Chapter 8

I stood across from the same Turian who showed me to my room that first night, I didn't expect he would teach me when I was given the name 'Vassen'. He seems to be sort of like Aria's second in command as best as I can tell, spending most of his time with Aria in her booth. Shouldn't he be too busy for this? Surely Aria has … other … biotics. Wait, how rare are they? I never got a concrete figure or percentage, but now that I think about it I remember reading almost all biotics are employed by the militaries of the various races. Well, except for the Krogans, they didn't really have an overarching government. And all biotics are artificial except for Asari, so that would mean even less of them. If biotics aren't common and most of them work in the military, Aria may only have a few working under her. At the very least, few that are free as he is. I always see him around Aria, so he isn't sent away on missions or anything.

Is Aria doing more work than normal, because of me? It's a … possibility. I only just realised it, but she's doing a lot for me. We live on a largely lawless 'world', and she's given me shelter, easy access to food and water, and the protection of her name. Why would she …?

"Fury." Vassen barked at me, finally having arrived, breaking my train of thought. Aria had told me to wait outside the club for him, he would be leading me towards where we were going to practice, Inside the club wasn't exactly the best place for it. I had to blink a few times, to focus my eyes, before turning towards the Turian. I had to wake up far too early after a night shift. Once he saw he had my attention, he nodded then moved past me, leading me through the alleys of Omega.

The station was cluttered with all kinds of streets, filled with near anything you could imagine. Who knows how much of it is legal. The streets near the club were crowded, I had to follow closely behind Vassen in some of the alleys he turned down to make sure I wouldn't run into anyone. They all got out of the way for him, can't say the same for me.

It was practically a maze, filled with turns this way and that until we reached our destination. I can see why I wasn't given a map and told to find the place myself, even ignoring all the criminals on the way I would have gotten lost long before I arrived.

As we drew closer, there was less and less people around, the roads somehow became even dirtier and the signs of disrepair were more and more obvious. Having arrived, I found myself outside of a truly massive warehouse, littered with broken windows and grime, but the structure was still sturdy. Extremely sturdy, as far as I could tell. The walls looked metallic and thick, the doors looked as robust as I'd ever seen with the one new addition to the building being the high-tech lock on the front door. Vassen waved his Omni-tool over it without explaining, before grunting as he opened the heavy looking door. It didn't open automatically. Just what was this place originally meant for.

Vassen slammed the door close behind me, and I could hear the heavy clunks of several deadbolts locking the door. This left us in darkness, indistinct shapes appearing in the gloom. Vassen walked past me, his footsteps reverberating before I heard the screech of metal on metal and cursing. Should I … do something? Before I could decide, I heard the click of a button being pressed, and lights bloomed before me, blinding.

Blinking the stars out of my eyes, I looked around, taking in the room. As I though, the walls were a solid metal all the way around, heavily reinforced from this side with struts and bars. The warehouse was massive, the size of … I don't know, something big. It was at least ten times the size of the club, likely more but I couldn't quite see all of it. Closer to me, there was various bits of scrap metal peppered throughout the floor but on the other side was a metaphorical mountain of it. Confused, but unwilling to ask, I turn to Vassen who was standing next to an industrial looking light switch, complete with the oversized buttons.

"This is where we do your training, every few days when I'm free for the foreseeable future. Aria has told me to bring you up to snuff, says you have 'potential'. We'll see about that." He grumbled at me, his arms crossed. Walking past me, I followed him until we reached an open space close to the mountain of junk.

"I need to know what you can do first, so speak." He ordered. I bristled at his tone, but held my tongue. Shouldn't Aria have told him? Surely she did. Is this just for his own amusement, I sneered at him but said nothing.

"I currently can do three things, form barriers around my fists, throw biotic explosions, and release massive shockwaves in one direction."

"Demonstrate your barrier." he spoke, his arms still crossed. I held his gaze for a moment, but acquiesced. Raising both fists, I cloaked them in my aura, constantly pushing a small amount of my aura into it.

