Cortex's Story

Cortex reclined in his leather chair, relaxing after a good day's work. All day he had been tracking down a Volus banker who had debts to pay off, but now Yin Hujan was in the reliable hands of one of his favorite employees, the beautiful blonde Elizabeth. He was currently in his private room in afterlife, Aria T'Loaks club. He currently had a good relationship with the ruler of Omega, so she had allowed him some small concessions on his favorite planet, though he held no illusions, he knew it was a pisshole. The scarred Salarian would have been happily on his own private vessel, the Sentinel, tracking down some bounty, but he unfortunately had some business to take care of, in the form of a recently landed science team interested in hiring a babysitting squad while they carried out a dig. Cortex had dispatched am agent to monitor the situation, but he doubted they would turn to him. Thanatos was renowned for its brutal methods and dangerous members, not its ability to babysit a bunch of scientists on an archaeological dig. Cortex sighed. He was thinking too much. Well, two things would solve that...

"Daina, get me some sparkle in a syringe, and some Asari wine. I need to relax." the Salarian told his Asari consort.

"Of course, I'll be back in a moment!" the Asari said as the hurried out of the room to please her master. Cortex sighed, and rolled up his sleeves, ready to inject the hyperactive posion into one of the bulging veins in his arms. Cortex knew he was addicted to several drugs, but he never admit to anyone aprt from Elizabeth. It was a weakness, and no one could know ever. Daina charged back into the room, gently injecting the drug into her masters arm, and the Salarian took the wine and finished it in one. Cortex knew he would die one day. But he needed to live out his last days in peace. He NEEDED to make Thanatos great, a feared group on Omega, and in the Galaxy. It should be the big FOUR, the Salarian lamented, wondering how he had got into this position of helplessness, holding no control over his life. What he needed, the scarred lizard decided, was a job. A big job......he picked up his data pad, and posted a big message to all the biggest groups in the Galaxy.

WORK WANTED-THANATOS PRIVATE MILITARY CORPORATION-WILL TAKE ANY JOB

Surprisingly, the Salarian received a reply almost instantly. What was more surprising was who had sent it.

The sender read Cerberus. Or, more specifically, the Illusive Man...

Faltus Dezran, the Ogre, the Butcher, Tiny, Angry, the Smiler, The Tickler, downed another round of batarian ale in one. Not that it was strong stuff, but he had already drunk all the Ryncol and Asari wine this floor of Afterlife had in stock tonight. The red-eyed Krogan did not care much for the music of Afterlife(nor music in general) but this way, Cortex could reach him easily, he had a discount, and the Asari dancers were damn fine. He was half tempted to throw a few credits and get more than his moneys worth. However, the Ogre was looking for something different tonight. He had just completed a job, but he was disappointed to find that neither the Volus nor his Bodyguards had offered any resistance. They had simply collapsed on the floor and begged for mercy. However, him and Weylyn had been ordered to deliver the Volus to Elizabeth. The Volus had thanked the Loud Krogan and the Quiet Drell, but he did not realize that going to Elizabeth was not mercy........it was torture. Literally. However, the Krogan had noticed a younger Krogan walk in, obviously fuming. Faltus guesses he had probably lost a game of Skyllian 5 to Yelex. Faltus swore that uglier-than-normal Batarian cheated. Despite all reservations, Faltus decided to talk to the Soft-Shell, despite the fact he would be losing his private dance.

He approached the younger one carefully, hoping to avoid any confrontation. Faltus hated wasting young Krogan blood.

"Soft-Shell, I'm guessin' you lost to Yelex? Skyllian 5? You wanna drink" he asked the Krogan in the grumpiest voice he could. Krogans hated "Friendliness", so he took a different approach. If he was lucky, he might end up with a free drink...

Cortex
The scarred Salarian puzzled over the job information, wondering exactly WHAT Cerberus could want.....he had assigned his Suicidal, depressed Drell assassin, known as Weylyn, or Wolf, to follow the science team, and monitor their behavior. He always left stealthy work to "Wolf", as it was too delicate for Faltus, and Elizabeth would instantly be related to Thanatos, which he did not want. Speaking of which, he was too drugged up and maybe a little too drunk to make an informed decision about the job he had been requested to carry out. He needed a second opinion, someone he could trust, someone intelligent. He decided to call Elizabeth. She was to report on her results from the Volus interrogation anyway, so this would serve a double purpose. He fingered the pistols attached to his belt, the only pistols he had ever owned, the best he had ever used..... if he did this job, he could expand Thanatos massively enough to combat the big three. He would also be able to retire from direct operations......but maybe he was not thinking clearly. He WAS drunk after all. He waited for Elizabeth to step through the door, expecting her words of wisdom to counsel him against this decision....but he hoped she would strengthen his resolve....Cortex wanted this job, more than anything...

