Wild Effect

The surface of the sun rolled and flowed around itself, a sea of boiling reactions emitting masses of lethal and life-bringing energy. A never still, never the same, self containing fusion reaction. A corona of energy, visible only due to the filtering, glowed around it. Beautiful, but deadly as close as the station was positioned to it. Anyone who stared at it this close would have their eyes seared blind by the highly energetic particles if not for the six different layers of shielding between it and the lone figure that sat on a simple chair in a darkened room.

The Illusive man, not his real name, nobody, not even his closest confidants knew his real name, exhaled a lungful of smoke and watched it drift up and away, deep in thought. His face was hidden in the shadows cast from the filtered sunlight, only the glowing cyan pattern of his cybernetic eyes was visible as he stubbed out the cigarette against the ashtray in his chair's arm.

He made a gesture before himself and three screens blipped into sight. They floated before him, each detailing a different project, how it was doing, when it would finish or if it was proving non-viable. He studied them for a moment, quickly assessing and then moving on. His information network was vast and to even keeping on top of seventy-five percent of it took most of his time. The click of heels on the polished floor approaching alerted him to one of his best agents arrival.

"Is the package delivered?" The Illusive man asked in his distinctive accent as he continued to check his reports.

"She's in place. Exactly where you wanted." Miranda Lawson replied. The extensively modified, so-called perfect human walked past her employer and looked out at the sun. She folded her arms, a faint scowl on her beautiful face. "Down to the very last little detail. It took some doing getting her in unnoticed past Citadel security."

"But you succeeded splendidly. As I've come to expect from yourself."

Miranda stayed silent and continued to frown at the sun. She appeared annoyed by something.

"You're upset." It was a statement. "I hadn't informed you of this side-project for personal reasons." The Illusive man continued to flick between reports as Miranda turned to him.

"Not really. Concerned perhaps. Confused…definitely." She replied. "Your request came out of the blue. I've looked over her medical files. No modifications. No genetic anomalies. No history. No special abilities of any kind recorded by the doctors. A normal human girl in every way. I don't see what's so special about her."

"You don't see. And that Ms. Lawson, is why she is so special." The Illusive man stated enigmatically without looking up. "The Council is currently in the process of choosing a candidate for the Spectres. A human candidate." He paused and lit another cigarette and took a deep drag. "I intend to give them the best damned candidate they could hope for. Someone that will shatter all their illusions of humanity and our abilities."

"Then why not someone with strong biotics? Why go to all the trouble of placing this…normal girl?"

"Biotics may be the future, but even you, with all your modifications, don't come close to a tenth of her potential."

"She's engineered then?" Miranda probed.

"Jealousy doesn't become you, you know."

"Hardly. You still haven't answered where she came from." Miranda's scowl deepened. She couldn't work out from the Illusive man's tone whether he was joking or not.

"Let's say she's been in my family for generations. The Council wants the best there is. I'm giving them the best there ever was."

"How's she better than any of our operatives?"

"Neither the Council nor the Alliance would accept a Cerberus operative. The background checks alone on one put forward to join the Spectres are too thorough to fake, even for myself. Any operative I planted would be discovered. Which is why I had this little project undertaken in utmost secrecy. Even she won't know how she came to be. I cannot allow any hint of Cerberus influence in getting her the candidacy, to be discovered."

"They'll never accept someone with no history either." Miranda pointed out.

"She does have a history. Although I doubt you looked for it in the right places." The Illusive man's mouth twitched slightly upwards in a smirk.

"You're holding a weak hand and gambling it all on a nobody catching the eye of the Council. This isn't like you."

"Oh, I very much doubt they'll miss her awakening. If she lives up to even a fraction of *his* potential…then things will be getting very, very interesting, very shortly." The Illusive man finally looked up from the reports. "My hand is a lot stronger than you suspect. After all, I'm holding all the wild cards."

x-X-x

Ranma Saotome blinked sleep from her eyes as she awoke to an unfamiliar tent. For a moment she just laid still and stared up at the tent roof and listened in for clues as to where she might be. The sound of running water nearby and waking in a tent suggested she was still deep in the wilds of Japan. Memories were slowing coming back, and one stood out. Herb. She must be till chasing the arrogant jerk who had locked the curse.

She yawned and winced as a stabbing pain in her ribs slammed her back to full wakefulness and yesterday's memories came flooding back. They had chased Herb to Mount Horaisan where she had faced off against the Musk Prince. The battle hadn't gone well. Herb had been extremely powerful, having reserves of chi Ranma had thought impossible. Casually throwing around chi attacks that ripped the mountain to shreds during their battle. Herb had even countered the Hiryu Shoten Ha.

"Damn it." she hissed through clenched teeth and her hands went to her side as she stiffly forced herself into a sitting position. She stared down at herself with a sad expression. Stuck. She was still stuck as a girl. Her last memories were of being caught in her own technique, but from there it got fuzzy. She vaguely recalled Ryouga running for the Open water Kettle. Anything after that drew a blank. She must have been knocked out by her own technique she reasoned and dropped that line of thought as the more she thought about it, the more her head began to ache.

"Explains the ribs." she muttered noticing the bandages were wrapped around her over the top of her shirt. "Ryouga…" Ranma sighed with an eye-roll. He must have rescued her as she could think of no one else who would be too embarrassed to take off her shirt to bandage her up.

She gently probed the painful area with her fingers, winching occasionally, but lucking nothing seemed to be broken, just some deep bruising. She estimated she would be fine to move around, probably well enough to fight in a few hours. She decided she needed to find out what had happened while she was out and then get that kettle. Ranma hoped it had not been destroyed in the fallout.

Deciding she wasn't going to get any closer to unlocking the curse lying in bed, Ranma got onto her knees and crawled over to the tent flap. She spotted a handwritten note pinned to the exit. She took the piece of paper down and read it.

"Gone to find water. Ryouga." Ranma read aloud with a sinking feeling that Ryouga wouldn't be outside after all. She pushed the flap aside and climbed out the tent. She had to pause in wonder at the odd landscape she found herself standing on.

She was on a grassy ledge, overlooking a massive lake. That wasn't what made her pause. It was that the lake appeared man-made, the entire area beyond built up like some futuristic city, but with trees and plant life dotted around on any spot they could be planted. Ranma could see bridges crossing the lake as she looked up and down. At either side of the lake, buildings made from a strangely cream coloured metal appeared to be built into the landscape stood with masses of balconies and ledges also filled with greenery. The ground seemed to curve up in the distance and even the lake followed the curvature.

Ranma scratched her head in confusion as she stared up at the sky and noticed it wasn't. It looked like clouds but she could see it was two-dimensional. Like a flat painting that was scrolling, giving the impression of clouds. As she stared a flying car zoomed past overhead. Ranma blinked in surprise, certain that there weren't flying cars in Japan, at least not yet. She tore her eyes away from the overhead vehicles and looked down to the pathway below her.

