No words could describe how boiling blood burned my veins and do it justice, the utter rage that blotted out all common sense. Salt and blood flooded an age old wound long thought healed. Julian stared down from his perch on the balcony for a time, assessing my frayed temper. With fear, I hope, but with this man, it was anyone's guess. He dragged air through his nose, chest puffing as he prepared to face me. Fists quivered at my side as he turned away, disappearing from sight. It only worsened my mood. He had better be on his way down or by God he would be a bloody splatter on the wall! Nyryntha purred at the thought.

Movement on the ground floor pulled my attention down, refocusing on the incoming threat. An elevator door opened, revealing the blond man as he strode out to meet me. The crowd of his crew parted to grant him passage, keeping their guns on my team. Out of his party suit, a swanky uniform with 5 bars and 3 stars on his shoulders masked the muscle the man packed away. It made my 4 bars and lack of stars insignificant. The black jacket cut just past the hips, plain in design with a base of light grey and blue curling around the collar to plunge to the waist on his back and swell over his chest to loop under the arms. A light grey flanked his sides. Dark blue and white stripe decorated the straight cut trousers. Behind him, movement followed as the three other aliens came to a halt a little ways off. Julian paused before me, eyes flicking over my face while his arms folded over his lower back.

"Delly," he greeted, but soon narrowed his eyes at my snort.

"You are, hands down, the worst fucking brother in history of humanity," I retorted in a hushed voice, refusing to hold back the sourness. Julian heaved a sigh.

"Delly, I had to make sure you were not putting yourself in danger," Julian said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Oh, I'm sure you are. You're just doing it in the worst fucking way possible," I growled, folding my arms across my chest. "And for the record, how the hell do I know it's you and not Palalrian? How do I know this isn't part of some trick you and Alea conjured?" Julian blinked, eyebrows shooting up. My frown deepened. "What?"

"That is… observant of you. I wasn't expecting you to ass the situation with a critical eye," he said. My frown contorted into a snarl.

"I'm not a fucking idiot, Julian, despite what you might think! All of this time and you think I've not learned? I've killed a Saboteur, I've killed tens of people, maybe even a few hundred if you include all the geth," I rumbled, glowering up towards the man. "This is not the Endellion Shaik you knew," I added with more care. Julian drew his eyebrows in a touch.

"You've killed a Saboteur? Who?" Julian asked, arms unfurling themselves from behind his back, every muscle taut.

"Saria T'Spia," I answered. Julian sighed, tension easing to sag his shoulders.

"Reaper name, Delly, Reaper name. I don't know the individual Shell names," he clarified. Now why am I not surprised?

"Xanthe," I said. Julian's eyebrows drew down, weight shuffling as he turned the information around.

"Delly, Xanthe was in a powerful position. She was within the inner circle of C-Sec. How on earth did you kill her without the entirety of C-Sec hunting you down like a boar?" he asked. A hot flush rippled free, turning my cheeks a rosy hue.

"I uh… didn't," I said. Julian tilted his head down, a subtle movement to draw more information from me. The movement caused a spike in my rage. "Look, I didn't spend 2 months running from the Council, Spectres and mercs just to have you judge me!" My voice thundered. Julian held up a hand.

"Wait, the Council, Spectres? You had Spectres chasing you?!" Julian snapped. "What the hell did you do!?"

"Look, Saria would assassinate members of the Council, we had to move, we had no time! She was meeting with the Council when we attacked. When Saria lost her shit and covered herself in Reaper plates and wires and all that crap, on top of the little conversation we had before then. The Council aren't stupid – which is unfortunate for me – and knew something was up and demanded my arrest. We ran away… well, the team carried me out, everyone else fled-" I said, trailing off at the end.

"Wait, stop, stop, stop," Julian barked, grabbing my shoulders. He dropped his head down to my level, forcing me to stare him in the eye. "What do you mean you had to be carried out?"

