Vrynnus had been dead only a few days and Kaidan had agreed to leave Brain Acclimation and Temperance Training after the incident. He was glad to be leaving Jump Zero, but he felt a horrible lump in his throat. Not only had he killed someone, but the girl he loved now hated him.

It was his seventeenth birthday and he spent it stuck on a rickety shuttle. There was no cake, no gifts, not even someone to wish him a happy birthday. Contatix had tried to keep the incident hushed, Kaidan felt like everyone on the shuttle knew what he had done. The rest of the passengers were just workers going home after their tour on the Gagarin Station, but he thought they all saw him as a murderer.

As the shuttle continued on its long journey back to Earth, Kaidan kept replaying the incident over and over in his head. It had been another day of rigorous biotic training. Everyone in the group resented their instructor, Vyrnnus. He was an angry Turian who held deep seated bitterness long after the First Contact War. He was especially rude to those kids whose families had ties to the Alliance.

Kaidan's father had been an Alliance engineer, but had remained on Earth throughout the war. This did nothing to waylay Vyrnnus' anger against Kaidan. Kaidan had put up with the turian's behavior fairly well, but when Vyrnnus began moving his anger to Rahna, his demeanor changed.

Rahna held a special place in Kaidan's heart. She was a beautiful girl a few years older, with soft black hair and rich, almond shaped eyes. She was reserved and chaste but it didn't stop them from having a few heated kissing sessions when they could find an empty supply closet. He and Rahna challenged each other in their studies, being two of the top students at the station. A lot of the other boys liked Rahna and Kaidan felt a little proud she preferred him the most.

The entire incident with Vyrnnus occurred during lunch. Everyone was eating in the mess, while Vyrnnus hovered in his corner with an annoyed expression on his face. He watched the young adults carefully, waiting for a chance to embarrass or chastise them. Rahna had just sat down when she reached for the communal water carafe on the table. "What are you doing?" Vyrnnus boomed behind her.

"I was just getting some water," Rahna replied, her face pale with terror. The imposing turian loomed over her, his beady eyes narrowing.

"Do you think this is a game?" Vyrnnus asked, grabbing the arm that still gripped the icy carafe. "Do you think you are ever going to gain control of your abilities if you don't use them all the time?"

He gripped her arm tighter, causing her to cry out in pain. "I want you to drink that whole glass biotically. I won't let go until you do it right," he demanded.

"Aw, let me go," she cried out. "I can't do it."

"You'll learn to do it because you won't have a choice when your arm is broken," he replied, gripping her arm tighter.

She felt a small crack in her forearm and cried out louder in pain. Kaidan had watched the scene from across the mess hall and had walked briskly over towards Vyrnnus. "Let her go," Kaidan said, standing to the side of Vyrrnus.

"Sit down Alenko," Vrynnus turned, his anger shifting immediately to Kaidan.

"No!" Kaidan yelled, adrenaline rushing to his trembling muscles. "You are hurting her!"

Vrynnus released Rahna's arm violently and picked Kaidan off the ground by his shirt collar. "I give you an order and you disobey me!" Vrynnus said angrily, spitting towards Kaidan. "If you spent half as much time training as you do cavorting with this little slut, you might become a half decent biotic," he added.

He shoved Kaidan backwards, sending him tumbling into one of the tables. "You are pathetic," Vrynnus said, as Kaidan tried to pick himself up. He kicked Kaidan in the stomach as he was trying to stand. Kaidan grabbed his thin leg and flipped him onto the ground, falling on top of him.

He punched Vrynnus once in the face and climbed off of him. He turned away and went to check on Rahna. He didn't notice Vrynnus climb to his feet and slowly pull a knife from his belt. "Kaidan look out," Rahna yelled as Vrynnus lunged towards him.

Kaidan spun around quickly and instinctively brought up a biotic barrier to protect himself. He grabbed at the hand that held the Talon knife. "Come on Alenko, you can do better than that," Vrynnus challenged. "You can't even fight me with your biotics," he laughed. Vrynnus kept pushing Kaidan backwards and eventually onto a table.

Kaidan didn't have the strength to fight the ropy Turian as the knife drew closer to him. Kaidan had never used biotics on another person, but he knew that if he didn't fight Vrynnus, the knife would soon do him harm. He pushed Vrynnus off with a powerful biotic kick, flinging the turian into the wall violently. He hit awkwardly and fell to the ground with a loud crash.

When Vrynnus didn't get up, someone went cautiously over to check on him. "I think he is dead," the girl went pale in the face.

"What the hell is going on in here?" one of the other instructors ran in, hearing the commotion from down the hall.

He saw Vrynnus on the ground and the tumbled state of the mess hall and looked at Kaidan, still shimmering with biotic energy. Rahna stood frozen in fear, her large eyes full of tears. "Alenko, what happened in here?" the instructor asked.

"I, I was just trying to make sure no one got hurt," he replied in a soft tone. His eyes remained transfixed on Vrynnus' twisted body.

Everyone else in the mess hall stood in silence staring at Kaidan. Another instructor came in and was sent to get a doctor. They sent everyone back to their rooms until the mess hall could be cleaned up. Kaidan sat alone in his room, his roommate no where to be found. He quickly slipped in when one of the instructors came to question Kaidan. The boy didn't even look him in the eye, and Kaidan knew nothing would ever be the same in his life.