"What are you …?" he muttered, stepping closer to observe me. "Are you using a biotic channel?" what? I raised my eyebrow at him. I found out about that expression on the Extranet recently, and I already love it. He sighed at my lack of response.

"Are you flowing your biotic energy into it at a constant rate?" Ah, is that what he meant by Channel? I nodded at him. This started some muttering too soft for me to hear, but he didn't sound happy.

"That's not how a barrier is supposed to work. I've never even seen someone do it before, you really were self-taught. Doing it the way you are comes with two obvious problems. One-" he raised a finger "- it takes far too much concentration to be practical, covering your forearms is already somewhat impressive considering your technique. If that was the only downside your method would still see some use. The second, and main, reason, is its inefficiency." He raised his second finger. Inefficiency? I mean, the draw on my biotics isn't insignificant, but it's not that high. Is this … another one of those things for normal biotics?

"You spend your reserves too fast doing this, and so much of your biotic endurance is wasted being expelled into the atmosphere around you. That's why your hands glow so much, the biotic energy is radiating out of them at a constant rate. How did you even learn it?" he asked, now confused rather than annoyed.

"I watched someone form an entire barrier around themselves and tried to copy it."

"Did they use gestures to do so?" Did they, I think back to when I first saw it. Yes they all did, was that more important than I thought? If so I've been a right idiot. I also remember my hands glowing far brighter than their barriers, but I assumed that was a by-product of the relative strengths of the barriers. I nodded at him.

"As you may have gathered, that's for a reason. Biotics are a mind-based power, they operate with just a thought, but they are also difficult to use. The concentration and focus required is immense, far more than you would normally want to use in a firefight. That's where the gestures come in. They are physical mnemonics, they work like muscle memory for your biotics. While learning techniques, you make specific movements at the same time, and gradually the concentration required lessons as your mind activates your technique subconsciously."

That's just … what? That is such bullshit! That sounds so much easier than what I do, forming the technique every time is something I've always struggled with, why didn't anyone tell me! Of course, can't have me be capable of retaliation can you. How'd that work out for them? I stewed in my thoughts for a moment before returning my attention to Vassen. The information he was giving me was vital to my future survival.

"The actual gesture isn't so important, providing it is distinctive and not too complicated. It also depends on the technique itself, as you may have gathered. Simple attacks, such as a slash or the shockwave you emit are just throwing biotic energy into the motion, they are rather simple in application, albeit effective. These type of techniques only really require a basic movement to target the attack, more than anything else. It's not as easy as it sounds, but mnemonics won't help much for the difficulties involved."

I can see what he meant about effective yet simple, my shockwaves can be deadly if I put enough force into them. It's not really a matter of conscious control at this point, I've spent so long drawing the energy out into bursts of force that it no longer requires much focus or concentration, aside from how much energy I put into them. I always must be careful in that regard, considering the potential damage I could do if careless.

"The other techniques are where the mnemonics become so vital. Barrier, singularity, and some of the more esoteric uses. Where you don't just release a flood of energy in one direction, that's where it becomes tricky. This is how I create a barrier."

Vassen released a biotic aura around him first, and I startled back raising my fists. He waved his arms in front of him in a symmetric, circular matter before slamming his hands into his chest. In an instant, the aura around him condensed into a thin coating that surrounded him, his form now suffused with a subtle glow. That was far more refined than any I'd seen at the facility, it also took him far less time, his arms completing the motion almost as fast as they could.

"That is how I create a barrier, with the assistance of the physical mnemonic. It is important that you have a different mnemonic for each technique, otherwise they would be pointless. It takes a long time to train yourself to perform a technique so quickly with the help of a mnemonic, you don't want to waste that time." He stared deep into my eyes, making sure his point sunk in.

I can see his reasoning, if it's using muscle memory of a sorts, having the same motion for two techniques could only end badly, I do wonder something though.