Cortex

Cortex was incredibly pleased by Elizabeth's acceptance of his offer. He was further pleased by her agreement that the job was worth taking. He turned to the blonde interrogater. "So, I will accept the job. Before we go, I need you to contact Jeron and tell him to prep the Sentinel. We are going to Carcosa. I also need to make some.......social calls, I hope you will understand. Before I leave, make sure to execute the Volus in public, to show what happens when you fuck with me. I'm sick of people thinking I am the weakest creature in the universe. It's time for Thanatos to evolve. Thankyou for accepting the job, Elizabeth, and for your advice. I shall see you later...." the Salarian mumbled, excited by the fact he had just found a job! He left the room, and typed into his datapad a confirmation of the job. He then messaged Weylyn, his Drell assasin.

Where are the ALL the scientists?

He pressed send, and then walked into the night. He had a visit to make, that was LONG overdue...

Faltus Dezran

The Ogre smiled at the soft-shells handling of Yelex, and grinned at the Batarians face when he realized there was no way out of the situation. He had to pay up, or get beaten up. Much to Faltus's delight, Yelex chose the latter option. Yelex pulled out a pistol, but missed both the Krogan's by a mile. The other Batarian lunged at Faltus, so the Krogan threw him into a table of Drell gamblers, who proceeded to beat up the four eyed freak. Meanwhile, the Asari had been powering up a biotic charge, and launched it at the older Krogan, throwing him across the club, the pulsating music seeming to speed up as the Krogan flew backwards. Faltus got up, and charged towards the Asari biotic, pinning her to the floor.He saw Yelex run towards the exit of Afterlife, the two Turians following close behind. He roared instructions at the younger Krogan. "GET YELEX SOFT-SHELL!"

Wetboy leaned back in his seat, observing the chaos around him. 

"Note to self; Don't fuck with Krogans." He said recognizing Faltus, Thanatos's executioner. 

He contemplated calling over the Asari waitress, and taking her up on her offer, but just as he got up, he noticed a message on his Omni-Tool. He opened it up and read it. 

Sender:UNKNOWN
I took a shot in the dark on the songbird. Seems Aria's heard it's tune. She knows more than she's letting on. Bring a blade, things could get hot.

Wetboy smiled, selecting "new message" on his menu. He quickly typed out a message, and sent it to Cortex. 

Hey boss, it's Archer. Just got a lead on a side job I took a while back, it could be quite profitable for Thanatos. Do you need me tonight, or can I check it out?

14 months ago. The School, Earth

“Arquiez, I hope you didn’t kill her. She was rich, and a junkie,” Kinderheim asked Arquiez as the latter walked up to Kinderheim. It had been nearly four months since Roxanne died and things were going smoothly, too smoothly if you asked Kinderheim. The boring monotony of teaching students, torturing clients and just raking in massive amounts to dough was starting to get to him.

“She's still alive, though I can’t say anything about her mental state,” he said a sat in the chair next Kinderheim. Ugh… Kinderheim was disgusted; having nonconsensual sex with wasted women just wasn’t his style. Arquiez continued, “and she gave me another forty five thousand credits,” and kept the credit chips in the safe. It was Arquiez's job to collect money and keep it safe. It was Kinderheim's job to keep the school running, keeping the clients talking and not caring what Arquiez did to wasted women.

Kinderheim was bad at teaching. He did not know much about anything except how to torture, how to have fun and how to shoot people in the eyes. Since Roxanne died, he had to teach biology to eleventh graders, which if Kinderheim had anything to say about wasn’t fun. Their attitudes irked Kinderheim to no end. Arrogant snotty kids who thought they were great and ‘cool’. Kinderheim occassionally thought about teaching them a lesson in pain but for the drug business to run smoothly, the school, that is the ‘front’, needed to stay open. Kinderheim sighed and looked at the safe Arquiez was closing.

Four and a half million credits. That’s how much money they had collected as profits from “not giving shit to Eclipse”. Roxanne had already saved a million before she had died. All that sweet money went into the safe, which Kinderheim and Arquiez would split after it reached ten million. A few more months, sighed Kinderheim. Not fun times…





“This is Team Beta. Our targets are some-” the voice was interrupted by a more slurred one.
“Jeron we aren’t playing “badass marine”. Try to be seriou-” the voice was interrupted by a human’s voice.
“Says the guy who’s wasted,” the voice was laughing. The first voice and another voice joined in.
The slurred voice sighed, “Let’s be serious. We cannot be outdone by Team Al- Goddamnit! Jeron, why are we Team Beta again?”
The first voice began, “Well, we are the ones who have to stay behind. Also use my code word, Phoenix.”
The voice who hadn’t spoken yet added his two cents, “Watch out, we’re dealing with a badass over here,” and burst out laughing.

The ship’s door opened and five creatures walked out. They had landed their ship on top of the building a few hundred feet from the school. The Beta team had five members. Their leader, a Salarian by the name of Cortex, walked slowly and carefully so not to fall over. The Krogan went ahead and looked over the building’s edge. The school was smaller than the building they were on and more rundown. Jeron, the Quarian, walked over to the ledge and starting adjusting his sniper rifle on it. He looked through the scope and saw two men walking out of the building. “Two men. 12 O’ clock,” he said to the Krogan.

