The deafening silence slowly gave way to a buzzing ring in Martin's head, irritatingly waking him up from his slumber. He pushed himself slowly upright, aching and popping randomly as he shifted himself up. His body was stiff from the lack of action over the last few weeks spent recovering from his injuries. Spending so much time on the run, then suddenly not, seemed to have confused his body to think that rest was now torture. Nothing felt right; his head felt heavy, and his thoughts seemed to travel through a haze. His muscles ached and screamed for action, for the rush of blood. His joints burned and cracked with every movement. Pushing through this, he stood up, nearly losing his balance.

He stumbled around the apartment for a while before getting dressed and returning to the couch to sit down. His eyes quickly darted around the room before becoming fixed on an odd dent in the wall just over the top of the fireplace. He couldn't break from it. The background hum of the apartment began to fade as his mind seemed to focus on the dent. Within the silence, the ringing sound started returning, overtaking the hum. Unknown to him, his vision began to blur, and dent became unfocused.

His mind was devoid of any actual thoughts. If it weren't for his body's normal automated functions, he probably would have stopped breathing. For just a moment, he felt disconnected from his body; he could no longer feel the pressure of his body acting on the couch. His existence felt more of an afterthought than anything tangible at the moment.

Martin closed his eyes, and the immediate feeling of swaying sunk into his chest; the thumping sound of a helicopter's blades sounded from within. The ringing in his ears gave out to the sound of a whining engine, wind noise, and the cracking sounds of a radio headset. The old days.

He quickly snapped back to reality, pushing the memory out, and opened his eyes. The swaying stopped suddenly, forcing Martin to swallow the nausea that collected in his throat.

Martin's mind shifted back to the present, reminding his shackled mind that there were other matters to attend to. He slowly rose back off the couch and moved towards the door. Picking up his pistols before heading out. He walked down the open hallway, squinting his eyes from the unforgiving sunlight from the massive floor-to-ceiling windows that flanked him. He made his way to the elevator and tiredly pressed the holographic interface.

""""""""""""""""""""""

"So, are you in or out? This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance." The Turian in front of Velpia asked. "Of course! I can't say no to this!" Velpia was visibly excited, practically bouncing in her chair. "Good, report to bay 97c tonight."

Velpia's mood shifted as quickly as it started. "Tonight? Why the rush?"

The Turian shifted in his seat as if uncomfortable with the question. "The Colonel made it clear that this was a time-sensitive matter. All details will be given on arrival. This isn't a problem?"

Velpia quickly reset herself, pushing all other thoughts out of her mind. "No." She paused for a moment. A stiff feeling in her gut rose into her chest. "No, I just have some things to take care of."

"Good."

The Turian quickly finished his drink before leaving his seat and headed out of the bar. Velpia's mind began swirling with conflicting thoughts of every kind. But this is what she wanted. A place among her people again.

She stood up and headed back to the apartment. Her head was draped low and heavy as her mind played every outcome repeatedly. Before, a hand reached out to her shoulder and stopped her.

"Hey, you alright, Vee?"

She turned to see Martin behind her, standing with a slight smirk on his face. "Yeah," she breathly replied. "I'm alright. I mean - what are you doing up so early?"

Martin smiled softly, "Got Bored." He shrugged. She gently turned away and continued walking as Martin followed behind her.

"So…" Martin coyly asked. "What did they want?" Velpia quietly debated whether or not she even wanted to answer. Her head dropped slightly as she walked. Her eyes were fixed down the walkway in front of her.

"I take it, nothing good." Velpia quickly stopped and turned around, forcing Martin to step back. "It doesn't-" she paused, not knowing what she wanted to say.

She took a deep breath while closing her eyes. Opening them again while exhaling. "It's difficult to explain."

"Can't be that hard. I mean, shit, the last time you got a mission, I ended up as a dashboard ornament.-"

Velpia was quick to cut Martin off. "No, it's not like that. I've been offered a position."

Martin's eyebrows lowered as his head moved back, "A position? Like a promotion? Like something that actually pays us, or you, for sticking our necks out for them?"

Velpia let out an exasperated breath. "Yes, a paid job." Martin's expression quickly changed; his face eased, and his eyes widened. "They aren't gonna keep you here on Illium, I'm guessing."

"No, they aren't. Look, you know what I've been working towards!" Martin looked on as she began to speak more with her body than her own words. "This is my chance to move on with my life-"

Martin raised both hands as if politely signaling that she didn't need to continue. She saw his signal and froze, resetting herself. "It's fine." He quietly said. "You don't have to explain shit to me."

Velpia remained still; she had expected an argument, not a calm acceptance. But then again, did he know what she was trying to say?

Martin slowly moved past her and began walking, continuing where they left off. She followed, keeping close to his side.

"You didn't let me finish." She noted. "You don't need to. I already know where this is headed." He calmly responded. "You've made it pretty clear."

"You aren't upset?" Velpia gingerly asked. She was still perplexed about what was going through that Human brain of his. Martin was always hard to read. She didn't have him figured out even after all this time together.

"Why would I be? Why should I be?"

"Great," she thought, "I broke him, and now he's speaking in riddles."

Velpia grabbed his arm and forced him to stop as they entered the corridor to the apartment.

"Do you understand what I am saying?" Martin looked confused as he turned to look up at her.

"Why are you making this difficult?" He responded.

Velpia grabbed his head with her talons, shaking his head ever so slightly. "Stop answering with questions! You're driving me insane!" Martin squinted his eyes from the shaking, forcing back some mild laughter before she let go

"Jesus Christ, Vee, yes, I get it, you're leaving. It's fine."

