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"Excuse me! Do you have a moment?"

Dakka finished putting her armor on without looking up, assuming the woman had called out to someone else in the marketplace outside C-Sec headquarters.

"Excuse me?" The voice was suddenly closer, directly behind Dakka, and sounded like it had been fired in her direction.

She locked her gauntlets in place and turned to find a slim, wide-eyed human with short dark hair, dark pants and shirt with a cleavage window, and a camera hovering above her left shoulder.

"Something I can do for you?"

"Emily Wong, Future Content Corporation. Can you spare a few minutes for an interview?"

"Uh..." A reporter wants to talk to me? Weird. Oh, well. I've got nothing else to do until the Sulaco comes back from Chasca. She shrugged and said, "Sure, why not? I was about to go have lunch. Wanna join me?"

"Sure." Emily grinned and nodded at an aircar parked across from C-Sec. "I know a good place, in fact."

"Works for me." Dakka walked with her to the car and got in. "So, what's on your mind?"

Emily tapped a destination on the navigation screen and moved the floater camera over to the windshield. Once it was in position, one of its lenses locked onto Dakka and another pointed at Emily. She smiled.

"Well, word of a particularly interesting confrontation in C-Sec headquarters reached me and I just had to look into it before any of my rivals beat me to it."

"Ah. And what was so interesting about this confrontation?" Dakka held in a chuckle.

"Well, witnesses described a detachment of Eclipse mercs storming into Citadel Security and holding the officers at gunpoint." Emily grinned again. "Followed moments later by a naked krogan female pushing through the mercs and then negotiating peacefully with their leader. This story has several unique angles."

Dakka shrugged again and smirked. "I suspect the cameras in C-Sec Headquarters had the best angles of all."

Emily snickered. "I bet. I'll have to see if I can get an excerpt from their record of the event. Or at least a few still images." She pointed out the windshield. "The restaurant is right over there."

"Okay." Dakka leaned over for a glance at the skyscrapers jutting up from Zakera Ward's ground floor. The aircar was still rising toward one of them, the rooftop high above the Citadel's atmosphere envelope. "The food's good, eh?"

"It's amazing." Emily smiled. "The head chef is an old vorcha, believe it or not."

"Seriously?" Dakka stared at her. "The only vorcha I've ever met were mercs, pirates, and other criminal thugs."

"I think this guy has done his share of that kind of stuff, but finally got tired of it." Emily shook her head and sighed. "It's really sad, actually; vorcha only live about twenty years, average, and this guy decided at the last minute to try to become a better person. He's spending his final months learning to cook." She smiled as the car descended toward a circular landing pad, but it was tinged with sadness. "Luckily for his customers, he's a fast learner. By now, the meals he prepares are works of art."

"Awesome. I'm eager to try some, then." Dakka rubbed her hands together as the aircar touched down and a dome extended from the groove around the landing pad. It came up on her right and descended to her left, slotting into the groove and locking down.

Several seconds passed and a green light on the car's control panel blinked, indicating the dome was pressurized. Dakka and Emily got out and walked to the rear of the car, where a rectangular section of the floor opened up, revealing a spiral staircase. Emily waved a hand at the stairs.

"After you."

Dakka smiled and took the stairs into a foyer. Emily stepped around her, followed by her hovering camera, stopped at the front desk, and held her ID up to the man behind it.

"Ah, Ms. Wong." The guy smiled, took a pair of tablets from under the counter, and handed them to Emily. "Your usual table is ready and waiting for you."

"Thank you." She smiled and led Dakka across the dining room to a table in the corner. Beside it, a bay window overlooked the length of Zakera Ward. The blue glow from the Serpent Nebula washed faintly over the buildings below, nearly drowned out by holographic signs and lights from thousands of windows.

They sat and selected a few items from the menus on their tablets, then placed the tablets on the table and waited for the food to arrive.

"So," Emily said, "while we're waiting, shall we get started?"

"Sure." Dakka leaned forward, rested her arms on the table, and grinned. "Fire away."

#

"Well, here's the obvious question," Lia said as they sat on the park bench. "Do your parents know what you're doing? I can't imagine they'd approve."

