[i]Outskirts of London[/i]

The sounds of laughter echoed through the playground, behind it several collapsed buildings laid crashed on the rubble covered streets. The city's once breathtaking horizon had been utterly annihilated by the war. In the park grounds most of the trees had been similarly ravaged, broken and beaten by the Reaper's horrific besieging of the human homeworld. It seemed as if the genocidal wrath of the ancient machines hadn't left a single block of the capitol city untouched. A refugee camp had been set up near the park, where the civilian survivors of the battle could receive aid and shelter. Unfortunately they'd pulled more dead from the rumble of the city than found survivors. As the Asari huntress sat silently upon a wooden bench she watched the children play in the relatively unscathed playground. Keslia was still clad in her armor, though her current state was far from one of the trained warrior. A rare moment of relaxation filled her soul as she watched the three young human girls play, their mother almost as happy as her kids to be experiencing some normalcy. 

For the veteran commando such moments were fading. For decades all that she had known was fighting, killing and war, or training for these subjects. Now "The War" had been won and she was left in a strange state. Perhaps Lia had never expected the war to end, for the sounds of the Reapers' cannons to never leave her ears, or the howls of the husks as they terrorized innocents to no longer keep her awake at night. For a soldier like Keslia, she continued to replay the war in her mind even as she tried her damnedest to clear her thoughts and find peace. When she looked upon those survivors rescued from the ruins of London she could only think of the tragedy they'd experienced, forced to dwell upon the sorrow in their eyes as they tried to make sense of it all, surviving when billions had not been so lucky. But in this current moment the Asari felt some mental clarity as she looked upon the joyous children. As they ran around the playground a smile almost cracked through her subdued features.

As a breeze whipped through the barren, beaten trees around the park Keslia leaned forward, her purple tinted eyes shifting back to the eviscerated skyline of the city. She was pulled from the brief moment of elation as her thoughts involuntarily shifted to her own Reaper desecrated homeworld, Thessia. The three young girls playing happily reminded her of her own family, when her own mother would let her, Riena and Vaedra frolic in childhood bliss, unaware and beautifully ignorant of the 'grown up' horrors which lingered in the background. Lia may very well have been the last one still alive, her entire family tree brought to near extinction by the Reapers. The trained warrior began to spiral once more, as she realized just how alone she'd truly become, dealt a bad hand by the cosmic horrors which had finally been vanquished. Streaks of tears began to ripple down from her irises as Lia brought her gloved palms to cover her sudden release of grief. Droplets fell to the ground beneath her boots, slamming into the grass. The huntress pulled herself to her feet, then walked away from the playground scene, one final tear filled gaze all she gave before she departed and the sounds of happiness faded.
[hr]
[i]Namibia[/i]

The African continent was a far cry from the shattered cities of Europe, upon Keslia's initial arrival to it the first thing which struck the warrior was the sand covered landscape. She was trained to deal with all manner of environments, an Asari commando's life required that flexibility. Desert worlds were something she'd experienced before, her last operation on one being a strike against some marauding pirates hiding out on the barren landscape. She'd grown accustom to the war stricken skies of London, constantly ablaze with the smoke and fires of the war. As she stepped off of the shuttle she had taken a long moment to gaze at the skies, momentarily losing herself in the peacefulness of it. Even as the similarly wrecked skyline of the African city sat beneath it. Keslia was pulled from her gaze by a sand filled gust of wind which caused her to shut her eyes momentarily. The climate wouldn't have been her choice to do work in but it was not the worst environment she'd been forced to operate in.

She remained silent within the group, her durable bag of personal belongings touted over her shoulder. The armored Asari chose to remain off to the side as she briefly looked over the others. She was not here to make friends, nor did she have any want to do so. The Sol Restoration Network had been practically begging her to join up with them, an Asari commando must've been quite the snag. Truthfully she simply joined out of need to do something, anything to get her mind off its frequent distressed state. Lia held very little care for the humans or their homeworld, but she was for all intents and purposes stranded here. The credits were a fine incentive too, even though she didn't really need them. The mission description they'd all been provided did give her a strange feeling, typically when given an operation by Asari command she'd take every chance to research all of the details. A well informed soldier was often times more deadly than a well armed one. But this type of mission was lacking in such details, beyond what the client had told them.

Keslia decided to sit down on a nearby crate, tucked in the shade. It provided some relief from the warm temperature, her armor not exactly cooling in its design. She folded her hands together than glanced quietly around her, not interacting with any of the other recruited team members. Instead she was approached by another Asari, a younger relief worker who stared at her in a state of surprise. Lia didn't even notice the worker until the girl spoke up to her, clearly trying to figure out what to say.

"Excuse me, are you a huntress? I've never seen one in the flesh." The younger Asari muttered, standing to the left of Keslia as they met eyes. The commando's expression a far cry from the other woman's.

"Not in the mood. Don't you have some people to help?" Lia replied, her tone very dismissive. She didn't even answer the young woman's question, her telltale armor telling the truth of it.

"I do but I just had to say something when I saw you. I'm sure you're very busy," The other Asari said in meek tone, then spoke with some sadness. "My mother was on Thessia, did you hear anything from there?"

Keslia took a moment to ponder the words, she'd constantly thought about her people's once beautiful world, now a war ravaged hellscape much like Earth. She felt the emotions in the girl's words as she spoke of her mother, and it made Lia think of her own, fallen mother. She forced herself to keep up her strong, stern expression then once more glanced at her fellow Asari.

"I haven't. But our people are strong, I'm sure your mother is just fine. It will be alright." Keslia said with a nod, her tone more encouraging then it typically was. Often tinged with sadness or disregard, it sort of seemed as if Lia was reinforcing her own grief filled thoughts on her homeworld's state. 

"Thank you, I can only hope so too." The other Asari said, as a relief dotted smile broke through her features. Though Keslia did not return the look, simply giving another firm nod as the other woman went back to her relief work. Lia's gaze turned towards the ground as she forced herself to remain composed and strong, as she had been trained to be.