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Raelyn Shepard had somehow gotten lost on the Citadel. Mom was going to kill Aric and Ozzie. She was a kid, only eleven at the time. She scoured for a map, they lived near the Alliance military areas, in the upper parts of the Citadel, not wherever she was currently.
After a few minute search, she found a map. “Excuse me,” Raelyn walked over to a short Turian, he was scanning it too, “I need some help, can you help me find a C-Sec officer or someone who knows where to go?” The Turian looked at her, suddenly nervous. “Please I don’t know this part well.”
”I’m lost too,” He admitted, wringing his hands a bit. Raelyn’s eyes got huge, she wasn’t alone!
“Then let’s find the C-Sec area together?” All levels had some form of C-Sec post, though some were better than others.
“Uh….” The boy looked back at the map one more time, it wasn’t confusing when he looked at it normally. Why was it so difficult to understand now? “Okay.” Raelyn offered her hand to him, and with great hesitation he accepted it. He assumed it was to shake her hand, but instead she grabbed it and refused to let go. She gave a smile and he nodded at her.
”My name’s Raelyn, what’s yours?” Hand in hand she did her best to cut a path through. Searching for breaks in the crowd or the blue armored C-Sec officers.
”Garrus-why are you holding my hand?”
”So I don’t lose you.”
“Oh okay.” He tightened his grip on her hand.
Garrus was a couple years younger than Raelyn, but he didn’t know that. Right now all he knew was this young human was holding his hand in the Wards. Palaven was his home, this visit had been unexpected and presently he hoped that his mother would be searching for him. He figured at any second there would be a message saying “Garrus Vakarian, please report to the nearest Avina station and wait.” Wait why hadn’t he thought of that sooner?
”Raelyn,” He tugged her arm a bit to get her to stop, “we should find an Avina and ask where to go.”
“Good idea! Lead the way.” Garrus walked a step or so ahead of her, he was maybe a foot taller than Raelyn but not near as tall as a grown Turian. Both actively searching for the pink-purple hue of an Avina. They were VI’s that aided people in finding things, explaining places and most importantly answering questions. It seemed like every person they passed seemed just as confused as them with two children holding hands. But yet not a soul stopped to help them find where they needed to go. For a few more minutes they searched until Raelyn stopped moving in front of a large display.
"What's-woah." Both looked up. The display showed a Turian, tall and imposing. There was an immense power radiating from him, some glory that they didn't understand. On the bottom of the display read: Saren Artaeus - Spectre.
"What's a Spectre?" Raelyn hadn't heard a great deal about these people, some things were still rather new to her.
"Special military group, my dad doesn't like them. Says there's nothing but unchecked egos and bad decisions." Garrus nodded a tiny bit, he only knew dad's opinion on them. But this Spectre seemed so powerful.
"Oh, okay. We don't have Spectre's in the Alliance, or at least mom and dad haven't told me about any."
"Your parents are both in the Alliance?"
"Yep, mom's on tour right now and dad was in a meeting today about his next one. I'm going to be an Alliance soldier one day, too." Raelyn said that with pride practically pouring from her. All her family members were Alliance in some way, except for one Uncle but that's because he became a Colonist on Mindoir where he lived with his family, and sort of made himself a black sheep. But they were still close with them.
"Really?"
"Yeah, just like all my family. Who knows, maybe I'll be the first human Spectre. Change your dad's mind on them?" Garrus laughed at that.
"Humans don't just become Spectre's, Raelyn."
"How do you know?"
"It's never happened before."
"Well who's to say it won't?" Raelyn furrowed her brow, because now she had to become a Spectre. The Turian boy shrugged in response, not sure how to answer her. "Come on, let's keep looking for Avina."
"Good idea."
When they eventually found one, they both gave a sigh of relief.
"Avina, what part of the Citadel is this?" Garrus asked first.
"This part of the Citadel is the Lower Wards. Is there anything else I can assist with?" The Avina VI's were designed to look like Asari, maybe the design was to comfort travelers, or in this case: two lost kids.
"Where is the nearest C-Sec post? We lost who we were here with and can't find it."
"The nearest C-Sec post is down this hallway, one left turn, and on your right side."
"Thank you!" Both yelled as they ran down the hall. Despite their small disagreement earlier, neither were brave enough to let the other's hand go. Now it was almost a security blanket. When they got back into the crowded sections, they stopped running, weaving through the crowd as fast as they could. When they finally saw the glowing letters of the post, they went inside. A Turian officer sat at a desk, staring at his monitor for a minute or so before he noticed them. There was a tiny placard with his name on it on the desk, Caltius 'Cad' Brutitian.