"Oh for God sake, my first solo fight with a powerful biotic and you weren't expecting me to get hurt? How else did I get this?" I snapped, pointing to the scar next to my eyebrow, shoving him off me. "She cracked my face into a wall! Twice! She broke every rib in my body just about! I couldn't even see straight by the time I ripped her spine out! Yes, I was bloody carried out!" I snapped. My anger paused, distracted by the sight of a pale faced Julian. "Oh for fuck sake, I'm fine! Jesus, even when the first Starquake crashed I survived that-!" Two finger tips pressed to my lips cut any further words short. Julian diverted his gaze to the ground, struggling to compose himself. My stomach twisted.

"I'll… ask about all of this once you have your medical," he wheezed. A slow smirk grew under his fingers. This bothered him. He straightened, fidgeting with the cuff of his jacket. "Well, at least we have established that you have been… busy," He said, shaking his head. He pulled his shoulders back, recomposing himself. "Alright, please refrain from informing of me of what you have done that will give me a heart attack," My smirk grew.

"Oh? So you don't want to hear that I've been running around geth unarmed with only a shield as my first lesson in combat? Or that I got kidnapped by Saren and was on Nazar- Sovereign! Fuck! Anyway, I then had to fight geth on the Citadel, then C-Sec captured me months later because of murder, was 'rescued' by Xanthe and then got lost on Illium all on my lonesome and came a few seconds to signing an indentured servant form… oh… oh I know what will give you a heart attack!" I said, tone perking as my heart swelled at Julian's gaping expression. "I was inside the not-as-dead-as-I-thought former Enforcer of a cycle millions of years ago named Cassianus! …He says hi,"

It was the last story mustered through the rising giggles. Julian's jaw hit the floor, the man snow white as he floundered for words. A roar of laughter erupted at his failed attempt to respond, a small victory against my back stabbing brother lighting my soul. All the anger that had burned through my system sang in elated joy at his suffering. My lungs struggled to find air as he fought to close his mouth, unable to even make sounds let alone words. Julian closed his mouth.

"I'm wrapping you in a bubble," he said, hardening his tone.

"Aww, but then I won't be able to tell you I bit Alea's nose off," I smirked. "And I work for the Council now-"

"Ok, stop right there, what?!" Julian thundered. "You know what. No, I'll ask this later. Wipe that smirk off your face, young lady! Goddam it, Delly, why do you do this me?!" He leaned on his knees.

"You see? This is why you shouldn't abandon me! I get kidnapped by Collectors and do crazy shit that gets me hurt! Wanna see my scars? I got some awesome ones on my hips and back-!"

"Delly!" Julian snapped. "Ok, I get it! You're angry! I get it!" Julian sighed. "No more, not until I get you under RIT and a full medical examination. I swear, another word like that I will deck you," My eyes sparkled.

"So… no stories about how some rachni wanted to rip my insides out? Or going toe-to-toe with Geth Primes and krogan?" I asked.

My scream pierced the din when he lunged for me, grabbing my arm and tossing me over his shoulder, pinning me to the floor with his shoulder as he secured one of my arms. The move reignited the anger, the joy gone in a heartbeat as a roar of defiance ripped free, struggling under his grip and weight. Christ, he was heavy!

"What the hell have you been eating, 50 macaroni pies a day!?" I thundered, my struggles winning no ground. Julian grunted as he secure my arms behind my back. Damn, what was he made from?! Nothing phased him in the slightest! We used to fight as kids but dammit, this was ridiculous!

Voices rang from my crew, my heart freezing at the sound. Instinct reared hard. My head snapped to face them, to find and neutralise the threat. The omni-blade stood ready should they need me, to break free from this hold. Any thoughts of fighting a foe vanished. Gideon charged towards us, about 2 strides from us when I saw him. Trapped under Julian, my maternal instincts freaked as Gideon went to punch at Julian. Julian grabbed his fist and hurled him over us, tossing him to the ground. Gideon landed hard and bounced several times not far away. Desperate to protect him, every muscle soaked in adrenaline to break free from the hold. Julian grunted at my increased fighting. Then Gideon lifted his head and shook off the landing, glaring towards Julian. Julian spared me a dry look. My vicious snarl didn't scare him. Julian rose from the ground, dragging me up with his arm looped under my arms, pinning my arms between his chest and my back. My legs flailed in the air before me, every muscle twisting for freedom.

