was willing to do that for a group of strangers, then that's someone I wanted to know. Someone I wanted to call mine. Do you know how rare that is? You were willing to die for a thousand people so they could live."

"Now you're sounding like Bohai."

"And he's right." Amani covered Mycerra's cheek with her hand. "You need to return to where you belong. We can treasure what we have now. In five years, we'll see, yes?"

Mycerra nodded, her throat tight.

"Mathers! You can't just leave kids defenseless!" She shouted into the night. Balencia hopped onto the motorbike and revved the engine. "Where's your balls at?! Help us!"

Mathers hopped onto the second motorbike. He signaled goodbye.

She yelled into the void of collective noise and a banshee screaming.

She sprinted toward the plow truck converted into an all-terrain vehicle by ingenious engineers. "GET IN THE TRUCK! GO! GO!"

The wave of husks swarmed toward them.

Mycerra woke in Amani's bed drenched in sweat. She breathed hard and gripped the sheets.

Amani slept soundly next to her.

She released the sheets.

Activating her Omni tool, she composed another email.

To: Wei Bohai

From: Mycerra Colton

I don't know when you'll receive this. I don't know if you'll receive it.

I should start by saying I never doubted your work or your work ethic. You completed assigned tasks in a timely and efficient manner with the heart of Earth in your resources. I have always been proud of you, and you have my support in whatever you pursue.

Every task I assigned; I assigned it with a purpose. You're bigger than Haven 1. You're the future of humanity, the example of what people should aspire to be.

The faith you placed in me, the trust, it scared me.

It still does. Omega is teaching me something new every day. It's teaching me the hard way I can only control so much.

You've placed me on a pedestal and I'm afraid of falling off that pedestal. Truth is – everyone falls off that pedestal and you'll have to forgive them. You'll have to remember we are only human. Humans aren't perfect. We can try, but we will never succeed.

I'm not there right now, but I know you'll do yourself, your sister, and your future proud.

And if I've never said it before, I'm proud of you. I know whatever you put your mind to you'll succeed at.

(I'm on OMEGA. Please send help. It's myself and ten other human biotics.)

OMEGA, TERMINUS SYSTEMS

SEND HELP