I Am Omega
-Aria T'Loak-
here we entertain my preferences
everyone needs more something and they all come to me
Ooc: Sorry Aria’s been out of commission - I’m in exam period but I’ll be back in a few weeks!!!
Sorry!!
Sins of the father: “You’ve been had Charn. He’s clearly not going to show.” Kolyat lazily...
The two drell finally picked themselves off her floor and her guards shifted positions quite obviously to intimidate with their guns. Aria leaned on one hip to see how it would play out; kill or help which had more value? Tense situations excited her and even though the upper hand rested with Aria; one never knew the vehemence of a cornered animal.
“Let this kid here go back to my ship and wait for me, and I will contact the Broker on your behalf.”
Interesting, why did Feron care so much about the young drell. Perhaps it was his own child? Aria thought it over, she had no real need of the kid. He seemed neither a threat or of much use. The safety of one profitless drell for the Shadow Broker was… more then acceptable.
Aria relaxed back into her seat to watch them stand nervously, looking tormented. If she couldn’t shred them, she could watch them wonder whether their lives were to be terminated in the coming minutes.
Then the young drell looked squarely at Aria. That was surprising and even though the Queen of Omega kept her face neutral, she was impressed.
“I have some information that may be of use to you. I know who Charn is working for, and who has placed several agents on Omega to monitor you. I may even know who some of these agents are. That’s got to be worth something?” the drell’s voice quivered near the end, his bravado running short.
“What is your name Drell?” Aria’s eyes narrowed.
Unsure of how much bargaining power his information held, Kolyat decided to play it cautious. “My name is Kolyat. I was previously working with Charn and his employer.”
Kolyat kept glancing at Feron, trying to gauge the older Drell’s reaction, but his face remained blank. Time to see how well you do on your own Kolyat he thought to himself.
Feron’s eyes widened slightly at Kolyat’s little outburst of information. He turned his head slightly, giving the younger drell a sharp frown.
Stupid. There’s no need to give Aria more information than necessary…she might decide we’re too valuable to let us leave the station.
Feron returned his gaze to the immobile Aria. Her eyes were narrowed in thought. It was hard to tell what her reaction was going to be. He eyed the guards cautiously. It wouldn’t be difficult to take out the guards. A well-placed smoke bomb to block their vision. Sharp blow to the throat to knock the air from them. Kick to the knee to drop them to the floor. Grab the gun, pull the trigger. Turn. Grab Kolyat. Run like hell.
Feron’s eyes narrowed slightly. The guards were easy…the real problem was Aria. Her biotics were not the sort of thing you were stupid around.He didn’t want to risk truly pissing the queen bitch off and having her pop his head off with a flick of one of her pretty little fingers. Liara would kill me. Again. Omega still held a network of contacts that were useful to him…not to mention he’d promised he’d get a message to the Shadow Broker on Aria’s behalf.
No…making a run for it is too risky right now. Aria would snap our necks like twigs. I’ll just have to hope this doesn’t go badly. Or perhaps I could get Li to intervene…a distraction. That’s what I need…I’ll send Li a message. I did offer. May as well do it.
He lifted his arm, making it clear that he was only activating his omnitool. He tapped out a quick message to the Shadow Broker.
= = = = = = = = =
TO: SHADOW BROKER
FROM: OPERATIVE 13-D.F. - RUNNER
SUBJECT: OMEGA
Shadow Broker. Aria T’loak requests contact. Situation stable for the moment. Request further instructions.
= = = = = = = = =
Feron ignored the guards as they lifted their weapons threateningly at him as he typed. The message was short, and sent through one of the secure channels reserved only for informants of the Broker. He hoped it would give Liara enough warning that something had gone wrong. Usually he would simply send her a direct message…but he couldn’t risk her identity being discovered. He returned his gaze to Aria.
“I’ve just sent a message to the Broker to request contact,” he explained, his tone calm. He tilted his head slightly. “I believe I’ve held up my end of the bargain. Your turn.”
Come on, Li…a distraction would be great right about now…not to mention I want to know what Kolyat knows about Charn and his employer. Not so sure I want Aria to know yet. He brushed his fingers against the cuff of his long coat, making it appear that he was simply straightening the hem. Two flashbangs. One smoke. Is it enough? It’ll have to be if I need to make a break for it.
What was it the message had said?
Liara deftly pressed a key on the holo-keyboard in front of her and the screen beside the one she was currently looking at flickered to life. With another press of a button it displayed her personal inbox, the one that held the message she was looking for. She swiped her hand down the screen and the inbox scrolled with the motion, stopping when she found the one she was looking for.
