A/N: So, more than six months between chapters, which certainly wasn't the original plan. Life has been really busy over the last half a year, with work in particular being absolutely hectic. Unfortunately, the effect of all that has been a massive decline in my available writing time, hence the delay.

I always try to respond to reviews via DM, but was unable to for one as it was sent by a guest. So the response to that review is as follows:

Guest: Well, I've just uploaded this chapter, so the answer to that is yes, happily. :) I'm not in a position at the moment to give a firm estimate on how frequently I will be able to update this story going forward, however.

Chapter 3: Arrival

"We're coming up on Mallas-4 now."

The announcement over the ship's intercom was like an injection of pure adrenaline. Tali instantly sat upright, blinking rapidly as she attempted to clear her eyes of the last vestiges of sleep.

The journey so far had taken the best part of twelve hours. The bulk of the trip—the distance from the Widow Nebula's mass relay to the Dessaya System's one—had been near instantaneous, as relay travel always was. However, it had taken the Starstrider almost eight hours to reach the Widow Nebula's relay from the Citadel, then another four once it had arrived in the Dessaya System to even get close to the planet that was its destination. One of the most common gripes people had when it came to interstellar trips was how long they took, but in truth it was not space travel as a whole that was time-consuming, just the parts of a journey that did not utilise the relay system.

Tali had spent the first part of the trip familiarising herself with the Starstrider, but despite her earlier curiosity, she had discovered everything there was to learn about the vessel after only a few hours. Additionally, while Jennifer and Matthew had both been happy to indulge her questions about the ship, after a while she hadn't been able to shake the feeling that she was distracting them from their duties. So she had left them to it in the cockpit and settled into one of the seats present in the ship's cargo bay, which also doubled as a passenger compartment, barely able to contain her excitement as they slowly drew closer to Mallas-4.

Eventually, she had decided to try and get some sleep so she wouldn't be too exhausted when they arrived. Although the quarian wasn't sure when exactly she had managed to doze off, it could only have been at most three or four hours ago, judging by how tired she still felt.

Unwilling to wait until she was fully awake she was so excited, Tali rose unsteadily to her feet, before staggering over to a door build into the wall opposite her. Pressing her hand to the green haptic interface next to it, she was rewarded with a quiet chime in response. A second later, the door opened with a near-silent hum, splitting into three sections that vanished into the top left corner, top right corner, and bottom edge of the frame respectively.

The sight of the cockpit greeted her. Entering the small room eagerly but taking care not to accidentally knock into any of the sensitive controls around her as she did so, Tali then returned Jennifer's smile as the human rotated her chair to face her.

"That bad, huh?"

Her smile turned into a frown. "I'm sorry?" Tali asked, utterly at a loss as to what the other woman was referring to.

"You didn't sleep well," Jennifer stated. "It's always the same for me the night before starting a new job. No matter how hard I try, I can never get a good night's sleep. Or even a bad night's one, for that matter."

As if on cue, Tali suddenly found herself struggling to suppress a yawn. "Is it that obvious?"

"Absolutely. The way you're hunched over like that? Dead giveaway."

Only now realising that she was indeed stooping, Tali straightened up, before rolling her shoulders. Wincing as they protested, she turned her attention back to Jennifer as the human pointed at something directly ahead of them.

"First impressions?"

Looking out of the front of the cockpit, Tali found herself staring at what was, by any measure, a rather unremarkable looking planet. Its mottled surface consisted of brown and grey patches the size of countries, the monotony of that colour palette only broken by the occasional sea, which each bore more of a resemblance to rivers than the seas most inhabitable planets possessed with how long and thin they were. From as far away as the Starstrider still was, the water of each appeared such a dark shade of blue as to be almost black.

For a moment, Tali struggled to think of a reply. It was not that Mallas-4 looked like a bad place to live and work, but rather that it looked so fundamentally uninteresting. Although she was unsure what exactly she had been expecting, the quarian still found herself surprisingly disappointed by the sight before her. The planet just looked… dull. She truly could not think of a more apt word to describe it than that.

"Pay up."