"Where the heck did you get us lost this time Ryouga?" Ranma wondered as she noticed the weird looking creatures walking along the walkways to the sides of the lake. She relaxed slightly at seeing plenty of normal looking people mingling alongside the creatures of various shapes and colours. If normal people weren't bothered by the creatures, then neither would she.

Ranma turned her attention away from the strange sights and back to the camp-site in search of Ryouga, or Mousse, and hopefully answers. All she found was a small and unburnt camp-fire with a little black metal pot on a tripod hanging above it, waiting to be used. No sign of Ryouga.

Ranma looked down at the note she still held in one hand and then over to the lake not more than four feet away. She let out an annoyed and long-suffering sigh before crumpling the note up and tossed it back in the tent.

"Only Bacon-breath could get lost looking for water next to a lake." Ranma stated as she watched one of the fountains spewing water into the air from the lake. She turned away and spotted Ryouga's backpack was lying by the tent. Ranma wandered over.

"Okay, hope you've got some food in here, I'm starving." Ranma muttered as she rifled through Ryouga's pack. She found a cup-noodle that would do for now and also a small fishing-pole that she pulled out. "Hmm, wonder if there's any fish in the lake?" Ranma said taking the pole.

Ranma took the pot off the tripod's hook and attached it to the fishing pole as she wandered past towards the edge of the grassy ledge she was on. She sat down carefully and lowered the pot into the water. A passing long faced and large eyed creature blinked rapidly as the pot dropped past nearby him, startling him. He gave Ranma a curious stare and a wide berth as she drew the filled pot back up.

Ranma took the filled pot off the fishing-pole. She set the fishing-pole aside and headed back to the camp-fire. She replaced the pot and managed to light the fire quickly with an improvised use of the Amaguriken speed and a dry twig. She waited until she was certain the fire wouldn't blow out, opened the cup noodles and placed them by the fire before she returned back to the lake. She retrieved the fishing-pole off the ground and sat down before she cast out into the lake and leaned back to wait for fish to start biting.

As she waited, she tried to figure out where she was. The 'park' she was in didn't look like any she had seen before. Then there was all the odd creatures wandering about that none of the other humans seemed to be reacting to as odd. Another thing she noticed was the fact that despite all the plant-life, there seemed to be no birds or even insects around. The air smelled clean but not fresh. She had the distinct impression everything was artificially arranged. Her contemplation of her current situation was interrupted by a cry.

"Gah! Human! What do you think you're doing?!" a voice, with an almost metallic sounding edge to it shouted out from behind Ranma.

"Huh?" Ranma turned towards the voice to see a tall, lizard-like creature stamping out her fire and her noodles. Once the fire was out the Turian turned his crested head to glare at her. "You jerk! That was my breakfast I was cooking!" Ranma snapped back after it took her a few moments to collect her thoughts.

The Turian grounds-keeper's mandibles twitched in annoyance as he addressed Ranma. "Cooking? Cooking! You can't just go starting fires on the Presidium! This is a major breach in health and safety! Not to mention destruction of Council property. I'll be reporting you to C-Sec!"

"Eh? It's just a small camp-fire -"

"Camp-fire!!" The Turian's voice rose in pitch as he looked scandalised by Ranma's reply. "You…you've the actual gall to set up a camp-site - wait - is…is that a fishing-pole?" he pointed a claw at the fishing-pole.

"No. It's a magic-stick that makes fish." Ranma dead-panned back. This guy's attitude was rubbing her the wrong way. The Turian grounds-keeper's jaw fell open and his mandibles went wide as he and Ranma stared at each other.

Shaking off his shock, the Turian stormed over to Ranma. He grabbed her arm and towered over the short girl. "This! This is why you humans shouldn't be allowed up here! No concern for others property-"

His rant was cut off as Ranma slugged him in the gut, bending the surprised Turian double and making him release her arm. She then reached up and grabbed the wide, stiff round collar of his strange suit.

"You need to cool off." Ranma stated as she threw him over her shoulder into the lake with a loud splash. She winced from the fresh stab of pain that moved caused, but it was worth it to see the creature's expression when he surfaced spluttering. The sudden splash drew a small crowd from nearby. People pointed and there were a few chuckles as the grounds-keeper began spluttering in rage.

"Somebody call C-Sec! Arrest that human!" he shouted and pointed up at Ranma. An empty cup-noodle bounced harmlessly off his head plates sending him back under the water in surprise.

"What's that? I can't hear ya." Ranma called down. She ignored all the stares she was getting, being quite used to that by now. "Stupid jerk, ruining my breakfast." She muttered shaking her head. She noticed another one of the lizard-guys moving towards her. This one was dressed differently. He wore blue armour and carried a gun attached to his leg and seemed to be talking into a microphone as he approached.

"Uh ho. Better leave." Ranma stated as she recognised a police officer when she saw one. Growing up with her father had taught her how to spot one. Ranma took off at a steady jog, which the C-Sec officer matched as he moved to intercept her. Ranma smirked as she hit the ledge edge and leaped high up onto one of the ledges further up. She then jumped across the twenty foot gap to a nearby balcony. Then she was off, hopping from balcony to balcony, quickly disappearing from sight. Jaws dropped at the casual display of prowess.

"I didn't know humans could do that." a nearby Salarian remarked in awe.

Once Ranma was certain she was far enough away, she dropped down to the walkway, landing next to a blue, almost human appearing girl aside from what would have been her hair seemed more like sweptback tentacles. She blinked at the red-head's sudden appearance and then looked upwards trying to find where she had dropped from. The balcony's above started on the third floor.

"Where…did you come from?" the blue lady asked in wonderment. Her wonder turned quickly to concern. "Are you okay?" she asked after her eyes spotted the bandages around Ranma's chest and her scuffed and tattered clothes.

"I'm fine." Ranma replied with a casual wave. "Hey, you wouldn't know any place to get some food?"

"Well, there's few places on the Presidium for food. Sloarkies down that way is a Turian-" she pointed.

"Thanks lady!" Ranma waved as she was already heading quickly that way.

"Err…you're welcome?" she waved back unsure as to what had just occurred.

Ranma slowed down to a brisk walk as she was drawing a lot of curious stares running along as she was. While she wandered the street looking for the food place, she studied the various fashions. Each species seemed to have it's own styles. Those lizard-guys liked tight clothing with wide open and round collars. Humans and the blue-lady's either wore dresses or suits. The large eyed creatures liked suits with a varied colour scheme and pattern. Usually Ranma could judge the area she was in from the clothing, but here she had no clue.