—————————————————————————————————-
TO: DOCTOR LIARA T’SONI
FROM: PREMIUM EVENTS LIMITED
SUBJECT: ON BEHALF OF COUNCILLOR DAVID ANDERSONDoctor Liara T’Soni,
You are cordially invited to attend a celebration for Councillor David Anderson as he retires from his position as Citadel Councillor.
You may bring one guest.
All guests are reminded that entry will be permitted upon successful confirmation of identification and invitation. A strict formal dress code will be operating and those in breach of aforementioned dress code will not be permitted entry.
Please respond to this message to confirm your attendance.
Gya T’Nyoh (CEO; Premium Events Ltd.)
—————————————————————————————————-
Strict formal dress code?
Liara sighed.
I do not really own much that would fall under the category of “strict formal dress code”. I do have that dress that I wore when I visited the Normandy SR-2 for the first time with Shepa-
No. I should buy something else, something new, something she hasn’t seen before…
Turning back to the first screen she’d been operating she ran a quick search for the site she’d bought the aforementioned dress from. The familiar omni-tool alert sound echoed throughout the room, but she choose to ignore it for a moment, too engrossed in looking at the stores wares. She leaned forward and inclined her head to the right, trying to picture one of the dressed on herself.
Hm. I wonder if-
Her elbow slipped of the edge of her desk and she used her left hand to grab at the edge, just catching herself before she managed to completely fall of her chair. Her clumsiness sometimes astounded her, but this time had just outright annoyed her. Liara gritted her teeth as she turned back to the screen in front of her.
Okay, I must have clicked something whilst I fell. Because I definitely was not looking at suits a second ago. Oh, that would… That would nice on Feron.
She raised her eyebrows and pursed her lips as she scrolled through the formal options for biped males.
Oh. That one. Wow. I am sure he would not mind if I… picked it out for him.
After performing the necessary actions both her and Feron’s (who would be going as her guest) clothes had been ordered and were set to arrive on Illium within the hour, that way Feron could pick them up whilst he was there.
Feron.
Liara frowned. She hadn’t heard from him in a while, hadn’t he been in a tight spot? A sudden rush a fear washed over her as she remembered she had received a message not too long ago. With haste she opened the inbox and read it to herself.
—————————————————————————————————-
TO: SHADOW BROKER
FROM: OPERATIVE 13-D.F. - RUNNER
SUBJECT: OMEGA
Shadow Broker. Aria T’loak requests contact. Situation stable for the moment. Request further instructions.
—————————————————————————————————-
13-D.F. That was his official code. The one that he used when he didn’t want his identification known. Had something gone wrong? Liara bit her lip. He’d mentioned the situation was stable, so things must be okay.
—————————————————————————————————-
TO: OPERATIVE 13-D.F. - RUNNER
FROM: SHADOW BROKER
SUBJECT: RE: OMEGAI will speak with T’Loak on one condition; your guaranteed safety.
—————————————————————————————————-
“My name is Kolyat. I was previously working with Charn and his employer.”
Feron’s reaction gave away more than the drell probably realized and Aria picked up on two very important details. The older drell had contacted the Shadow Broker with no prompting necessary and the Shadow Broker’s reply was much faster than warranted.
Aria could assume that Feron did not want the younger drell’s information at her hands and his relationship with the Broker was much more… familiar…. than he was letting on. Well, Aria just got her bargaining chip.
Feron straightened the hem of his coat and Aria almost smiled.
“Restrain them.” Aria ordered her guards and they moved promptly. “Feron, how long do you think I’ve been doing this exactly?” Aria stood and grabbed the neck of the younger drell, she pressed lightly. “I would love this to deteriorate into mindless violence but that wont get me anything, except instant gratification, and you, will just be dead. Now, no need to look at me like that. You’ve kept you end of the bargain quite beautifully indeed and I intend to keep mine after I’ve talked to the Broker. How did you get yourself so entangled I wonder?
Now this kid,” Aria flicked a look to the drell who looked mighty uncomfortable in her grasp, she kept a tight hold. Feron was a slippery bastard and he would probably try his luck unless Aria could convince him escaping was not the best of ideas, she did want them alive after all. “He tells me everything he knows and you can do whatever you want with him after.”
Sins of the father: “You’ve been had Charn. He’s clearly not going to show.” Kolyat lazily...
Feron moved through the shadows like he belonged there, his steps silent, and eyes wary. Having a perfect mental map of the place helped, even if there’d been some changes since he’d last been here. He felt his muscles tense at the mention of Shepard’s name and he remained silent, keeping wary watch of the throng of figures moving about the club. He sighed and turned to face the kid.