"Hello," He looked over at them, "how can I help you?"
"We lost who we were here with, we’re lost and don't know where to look for them." They were speaking in unison, one over the other. He raised his hand to shush them.
"One at a time please, thank you. Now you," he pointed at Garrus first, "who did you lose?"
"My mom, Grateia Vakarian and my little sister, Solana Vakarian. They've got blue markings, kind of like mine. We came to visit my dad from Palaven. Officer Castis Vakarian." The officer jotted that down quickly before looking up at Raelyn. An Officer’s kid, loose on the Citadel? Really? He shook his head, his paperwork was already going to be immense, but this doubled it.
"And you, little lady?"
"My brothers, Osvald Shepard and Aric Shepard." He noted their names down.
"Who's the easiest person, parent or guardian for me to contact for you both?"
"My mom. Dad’s working on a case right now." Garrus chimed, mom would be panicking by now, realizing that he was gone. But hopefully she'd be proud that he'd found his way to C-Sec, even if with someone's help of course.
"My dad, General Osvald Shepard, he's in the Alliance." When she said that, the officer's eyes got wide. An Alliance kid just wandering down here? Not good. Most Alliance parents were constantly watching their kids, why was this one just down here with this Turian boy? An Alliance kid and a C-Sec officer’s kid… his head started to pound.
"Okay, wait right in those chairs over there, and I'm going to talk to my superior really fast. Safest place for you to be is in here."
"Yes sir." They walked over to the chairs in question settling for the bench seat, Raelyn finally let go of Garrus' hand. He almost didn't want her to, but didn't know why.
"So you're from Palaven? That's the Turian home-world right? What's it like?"
"Yeah, it's really pretty. With really cool buildings, everything is super shiny. Lots of metal everywhere and it's really hot." Right now he almost wished mom hadn't made them all go, but it'd been almost a year since dad had been home, so she was adamant on going to see him. "Have you ever been?"
"Oh no, but I've read a tiny bit about it."
"What's Earth like? I've only seen vids about Earth."
"I couldn't really tell you, we've only been a few times. I was born there, but we've lived here since I was a kid."
"Then how'd you get lost?"
"We live near the Alliance housing, my house is closer to the embassies than it is to the wards. Plus mom doesn't like us being down here without her or dad, but Ozzie got permission from dad and brought me and Aric with him."
"Ohhh okay. You're dad and brother have the same name, is that a human thing?"
"Yeah, dad is the second with that name and my brother the third. Kind of a family name I guess, only the eldest son gets it though. So if Ozzie had a son with that name, he'd name him Osvald the fourth."
"Weird."
"I know."
"I like your name, it's pretty."
"Thank you." They got quiet for a few minutes, occasionally asking each other questions or just watching the passerby's. Eventually, Officer Brutitian returned, with a human officer in tow. The human knelt down in front of them, getting just below their eye-level.
"Okay, so we've gotten ahold of your parents, they're going to make their way here now." The human officer, his name badge said Tims, was kind looking. "We'll need to talk to your parents and anyone who was with you, so for right now please just stay where you're at."
"We're not in trouble right?"
"No, nobody's in trouble. This was most likely just an accident because of how busy this part of the Citadel is. Just stay put. Do you two want any water or anything?" Both kids nodded, Raelyn had a tiny pout growing on her face, her eyes getting wide. Suddenly she was just overwhelmed, she just wanted to go home. "You okay, kiddo?" She nodded, wiping her eye a bit and scooting closer to Garrus. He reached for her hand again, and she squeezed it. The Officer stood and walked away.
"It'll be okay, our parents are on their way to get us."
"I know, I just want to go home."
"Me too."
They waited for about thirty minutes before either saw their parent. Grateia came first, Solana in tow. "Garrus! Oh! Garrus my baby, I'm so sorry! We've been looking everywhere for you!" He stood up and ran to his mom, so relieved to see her. She gave him a great big hug, scooping him up. "Oh you poor thing-"
"I'm okay mom, I wasn't alone." He pointed at Raelyn, who was sitting with her head down. "We both were lost, and we found our way here together." Grateia walked over to Raelyn, kneeling down in front of her.
"Young lady," She had a sweet voice, and even nicer eyes, "thank you for being with him."
"Yes ma'am." Raelyn looked her in the eyes, they were pretty blue-grey color, "Garrus was really helpful while we were lost."
"I would hope he would be."