“There should be a woman named Roxanne in there somewhere. That’s who we came here for,” said the Krogan. “Actually, that’s what they came here for,” said the Salarian pointing towards the other ship landing near the building, “We’re here to back their asses.” The Krogan laughed and started walking towards the rooftop exit. The Salarian sat down near the Quarian and pressed his head and spoke, “Archer go with him and make sure he doesn’t kill anyone.” The taller of the two humans followed the Krogan out.

.........

“Hey you there human,” called the Krogan out. Arquiez and Kinderheim look back and see a Krogan and a human approaching them. Arquiez started talking, “Yes?”

“Do you know Roxanne?” asked the human. The Krogan was staring at Kinderheim's red trench coat. “No,” said Arquiez and started walking away. The Krogan ordered, “Don’t walk away, human.”

Arquiez didn’t stop and the Krogan unholstered his shotgun. The human looked at the Krogan, then at Arquiez and spoke, “Please stop. We don’t wish to kill you.” Kinderheim smiled. Thank You, God. Thank You for these idiots.

“Uh… sir, we have a problem,” said Jeron to Cortex. Cortex still was rubbing his forehead. He sighed and spoke, “I did send Archer didn’t I?”
“Isn't working, at all,” said Jeron. Cortex tried to stand up but his was screaming. He had outdone himself with the drugs. “Go and help them out, Simon,” said Cortex to other human. Simon just nodded and left. “Are you sure?” asked Jeron. “Nothing I can do now. Where is Alpha Team?,” said Cortex and sat back down. Jeron looked through his binoculars and spoke, “They’ll be there in a few minutes,” and turned his attention to his teammates.

Kinderheim removed his yellow sunglasses and smiled at the human, Archer. Kinderheim could smile and laugh, but wasn’t able to remove the seriousness in his voice when speaking. “I’m Kinderheim and that there is Johann,” he spoke stretching his hand out. Archer shook Kinderheim's and informed, “I’m Archer. This here is Faltus.” Kinderheim stretched his hand out towards the Krogan but the Krogan pointed the shotgun at Kinderheim and barked, “I don’t shake hands with filthy humans.”

“And I don’t shake hands with Krogans,” said Kinderheim and took his hand back. “Well, Sir. The school is closed for the week,” Kinderheim spoke to the human, “If you are looking for someone, I will suggest you come back next week. Please tell the same to your friends,” he said refering the group of Krogans approaching them. “Enjoy your stay,” he said left. The Krogan, Faltus, started for him but Archer stopped him.

Kinderheim walked fast and reached Arquiez. “Eclipse I presume,” he wondered loudly. “The worst of the lot. I don’t understand why they were sent. It’s not like this operation is of much importance to them,” Arquiez said.

“The money?” enquired Kinderheim. “Still in the safe,” said Arquiez as he called for a cab. “Oh my…” was all Kinderheim could say.

“The mission plan was simple. We find and retrieve the money, and you stay the fuck away,” shouted the leader of Alpha Team. Both teams had regrouped on the top of the roof top. The Salarian had regained a little composure. Faltus grunted, “I don’t care about your fucking plan. If you come in my way I’ll fucking kill all of you.” The leader of Alpha Team, a much younger Krogan, flinched. The Salarian spoke, “Well. She isn’t here. So I’ll suggest that Simon or Archer track her down and bring her to you.” “Whatever,” the leader of Alpha Team said and left with his team.

The Salarian looked Archer, “Well, what now?” Archer was smiling. “We need to check out those two humans first,” he said. “Anything special about them?” asked the Salarian readying a syringe. “One of them just started walking away from Faltus and the other didn’t even flinch when Faltus had his shotgun aimed at him, point blank. In short Faltus got burned,” Archer said and laughed. The Salarian smiled and looked at Faltus who looked at them with anger.

Present. Omega.

Kinderheim didn’t bother for an answer and left with the Asari just as the Drell started talking to Roz. It was fun to have someone who willingly allowed Kinderheim to torture them. He had been saving the Iron Maiden and the Headcrusher for a long time. He thought for some time and decided against using them; cause setting them up took a lot of time. They left the bar and hurried towards the elevator.

“Hey darling, I need to go to the docking bay for a moment. I’m out of red sand,” said the Asari and pressed the button for the Docking Bays. Kinderheim just smiled and thought, Of course baby, this is your last day after all.

They entered the Docking Bay and moved towards a corner. They were facing a ship which for a second Kinderheim thought he had seen before. “Baby, do you need some too?” asked Asari. Isn’t she in a good mood… “No thanks, darling.”

Then a Krogan stepped out dragging a Volus across him. Kinderheim looked on as the Krogan shouted, “SHUT UP!!!!” Ooh… An execution. Nice. Kinderheim was too far to notice who the Krogan was. The Asari with him nudged his elbow, “I think we should leave.”

"Cortex has a message!" the Krogan shouted. "This Volus fucked with him! This is what we do to people who fuck with Cortex, who fuck with THANATOS!" The Krogan roared the name at the crowd before taking his shotgun and firing at the Volus from point blank range, the small alien body parts and organs flying out over the crowd, who all had their eyes open in shock.