"Wonder if this is the place?" Ranma said as she slowed and stopped in front of an opening. There was a large glowing sign above it. She wasn't sure if the building she stopped at was this 'Sloarkies' or not, but the bar-like appearance set back from the walkway suggested it could be. As she stared up at the glowing sign outside, the unfamiliar script shifted and changed into text she could read. "Neat. Sloarkies." Ranma read. "Guess this is the place."

The sounds of sizzling and the smell of odd spices she couldn't recognise drew her towards the food bar. There weren't any people sitting on the stools as she approached but she could see another of those lizard-guys working away.

"Yo. You do good food here?" Ranma asked, standing at the bar and putting her fingers on the edge.

"Just *good* food? I do the best food on all of the Pres-" Sloark stated turning. The Turian chef paused at seeing the dishevelled human girl looking up at him. "Er, you're a human."

"Last time I checked." Ranma stated, double-checking just in case. With the way her life had turned out, it paid to check.

"Ah, kid. This is a Turian restaurant. You should go elsewhere."

"You got a problem with humans?" Ranma asked with a slight narrowing of her eyes. Were all these lizard-guy's not friendly to humans?

"Hey! Hey! I haven't got a problem with you guys." Sloark waved his clawed hands. "But I only do Turian food you see. You should go find that human delicacy ramen bar down on the wards or one of the multi-species restaurants."

"Delicacy? Ramen? You're joking right?" Ranma stared up at the Turian chef unbelievingly.

"You mean it isn't?" Sloark pondered with a claw under his chin. "That lying little toe-rag. Heh, always did think it was weird of you guys to eat something that looks like worms in mud."

"So is that Turian food you're cooking?" Ranma pointed, guessing Turian was his species from the way he talked.

"Of course."

"It smells good."

"Damn straight it does. I'm making it." Sloark stated proudly.

"So can I order some?" Ranma pouted cutely. Her stomach grumbled.

Sloark rubbed one mandible nervously. "Look, kid. I can see you're hungry and all, but most Turian spices make you humans ill, okay."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Like most of your human food does the same to us guys. Something about our biology."

"Heh. I'm pretty hardy when it comes to food. I've survived my fiancée's cooking. I doubt a few measly spices will hurt me." Ranma stated thumbing her breastbone.

"Maybe, but I don't want to be the one to call for a doctor. Neither do I want to get caught up in some sort of claim that I poisoned you on purpose and you're suing me. Can't be too careful in this sue-happy era."

"So…so you won't serve me?" Ranma sniffed and used the devastating kicked-puppy technique.

"Err…is something wrong with your eyes?" Sloark asked with a hint of concern in his voice. "They've gone all weird and…large…"

'Drat. The cute girl act doesn't work on these guys.' Ranma sighed as she switched off the cute act. Then she asked, "Will you serve me if I promise not to sue?"

"You're not going to leave until I do are you." Sloark stated with a sigh. "Fine…put it in writing and I'll try and cook you something none-allergenic to you."

"Yatta!" Ranma cheered.

"You can pay for it right kid?" Sloark questioned, bringing Ranma back down to earth with a bump. He eyed her damaged shirt. "Just you look a little…rough around the edges."

"Well I got-" Ranma felt around in her pockets and pulled out what yen she still had. She counted it quickly. "About fifty-thousand yen. That should cover it right?" she added hopefully.

"Yen? Oh, that must human money I guess." Sloark realised as he saw the notes and coins Ranma held. "Ah…kid. I can't accept that. I need either standard galactic credits or an electronic transfer."

"Oh…can I work for the food then? I've served as a waitress before."

"Sorry, I don't need a waitress. This place isn't that big." Sloark responded. He could easily see the girl become dejected by his response. Taking pity on her he added. "Kid, if you go to your human embassy I'm sure they'll be able to exchange your money for the standard credits. Then you can come back. Hows that sound?"

"Right! I'll be right back!" Ranma stated rushing off. Sloark shook his head at the odd human. Ranma suddenly reappeared, skidding to a halt before the food-bar. "Err, do you know where the embassy is?"

"Across the lake and about half a mile that way." he pointed.

"Thanks again!" Ranma rushed off again leaving behind a bewildered Turian.

Ranma raced across the bridge, dodging startled bystanders and then headed in the direction Sloark had pointed. With the way the place was laid out she doubted she would get lost and let her mind drift. The First thing was to get food. That was well under way. Second was to find Ryouga again. A little harder, but she would bet her remaining money that Ryouga would find her sometime soon, he always did. Then they needed to train harder, she already had ideas for new techniques after seeing what Herb was capable of. Then rematch time with Herb. Next time she would be ready for him and would beat him so hard his grand-children would regret ever locking the curse. Then home. Easy.

The redhead slid to a halt outside a large opening in the wall and looked around. There were two large glass displays behind a set of three seats, stood to either side, separating a small area of grass from the entrance. A glowing and transparent figure stood before a console before her. Two large banners with a starfish-like symbol, that Ranma didn't know represented the Citadel's five arms, hung above the grassy area. To the back of the room was a desk and another blue woman sat behind it. The place looked like something important so Ranma wandered in.

"Hello, and welcome to the Citadel unknown human." the transparent woman greeted Ranma as she passed. "My name is Avina. How may I be of assistance?"

Ranma paused before turning to face the ghostly image. She decided to be polite to the ghost, better safe than sorry. "Err, hi. I'm Ranma Soatome."

"Greetings Ranma Saotome. I have added your name to my database. How may I help you?"

"Are you a ghost?" Ranma asked curiously passing her hand through the hologram.

"I am the Citadel's VI, or Virtual Intelligence program. I act as a guide and historian to the Citadel's visitors."

"Program? Is that some sorta computer thing?" Ranma eyed the hologram.

"A crude and basic definition, but correct." Avina replied. "Is there anything you wish to know?"

"Yeah actually. Have you seen a Ryouga Hibiki around? About this tall," Ranma indicated. "Has black hair with a yellow and black spotted bandanna. Carries a big umbrella with him all the time and can get lost in a room with one door."

"One moment." Avina responded. The hologram went quiet for a two seconds. "There are zero Ryouga Hibiki's currently on the Citadel. Is there anything else you wish to know?"

"Guess that was too much to hope for." Ranma muttered to herself. "How about Mousse?"

"Many fine haircare products are available on levels 26 to 27 of the Zekera Wards. Is there anything else you wish to know?"

"Is this the human embassy?"

"The human embassy is one of the embassies currently stationed in this building. Is there anything else you wish to know?"

"Great!" Ranma exclaimed as something was finally going right. "Where is it? I need to get some yen converted to…erm, credits I think?"

"Monetary conversions are available at the embassy. However, the human embassy is currently closed."

"What? Why?"