"I kept it hidden for as long as I could, but they found out eventually." Trent shrugged and chuckled. "I've never seen anyone so furious before_or_ since. Until they found out how much money I was making."

"How much, if I may ask?"

"More than both of my parents combined."

"Seriously?"

"Yep. And that's while being pretty selective about the clients I take on, and having only a small handful who come back for more sessions. That certainly made my parents stop and think." He leaned back, stretched his legs out, crossed his ankles, and laced his fingers together behind his head.

"So, they approved once they saw how many credits you were bringing in?"

"No, they still don't, really. But I finally convinced them that this is what I want. The money helps, of course." He grinned. "I'm saving up most of it, investing some of it here and there. If it all works out the way I'm hoping, I'll be able to retire before I'm twenty-five. I know I won't be able to do this forever, and I don't think I'd want to. Sex should never be 'just a job.'"

"I thought that's what this was, though?"

"Depends on the client. Some of them just want someone to talk to or hang out with for a weekend. Some of them, I guess, want the illusion of a relationship for a few days, and we actually go on dates--dinner and movies and dancing and all that. There are some who are lonely and for whatever reason they don't have anyone else to turn to, so they go looking for an escort. And sometimes I'll have a client who just wants to sit and cuddle while watching a sunset."

"Hmm. That _does_sound kind of appealing. As a career, I mean."

"Yeah, it's pretty nice, most of the time. Except when that asari girl I mentioned earlier tries to poach my clients. That little shit." He laughed. "Thing is, the way this worked out would never happen again in a billion years. I just happened to meet a few women who wanted what I offered, and I guess word got around and more gradually started showing up. I've got a few regulars and after a while I was able to stop hanging out on the street corner and start booking appointments instead." He smiled and gazed up into the sky. "There are clients who just want sex, of course, which is always wonderful. But I enjoy the 'just hanging out and talking' ones every bit as much."

"So, you're not being exploited?"

"I don't think so." He shrugged. "I'm getting more than I could ever have hoped for. If I hadn't stumbled onto that scene a couple years ago, I'd still be just a kid with no money and no future, sitting in my room and masturbating feverishly while hoping my parents don't catch me."

Heh. I've been having a lot of bizarre conversations lately, but I think this one's the capper. "When we first met, you said there were things you wouldn't do. 'Within reasonable parameters,' or something like that. So, do you have to turn down a lot of clients because they want something you're not comfortable with?"

"It doesn't happen as much now that I have an established client base, but I still get new ones who make me a little uncomfortable. There was one guy who paid me to fuck his wife while he watched. He promised not to do anything but sit there and watch, so I went along with it, but it left me feeling a little icky afterward. I haven't done that again."

"Huh." Lia shook her head slowly. "I know a lot of people are screwed-up, but I still have the capacity to be surprised when it reaches a whole new level."

"This barely scratches the surface. I try not to judge others, I really do, but with some people, you can't avoid it." Trent took a deep breath and blew it out through his closed mouth, causing his lips to flap. "People who are into things like scat--nope. I wouldn't even know who to refer them to, so I just wish them luck and back away slowly."

Lia burst out laughing. "I'm just now starting to realize you must get some bizarre requests."

"Like I said, not as often now, but back when I was on that street corner, oh hell yeah. I've had some real humdingers. There was one woman who wanted to do me with a strap-on. No, thank you. Every now and then there's a teenage girl who wants me to take her virginity. That's one I'm always really careful about. For some people, that kind of thing isn't a big deal, but for others, it can be emotionally traumatic."

"I can certainly think of worse ways to lose one's virginity. Though mine was more of a physical trauma than emotional--nearly dying from anaphylactic shock and a whole range of other illnesses brought on by that one little act."

"Yeah. That chirality thing is bad enough, but with your immune system issues added to it? That must make life, well, hard. Harder than it'd be for anyone else, I mean."

