Blind With Rage

“You guys ready for our first little field trip?”

All the kids gave an excited “Yes!” Some of them had been waiting for this for weeks. Carna couldn’t yet afford to take them on a real trip, to see something off the Citadel, but a picnic in the “outdoors” of the Citadel she could do. Plus, she was hoping she could maybe get some advertising. The more the merrier- and the more money she had coming in, the closer she was to taking her babies on a real field trip. 

“Who remembers the field trip rules?” Carna asked.

A small blue hand shot up. 

“Athena?”

“One- always stay together!”

“Two- no touchin’ anything without permission,” called out a turian, ignoring the polite asari’s still-raised hand.

“Three- listen for instructions!” called out another voice.

“Don’t wander off!”

“That’s the same as ‘stay together,’ dummy. Athena already said that!”

“Now, now, kids. No name calling, understood? We must be polite, especially on the Presidium. We want them to let us come back, don’t we?”

“Yeah!” the kids agreed. The child in question shrunk a bit, and murmured a quiet apology to the one he’d snapped at.

“Alright, Kranttlings!” Carna cooed. “Are we all ready?”

“Yeah!”

“Now, remember,” she started, as she began to herd them out the door, “stay close to me so no one gets lost. But, if anyone does get separated, you go to C-Sec.”

The excited kids were already only half-listening, chattering to each other excitedly. By the time they reached the Presidium, Carna was carrying Athena and three more kids were clinging to her back, all vying for the best spot to see over her hump and head crest. 

“Okay, kids!” Carna said once they arrived at a grassy strip in the artificial atmosphere of the Presidium.

There were benches set up with crayons and arts and crafts, carefully separated dextro and levo snacks packaged and sitting on the table, and outdoor toys from all different planets strewn in the grass. The kids quickly spread out, some going immediately for the toys in the grass, and others settling down to doodle with crayons or to devote themselves to some other artistic endeavor. 

Carna settled down in the grass where she could keep a careful eye on everyone, and finally let herself begin to relax once she was sure everyone was safe and content. She was watching a human child make a flower chain when she noticed a turian child in her peripheral vision that she’d certainly never seen before. 

He approached nervously, aware that he was an outsider to the group. Carna frowned; she didn’t see his parents nearby.

“Sweetie, are you lost?” she asked, ushering him over with a small wave of her hand. “Do you need help finding your parents?”

“Oh, they’re shopping over there. They must’ve saw all the kids, and they told me to stay here until they come back,” the turian explained.

“Well, this really isn’t a public babysitting service, but I don’t want you gettin’ lost, or worse, so of course you can stay. Feel free to play with the toys until your parents get here, okay?”

“Thank you,” he said, though he still seemed nervous as he approached the craft table. She watched him until he seemed comfortable enough with the others, though she was still keeping an eye out for his parents.

It was a good two hours before they finally came looking for him. It was only then that they noticed the “Carna’s Krantt” sign, and then the krogan that was clearly “Carna,” and the sole chaperone. Their expressions soured, but it was clearly too late for them to do anything about it. 

“Garrus, we’re going!” the father called, clearly impatient.

Carna stood up, keen on talking to them before they could disappear. Maybe they simply didn’t realize that the daycare wasn’t sponsored by the Presidium for shoppers- or maybe they didn’t care enough to look twice. 

“Oh, are you that boy’s parents?” she asked calmly, careful not to sound accusatory.

“Clearly.”

“Well, I just wanted to be sure, since he’s not one’a my charges. Since he was all alone, I couldn’t rightly send him off. But I’m not a Presidium employee, I rented out that corner for my daycare, Carna’s Krantt. If you’re lookin’ for childcare, I’d happily have him, but-”

“You run a daycare? You think that we would trust our child to a krogan? That’s ridiculous. Hurry up, Garrus!”

The second the timid kid’s arm was in reach, his father grabbed it and whipped around to leave. Before he could take a step, he found himself face-to-face with another turian. Carna hadn’t seen her walk up, she didn’t have a clue where she came from. 

“You left your kid with her all damn day without even looking who you were leaving him with, and then you have the fucking nerve to say you can’t trust her, just because she’s krogan?”

“Who-?” 

“Spirits, I thought I was the blind turian here, but apparently you’re just as blind, at least regarding how to treat people! Talk like tough shit to the lady after you dumped off your poor kid on her? Un-fucking-believable!” 

The turian was up in arms over the other family’s nonsense- and, Carna realized, she actually was blind. Her visor was definitely not simple military standard, and the strange, vaguely varren-like animal at her side wore a working harness. 

“I don’t know who you are, but I’ve had enough. My family and I are going home.” 

He pushed the blind turian aside, and if Carna thought she was worked up before, she was definitely worked up then. 

She lunged forward and nailed him with a punch square to the jaw, perfectly aimed under his mandible. He staggered back, and before she could lunge again, he’d called out for C-Sec. 

They tried to restrain the violent turian, which began poorly for them, considering the harsh hits with her cane and the far harsher words (Carna told the children that they absolutely were not permitted to say any words they learned from that turian). Eventually, they managed to restrain her, and the other turian and his family disappeared into the Presidium crowd. 

The rest of the Krantt’s little field trip went on without any more problems, and once all the children had been safely picked up and taken home, Carna, too, headed home to her apartment. Just as she was sitting down on the couch to enjoy a meal and some vids, she remembered the turian from earlier. She had defended her, even if it was a bit more violent than Carna would condone. She sighed, set her food aside, and got ready to go back out. 

Half an hour later, she arrived at C-Sec headquarters, and asked whether they knew anything about a blind turian that had been brought in earlier. The human officer gave a snort (it might have been a laugh) and nodded. 

“Yeah, we all know about her. We’re holdin’ her weird… dog-thing too. You a friend of hers, or something?”

“...Or something,” Carna confirmed. “Bail?”

Three hours of waiting and forty minutes of paperwork later, Carna had successfully bailed out her first C-Sec detainee- which, she prayed, would also be her last. 

“Can’t believe you came and bailed me out! They would’a let me out tomorrow, though, they always feel bad leavin’ a blind soldier in custody for long. Thanks, though. I appreciate it.”

“You were defending me, after all. Besides, I think you owe me dinner, now. I know of a wonderful all-day levo-dextro diner in the wards!”

The turian laughed. 

“Yeah, alright. You’re somethin’ else.”

Carna smiled.