“All right, looks like we can’t go in through the front door…that Charn fellow of yours will probably want to talk with Aria too. Especially if he’s as big an idiot as you say. I doubt she’ll give him any help, but since I’ve learned that Ecet’s working for Charn instead of her, I have a feeling Aria will be less than pleased about it.”
Not to mention the fact that the damned salarian idiot was dabbling in the red sand she was allowing him to sell. He wondered if Ecet was even giving Aria her full cut of the profits.
He leaned against the wall and grinned at Kolyat, a cheeky little smile. “So here’s the plan….”
He explained his plan in detail, keeping his voice quiet, glancing occassionally at the front entrance of Afterlife. Kolyat’s dubious expression nearly made him chuckle. “It’s a good plan, kid, long as you stick to it. My plans always work.”
Well..not always, but he wasn’t goint to say that.
* * *
And that was what led to him and Kolyat both on the floor in front of Aria, groaning from how hard they’d hit the floor after falling through the vent above her booth, the guns of Aria’s usual associates pointed at them.
Feron blinked and gave Aria a cheeky grin, ignoring the deadly glare the young drell next to him.
“Uh…hey, Aria. Good to see you again.”
Shit. Well….it sort of worked the way I wanted it to…
Hours passed before Garka nervously slunk back into Afterlife; from the ridiculously cowed expression on the batrian face, Aria knew the news would be unacceptable. She felt the heat of anger radiate around her body and she bared her teeth, her lips did not curve up.
Red sand had a copious market on Omega, due to abundance of dusters, and all trade of the drug were subjected to Aria’s authority.
The Salerian would pay and pay dearly; no-one skimmed credits from Aria.
“Well?”
“Ecet’s place was smoking. He’s not there.”
“I see.” Aria drew a deep breath as she brought her arm up and biotically slammed the batarian against the wall. Useless.
Cracking her neck as she rolled it to alleviate her frustration, she keyed a code for her communications system on her Haptic Adaptive Interface. It listed her current associates on Omega who specialized in the field of wet work. As she scrolled through all her viable minions, the vent in her roof ripped with an explosive crack. Aria had her guns trained on the heads of the two drell before the smoked had cleared.“Uh…hey, Aria. Good to see you again.”
“Bad timing. Five seconds Feron, then I shoot.” Aria growled.
Feron felt his insides twist with mild panic. Aria was definitely not in a good mood. He turned his head to Kolyat, his expression serious. “Let me do the talking,” he said quietly as he sat up, keeping his hands raised.
“Listen, Aria. I don’t want any trouble with you, I just want to get off Omega with my friend here. I was just minding my own business, getting a few supplies. Had a bit of a run-in with Ecet and some batarian named Charn. Things didn’t go well.”
He could see Aria’s expression tighten at the mention of Ecet’s name. Good…she’s not happy with him. I suspected she probably already knew about his dusting problem…more than likely he’s skimming off of his supplies and not paying for it. I doubt she’s happy with that…
He let himself visibly relax, even though his muscles were still tight, ready to move into action. If he needed to run for it, he’d probably get out of there with minimal chance of injury but…he glanced at Kolyat. The kid wouldn’t have a chance.
Why should I protect him? I barely know him. Met him today. Aria will kill us both if I don’t give her a good enough explanation. His insides twisted sickeningly at the thought. Gods, what is wrong with me…Liara…Liara would never forgive me. No, I have to make this work. He turned his eyes back to Aria.
“I’m guessing you already know Ecet’s been skimming his Red Sand supply. Did you know he’s been dusting himself? The damn salarian’s got a permanent glow around his spindly little fingers. I’ll bet he doesn’t even pay for it. Stupid…” He shook his head sadly, letting a tone of disbelief enter his voice. Play this right, Feron. No use lying to Aria. She’d know if you do. “Not to mention he’s been working with that Charn fellow. I could get you some more information on that guy if you want. No charge.” He grinned at Aria, dark eyes glittering devilishly. “You know I’m good for it. My current employer has…quite the connections. I’m sure you’ve heard the name before. What was it again? Oh yes. The Shadow Broker.”
He’d have to beg Liara for the info. Dangerous, he knew, to offer Aria information she might already have. Dangerous too, to pull Liara into this. Aria was a formidible enemy, and it was possible that the woman would snap his neck after she got the info she wanted. He couldn’t let Aria know just how well connected to the Shadow Broker he was. He wouldn’t risk Liara. He’d die before letting her get hurt.