"That information is classified under Alliance military and Council orders."

"Can't you just let me in?" Ranma pleaded.

"I am sorry. That is not in my programming."

"Aww man. I really need my money changing." Ranma huffed. Well, maybe it was time to try bribing. "Are you sure you can't let me in? A cute program like you should be able to right?"

Avina's image suddenly flickered before stabilising.

"Are you okay?" Ranma asked at the sudden but brief glitch and wondered how much trouble she could get into if she had broken Avina.

"I am experiencing minor corruption in my personality database." Avina stated. "Thank you for asking Ranma."

"Oh good. I'm glad you're okay Av-chan."

"Av-chan…" Avina repeated slowly before the hologram smiled dreamily.

"So you're sure you can't let me in?" Ranma asked again.

"Hmm…oh my. I'm very sorry Ranma, but I am unable to override the security locks."

"Oh…"

"But the human embassy is up there." Avina pointed up and to her right. Ranma leaned past the hologram to see the balcony she was pointing at. "As you can see, access could be gained by climbing."

"Thanks Av-chan!" Ranma grinned. "You're the best VI I've ever met. The only one too, but still the bestest. See ya later!" Ranma rushed outside.

"Teehee! Come back any time!" the hologram giggled like a schoolgirl.

Ranma slid to a halt and frowned as a foreboding chill ran through her. 'Fiancée senses tingling…' Ranma thought looking around nervously. She didn't see anything fiancée shaped approaching and slowly relaxed. 'Don't be silly Ranma. They're all still back in Nerima.' she chided herself.

"Right! Time to get my money changed!" Ranma exclaimed loudly enough to startle the human couple who were wandering past her. Ranma braced her legs and then thrust herself into the air. She shot up like a rocket, passing the balcony easily. For a brief moment, at the apex of her jump, she hung weightless in the air before the artificial gravity took control again. She saw two human men and one Turian talking with a holographic image of a third human below her as she began to descend. The older, grey haired man suddenly turned and began walking over towards the balcony.

"Is that the kind of person we *want* protecting the galaxy?" the older man was saying as Ranma realised he had walked right underneath where she was going to land.

"Oh crap. Look out below!" Ranma called out a warning as she descended towards the unaware man.

"That's -" Captain Anderson was cut off by the sudden shouted out warning. He looked up in surprise. As did the Turian, Nihlus.

Ambassador Udina looked around in surprise before realising a shadow was growing over him. He looked up in time to see Ranma before she slammed into him. They both went sprawling across the office, coming to a halt with Udina pinned under the short girl.

"Oops." Ranma stated at the shocked looks she was getting. Udina moved underneath her and let out startled noises. Ranma quickly got off him and went to help the diplomat up.

"Sorry about that." Ranma apologised helping Udina sit up.

"Gah! Yu've brok my noise!" Udina held his fingers to his bleeding nostrils. His eyes streamed tears from the pain.

"Oh man, I'm really sorry. Let me fix that." Ranma forced his hands away and quickly reset his nose by pinching it and giving it a tug. She pushed a little ki into it too to help it set. Udina shrieked like a little girl as Ranma fixed the damage. He batted her hands away.

"Help she's trying to kill me!" Udina shouted as he scuttled away from Ranma, holding his nose all the way. He pointed a finger accusingly.

"Hey! I said I was sorry! And I fixed your nose!" Ranma hopped to her feet and shouted down at the Ambassador.

Captain Anderson quickly moved over to check Udina and to hopefully calm the situation down.

"Calm down Ambassador." Anderson soothed. "Let me check that. Hmm, doesn't seem broken, just bruised." The Captain turned to regard Ranma.

"Are you sure Anderson? It certainly feels broken." Udina complained snorting a fresh blob of blood onto his white suit.

"It'll be fine. I made sure." Ranma stated helpfully from the side.

Nihlus moved over to the balcony after accessing the situation. He didn't believe they were in any danger from the girl who had suddenly crashed into the office. Though he suspected she was going to be in big trouble in a few minutes. The Turian Spectre placed his hands on the edge of the balcony and looked up. There were no balconies above the embassies, just to prevent someone dropping in unexpectedly during private talks such as these. His face plates shifted into a frown. She couldn't have climbed up the walls, they were too smooth and unless she jumped from a moving vehicle he couldn't figure out how she had come to be falling from such a height. Nihlus turned back into the room and awaited for the explanation.

"I'm calling C-Sec!" Udina sent a glare at Ranma as Anderson helped him stand. "You're in serious trouble young lady!"

"Let's just all calm down." Anderson tried to regain control of the situation. "Who are you? And how did you end up in a position to be falling onto the Ambassador?".

"I'm Ranma Saotome. Sorry about that." Ranma replied.

"I need a squad of officers sent to the human embassy this moment!" Udina was talking to someone in C-Sec from a terminal across the room. "There's a violent psychopath trying to kill me!"

"I don't think that's necessary, Ambassador." Anderson called over and was ignored.

"What's his problem?" Ranma asked leaning to look around the Captain.

"Between you and me…" Anderson leant down to whisper to Ranma. "I think you broke the stick up his ass." He straightened up and continued aloud. "But you did interrupt an important meeting. This is very serious. You're going to be in quite a bit of trouble unfortunately."

"Feh. When am I not?" Ranma waved off the problem dismissively.

"If I may ask," Nihlus interrupted. "How exactly did you come to be falling on the Ambassador?"

"Oh right! This is the human embassy right?"

"That's correct." Anderson nodded.

"Great! I needed to talk with you guys but Av-chan-"

"Av-chan?" Nihlus queried.

"The cute Veeye outside." Ranma stated to nods of realisation. "Av-chan said the door was locked but I could probably just climb in to see you. It's important."

"That doesn't sound like something the Citadel's VI would be programmed to do." Nihlus folded his arms, suspecting Ranma was lying. "So you climbed up the wall and fell."

"Nah. I jumped up here."

"You…jumped up here?" Anderson said disbelievingly. "That's impossible!"

"Huh? It's only the first floor." Ranma rolled her eyes. "That's nothing to a martial artist like myself. I mean, even Akane can manage that easily."

Anderson and Nihlus exchanged a glance that said "Be careful. She seems delusional."

Ranma didn't miss the sudden change in the pair's stances. "So…anyway. I need my money changed to credits so I can buy some food. I was told this is the place." Ranma reached into her pockets and pulled out a handful of coins much the sudden tensing of her audience. They relaxed at seeing the harmless coins.

"You broke into a private meeting and assaulted me so you could get your money exchanged!?" Udina rejoined the conversation with a shriek of disgust.

"Well yeah? I'm hungry." Ranma stated and as if to punctuate the remark her stomach growled loudly. All eyes looked down at Ranma's stomach as she rubbed the back of her head and gave a weak chuckle.

