Strap in for a shorter one

Uneventful Monday.

Starcraft is the property of Blizzard entertainment.

Mass effect is the property of Bioware.

Any elements used in this story are used only in order to create a story for no monetary gain nor do I claim any ownership over them, beyond the names and characters unique to this story.

Monday

Citadel presidium

Tali'Zorah nar Rayya

As she strolled through the citadel's presidium in an serene manner Tali began to ponder on how lucky she had become…

Just a few weeks ago her fate was still uncertain. As some other quarians along with herself found themselves trying their best to just get by on their own pilgrimages. This had been a hard time for her simply due to the fact that life outside of the flotilla was unforgiving to the quarians as a whole.

Her pilgrimage had placed her along a path of many perils. But she also found that this same pilgrimage had placed her on the forefront of history as she now toiled to save the galaxy from a madman and the sins of her people.

What she could not expect was the company she would find herself with.

For starters she did not expect to serve on a military vessel from the alliance since any chance that the humans would consider to hire the services of any quarian were slim to none.

This was due to the fact that the migrant fleet was trapped within the terminus systems and they could not maneuver their vessels through a safe passage beyond pirate elements since the terminus systems were the domain of such people and as such the migrant fleet had not made any "official" contact with the human government and could not request aid or make any type of deal.

As she reached her destination, Tali stopped her thoughts, since she arrived at the address she had been given by Shepard.

One of the incredible people she had met during her travels was that of the first human Spectre and her new commander: John Shepard.

Since the knowledge of her species on the humans was still limited she found strange the level of charity he had offered her and perceived it as almost bordering on the insane.

Regardless, Shepard had done her a favor by allowing her to serve on his vessel and to her surprise her new leader proved to be a competent individual who also cared about his crew. This he had proven by actually listening to them, a trait that Tali found admirable.

Once Shepqrd had allowed himself some time to speak with the quarian he showed genuine interest in her species, their traditions and… in her.

A smile grew on her face as this thought crossed her mind and she finally entered the building where her commander had arranged to give her a clean room for… personal matters.

The Huerta memorial hospital was an institution that operated in the private sector but allowed the use of its facilities to alliance personnel, and since she was a crew member of an alliance vessel…

"Excuse me" Tali called to one of the doctors as she approached shilly "I-I'm Tali'Zorah, I was told…".

"Get lost" this was the answer from the Salarian doctor "I have no time for you, move" he said this even though he clearly was not doing anything.

Tali tried to approach other members of the staff but each and every single one said something along the same lines. As she was getting fed up with this treatment she approached the counter where an Asari had been glancing at her through her ordeal.

"HI" Tali began as she approach the counter while praying to the spirits that she wouldn't get another rude answer "I'm the 3:00 appointment for a clean room" she faked a smile that the receptionist could not see due to her visor but her intentions were made clear enough trough her tone as the receptionist began to frantically see through the appointments…

"I'm sorry but that appointment is due for…" the receptionist was interrupted by Tali.

"Commander John Shepard. I work for him" Tali began to explain "Under the notes you should be able to see my name: Tali'Zorah nar Rayya".

True to her words, Tali's name was indeed attached to the appointment, along with the reason and the already covered fee "I-I'm sorry miss Zorah, we somehow did not see the attached message" the receptionist began to frantically tap some words in her terminal "Your clean room is in the far back of the hospital. Room B-17".

Tali thanked the receptionist and began to make her way towards the clean room that had been prepared for her.

Once she arrived there, she saw as one of the nurses had been waiting for her "Hello miss Zorah" Tali was thankful that one person had showed some kindness to her "Your clean room has been readied, I will take your belongings through decontamination so you may use them" Tali handed her a small bag with the logo of the alliance that had some tools she could not fit in the compartments of her suit.

"Thank you, please treat everything in there with care" She said and then proceeded to enter the airlock that would lead to the room she had been given and waited for the decontamination cycle to conclude.

Once the decontamination process had concluded she made her way into the room. This place was clearly dedicated to intermediate surgeries as she found that the space afforded to her was not that large. It included a surgery bed, some surgical and medical equipment along with some other components. She saw that next to the only door in the room there was a small hatch where she suspected her things would come through.

She reclined against the wall and waited for her things to arrive through the hatch, after some time she saw that her bag finally arrived so she took it and made her way towards the bed.