Lia shrugged. "We're so used to being stuck in these suits, we don't even think about it most of the time. Like, when I had to do it with that guy so he'd take me to Illium, simply feeling the air on my bare skin was all kinds of weird." She sighed. "But that was only the beginning. Just getting his sweat on my skin caused a reaction. I ended up with a rash over most of my body, and after I put my suit back on, every movement chafed for a few days. I managed to get some ointment for it, and it cleared up a day or two before IndentuTech agreed to take me on."

"It's disgusting that someone would put you through that. If it were me, I simply would've given you a lift. It's not like it'd take him that far out of his way. Just jump through a few mass relays and you're there. It would've only added a few hours to his transit time. A day at the most."

"It's possible he didn't know it'd screw me up that badly. But like I said a while ago, he most likely didn't care." Lia looked around the park again and noticed the light had dimmed slightly. The station must be entering its night cycle. She turned back to Trent and laughed softly. "Some passengers we took on recently are a human and a turian. This conversation we're having reminded me of them. They're porn stars, and they're married. I'm suddenly wondering how they deal with the chirality problem."

"Wait--that sounds like Valeria Terakkis and Irving Kostmeyer."

"Yes, it's them."

"You know them?" Trent sat up straight and grinned. "That's awesome! I'm a big fan of theirs."

"Seems like everyone is, though I hadn't heard of them until one of my new crewmates mentioned them in a conversation."

"Yeah, they're pretty popular. I think it's the obvious passion in their vids and photo shoots. Because they love each other and are always having fun, it brings their work to a whole other level. I think a lot of people respond to that. I certainly do, at least." He shrugged. "They've mentioned the chirality issue in a few of their interviews. Each of them has to take medication to prevent severe allergic reactions to each other's bodily fluids." He whistled softly and shook his head. "You know someone's in love when simply kissing could put them in the hospital, yet they do it anyway. Not that turian mouths are built for kissing, but those two sure make it look perfectly natural."

"Hmm. Interesting. I hadn't really thought of it that way, but yeah. That's some serious dedication to each other."

"Yeah. Like I said, If you ever watch any of their vids, you'll see it in their eyes and the way they touch each other. There's a tenderness you don't see with most porn stars. For most of 'em, it's all about the mechanics of it all--just going through the motions and mugging for the camera. It's much better when there's an emotional connection between them."

"Hmm. Yeah, I can see that." Lia nodded.

Trent grinned. "Of course, it's even better when they make a vid that features full sensory stimulation."

"Hah. I imagine it would be."

The lights continued dimming and the sky faded to black. Lia glanced around. The Wards were more visible now, as was the Presidium ring off to the right, to which each Ward connected. But the most spectacular sight was the blue Serpent Nebula.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Trent turned to stare at the nebula. "The glow is actually light from the Citadel reflecting off all the thick gas and dust."

Lia nodded slowly. "The last time I was here, when I was stranded, I'd sometimes leave the shelter in the middle of the night, find a place with a good view of the sky, sit there and watch for a few hours. Took a while to find a place where I wouldn't be discovered and have C-Sec threaten to arrest me if I didn't leave. But I managed to find a couple of places that weren't owned by anyone, or where I was out of sight." She sighed. "That view is the only good memory I have of the Citadel from that time."

"Well, I hope your current visit leaves you with much more pleasant memories."

"I think I might be off to a pretty good start. I've had a lot of bad stuff to deal with in the last few hours, but the good is beginning to balance it out."

"I'm glad to hear that." He smiled and looked back out at the nebula. "I'd heard only the basics about this place, so none of that prepared me for what it was actually like. I've only been here a few days, so this is all pretty new to me. Like, I knew the Citadel is surrounded by a nebula, but I had no idea how beautiful it is. Also had no idea that it works as an additional security measure--the gas and dust are so thick, it's a hazard for ships to navigate. The only access points are the mass relays surrounding the Citadel, with the nebula out past them, cutting the Citadel off from the rest of the galaxy."

"Everyone here would be in serious trouble if all the relays malfunctioned at the same time." Lia almost shuddered. Why do I even think up scenarios like this?

"Yeah, but there are dozens of them, so it's extremely unlikely to happen."

