Norik Calos's Story

"Orbital Distance: 3 AU. Orbital Period: 5.3 Earth Years. Keplerian Ratio: 0.961. Radius: 7,484 km. Day Length: 40 Earth Hours." Norik Calos leaned back on his arm chair and stared at the ceiling of his private chambers. For the past hour, he had calculated the variables of the excavation site while cross-checking the team's inventory to ensure all equipment met the environmental standards. He still couldn't believe the preposterous amount of funding received for this dig - especially the tools and equipment charitably donated from high grade manufacturing companies.

"If only these corporations were as generous when I first started." The Drell scoffed as he returned to his work. The terminal mounted on his desk displayed a satellite image of a red, chalky planet. Carcosa. He slouched forward and stared into the screen as if trying to scan the planet with his own eyes for anything remotely Prothean. If only it were that easy. Norik would want nothing more than to plot a course directly to Carcosa and start the dig right away; The anticipation had gnawed at him the moment they disembarked - but Norik was no fool. A weaponless, retrofitted cargo vessel full of expensive equipment was an easy target. Manned by four scientist with close to no combat experience? It was a space pirate's wet dream. The team knew excavating without some form of security was idiotic, but to go recruiting mercenaries in the terminus systems was something else entirely.

A grin surfaced his lips as he recalled the team's reaction to his decision. The outright doubt, anger and fear would slowly thaw out as he explained his reasons. Quite simply, the geth attack on the Citadel scared a lot people in the the galaxy. Reputable private military corporations racked their prices up and restricted themselves to a more lucrative clientele. Getting paid to babysit a bunch of rich slags in their penthouse estates was more low risk, high reward than a group of scientist on a hazardous planet. The Council didn't bother with Norik's request for a convoy escort; Reconstruction of the Citadel and it's defense fleet was their number one priority. He tried negotiating with mercenary groups he had done business with in the past, but they were all afraid of another geth attack. With the amount of resources contracted into this venture, he'd be hard pressed to back out now. Norik had exhausted all avenues save one: The Terminus Systems, Omega. The central hub for drugs, trafficking and arms dealing. Jam packed in a turf war between three infamous mercenary groups, all ran by the notorious Asari, Aria T'loak. The team had every right to be concerned but they knew the potential risks this line of work required. So long as they played it smart, they'd all make it out of Omega alive with a bunch of competent mercenaries. Hopefully.

"We're here." said Mul Karin over the intercom. Norik felt the low humming from the Jitterbug's propulsion system die off, making the room much more quiet. He rose from his chair and shut the terminal down then grabbed the coat from the bed. After fastening the straps of his science coat, he turned and reached for his pistol by the night stand.

"Lets hope I don't get the chance to use this." Norik said as he momentarily held the firearm, getting a feel for its weight before holstering it.

“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?”

Nathan smirked as he overheard Grace. "Probably not a good idea," He said, casually striding over to the both of them. "We need Karin sober." The Dr. slightly patted the Salarian on the back as he took a good look of the view. It wasn't his first time on Omega, but he wasn't necessarily beaming with delight for a return visit.

"Don't worry," He said aloud, "We stay together and follow Norik's plan, we'll be out of here in no time."

Norik's plan, Nathan rolled his eyes. Yes, lets go poke around an asteroid full of armed criminals and ask if any of them wants to come with us to an uninhabited planet. Sounds completely safe!

"Indeed." The clicking tone of Norik's voice came from behind and for a moment he thought the Drell could read his thoughts. "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?"

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.”

Norik brought his omni tool to life and began keying away. He tabbed into Grace's IP and tried to establish communication. No response. It would have been close to impossible talking over this loud noise for music anyways.
"Damn it. Why did she run off like that!" Norik snapped. Not even an hour has past since they've been on Omega and already things were falling apart. Grace was a valuable asset to the team, just like Nathan and Karin. He hired them because they weren't a bunch of sheltered children with credentials - save Karin at times, but he more than made up for it with his piloting skills. So why was he so protective of Grace? His thoughts immediately fell back to his home on Kahje. Memories of a young female Drell flashed into his mind. His daughter. Norik began aimlessly roaming around. He caught site of several patrons taking shots of alcohol from their lounge tables and nodded.