The door to the rear of the room slid open and four C-Sec officers, two humans and two Turians spilled into the room, guns drawn and seeking a target. Ranma didn't know exactly what was going on but when four armed people burst into a room, her reactions took over.

"Arrest that girl!" Udina demanded seconds before the C-Sec officer's guns all sparked as something slammed into them and sent them flying out of their hands. Udina shrieked in terror and dived behind one of the desks as a red and black blur shot across the room. The four disarmed officer's were thrown one after the other by blows too quick to follow against the far wall. They landed in a groaning heap as Ranma reappeared by the desks.

"Wow. Do you guys get attacked a lot as well?" Ranma turned back to Anderson and Nihlus. Nihlus had his rifle drawn and was aiming it at her. Anderson looked ready to fight as well. With a sinking feeling Ranma thought, 'Oh great. I think I wasn't supposed to beat them up. Typical.'

"Ah…maybe I should be going…" Ranma stated slowly.

"I think not." Nihlus informed her, keeping her in his sights.

"No, I really think I should be going…" Ranma stated as she went to move.

Nihlus didn't hesitate to pull the trigger, firing a grain of sand sized projectile at supersonic speeds. The far wall sparked and cratered from the impact as Ranma had sidestepped before he had even finished pulling the trigger. Nihlus stood stunned. 'Nobody is fast enough to dodge these weapons!' he thought in shock. The next thing he knew was Ranma slapping his gun from his hands.

"Sorry about this." Nihlus heard Ranma say as her heel came around and slammed into his armour, sending him careening across the room. Udina had poked his head out to see what had happened and ended up buried underneath a surprised Spectre.

Ranma turned to face the only person still standing. Anderson brought his fists up in a boxing stance for all the good he expected it to do against this girl who had just demolished four C-Sec officers and a Spectre.

"I should be going." Ranma remarked and back-flipped over the balcony and out of the embassy. Anderson blinked for a moment in surprise that he was still fine before rushing over to the balcony. He placed both hands onto the ledge and stared down. Ranma had landed crouched on all fours like a gargoyle on the fence that ran around the lake. She stood smoothly and raced off along the narrow ledge and disappeared into the distance.

"What in the world just happened…?" Anderson asked nobody in particularity.

"I believe we just got our asses handed to us, as you humans say." Nihlus stated as he joined Anderson in watching the red head vanish from sight.

"This is an outrage!" Udina appeared now the fighting was over. "That terrorist has to be hunted down right this instant!"

Anderson exchanged a glance with Nihlus before replying. "Ambassador, I got the feeling she was telling the truth. Or at least thought she was. I feel she didn't mean to attack us."

"I agree with the Captain." Nihlus stated. "She had ample time to do more than just throw us around."

"Didn't mean to! She broke my nose! Do you have any idea how bad this makes us look Captain? If we can't even deal with a single terrorist! We must capture her and make an example!"

"I'll get right on it Ambassador." Anderson relented just to pacify Udina.

"Good." Udina spun on his heel. "If you need me, I'll be in my office with an icepack."

Anderson squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose as he shook his head. Udina was difficult to please at the best of times, and he had taken this Ranma's quite possibly accidental assault personally. 'This is not how I wanted to spend the rest of my career. Tiptoeing around politicians all day.'

"Captain. Take a look at this." Nihlus's surprised voice brought Anderson out of his thoughts.

"What is it?" he wandered over to where the Spectre was crouched. Nihlus stood back up smoothly and handed him one of the C-Sec officer's guns. Anderson took it and turned it over, examining it. His eyes widened in surprise at the sight. He had to double check it, just in case his eyes were playing tricks.

"Is this real?" Anderson stated wide eyed.

"As far as I can tell." Nihlus replied. "All four guns are ruined. Each with a coin fused halfway down the barrel."

"How did she do that?"

Nihlus picked up another gun and ran a digit over the melted lump of metal that had once been a coin. It stuck half out the barrel, where it had torn down one side before becoming embedded.

"I didn't see, but my guess is she threw them."

"That's impossible!" Anderson exclaimed.

"She wasn't carrying any weapons that I could see." Nihlus turned to Anderson. "I can only guess she's a biotic, and is somehow capable of copying the methods used in our guns."

"But…Using a mass effect field to accelerate a coin to supersonic speeds? The control required for that is beyond anything I've heard of in a human. Not even many of the Asari have that sort of control."

They both went silent contemplating the possibilities.

"What now?" Anderson asked first.

"For now, I'm going to track her down." Nihlus stated moving over to retrieve his rifle. He checked it make sure it was undamaged and reattached it his armour.

"Do you need any help?"

"No. I work faster alone." The Spectre stated leaving the room.

x-X-x

Ranma kept running until she had put plenty of distance between her and the embassy. She mentally berated herself for getting too excited and causing more trouble than she needed. All she wanted was to get some food. Was that too much to ask?

She dropped back to the walkway after running along a ledge high above the rest of the Presidium. Making sure she saw none of the local police force, or Turians, she had enough of them already to last a lifetime, Ranma stepped out of the shadowy alcove she had landed in and walked over to a bench, shaded by the tree behind it, overlooking the lake. She sat down and placed her chin in her hands and let out a dejected sigh.

"I'm still hungry…"

A shadow fell over Ranma and something warm and squishy landed gently on her shoulder. Ranma turned to see a pink, shiny tentacle resting on her shoulder. Her eyes followed the appendage up to what she immediately labelled as a jellyfish. A big, pink, floating jellyfish with six tentacles.

"Greetings human. This one would enquire if this spot is taken-"

"Gah!" Ranma bolted away by back-flipping over the bench and up into the tree behind her.

The Hanar remained still, it's single tentacle still held where it had landed on Ranma's shoulder. It looked up into the tree in surprise.

"This one is startled…" The Hanar flickered with bioluminescence light inside it's body, almost in a pattern that suggest it was blinking in surprise. It floated a little closer to the tree, which suddenly shook. A few leaves came free and floated down.

"Stay back!" Ranma called down from her perch in the tree.

"This one curiously asks if you are feeling well?" The Hanar tried to be helpful as the human seemed to be nervous. "It wishes to assist if you need it."

"Hah! That's what you want me to think! I've seen what you do to girls in those manga Hiroshi and Daisuke had."

"…" The Hanar continued to stare up into the tree not understanding. "This one is confused. What has this one done to you human?"

"You? Nothing yet." Ranma's upside-down head popped out from underneath the leaves of the tree as she addressed the Hanar. "And you ain't going to get chance to!" She quickly vanished back up into the tree.

The Hanar floated backwards away from the tree in surprise. After a moment of deliberation the Hanar once again tried to talk with the human. "This one means you no harm. It only wishes to rest in the shade of this tree."