"Please tell me that isn't the stray you picked up," Julian grumbled. His words strung the wrong nerve.

"That's your fucking nephew!" I snapped. Julian sighed.

"You must be joking," he said, unimpressed. Julian dropped and swept a leg out a heartbeat later; jolting me to the realisation Gideon hadn't learned his lesson. Gideon yelped as he fell forward, his legs vanishing from under him. Julian grabbed his scruff and hauled him up in one arm. Gideon thrashed in his grip.

"Let me go, you asshole!" Gideon snapped.

"Dammit, Gideon, what did I tell you?!" I thundered. Gideon sulked, grappling with Julian's wrist.

"But he is!" he complained. My head hung. Why did his little skull not remember what I told him?! It was the most important one he ignored as well!

"I told you to stay with Lanster!" I snapped. Gideon opened his mouth, but after a second a dark red flush stained his cheeks. He returned to kicking Julian's arm in vain.

"He was hurting you!" he cried.

"So…"Julian began. My glare earned a quick look. "You felt sorry for a random kid you picked up, adopted him and you can't even control him?" he raised an eyebrow. A growl formed deep in the back of my throat.

"It's more complicated than that," I grumbled. Julian kept the eyebrow raised.

Gideon growled as he stopped kicking. He found a new way to express his anger; by spitting on him instead. Julian's reaction was immediate. His eyes narrowed in a heartbeat, dragging Gideon closer as he reared his head back. Before a single sound could escape my voice, Gideon howled as Julian smashed his forehead into Gideon's nose. He tossed Gideon a short distance in the air as the boy held his bleeding nose, just high enough to grab him by the throat. Gideon gagged with one hand on his nose and the other on Julian's arm. Julian regarded him with disdain while my own struggles increased 10-fold.

"And this is why my sister never wanted children. She was always terrible at controlling and disciplining them," Julian sighed. Julian ignored my attempts to free myself, even to hurt him to force him to break his hold on Gideon. "I will explain the situation to you, boy. You are a little rat my sister picked up somewhere and felt sorry for. Nothing more and everything less. You are no Shaik," Gideon's expression opened, eyes bugging. "A Shaik, at the least, knows how to behave, especially towards family. You are in my house now, boy, and fall under my rules. This is no playground and I have no time to deal with a midget who thinks he's Rambo. This is a warship and we are at war. If you ever, for whatever reason, put my sister in danger because of your stupidity, your immaturity or your blatant disrespect… I will kill you. Anything that threatens my sister won't be alive for much long," Julian threatened. Gideon quivered in his grip. "You want to be on a warship? You want to help your mama fight the big scary Reapers? Here's what you can do. Grow. Up," Julian snarled. Gideon whimpered, the blood leaking onto Julian's hand.

"Get the fuck out of my sight, and I don't want to lay eyes on you until you are ready to apologise for being a disrespectful little prick," Julian drew Gideon close, centimetres from his face. "Do I make myself clear?" Gideon managed a shaken nod. Julian's hand tightened. Gideon's eyes bulged out as panic set in. "You've got a voice! Use it! Do you understand!?"

"Y-Yes," Gideon gagged.

"Yes, what?" Julian demanded.

"Y-Yes, s-sir," he squeaked, pleading for air. Julian hurled Gideon across the room, the boy landing by the feet of the krogan, turian and asari.

"Get him to RIT. And if he does anything, you have my permission to kick his ass," Julian ordered.

"Aye, aye, Admiral," the krogan smirked, trudging forward to pluck Gideon off the ground. His bulging eyes vanished when the elevator doors shut as he thrashed.

"Ok, you have now topped the asshole list! You had no reason to hurt him!" I fumed. Julian snorted.