"Well, shit. I mind as well too." He could have went back to the main bar, but it was far too crowded. Instead, he followed a flight of stairs down to a lower level. There were fewer people here and the music wasn't so loud either. A bar with a U-shaped table was set up in the center of the room. Norik picked a seat on the other side of a female Turian and waited until the Batarian bartender walked over to his section.

"What would you like?" He asked.

"Jaeto Jin please." The Drell responded, guiltily.

"One of those days, huh?" The Batarian quipped as he worked on Norik's drink.

The Drell nodded. "Something like that."

"You look like you're not from here," The bartender continued, "First time on Omega?"

"No" Norik replied. "Off-site. Looking for a couple guns for hire."

The Batarian stopped for a moment and looked up at Norik. "Oh really?" He said, unusually louder and with emphasis. "What kind of work would they be doing?"

Norik could see the Batarian's four eyes shifting over to the female Turian as if trying to get her attention. The Drell looked between the two, confused by what was unfolding. The Batarian slid a long glass full of potent lime green liqor to Norik, who instantly finished it in one gulp.

"Security." Norik responded apprehensively.

"Whoa, take it easy there." The Batarian cautioned with a smile, "We don't want to end up sloshed so fast now."

Again, the Bartender glanced over to the female Turian. Was he trying to hook us up? Nice guy. She seems like a nice, do-good kind of Turian. Stop it, Norik! What if she is a Mercenary? Unlikely. What if they were planning to con me? Oh no. Get me liquored up and take me to a room and rob me. Harvest my organs? Get ahold of yourself - you're beginning to sound like Karin. Damn this drink is good.

*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…

Weyrloc Chimish

Chim cocked his head and looked at the blonde human female curiously before chuckling to himself.

"You let that human woman talk to you like that old stone? I hope that kind of obedience doesn't come with age."

He said with a chuckle before tossing some of Yelex's credits to Dezran.

"There's your share. See you around ancient one."

Chimish said with a smile before heading back to his comrades, completely forgetting about the table full of drinks on the other side of the room. The fight had done more for the young krogan than all the alcohol in the room could have. Chimish headed over to Roz and the others to find a pair of new faces. A drell and a human female. Chim took a seat beside his boss and leaned on the counter before nudging her arm.

"Who'se the fish?"

Chim asked referencing the two newcomers. Fish was a term used by the people of Omega when they were referring to off worlders, especially naive or defenseless off worlders who were new to Omega as if you were throwing new fish to the sharks.

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Logan Hawke

Logan had since gotten himself a few drinks and been chatting up one of the asari dancers long enough to convince her to take him to her place. At the moment he was lying down on her bed while she was in the bathroom changing. He was enjoying the waves of inberation washing over him as the alcohol coursed through his system. The asari's name was lost to the humans mind if he'd ever asked at all. He could hear her talking to him from the bathroom. What she was saying was a mystery to Hawke as he was barely paying attention. He did however enjoy listening to her voice. The melodious tones were comforting and even soothing. Her voice cooed as only a soon to be lover could. It was so comforting in fact that it threatened to lull the man to sleep. Luckily the asari exited the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel just before he nodded off.

"Looks like Aria's thugs really put you through hell baby..."

She said alluringly. Logan sat up with a half smile.

"I've been through worse than those ass monkeys."

The asari giggled sweetly before crossing the room and dropping the towel.

"Lets see what's left of you..."

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?"

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.

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.

Persephone escaped from the hands of the overeager turian and put her clothes back on, moving out of the curtained room she had disappeared from before. She was feeling a little off and a little uncomfortable so she though it was a good time to go running back to Roz. Well more like drunkenly scrambling back to her, maybe crawling, it would depend on how kind gravity was feeling that day.

An Asari she had insulted earlier gave her a push and she punched the bitch in her blue nose, splitting the skin and leaving the Asari holding her face on the ground. Fun fact, being drunk made humans hit harder, second fun fact, Asari anatomy was still close enough that she knew where to hit while wasted. She kicked the Asari in the head before a Turian pointed at her and told her to back down, she couldn't figure out who this turian was but she listened to him anyway, stumbling away towards where she thought she might find Roz.