"Really?" Ranma's head reappeared. She eyed the Hanar suspiciously.

"This one would not lie to you." The Hanar slowly made to leave. "But it can see you are suspicious of this one's motives. It will leave you alone. It merely wanted a place to rest."

"Hey, if you're just looking for a place to rest, that spot was free." Ranma's conscious got the better of her as she heard the sadness in the Hanar's voice. The Hanar paused and turned back once again.

"You are willing to share this spot after all?"

"I guess." Ranma replied dropping onto the bench again. She shuffled to the furthest spot away from the Hanar as it returned to where they had met. "But you better keep your tentacles to yourself, or you'll be wearing them as bows."

"Ahh. This one understands. Initiating physical contact without asking first is considered impolite amongst humans. This one will not do such again."

"You better not." Ranma stated and promised to keep an eye on the Hanar at all times. Just in case.

"This one politely asks how long have you been on the Citadel?" The Hanar began to make small talk.

"Just a few hours, I think. Can't have been out for long."

"Oh. This one sees. You have recently arrived. As has this one. Are you alone?"

"Pretty much. At least until Ryouga finds me again."

"As is this one."

Ranma watched the Hanar from the corner of her eyes and slowly relaxed. The tentacle monster seemed polite, but that could be a ploy to make her let her guard down. "So why are you here?" Ranma asked.

"This one came to spread the word about the Enkindlers. However, the residents have been most unwilling to listen."

"Why?"

"The honourable C-Sec officer claims, this one, needs a permit to tell the truth."

"C-Sec." Ranma muttered displeased. She had only been awake for a while and had already heard that word far too many times already. So far her run-ins, with those guys weren't one of her best moments. "Those jerks have been bothering you too huh?"

"That is true. This one is too polite to ignore their laws though."

"So why don't you get one of those permits?" Ranma asked turning to face the Hanar.

"This one has no money…" The Hanar stated with embarrassment.

"I have. But it useless here and I can't get it changed. Had to waste four-hundred yen too." Ranma stated. They both sighed at the same time.

"Excuse me Miss." A guy in his twenties approached the pair. He looked like he hadn't slept for a couple of days, greasy, messy dark hair and sunken eyes. A few days worth of stubble lined his jaw. "I couldn't help overhearing that you're alone and needed money exchanged." He licked his lips nervously as his eyes darted rapidly about.

"What's it to you?" Ranma stated sharply as warning bells went off in her head.

"I'm Jaret. I own a shop in the market district. I do money exchanges and other supplies." Jaret explained.

"Really? That's convenient." Ranma stated in a tone that said she wasn't convinced. "I was told only the embassy did that."

"It's off the records." Jaret responded quickly.

"Under-the-counter stuff eh?" Ranma replied slyly.

"Shush! Keep it down." Jaret glanced around again. "Look, it's nothing illegal. But I should have permits for the stuff okay."

"This one does not like the sound of your business." The Hanar stated.

"Is the Jellyfish with you?"

"This one takes offence at your words!" The Hanar sounded disgusted as it ruffled up in annoyance.

"I'd apologise to…" Ranma had to pause as she didn't know the Hanar's name. "What's your name anyway?" She asked her floating acquaintance.

"This one can be referred to as, One Who Comes To Preach."

"Right…apologise to Preacher." Ranma told Jaret.

"Err…sorry?"

"This one will humbly accept your apology." The newly dubbed Preacher replied.

"So you claim you can give me a transfer?" Ranma stood up.

"That's right." Jaret turned his attention back to Ranma. "How much you got?"

"About fifty-thousand yen." Ranma stated. "I need it in those credits."

"Fifty-thousand yen." Jaret mumbled as he held his arm up and a glowing orange interface popped up around his arm. He typed the data in as Ranma studied the holographic interface in interest. That was a neat trick she thought. "With the current exchange rate and a small commission you'll have nearly two thousand credits. Come along and I'll sort you out."

"Fine." Ranma agreed after a moment. She doubted this guy could cause her any problems anyway, if he was trying to rob her. She'd just beat him up a little.

"Excellent!" Jaret exclaimed, far too happily. "Follow me Miss." He set off at a brisk pace.

"Excuse me." Preacher held a tentacle up as Ranma passed. The pigtailed martial artist took a wary step away from the Hanar. "This one would offer to come with you. This one does not trust that human."

"That's okay. Neither do I." Ranma replied. "I can deal with him by myself."

"This one would not feel comfortable leaving you alone. This one would not sleep well if it found out you had been hurt when it could have prevented such an occurrence."

"I'll be fine."

"This one still wishes to make certain."

"Okay then, come along. But remember what I said about tentacles." Ranma said and took off after Jaret with Preacher floating after her.

"Is the je – Hanar coming too?" Jaret asked in surprise as he noticed the Hanar following as well.

"You got a problem with him?" Ranma asked.

"No. No. Let's just go."

Jaret led them down the street until they came to a doorway with a sign saying "To the Markets." The door led to a corridor, lit in a faintly blue lighting. As they approached the glass door at the far end, Ranma realised it was a lift.

The ride down to the markets was a long and nerve-wracking one for Ranma, being in close proximity to Preacher, but he behaved himself and never once lifted a tentacle. Ranma began to trust that the Hanar wasn't actually going to try anything and those manga had been unrealistic after all. When a news report suddenly blurted out Ranma had actually flinched at the sudden noise.

"Man, does this thing ever stop?" Ranma commented to quickly hide the fact she had jumped.

"Yeah, everybody complains about the speed of the elevators. Nobody does anything about them though." Jaret stated.

When the elevator finally came to a halt, Jaret led them through the dark streets. Ranma took in all the new sights and sounds. The closest place Ranma could describe it like was Singapore. She and her father had passed through once after swimming across the sea. The more they followed Jaret deeper into the Wards, the more Ranma noticed the areas getting seedier. She remained relaxed in appearance as she walked along, but inside she was ready for anything.

She spotted a few new species down on the Wards. Large bulky looking dinosaur like people that took delight in glaring at them as they passed by and some way shorter than herself little guys in spacesuits.

"This is the place." Jaret suddenly announced outside a doorway. He pressed a switch and the door opened. He let Ranma and Preacher in first then followed.

Inside the place was just a small room littered with a few crates and single desk and terminal. A Krogan looked up from where he leant against the desk. Two fully armoured up Salarians, faces hidden behind masks also turned to the opened door.

"Well, well, well. Jaret." The Krogan rumbled in a gravelly voice and stepped away from the desk. "You actually had the quads to come in here."

"Hey, Okar." Jaret nervously greeted.

"I take it by me not having to hunt you down you have the credits you worthless addict?" Okar approached them. He stopped before Jaret and glared.

