Mayce's Story

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaase! Why can't you stay a little longer?" pleaded a pouty, naked red headed human woman wrapped up in the tatty old cloth she called a blanket. She sat on an old, dirty looking bed that came standard in the apartments on Omega. The bed and blanket were the Ritz compared to the dimly lit, wall to wall industrial metal furnished box she called a home. A tall, pale man stood by her door, faceting a sleeveless red shirt onto his masculine form. The man had odd tubes and alien metals protruding from his skin. "Oh, you know I would love to, Destiny, put you paid for an hour and an hour is what I gave you." Mayce said with honey in his voice and his in-human eyes flashing. He picked up his leather coat off of a chair slung it onto his arm. "If you paid for another hour, you couldn't afford to eat for a week." He then sauntered over to her and placed his hand onto her cheek. She closed her eyes and caressed his hand. "Tell you what, next time you get paid, I'll give you seventy five minutes for the rate of sixty, Ok? Ive gotta run now, be a good girl." He said warmly. He then turned around and walked out through the sliding door to the streets of Omega.

Mayve stepped onto the streets and threw his coat on, latching it up. He then shook himself. "Whew, the lady has some serious issues." Mayce said with a shiver. He then started to walk towards the East docking gate and his favorite dance spot, Afterlife. "I don't see why Roz has to keep whoring me out. I know credits are tight right now, but 8 clients in one day? I'm not a machine........wait, yes I am." Mayce said to himself. At the last part he got his trademark smile to creep onto his face. He might complain, but he would do whatever Roz told him to. He didn't know why, he just always felt comfortable taking orders. Like, he always needed some kind of directive. Mayce just shook the thought out of his head. "I better get Roz the money like a good hooker." Mayce said to himself, sounding defeated. He was taking the scenic route there, not there was much to see on Omega to the naked eye. Then again, Mayce saw things like no one ever could. He loved the squalor and chaos that Omega represented. It was life in one of it's purest forms, how Mayce believed it should be. The again, not many people cared what Mayce thought.....actually no one did. People only cared what he could do, and more importantly, what he could do for them. That's what his entire known life had been like, hell that's probably why he was created. He knew that wasn't going to change. He was at peace with that.

Mayce was awoken suddenly out of his stupor by someone yelling. He looked to the source and saw a crowd forming around one of the docking bays. The source was a Salarian, young one to boot. Nice, clean clothes, smooth chitin on his forehead. Prime target. Obvious coward too. A girl was with him, a nice young, innocent looking girl with some contraption strapped to her face. She then started talking to a Batarian. One he recognized. "Huh, wouldn't have taken her for a junkie." he said with disbelief. Someone had tapped him on the shoulder, he looked over to see a Turian staring back at him. He smiled and gripped the mans forearm. "Hey, Gavorn. How you've been?" The Turian reciprocated the smile. "Can't complain......otherwise I'd get shot. Hahaha! Looks we got some greenskins. How long do you think?" Gavorn asked gesturing to the new arrivals. "A day, if they're lucky." Mayce said to the Captain. The Turian chuckled to himself. "Well, they're not, here comes Fargut." Gavorn said, pointing at a tweaked out looking Salarian. "Oh boy, how does he always know?" He said looking after at the sly trickster. Mayce then looked back at the sweet looking girl and the terrified young boy. Shit. "Gavorn, I gotta go. I guess it's time to do my good deed for the year. See ya." Mayce said reluctantly to the Captain. "Bye Mayce, don't get dead."

Fargut approached the two new comers to his space station. "Hello there, Welcome to Omega! I'm Fargut, and I'm here to offer my services as a guide. I know several good places to eat and back alleys to take to avoid unsavory types. For just a nominal fee, I would be glad to take you on as..." The Salarian's rehearsed speech was cut off by Mayce's arm around his throat. Mayce had him in a head lock that looked like a friendly shoulder hug. Fargut looked up. "Oh...H-h-h-hey Mayce. I was just.." Mayce squeezed harder. "Fargut, get out of here.....now." He said with a smile on. He then let him go, causing the Salarian to stumble. *Cough* "Sure Mayce, whatever you say." He said quickly before running off. Mayce smiled and chuckled to himself as he saw the little insect scurry away. He then turned towards the girl, as the kid didn't look in his right mind. "Peace of friendly advice while your here on Omega. Anyone who comes up to you acting friendly and wanting to help you, is probably going to rob you......if your lucky. Keep in the middle of walk ways and anyone who seems grumpy and rude are going to be the people you can trust." Mayce said with a semi-serious tone and a smile. He then began to walk away from them. He then stopped and looked over his shoulder. "Oh yeah, Welcome to Omega." With that, Mayce walked off into Afterlife.

As he walked through the several doors to Afterlife, all of the bouncers simply nodded at him, and he nodded back. As soon as the pulsing music hit him, he shivered in ecstasy. He loved it, Afterlife. Just the whole club scene in general. Never alone, never silent, always full of life. His smile was easily noticed as he made his way through the club, pounding his head to the beat. He saw most of his crew over by the bar. He approached them and placed the credit chits in front of Roz. "Theres your money, my pimp. I hope this little whore pleased you today." He said smiling, tone dripping with sarcasm. He then leaned against the bar and noticed Kinderheim. He simply nodded in his direction. "New guy." Mayce didn't really like him, he found him really creepy. He then looked to his left and saw a smile on Persephone's face. His smile vanished. "Shit, Sephie." Mayce sighed. "Where are the bodies and how many do I have to clean up?" He said, looking at her accusingly.

Chim broke out into roaring laughter after he threw the Vorcha down the steps. He turned and walked into Afterlife with a wide grin on his face.

"Ahh I love screwin with Vorcha."

He chuckled to himself as he walked up to the bar to find a few members of his squad including his boss. Chim walked up beside Mayce and gave him a hearty slap on the back in friendship. The young krogans friendly pat nearly took the human/reaper hybrid off his feet but Mayce managed to keep his balance. The guy had become accustomed to the friendly and overly powerful back slaps from the young krogan and stayed on his feet.

"Mayce! Tell me you found us some work or buy me drink. I don't care which."

He said as he took a seat beside Mayce.

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-Meanwhile in the Omega docking bay

The shuttle touched down and let the three passengers off. Three humans, two men and a woman. The trio made their way off the shuttle and walked into the streets of Omega. The three individuals all were armed and well supplied but their gear was modest. Pistols for two of them, one of the men carried a shotgun. They were here for one person and they weren't going to leave until they retrieved them. They just had to stay under Aria T'Loaks radar.

Roz’s attention turned to the human she had only recently recruited. It was truly the first time she chose a team member on her own volition. At the time she thought she was doing something good, but something about the human rubbed her the wrong way. Then again, she could say that about her entire team. Each of them had a strange ‘quirk’ about them that made her unsure of their loyalty at times. Except perhaps Mayce, who had yet to disobey an order, no matter how jokingly sarcastic it was. At least they all came crawling back to her on a regular basis and the Krogan, at the very least, had been around for years now. While almost childish at times, Chimish had indeed been very reliable. Ranek had also been considerably reliable, although it was disputed between the two Turians over who was the better sniper. Roz, however, so graciously let him keep the title as dealing with people on Omega usually called for smaller, more concealable arms and she had grown quite out of practice with her rifle. It was a shame that her friend on the Citadel hadn’t given her anything new in quite some time. She did enjoy a good chance to practice.