When she got close enough to see what was happening, she noticed that Roz had that look on her face. The data pad, the way they were standing around, that look. She knew something important was up. Mommy will get real mad if I ruin her party, Persephone whispered quietly to herself, or perhaps to something no one else could see. Delusions were not uncommon for her, she had once had a lengthy conversation on converting to Roman Catholicism with a coffee maker after all. But she knew how to not be a fuck-up some of the time so she fixed her hair, stood up straight and did her best sober impression.

She finally walked over to where Roz was discussing things with the others and stood quietly, waiting to be spoken to. It was a strategy that had worked in the past and it would likely work now, unless she puked or if the lights came back to try to steal her dreams. Again.

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?"

A satisfied feeling spread from somewhere in the pit of Roz’s stomach. Finally, something had gone right. She could immediately tell that her group had nothing better to do, considering nearly all of them had managed to gather around her. If she didn’t know them, it would be imposing, but with a face like Michael’s around, it was a safe bet that they meant little harm. Plus Persephone was obviously wasted. Roz assumed she blew all her money on booze and sighed heavily. Pure professionalism in each of them. She nodded slightly and took the Drell’s hand to shake, a human gesture, strange to come from a Drell. “No, thank you. You have no idea how dull Omega’s been. It’ll be like a vacation. Maybe even with some shooting. Aren’t you excited, Chim?” She mused, pulling her hand away to do some calculations on her omnitool. She distributed the wealth between her team members, making sure Michael had a significant portion. She paused as a series of words finally sank in. She leaned on the counter closer to the Drell.

“Ah, we do have a minor problem. Our merry band doesn’t exactly own a ship. I had one once, but the little clunker had to be scrapped seven years ago so I could eat. It’s a long story. If you can’t accommodate all of us, I can work something out.” She sat back, furrowing the plates on her brow in thought. If they couldn’t carry her crew on the ship, then she’d have to choose who to send. Definitely Chimish. He’d at least behave himself. She hoped he’d behave himself. Perhaps Persephone if she sobered up. Mayce was a clear choice, but if she could only send some of her crew she preferred to have him around in case there was another job opportunity. She could sink most of their new-gotten money into renting a ship. She could get a loan from Aria, although that essentially left her with indentured servitude for half an eternity. I’m far too old and too smart to owe a debt to Aria. Perhaps she could commandeer a vessel from the Blue Suns. They had been encroaching on her little territory for some time now. Two weeks away from Omega would be a fantastic time to toy with them. Her hand reached out for the back of Michael’s collar.

“Try not to get too hammered on free drink. You have work to do. I’ve made you a shopping list.” She released the human male’s collar to send her list from her Omnitool to his. “Pack sunscreen. You humans are all pasty and covered in sensitive skin. And helmets, and thermal protection. It’ll be hotter than a drive core on fire on the surface of that planet. And a repair kit. I do not need a repeat of the time Chimish broke his only gun on the face of a Blue Sun Turian.” She said, cradling her face in her palm as she recalled the event. She only had Chimish around at that point in time, but a year was a short time and Roz had a very long memory. Each little annoyance imposed upon her was stored in her mind to bring her additional grief every time she remembered. She was just thankful she wasn’t a Drell. Then she could relive each minor disturbance. She turned her attention to Mayce, who had picked this time to gloat. She chose to ignore this and address the more serious question.

“I’ll have it handled. Five hours isn’t much time, you should get ready.” She cast a sideways glance to Persephone. “And get her cleaned up and packed. I have doubts that she’s actually standing on her own at this point. Make sure you bring extra water and your helmets and ammunition. I hate this thermal clip thing everyone’s switched to. More efficient and yet, more of a pain in the ass.” She sighed, standing from her seat before sending out a message to her absent members of her little gang. “Five hours isn’t much time at all.”

We have a job. Pack for two weeks in the hottest desert planet you can think of. You’ve received a cash advance to provide for your gear. You have five hours to collect your gear and be in hangar 14 or I will leave your ass here for the Vorcha.
-Scarlet