"I had every reason, Delly. It isn't my fault you are abysmal at raising children," Julian said. He turned to the turian and asari. "Get the rest of Endellion's crew to RIT. I want a full report by tomorrow,"

"Aye, aye, Admiral," the pair saluted before rounding up several dozen people from crowd below. Julian carried me towards the elevator. My head flung my gaze over my shoulder, gawking the crew. They shuffled, ready to break rank as the wave of people descended.

"Keep everyone safe, Raisha!" I cried. The tall krogan snapped her gaze me. "I'll re-join you when I can!" Raisha glowered at the approaching people around her before she saluted. A weight eased off my shoulders as elevator doors slammed shut behind me. My body writhed in his grip until he freed me. My eyes pinned on him, backing away to the far wall until my back hit the wall. Julian sighed, letting the tough exterior drop. His eyebrows curled up.

"Please don't look at me like that, Delly," he asked.

"You've kidnapped me, my crew and kicked my son's arse although he doesn't know who you are and just wanted to protect me. How else am I going to look at you?" I snapped.

"Delly, I took one look at the kid and knew he was a wild one. I don't care if his hearts in the right place, but he doesn't know how to control himself. He needs boundaries," Julian pressed. A snarl lifted my lips.

"He listens to me," I growled.

"Didn't you tell him to stay with someone?" Julian asked, emptying his expression. My teeth caught my tongue to stop the rising curses. "Alright, let's try something different. Who does he listen to without question, without fail?" My eyes narrowed, suspicion rising.

"Mat'al and Raisha, Anthon… one or two of the engineers," I said.

"And what do they do with him?" Julian asked, eyes glancing up towards a floor display above my head. My arms folded over my chest.

"Mat'al shoots him every now and then, although he does that to me too," I grumbled. Julian's eyebrows shot up, eyes twice the size of his head. "Air rounds, hurt like hell but harmless otherwise," I sighed. Julian coughed as the elevator dinged. He walked towards me as the wall behind me vanished. He coaxed me out of the elevator, guiding me down a blinding silver coloured hallway.

"Right, so this Mat'al disciplines him. I like his style," he murmured. "Not so much on you though, you respond better to a softer hand," I laughed, a harsh sound that earned a pause.

"Oh please, shooting me and throwing me against geth unarmed was how he taught me combat for the first time. You can thank him for teaching me to defend myself," I snorted.

"I'll… get a report later," Julian said, rubbing his eyes. "But back to the point at hand. Dell, you need to show him he has boundaries, that he doesn't have free run of the ship, that you will not let him walk all over you. You need to teach him respect. You'd never hit the kid, but there are ways," Julian tapped my shoulder, stopping by a door. A severe frown stained my face before shuffling into the room.

"Coming from the man who has never had kids before," I rumbled. Julian sighed.

Stuff filled the tiny room, there was no simple way to describe how many things had squeezed themselves in here. A basic bed sat on one side of the room, a desk perpendicular to that on the far wall and cabinets of machines and drugs on the wall by the door. My eyes spun as they found the alien on a chair by the table. The short, stumpy creature wore a white and red suit, tapping away at the computer before him. Another alien species I had little contact with, Volus I think.

"Dr Vennan Har," Julian called. The volus spun his chair around, the red tinted lights for his eyes bright, his bubble like body wobbling.

"Admiral, good evening! Ah, Miss Earth-clan! Long-time no see! " he greeted, gasping every few words. My jaw floundered.

"We've… met?" I asked. The volus tilted his head, turning to Julian.

"As far as I can tell, she has no recollection of anything before Xawin. Her Reaper may have reset her memories," Julian said.

"Ah, I see. A pity. Well, I presume you are here for Miss Earth-clan, Admiral?" Vennan Har offered. Julian offered a small smile.

"You read my mind. Endellion needs a full medical and RIT," Julian answered. The volus bobbed his head.

"Of course, Admiral. Come, Miss Earth-clan, let us take a look at you," The volus hopped off his chair, waddling over. My eyes spun to Julian. Julian shrugged.