“I’d much rather know I can eat tomorrow, new blood.” She remarked, stretching out her shoulders to keep them from getting stiff. Sitting in same stool for hours, surveying the crowd for potential jobs and information to trade was terrible for her lower back and shoulders. If they didn’t get work soon, she feared she would have to organize a surgical strike on one of the big three on Omega just for a few credits. What she wouldn’t have given for a good crisis. It was a shame she didn’t get in on any of the fighting during the attack of the Citadel. Then again, not having a ship made it difficult to get off the crumbling little asteroid. It would’ve been a good fight.

A second member of her little band of misfits entered Afterlife, the female Human of her group. She seemed entirely too pleased with herself to be up to anything good, but so long as her group did as they were told and didn’t try to stab her in the back, she gave them free reign. Persephone wasn’t exactly stable, and Roz was very much aware of that when she took the Human into her company. The appearance of Mayce, perhaps the strangest of her Human underlings, brought a sense of relief. At least there was sanity in this one. She scooped up the credit chits and counted them, redistributing them out among the Humans, making sure Mayce got more than the other two.

“Bravo, my little harlot. We get to eat tonight.” She stowed the shares for the non-present members of her group in her jacket pocket. “Hopefully this will only be temporary. I hate to think what this will do to your health.” She gave him a patronizing pat on the head. “And don’t keep hiding corpses for her. Persephone needs to learn that we’re not condoning murder without communal profit.”

==Docks==

Karin flinched at Grace’s touch, but seemed to relax considerably at the sound of her voice. He looked up at the human, nodding his head vigorously at her offer to keep close to him while on Omega. The initial panic seemed to subside enough for him to look around him at the locals. He’d never met a Batarian before. He heard they had four eyes, but he imagined something different. He squeaked as Grace hurried away to talk to one in a corner. He seemed jittery and Karin wondered if he was as afraid of Omega as he was. Maybe he didn’t like meeting new people. Karin liked meeting new people. There was always a rush of joy in ‘becoming friends’ with someone new. Grace came bounding back, excited about something.

“You’ll never believe it Karin! That batarian over there is selling some sort of red sand and I thought, Karin loves dirt, rocks and sand! Do you want to go buy some? Would that make you feel better?”

“G-Grace, Red Sand is a narcotic derived from Element Zero that boosts biotic ability and produces a sense of extreme euphoria for a brief time. It was first manufactured on the Sol System’s Mars, hence its name… It’s not… actually sand.” Karin explained, wrapping his arms around one of Grace’s elbows. He was content to use her as a form of security blanket for the time being, finding safety in the contact of his friend. A strange Salarian approached them, offering to show them around Omega to avoid the ‘unsavory types’ as he put it. The Salarian’s offer was cut short by a Human giving him a friendly hug, causing the Salarian to scatter like a Pyjack that had been shot at. The Human addressed Grace, giving her advice on handling the locals.

“He seemed nice.” Karin murmured, tilting his head as the Human left. He meant the Salarian that had so ‘kindly’ offered to help them out, but before he could elaborate two more members of their party set foot on Omega.

Nathan, a researcher—of what the Salarian didn’t actually know—gave him a comforting pat on the back as reassurance stated they shouldn’t worry and should keep together. Norik, the leader of their merry band of scientists and their resident Prothean expert emerged from the airlock. Karin admired his shipmates. They all seemed so confident and fearless in comparison to his debilitating phobias. He had made one step onto the planet, while Grace was able to trot around without a care in the world. He would be jealous if it wasn’t so impressive to him.

“However, I can't leave this ship unattended. As you can imagine, their form of security here isn't the most trustworthy. Who wants to stay behind?" The Drell offered and one of Karin’s hands released Grace’s arm to wave in the air.

“Pick me! Please pick me!” He offered, pleading up at the taller Drell. “I have to make sure all of the guest accommodations are suitable and the laundry’s all set up and the mirrors are all covered. We can’t have the people protecting us have their souls in danger. Or their rooms dirty. What if they don’t like dirty rooms and they shoot us because they’re not clean enough? What if they have guns? I don’t like guns. Do we have to have people with guns?” As he continued, the tempo of his voice increased significantly, as if he was trying to get as much as he could out in a single breath. He took a sharp inhale and exhaled slowly. “I’d like to stay on the ship is what I’m saying. I’ll lock the doors and everything.”

Persephone shook her head, "No, the bodies need to stay where they are, otherwise someone might not believe that it was the fault of the Blue Suns. Also, its not my fault! They wouldn't stop with the lies. They kept saying they didn't have any, but I knew they did." She held her head for a moment, "I'll murder everyone for you, Boss. Just make sure you want them dead first, I can't take it back after they're dead." Persephone laughed at something no one else heard.

Looking at Roz she said simply, "Let me know when we need to go, I've got to go... do something." She walked over to the wall and leaned over to pull something out of her pocket.

With a smile she pulled out one of the syringes she had stolen from the Asari doctor and took the cap off the needle, "So... How do I?" She looked at it curiously, thinking it might have been better for her to have figured out how to use it first. Shut up brain, she thought to herself as she stabbed herself in the neck with the needle, pushing down the plunger, driving the strange liquid into her body. She looked around for a for a moment before scowling at the lack of effect she was getting, it was supposed to be more potent than Red Sand, but she couldn't feel a thing. "Maybe it just takes time?"

Grace

“So, red sand is a drug? Well why in the world would they call it something as harmless sounding as red sand? That could fool a lot of people you know.” She knew she was ignorant on plenty of matters that concerned the ‘real world.’ Living your entire life cooped up on a ship would do that to you but she wasn’t ashamed of it. Learning was one of her many enjoyments and along with learning came making mistakes, which she had obviously just made. Her mind then wandered to think about Karin hopped up on a narcotic. He would probably be able to vibrate through solid objects!

The entertaining image running through her head was haulted as an odd salarian came up and offered to be their guide. Before Grace could say yes and thank him for the help one of his friends came over and gave him a slight hug before their would be guide skittered away. She would have been more curious about the exchange between the two but the human or more properly half-human man that had appeared after the salarian, captured all of her attention. There were mechanical parts attached to him, he was half machine. This was absolutely amazing! She’d never seen anyone like him before! Oh, she had so many questions to ask…wait where did he go? Grace watched the stranger’s back as he walked off into a very noisy establishment. Every fiber of her wanted to go after him but she couldn’t just leave Karin. No, quite literally she couldn’t leave him; her salarian friend had quite the powerful grip.

Nathan’s voice pulled her attention and she smiled at him, giving a small wave as if nothing had happened. “Yes, Karin just told me that red sand is actually a drug. I can’t believe they would name it something so deceiving. Although, I suppose that’s the point right?” She cocked her head curiously at him, not even taking notice that Karin had attached himself to her. It was something she had become accustomed to and if it made him feel more secure then she didn’t mind at all. Nathan said they’d be out of there in no time which disappointed her a bit; this place seemed so interesting after all.