"Do you always need the gesture?"

Vassen paused for a moment, frowning.

"No." he huffed, his barrier fading around him. "With enough experience, you can speed up the gesture, or even remove bits of it. My mnemonic for barrier used to be longer, but the utility of it was too great for me to not shorten it. I trained for years to reduce it this much. You need a certain length of time for the gesture to be effective, and it's a balancing act between difficulty training the muscle memory and the length of time required to perform the technique. As for what you were suggesting?" he scoffed at me. "It is possible to do so, but barely. I have only seen it done once in person, by an Asari Matriarch." He sounded almost … reverent. "With centuries of practice, the very best biotics of the Asari can activate techniques with the wave of a hand. The amount of time that would be required is just, not possible for non-nigh immortals. I have heard of a few Krogans that could do it as well, but I have seen no proof to back it up."

The Turian shook himself out of his thoughts, turning his sharp eyes back to me.

"Moving on, I will teach you barrier first, as it is one of the basic techniques and one I deem especially important when living on Omega but I need to assess you first. Show me your other two techniques." He waved his hand at the pile a short ways away from us, evidently my target.

Turning towards it, I pause for a moment to think on what he's said. I should be using gestures for my techniques, even though they aren't as complicated as some others. I already have one for my 'blasts', it's just bringing my hand back and throwing it with however much energy it contained there, simple enough. I've done that for long enough that it's been ingrained into me.

I release a small aura around me, condensing it towards my hand as I brought it back before throwing the blast forwards at a particularly large piece of scrap metal. Is that part of a ship? The exotic blue attack flew towards the piece rapidly, a soft humming in the air growing softer as it grew more distance before it struck the target with an explosion of noise. I flinched at the unexpected loudness, the piece of metal I targeted wasn't held in place by anything, so it was knocked over by my attack into the metal pile underneath it. The screech of metal against metal echoed in the warehouse unpleasantly, hurting my ears, and it took a minute to finally subside. I looked back at the Turian beside me.

"Good," Vassen nodded, "now the last one."

Alright, this technique is less practiced. I've used a few methods for it, such as just flinging my arm, but it worked best the last time I did it. The shockwave I used in the club came out stronger than I expected it to, so punching the ground will be the gesture I keep.

Pulling the trigger within me, a larger aura surrounded me as I jogged forward a few steps. Condensing the energy into my arm, I let myself fall and landed using my metal foot as a brace, my left knee hitting the ground, as I punched the ground in front of me, pushing the energy out. The energy launched forward from me in a wave, growing larger over time. It impacted against the pile with deadly force, moving many of the small bits at the front and shifting a few of the larger ones. I Easily stood back up and turned back to face the Turian behind me, currently staring at the still shifting pile. I waited there for a minute until the sound finally faded away, allowing us to talk.

"Alright," Vassen huffed "That was stronger than I expected from you Fury. You are quite powerful for a young Human. How many times do you think you can launch it?"

"Many."

"You should know how many times you can launch an attack of that magnitude, and how much energy it requires so you can keep it as a trump card for emergencies." He scolded me, his voice disapproving. What?

"Trump card?" What's that? I've never come across the term before. Vassen waited for a moment, thinking I was joking before he realised my confusion.

"Your strongest attack, something used if nothing else works." He explained. I nodded at him, understanding what he meant. I also saw the mistake he made.

"That wasn't what I'd call a trump card, that was what I would consider sustainable in a fight, I've used it that way before." Vassen froze here.

"You can create a larger shockwave than that?" he asked, his tone professional and his gaze searching, I nodded.

"Alright Fury, I need to see what you can do. Launch as strong a shockwave as you're comfortable with." He ordered, before walking a short while back, coward. Turning back to face the pile, I looked closer at it. It was decently large, but I was more concerned about the warehouse we were in. this training was meant to remain a secret, I think. The private and hidden location led me to believe that, so I need to make sure the warehouse isn't breeched.