She sat on it and then proceeded to do something she had intended to do for the last couple of months…

She took her visor off so she could cut her own hair.

As she finally unclasped her visor and waited for the hissing of her suit's as its own atmosphere began to decompress she held her breath in anticipation.

Once this was done she took her first non filtered breath in months and as she did this all her anger and frustration began to dissipate as her happiness resurge once more.

This had all been worth it.

She finished removing the head piece that held her visor and protected her head at the same time. And as she suspected her raven locks had reached a length that was too long for her confort.

She reached into her bag and reached for a razor and as she began to shave her head she pondered how life in her suit became even tougher away from the migrant fleet. Even though her suit had been designed to cover most functions that were relevant to her health she always found that her people had not engineered a solution to all their plights.

Speaking of which…

As she finished shaving her short hair she began to feel something in her mouth that was… uncomfortable to say the least.

Long ago, when her people strolled through the galaxy with intact immune systems her kind had been praised for their beautiful and enthralling features. Where they had been compared once with organic works of art, her people now resided within their metal skins.

But there had been a saying once that defined a feature of her people that scared the rest of the galaxy a little… 'If you meet with a quarian, never ask them to smile'.

This had been a nice way to refer to what laid in the mouth of each quarian but now it was relegated to an insult.

On Rannoch, her people evolved on a carnivorous diet that propelled her kind into developing sharp teeth that renewed themselves their entire life.

But due to how life in the migrant fleet operated they could not fall off naturally and as such her people had devices to remove them.

On this note, Tali reached into her bag and searched for that tool. If she only could…

Her gloved hand brushed against something she did not recognize and she jerked it out instinctively. Opening the bag fully she looked into it and searched for the foreign object. Looking around she could not… THERE.

She grabbed an obscure sphere and brought it into the light. What was…

"AHHH!" Tali screamed in fear as she launched the orb into the wall and as it let out a sound of pain her fears were realized.

She quickly placed her helmet and mask back on so that any foreign pathogens from the object could not get to her.

-Was that necessary?- the orb began to speak as the little orb levitated and projected a four pointed star in front of it.

Tali just continued to stare at the orb and began to slowly reach for a knife she hid in a suit pocket on her back "What are you doing here?" Tali tries to buy some time with that question, since she was certain that she hid the orb in a vent aboard the Normandy "Dont you know I could die from whatever it is you are carrying?!".

-I was sterilized carefully along with the rest of your things- he explained -And you left me behind. I wished to correct that mistake- she froze as the little orb looked right at her arm -I would wish for a civil conversation… please- Tali continued to glare at the machine but relented and stopped holding her knife.

"FINE. What do you want?" She reclined against the wall and saw as the orb began to project light beams through the room… What was it doing?

-I was curious as to why you showed hate towards me. Since I had never done anything to hurt or insult you… but once I read the entry of your species in the galactic codex I began to understand why- so why was it here?

"And?" Tali asked in exasperation "What are you doing here?" She crossed her arms as the little machine finished whatever it was doing.

-I want a name- The orb approached the bag from which he came and began to look closely at it -But that can wait, as I want to prove a point-

Tali glared at the machine once more "And that point being?".

The orb got right up to her face and spoke again -We are more than what you believe, Tali'Zorah nar Rayya- it turned and approached the bag once more -I am more than what you believe- it said this in a sorrowful voice.

She was conflicted.

On one hand her people understood the dangers of synthetic life more than any could truly understand. But on the other hand, this… machine… did not come from minds she could understand. If the Xel'naga that created it were truly responsible for creating ALL life then what was the difference between…

No.

Tali wouldn't fall so easily to that particular mental trap. So she decided to pretend for the moment.

"Fine. Then how will you prove this?" She directed her question at the orb.

-Easily- the orb projected its light beam towards the table -As a favor from one living being to another, I will save your life- what did it mean? -This room's air filters were not aligned properly and as such a colony of micro fungi began to grow right on that table before I purged it- it pointed towards a particular spot on the table.

Right where she had placed her bag.

Tali froze.

If she activated the function of her suit that released antibiotics into it she might be able to kill any fungi that landed on her skin. But she had breathed the air in the room that meant that… oh no.

She looked into her suit's internal sensor and the presence of a foreign pathogen was indeed present. It was in her respiratory system.

She began to hyperventilate but found that she had difficulty breathing.

Was this the way she was going to go?

Killed by a maintenance mistake?