Norik then appeared and Grace gave him the same smile and wave she had given Nathan before her eyebrows shot up and she watched Karin as he went on a rapid fire speech of nonsense. She couldn’t help but giggle a bit as he finally calmed himself. “You’ll be perfect to watch the ship Karin. No one will dare come on board if they know you’re there.” She smiled and gently pried his arms off of hers. “We’ll be back soon!” Trotting after Nathan and Norik, she hurried up to their leader and turned to talk to him, walking backwards and immediately set off into a speedy conversation almost worthy of Karin. “Norik! I already know someone we could ask. He showed up and gave this salarian a hug and then the salarian left. You see the salarian said he wanted to be our guide but for soooooome reason I think he was lying because the guy said we shouldn’t trust people who are happy and boy was that salarian nice and happy! So, I’m almost certain he helped us out! He went this way! Come on!” With that she turned around and hurried off into Afterlife, practically skipping past the krogan doorman as he was in an intense conversation with a customer. She froze though once inside, the amount of noise was overwhelming to her sensitive ears, it even made her goggles go on the fritz causing her to weave about and run into patrons.

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Elizabeth

Elizabeth leaned back in her seat as Cortex began speaking. She sighed in what sounded like irritation when he asked her to look over this new job. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to, it was the simple fact she had to because her grand leader had gotten smashed yet again. Still though, she took the offered drink and cigarette with a smirk. “Such a charmer.” After lighting it she took the datapad and began scrolling through the assignment information as he spoke. The second half of his speech caused her to pause and look up at him curiously until he revealed he wished to promote her to second in command. A raise of the eyebrows was the only form of surprise she allowed to show. “Hm, as flattered as I am Cortex.” She blew a puff of smoke from her lips and let the burning stick dangle between two fingers. “Don’t you think it would be more appropriate to offer the title to one of your more senior officers? I am the youngest in the company so it honestly isn’t very appropriate.” Her face instantly scrunched after that statement, as if suddenly remembering something. “No, wait. Now that I think about who the senior officers are I realize if any of them were to be left in charge then the company would no doubt implode. Very well, I accept the position. Thank you.” She replaced the cigarette in her mouth and instantly went back to scrolling over the information. It wasn’t as if she wasn’t grateful for the offer. In fact she was quite thrilled and honored about it but she never was exactly a master of portraying her emotions. Only those close to her could see she wasn’t simply waving the promotion away but merely showing her gratitude in the only way she knew how.

She took her time going over the message, again and again, her drink long gone as well as the cigarette. “Well, you know as well as I that Cerberus isn’t known for playing well with others. I suppose it is quite the honor that we were chosen though” She drummed her fingers on the arm of the chair, staring at the message before looking up at Cortex. “It seems simple enough. Kill a few scientists and give Cerberus what they want. I have my doubts, it seems quite shady but that’s basically the definition of the business we’re in. I think you’re right, this would be an excellent opportunity for us.” She stretched out her arm and offered back the datapad. “Ah, and as for your morality. I wouldn’t worry; you’re going to be around for a long while. You’re impossible to kill my dear.” She smiled then leaned back into her chair. The statement the closet thing to fondness any would probably ever get from her.

"As long as your pleased, Boss Lady." Mayce said with a deep bow. He was joking of course, Mayce always had a flair for the dramatic. He then got slapped in the back which made him jump. Then his favorite Krogan came up next to him. "Hey, Chim! I ain't got us a job, but i did get us some money, as you can plainly see. SO you can get yourself a drink, thank you very much." Mayce said with a cocky smile. He would have kept talking but an older Krogan had approached him and they were engaged in Krogan talk. Mayce felt best to stay out of it. He then turned back to Persephone. "You pinned it on Blue Suns? Oh Sephie, you my hero!" He said laughing. He then took his share from Roz with a nod of his head. "Thanks sweetie. Now, if you'll excuse me, there is a dance floor with several unattended ladies on it. Being the gentleman I am, I can't just leave them that way. Later on." He said with his trademark grin. He then left the bar and started to wade through the crowd, trying to get to the dance floor.


On his way, he bumped into someone rather hard. He turned to apologize to them, but realized he recognized her. "Sorry about that---Hey, it's you!" He said with a smile to the weird girl with the goggles he helped out earlier. He then looked around. "How the hell did you get in here. There is no way Wrought would let you.....are you alright." He said when he noticed how nervous she looked. She almost seemed like she was having an internal panic attack, like she was kind of frozen. "Here, let's get out of this crowd." He told her. Mayce then took her by the hand and arm and gently led her over to the stairs that led to the above bar area. When he got her there, he then turned to her. "There, that's better. Now, tell me. What's a girl like you doing in a place like this?"

1 year 11 months ago. Earth

Kinderheim looked at all the students in his class. All students were here. Well, not all. The Ibrahimovich twins weren’t there. Kinderheim asked Sally and Mark, who always came to school with the twins, where they were. “Victor mother says they won’t come for some days. They sick,” said Sally and went back to scribbling on the desk. Sick, huh?

It took him Kinderheim an hour to reach the place where the Ibrahimovich twins lived. He didn’t care much about the twins. It was only that in this part of town, children getting ‘sick’ never meant that the child was sick. It was a shabby run down building, probably a hundred years old. Kinderheim walked inside. Quite a few people were standing along the wall, staring at Kinderheim.

Well, many stared at him, and many died too. It was his weird dressing style, he told himself. After all, who wears a red trench coat, red cowboy hat and yellow sunglasses in this day and age? Only Kinderheim, he thought smiling. He looked at them and nodded, but they just looked away. Now, now, his dressing style wasn’t that bad, was it?

Kinderheim also noticed fear in their eyes. He was a torturer and if he didn’t know when to stop, then he wouldn’t be good at his job. A person’ eyes conveyed a lot, and they were clearly scared. He didn’t bother anyone and went straight ahead. They were poor and he was new. Of course they’d be scared. What if he was a thug?

Two flights of stairs, and stares, later he was there, at the Ibrahimovich residence. More like the Ibrahimovich cardboard box, he thought to himself. He knocked the door and the door creaked. It’s open. Hmm… He walked inside and saw a gruesome sight, a dead woman, possibly the twins’ mother, and a dead dog. It was pretty brutal, blood splattered all the over the place. Great… I just hoped finding them will be fu-

His phone rang, breaking his train of thought. It was Roxanne, the woman he worked for. “What?” he queried.
“Where are you? I have a client for us,” she said, her happiness clearly heard.
“Two of my students didn’t attend class. I’m making sure they are fin-” Again interrupted.

“It’s the Ibrahimovich twins, isn’t it?” her voice was sadder this time. “So he did it. I can’t believe he’d have the balls…”
“Care to explain?”
Roxanne gave a long sigh and spoke, “The twins are probably dead. Or have been sold off to the Slavers.”

“You mea-”
“Yes, I’m talking about them only. There is no point. They have already left. But they will return next week to complete the deal with our Boss. You can have your revenge then.”

This time it was Kinderheim who sighed. He didn’t say anything for a while and neither did her. He wasn’t sad about the twins, oh no, he was sad that he might not be able to torture any of the slavers. They’ll be holed up together and capturing one of them would just be a colossal waste of time and energy. That’s why he hated large group. Too much hassle.
“Now, now. Don’t get so sad. In these parts such things are common,” said Roxanne.
“You know I’m not sad about that. Anyways I’ll be over there,” said Kinderheim and switched his cell off. I guess this client is going to have much worse day.

12 days ago. Day 2 on Omega.

“Yes sir, I understand,” said the shop owner, “You want anything else?”
Kinderheim looked around. The only thing they had here were armor. No normal dresses, at all. “Armor is what people buy here,” was his reasoning. Kinderheim started to hate Omega already. But there were a lot of fun things to do here, so he didn’t leave. He could always go to where the Vorcha lived and screw around with them. The Red Coat Monster, the little Vorcha kids had named him. He smiled at that name, for it was better than the name Jason had given him, Kinderheim.