"Vennan Har is the most skilled doctor on the ship. You'll be fine," he offered, leaning against a wall. Vennan Har paused for a moment before clearing his throat.

"My apologies, Admiral, but I ask for privacy… unless you wish to see you sister in her underwear?" he said, amused. Julian's face flushed bright red. It tore laughter from me. Julian coughed.

"O-Of course. I-Inform me when she is under RIT," Julian ordered before turning to the door, hiding the red glow.

"Aye, aye, Admiral," Vennan Har chuckled. He waited until the door closed before he turned to look up. "He has not changed at all, has he, Miss Earth-clan?" he shook her head, chuckling away as he guided me to the bed. My hand rubbed an arm to comfort me.

"He is… harder than I remember," I muttered.

"I ask that you go easy on him, Miss Earth-clan. He has spent the last 10 years protecting you from the Saboteurs. When you vanished, we scoured the galaxy for the Saboteurs, believing they had stolen you away," Vennan Har said, preparing syringes for blood samples. Every muscle seized, eyes twitching up to focus on the volus.

"Wait… 10 years?! H-How long was I awake in this time?" I asked, breathing in rasps. Vennan Har glanced over his shoulder – or as best as he could.

"Ah, you were still within the Saboteur Cell for a good 8 years. You were only awake for just over 2 years before you disappeared," Vennan Har answered. A tremor shook me.

"H-How old am I?" I asked.

"Oh, you had your birthday in the last few months, didn't you, Miss Earth-clan? I believe you would be 29 now… yes, you were 25 when you left the Saboteur Cell," Vennan Har shrugged, tottering over. "Please, sit down, Miss Earth-clan!" With shock shaking me, he received no complaints.

Any words that tumbled from my numb tongue were to answer questions the doctor asked. He ran his tests – which involved stripping which was… embarrassing – and yapped away like we were best friends. A cold stone sat in the pit of stomach, my brain shaking itself for any memory of the 2 years – 2. Years – of living here. Nothing turned up, only headaches and confusion. The medical finished by the time I gave up, the volus waddling away to collect something else. My fingers struggled to button up my uniform, my chest cold as more time added to the time already lost to the Reapers. Years, I had lost years because of these Reapers.

"Alright, Miss Earth-clan. I'll begin your RIT, now it will be disorientating for an hour or two, but you should feel much better by the end of it," Vennan Har totted over, a U-shaped silver band with 3 groves running between the circled ends. My eyes narrowed, a quiver shaking me, eyes on the band as he hopped up on his chair, the chair raising him up to my level.

With care, he eased the circular pads at the end of this curved band to my temples, telescoping the back until it sat glued in place. The curved band curled behind my head. The pads pressed down on my temples, just enough to make me wince. He reached to the back, sliding another loop over my head to turn the u-shape into a complete circle. My throat tightened as it covered my eyes, plates folding over to secure me in darkness. The band melded into the shape of my nose like clay, creating a slight vice around my head. It was more than a little uncomfortable. He helped me lie down, telling me to relax. Easier said than done. My heart leapt when something clicked behind my head, like someone jacking in a cable.

It began. A white noise filled my ears, or I thought it did. The problem was my brain couldn't make sense of it, as if the source of the sound wasn't coming from my ears at all. A wave of nausea flushed over me as the hissing worsened, evolving into something more akin to electronic crackle. My stomach heaved, whining as my brain fought to sort through all the conflicting data from my senses, what to make of these strange signals that didn't seem to come from my senses. Something sour lapped onto my tongue, despite my mouth never opened. Faint flashes of light poked my darkened vision. Soon behind that, the faint scent of oil, maybe even blood, curdled my stomach. These weren't external sources, my mind concluded as another wave of nausea threatened to push me over the edge. All of this was inside my head. My muscles jolted, a gasp ripping free when an image flashed before my eyes, a red haze with a vague shape of a Reaper. The crackle shifted into a robotic growl of discontent, of frustration. But any robotic roar died in the sea of white hissing. My head felt like it was swimming, or at least spinning in a hamster ball controlled by Chaos theory. I wasn't even aware what my body orientation was. My sense of touch and direction was long gone.