Feron could feel Kolyat tense next to him, and shot the boy a warning glance. Come on kid, everyone knows the Shadow Broker is well connected, and with dangerous agents. Don’t freak out on me now. Wanna get out of this alive? Stay quiet.
He returned his attention back to Aria. “So here’s what I propose…Get me and my young friend here to my ship that’s docked here on Omega, and I’ll forward you every bit of information I can find on this Charn guy. And also Ecet. I still know a few people here that he might run to. He can’t hide from you forever, we both know that. Let me make it a little easier. You get Ecet, I get off this station with my friend here. We both leave this as happy people. Do we have a deal?”
Aria T’Loak regarded Feron for a moment; the information was…interesting. Not so much about Ecet, she would have that salarian drawn and quartered no matter how slippery he thought he was and now that she had a name; Charn was dead as well. Their organs could pay for the stolen credits.
No, more interesting was Feron’s connections to the shadow broker. Aria hadn’t been able to cement a useful working relationship with the shadow broker and recently her connections with the organization had been, strained, to say the least. She tucked her gun in it’s holster, cracked her shoulders and waved her bodyguards to relax. It would be fun to splatter both the drell around her private room, she was feeling a violent itch pushing her biotics to her fingertips but it would be equally fun to see them grovel.
“So here’s what I propose…Get me and my young friend here to my ship that’s docked here on Omega, and I’ll forward you every bit of information I can find on this Charn guy. And also Ecet. I still know a few people here that he might run to. He can’t hide from you forever, we both know that. Let me make it a little easier. You get Ecet, I get off this station with my friend here. We both leave this as happy people. Do we have a deal?”
“Another of your silent companions. Do you keep a collection of them?” Aria watched the young drell, he seemed to trying to blow Feron’s head off with his eyes. “For the batarian’s name I won’t squeeze your brain out through your ears but that is all. You are sorely mistaken if you presume I do not know the workings of every batarian on Omega. And as you say, he cannot hide from me forever which makes you rather redundant, doesn’t it?”
Aria stepped forward bending low enough for Feron to get a good look at her from his position on her floor. ” Get me in contact with the Shadow Broker and you have a deal.”
Feron watched Aria, refusing to blink as she almost casually tucked her gun in it’s holster. Her eyes flickered with surprise as she moved, cracking her shoulders before giving an absent wave to her bodygards, singalling them to relax. He kept his expression neutral, his heart pounding in his chest. Aria’s expression was hard to read.
“Another of your silent companions. Do you keep a collection of them?”
He could almost hear the smirk in her even tone, her eyes boring into hs skull. A shiver ran down his spine.
“For the batarian’s name I won’t squeeze your brain out through your ears, but that is all. you are sorely mistaken if you presume I do not know the workings of every batarian on Omega. And as you say, he cannot hide from me forever which makes you rather redundant, doesn’t it?”
His heart sank into the pit of his stomach. He knew that it was likely she already knew a huge portion of what he’d told her, and his single bargaining chip would likely get Liara angry at him for weeks, if not more…
The silence was deafening, and he could feel his heart pounding heavy against his chest. Outwardly, he remained perfectly calm, only the slight flickering of his blinking eyes betraying his nerves. What would she do to him if she decided his life and information was worthless to her? If she decided his connection to the Shadow Broker was a lie… It wasn’t, but that wouldn’t matter if she decided to toy with him or his new friend, Kolyat.
He stole a glance at the boy. Would she kill him? Splatter his brains all over the wall and floor? She could do it easily, he knew. Just a wave of her hand, and Kolyat would die. His eyes fluttered, lips moving silently as he fell into a memory.
The floor was hard. Knees aching, heart pounding. Panic. “Don’t worry,” I say. The young drell at my side looks at me with a worried face. So young. Barely old enough to leave Kahje. She smiles anxiously, lips parting as she was about to speak. Sound of a gunshot. Bits of flesh and bone splatter my cheeks, boiling hot against my cool skin, eyes stinging as her body crumples noiselessly to the floor.
Feron shook his head to clear his racing thoughts, his lips trembling slightly. Aria stepped forward, bending low enough for him to see her eye-to-eye.
“Get me in contact with the Shadow Broker and you have a deal.”
He blinked, eyes widening slightly at her statement. It wasn’t a completely unsurprising request. He’d expected something like that when mentioning his connection to the Shadow Broker. She would either ask him to speak to the Shadow Broker, or she would kill him…that was what he’d expected any way.
He was silent for a long moment before he sat up cautiously, giving Aria a long look. Time to bargain. I won’t let her have this too easily. “All right. Let this kid here go back to my ship and wait for me, and I will contact the Broker on your behalf. You can even send a guard with him, if you like.”