As these thoughts began to cross her mind she began to feel dizzy.

She then fell unconscious…

…

Tali felt weird.

As she began to regain her bearings she sensed that something wasn't right…

Her head began to hurt and her nose began to itch, so she reached with her hand and began to scratch it so the feeling would go…

Wait a minute…

She quickly began to touch her face as her hands began to miss her visor. Why was it not on her face?

-Ah. I see you finally managed to wake up- an annoying voice called to her from above. She turned her gaze and her eyes met with the sight of the machine who was on the table reading through an old magazine.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" she screamed as she launched herself against the orb, grasping it and holding it against the floor "WHERE IS MY VISOR?!"

-It's on the table- she turned her gaze and true to its word her visor now rested on the table.

"Why did you take it off?" Her anger subsided a little but did not relent as she was pissed at the little machine.

-I had to remove it so I could heal your lungs- it answered without a shred of deceit. -Your body reacted in a negative manner to the fungi. And your autoimmune response was quicker that what I would have predicted-

"But why am I still without my mask?" She asked in exasperation.

-I forgot to replace it after I finished healing your infection- the machine proceeded to emit a green glow as it emanated some kind of energy -I hope you feel better-

Tali got angry and tossed the orb against the wall. How could it insinuate that she had been magically healed. She placed her visor back on and as her hud began to show the state of her health but found… nothing.

Her internal sensors did not register the presence of any foreign particles within her suit and a quick scan from her suit's internalized stethoscope found that the presence of the particles that triggered her allergic reaction were… gone.

There was no presence of any foreign object, she was clean.

The orb began to float once more and made its way to Tali -Quite a way to express thanks- she glared at it since she did not know what had been done to her -We should leave this place. You appointed time has almost concluded-

Tali saw the time that was displayed on her omnitool and indeed her allotted time had almost finished "Thanks… but I wasn't able to remove…" she said this while trying to feel the place where her outgrown tooth had been only to find that it wasn't there anymore.

-That has been also resolved- the orb floated towards the bag and entered it once more. Tali watched with a frown as the orb began to hide itself among her things -Most galactic civilians would not take kindly to an unknown objector going thought the citadel while asking many questions- Tali knew that the machine was right and the machine also made it clear that it wouldn't leave her side -I still want my name-.

Tali closed the bag and left the room while a little disappointed.

Her week would be a long one.

Lower Bachjret ward

Xiltar

Xiltar was a Protoss on a mission: grocery shopping.

While he chuckled to himself at his imprecise use of a Terran term he nonetheless found the comparison between his own task and the concept of acquiring sustenance quite humorous.

He found himself in the lower districts of the part of the station that had been called Bachjret ward. The coordinates had led him here after all.

While exploring the lower end of this particular ward, Xiltar found himself just outside of a particular door that laid deep within a dark alley. The local district where he found himself within left Xiltar a little revolted.

He knew that this location was the right one as the void managed to find an exit in some manner in that same hideout…

Xiltar could see the writhing shadows of the void that surrounded him being drawn towards the entrance as primitive creatures were drawn to the flame for warmth.

As he waited for somebody to open that door so he could enter without being noticed he turned towards the street and saw the people who lived there with pity.

After seeing so many children from different species live in squalor he found their situation appalling. He guessed that their immediate problems could be improved if the criminal elements in their community would vanish.

He would put on a show to deter any would be usurpers from tormenting this people…

As some tugs approached the door, Xiltar focused on their movements and began to follow them as the void gave him cover. The tugs knocked on the door and the eyes of a krogan peered at them through a small opening and as he made certain that this people were expected, the krogan let them pass, Xiltar followed closely behind.

They walked into a poorly lit corridor and began to make their way towards one of the doors at the end of it but as the group did so they passed through several doors as they continued their trek.

Of those few that were open he found more repulsive things waiting for his eyes: stacks on stacks of chemical substances filled some of the rooms, others were filled with crazed mercenaries who laughed as they tortured their own hounds, in one room he saw as some of the children from the street were being trained to act as child soldiers.

This place would burn.

They entered the office at the end of the corridor and found themselves in front of a turian. The tugs approached the figure and saluted him, their leader it would seem.

"I see you two fools finally decided to leave chora's den" began the turian as he turned to the tugs "I swear that if you two idiots arrive late one more time I will have you flayed and thrown into the street for the children to piss at you" The two humans shuddered as he said this. Flaying them wouldn't be such a bad idea…

"Sorry boss… W-Won't happen again" one of the Terrans said in a scared manner.