"This girl has money. You'll have to get it exchanged but it will cover my debt." Jaret explained shoving Ranma in front of the Krogan. He held onto her shoulders. Ranma didn't look impressed but she allowed the manhandling.

"This one knew this was a bad idea…" Preacher stated in worry.

"About what I'd expect from you Jaret." Okar sniffed in disgust as he turned his attention to Ranma. "I take it you didn't have any idea about this girl."

"Nope." Ranma grinned up cheerfully.

"Heh. Well then hand it over and then get outta my sight you worms." Okar stated turning away.

"Like hell ugly." Ranma grinned like an idiot. Jaret's eyes went wide and his finger gripped her tighter in shock. Okar rounded on the still grinning Ranma. His Salarian guards reached for their guns.

"She didn't mean that-" Jaret tried to explain.

"Yes I did." Ranma piped up.

"No she didn't!" Jaret squeaked in terror.

"Did I hear correctly?" Okar asked getting right in Ranma's face. He snorted at her.

"Depends." Ranma continued grinning, unconcerned about the far larger Krogan glaring daggers at her. "If you heard me say you weren't getting my money and you're ugly then yeah."

Okar's lips drew back slightly, almost in a smirk. "You're either brave or very, very stupid human."

"Listen, this guy promised to get my money changed so I could then go buy myself some breakfast. I feel like I ain't eaten for days and I'm hungry. You won't like me when I'm hungry." Ranma continued smiling. "I'm not leaving until I get my credits."

Okar's red eyes bored into Ranma's blue as they stared each other down, until Okar looked up, away from Ranma to Jaret who was sweating in terror.

"You know what happens to sand-blasted addicts who don't pay their debts." Okar growled.

"Take the girl! She's got to be worth more than me!" Jaret quickly said. "At least five thousand credits to the right buyer right? That more than my debt!"

"Five thousand?" Ranma sounded scandalised. "I'm worth at least double that."

"Yeah! To the right buyer she's worth loads. They love them pretty young girls!" Jaret exclaimed. "I'll even throw the jellyfish in for free right!"

"The Hanar is worthless to slavers. And how do I know your not pulling a fast one? You humans all look the same to me." Okar growled.

"Hey! I may not like being a girl, but at least I'm a damned pretty one!" Ranma exclaimed.

"Are you trying to make me actually take you as his payment?" Okar stared in surprise.

"Actually I'd like to see you try, you overgrown geko." Ranma smirked her best annoying smirk. The tension that filled the room could have been cut with a knife.

"I'm going to enjoy breaking every bone in your soft body human." Okar snarled reaching out for Ranma's throat. She didn't stay still to let him catch her. Stepping forward she casually deflected his arm with her own and then slammed over three hundred blows into the Krogan's pelvic area in less than a second. Okar's eyes bulged and he dropped to floor clutching between his legs. "Ahh! Right in the quads!"

Jaret's eyes threatened to fall out of his head at seeing Okar drop in what looked to be a single blow by the tiny girl he had led here. Preacher dived behind some crates as the Salarians opened fire after only a moment to get over their surprise.

Ranma casually stepped around the projectiles, always one step ahead of the Salarians as they littered the room with gunfire. Jaret joined Preacher behind the crate and began praying to God.

Within seconds Ranma had closed the gap between her and the Salarians. She kicked one's gun out of his hand, followed through with another kick, knocking the second's into the air as well. She caught the two weapons and spun them around her pointer fingers.

"Looking for these?" She asked the Salarians who clutched at their wrists in surprise and pain. Ranma brought the two guns together with a clack, and in a show of strength proceeded to crush them into a ball of broken metal and plastics. She handed the ball to the nearest one who took it absently in shock. They glanced at each other and then at the grinning human girl. Then without a word they fled past her and out the door without looking back.

Jaret and Preacher had poked their head, and what passed for a head, over the crate to stare in awe at Ranma. Behind her, Okar climbed to his feet, growling in rage.

"I'll rip you apart!" The angry Krogan bellowed as he charged towards Ranma. She hopped lightly over the charging Krogan and Okar flew underneath her harmlessly until he slammed into the wall, being unable to stop in time.

"Wow. Ugly and stupid. Your parents must be proud." Ranma remarked as she landed lightly while Okar shook off the self inflicted blow.

"Bitch!" Okar attempted to grab her but found himself flying through the air as Ranma caught one of his outstretched arms and flipped him over onto his back with a thud. She then grabbed hold of the front of his armour and squeezed. Okar saw her petite fingers sink into his armour as if it were play-dough and not toughened steel weave, and then she dragged him across the floor, lifted the heavy Krogan up and slammed him back into the wall. He found himself held up by the tiny human and could only stare in stunned silence.

Okar went to fight back when a feeling of absolute fear washed over him freezing him in place. Ranma's face was no longer grinning, she stared at him with hard eyes. Shadows danced across her face as she used her battle aura and killing intent to freeze the Krogan. He had never felt so certain of defeat than he did at this moment.

"You know one thing I hate more than being hungry?" Ranma stated pushing back against the pinned and frozen Krogan. His armour groaned and folded in on itself, pressing tight against his throat and slowly making it harder for him to breathe. "Those that prey on those weaker than themselves. And slavery has got to be the worst form of that." Ranma punctuated that remark with another push, cutting off Okar's ability to breathe. Ranma held Okar for another ten seconds to make sure he got the point before pulling his armour apart at the throat and allowing him to breathe once more.

She stepped to the side and the Krogan hit the floor on his hands and knees, gasping for breath. After Okar caught his breath he turned his head towards Ranma and stared up at her in disbelief as he rubbed at his throat.

"What are you?" the Krogan asked.

"I'm Ranma Saotome of the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts." Ranma stated proudly. "I'm the best there is, and I hate slavers. Oh and being hungry."

"I don't deal in slaves." Okar stated regaining his feet. "Only addicts like Jaret get handed over to those that supply the red sand if they can't pay. As far as I'm concerned they bring it on themselves." Okar wandered over towards the desk. "Heh, you're a heck of a fighter human. I can respect that. Here." Okar tossed something at Ranma who caught it easily. She stared at the cards. "That's the money I pay for those two guards that ran away like scared children. You deserve that more than they do. Take it and go."

"What about him?" Ranma pointed at Jaret who was edging slowly towards the exit. He froze.

"What do you care? He tried to auction you off to pay for his debt?" Okar snorted.

"I don't really, but no one deserves to be a slave." Ranma stated.

"Well…I think a few broken bones will ease my anger…" Okar grinned sadistically. Ranma thought about it for a moment.

"He deserves it, I guess. Just make sure he gets sent to the police or whatever passes as them here. Alive!" Ranma demanded.