The Asari escort too had her eyes wide open. Kinderheim was too happy to notice the body parts flying and the escort leaving. Who cared about the Asari when Cortex was alive? Cortex is alive! Kinderheim was ecstatic. The Salarian was a very fun guy, and Kinderheim had always thought that he had died in the blast so much time ago. Kinderheim started walking towards the Krogan but realized something...

Cortex wasn’t his friend. They were more arch nemesis than friends. After all Kinderheim had killed Simon in front of the Salarian in cold blood. He felt sad for Simon sometimes, mostly because Kinderheim never got to torture him. ya... not a good option. Luckily he wasn’t wearing his red trench coat at the time or he would have been in big trouble. He darkened his visor and left quietly.

Roz might know something about this Thanatos guy the kroga- Kinderheim just realized that the Krogan was Faltus. Good, thought Kinderheim, the Krogan is alive. Kinderheim was getting alive. He left the docking bays and headed back for the elevator.

He spoke, “I would like to go the Afterli- no wait. I’d like to go to the West end apartments,” he said. If Cortex was alive, he’d probably be in the Afterlife drugging himself silly. Kinderheim wasn’t going to the Afterlife any time soon. Actually he wanted to get off the planet as soon as possible now.

Even though he wanted to meet and use the Iron Maiden on Cortex, he didn’t want to do that here. Capturing him here would be a pain and the queen of Omega surely wouldn’t allow any such crap to happen here. Grr was he all he could think of.

Kinderheim typed a message to Forvan: Need Contact Details for Thanatos. Affiliated to a Salarian named Cortex.

Forvan replied: Busy. Will give details soon. Also Thanatos not man, organization.

He sighed, walked inside his house and smelled something bad. He had disposed of the last tenant’s body, so what was the bad smell? It turned out that the guys next door were making some alcohol. They promised to give him some. He sat down on the couch, turned the air filter of his suit on and waited for Forvan’s message.

Day 4 on Omega

The Turian seemed very happy that Kinderheim had taken his offer. The Turian's mandible moved around in happiness. “Thank You,” he said happily. Kinderheim smiled and followed the Turian inside the building. As they walked around to reach where he had to go the other Blue Suns looked at him with disgust. Screw you too.

They reached and the Turian opened the door. Kinderheim noticed a few Krogans, a few Salarians and a few humans. He requested the Krogan, “I’m sorry. This requires patience and control which Krogans don’t have, at all.” The Krogans grunted and left. He turned towards the rest and spoke, “Let us begin.”


.........


After the Krogans left, Kinderheim began, “Good Morning, today I shall teach you the basics of the art of torture. You may notice that there are no living ‘clients’ here. I cannot allow you to waste human life until you have gotten the hang of it.” There was some murmur among his students which stopped when Kinderheim spoke, “You may think it’s all easy and shit but it isn’t. We need to break the person right between “He isn’t getting the truth out of me” and “I’ll just make something up so he’ll kill me.” There is a small sweet spot right there. Let us begin by making basic cuts on a body. There are more than enough bodies here for everyone so no fighting.”

2 hours later

“Well done Asus,” Kinderheim smiled at the human as he proudly showed Kinderheim the cuts he had made. He looked about and saw that there were quite a few students. The humans and Salarians had the patience and the nimble hands to do this job properly. This kind of stuff required more brain than brawn. “I see only human, Batarian, Asari and Salarian bodies here,” asked the smallest of the Salarians, Nuff.

“You see Nuff,” Kinderheim began, “I’m starting with the basics here. See Quarians have very low tolerance for these things so torturing them is very delicate work. Corner a Volus and they will tell you what you want. I could have had Drell and Turians, but their skins are quite tough and making incisions require a different style. Krogans cannot be tortured very effectively as they have a very high tolerance for torture. For them words and threats are more effective.”

“Okay guys. Enough for now,” said Kinderheim and starting walking away, “please don’t get yourselves killed.”

Present. Omega

How will I approach Cortex if see him? "What's up, man?" Naah, too in-your-face.
"Long time no see", Naah, too friendly.
"I'm going to kill you this time!" Naah, too boring.
"Excuse, do I know you?" Naah, too irritating.
This is difficult. I might meet my archnemesis after more than a year and I have nothing to say to him? What a pain...

Kinderheim realized he couldn’t just sit here and wait. He decided to go back to Afterlife. Even if cortex was there, he could do nothing to Kinderheim with Aria making sure people died outside the Afterlife. He started walking towards the elevators.
Five minutes later just as reached the Afterlife, he got a message from Forvan.

Wow so many people here. Hey you should come back to Afterlife. Your boss is discussing about a job with some people. Anyhow,

Thanatos Private Military Company

Founded: about a year ago.
Founder: Cortex.
Current members: A Drell, a Krogan, two humans, a quarian and the Salarian.
Operating radius: they are a small company so don’t expect any big jobs from them. Actually some of the people from Thanatos are former Eclipse members so I’m surprised how they survived on Omega for so long…
Ship: Sentinel. I think it’s the one they stole from Eclipse.