The demand pulled her out of her thoughts. Turning to face Jennifer again, Tali watched as the other woman held out a credit chit expectantly to the man next to her. With obvious reluctance, Matthew drew his own from the breast pocket of his jumpsuit, before initiating a transfer. Judging by his irritated expression, coupled with his sister's smug one, the amount had not been inconsiderable.

"Sorry," Jennifer began as she noticed Tali watching, shrugging once. "Every time we fly someone to Mallas-4, we make a wager on how they'll react to seeing it for the first time. I," the human jerked a thumb at herself, "guessed you wouldn't be all that impressed but that you would also be too polite to say as much, whereas he," she jerked the same thumb at her brother, "thought you wouldn't be either, but that you would have no problem saying so."

"Ah."

In truth, Tali wasn't sure how exactly she felt about being the subject of a bet. Gambling was something that, while not strictly speaking banned back at the Fleet, was still heavily discouraged and practically non-existent. They had precious little to potentially gamble with in the first place, and what they did have that was of any value, such as parts and materials, were to be used when and where they were most needed, not squandered for the sake of what was, at the end of the day, just a form of entertainment.

At the same time, though, she found it strangely flattering that the two humans felt comfortable enough around her to not only have made the bet, but also discuss it in her presence now that it had reached its conclusion. During their journey together, Tali had never once noticed any sign that they were uncomfortable with the fact she was a quarian. There had been no suspicious glances at her while her back was turned as far as she could tell, and no whispered conversations that had abruptly ended when she had approached. If not for external appearances, she could have been fooled into thinking her two companions were fellow quarians, considering how welcome they had made her feel.

"Anyway," Jennifer continued, pulling Tali out of her thoughts for a second time, "we'll be touching down in Odin's Eye in less than half an hour. Once we have, you'll want to head over to the administration centre and ask where you can find Ralorn Virol. He's your line manager, so he'll make sure you get settled in okay. It's still just over three hours until the work day begins for most employees, but I hear he has a reputation for starting well before everyone else. Not really that surprising, given salarians only need one hour of sleep a night."

"Okay," Tali nodded, the excitement she had felt before laying eyes on Mallas-4 now returning with a vengeance. Glancing back at the planet in question, she saw it had noticeably increased in size over just the last few minutes. Her previous disappointment suddenly seemed foolish. Even if it was not the most interesting world to look at, it was still a completely new one for her to explore, and also represented a new chapter of her life. Who could say for sure what awaited her down on its surface?

As Mallas-4 continued to loom larger and larger, Tali began to wonder what might lie in her immediate future. A sudden crackle of static, however, jarred her from her thoughts after only a few seconds of contemplation, as a female voice suddenly filled the cockpit, its tone professional but still friendly.

"This is Odin's Eye ground control. Starstrider, please transmit your landing authorisation code."

Tali watched as Jennifer's hands danced over the controls in front of her. "Ground control, we're sending our authorisation code to you now," the human replied evenly. A smirk then pulled at her lips. "I'll be honest, I expected a warmer welcome, Pallenia. Considering what we got up to last time I was here."

Out of the corner of her eye, Tali saw Matthew bury his face in his hands, a quiet groan emanating from him. Frowning at the human's reaction, it took her a moment to work out just what his sister must have meant to elicit such a response. The second she understood the implication, the quarian felt her cheeks flush, and she found herself glancing away in embarrassment.

The woman on the other end of the call—an asari, Tali assumed, judging by her name—managed to keep her voice level, though there was a note of irritation to her reply that she could not quite hide. "Starstrider, this channel is strictly for communication regarding departures from and arrivals to Odin's Eye. Please refrain from unprofessional conduct while using it." There was a moment's silence before she continued. "Your code has been approved. How long will you be remaining at the colony for?"

Jennifer was still smirking. "Probably only long enough to get some sleep and refuel. "

"So less than half a standard day?"

"If you really want to get rid of me that quickly, then yes."

"Please proceed to landing site three." The irritation was so pronounced now that Tali found herself glancing away again, even though the speaker was not physically present. "Ensure that your vessel is not left unattended at any point during the duration of your stay. The Starstrider is Weyland-Yutani property, but its condition is the responsibility of its assigned crew."