As he took the armor from the shop owner and as he was about to leave he saw the Krogan entering, the same Krogan who had helped Kinderheim join with Turian female, Roz the awesome. Instantly, his Phalanx was out and aimed at the Krogan’s eyes. The Krogan saw him and he got his shotgun was out. The shop owner got his assault rifle and shouted, “NO FIGHTING!”

The shop owner walked towards the Krogan and shouted something in a language Kinderheim didn’t understand. He hated that everyone seemed to talk in languages he didn’t understand. Kinderheim smiled at the Krogan, “Let’s take it outside,” and started walking towards the exit, and towards the Krogan but then he saw the Turian male who had stopped him from killing the Batarian two earlier and spoke again, “Hey there.”

The Turian looked at Krogan, then at Kinderheim and did a facepalm. “It seems you know my Krogan friend here, Furvanor Kask. Furvanor, would you please not kill him?” The Krogan lowered his shotgun, grunted, spoke, “That’s twice your ass got saved. Lucky bastard,” and left.

The Turian looked at the Krogan and spoke, “I’ll bring your things. And Thanks.” He walked towards the shop owner, who had lowered his rifle, and asked for the Krogan’s stuff. The shop owner left them to go get whatever Kask wanted. The Turian spoke with a small smile, “The name’s Septimus Caezar,” he said while giving the credits to the man, who had returned with a massive armor. “The shop owner is Parnet.”

“I’m Kinderheim, if I haven’t told you that,” he greeted them both. Two Krogans came inside and picked up the armor that Furvanor wanted, War Lord Armor. The Turian noticed the Heavy Janissary armor Kinderheim held and laughed, “You aren’t seriously going to buy that?”
“Why what is the problem?”
“Nothing. It doesn’t suit your combat style, and it costs about eight million credits,” said the Turian laughing. Kinderheim was in shock for a few moments. Eight million credits?! He only had five… thousand credits.

As the Turian walked out of the store and spoke again, “Follow me. And don’t take the suit along with you.”




Kinderheim looked at himself in the mirror. The armor the Turian had given looked good, though not as good as the trench coat. Septimus laughed again, “I see you are not happy, but your boss did ask you to change, didn’t she?”

Kinderheim looked at the Turian. The Turian realized what he had said and smiled again, “The Batarian works for us.” “Oh! Okay,” he said and looked back at the mirror. The armor would do. Roz wanted something that wasn’t a red trench coat and this was comfortable enough. “Do I have to pay for it?” asked the Turian.

“Not at all. That armor isn’t all that good. But it’s light and has red so I gave it you. But… If you want to pay back, you could do some work for us. You know, the kind of your work you did on Earth,” said the Turian and walked towards the large hangar. Kinderheim followed.
“So you too did a background check on me?”
The Turian spoke with one of the pilots and then with Kinderheim, “Didn’t need to. We know you were the one who bombed the Eclipse drug racket head quarters on Earth.” He was referring to the school. So the boss that guy meant was from the Eclipse…

“Sure,” Kinderheim said with a smile, “Anything that is fun shall be done.”

Present. Omega

“I’d much rather know I can eat tomorrow, new blood,” said Roz. Kinderheim sighed. He hated it when Roz talked about the future. Who cared about the future? The present is here, why not enjoy that instead of, you know, brooding about the future? If she wanted money for food, he could ask Septim-
Oh wait. Kinderheim realized the Turian couldn’t help him after what happened yesterday. Maybe Kinderheim should think of the future?

Slowly but surely the rest of his teammates joined him and Roz. First was Perspephone, or was it Persephone? Kinderheim didn’t know so he didn’t ask; or talked to her. She seemed happy all the time and Kinderheim wondered what was so fun. Probably sex… thought Kinderheim and turned his attention to the glass of Batarian ale Forvan had just given him. Free drinks courtesy of the Turian, Septimus, he guessed.

Just as he started to drink, Mayce arrived. He was half-robot, half-… No, he was more like 90 percent robot, a little human-ish. Kinderheim was fascinated by Mayce. Mayce was someone Kinderheim would love to torture. He was human-ish so he would feel pain, but he was also a robot, allowing Kinderheim to torture him without worrying too much. Perfecto, Kinderheim thought and smiled. But alas, Roz wouldn’t allow.

Chim the Krogan was next. Chim seemed a fun guy, but he was Krogan, which were the species Kinderheim hated a lot. They got to live thousands of years, and he only 70? Not fair! Kinderheim had whined many times. Another Krogan approached Chim, and they left.

Kinderheim sighed. After what had happened yesterday, his life was going to be less fun, it seemed. The Turian had taken pretty much all his money and everything else except his armor and his Phalanx. “I cannot allow you here at this moment. Need to look badass in front of the boss. Let things cool down and I’ll let you torture people for us again, say after one week?” the Turian had said at the time. He sighed and looked at Mayce. Let things get fun again… For his sake.

Karin nodded a few times, sure to convey that he understood. “Be safe!” He called out, waving them off. As the three of them left the immediate area, he retreated back into the safety of the Jitterbug. He exhaled slowly as the doors sealed shut and sat against them for a while. After a short time he managed to push himself to his feet, his heartbeat finally settling down. Having Grace around helped take the edge off his panic, but there was no real substitute for feeling secure in a familiar location.

He wandered around the ship a bit, taking a mental stock of what they would need. He had no idea how many mercenaries they would hire. Two? Five? Fifteen? Were pirates enough cause for more people? Would they all be toting guns? Would they be specialists? Perhaps they were criminals themselves. He shook the thoughts from his mind, sighing heavily. He wouldn’t know until they got there. Norik and Nathan would pick good people. Grace was like he was, eager to make friends. He couldn’t tell bad people from good people unless they already had a gun to his face. At least neither of them was in charge of finding their protection. His thoughts turned to the strange Salarian that had greeted them. “I wonder if he was really trying to be helpful.” He turned down a hallway to check their guest accommodations. Piloting the craft meant he couldn’t walk around the ship and check to see if mirrors were covered and floors were scrubbed.

He set out a set of clean towels by the showers and checked their cleaning supplies. The crew would have to shower and clean their armor and clothes before he would be happy. Omega was crawling with filth; he wasn’t going to allow any of it to come with them. He spent the rest of his time inspecting ‘problem areas’ around the ship, making sure that their food stores weren’t low and other such necessary things.

==Afterlife==

“I’m sure you would. You do so enjoy it. Have fun, Persephone. Try not to get yourself on anyone’s hit list while you’re out. Well, any more of them.” Roz absently waved off the female Human, turning her attention to her omnitool, which lit up on her left arm. She tapped the holographic display to pick up the video call. Her fourth Human member had finally chosen to call. She had begun to wonder where he had wandered off to, considering just he and Ranek—the other Turian on her ‘team’—were the only ones not currently in Afterlife.

"Been patrolling for three straight hours and all I've got on the forecast is 'Cloudy with a chance of Bugger All'. I'm on my way back now. Meet you at the usual place?"