He stood, ignoring how the guards around him tensed, hands resting on their guns. He folded his arms over his chest, tilting his head as he eyed Aria.
“Silent companion.”
“Let the kid go wait in the ship.”
It was the same story as C-Sec. Let the kid play with his toys but when the big boys are talking he has to go. Kolyat was tired of being treated like a kid. He wanted to help, he had something to possibly offer.Finally halting his death-stare at Feron he raised his eyes to Aria. He knew she could kill him as easily as breath, he tried not to seem afraid.
“I have some information that may be of use to you. I know who Charn is working for, and who has placed several agents on Omega to monitor you. I may even know who some of these agents are. That’s got to be worth something?”
The last sentence was spoken hesistantly. He risked a quick look at Feron.
The two drell finally picked themselves off her floor and her guards shifted positions quite obviously to intimidate with their guns. Aria leaned on one hip to see how it would play out; kill or help which had more value? Tense situations excited her and even though the upper hand rested with Aria; one never knew the vehemence of a cornered animal.
“Let this kid here go back to my ship and wait for me, and I will contact the Broker on your behalf.”
Interesting, why did Feron care so much about the young drell. Perhaps it was his own child? Aria thought it over, she had no real need of the kid. He seemed neither a threat or of much use. The safety of one profitless drell for the Shadow Broker was… more then acceptable.
Aria relaxed back into her seat to watch them stand nervously, looking tormented. If she couldn’t shred them, she could watch them wonder whether their lives were to be terminated in the coming minutes.
Then the young drell looked squarely at Aria. That was surprising and even though the Queen of Omega kept her face neutral, she was impressed.
“I have some information that may be of use to you. I know who Charn is working for, and who has placed several agents on Omega to monitor you. I may even know who some of these agents are. That’s got to be worth something?” the drell’s voice quivered near the end, his bravado running short.
“What is your name Drell?” Aria’s eyes narrowed.
Sins of the father: “You’ve been had Charn. He’s clearly not going to show.” Kolyat lazily...
Feron moved through the shadows like he belonged there, his steps silent, and eyes wary. Having a perfect mental map of the place helped, even if there’d been some changes since he’d last been here. He felt his muscles tense at the mention of Shepard’s name and he remained silent, keeping wary watch of the throng of figures moving about the club. He sighed and turned to face the kid.
“All right, looks like we can’t go in through the front door…that Charn fellow of yours will probably want to talk with Aria too. Especially if he’s as big an idiot as you say. I doubt she’ll give him any help, but since I’ve learned that Ecet’s working for Charn instead of her, I have a feeling Aria will be less than pleased about it.”
Not to mention the fact that the damned salarian idiot was dabbling in the red sand she was allowing him to sell. He wondered if Ecet was even giving Aria her full cut of the profits.
He leaned against the wall and grinned at Kolyat, a cheeky little smile. “So here’s the plan….”
He explained his plan in detail, keeping his voice quiet, glancing occassionally at the front entrance of Afterlife. Kolyat’s dubious expression nearly made him chuckle. “It’s a good plan, kid, long as you stick to it. My plans always work.”
Well..not always, but he wasn’t goint to say that.
* * *
And that was what led to him and Kolyat both on the floor in front of Aria, groaning from how hard they’d hit the floor after falling through the vent above her booth, the guns of Aria’s usual associates pointed at them.
Feron blinked and gave Aria a cheeky grin, ignoring the deadly glare the young drell next to him.
“Uh…hey, Aria. Good to see you again.”
Shit. Well….it sort of worked the way I wanted it to…
Hours passed before Garka nervously slunk back into Afterlife; from the ridiculously cowed expression on the batrian face, Aria knew the news would be unacceptable. She felt the heat of anger radiate around her body and she bared her teeth, her lips did not curve up.
Red sand had a copious market on Omega, due to abundance of dusters, and all trade of the drug were subjected to Aria’s authority.
The Salerian would pay and pay dearly; no-one skimmed credits from Aria.
“Well?”
“Ecet’s place was smoking. He’s not there.”
“I see.” Aria drew a deep breath as she brought her arm up and biotically slammed the batarian against the wall. Useless.
Cracking her neck as she rolled it to alleviate her frustration, she keyed a code for her communications system on her Haptic Adaptive Interface. It listed her current associates on Omega who specialized in the field of wet work. As she scrolled through all her viable minions, the vent in her roof ripped with an explosive crack. Aria had her guns trained on the heads of the two drell before the smoked had cleared.“Uh…hey, Aria. