Chapter 11

Stroking her Carnifex with the side of her hand, Melina sat down on the far side of the shelter, her heart racing in her chest. The shelter the colony had set up was very dark and dismal. Barely any light was brought in. The windows where small and only two generators where set up to keep the over head lights on. The Reapers arrived in little time, silent in their approach but no less then overwhelming. It was nothing like Melina had ever imagined. Since the colony was initially small in size, and many others had left earlier, not many people arrived to the shelter. At least not as many as the woman was expecting. This made her a bit nervous. Hoping more people would survive this battle. Placing the gun down on the dirty floor beside her, the woman looked up, sighing deeply. Teyshan was standing next to her, his bulky armor covered in soot. Shifting his weight over to his other leg, the Prothean glanced down at the woman with two of his golden eyes, giving her a reassuring nod. Melina smiled weakly in return.

"Have you gotten any sign that Diane has arrived yet?" Melina asked curiously

"No."

"Shit…" Melina's face sunk. Placing her head into her knees, the woman shook her head. Being in the middle of the war zone and being told to sit and wait in the shelter was driving her up the wall. Knowing her friend was out there, the woman felt useless. Standing up from her spot, Melina walked by Teyshan, patting him on the back in support.

"I can't sit and wait here while I know my friend is out there. We need to go and find Diane." She turned her head, her eyes growing dark. All Teyshan could do was nod in agreement. When Melina wanted to complete a task, nothing was going to stop her from completing it. Walking up to the doors of the shelter, passed the guard standing at post. Melina tied her messy curls back into a tight bun. Teyshan following her closely.

"Excuse me ma'am. I don't recommend going back out there. It's a war zone." The guard called out as she nudged the door open.

"Look sir, I used to serve the Alliance, and my friend here is a Prothean. Not to worry. We can fend for ourselves. Just keep the people here safe. We'll be back shortly." Melina snapped at the guard. Sighing softly the woman turned back towards the guard.

"I didn't mean to snap. We've got a friend out here. Stay safe yourself sir, we'll be back." Melina nodded. The guard sighed and quickly closed the door behind the pair.

The ground trembled. Spooking Melina, she pulled Teyshan close to the wall, crouching down behind rubble. Holding her breath and closing her eyes, she could feel the vibrations from a destroyer class Reaper walking by in the near distance. The deep rumbles emanating from the core of this living nightmare. Feeling a gentle hand brush over her own, Melina's eyes opened, glancing over to Teyshan. Crouching down close to her, he held onto her hand to ease her nerves. Melina felt safer with him. Of all people, Teyshan knew what the Reaper war was like. He knew where to go and avoid getting caught. He had been through this before.

"Why do you go ahead and lead.." Melina whispered, the ground trembling with each step the Reaper took.

"Are you sure Melina?" Teyshan whispered back, his golden eyes piercing her own.

"Yes.."

Getting the clue, Teyshan slowly rose up from their cover, his golden eyes gazing around to see what they had to work with. The destroyer class was moving away from the pair, knowing the Reapers attentions where somewhere else, Teyshan knew they would have a chance to move forward without getting caught, so as long as they stayed out of view. Clenching his gun close to him, he signaled for Melina to move with him. It was either now or never that they try and find Diane

Moving fluidly through the colony without getting noticed by the looming destroyer class Reaper, Melina and Teyshan where able to get to the dig site in little time. A few husks popped up, but the pair where able to dispatch them without any issue. They worked together like old comrades. Covering each other, watching each other's backs, guns held close. Running down the ramp way towards the office building, Melina held her rifle out, her finger hovering over the trigger, ready to squeeze if any forces threatened her. Her brown hues focused ahead. Teyshan trailed closely behind her, scanning over their flanking sides. His feet dancing under him as he moved. Two golden eyes kept a close gaze on Melina. For as much as she wanted him to lead her through the rubble, keeping them away from the Reaper, the woman read his moves more then he had to tell her to keep watch. They seemed to move like clock work.

"Hopefully she is here.." Melina breathed softly.

"Maybe" Teyshan whispered behind her.

Moving close to the doors of the office building, Melina lowered her assault rifle. Reaching out, the woman turned the door knob. Locked.

"Shit… its locked" she spat.

Melina reached up to the door, knocking on it. Hopefully Diane would be inside the small office building, alive. Lowering her arm from the door, the woman clenched her gun to her side, gnawing at the inside of her lip. She could feel the sweat beginning to bead at her brow. The skies of the colony, while normally a rich blue in color had grown to a dead gray. The clouds growing thick, the air musty. Everything looked like death had settled down around them, turning everything that was once beautiful, ugly. The ground trembled, the breeze stung. For so long Melina thought they where safe, now the colony was just as dangerous as everywhere else. So full of death and despair.

"Diane.. It's Melina.. We cleared a path out here, its safe for now but we need to move" Melina called out towards the door, hoping her friend was inside.

It didn't take long for a response to come, much to what Melina had hoped. The door whipped open. Before Melina's reflexes could kick in, the Asari wrapped her arms tightly around Melina, tears streaming down her face.

"Oh Melina I was so scared!" Diane cried.

Melina returned her friends hug, but quickly pulled herself away from her friend, reaching out and patting her on the shoulder.

"We need to get out of here.. Now. They have set up a shelter a few blocks from here. But we need to go now, otherwise we might be stuck here." Melina pushed. Her deep brown hues gazing into her friends own eyes. Her face stern. Nodding in agreement, Diane wiped away her tears and straightened herself up.

"Alright, lets go. I'm ready."

#

Ducking under cover, the trio held back from view as another destroyer class Reaper passed. Bright beams of red energy shot out from the core of the reaper into a group of firing civilians. Not even ash from their bodies was left behind from the bright blast. Holding her arm out in front of Diane to let her know she needed to stay put. Melina looked over at Teyshan, her brown hues uncertain, yet the Prothean never looked so sure about everything before. His golden eyes searched her own, yet he hardly spoke a word. Melina began to wonder why the Prothean hadn't lead his own command back in his day, he was such a sharp fighter. The trio where so close to reaching the shelter. Seeing a clearing, Teyshan motioned for them to follow. His body moved quickly. Leaping over broken concrete, darting around rubble and sliding under broken beams. He was an agile warrior, well versed in fighting. Melina ran closely behind him. Keeping one hand wrapped tightly wrapped around Diane's, Her other held her gun close to her. With each minute that seemingly passed, the skies grew darker, the screams and cries of those around them fell on deaf ears. Yet it felt like they had grown deaf ears, it was eerily quiet.

Suddenly a husk shot up from a pile of rubble, reaching out to drag Diane down with it. Melina snapped herself around and kicked the hideous creature away from them. Quickly aiming up, the woman shot the horrible being straight between the eyes. It's lifeless body fell to the ground, lights from the hardware flickering as its life force drained away. And to know this was a thing that Teyshan had seen on a daily basis. It made Melina grow cold with anger. The group ran up to the doors of the shelter and nearly tore the door off its hinges, causing the security guard to raise up his gun at them.

"Hey.. Hey its ok…" Melina breathed, lowering her own weapon.

"Good to see you all back in one shape." The guard smiled weakly.

"Told you we would be back." Melina cracked, a small laugh escaping her lips. The guard merely nodded, trying to hold back from laughing.

Melina holstered her assault rifle, it folded up neatly and sat cradled at her shoulder. Crossing her arms in front of her, it was time to grow serious. Diane stood behind her, brushing her arms together. Anything to take her thoughts off from the Reaper threat just outside those doors.

"Have you heard anything from the council? From the Alliance? The local guard?" Melina began to pry the Shelter's door guard.

"Actually, I just got word that the Alliance had sent shuttles to help the colonists off this retched planet and reach a safer place." the guard sat there scratching the back of his head.

"Do you know when they might arrive?" Melina pressed.

"In just a few hours actually."

"This is great, truly. Any lives we can save, the better" Melina smiled weakly. She turned away from the guard and looked back over her shoulder, her eyes gazing over Teyshan and over to Diane. They both looked uncomfortable but relaxed that they were safe, at least for a brief moment.

#

Diane was sitting on the dirty floor, rubbing her palms over her eyes. The Asari struggled to keep herself awake. The threat had rained down quicker then everyone had predicted. It was almost like the Reapers knew something. So far they had taken their time in harvesting all of the races in the galaxy, yet this rate was sped up. What was going on? Was there a threat against them? Nobody knew what was going on. That fact was more disconcerting then the simple arrival of the Reapers to begin with. Melina leaned against the wall, her mind racing over these thoughts over and over. Teyshan had no more knowledge over this then she did. They just simply did what they did. No questions, no answers. The woman looked over to the Prothean, he was just as silent as Melina had been. Hardly anyone in the shelter spoke, only gentle whispers between mother and children. A war of this magnitude made people look death in the face and pray someone would save them. Leaning closer to Teyshan, the woman reached out and gently weaved her fingers between the Prothean's. The motion nudged the Prothean out of his altered state. His golden eyes gazed over Melina's form. Emotions never drew over his face, he was just as emotionless as he had been when the pair first met. Yet many words of comfort had flowed between their body language. Melina knew this much now. Feeling this warmth, her heart rate slowed, her focus cleared. Her mind stopped racing over what seemed like their inevitable death. Gripping her hand tighter, Teyshan nodded gently towards Melina, A motion she knew was him acknowledging her feelings. He could read her like an open book. Melina sighed and gave the Prothean a weak smile, nudging his body with her shoulder.

"Mister.. You are a Prothean right? Will we survive this?" A little girl pulled on Teyshan's free hand. Her hazel eyes glancing up at his looming form.

Jumping from the sudden appearance of this human child, Teyshan looked down at the girl. His golden eyes growing affixed upon her. He pulled the top corner of his lip up, for once taking the time to mull over his answer, usually so quick to answer others. He knew this was a delicate situation. Melina kneeled down at the girls level, giving her a warm smile.

"Yes he is a Prothean little lady, his name is Teyshan." Melina reached up, pulling the girls coat around her tighter. The girl smiled back at Melina, growing shy at the larger amount of attention she was receiving.

"Yes, small human child. As long as you stay strong, and don't look back. You will survive this. We will all survive this." Teyshan answered, his voice dropping an octave. Melina could hear the strain from his sub harmonics. She knew how small of a chance of survival they all had, but appreciated his comfort to the little girl instead of laying out the thick truth to her.

"Miss Terry said the same thing, she said we will be boarding these big ships to fly back home to be safe" The little girl responded, her smile pulling even wider against her cheeks. Melina stood back up and glanced over at the doors of the shelter then back over at Teyshan, her face growing grim. The Prothean took note over the woman's growing concerns. Pulling her close to him, he pressed a gentle kiss on her cheek.

"Ewww! You two have cooties!" The little girl cried out, before running back over to her group, making Melina chuckle.

"Alright! The Alliance ships are here folks, we need to leave in several small groups to avoid being caught. We need to split up some of you who can fight to keep the civilians safe." The door guard called out to those in the shelter. Melina looked down over at Diane, who slowly rose up to her feet.

"I'll help with that." Melina called out.

"Such as I" Teyshan rose his hand, his voice growing noble.

"Ok, miss, I will have you with the orphans and Miss Terry in group C, you will lead them out third. Group A, which you will lead.. Sir" The guard looked at Teyshan sideways. "Will go out first, since you look like you can take down an army. Some of the more able bodied civilians will go with group A. If you can hold a gun, you can fire a gun. I expect you to do your part. Good luck everyone." The guard nodded before heading out the doors.

Turning around, the Prothean gazed deep into Melina's eyes. Reaching up he cupped her cheeks, his golden eyes boring deep into her soul. Her breath hitched for a moment, taking her thoughts away.

"Stay safe Melina. I didn't want to separate myself from you, but you are doing an honorable thing. Keep the small humans safe." The Prothean's voice was soft but a hint strained.

"We are all going the same place, I will see you soon. I promise you." Melina replied. A small tear escaped her eye, running quickly down her cheek. Teyshan whipped it away with his thumb.

"I love you Teyshan" her face grew more warm, a gentle smile peaking from her face.

"And I Melina, love you" Teyshan nodded, leaning down and pressing a deep kiss upon her lips.

Before the woman could melt into his form, he pulled himself away from her, and nodded at her once more, his body turned away. Melina bit her bottom lip. Watching her friend, her lover, run out the door, quickly followed by Diane and a small group of civilians. Holding back from a load of tears, she held her breath for a second, then turned to group with the orphans, Terry and a few other civilians.

"Are you guys ready? Just think this is a big game of tag, and our goal is to make it to the Alliance ships. Then we will be safe." Melina straightened herself up, looking down at the group of children with a bright smile.

#

Teyshan ran ahead of the group, his golden eyes fixed ahead. The small group of civilians that followed him did as he told. They weren't to far from where the Alliance had landed their small ships. It was a few blocks away from the shelter. No Reapers where to close to the group, only small pockets of ground troops where really all they had encountered. Running down the sidewalk from the place he used to call home, the Prothean lead his group right up to the landing spot. The door to the shuttle was already open, a Alliance soldier was motioning for them to come aboard. The man's motions where rushed. Teyshan helped his group aboard, then turned to look to see if he could see Melina's group for any civilians from group B arrive to the landing spot. Yet nobody was there. All of this felt wrong, splitting up seemed like a great idea, but being separated from the very person he grew to care for so deeply, the one he fought with so sharply felt so wrong.

Rumbles began to shutter the ground. The building that had been deemed as a shelter for everyone just mere hours earlier was flanked by a sovereign class Reaper. A bright red beam of energy shot out from the core of the Reaper, lighting the building up in ashes.

"Melina!" Teyshan cried out, he began to dart back towards the blown up building, but the Alliance soldier grabbed the Prothean by the shoulders and dragged him into the shuttle.

"No we need to go now! We can't stay here!" The soldier cried out, struggling to hang onto the kicking Prothean.

"There was more people back there human, I must return to them!" Teyshan roared. Before the Prothean could have the chance to kick himself free from the soldier, the shuttles doors closed and lifted off from the landing zone, taking off into the skies. Teyshan pushed the soldier off of him and backed into one of the corners of the shuttle, punching at the wall in front of him. His body shuddering in anger, his heart racing in his chest. He just witnessed the death of his lover. The death of those he sword to protect, he had failed as not only a lover but as a protector. Turning his form back around towards the soldier, the Prothean loomed over him, his golden eyes growing narrow.

"If you would of let me go human, I could of saved them, I would have gone back to make sure they where still alive, yet you just allowed them to die!" The Prothean roared.

"If you don't back down sir, I will have you restrained!" The soldier snapped back.

Yet before the Prothean could do anything rash, Diane stood up from her seat and walked over to Teyshan, pressing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Come on, lets sit down…" Diane spoke softly, a few tears streaming down her face.

#

Teyshan sat alone. He managed to find a quiet and dark room aboard the Alliance dreadnought 'Jupiter'. Several days had flown by since they were rescued from the Colony, yet no news was heard if there was any survivors from their group. Looking out the room window the Prothean gazed into the distance, everything was quiet again. His mind raced. Did she die? Did she escape? Nobody knew, and nobody was giving any answers. It frustrated him. No other shuttles arrived on the dreadnought. He figured he might as well kept to himself as much as possible. There was no place for him anywhere.

"Teyshan is it?" A voice called in from the door of his new room. His golden eyes gazed over to the form, turning his head a bit, the Prothean only nodded. There stood at the door, was a middle aged man. Gray hair slicked back. His dress blues fitted. A scar ran down his cheek. This man had the sharpest blue eyes Teyshan had seen out of anyone, even the Asari. He commanded his space and deserved respect. This man was the one and only Admiral Hackett. Standing up from his spot the Prothean nodded in respect, only to get a wave from the Admiral.

"No need for formalities Teyshan. We got quick word there was another Prothean. With the Reaper war over I think we can use your help." The Admiral suggested.

"Over?" Teyshan asked, his golden hues searching the floor quickly before darting back up to the Admiral. The Prothean felt overwhelmed by so many emotions. He felt like a mess. Just recently losing Melina and now the Alliance wanted his help, plus the war was over. He didn't even know where to begin.

"Yes, Commander Shepard some how did it. All of the Reapers where deactivated and destroyed. A miracle if you ask me. But now is not the time to mourn, we need to get some kind of system back together before chaos completely takes over and we are going to need all the help we can get." The admirals voice grew stiff.

Teyshan could only nod in agreement. This is what Melina would have wanted all along. A future free from war, free from the Reapers, and to continually help the Alliance and those around them as much as possible. And for this, he was going to continue on with her mission. Yet with his mind on his new purpose, his heart had wanted to find answers as to what happened to her. He was going to search for her..

"Oh and I might have someone you might want to meet Teyshan." The Admiral snapped him out from his daze. Stepping back, another Prothean stepped into the doorway, it was Javik.

Authors Note:

You know when I honestly started writing this story I would have never thought it would of lead here. It's funny where they lead! Thank you for this beautiful journey. The characters really grew on me and I hoped you have enjoyed reading this story as much as I have enjoyed writing it. But as this story ends another begins! So fret not, I have a sequel coming up titled 'A warrior's mind, a lover's heart.' So keep an eye out for it! Happy reading!