"Good point." I need a distraction, before my brain conjures up something even more frightening. She glanced over her shoulder and found him turned sideways on the bench just as she had, facing the same direction, smiling and gazing up at the soft blue cloud. "So...um...when one of your clients wants to...well...simulate a relationship, what exactly do you do?"

"That depends on the client and how far she wants it to go. Usually, it involves simply being affectionate, unless she asks me to turn it up a notch." He smiled. "Looking for a demonstration?"

"Well, uh, I suppose I could do with some cuddling. After that...well, um, we'll see."

"Okay. Just remember, if I do anything that makes you uncomfortable, let me know and I'll stop." He touched her shoulder and nudged gently. "Lean back a little."

She did as he asked, and found her back resting against his chest. He put his left arm around her waist, slid his right hand under hers and closed his fingers around it, keeping his touch soft.

She stared down at their hands. Oh, that's just weird. Humans have too many fingers. Well, so do asari and batarians. Five on them, three on everyone else. Why is that, I wonder? Why isn't there more variation? And...oh, hell, my brain is running away with itself.

Trent rested his chin on her shoulder and tilted his head ever so slightly, brushing the side of his head against her helmet, as if nuzzling her.

Her breathing slowed and a little more tension drained from her body.

Okay, this is...this is kind of nice, actually. Maybe I can get used to the fingers thing. Valeria and Dakka certainly don't seem to mind it at all.

She found herself relaxing a little more, moment by moment, and eventually realized she'd tilted her head to the side, resting it against Trent's. She smiled and closed her hand gently around his, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. For the first time in what seemed like forever, she found herself at peace.

I feel like I can sit here like this all night. She moved her left hand down slowly and let it rest on his. What the hell. Maybe I will.

#

"You okay?" Chula nudged Quint's shoulder as the team hiked up the narrow trail into the mountains.

He shrugged. "What we saw back at the base was bad enough. But for some reason, I can't stop thinking about that krogan. He probably knew he was dying, but he didn't appear to give it any thought." He sighed. "Maybe I'm just focusing on him to avoid thinking about everything else."

"It's because of the kids," Valeria said. "He was more upset about what happened to the kids than he was about his own death. Thanks to the genophage, only one krogan birth in a thousand survives. The rest are stillborn. It's a raw nerve for almost all of them, but seeing children harmed hits some of them pretty hard." She glanced over her shoulder again. "I'm a little surprised that Dakka's such a big fan of Irv and myself, since my people are the ones who dropped the genophage on her people."

"She sees things a bit differently than most of her people." Quint managed a soft, brief laugh. "She might even be able to understand why it was done; she's certainly disgusted with her own species, after the things she saw before she left Tuchanka."

"To be fair, the genophage happened centuries before she was born. The krogan were warlike back then, but what we did to them only made them worse." Valeria sighed. "I can understand being angry with one's own people, though; there are times when I'm not too thrilled with the Hierarchy. I'm just thankful I wasn't yet alive when the genophage was approved, or I might've gone through life believing it was completely justified."

"The salarians are the ones who cooked up the genophage in the first place, and Dakka doesn't hate them, either." Quint shrugged. "I've seen plenty of krogan and salarians working together, so by this point they probably see it as ancient history."

"For them, it's as recent as the First Contact War is to you and me. The difference is, it's causing their numbers to dwindle to the point where their species is on the path to extinction, and they all know it." Valeria shook her head slowly. "I wish there had been a better way to handle that whole mess."

"We're almost there," Magnum said softly, and everyone fell silent. Chula joined Magnum up front and found a narrow bridge running from this mountain to another. At the far end of the bridge, a turian in Blue Suns armor leaned against the rail and stared off to the left.

"Huh," Valeria muttered. "He's upset. Not angry, more like...resigned. I can tell from his body language--kind of slouching, head hanging slightly, that sort of thing. He doesn't think he'll survive."

"He and the others must've run into those husks, then." Chula crept up to the end of the bridge, stretched out on the ground, and poked her head over the cliff edge. The bridge's underside had a support structure, including a series of pipes that looked just the right size for what she had in mind. "I'll go easy on him."

She took her hat off and held it out. "Someone want to hold onto that for me?"

Weyland walked over to her and accepted the hat.

"Thanks. See you on the other mountain." Chula grabbed one of the pipes, wrapped her legs around it, and pulled herself toward the far end. As she scooted up to the guard's position, a batarian-sounding voice came from his comlink.

"Any more activity out there?"

"Not since the shooting we heard a while ago. Whoever they were, they're probably dead already."

"That's the second time today. If their ships are still intact in the morning, we can use one of them to get off this damned rock."

If the ships are still intact? Oh, that's not good._Chula slid a little closer to the turian's voice. _Damned good thing we've got more shuttles on the Sulaco_._

"I'd prefer to head out immediately," the turian said.

"So would I, but night will fall before we get anywhere near their landing site. I've already lost half my team to those things. I'm not risking anyone else. We'll go in the morning."

"Understood." The guard sighed.

Chula eased her left hand up to the lowest rail, clamped on, and pulled herself up far enough for a quick look around. The guard was facing away from her, gazing in the general direction of the late-afternoon sun.

_Ah. Just within reach._She pulled herself up to the top rail, held on with her left hand, and reached for the guard with her right. She grabbed the back of his collar and yanked.

"Huaak!" He teetered over the edge, his lower back balancing on the rail .

"Drop your guns," Chula hissed. He hesitated, and she gave him a small tug, pulling him a few centimeters closer to a plunge to the ground hundreds of meters below.

He released his assault rifle and it crashed into the distant rocks.

"The rest of 'em, too." Chula had to fight down the urge to laugh as the guard groaned and dropped two pistols and an assortment of knives. "Okay. You promise to play nice?"

"Yes!" He kept his hands in sight, held his breath, and trembled.

She shoved him forward. He staggered to the other rail, clung to it, and sucked in deep, gasping breaths. Chula hopped over the rail and plucked her rifle from her back. She scanned the area, found no one else nearby, and opened a channel to the rest of her team. "It's clear."

#

"I'm surprised you survived." The turian had regained his composure by the time Valeria led the rest of the team across the bridge and everyone marched toward the cave in which the Blue Suns had holed up. "Those things got to our ship before we could. They pretty much tore it apart. We managed to pull an emergency shelter and a few supplies from the wreckage and found this cave near the top of the mountain. The few of us that were left settled in and waited to die. If you landed your ship anywhere near here, it's probably scrap by now."

_Terrific._Valeria established a link from her Omni-Tool to the shuttle's systems. Her eyes flicked over the readings and she winced. "Great. The shuttle's systems are disabled."

"Damn." Chula sighed. "I thought we'd killed all those things. Must've missed a few."

"Either that," Valeria said, "or the corpses of some of the Blue Suns were turned into husks before we reached the base."

"Oh, fuck." Quint grimaced. "Thanks for putting that idea in my head."

"The same probably happened to the mercs who landed shortly before you arrived." The guard hung his head. "Guess I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up."

"Don't assume we had only one ship." Valeria opened a comm channel to the Sulaco. "Nana, you there?"

Several seconds passed before Natalie answered. "Right here, Val."

"Think you can remember how to pilot a shuttle? The one we came in is a no-go."

"You bet. Give me about half an hour for prep and transit time."

"Will do. Thanks, Nana."

"Any time. Hey, did you find Bailey's son? Is he okay?"

"Yep. That's the first thing we asked the guard we captured. He's leading us to Scott now."

"Glad to hear it. Okay, Val, see you in thirty." Natalie signed off and Valeria let out a relieved sigh.

"Right around that curve." The guard pointed at the bend in the sloping path ahead. "We set up the shelter inside the cave."

"My son _really_hasn't been harmed?" Bailey scowled at the turian and curled his lip.

"Not at all. He's a good kid. A real charmer." He chuckled. "The captain's daughter took a liking to him immediately." He glanced at Bailey and added, "It must run in his mother's side of the family."

A smirk tugged at Bailey's mouth, but he suppressed it.

They followed the turian around the curve and found the mouth of a huge cave. Bailey charged ahead and Valeria caught up with him.