“That’s a shame. Come on by, I have your allowance.” Roz said simply, leaning with her back against the bar to cross one leg over the other, much to Forvan’s disdain. The Batarian bartender tried in vain to get her to leave, but Roz set down a few credits and got herself a drink, satisfying the disgruntled bartender for the time being. “Bothersome Batarian.” She huffed, allowing her omnitool to dim and fade from view. She left the drink untouched for the most part, taking a sip from it every now and again to keep Forvan off her back about it. She allowed Mayce to wander off on his own without acknowledging his departure. All of her underlings were grown-ups, they could take care of themselves. Who Mayce danced with was no concern of hers. So long as they took orders.

The female Turian surveyed the dance floor, contemplating the benefits of ‘getting her groove on’ and weighing them against the fact that she a) couldn’t dance and b) didn’t want to look like an idiot. She resigned herself to tapping her finger against the bar to the beat and humming to herself. It was a little gesture of whimsy on her part, but every little bit counted in these times. It seemed that the Turian had no time to take for herself. She spent all day and night looking for work and watching for breaks in the defenses of the big three on Omega. Even with Michael helping, it was still a stretch to even find simple tasks. Perhaps she shouldn’t have taken in the strange red-dressed male the other day. Finding work for six people was hard enough, seven was wandering close to impossible.

Persephone wandered over to the dance floor, disappointed that aliens weren't into moshing, it seemed like Krogans would be the ideal race for it too. Shame. She wandered through the crowd, shoving her way past asari extra hard, whispering xenophobic slurs as she passed by them, if she was lucky, she could make one of them cry.

Persephone spotted Mayce as he rounded the stairs with some girl, and shook her head. She wandered back through the crowd, pushing a couple of the same asari again, and this time calling them whores, sluts and trash. Eventually someone would stand up to her, but it didn't seem like that day was today. As Persephone wandered through the club she found a couple of turian males talking to each other, one of them looked like he had been in many battles, scars marred the side of his face. Persephone walked over to them and smiled, "Hey, nice scars. I bet you give twice as good as you get though." The Turians looked up at her and the younger invited her to sit down with them, the older looking less pleased. Persephone smiled and climbed in between them, looking closely at the lines on the scarred Turian's face.

"Do you have some sort of problem?" The older Turian asked Persephone, seeming agitated by this human. Persephone quipped back, "Yep, haven't had any ryncol yet." She smirked at her comment, thinking herself clever. The older turian got up and looked to the younger, "I'll catch up with you later," and he started to walk away. Persephone started to get up to go after him but the younger turian stopped her, his hand grabbed around her arm, "Wait, let me buy you a drink." She sat back down and looked at him, "What's his problem?" She gestured with her head in the direction the other one had gone. "He doesn't like humans, he's had bad experiences." Persephone shrugged her shoulders and waited for her drink.

After a shot of Ryncol, she was feeling much better about everything. Booze, the cure to all life's problems.

Grace Kennedy



Grace placed her hands on her ears in an attempt to block out the loud, obnoxious thumping of the music. Her goggles flickered and produced staticky images that made her head and eyes hurt. Oh, what was she doing running off on a place she was unfamiliar with! This wasn't the Citadel, this was Omega. Just find Norik, get back to Norik and Nathan and you'll be fine. She tried to feebly navigate her way through the crowds but the flickers of angry faces she recieved only helped to heighten her anxiety. She stumbled back, trying to backpeddle away from the angry patrons when she only succeeded in smacking into another. "Oh! I'm real sorry, I didn't mean to I-" She stopped her string of apologies when she realized who it was and he remembered her. Oh, thank goodness! The machine man would help her!

After gratefully following the man to a relatively quieter area, Grace quickly pulled the goggles from her face and began scrubbing her eyes. Geez, these things could be more trouble than they were worth. Perhaps she should think of upgrading them. She heard the man's question, just barely, and looked up in his general direction. No matter how long she had been blind she still couldn't pinpoint her eyes on someone's face. "I came here to look for you actually. I just didn't think it would be so loud and crowded...and scary in here. Um, but, thank you for helping me and also for helping me before." She wished Norik were here, he knew how to propose business deals far better than she did. "I wanted to ask you something. You see myself and a few others are going to Carcosa on a dig and I'm sure you know that pirates are crawling all over the place. So, we thought it would be a good idea to find some protection and you were really nice before and kept us safe so I thought maybe you would want to. Oh! and we're paying too but you'll have to talk to Norik about that." She smiled brightly towards him, the fear and anxiety of earlier had already washed away from her and she was back to her overly bubbly self. "Oh!! and I ALSO wanted to tell you that you're absolutely amazing! I saw your mechanical parts earlier and that's just fascinating! Maybe later on the ship you could tell me how they all piece together. I would just love to learn how engineering and anatomy can combine like they appear to do in you." It was taking every inch of her to resist just closing the small gap between them and groping over his body to feel the mechanical bits and how they connected. She did have a little self restraint, despite what others thought, and Grace knew that he at least needed to come back to the ship with them before she started prodding because she'd already assumed he would take the deal.

Mayce stood there and listened to young lady. When she took off the goggles, her eyes sort of moved all over the place, but not his face. Wait? Was she? She couldn't be. His in-human eyes zoomed onto hers. They were pale and glazed. She was. Mayce believed she was actually blind. What the hell is a sweet blind girl doing here? "I came here to look for you actually. I just didn't think it would be so loud and crowded...and scary in here. Um, but, thank you for helping me and also for helping me before. I wanted to ask you something. You see myself and a few others are going to Carcosa on a dig and I'm sure you know that pirates are crawling all over the place. So, we thought it would be a good idea to find some protection and you were really nice before and kept us safe so I thought maybe you would want to. Oh! and we're paying too but you'll have to talk to Norik about that." She smiled brightly towards him, seeming a lot calmer than before, happy even. "Oh!! and I ALSO wanted to tell you that you're absolutely amazing! I saw your mechanical parts earlier and that's just fascinating! Maybe later on the ship you could tell me how they all piece together. I would just love to learn how engineering and anatomy can combine like they appear to do in you." she said, words bubbling with excitement. A huge smile just spread over his face. "Are you asking me to....work for you? Your asking me for work off-station? Guarding a science team on a dig?" Mayce asked, trying to contain his excitement. Normally he would watch him self around a business transaction, but this little blind girl was harmless enough. He picked her up and spun her around and kissed her on the head. "Thank you! Thank you so much! We have been without work for so long and my boss has made me do.....some unsavory things to get by. You are an angel! Come on! I'll take you to my boss!" He said with tons of excitement in his voice.

Mayce led her down the walk way, now knowing she was blind, he was being a lot more careful with her. They made their way through the crowd and started to get closer to where he had left Roz. "Don't be scared. We'll just talk to my boss, then we'll find your friend Norik, ok?" He said, trying to comfort her. They finally made it over to the bar and he presented the girl in front of Roz. "Roz! This young lady has a job offer for us. She wants us to guard her science team on a dig on Carcosa. To protect against pirates and the like." He then left the girl an moved closer to Roz. "She came to me because I saved her from Fargut. And you said no good would come from helping greenskins. So, I got us some work....off Omega. I think Ive finally earned a kiss, whaddya say, Roz?"

*Edited

The Turian nodded slightly to the human joining her at the bar. She pulled out a credit chit from her coat and handed it over. “Your allowance. Don’t spend it all in one place.” She stated simply, casting a sideways glance to the two Krogan about to lay into some poor, unsuspecting Batarian. The Batarian drew a weapon and the fight broke into an all-out brawl. The female Turian simply lifted her glass to keep it from spilling as one of the Drell mixed up in the conflict hit the side of the bar hard enough to shake the structure. She seemed not to notice the ruckus, as if deciding that it was simply not her problem therefore it didn’t exist. She set the glass back down on the bar and turned her attention back to the other patrons. If Chimish got himself banned from Afterlife that wasn’t her problem. So long as she could conduct business as usual, it didn’t matter to her whose skull he decided to smash in.