The call cut out a second later, leaving the three occupants of the cockpit accompanied by an awkward silence. It was only broken after almost ten seconds had passed as Jennifer rolled her shoulders before letting out a quiet laugh of satisfaction, causing Tali to turn her attention back to the human as she spoke.

"I think she missed me."

Beep.

Just for a moment, he thought he might have imagined it.

Beep.

No, he definitely hadn't.

Beep.

With a groan, Alex rolled over onto his side, as if by doing so he could escape the sound. Not that he was likely to have much chance of success, given it was issuing from the device on his wrist.

Beep.

"Fine," he muttered, forcing his eyes to slowly open. Upon being greeted by the dark interior of his room, his willpower almost faltered. It would be so easy to just set his omni-tool's various functions to mute and go back to sleep. Sadly, however, he knew that if he did so he would pay the price for it later. Although his internal body clock was telling him he still had plenty of time left until his shift started, there was only one person who could be trying to contact him this early in the day. And as much as he might not be able to stand them, they were not exactly the kind of individual he could tell to get lost.

Sitting up in bed as his omni-tool continued to ring, Alex yawned loudly before finally activating it and accepting the call. Wincing as the resulting brilliant orange light hurt his unprepared eyes, his suspicions were confirmed as the person on the other end began to speak in short, clipped sentences.

"It's Ralorn. We have a new arrival starting today. Report to my office immediately."

Before Alex could even think about opening his mouth to reply, the call was cut off. As a result, so too was the illumination provided by his omni-tool. As he sat there, seething in the dark, he knew he shouldn't have been surprised by his line manager's behaviour. Salarians had a tendency in his experience to underestimate just how much sleep members of other species needed in order to function at the most basic of levels in the workplace, let alone at maximum productivity. Even so, being called in this early before his shift was enough to make him want to punch Ralorn square in the face. For a moment, he allowed himself to fantasise about doing just that, before reluctantly quashing the notion. As fun as it seemed like it might be, if there was a more guaranteed way to get himself fired, he could not think of it.

Letting out another groan, Alex reluctantly extricated himself from his blanket and got to his feet. Instantly, he regretted doing so as all of the blood rushed from his head and his already considerable fatigue seemed to double. It was hardly surprising that he was so exhausted, though. In the end, the weather had taken even longer to calm than the grimmest side of Krallig's estimate. He and Nalarn had therefore ended up spending a little over eight hours down in the ventilation tunnels before the turian had been able to give them the all clear. With how long their shifts were, that meant he had been left with less than six hours to grab something to eat and get some sleep. Instead of the just over five hours of rest he had hoped for, he was now going to have to make do with considerably less than that… and he was already feeling the effects of it.

Cold now that he was no longer in bed, and dressed only in a pair of light and dark blue chequered pyjama trousers, Alex began to hunt for his work clothes. After a minute of stumbling around in the dark fruitlessly, it occurred to him it might be a good idea to turn on the room's only light. Naturally, that realisation was followed by a string of mumbled swearwords, plenty of which were directed at himself, though far more were aimed at Ralorn.

With the light on, Alex finally spotted his overalls hanging over the back of the room's sole chair, which currently stood opposite the bed. Snagging the clothing from the flimsy plastic object, he then hurriedly grabbed a pair of underwear and socks from the small dresser to the left of it. Changing quickly, he then lurched towards his door, only to realise he had forgotten his boots. Locating them under the bed after a few seconds, he yanked them on before heading back to the door. Still half-asleep, he opened it, before staggering into the hallway beyond and locking it behind him via a code from his omni-tool.

Yawning loudly into the crease of his elbow, Alex walked to the end of the hallway before descending the narrow staircase at the end of it. Reaching the door that stood at the foot of the stairs, he pressed his hand to the green haptic interface in its centre. It blinked once at his touch, and the door then split in half vertically, the two sides retracting into the walls on either side. Access to the outside world now granted, Alex stepped through the doorframe and into the early morning sunlight, a quiet whoosh issuing from behind him a couple of seconds later as the door automatically closed itself.

Despite the rush he was in, he took a moment to enjoy the crisp air and observe his surroundings. As ever, the prefabs that surrounded him, including the one he had just exited, were boxy and cheap-looking in appearance. As a result, he had always found that they contrasted sharply with the obviously custom designed and individually much more expensive to manufacture buildings that formed the central compound.