"I swear on my forefather's honour he'll live." Okar stated. Ranma gave the Krogan a nod as she felt his words were true. "Come on Preacher, lets get outta here." Ranma said walking towards the exit.

"This one could not agree more with those words." The Hanar quickly followed.

"Ranma Saotome!" Okar called just as the door slid open. Ranma glanced back over her shoulder with one hand on the door frame. "May you find strong opponents to fight."

She nodded in reply as one warrior to another before leaving Jaret to his quite likely painful fate.

x-X-x

From a darkened corner, Nihlus watched the red haired girl leave the building with the Hanar. He studied her back intently.

"Ranma Saotome eh…an interesting girl."

x-X-x

"This one cannot believe what it witnessed." Preacher stated excitedly as they left the lift and walked back towards the Presidium. "You were amazing."

"I am the best after all." Ranma remarked proudly.

"This one was sure we were doomed. But you were all…woosh. Punch. Kick. Jump. And…amazing. This one feels as if you are a sign."

"A sign?" Ranma looked up at the floating Hanar.

"Yes. This one was unsure whether it was worth spreading the word of the Enkindlers to those here that tried to silence this one. You have inspired me to stand for what this one believes. I must take my leave of you Ranma Saotome and go forth and spread enlightenment to all. This one shall not be moved from this path! Fare you well."

"See ya around." Ranma waved as the Hanar moved off along the street. A grumble from her stomach reminded her of why she went through all that trouble just recently. "Food!"

Ranma quickly raced back along the Presidium towards Sloark's food bar. She dived onto one of the stools.

"Hey, hey! I got the money." Ranma exclaimed to the surprise of one Turian customer and Sloark.

"Oh, you're back…I thought with the length of time you were gone for you'd have given up and gone to find a human restaurant." Sloark remarked.

"It took longer than I expected. The guys at the embassy weren't very helpful and then I had to beat up a dinosaur, but here I am. You promised to feed me if I paid." Ranma grinned cheesily as she flashed the credits.

"Wow, Sloark. You're feeding humans now?" the Turian customer asked. "Should I be ready to call an ambulance?" he chuckled.

"That's what I'm afraid of actually Garrus." Sloark muttered under his breath. "Fine. I promised to try and make something you could eat."

"Thanks! You're the best." Ranma smiled.

"Got yourself an admirer." Garrus chuckled finishing off his food.

"You can keep your witticisms to yourself if you want me to keep making stuff for you." Sloark grumbled as he worked away.

"Now that's unfair." Garrus chuckled. He turned to Ranma curiously and studied her. "Were you in a fight?" he asked pointing at her bandages.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. There was this arrogant jerk who was trying to kill me." Ranma explained.

"What? Did you report him to C-Sec?"

"Err, no."

"Why not? If someone is trying to kill you, you should." Garrus said.

"Ah, he was only trying to kill me a little. Anyway I lived. Next time I'm gonna kick his butt into next year."

"You're a strange one." Garrus remarked, unsure if she was actually telling the truth with the casual way she described someone trying to kill her. "But you really should report this guy to C-Sec. We could protect you."

"You're with C-Sec?" Ranma asked as the temperature dropped sharply around them.

"Yeah I am. Why?"

"I've had nothing but trouble with you guys." Ranma turned away from Garrus with a sniff.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Well, next time one bothers you ask them for their badge number and report them to me. I can look into it for you."

"Here you go girl." Sloark interrupted them by sliding a plate before Ranma. "I hope neither of us regrets this."

"Finally!" Ranma cheered picking up the fork. She studied the food for a moment. There were some green leafy vegetables and other round speckled ones she didn't recognise, along with a lot of little dark round shell looking things. Ranma shrugged and picked up one of the shell things.

"Now with those you break off -" Garrus stated seeing Ranma hesitate a moment. He stopped talking in surprise as Ranma popped it in her moth and went to chew it. " - the shell…" Garrus trailed off.

Crunch!

Ranma chewed through the hard shell to the shock of both Turians.

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Then it was gone.

"Hmm, kinda crunchy." Ranma remarked. "Slightly coppery taste. But not bad." she quickly began eating the rest, shells and all.

Both Sloark and Garrus had their jaws hanging open as Ranma devoured the meal in seconds, even with crunching through the shells you weren't actually meant to eat.

"Not bad." Ranma patted her stomach. "Different."

"Did I see what I think I saw?" Garrus asked turning to Sloark.

"If you saw her just devour a full meal in seconds, shells and all…then…yeah."

"Can I have a few more of those crunchy things?" Ranma asked.

"No swelling. No sweating. She looks okay. Phew!" Sloark sighed in relief as Ranma seemed fine. "Sure kid. I got a few more of the…shells-"

"No I meant the whole meal. A few more plates should do it."

"Plates?" Sloark and Garrus chorused.

"Well yeah! I need to keep my strength up!" Ranma grinned.

"I…I guess so." Sloark mumbled and went back to work. A few minutes later they were given a repeat performance of the Saotome vacuum cleaner.

"Okay…the next one I need to get on video and play it back in slow-mo." Garrus remarked setting his visor up to record Ranma as the girl patted her stomach.

"Ah, keep em coming." Ranma grinned.

Another Turian slid onto the stood between Garrus and Ranma. He placed his elbows onto the bar top and hands together as he leant forward. It was Nihlus. Garrus recognised the Spectre.

"Nihlus Kryik…what brings one of the Council's best Spectres here?"

"Ranma Saotome." Nihlus addressed Ranma. "You're a hard woman to track down."

"Liar." Ranma stated as she continued to wait for another plate. "You've been following me at least from since I met with Preacher. What do you want?"

"Impressive." Nihlus remarked. "I never suspected you had noticed me."

"The white face-paint is very distinct and easy to spot." Ranma stated. "Your ki signature is strong as well and you made no effort to hide it."

'Ki?' Nihlus filed the word away for later perusal. "A girl with no records just so happens to show up on the Citadel and proceeds to wreak havoc and chaos wherever she goes. Interrupts a private embassy meeting. Takes out four C-Sec officers without even trying and catches even me by surprise. Then she takes on a Krogan and his guards. Not only wins, but demolishes them in hand-to-hand combat. All without wearing any armour or carrying a weapon. You are an extremely talented individual. An extremely dangerous one."

"I've not killed anyone. I've not permanently hurt anyone. It's not my fault trouble finds me." Ranma remarked. "Anyway, I'll be gone soon. I need to get home and sort out my…problem. And you can't blame me for that Jaret guy."

"Oh I'm not blaming you. In fact I'm very, very interested in your abilities. People like you are rare indeed." Nihlus turned to face her. "Tell me Saotome, have you heard of the Spectres?"

End of Chapter 1