Roz glanced to Michael as he nudged her ribs, and then returned her gaze to the other patrons. “Yes, I saw them. It’s sad when you can tell lost off-worlders from just the look of ‘em. Far too clean for Omega, aren’t they?” She mused, finishing her drink. She watched the new wander in Drell out of the corner of her eye. He sat down and had a conversation with the Batarian bartender. After a few moments of their conversation, the Batarian’s gaze drifted to Roz and she smiled slightly. She mimicked the human motion of ‘blowing a kiss’ and Forvan’s four eyes narrowed. She shrugged, turning her head away, much to the chagrin of the bartender. “Looks like our dear new blood is looking for our kind of company. I’ll go make nice before a Blue Sun snaps him up. Hold down the bar. Try not to let our dear Krogan get himself killed by Aria’s thugs. I still need him around.” She gave Michael a patronizing pat on the head as she had done for Mayce and casually strode across the bar to the other end of the U-shaped structure. She leaned on the counter, holding up her empty glass for Forvan to see.

“Forvan, you’ve been so busy talking with your new best friend that you’ve neglected my glass.” The Batarian took the empty glass with a begrudging look as she paid for her next drink. She looked the Drell over a moment and took a seat next to him. “Now, I’d hate to intrude, but Forvan here only makes googly-eyes at me when there’s a job offer available—thank you, darling.” She cooed at the bartender as he refilled her drink. The Batarian looked less than amused.

“This is Scarlet. She may just be the answer to your prayers.”

“I pay him to say that.” Roz waved a hand, as if to shoo the Batarian away.

“You can hardly pay for your drinks.”

“Go tend to your customers, Forvan. Mommy and daddy are talking.” Roz snapped bitterly. The Batarian chuckled, but gave her the space she requested. He knew better than to get on her nerves, especially when her ‘pet’ Krogan was picking fights only twenty feet away. “Sorry about him. No professionalism in him. Not a drop.” She swirled her drink in her glass, allowing the bright purple fluid to dance along the rim of the glass without spilling over. “So, what are you here for, Drell? Runs or Guns?”

Her attention was torn from the Drell by Mayce, upon whom she unleashed a venomous look. She turned to face him fully, looking over the poor young girl he had managed to drag with him. The girl looked sorely out of place, and there seemed to be something wrong with her eyes. She rubbed her eyes with the thumb and first finger of one hand, reaching for Mayce's head with the other. "Mayce, my sunflower, my sweet, my little idiot. I'm talking with a potential client." She sighed, resisting the urge to knock him on his ass with her fist. She leaned in close, keeping her voice low so as not to upset the Drell sitting next to her. "The girl doesn't look like she could pay for Fargut's 'little tour' let alone seven mercenaries. And as exciting as her offer sounds, I doubt anyone in their right mind sends her out to recruit on Omega, so you haven't gotten us anything, except perhaps the heart of yet another starry-eyed child. Why don't you take her back to her ship before the poor little thing gets hurt?" She released the back of Mayce's head and sat back. "My associate. He apparently likes to adopt strays."

1 year 6 months ago

Roxanne wasn’t happy; neither was Kinderheim. Since the drug deal between the Eclipse and the Slavers hadn’t gone well, things had been slow. Kinderheim was especially angry, because now the Slavers weren’t letting Kinderheim extort information for them. Roxanne was angry for another reason. She looked at Kinderheim and spoke with disdain, “You just had to kill them, didn’t you?”

Kinderheim looked at her and smiled. “Of course, darling,” he said and held her hands. “They took away my fun. I cannot allow that, you know that.”

Roxanne looked Kinderheim angrily and pulled her hand away, “Still! They were my friends. I’m one of the Slavers. I cannot just allow you to kill anyone you want.” Kinderheim laughed and spoke, “Come on now. They were of no importance. You know we can run this thing together.”

“No! We can’t. They were the source of your playthings. You didn’t think I found so many people for you by myself? I sorry but I have to do this,” she said and pulled out her pistol. Kinderheim didn’t say anything for a while. She was aiming at him but her hands were shaking and none of her fingers were on the trigger. Amateur, Kinderheim thought and pulled out his own pistol. Petrified, she spoke, “Please… don’t…”

“Two things. Always finger on trigger,” he said and pulled the trigger of his Phalanx; twice. She had bullet holes for eyes now. “And… Shoot first, Talk later.” The large man who usually accompanied Roxanne, Arquiez, was just standing there. “Don’t care,” he said before Kinderheim could ask. Kinderheim loved Arquiez’s attitude of not giving a fuck, which was quite like his own style.

“Well Arquiez, what now?” asked Kinderheim. “She has stashed a lot of money in her office,” said Arquiez and popped two more bullets in her. He hated her, Kinderheim thought and smiled. Fun times…

Present. Omega

Since approximately one billion people wanted to jump on Roz, Kinderheim walked away to the dance floor. He was wearing his combat armor, because Roz hated his red trench coat. No one stared at him now as most other people wore armor. “Hey there sexy,” said an Asari near him. Kinderheim turned around and smiled at her. “Looking for a good time?” asked Asari while dancing around him. He was a good dancer but he was a good dancer to jazz songs and this was more electro. “Babe, you sure wanna help me relax?”

The Asari leaned in close to him and said, “Whatever you want babe,” making Kinderheim laugh. “Let’s go to my place then,” said Kinderheim. I better tell Roz. Roz was surrounded by a drell and Mayce who had kidnapped a girl, a chirpy little girl at that. On the way when he reached the bar, he turned to Roz and said, “Hey Boss, I’m leaving. I’ll get you some credits later.” After I torture this Asari that is, thought Kinderheim and smiled at the Asari. She smiled back too. Fun times…

Grace Kennedy

Grace waited patiently with a smile on her face for an answer but instead of the yes or no she expected, she was suddenly spinned. Her eyebrows shot up in surprise as the sudden sensation of being twirled hit her and if she wasn't mistaken, the feel of a nice solid smooch on the head. Goodness! He was certainly friendly! This was definitely a good choice to follow him, even if it had started off bad. A bubbly laugh escaped her after the mechanical man's joyous outburst. "I'm so happy that you're excited!" He thanked her again and promptly drug her off to meet his boss. His boss? So there were more friendly protectors like him? Excellent! Norik would be so proud of her!

She held tightly to his arm as she was led through the crowd. It was difficult to hear him over the ruckus of the club but she was able to make out that he had promised to find Norik after this. "Thank you very much! I hope your boss will let you take the job sir!" They apparently reached their destination as he parked her in one spot and she stood still, gripping her goggles tightly in hand by their straps. Ok, just stand still and be professional. You can do this.

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Elizabeth Ackerman

She listened quietly, face straight and serious while Cortex rattled off a to do list. "Of course Cortex, anytime dear. I'll have Faltus aid me in Mr. Hujan's execution, he'd be oh so disappointed if I didn't." Giving a nod, she left the room and once more was forced to immerse herself into the shitpool that was Afterlife. She expertly weaved around the drunken crowd while tapping out a message to Jeron on her omni-tool. It was short and simple, an order from Cortex to prep their ship for leave. Hopefully the happy fool would get it done in time. The poor thing could become so distracted. Now, to find Faltus.