The turian activated his comlink. "Sir, hold your fire! The man running toward the cave is Scott's father."

"Understood."

A batarian in heavy armor emerged from the cave, holding an assault rifle by its barrel and raising his free hand. The others hurried to join Valeria and Bailey. The merc leader handed his rifle to Bailey.

"Where's my son?" Bailey snapped.

"In the shelter. Are you able to get us off this planet?"

"There's a shuttle on the way." Valeria strode into the cave, glanced around, found the shelter and led Bailey toward it. "Has Scott been harmed?"

"No. The exact opposite, in fact."

"What the hell does that mean?" Bailey sprinted ahead of Valeria and grabbed the shelter's door handle.

"Wait! You may not want to see--"

Bailey yanked the door open and charged through. He reappeared two seconds later, grimacing and covering his eyes with his free hand.

"Fuck's sake," he growled.

"What?" Valeria stared at him and turned to the open door. "What have they done to him?" She took a step toward the shelter, but Bailey held his hand up.

"Give 'em a minute to put their clothes back on."

She turned to stare at him again. "Oh. I see."

"I wish _I_hadn't." Bailey holstered his gun and rubbed both hands over his face. "I'd gouge my eyes out, but it's already too late."

"Hah." The merc captain sneered at him. "Imagine how I must feel."

"You don't seem too upset about it."

"Normally I'd be _very_much against it. But I thought we were going to die here. I figured, why not let the kids find whatever comfort they can, in whatever way they can, because in a few days it won't matter."

"Dad?"

Everyone turned to find a teenager with shoulder-length black hair emerging from the shelter and slipping a T-shirt over his head. Behind him appeared a female batarian about the same age, lifting a chest plate up to attach to her armor.

Quint blinked and shook his head. "I...okay, I've never run into a batarian female before. I had no idea they have six...uh...uh..."

The female rolled her four eyes. "Tits. Saying it won't cause the sky to fall, or anything of the sort."

"Uh...right."

"Some have four," the turian said, "some have six. Uh, not that I'd know from any direct experience."

"Uh-huh," the captain said. "Sure."

Bailey sighed, turned back to Scott, and embraced him. "When we found out what happened to the Cerberus personnel--"

"Yeah. A bunch of us tried to run when those things started swarming the base." Scott shivered. "Only eight of us got away."

"Well, when the shuttle arrives, it'll take you to our ship in orbit." Valeria glanced at the mouth of the cave. "I'll head back to the base and see if I can get any information out of the computers. If nothing else, I want to find out who those people were so I can notify their families. Same with the mercs who were killed just before we arrived."

"I'll go with you," Chula said. "It'll be safer with two of us to watch each other's backs."

Valeria nodded. "Thanks."

The captain nodded at his daughter. "When the shuttle arrives, even if you leave us here, all I ask is that you take Garusha to safety."

Scott clasped her hand and arched an eyebrow at Bailey. "I'm not leaving her behind."

Bailey facepalmed, then shrugged. "Fine, Sixpack can come with us, if it's okay with the rest of the crew."

"There is enough room on the Sulaco for the rest of your team," Weyland said to the Blue Suns captain. "We have no objection to bringing you with us."

The batarian flicked a half surprised, half confused glance at the geth unit, then sighed. "Thank you. The other four are on the opposite side of the mountain, making sure none of those monstrosities sneak up on us from behind." He pointed a thumb over his shoulder.

Valeria nodded again. "When we're finished here, we're heading back to the Citadel. You can find your own way from there."

"We would be grateful."

"The shuttle will be here in a few minutes. You'll have an hour or two to relax while we're checking out the base."

"Sounds splendid." The turian slumped against the wall and sighed. "As you might guess, we haven't exactly been resting well, these last few days."

Valeria nodded once more, turned to Chula, and waved a hand at the cave entrance. "Shall we get a head start?"

"Sure. I'm ready to do a little research."

Valeria turned around to meet everyone else's gazes. "Alright, we're heading out. We'll contact you when we're ready to return to the Sulaco. See you soon."

She walked out of the cave and led Chula back to the bridge, dreading whatever they might find in the Cerberus base.