The next stage kicked in. My skin tingled as if an electrical build up danced along my skin like a conductor. A cold sweat broke out, lungs grabbing what little air it could pull in while my body trembled. My train wreck of a mind pleaded for an end to the mixed signals, an escape. Bile caused my stomach to twist, the nausea coming hard with each passing second. Images flashed before me, some of my time on Earth before the Collectors stole me away, some of my time after Xawin. The most common, however was Reaper related; indoctrinated servants bowing to the will of the Reapers, betraying all those around them, mighty cities reduced to rubble by Reapers as they trampled on everything that moved. The sound in my ears deafened me, roaring like a typhoon of white noise and electronic hisses. All of this caused my stomach to quit, the entire contents spilling free. The sour taste never came, just gagging copper blood. My lungs screamed, even though my voice stalled, pleading for air as my muscles trembled and shivered. The images flashed in a rapid slideshow, the sounds maddening, the taste on my tongue planted fear deep into my soul, my skin flushed and chilled and tingled and burning flesh and machine oil soiled my nose. Nothing stopped the shaking, nothing, even thinking proved impossible. Was I still conscious? No answer for that question, there would never be an answer for that... No speak, no breath, no sight, no movement. Nothing, nothing, whatever held me had me in a tight grip and refused to let me go. What was happening?! Someone make it stop!

Time became non-existent in that cocoon of disorientation and fear. Seconds, minutes, days, years. It didn't matter, everything melded together. When my mind reached its limit, feeling the signs of madness consuming me and corruption soiled the world, the sound faded. My body twitched, sensation returning, real sensation my brain could feel as me. Every muscle ached as they released what tension held them, trembling with no control. Antiseptic burned away the blood and flesh, seeping through to taint my tongue until it clapped to rid it. The images faded, returning me to darkness. My lungs wheezed, trembling. After everything that happened, my brain had had enough, it wanted no more. Had my body not been so traumatised, the exhaustion would have won by now.

"Ah, Admiral, good evening," Vennan Har greeted, tone too chirpy for my battered mind.

"Doctor," Julian's voice said. "How is my sister?" My throat tightened, focuses on the muffled voices.

"I've examined all her tests while the RIT ran. Medically speaking, she as fit as krogan. She passed everything with no problems. There is nothing to fret. However, her RIT …" Vennan Har paused. He sighed. "It was… violent. She moaned after 10 minutes, then mumbling about 20 minutes after that. Just before the hour mark, she took a seizure and her voice became electronic as the Reaper fought the RIT. For the next 30 minutes she was muttering or screaming in dialects scholars could only dream of, some of it normal, others with a strong undertone of robotics. She vomited near the 2 hour mark and has been whimpering for the last 40 minutes while her brain waves stabilised. She was deep into the indoctrination, Admiral. Had they not activated her IPC, I do not think we could have brought her back,"

"She will recover, yes?" Julian asked, strained.

"Do not fret about that, Admiral, she would not have calmed had she been too far gone. I recommend the RIT remain in place for the next month, however. The indoctrinating waves have penetrated deep and it will take time for the brain to reassemble itself," Vennan Har said. Julian moaned, a relieved sound

"Thank God… alright. I'll take her to the living quarters to recover. I doubt she has slept since Zufiaurre," Julian said. "Can I take the blinkers off?"

"They can, but be careful, Admiral. She may still be hypersensitive. I'll forward a full report in the morning," Vennan Har said. My aching muscles jolted when hands touched my face. Something clicked and light peeked in from above and below. The top and bottom of the black-out visor folded back and the band pushed back over my head. The light blinded me, watering my eyes in seconds. Seconds ticked by before a vague shape of a human smeared from the light.

"Come on, Delly. Let's get you to bed," Julian mumbled, easing me off the bed and into his arms. Seconds later, darkness consumed me. Either sleep or unconsciousness found me, I'm not sure which.