It didn't take long, just follow the sounds of chaos and her large krogan comrade was sure to be there. Sure enough, hunched over an asari with another krogan laughing it up beside him, was Faltus. Elizabeth merely sighed in feigned irritation and shook her head as she approached. "Faltus! What exactly are you doing? That floor is filthy. If you want to be playful with random strangers then at LEAST do so on a table." She folded her arms, looking down at her friend before looking up at the young krogan. "Oh, how sweet, you made a friend? I'm so proud of you darling but we have more important things to do now. So leave your toy and new chum, there's work to be done. If you manage not to break anyone's bones on the way to the ship I might let you pop the volus from earlier in front of a crowd. Fun, yes?" One might think the thin human woman was mad for picking at the large, aggressive krogan in such a way but although she respected the strength Faltus possessed, she wasn't afraid of him. She reassumed her crossed armed stance, waiting for him to rise and follow to help with the execution.

Just as Norik was about to fill the female Turian in on the details, Grace came trotting along with a male human. A mixture of anger and relief bubbled over the Drell, but he pushed those emotions aside; Glad at the fact she was at least safe. I'll deal with her later, Norik groaned. The man she brought along looked very capable. His body was rigged with artificial machinery, but the parts looked very high end; Too high grade for a local manufacturer. Was this the one she was talking about?

"My associate. He apparently likes to adopt strays."

Norik nodded at the human with a smile. "Be careful. She's quite a handful."

He turned his attention back to Roz as he cleared his throat. "My team is on a sensitive excavation that requires a bit more firepower than usual. Not that you should expect a war. The planet is quite desolate, but the weather conditions are rather extreme." The Drell paused for a moment as he reached for a small data pad from his coat pocket. "We're just looking for a security team." He keyed in several numbers and then slid the device over to Roz.

"Your services will be well rewarded."

"Who's the fish?" A Krogan said as he joined the group. The Drell looked up at the big alien with a half-smile. He was familiar with the term from his first visit on Omega. It didn't take much to point out an outsider around these parts, but Norik wasn't offended by it at the slightest; Omega is the last place he'd want to feel welcomed in.

"I'm Norik Calos." The Drell said sheepishly, realizing he had forgot to introduce himself to Roz. He turned back to the Turian. "Is this your whole crew?"

Grace Kennedy

Grace stood quietly, trying to listen to the conversation over the music and general hustle and bustle of the patrons. She couldn't really make out anything distinct until Norik spoke and she smiled brightly, able to pick up the familiar voice even through the noise. "Norik! I'm so glad I found you!" She move to where his voice had come from, groped for his arm for a minute, found her target, then gave it a squeeze and kept hold as she listened to him launch into the business proposition for who she assumed was the machine man's boss. Oh, how she hoped his boss would say yes to the job. Then that meant the machine man could come with them and she could ask him all of her questions! Oh, and it also meant they'd be safe but that was really a secondary thing to her at the moment.

The sound of a deep voice almost made her jump as it said something about fish. There was a fish here? Did he mean her or Norik? She knit her eyebrows in confusion and launched into her fast paced speech after Norik had introduced himself to the unseen speaker and asked about a crew. "We're not fish silly. I'm Grace! Although, I guess I could see why you would think Norik is a fish. He kinda does look like a fish. I mean no offense Norik! You're apparently a very handsome fish, at least that's what all the women say to me when they want me to introduce them to you. You know this one woman even said" She suddenly stopped speaking and gripped Norik's arm a bit tighter. "Oh! Sorry! I remember, no talking in a meeting and if I do talk it must be pertinent to the conversation." Grace then made the zip your lips motion and stood still.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Elizabeth Ackerman

Elizabeth pretended to look at her fingernails and clean non-existent dirt out from underneath them as Jeron prattled on about Gizmo destroying the ship or something of the sort. Although she feigned little interest in what he was saying she was truly listening, but only showed she was when her eyes darted to him at the nickname of honey. She smirked and resumed her make-believe fingernail cleaning. "I suppose you're right. I'll just have to wait until we find another pilot that matches your skill before I do you in." He then went on to say he had the ship all prepped and ready, also something about spacing parts but she didn't quite catch that as she was more concerned with a spot of oil on her shirt.

Jeron began moving and Elizabeth followed suit without looking up from her investigation of the mysterious oil spot on her clothes. When he finally stopped, she did so as well and leaned on the railing beside him, glaring at her shirt until she realized her hands were also spotted with oil. Well that explains the spot, she must have touched something filthy down there. Her eyes darted to Jeron and she began using his cloak to wipe her own hands while she spoke. "Well, if you consider Cerberus or the Illusive Man a name, then yes. The job itself is vague at best." She paused suddenly, the booming echo of Faltus' voice even reaching them down here. Only after smiling at the crack of the gunshot did she resume talking and cleaning her hands. "but as shady as it is, it's also very simple. Something about following a group of scientists, acquiring from them an object they'll eventually find and kill them. Easy enough. I'm sure there's more to it than meets the eye if Cerberus is involved though. However, we need this job and it's a brilliant opportunity to expand the company." Finally finishing her obsessive cleaning of her hands, she leaned back against the rail and examined them once more. Without a word, she leaned close to Jeron and smudged an oily fingerprint on his helmet. "Now they're clean. Oh, and THAT was for calling me sweetheart and honey."

Weyrloc Chimish
Before Roz had a chance to reply the human woman next to the drell began speaking so fast about so many different things the young krogan had trouble keeping up. When it was all done she had made a small gesture as if she was locking her mouth with a key. Chim cocked his head and stared at her curiously.

"You're a strange one human..."

Chimish staid blatantly confused. He had paid enough attention to hear all of the drells proposition and couldn't help but feel it was a job to jump at. Babysit a couple of scientists while they do their job. The young krogan thought that if they were lucky they might get to kill something once they got planet side. Time would tell but it would all depend on whether or not Roz was up for it.

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Logan Hawke

Logan had been speaking to the patrons of Omega for the past hour getting what intel he could on the batarians where abouts. Apparently after the two krogans used his face as a punching bag Yelex went to ground to avoid the other denizens of Omega whom he'd cheated out of credits. Unfortunately for Yelex the trail was still fresh and it didn't take long to track him down. From what he'd learned Yelex was on his way off the station. On a hunch Logan decided to stop and grab his armor just incase things got interesting.

“Ah, so she’s yours? I suggest keeping her on a leash.” Roz mused, looking over the excitable human. “Omega’s not the safest place for ‘adorable.’” She leaned back against the bar as Norik filled her in. The Drell was to the point, which was something Roz liked in an employer. “Security, huh?” She scooped up the datapad and gave it a glance over. It seemed like a simple enough job, babysitting an excavation team wasn’t her ideal task, but she was willing to take what she got. Her eyes were torn from the datapad by the human female, who had recognized Norik’s voice and clung to him like a baby Pyjack to its mother. He was sitting not ten feet in front of her, but it wasn’t until he spoke that she reacted. Must be blind. Not much of a problem. Maybe it’ll occupy Mayce’s ‘free time.’ Roz’s ‘pet’ Krogan joined their conversation, asking about the identity of their ‘fish,’ a term those on Omega liked to use for off-worlders. She sighed, her team already making a poor impression.