"Ma'am, are you Grateia Vakarian?" Officier Brutitian called as he walked over, and Grateia stood quickly. She was tall, almost the same height as the Officer. Her blue markings matched closely to Garrus'.
"Yes."
"Do you mind coming with me, we just have to file a report about this for record-keeping. Basically as a way to make sure that you got your child, things like that."
"Oh of course," She looked down at the small human girl, "Garrus and Solana, please stay here with Raelyn until her parents arrive." Officer's Brutitian and Tims took her to their desks, seating her in a chair to ask questions.
"I'm sure your dad will be here any minute, Raelyn." Garrus tried to reassure her, but Raelyn didn't seem convinced in the moment.
By the time Grateia was done with the Officers, Osvald finally arrived. Raelyn burst into tears when she saw him. A very apologetic Aric and Ozzie were walking behind him, both undoubtedly had gotten scolded.
"Rae! Oh thank god you're safe!" He easily picked her up, and she refused to let go of him. Grateia walked over.
"You've got a very resourceful daughter there, she and my son both wound up lost together, and they got here by themselves." Osvald set Raelyn down gently, sticking a hand out to greet the Turian.
"I'm just glad she's safe. You're son is too, I take it?" He glanced down at Garrus, Osvald had a great deal of respect for Turian's, making sure to be as polite as possible to them.
"Yes he is, Garrus stand up dear." Garrus shot up, giving his hand out to Raelyn's dad. "By the way, the Officers need to speak to you."
"I'll go over there right away, Ozzie, Aric, come stand with Raelyn." Both boys silently shot over to her side, they looked ashamed of themselves. Grateia was willing to wait until Osvald was done. Doing her best to mind the pack of children. Garrus and Raelyn stood near each other, both ready to leave now. It took far less time with Osvald than it had with Grateia to file the report.
"Ma'am, thank you for staying with them. And you young man, thanks for keeping an eye on my girl."
"You're welcome sir."
"Alright Shepard's, let's go home. I've still got to tell your mother." Garrus waved to Raelyn, but she walked over and gave him a hug. Whispering a fast thank you before falling in line with her brothers. The youngest Shepard sibling had been left with a serviceman's wife for the day, so on their way they stopped by to pick him up. Osvald was disappointed in Aric and Ozzie, and he made it clear to them. Both spent the entire night apologizing to Raelyn. And when mom was called? They were definitely sorry. Hannah was furious that her oldest sons managed to lose their sister, and in the lower wards of all places. None of them were allowed to go down there for a long time, at least not without a guardian of some form.
After their harrowing misadventure, Garrus and Raelyn wouldn't see each other until years later. Though it would take some time before they realized it. When they finally met once again, Garrus was a C-Sec Officer, and Raelyn a brand new Spectre.
Garrus had been at the Med Clinic, where Raelyn had been pointed to go retrieve him. She didn't quite recognize the name at first, but when she saw him, there was a sense of familiarity there. He was a grown man now, not a lost little boy. He begged to join her squad to help take down a criminal. In no position to refuse, she accepted his help.
As they led him to the Normandy, Raelyn couldn't help but ask, "Why does your name sound so familiar?"
"Is it about my good looks?" She rolled her eyes, she couldn't lie he was rather handsome but it was something else. "So," Garrus was starting to piece together the memory, "you're the first human Spectre then?"
"Brand new to Spectre-status."
"I once met a little girl who was adamant she was going to be the first." Raelyn stopped in her tracks, laughing at that statement. "Guess she was right."
"Now I remember you! We got lost together in the Citadel, god that was years ago now. Like, eighteen or nineteen years!" They joked about that time, catching up a bit. Not quite like old friends, but Raelyn seemed relieved that at least one alien wasn’t a total stranger. How innocent both were, Raelyn now battle-hardened, with a voice that radiated power.
"To think, that Spectre we were saw on that display is the man we're hunting now." It was unbelievable, Saren once seemed like a symbol of power, now he was one of corruption. Raelyn was still learning about the enemy, making her knowledge on him rather slight. But she knew she wasn't going to be like him, that's for sure. And she made sure of that, until her last shot from her rifle. When all was laid bare and he was gone.
It wouldn’t be the end, Garrus and Raelyn would eventually look to each other’s arms for comfort, and for more over the next few years. Death and fire-fights wouldn’t separate them. They found peace in each other’s company, a part of them still those little kids, wandering the Citadel hand in hand. It seemed every time they returned now, it was hand in hand. The goal to keep the other as close as possible, because neither wanted to be lost again.