From where he currently stood, though, Alex could not actually see any of the compound buildings, save for the administration centre, due to it being the tallest structure in the colony. But even with just that as a point of comparison, the disparity with the prefabs was still readily apparent.

After a couple of minutes, Alex decided not to delay any longer. Squaring his shoulders, he set off, already considering the best way to give Ralorn a piece of his mind without saying anything the salarian could use against him in a performance report.

"We're touching down in three, two, one."

There was a dull thud as the Starstrider's landing gear made contact with the ground. Despite the ship's inertial dampeners, Tali still found herself extending one arm against the nearest wall for balance as the metal flooring beneath her feet shifted back and forth for a moment, before finally stilling as the engines shut off. Holding that position for a few seconds in case the landing gear was not firmly planted and the ship moved unexpectedly, she then pushed herself away from the wall, before beginning to bounce on her toes in anticipation.

The sound of the cockpit door opening drew her gaze in that direction as Jennifer and Matthew entered the cargo bay. The former shot Tali a smile before speaking.

"Matthew and I need to check whether the ship needs any maintenance before writing a journey report for the higher-ups. Do you think you can find the administration centre on your own?"

Despite how silly she knew it was, Tali still felt a sudden stab of apprehension at the idea of navigating her way through Odin's Eye without help. Mentally chiding herself, she tried to remember exactly what Malcom had said during her interview.

"I think so," she replied after a moment. "It's the tallest building in the central compound, right?

Jennifer nodded happily. "That's the one. Once you get there, just ask where you can find Ralorn." She waited for Tali to nod in understanding before continuing, her smile widening. "It's been a pleasure having you aboard, Tali. Best of luck with the job."

Tali smiled back, hoping the expression would be adequately conveyed by her tone of voice. "Thanks," she replied. "It's been amazing meeting you both."

"Likewise, Tali," Matthew smiled, the other human entering the conversation. "We'll probably be gone by the time you finish your shift, but let us know how you're getting on when we're next back. Should only be in a couple of weeks' time at the most."

"I will."

Jennifer activated her omni-tool, and there was a quiet grinding of metal on metal as the loading ramp slowly lowered, allowing the morning light of Mallas-4 to enter the cargo bay. "See you soon, Tali!" she said, Matthew nodding his head in agreement.

"See you later!" Tali replied, before walking over to the exit. Pausing before it, she quickly checked her weapons were still securely held in place and that nothing had fallen out of her suit's many pockets. That done, she turned to give the two humans a small wave, which they returned, before stepping out of the ship and onto the ramp itself. From her vantage point several metres above the ground, she then took a moment to examine her surroundings.

The landing zone within which the Starstrider sat was little more than a rectangular area marked out in white paint. The ground both within and outside it for as far as the eye could see consisted of flat, pale brown rock. Directly ahead of her just under one-hundred metres away stood the colony proper; two dozen or so residential prefabs, all of which were coloured a dull, utilitarian grey save for the numbers printed on them in black ink. From this distance, Tali could not see any of the buildings that comprised the central compound, owing to the prefabs obstructing her view, save for the one that was her goal. The top few floors of the administration centre protruded above the rest of the colony, making it impossible to miss, even from here.

Taking a deep breath, Tali walked down to the bottom of the ramp. She hesitated for the briefest of moments before stepping off it, her left boot making contact with the hard rock of Mallas-4's surface with a muffled thud.

It now began to sink in that she was really here. Feeling overwhelmed as she started to make her way through the colony, Tali tried to focus on reaching the administration centre, but found she could not stop herself from examining almost everything she passed, regardless of how familiar she already was with it. The security mechs ambling along their preprogramed routes, despite being of a standard model found throughout the galaxy, were suddenly as compelling as if she had never seen them before. The variously sized prefabs, despite their dullness of design and colouration, seemed to shine like jewels in the morning light. And finally there were the colonists themselves, each of whom regardless of species, age, or gender she waved to as she drew near. Some returned the gesture, some stared at her in confusion, and some turned their backs on her or muttered insults. Yet for once, even the attitude of those affronted by her presence could not dampen Tali's mood as she continued on her way.