“Manners, Chimish. You need to work on your first impressions. Sometimes it’s better if you don’t talk at all.” She chided, her tone stern but gentle, as if she were talking to a misbehaving child rather than a four-hundred pound Krogan. Grace’s commentary about how people referred to the Drell went on for what seemed like an eternity. Apparently human females come in two flavors, psychotic and whatever this is. She took the time to look over the conditions of their potential work environment while she finished her ramble. Her Krogan then proceeded to call her 'strange.' Roz rolled her eyes. Yes, this was how to conduct themselves in front of a potential client. And others wondered why she only let Mayce talk to people who may pay them money.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Calos. This is Chimish, and the young man who has adopted your stray there is Mayce. We are a band of seven in total. There are three other humans, one of them female, and another Turian. Each of them very capable, although I think only one of them will make a better first impression than my dear Krogan here.” She sighed, shaking her head. “They’re not very… ‘personable,’ shall we say?” She handed the datapad back to the Drell. “If you can accommodate two Turians, we’d be more than happy to keep all sorts of vile things away from your excavating.” She smiled as best as Turians could, pleased with how the day turned out. If all went well, they’d have a real job to do. Hopefully it would last them a while, but beggars couldn’t exactly be choosers. Roz had little interest in negotiating price with the Drell. Providing standard pay for seven people was a stretch for most baby-sitting jobs that didn’t require a full squadron. Four months of no work wasn’t the time to be picky. Her eyes shifted about the crowd, looking for her underlings. She wasn’t about to get their hopes up just yet, but it was good to have them on hand. After all, the Drell could still change his mind before they were ready to go.

Weyrloc Chimish

Chimish had been with Roz longer than anyone. The two had fought and spilled more blood side by side than either of them had with the rest of the team. The two had an understanding yet many wondered why, if the young krogan was the senior member of the group, was he not the second in command. Roz thought tactically. She wasn't bogged down by personal feelings or politeness. She made the calls necessary to get the job done in the best way she knew how and she was blessed that Chim had the mind set he did. He never once felt slighted or ill used by the turian. Mayce was second because he was better suited for the job, nothing more. The young krogan understood that. He knew his talents and aiding Roz in negations was not one of them. He was here to kill, and he was good at it. Chim turned just as Persephone came sauntering up. The krogan could smell the alcohol and it made him chuckle to see her attempting to act sober but he didn't say a word. He always liked the human biotic. He has said several times in the past that she reminded him of a rabid varen he once had on Tuchanka.

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Logan Hawke

Logan had closed in on his target and located the batarian in a corridor of the docking bay. Apparently he really was trying to get off Omega. Unfortunately for him he didn't get very far. Some of his other disgruntled card buddies had got a hold of him before Logan showed up. Logan stopped at the end of the hall to see two turians and another batarian standing over the whimpering form of Yelex. The card shark was curled up in a ball crying pathetically after receiving a few kicks from the group. The batarian that was with the turians seemed to be calling the shots and grabbed Yelex by the throat before drawing a pistol and putting it to the card sharks head.

"You thought you could just cheat me out of my money and get away with it Yelex? You're a disgrace to our people you pile of space trash and now... you're gunna die for it."

Logan sighed loudly and checked his gauntlets to make sure they were fastened properly.

"Well... I sure am glad I decided to get all dolled up before coming over here. I had a hunch some nice young boys would ask me to dance."

The three thugs and Yelex all turned to look at the newcomer in confusion. Logan just stood there calmly with a cocky smirk on his face. The batarian ring leader took a step forward after shoving Yelex back to the floor.

"He a friend of yours human?"

The batarian asked with a snarl. Hawke chuckled and casually rested his hand on his belt.

"I wouldn't go that far. I'm just here about some debts."

Logans reply caused Yelex to whimper even further while at the same time it illicited a chuckle from the batarian ring leader.

"You hear that Yelex? The people you've cheated are coming out in force to see you burn."

He said with a sneer before turning back to Logan.

"Well then you're in for a show friend. Sit back and relax and I'll save you a bullet."

The batarian said smugly before turning back to Yelex.

"Yeeeah, this is awkward..."

Logan said speaking up again which caused the three thugs to turn around. Their patience was obviously beginning to wear thin.

"See you ladies seem to be a tad bit confused as to what I want. Yer boy Yelex doesn't owe me shit. I never met him before... Now the lady who hired me for this little monkey fuck hunt on the other hand is a little more familiar with him."

"Bounty hunter..."

One of the turians grumbled. The batarian ring leader cocked his head before taking a step towards Logan.

"And who would that be?"

Logan smiled innocently as he shrugged.

"Oh no one important. I doubt you ever heard of her before.... Her names Aria T'Loak."

The two turains eyes went wide in shock as their demeanor instantly changed from aggressive to nervous. Yelex broke down into tears again at the news. The ring leader on the other hand just scowled and glared at Logan.

"Fucking Aria... Prancing around here like some damn queen..."

He growled. One of the turians jumped at the batarians words.

"Dorvan! Watch what you say man! I'm not crossing Aria over a few credits."

The batarian wheeled on him punched him right in the mouth.

"Remember you work for me NOT Aria! We don't even know if she really did hire this guy! Anyone can say they work for Aria T'Loak!"

The ringleader shouted in frustration as he tried to reign in his men and turn them on Logan. The biotic human just shook his head with a smile.

"Well that's cute and all Misty but the thing is I couldn't give two shits whether you believe I work for Aria or not. What you need to believe is that yer boy Yelex there is comin with me. Now the way I see it there's two ways we can do this. The easy way..."

Logan paused to rest his hand on the pistol strapped to his hip.

"Or the real easy way."

Logan watched as the three thugs exchanged nervous glances. Suddenly the ring leader made up his mind. His hands went to his back and drew a shotgun. In the blink of an eye Hawke's entire body began emanating the trademark blueish light as the mass effect fields around him distorted with his power. Before the ring leader knew what was happening he was flying through the air and crashed into some shipping containers down the hall. The two turians went for their guns and dove for cover. Logan laughed as he slid behind a set of metal barrels to protect him for when the turians built up the courage to fire on him.

"I was hoping he'd have the stones to do that!"

Logan said happily to himself.

The Drell naturally had reservations with Roz and her band of mercenaries. They appeared more friendlier than the other guns-for-hire he tried to do business with in the past - especially coming from Omega? There had to be a catch of some sort. However, it also appeared to Norik that they may have been in a business slump - the female Turian's disinterest in negotiating a price range was evidence to this claim. Of course, if they were truly crooked, it wouldn't be necessary anyway if they planned to rob them once they reached Carcosa. The doubt started to weigh heavily on his mind, but the Drell shrugged it off. I'll have to be extra cautious. I can't turn back now.

Norik contemplated for a moment then nodded to the Turian. "Yes, that is fine. We plan to leave as soon as possible - five hours to be exact. I trust you have your own vessel? Our ship is docked at hanger 14. Please notify me when you're ready and we'll rendezvous at the Mass Relay." The Drell then exchanged IPs with Roz on his omni tool. He then opened another micro-framed window and began keying away.

"I've just sent you 15% of your earnings. Another 20% when we land on Carcosa and the rest when we're done. We plan to be there for no more than fifteen planetary cycles." Norik extended his hand over to Roz. "Thank you for your services."

He then motioned over to the bartender. "Please put all of their drinks on my tab."

It suddenly occurred to Norik that Dr. Isamov was still missing. "Grace, did you see Nathan anywhere?"