I’m kinda busy. If you need like more info on them, buy a drink from me.

Kinderheim sighed and messaged back: You forgot the contact details.
Instantly he got a reply: Haha Sorry. Just go to compose message and click search. You’ll get their contact details. I think it’s “TPMC”.

Kinderheim was quite amazed though. Forvan knew a lot of things, a lot. Being a bartender gave him access to a lot eavesdropping opportunities. You need information? For a price, Forvan is there to help you. Luckily since Forvan had better ties with the Blue Suns than any other organization, Kinderheim got his info for free. Well, free enough.

He messaged the Turian: I need my stuff. We probably going on a mission. Also, you didn’t tell Cortex of Thanatos was alive.

Kinderheim sat down on a couch just outside the primary exit. The Turian replied: They are at my friend’s place. I’ll send someone to get it. Afterlife? Also, I didn’t know you knew Cortex.

Kinderheim replied an affirmative and stepped inside the Afterlife.

Cortex

Cortex swaggered out of his meeting with the notorious Queen of Omega with a broad grin on his face. Very rarly did his mttings with her go so wll. He had come to tip her off about the science team, who Cortex had rcntly learned had started talking to a bunch of washed up mercs, led by th famous Scarlet Rose, Roz Atrillin, a female Turian he had researched at length. He had ended making an agreement to hire two new passenger shuttles from her, the Wanderer and the Utopia, and he had also "borrowed" some squads off her, four Asari Commando teams, three Drell snipers and two Krogan battlesquads. He had also negotiated free passage through the Terminus System. Cortex grinned to himself. He had done a good job. He might treat himself to an Asari "entertainer". He walked to the bar, until he saw him. The human who had changed Cortex's life, possibly for the better. But that didnt change Cortex's scar, which he had always claimed the Eclipse Krogan had caused. But it was actually Kinderheim's fault he had it. He walked up to Kinderheim, quickly saying to the human "I do not want to fight. We need to talk, and we need to talk now. We never spoke before, Kinderheim, and we should. Follow me, if you wish to talk. I have a proposition." The Scarred Salarian turned round and headed to his private room, honestly hoping the man who had changed his world forever would follow. Kinderheim was the only man he could call enemy. Time to change that, Cortex thought. Then he smiled. He loved diplomacy.

Present. Omega

If I tell Roz about Cortex, she’ll probably ask me to forget about it. If I ask the Krogan, Chimish, he’ll tell me kill Cortex. If I ask Mayce, he’ll probably say the same thing. If I ask the other Turian, he’ll just shoo me away. What am I going to do? And if I meet Cortex what will I say? Hmmm… I’ll go with, ‘take out pistol, shoot Cortex.’

Kinderheim walked inside Afterlife with many thoughts scrambling his mind. He coughed once, and stopped for a few seconds. Calm down. He is my archnemesis and I must present myself properly. Like James Bond would… but Kinderheim was no James Bond. Also that movie franchise had ended more a century ago and a new ‘cool guy’ was on people’s minds. He was Commander… Kinderheim couldn’t remember his name.

He looked around and found no one that looked like Cortex. He was disappointed; this was always the time the bad guys showed up in the movies he used to watch as a child. Well, all that thinking was for no reason.

He walked around aimlessly for a few seconds before remembering what Forvan had said. Roz had probably found work; finally he would be on a mission with her. His 2 week long dream would finally come true.

As he walked towards Roz a Salarian approached. Normally, he would just ignore the Salarian but this guy was different. Finally after more than a year he stood before Cortex again. A feeling of happiness flooded him. Cortex was really alive. Kinderheim thanked the gods. The gods had smiled on him. He had really wanted to torture Cortex since that day and now might just get the chance.

"I do not want to fight. We need to talk, and we need to talk now. We never spoke before, Kinderheim, and we should. Follow me, if you wish to talk. I have a proposition," said Cortex before Kinderheim could say anything. Well... I was hoping you’d say something first. But this isn’t what I expected...

Cortex had a large number of scars on the left side of his face and a missing left horn. Cortex quickly turned and headed towards another part of Afterlife. What the hell. Why’d he turn his back on me?

Kinderheim decided following Cortex was the best course of action. As they walked Kinderheim realized they were going towards the place which had private rooms. Damnit, should have bought my torture kit along!

Cortex

Cortex poured two glasses of Turian Whisky, name Silverfin, handing one to Kinderheim before sitting down in one of the more comfier chairs in his private room. He gestured to the seat opposite, before taking a sip of the whisky. He studied Kinderheim. He looked slightly older, and there was no sign of his trademark red trenchcoat, his most distinguishing feature. The Salarian deliberately kept the man waiting, fist responding to Elizabeth's message on his Omni-tool.

"Errands going well, currently negotiating. I need you to track down one of the scientists, the renowned Dr Isamov. I have identified him as a weak link, and I want him to be an informer within their team. Offer him anything he wants, apart from your body. You are not a whore, your my heir. Good luck, you have 1 hour.