After ten minutes of slowly walking through the outskirts of the colony, she finally reached the central compound. The wall that surrounded it was far more imposing than she had expected, standing just over twice her height and being made of reinforced concrete. Given she could not look down upon it, Tali could not be sure how thick the barrier was. But if she had been forced to guess, she would have said it looked to be at least several feet in depth, meaning nothing short of an armoured military vehicle or heavy ordnance could have broken through it. Despite how foreboding it made the compound look, the quarian could not help but be impressed. By the standards of such a small colony it was an impressive construct, given its perimeter had to be almost a kilometre in length.

Unsure how to proceed given Malcom had not told her anything about the wall during her interview, she glanced around for a moment, before spotting a gap a few dozen yards to her right. A black armoured turian and human stood on the left and right sides of the gap respectively, and both turned their gazes on her as she approached, though thankfully they also kept the assault rifles they possessed holstered on their backs.

"Name?" the human asked as she stopped in front of them, his voice distorted by the static of his helmet's speakers.

Despite how intimidating the yellow visor fixed upon her was, Tali forced herself to remain calm. "Tali'Zorah nar Rayya," she replied, keeping her voice as even as she could.

The guard activated his omni-tool before scrolling through what Tali guessed was a list of names. He then glanced between her and the device on his wrist several times, presumably comparing her with a description or image. After a moment, he nodded in satisfaction. "You may proceed into the compound."

Tali nodded her thanks, still feeling a little uneasy as she began to walk through the gap in the wall. As she did so, she noticed for the first time the slit built into its right side. Within it, she glimpsed the polished edge of a metal sheet several inches thick. No, she realised after a moment. Not a metal sheet, but a metal door. Instantly, the engineer in her began to wonder just how it was operated, given it had to weigh several hundred kilograms at the very least. Obviously, there had to be power lines built into the wall that allowed for the door to be opened and closed at the press of a button, but where that button might be she had no idea.

Tali did not give the matter any further thought as she emerged on the other side of the wall and was greeted by an unobstructed view of the compound for the first time. There were only a handful of people present in the vicinity of the four buildings, unsurprising given most of the colony's inhabitants were probably still asleep. Of those she could see, however, the quarian was struck by the variety on display, which was even greater than what she had seen while making her way through the rest of the colony. Although humans were the most numerous species present, she could also see several turians, a couple of asari, a salarian, and even a volus.

Turning her attention away from the people and to the buildings themselves, Tali found that they looked just as she had expected from her interview. Suddenly realising she had spent more time standing around and taking in her surroundings than she had intended, she fixed her gaze on the administration centre and began to make her way towards it. It loomed over her as she approached, a great metal monolith that shone wherever the sunlight struck it. The quarian did not have time to admire the sight for long, however, before she found herself entering the building through a pair of automatic glass doors that slid open with a hiss.

Tali now found herself standing in a reception area that was far less impressive than the one in the Weyland-Yutani office on the Citadel. The grey metal floor, walls, and ceiling were almost completely unadorned by decoration, save for a large image of the company's logo stamped on the ground directly in front of her. Beyond that, just in front of the far wall, was a reception desk made from the same kind of metal as the room itself, behind which sat a middle-aged human man with pale skin. He was currently in the process of typing something into a terminal in front of him and did not glance up at her, even though he had beyond any doubt heard her enter the building.

Walking over the Weyland-Yutani logo on the floor as she did so, Tali made her way to the reception desk. "Excuse me," she began. "I'm looking for Ralorn Virol. Could you please tell me where—"

"He's in his office. Third floor, Room C9," the human interrupted. Finally looking up at her, he then indicated a lift on the right side of the room that Tali had not previously noticed. "Is there anything else?" he asked, his tone making it clear he hoped there was not.

"No," Tali replied, shaking her head once. "Thank you for…" the man's head dropped back to his work, "…your help," she finished awkwardly.

