Love and War

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"I swear to even the Asari goddess that when I get out of here, that lizard Kandros will wish I was an exile for what I'm gonna do to him!" Quinn Talos raged as she was unceremoniously shoved into a holding cell on the operations deck. The dark haired woman paced for time, thinking it was would all be straightened out once Tann got wind of what Kandros had done. She should have known better. As far as she believed, human's still weren't exactly favourites of the other alien species. On earth Quinn had an excellent service record within the Alliance, just as most members of her family did, but she had wanted more. She wanted to explore, to see things no human ever had, which was why she signed up for a place on the Andromeda Initiative. The only problem was, she wasn't the pathfinder, and her superiors didn't believe in security personal leaving the Nexus. As well as she performed her job, the call sign 'Cutie', thanks to her unfortunate initials, meant she wasn't exactly taken seriously. Quinn was slumped on the floor with her back against the wall now, glaring at the Turian guard outside the forcefield. She had fought her hardest for the safety of everyone on the Nexus, and this was her reward; being called a traitor and about to be dumped on some godforsaken planet with the rest of the exile scum. All because Kandros feared losing what little power he had to her. The asshole can keep it, she thought bitterly.

"The quarian ark?" Kandros was finally showing an interest in what was bing said. "You expect me to believe you're quarian?" He snorted as he looked the other man over.

A silent tear was rolling down Quinn's temple now. She needed Tyros right there with her, and that made her feel weak. For as long as she could remember she had depended on no one for anything, not even her big sister. "No... we can't go to the Tempest." She insisted at last. "I have somewhere I need to be."

"No. But your mate and mine are." Tyros snapped. "Im not talking with him here. He nearly killed Quinn and all for the little one. She is not worth it and he knows it!"

"Me either." Maggie said, finally speaking up. "I cant..."
"Oh for the goddess..." Lexi groaned. "If you don't go, Quinn, you will die. And if your sister doesn't give you some of her blood...i can't help either of you."

"Maggie's quarian?" Kandros spat the words and laughed. "This is a joke, right? A kett who can't tell the difference between humanoids?" He added, using the human phrasing. "You think they all look alike, right?"

"Maybe it's meant to be." Quinn replied simply, thinking about the things she and Tyros had discussed. "All science projects must come to an end... eventually."

Tyros ran past Drak and tackled Kandros to the ground, once again using his fists. He was done with playing nice. It never seemed to get him anywhere. 

"Fine." Lexi was ready reaching for her comm. "It is settlement policy to kill kett on sight. I will convey to Drak that since you choose death, your pet does as well."

Kandros gave as good as he got, the two of them rolling around on the floor like brawling teenagers.

Quinn rolled herself off the bed she was on, and attempted to make her way to the door. She just had to warn Tyros... He could get out of there and find his answers.

"We can help him find where he belongs." Lexi said to Quinn's back. "But not if Drak has to put him down. The truth will die with him. All of it."
The asari doctor had her fingers on her comm, waiting for an answer.

"What does it matter if I die?!" Quinn growled. "And what kind of doctor has people killed anyway?!"

"Your kett murdered a dozen of his own shipmates and turned a shotgun on the father of my unborn child.  I have every right to defend what I love." Lexi said firmly. "Rules are rules, Quinn."

"Fuck your rules!" Quinn hissed. "You don't know Tyros!" She added, using the wall to pull herself up now as she reached the door. "You don't know anything outside your safe little world!"

"I don't think you care for him either. Otherwise you'd be fighting to live instead of fighting to die." Lexi snorted. "Go on, Maggie. I will do your blood work at the lab in the settlement." 
Maggie stared at her sister as Lexi passed them both, not sure what to say.

As Lexi left Quinn simply slumped down the wall with her face in her hands. She was so tired. Tired of fighting to live, to survive. Until Tyros had uprooted everything she thought she knew, she didn't think anyone would really miss her. But the human body wasn't made to endure what she had, least of all one that was fifty percent quarian.

Maggie sat beside her sister on the floor and wrapped her arms around her. "Why is it so hard?" She breathed. "I thought mom said it would get better here...that There was something for us here...im So sorry..."

Lexi stepped over the still brawling men and leaned against Drak. "Can he be reasoned with? Cause I don't think his girlfriend can. Aren't you supposed to be older and wiser? You keep telling me you are anyway..." She muttered.

Quinn let her head drop against her sister's shoulder before she shook it slightly. "Maybe it's us. Maybe we're cursed." She mused.

"He's scared." Drak observed. "Don't think the kid's ever loved anyone before, and now he's terrified it's being taken away, so he's lashing out at everyone around him." He added, as though speaking from experience.

"I don't think you could be anything more if you tried." Maggie whispered back. "Makes me wonder if we missed something back in the milky way."

"So how do we help him?" Lexi asked. "I'm horrible at love, Drak. I'm horrible at just about everything actually. "

"We thought we were escaping something, there was no way anyone could have predicted what we found here. Who we found here." She added, clearly thinking about Tyros.

Drak laughed at Lexi's remark. "Says the genius doc?" He teased. "Nah, we just gotta let the kid wear himself out."

At her words Maggie began to cry earnestly. She buried her face in Quinn's shoulder and sobbed. 
She'd come to this galaxy with stars in her eyes. She believed this would give her a new start with the strength she needed to stand on her own. Instead it had made her even more weak and vulnerable than ever.

"The turian too? By the goddess, Drak. We're going to be here all night." Lexi groaned. "I was hoping to get at least little sleep in, you know."

"Hey, Kandros isn't that bad." Quinn teased gently. "You know, maybe I could even forgive him for exiling me, you know... 'cause you're crazy about the bird man?" She added, hoping to cheer her sister up, not knowing the truth about everything that had happened.

"Alright, alright... killjoy." Drak commented before stepping into the fight and headbutting each alien in turn. "Doc says it's enough."

At the mention of her love for Kandros, Maggie cried harder. She was so ashamed of herself. It made her sick. 

Both men slumped in Drak's hands. Lexi was ashamed that she gave a sigh of relief. "Thank you. My head couldn't take anymore of that." She said, rubbing her own forehead. "We need to find a way to hide that kett from the pathfinder. Otherwise all is lost..."

"Don't tell me you guys broke up!" Quinn exclaimed, still awkwardly trying to cheer her sister up.

"I could cram his body under the bed." Drak suggested helpfully with a toothy grin.

"No but...I think we should." Maggie said. Unfortunately she wouldn't get to explain more as Lexi returned. 
Soon enough they were moved to the labs at the Eos settlement and things were quiet for the rest of the night.
They remained that way until after the pathfinder left and Tyros woke up to find himself caged.

Lexi had managed to bring Quinn out of critical condition for now, but the sister's would indeed need each other if they wished to go back to their respective lives. Quinn had slept for some time, dreaming of the tiny moment of bliss she had managed to steal with Tyros before everything went to hell. It was as the dream turned dark and she recalled being shot several times that she woke with a jolt, shouting his name.

"Calm down..." Lexi said gently, smoothing back her hair. "Everything is fine. You are safe. Your sister and your pet are here. They are safe. So are you." 

Tyros was glaring at Drak. "Why isn't the turian caged? Why is it just me?" He demanded.

It took a moment for Quinn to calm down again, helped by the gentle fingers that smoothed over her dark hair. "I need to see him." She whispered, again feeling rather weak for admitting this.

"How many turians have declared war on an entire galaxy? Killed their own crew to prove a point?" Drak responded without even glancing up.

"He's not stable. He's angry and yelling. He's a danger to himself and others. For now I've put him where he will be safe." Lexi said in a soothing tone. 

"Oh no. The turian's never tried to kill the humans off." Tyros snorted. "And they never assisted in the gyenophege."

"Safe, or out of sight?" Quinn asked, feeling a dull ache at the thought that she may not get to see him again.

Kandros finally seemed willing to take part in the conversation when he heard this. "Oh, and how do you know any of that, kett?"

"Both." Lexi confirmed. "There are so many here that would shoot with our asking questions. It's best for him at this point. I promise we'll figure something out soon."

"Because my mate is smart. She has been helping me to remember things I already knew. What does your mate do for you?"

"How do I know someone hasn't already shot him?" Quinn countered. "I want to see him... please."

Kandros smirked at the question. "Clearly things yours can't do for you." He remarked.

"You sound jealous." Tyros snorted, pacing the cage. "Let me out, krogan. I need to see Quinn. I need to make sure that she is going to be okay." 

Lexi smiled as she showed Quinn the vid on her omni tool. She wondered if the young woman needed anymore proof that she was loved. By a kett of all things.

"We can't let you out, but you can see her." Drak replied, oddly more sympathetic than Kandros. He pointed to a security monitor behind him that showed the infirmary, and a second one that showed what Lexi could see through her omni tool right then, which was close to Quinn's face.

A fat tear was rolling down Quinn's cheek, which she quickly tried to wipe away. "He just wanted to help me find answers. I never meant for him to get hurt like this."

Tyros sat down, hanging his head. She was awake and her eyes looked clear. But that didn't mean she was out of the woods. She still needed the blood of her sister to make her better.