"See that you don't" the turian grabbed a cigar and began to take drags from it after he lit it "I need you two idiots to move the stuff in the next hour. Get to work!" The tugs turned and ran for it, Xiltar allowed them to pass as he would hunt them along with the other 18 criminals who remained in the facility after he was done with their leader.

As the door closed behind the tugs Xiltar saw that the turian rose from his seat and made his way towards a safe that rested along a wall.

He saw as the turian unlocked the box and reached for a bag inside. Once he retrieved this bag he went to place it at the table and recovered what laid inside it.

To his horror he saw as the turian recovered an orb that radiated a purple glow. His visceral reaction continued as he saw the turian squeezed the orb a little so that a purple miasma could escape it and enter his system.

"Oh dark ones…" what? "show me guidance" this turian had to die.

By now the room was filled by a small blanket of smoke that emanated from the now unattended cigar. Xiltar began to move slowly behind the turian as to not alert him, once he was behind him he began to reach for his neck in order to crush his windpipe.

But right before he could eliminate the madman a disturbance from outside got their attention.

Xiltar tried to reach the mind of one of the perps to know what the hell had happened but found… none.

He was certain that the small building he found himself was filled with people moments ago. He searched the mind of the turian and found that he had not ordered any of his men to leave the hideout.

The only trace he found of what had happened was how some of the children ran away from the hideout, their minds were out of reach but he found that faint memories were imprinted and in their echoes they showed…

By the Xel'naga.

Somebody had massacred the whole building while he tried to reach the turian without being found. As he pondered what could have dispatched such a great amount of people while not making a commotion, his answer came as the door to the office suddenly opened and the culprit entered while aiming right at the turian.

The alien that entered the office was not one Xiltar could recognize. But searching quickly through the mind of the scared turian he found that not only did he know that the species of this individual was a drell… but the turian also knew this particular one by reputation.

The assailant stopped, quickly glancing around the room he looked in Xiltar's general direction and said "I know you are there".

"Of course I am, dead man" The turian answered not understanding that the statement wasn't for him.

(He was talking to me) Xiltar grabbed the turian's head and slammed it against the table, knocking him in the process.

The protoss revealed himself and stood before the drell, he on his part kept aiming his gun at young Xiltar.

(I mean you no harm, drell) Xiltar wished to defuse this situation (Whatever it is that you wish from this place is yours…) he pointed to the orb (All save for that…).

The drell continued to look at him. In his mind he formulated a thousand plans to end the unknown factor, all but one would end in failure for the reptilian alien as his mind was not a safe bastion from the Protoss. Xiltar took a moment to look for his motivations… there.

(If what you wish for is the turian then I have no qualms with your task) Xiltar grabbed the orb and carefully cradled it in his hands (But this is too dangerous to remain here…)

The drell remained silent for another moment, then he spoke "I know you. What are you doing in this place elder Xiltar?" He knew him by name, from where… Ah.

(So my speech was transmitted to the rest of the galaxy, good) Xiltar began to move through the smoke (This place held something critical for the continued safety of my people) The Drell began to look at the orb as Xiltar showed it to him (What transpired here is… disgusting) he turned to the still unconscious turian.

The Drell continued to stare at him but decided to lower his gun as he felt no ill intentions from him "I can't be certain of your true motives. But I see no reason to hold you accountable for anything here" he made his way towards the turian and ended his life by breaking his neck.

As he concluded his grim task he saw as the drell… prayed. Xiltar remained silent and saw this bizarre spectacle of piety after such an action.

All Ihan-rii prayed before combat. Either for the religious fervor that was ushered by their rage or for the ensured ascension of their spirits should they fall in battle.

But his prayers were only asking for forgiveness… for his soul and for the wicked deeds he had committed.

This humbled the protoss. Where his people revered their gods for glory and ascension, this alien asked for none of those…

Had his people been so vain? Desiring nothing but something as petty as godhood.

(What is your name, warrior?) Xiltar asked once the assassin finished his prayer. He took a moment to answer as he was uncertain, understandable from Xiltar's perspective.

"Thane Krios" is his answer.

Xiltar nodded and cloaked once again (Live well noble soul).

Xiltar did not know if he would meet the assassin again.

Afterword

You won't see this fools for a while now :v