Pushing down her irritation at the human's rudeness as best she could, Tali walked over to the lift and pressed the call button on the blue interface next to it. It arrived after only ten seconds of waiting, its doors sliding open almost silently. She then entered it before hitting the button for the third floor. Wincing at the music that began to play, which had an upbeat and laidback tempo to it that seemed completely out of place in a corporate building, the quarian waited patiently as the doors closed and the lift slowly began to ascend.

Despite its sedate pace, the lift only took half a minute to make the journey. Stepping out of its confines as the doors opened, Tali found herself standing in the middle of a long corridor. The wall opposite her was populated by metal doors which presumably each led into a different office, the one directly in front of her being labelled "C5" in dark green, almost black text. Glancing to the right, her gaze made its way along rooms C6, C7, and C8, before finally reaching Room C9. Curiously, none of the doors had the owner's name on them, something that struck her as odd.

Pushing the observation from her mind, Tali walked over to Room C9, only to then find herself pausing before the door, suddenly overcome by a bout of nervousness. Forcing it down as best she could, the quarian raised a hand before knocking twice, wincing at how loud each impact was as it echoed down the corridor in both directions.

The door opened seemingly of its own accord, and Tali hesitated again before entering. Finding herself in a completely austere office, she blinked in surprise. There were no personal touches at all, not even a picture of the owner's family or a framed diploma on the wall. Aside from the desk to her right, which was identical to the one in the reception downstairs, and the single chair behind it, the room was completely bare.

Completely bare, that is, if one didn't count its other two occupants.

The first stood opposite the desk with his arms folded. He was human and relatively young by Tali's estimation, around her own age give or take a couple of years. He also looked exhausted. There were dark shadows under his eyes, which were also bloodshot. His brown hair was short but unkempt, as though he had made no effort to make it look presentable, and the faded orange overalls he wore were similarly ruffled. His fair skin was flushed with irritation, matching the expression he wore as he turned to glare at Tali as she approached.

The second sat on the desk's other side, a datapad before him. The salarian, presumably Ralorn, wore a black suit with the Weyland-Yutani logo emblazoned on its shoulders, which made him look more like a military officer than anything else. His skin was a pale, sickly green colour, contrasting sharply with the jet black of his eyes and clothing. Like the human, his gaze was also fixed on Tali, but whereas the former's stare was one of annoyance, his was one of haughty condescension.

"You are late."

It took Tali a moment to realise Ralorn's shrill voice was addressing her. "I'm sorry?" she asked, completely lost.

"You," the salarian repeated, speaking slowly as though addressing a particularly difficult child, "are late. You landed at the colony more than twenty minutes ago. Did it really take you that long to find my office?"

"I…" Tali began, before trailing off. "I don't… nobody said—"

Ralorn cut her off by raising a hand. "Yes, yes. I'm sure you have all manner of excuses, but frankly I'm not interested in them. Now that you are finally here," Tali found herself gritting her teeth at the way he stressed the word, "we can resolve matters." He turned to address the human, who had so far remained silent. "Alex, this is the new starter. I don't have time to babysit her. Show her to her room and answer any questions she has. Then take her with you when your shift starts in a couple of hours." The salarian then picked up his datapad and began to read through whatever was written on it, making it clear the conversation was over.

"Anything else?" the human, Alex, asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Ralorn looked up mockingly. "Not at the current time," he replied, "though I will be sure to call you again if something else does come up." He then gestured to the door before looking back down at his datapad.

Alex's face darkened. His fists clenched, and for a moment Tali thought he was about to lunge for the salarian. After a few seconds, though, he seemed to regain some measure of control over himself, his expression relaxing just slightly before he turned on his heel and strode past where she stood. As she watched, he walked through the still-open door and out into the corridor beyond, before turning left, vanishing from sight a second later.

"You're still here."

Tali jumped. Turning her attention back to Ralorn, she found the salarian staring at her with an irritated expression.

"Perhaps I was not clear," he continued. "That was me sending the two of you on your way. Go."

Not trusting herself to reply with anything other than a stiff nod as her blood boiled, Tali turned away from Ralorn and hurried towards the door. Stepping out into the corridor, she saw Alex was already halfway to the lift, so she broke into a jog, attempting to catch up to the human.

As she ran, she could not help but wonder for the first time if perhaps coming to Odin's Eye had been a mistake.