After he had typed the message, he looked up to talk to well armed human in his room, staring at him with a confused mix of hate and happiness. Cortex spoke to him, in a more friendly manner than he was used too.

"Kinderheim, you may have caused this with that explosion of yours"he gestured to the left side of his face."But, I have nothing but admiration for you. You are the ONLY person who has ever outsmarted me, and your skills of torture are renowned. So, I give you three options. First, you can turn around and leave now, though I may have to battle you later"Cortex didn't say kill, because he want sure he COULD kill him."Second, you may take a direct position with Thanatos PMC, and a Captainship in my company." Cortex paused, allowing the human time to think."Currently, your boss, Roz Atrillin is negotiating with a group of scientists I have to kill. I may have need of someone who's loyalty will change at the last minute. I may also need you to act as an informer. I will triple whatever you are payed, give you a permanent position withing my company, and give you one other thing you want. I do not mind. This is how much I respect you Kinderheim. Cortex leaned back in his chair, desperately hoping Kinderheim would choose option 3...

Faltus

Faltus stormed back into the ship, quickly throwing his shotgun into his room as he marched through the Sentinel's wide corridor's. He walked past Elizabeth, nodding at her as he made his way to Jeron, who he noticed was calling a turret obese, cursing its weight. The Krogan walked into the room, laughing. Jeron was without a doubt the most fun person on this ship. Him and Faltus had spent many evenings arm wrestling, drinking Ryncol wine and impressing the various Asari servants on the ship, who always managed to mysteriously lose all of their clothing. The Krogan wished that Jeron was a Krogan, but he was great for a laugh anyway. Jeron, Cortex and Archer were the only people the Butcher had ever named Krantt, he respected them that much. He glanced at the Quarian struggling to move the turret onto a table, the smalle Quarian Gizmo assisting. Faltus addressed the pair roaring with hysterical laughter.

"I came to say I left a mess on the side of the ship, and to ask if you wanted a drink, but it seems your occupied! Would it have anything to do with that smudge of Oil on your mask!?" The Krogan grinned before lifting the weapon and placing it on the side, turning to await Gizmo and Jeron's response....

(My computer produced two posts.......sorry!)

Cortex

Cortex poured two glasses of Turian Whisky, name Silverfin, handing one to Kinderheim before sitting down in one of the more comfier chairs in his private room. He gestured to the seat opposite, before taking a sip of the whisky. He studied Kinderheim. He looked slightly older, and there was no sign of his trademark red trenchcoat, his most distinguishing feature. The Salarian deliberately kept the man waiting, fist responding to Elizabeth's message on his Omni-tool.

"Errands going well, currently negotiating. I need you to track down one of the scientists, the renowned Dr Isamov. I have identified him as a weak link, and I want him to be an informer within their team. Offer him anything he wants, apart from your body. You are not a whore, your my heir. Good luck, you have 1 hour.

After he had typed the message, he looked up to talk to well armed human in his room, staring at him with a confused mix of hate and happiness. Cortex spoke to him, in a more friendly manner than he was used too.

"Kinderheim, you may have caused this with that explosion of yours"he gestured to the left side of his face."But, I have nothing but admiration for you. You are the ONLY person who has ever outsmarted me, and your skills of torture are renowned. So, I give you three options. First, you can turn around and leave now, though I may have to battle you later"Cortex didn't say kill, because he want sure he COULD kill him."Second, you may take a direct position with Thanatos PMC, and a Captainship in my company." Cortex paused, allowing the human time to think."Currently, your boss, Roz Atrillin is negotiating with a group of scientists I have to kill. I may have need of someone who's loyalty will change at the last minute. I may also need you to act as an informer. I will triple whatever you are payed, give you a permanent position withing my company, and give you one other thing you want. I do not mind. This is how much I respect you Kinderheim. Cortex leaned back in his chair, desperately hoping Kinderheim would choose option 3...

Faltus

Faltus stormed back into the ship, quickly throwing his shotgun into his room as he marched through the Sentinel's wide corridor's. He walked past Elizabeth, nodding at her as he made his way to Jeron, who he noticed was calling a turret obese, cursing its weight. The Krogan walked into the room, laughing. Jeron was without a doubt the most fun person on this ship. Him and Faltus had spent many evenings arm wrestling, drinking Ryncol wine and impressing the various Asari servants on the ship, who always managed to mysteriously lose all of their clothing. The Krogan wished that Jeron was a Krogan, but he was great for a laugh anyway. Jeron, Cortex and Archer were the only people the Butcher had ever named Krantt, he respected them that much. He glanced at the Quarian struggling to move the turret onto a table, the smalle Quarian Gizmo assisting. Faltus addressed the pair roaring with hysterical laughter.

"I came to say I left a mess on the side of the ship, and to ask if you wanted a drink, but it seems your occupied! Would it have anything to do with that smudge of Oil on your mask!?" The Krogan grinned before lifting the weapon and placing it on the side, turning to await Gizmo and Jeron's response....

Kinderheim followed Cortex into his private room. Lucky bastard… As Kinderheim walked into the room, Cortex poured himself some alcohol. He then handed one to Kinderheim and sat down. Kinderheim looked at the alcohol in the glass. It was Turian whiskey. Trying to kill me, eh?

Before Kinderheim could say anything the Salarian took a sip from the glass. Turian drinks were harmful to the body though only in medium to large quantities. A sip from a glass wouldn’t harm anyone so Kinderheim too took a sip. It hurt quite a bit it though it soon stopped. He coughed and put the glass down.

While Cortex typed Kinderheim sat down in one of the chairs and looked around. It was a nice place and once Kinderheim used the Iron Maiden on Cortex, Kinderheim would use this place as one of hideouts. Maybe Kinderheim would kill the one who owns the adjacent place and expand this place? He would certain need more space for the guillotine he wanted to buy.

“Kinderheim, you may have caused this with that explosion of yours," Cortex started and gestured to the left side of his face, "but, I have nothing but admiration for you. You are the only person who has ever outsmarted me, and your skills of torture are renowned.” Kinderheim looked at Cortex’s left side. It was pretty badly damaged. Kinderheim remembered about the school incident some time back. He had thought Cortex had died in the blast.

Cortex continued, “So, I give you three options.” Kinderheim smiled. He had once given Simon three option. Fight Kinderheim, fight Arquiez or betray Cortex. Simon had chosen option one so in his name I shall choose option one...

Cortex spoke, “First, you can turn around and leave now, though I may have to battle you later.” ... or not Kinderheim didn’t like the first option at all, like not even a little bit. What a boring option it was, lacking fun and excitement. Did he call me here just to give me stupid options?

“Second, you may take a direct position with Thanatos PMC, and a Captainship in my company.” This was an okay option. Kinderheim would never go for it though. Joining an actual corporation wasn’t his style even if the corporation was small. He did join Roz's group but that was a more open group with less restrictions. A corporation would just hinder his life.

“Currently, your boss, Roz Atrillin is negotiating with a group of scientists I have to kill. I may have need of someone whose loyalty will change at the last minute. I may also need you to act as an informant. I will triple whatever you are paid, give you a permanent position within my company, and give you one other thing you want. I do not mind. This is how much I respect you Kinderheim,” Cortex spoke and leaned back in his chair. Kinderheim smiled and stood up. If you act all suave so will I...

Kinderheim removed his helmet, took out a cigarette, light it up and started smoking. He smoked a little, coughed once and then threw the cigarette on the ground crushing it under his feet. “Because of your friend Faltus’ little show a few minutes ago, I lost the chance to torture a female Asari. So I will need a female member from your group after all this is done. If you don’t have a female member you will capture Roz for me. In return I will kill the scientist for you when you want, no questions asked. I will even join your corporation if you want... OR you could just forget about this conversation and get on with life. You have until all this is over to decide.”

Kinderheim left without bothering for a reply. That was a suave as he could get. Instead of choosing, return the favour by asking him to make the choices. Perfect bond villain style.

He walked for some time and reached a bar where two krogans who he knew were standing. One of them handed Kinderheim a briefcase. “All your stuff is in the briefcase including that ugly ass coat of yours.”
The other Krogan spoke, “We kept the money as a token of appreciation,” and laughed.

Kinderheim smiled back at them. “Sure you did,” he said and walked away. His suitcase didn’t have much apart from his trench coat, his glasses and his red hat. He reached Roz and spoke, “Hello again, Roz. So we’re working for the Drell now?”

Cortex

Cortex made his way to the Sentinel through crowds of Batarian, Turian, and humans as he approached his ship, possibly one of the most expensive on Omega. It was large, for a personal vessel, and was fitted with various illegal weaponry he had entrusted Jeron and Elizabeth to purchase. It was midnight black, apart from the words "the Sentinel" marked in silver on the side of the vessel. There was not a scratch on it. He saw the corpse of a Volus, who could only be Mr Hujan next to his vessel. He smiled. It seemed Faltus had done his job. He opened the door to his ship, and walked straight to his private quarters, where he found a naked Asari on his bed. This is a suprise, Cortex thought. Who had hired this whore for him, Cortex pondered. Cortex sent a message to all his team members.

"I want no disturbances for an hour, everyone continue with the orders I have set. Whoever hired the Asari gets a bonus this month."

Cortex then grabbed a syringe, and injected the contents into his vein on his arm. He felt the rush arouse him, even more than the Asari.

"Whats your name, beautiful?" the Salarian asked.

"Lyani, sir. Are you ready? The blonde one hired me. The female." She smiled at him, and Cortex could not help grinning. "Are you coming to bed, then?" the Asari asked him, all innocence in those dark blue eyes. The Salarian complied with the Asari's wishes......

Faltus Dezran

Faltus grinned at Jeron's joke about the Volus flakes, actually thinking it would taste pretty good. He had fantasies of eating Volus when he was suddenly broken out his trance by mentioning Cortex was on the Sentinel. Damn, that Salarian was the most silent thing, besides Archer, he had seen....or not. The Scarred Alien was good at remaining unseen. He then arched his eyebrows at Jeron's comment about the Asari.

"Well, Jeron, I have a surprise. Meet me in my room, in ten minutes. Bring your strongest alcohol, and that strip poker game your so good at. I'll send a message to couple of Asari babes I know, and invite them to play! Waddya say, pilot? First though, Oily, I need to go prep the armory, should not take long.....I just have to make sure we have enough ammo. Bloody Thermal Clips, step down from venting, tell ya. Ah well, seeya in ten Jeron!" the Krogan turned around and headed to the armory, confident the Crazy Quarian would accept his proposal...

Cortex

Cortex woke to the sound of a gruff sounding man asking for him, claiming to be sent by Aria. Aria had told him to wait for an observer, but he had no idea they would
be riding on HIS ship. He sighed, inconvenienced by the Human sounding voice. He tapped a message to his Asari handmaid...

Set up a room for Aria's observer, make sure it is luxurious and comfortable. We need to make a good impression on this man. After yo have set up, warm his bed and
be active with him every night. No man can resist an Asari. Do this NOW.

Satisfied with his orders, he dressed in a shirt, fitted for him, and trousers, tailor made. He grabbed his two pistol holsters, and strapped them on his belt, before putting his pistols in the holsters. This could possibly be an assassination attempt. He then opened the airlock door, seeing the Observer for the first time. He was heavily muscled, and clearly was a biotic. He was an average size for a human, but was still rather intimidating. Suddenly remembering the common human gesture, he extended his hand to the human biotic, quickly introducing himself.

"My name is Cortex, nice to meet you. Aria told me to expect you, so I arranged a bedroom and evening entertainment for the trip. If you come with me, we can discuss my mission in more detail....."

The Salarian waited for the human to shake his hand, eager to go to the briefing room to chat with the observer. He looked like he could one day be a valuable member of Thanatos....

Logan Hawke

Logan reached out his hand and shook the salarians firmly. The slender, large headed race were never thought of as particularly great warriors of killers but as thinkers. They were extraordinarily adept at non linear thinking making them exceptional in the fields of science and espionage. Regardless Logan had run into more than his fair share of salarian mercs to know that when you put that big brain of theirs to violent ends they could be deadly opponents. Hawke released his grip on the salarians hand before speaking.

"Aww shucks I get my own room? Yer spolin me. Why don't you tell me the nature of this venture yer on before I go to my room and find out what kind of entertainment we're talkin about."

Logan said as he followed Cortex onto the ship.

Cortex

Cortex led the human named Logan into the mini-bar area of the ship, pouring three glasses of Asari wine, two glasses of Ryncol and a Salarian cocktail. He put them onto a tray and walked into the conference room, sitting at the head of the table. Me motioned to a seat on his left. He moved the Asari wine, called "Bliss" to Logan. He then asked the Biotic to wait a moment. He quickly tapped out a messahe on his green omni-tool, to all members of his team.

MEET IN SENTINEL'S CONFERENCE ROOM. BRIEFING FOR JOB. URGENT.

He then started messing with the seat assignation's so that everyone was comfortable. He placed Elizabeth to his right, with Jeron next to her. Faltus was next to Logan, with Archer opposite Cortex. He then brought up a real-time image of Carcosa, a red mess of a planet, with decades of greenhouse gases polluting the air. Joy, Cortex though. He then turned to Logan.

"I have arranged a meeting with my team, Mr Hawke. Is there anything you would like to know before they arrive?"

The Salarian stared intensely at the human, trying to understand what sort of man the obvious veteran was...

Weyrloc Chimish

Chimish was already beginning to enjoy this new job as he made a batarians head exploded with a well aimed burst of rifle fire. He grinned and got into cover as the enemy force started unloading on him. A quick reload and he popped out of cover and sprayed in their direction. One round caught a batarian in the thigh while another took one in the gut but for the most part the burst of covering fire did little more than halt their progression giving Chim an opportunity to close the distance. Krogans were some of the most dangerous aliens in the galaxy but at close range, they were near unstoppable. Chim barreled in and reached the closest batarian and bashed the four eyed merc in the jaw with the butt of his rifle. The batarian dropped to the ground clutching his shattered jaw only to receive a point blank range burst of rounds from Chim's battle rifle.

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Logan Hawke

The biotic merc leaned back in his chair casually as one of Cortex's people walked in. A blonde, human woman. Obviously a fighter, Logan to see the muscle definition in her every move yet she didn't have the stocky build of a solider. Logan guessed either a biotic or a techie but he'd find out for sure later on. As for Cortex himself he seemed to be smart but that went without saying he was a salarian. How smart was still up for debate though. Logan's eyes flicked back to to Cortex only to see him staring intently at him, observing every movement.

"Ya wanna know if I got any questions huh? Alright, I'm figurin you'll wanna go over the full mission specs when your squad rolls in so fer now I'll settle with somethin simple. Why Omega? Why Aria? Did ya just need ships like I heard? If ya got a team already you sure as shit aren't lacking fer muscle so I'm just curious what yer angle is? Nobody does somethin fer no reason and everybody wants somethin."