The reason I'm so concerned about this, is that I haven't put my all into one attack in a long time, not since the days when three small blasts left me exhausted all those years ago. I had created many shockwaves of the strength I just launched, maybe a bit weaker, when I escaped. Sure, it was over time so I could recover somewhat, but only somewhat. My current record was the one used against the slavers, and I damaged the ship enough to make it crash to the ground. I was also exhausted at the time. Now that I'm fully recovered, better that I ever was at the facility? It terrified me, excited me as well. The thought of the sheer destruction I could cause was mind-boggling, so I wouldn't be going full force here. I also wanted to keep hiding just how powerful I was, I know I'd been revealing most of my secrets but I needed to keep something just in case, in case I was one day betrayed.

Now, how strong should I go? It needs to be far stronger than the last one, I'd already given that impression. How much would damage the warehouse? Too many unknown variables, I also wasn't used to controlling this much power at once. The most I'm comfortable with risking is a … tenth? It'll do.

"Vassen!" I turned back to face the Turian. "I've never released this much energy before!" he nodded, understanding what I meant.

"That's fine, I need to know. Just make sure it's aimed at the pile!" he shouted back at me, seemingly unconcerned. The subtle glow of the barrier around him disparaged that notion. Still, I had permission so it was his problem now.

Closing my eyes, I looked within myself, feeling for that reservoir within me. I had never controlled so much energy, so I couldn't take any chances. Breathing deeply, I found my trigger, and pulled it. I drew upon energy, far more than I ever had before. It burst out of me in a torrent, cracks echoing through the air from the snapping of the violent energy. Opening my eyes, I grit my teeth, trying to contain the energy. It glowed around me, almost obscuring my vision with how bright it was, but I could still see my target.

I slowly widened me stance, drawing one foot back as I concentrated with all I could, trying to condense the energy around my arm. It felt like I was smashing my head against a brick wall, my head aching with the exertion, but the energy started to condense. I quickly found another problem, there was too much energy for my arm. It was starting to shake, and I couldn't afford that, I needed it to remain steady. I had only condensed some of the energy around me over my arm, there was still far more to come so I grabbed it with my other hand, holding my arm steady as best I could.

The energy continued to condense around it, my limb vibrating more and more. Soon, it became too much. The exotic blue had almost become white, it was so bright. Worse than that, the amount of energy began heating up. My arm burned, my skin incapable of withstanding the heat applied to it. It was only now I noticed the screaming, my screaming. How long had I been doing that? I had only gathered around 3 quarters of the energy into my arm, but I needed to expel it now! I don't know what will happen, but I can't contain it anymore.

Screaming my rage into the world, I brought my arm down in front of me, practically throwing my body forward to resist the inevitable recoil. My fist hit the ground, and the world exploded around me. Energy was released in every direction, but it exploded too close to me. It felt like I was being punched from all directions, but I had to ignore it. I needed to make sure the main attack hit the target. It was bigger than I expected, far bigger. If I missed the pile? A destroyed warehouse would be the least of my problems. I think that may be the best-case scenario at this point.

So, I grit my teeth through the pain, and held my arm down on the ground for the short instant that was necessary. The shockwave howled forward, impacting the scrap pile almost instantaneously. It hit the pile and kept going. I watched in disbelief as many tons of metal were flung in every direction, only slowing down my attack, not stopping it. My stomach sunk and I felt numb, my eyes latched onto the coming disaster. I lost hope, but at the last instant something behind the pile was revealed, the slaver's ship! It was sitting behind the pile. I tried to watch the result, but the shockwave became an explosion and now debris was truly thrown everywhere, stars swam before my eyes as I felt something glance of the side of my head, a burning line left. I was finally thrown back from that, sent tumbling back. So much flying debris hit me, and I rolled over even more, each one leaving another bruise, after a while, I stopped registering anything else.

