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It had the musty smell of run down rooming houses that could be found in the worst sections of hundreds of cities on the dozens of planets he’d visited. They were all the same – and he despised them all. With the exception of a brief – too brief – period, Julius hadn’t lived in a place he could call his own for twenty years.But that painfully short period – just thirteen months in a lifetime – gave him enough memories to weather the agonies of his nightmares a thousand times over. They would never leave him, and they would sustain him until the day he died.It had only been a small ‘gingerbread’ house, painted a robin’s egg blue with yellow flowers growing out in the front garden, but it had been the home of dreams, of love and laughter Julius never thought he would be capable of knowing. And he’d shared it all with his Anna, with her adorable laughter that came from deep inside, and her curious chocolate eyes, and the moments when she touched him, where he was hers and she was his.Until death knocked on the door, taking the on form of a colonial pox and a sterile hospital room stinking of antiseptics; where he could only stroke the glass that separated them, cursing and snarling at the doctors as she writhed in pain, while they withheld the treatment she needed - as they’d been ordered to do.After all, being a Spectre was for life.
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The Shadow Broker turned away from his view of Hagalaz’s constant clash of storm clouds as the terminal rang. Agent 212, was calling in.He opened the comm line, readying his scrambler that would mask his voice and image. “Authenticate.”The turian agent prattled of a specific string of phases, designed to not only identify himself, but to also let the Shadow Broker know if he was (or wasn’t) acting under duress. Agent 212 was one of the brokers undercover agents within the Hierarchy – 212 was an administrative assistant to one of their Vice-Primarchs.“Confirmed.” The information dealing yahg enabled a full link, projecting his ever changing digital “image” to the turian agent’s terminal.“Agent 212 reporting in on File 2699.”“Go ahead.”“This file is heavily redacted; sections are even missing, and from what I can determine it wasn’t Hierarchy sanctioned. But I digress. Julius Reichter: blood military - his father was a General, mother an Admiral, both deceased. Born and raised on bases all over. Rose to the top tier of his boot camp year, attended Officer Candidate Training on Palaven, then he shipped out for good. Served with distinction – awarded the Superior Defense Medal, Silver Talon, Bronze Talon and the Pride of Palaven crest. A bit of a trouble maker, not wildly popular with Command and known for not playing by the rulebook. Demoted twice and worked his way back to his previously held rank. Deployed all over the Terminus Systems, then to Taetrus, Syglar and Shanxi…” Agent 212 paused, swallowing audibly. “Then nothing.”“Nothing?” The Broker grunted.“Correct. After Shanxi, all record of one Julius Reichter disappears.”“Dead?”The turian shrugged. “Presumed KIA during the Relay 314 Incident, but not according to an account held in his father’s name. It received more than one not-insignificant lump sums of credits over the year and a half following Shanxi, and after they stopped, someone has been making the occasional withdrawals.”“Other intel?”“No permanent address, no skycar licence, not even a personal comm code.”“So, how do we find this Reichter?” The Broker mused out loud, more to himself than to his agent.“A turian like this? You won’t find him unless he wants to be found.” 212 suggested, and the Shadow Broker thought a moment. The turian coughed nervously.“Keep digging.”With a push of a button, the connection was terminated, and a moment later, an image of subject of the Broker's query appeared.
(Many thanks to @SquigglySquidd for the bust of Reichter - I highly recommend supporting them on Ko-Fi!)
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The gun comes to bear on him, green laser sight aimed at the middle of his chest. At this distance, it’s close enough to kill.
*BANG*
Julius Reichter jerked awake, head pounding and sweat pouring down his neck, and he huffed a breath into the humid air carried by the sea breeze through the open windows into their bedroom. He took a breath, and then another, to steady himself and turned his head, hoping that he hadn’t woken her. Thankfully, Anna still slept, her nest of chocolate curls made even curlier by the weather, spread across her pillow in the dim moonlight.He sat up quietly, taking care not to make their noisy mattress creak, and carefully walked into the tiny bathroom, flicking on the light before rustling through the medicine cabinet, searching for the dextro headache meds that would counter the rising pressure growing behind his brow.So distracted he was that Julius never even heard Anna leave the bed, until she padded into the open doorway. He stopped his rummaging to meet her concerned gaze. Her expression gave perfect clarity to the question she didn’t need to ask anymore: Why are you awake right now?“It’s okay…it’s fine.” He murmured, turning back to the open cabinet, beginning his search once more. “Just a headache.”Cool fingers rested against his bicep and forehead, testing his temperature, as Julius finally located the object of his search, popping two pills out of their foil packaging into his hand.“You’re burning up.” Anna leaned behind him, wetting a washcloth in the sink and pressed it to the back of his neck, gently wiping away the sweat that lingered. Julius dry-swallowed the two pills and returned the box to the medicine cabinet, shutting the door. “It’s okay. Just a headache.” He reassured his mate again, brushing an errant lock of hair behind her ear.Julius made his way outside, hoping the fresh air would clear his head as he rested his forearms against the veranda railing, looking out over the whitecapped waves that rolled in, just metres from their tiny beach house. He didn’t have to look up to see that Anna had followed him outside, leaning against the post a few feet away.“Anything new?” She asked, in her lilting voice, accent strong like it always was when she first awoke.“No.” Julius shook his head, lowering his gaze to his feet. “Just bits and pieces.” He swallowed. “I can hear his voice, and there’s a photograph, I just can’t stay with it.”“But you’re sure it’s not just a bad dre-““It happened.” Julius cut her off. “It was a mission, and I was there.”“You should write it down.” Anna reminded him, folding her arms across the thin nightgown she wore.“It’s been two years of scribbling in that notebook, it’s always bad and now it’s just the same thing. Over and over again.” Julius shook his head.Anna’s voice was a soothing croon that eased the pain in his mind. “But that’s why we write it down, because sooner or later you remember something good.”“I do remember something good, all the time.” Julius lifted his head, his tawny gaze meeting Anna’s amber one, and he purred when he got that special smile, one reserved just for him.His mate embraced him, arms wrapped around his waist as she stood at his back, and together they stood in silence until dawn broke over the horizon.