Velpia's mind froze; thoughts were spinning, but nothing made sense. "You're okay with this? Me leaving for Palaven?"

Martin shrugged. "Who am I to stop you?" He paused momentarily, dropping eye contact; she noticed some sadness in his voice, but it was hidden. "I'm just some wandering Neanderthal; who am I to keep you from what you want?"

She swallowed the lump in her throat; she didn't quite know what he was referring to; maybe it was a translation glitch, but she got the gist of what he was saying. She also didn't expect herself to feel like this either.

Velpia cleared her throat with a slightly audible grunt. "Well, maybe we should talk about this more later then."

The hours slowly ticked away between the silence as Velpia packed away the few belongings she had. She would pause occasionally to peek out of the room to see Martin lying on the couch, looking at the ceiling. He didn't move much. She couldn't understand how he was so unmoved by her revelation. Did he even care? Or was it something else?

The night was soon upon them, and no word was spoken. Her nervousness and doubt kept creeping into her mind like a spider.

Velpia was startled as Martin finally stood up from the couch and went to the balcony. She took a deep breath before joining him, although she kept her distance. He seemed lost in thought, with a neutral expression on his face.

She decided to break her silence as she stood just outside the door. "I'm surprised you're okay with this."

Martin chuckled, keeping his body forward. "I'm surprised you keep pushing this conversation."

"I just don't understand." She shrugged while approaching the balcony's edge. Leaning against it.

"It's not a hard thing to understand; we're both supposed to be adults here." Martin's hands began to grip the railing with an increased intensity.

"Yeah, maybe. I just expected a bit more-"

"Bit more what? Did you expect me to cry? Beg you to stay?" Martin butted in.

"No! Just expected you to talk me out of it!" She pushed off the railing and turned to him. Martin shook his head while a smirk developed.

"You expected an argument and now that I haven't given you one you want one anyways."

"That's not what I mean!" She protested. "I just thought you wouldn't agree completely with my decision!"

Martin turned away to face her. The setting sun made half his face a golden bronze color, and the wind blew through his longer-than-normal hair. Velpia caught herself staring for an awkwardly long time before he broke her attention.

"I just want to know if you'll be alright." Martin's eyes dropped contact with hers as he raised his hand to rub the side of his face.

"You are absolutely difficult, you know that?" Martin responded. "I can't really answer that.

"Why not?" She insisted. "Anything I say shouldn't influence your decision. You have what you've wanted. I can't get in the way of that."

"Why?"

"Why what?" Martin asked, with a confused look overtaking his face.

"Why shouldn't you? You should be worried; you can barely work a door by yourself without looking up directions."

"Hardy har har…" Martin sarcastically responded. "I've worked the door this morning perfectly fine, thank you very much. If I need your help, I'll vid call you on how to work the microwave."

Velpia let out a slight snort. "Yeah, okay. But that's not completely what I meant."

Martin's head dropped slightly, "No, but it's a good thing that you're leaving."

"Oh?" Velpia leaned in slightly as Martin turned around and took to the small chair behind him. Leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees. "You'll probably be safer on Palaven in the long run; won't be out here throwing sky cars around… anymore.

"I don't know about that; I've got a taste for it now." Velpia joked, trying to cut the tension.

She watched as he got quiet. Folding his hands together in front of his face. His eyes danced around slightly as if recalling a memory. "How much longer do you think you'd live if you remain here? There's no future with me. It's a dead end, there's no goal but the next mission; you have a chance at a normal life. That's something I can't keep you from."

His eyes slowly moved up her body to meet hers. They seemed to pierce into her. "That-" She caught something in her throat and had to force it down. "Way to be overly dramatic." She tried to joke away.

"Well, you wanted the truth, so there it be." Martin sighed while sitting up. He shrugged off her silence and stood up from the chair. She quickly looked down at her wrist to check the time. "Shit, I have to start moving."

They made their way out of the apartment and into the elevator. Everything just seemed awkward between them. Velpia couldn't tell if Martin felt the same. His words frightened her a bit. The cold self-evaluation didn't leave her with any good feelings. He was always a little fatalistic but laid it on pretty thick this time. Maybe he was masking his real feelings or wanted her to leave.

"So, what's the plan? Velpia asked.

Martin quietly shrugged. "Stay alive."

The elevator stopped and opened as he walked out. She followed him out the door and took the lead. After some time and a short trip in a sky car, they arrived at the docking bay. A large Turian warship was parked there. An older one by her account. She hadn't seen one up close before.

She stopped before heading into the bay and turned around to Martin. "Last chance to change my mind." She half-jokingly stated.

"It's a little late for that now. Can't have sex in public. Sorry." Martin shrugged as Velpia recoiled hard from the statement. "It's a joke. Relax." Martin insisted.

"Um, yeah." Velpia awkwardly cleared her throat while shuffling the duffle bag to her other hand. "Well, I guess this is goodbye."

"I guess so; maybe you'll come back and get paid to shoot me." Martin joked.

"Ha! That would be a riot. But seriously, take care of yourself and stay away from Cerberus, the Alliance… and the Blue Suns… and you know what, just stay away from anyone with guns."

Martin shook his head with a smile on his face. "Yeah, yeah, don't make this more awkward and go already."

Velpia turned away slowly and began walking towards the bay. Two Turian guards were awaiting her arrival. She felt excited as she headed towards the airlock. She paused for

a moment and looked back. Martin was gone; she turned around and continued heading to the ship. Hoping she could put everything behind her.