Later, I don't know how much, I laid on the ground with my body screaming at me. I had to pause for a moment just to process how much I hurt. I felt little aches all over me, my right arm burned and the tell-tale sensation of dripping blood in more than a few spots.

Groaning, I forced my eyes open and pushed myself up, ignoring what my body was telling me. I had to sit there for a minute, blinking my eyes and waiting for my hearing to recover from the current loud buzzing. I sat there waiting, except I saw boots step in front of me and a scaly hand reached for my face, tilting my head up. It was Vassen, and he was shouting something at me, panicking.

"…, …, …, F***, … Fu**, …, ***y, Fury!" the buzzing gradually receded, and I finally heard him. Blinking my eyes once more, I focused on him, raised my less injured arm up to push his hand away.

"I *cough* *Cough* hear you" I gasp out, slowly standing myself up, I've been hurt worse than this. I looked around me, finally able to observe the carnage I had wrought. There was no more pile anymore, the ship had been annihilated and the warehouse was left in ruins, the walls scarred in countless places, a few holes even. Having seen what I'd done, I look back to Vassen who was just staring at me, his eyes wide and his posture rigid.

"I … we, we need to see Aria." He spoke, faltering somewhat. I looked around and grimaced, I can see why. This probably isn't going to go well.

I limped my way towards Aria's alcove, my pace slow. My body ached all over from the various cuts and bruises that littered my skin, I didn't realise just how banged up I'd gotten from the … 'incident'. The adrenaline must have covered it up, but as we made our way towards the club from the destroyed warehouse, I quickly started to feel it. It's been more than a month since I'd felt like this, and I hadn't realised just how much better I felt, compared to when I lived in the facility. I didn't notice too much before because it took a while for me to recover and I was more concerned with my biotics. I certainly feel the difference now. Thankfully, my right arm was numb. It was in a special cast to help it heal better, considering how burned it was.

With how much I struggled to keep up with Vassen, he sent me to the medic first. Ordering me to come see Aria as soon as I can. He headed straight towards her, so I gather she's been informed. I wonder what my punishment will be this time because this if certainly something deserving of it.

I supressed my groan as I finally finished walking up the stairs and found myself before two guards. I could see Aria behind them, staring at me with Vassen standing next to her. She had no emotion on her face, and she kept her posture tight, revealing nothing. Even that wasn't exactly encouraging.

I continued walking, the guards making no move to stop me, and came to a stop across from Aria. She said nothing, just stared at me for a minute, then down at the data pad in her hand which I assume has more details, then back at me.

"We've had an exciting day, haven't we." Her voice was level, her eyes steadily resting on me. I nodded, keeping my eyes on her, tense. I don't know what she'll do, but I need to be ready, just in case. I listened carefully, trying to keep track of the guards behind me surreptitiously and paid attention to Vassen's form out of the corner of my eye. I kept my eyes on Aria, trying to hide how on guard I am.

"I assigned Vassen as your teacher, seeing potential in you. He was to test your biotic ability in the normal training ground. Yet instead, I have an injured employee and a destroyed warehouse. Care to explain that, hmm?" she mused, her eyes still locked onto mine with a razor-sharp focus.

What do I say in response? Vassen gave me permission? I could see Aria's brow furrow at the pause, so I decided to be blunt, I don't think I can make this sound worse.

"Vassen wanted me to launch as powerful attack as I could manage, I did. I have never done so before, so I didn't know how strong the shockwave would be." I held Aria's gaze, looking for any indications in her eyes, her face certainly didn't have any tells.

"He told me that. He also told me he was under the assumption you were a human biotic. And humans? Humans can't do this." She turned the data pad around to show me a picture of the aftermath in the warehouse, it looked the same as I remembered, although it looked like there was more holes in the wall before. They must have formed after I left. "Did you not think to mention how much stronger than normal you were?" she asked, annoyance slipping into her voice.

I did, I want to growl. It's not my fault he didn't understand.

"And how was I supposed to know? He was the expert. So, I did as he asked." I couldn't quite hold back the anger in my voice, but I did my best at keeping it off my face.

"You must have had an idea!" Aria growled back at me, losing her temper as well. I closed my eyes for a moment and took a few deep breaths, resisting the urge to bring my fists up. I can't attack my employer, I can't afford to.

"How, how was I supposed to know? I have no memories outside of the time I spent in the facility. For all I know I was born there! And do you think they wanted me to know how strong I was? No. I was to be their weapon, the strongest of all the biotics there. Yes there were others, but their strengths varied so much that I had no baseline. There were no adult biotics there, and I had no access to the Extranet. I barely had any fictional books. I had no idea there even were aliens! So how. How was I supposed to know!"

My chest heaved with my emotions, and I couldn't contain my glare any longer. I didn't even care that I'd shouted at her. Aria stilled at my words, her face once again flat.

"How are you so powerful then? You are an untrained, young, human biotic. And you have just let loose a biotic explosion worthy of a Matriarch." Her eyes bored into me.

"How do you think?" I scoffed, gesturing to some of the old scars on me. Her eyes flickered over my form, suddenly taking me in properly for the first time. She lingered in a few places, particularly my currently hidden right foot, before her eyes returned to mine. Her lips thinned, and her eyes narrowed.

"They experimented on you." She muttered. I nodded. She closed her eyes for a moment, a grimace on her face.

"Do you have any idea how strong you actually are?" I shook my head. I thought I had, but that shockwave. It was … horrifying. I knew roughly how much of my reserves I was putting into it. But I didn't know just how strong that would be. I injured myself heavily just from forming the attack, let alone the debris.

"I haven't truly tested myself that way for years, the scientists involved were more focused on speed and combat effectiveness. They didn't know how strong I'd become, turns out neither did I. I wasn't particularly concerned about it in the past." Aria tiled her head, but I didn't elaborate and she didn't ask.

"You need to learn to control that amount of energy in the future, at the moment it's a liability but it could become a good message."

Do I dare? Aria doesn't seem particularly mad, all things considered. Can I afford to trust her? To trust someone. Just this once. The others nearby don't matter, they are completely subservient to her in a manner I can't understand.

"I held back." I mutter, but somehow they all hear me. Vassen flinches and even Aria stiffens. "I didn't hold back enough." My words echo in the sudden silence.

Aria takes a moment to compose herself, before nodding and standing.

"I need to know what you can do. What you're capable of. Follow me." She walked beside me, brushing close enough that I had to move so we didn't touch.

Aria stepped out of the vehicle, having finally reached her destination. Fury did so a moment later with some hesitation, but she didn't resist. She was so tense, it looked like she ready to run at the slightest provocation. The ride over hadn't been comfortable, to say the least. We both remained silent the entire time, her because she didn't talk much, and me? I was processing.

Fury's potential is … astronomical. She destroyed my warehouse with apparent ease. She held back! How does one girl hold so much power? It's terrifying to think about because she is comparable to some Matriarchs, at least in power. And raw power is nothing to sneeze at, I can certainly tell you. I'm a rather big fan of it myself.

I still don't know what to think, Fury is such a big unknown to me. I took a risk by taking her in, but I had a good feeling. I still have that feeling, accompanied by a new one I'm just going to ignore. She's so quiet. She talks little and softly, she walks silently and she hold's so much anger within her. Fury hates being touched by anyone and seems to dislike the loud music present in the club. She's starting to make some sense though, kept captive and experimented on her entire life. Forced into mortal combat against other children. I'm willing to do a lot, but that? That is something even I'm not willing to sink to. Children don't know any better, they haven't had the chance to learn, and Fury has never been given that chance. I'm going to give it to her. It's not like it's that bad of an investment, by all accounts she is going to be a powerhouse once she's been trained up. There are very few biotic capable combatants in my employ, and none are even close to how powerful Fury is. If my suspicions are correct, she's almost as strong as me! And she is young, she will continue to grow. Yes, a good investment indeed.

Enough of that, it's time to see what she can do. I've taken her to my personal training ground this time, which admittedly is more a place for me to let off some steam then train. Fury is not the only one too powerful for buildings to contain, I would quickly destroy any building I used for this. That's what makes it perfect.

It's an abandoned shipyard from before the Eezo mine nearby dried up. It was far shallower than expected, than all the other still full mines on Omega. It was unfortunate for whoever used this mine, but it works perfectly for me. Once everyone abandoned it, what was left was a barren, open area coated in metal. It was perfect for me, and the scars that littered it were all evidence of my presence in the past.

I turned back to Fury once we reached the centre of the Area. She was watching me intently with her emotionless eyes, giving nothing away. At least her face didn't, the tension in her body was telling. I normally only saw that level of control in the veterans of Omega, seeing it on a child was just wrong. Even now, I had to resist the urge to show my anger, she would only take it as a slight against her.

"I need to see what you can do, and there's nothing for you to destroy here, so you don't have to hold back. I want you to throw about half of your reserves into one, single blast. That is the most that is practical to spend in one blow."

"How? I injured myself creating the shockwave with far less." She gestured with her still casted arm, still communicating non-verbally as possible. Damn, I forgot about that. Already, her shockwaves are one of the least concentrated biotic attacks. Having so much more power than you can control is something I've never seen before. Then again, I've only seen ancient Krogans and Matriarchs with as much power as her, and they had centuries to learn. She was, at best, 16? I'm not sure. She certainly hasn't told me and I'm not great at judging.

Still, this is an issue. I need to know what she can do, so I can prepare. Prepare in case she turns against me, or so I can use her properly. It's only a passing thought now, but she has the potential to become my main enforcer in the future. Or possibly a bodyguard that would be actually useful, unlike the current weaklings. I know of only one technique she could use in this case, or at least a bastardization of it. Should I? Why not. She's shown me great trust considering the gigantic trust issues she certainly has, I can at least give her a little in return.

"There is a variant of the shockwave you can use. Instead of concentrating your energy to one arm are and using that to aim, you charge up an aura around you. For barely a moment, you condense this aura, and let it explode off you in all directions. It is an attack that should only be used as a last resort, and you won't be capable of the proper technique, but it should serve as a good test."

That is a bastardization, to say the least. The subtleties involved in the technique are not to be underestimated. I should know, I created it. I can see why no-one else has figured out how to do so before me, expending so much energy at once is risky, and rather wasteful if you just flood it all out at once rather than the method I use. Effective though.

Fury seemed to understand me well enough, so I walked a distance away before turning back to her, giving her the signal to begin. At the same time, my barrier flared into existence around me, glowing a bright blue that is rather noticeable when trying to sneak around. This barrier isn't meant for that, it's meant to hold up against anything that strikes it. I'm not taking any chances with this test.

I stood there for a moment, watching Fury. She had closed her eyes and was taking deep breaths, I assume in preparation. I can say from experience channelling that much energy at once is a rush, even thinking about it leaves me a little warm.

A moment later, she opened her eyes and grit her teeth, the blue aura forming around her. At first, it was dim, but it grew. It kept growing, getting bigger and bigger. Becoming brighter and brighter as the amount of energy increased. How …? How does she have so much energy. The aura was now crackling around her, the violent energy uncontrolled and nearly unrestrained. I could hear the crack of the igniting air from here.

It felt so much longer, but the entire process only took a few seconds before I saw it visibly contract. Then fury screamed her namesake into the world, punched both fists into the ground, and the world turned blue. A solid wave of force exploded around her in every direction, expanding rapidly from her position to overtake my position.

I braced my feet and leaned into the wave just in time for the impact to hit me, it knocked the air out of me and pushed me back a metre, my feet skidding along the ground. My barrier flickered violently but held. I opened my closed eyes and let out the breath I held, gazing upon the sight before me. Everything within 10 metres of Fury had been flattened or blown away, and the ground was damaged as far as 30 metres away, a ring of destruction centred around her.

That was … that was, more. More than I had expected, more than I thought possible. She has greater reserves than me, if she was capable of that with only a rudimentary guide on how to perform Flare. I need to see if she's alright. That didn't exactly look like a controlled release.

I ran towards the centre of the crater where Fury was located. She was lying on the ground, and I couldn't tell her condition. Reaching the girl who was currently lying face down, I kneeled next to her and rolled her over. I winced at the sight.

She had first-degree burns all over her body, excluding her head oddly enough. Her clothes were in tatters, and both wrists were broken. The cast that was on her right arm having cracked open. I … I did this when I asked her to do it. She followed my orders easily enough, despite her obvious misgivings. Is that because she's used to it? I should have waited. At least until she knew barrier or had more practice with smaller amounts of energy. I should have waited, but I know I wouldn't have. I know myself well enough to admit my need to know is overwhelming, I cant stand having things hidden from me. It's a leftover from a time I'd rather not think about. For now, I need to get Fury to the Medic.

At the same time, I can't remove the grin off my face, she has … so much potential. I'm going to make sure she realises it. It seems I finally have someone I can actually teach.

I woke up the next day, numb all over. Why am I numb, what's happening? Was I captured? Did Aria imprison me? Why? Am I injured? Are they going to cut me up? I did everything I was asked to. Don't punish me, I don't want it to happen again …

A hand on my shoulder interrupted my thoughts. I snapped my eyes open and whipped my head to face the person, my breath oddly heavy. It was Aria, she was sitting next to me in what I now recognise is the med bay. I try to loosen up my body, but I fail. I continue staring at Aria till she takes away her hand, which allows me to finally start calming down.

"What, happened?" I ask her. She grimaced for a moment, her expression oddly open.

"You were injured from the proto flare you released. It was a miscalculation on my part. You are currently in the med bay, any you were numbed to help with the pain. You were burned in many places and it's best you remain anesthetized until they heal. It should only be a day or two. The broken wrists will take a week longer, but you will have no lasting injuries." Aria informed me, keeping her voice soft.

I blinked at her, before letting my head falling back down onto the pillow. Right, the test she put me through. Well, seems like she got what she wanted, and I'm less hurt than I expected. Not concentrating the aura helped more than I thought.

"How'd the test go?" I ask, curious about the result. Aria grinned at my question, picking up a tossed aside data pad.

"You are even stronger than I expected, considering the rudimentary technique you used." She turned the screen to face me, and I found a ring of destruction surrounding where I released the attack. I looked closer to hide my surprise, I did that? That is, what's the term, biblical? In proportion.

"The test was useful for two things." Aria interrupted my thoughts, gaining my attention. "First, it allowed me to see how powerful you are. Second, it revealed that Vassen will be unable to teach you. He is, to be frank, not strong enough." She chuckled. I just continued to stare at her until she continued.

"Once a certain level of strength is acquired, biotic techniques differ somewhat. Some techniques need to be altered, and some are suddenly available to you that are impossible at a lesser strength. This difference between you and Vassen makes him an unsuitable teacher. The issue is magnified by your lack of control, those who have our power are always far older Asari or Krogan."

Did she say our? Something to think about. Aria put down the data pad and clasped her hands together, resting them on her knee.

"With all that in mind, I am offering you my tutelage. No one else can do so, and I will not waste your potential. Are you willing to learn under me?" Aria asked, her voice serious and her eyes firm.

What? Learn under her? Aria is willing to teach me, when she normally spends so much time sitting on her couch. Why would she do that? I'm hesitant to accept her offer, unwilling to trust it, but when I look at her face, I see something. I don't know what, but it makes me hesitate to refuse. I still need a teacher as well.

"Alright." I accepted her offer, and she gave me a toothy grin. There was a gleam in her eyes that I couldn't quite place.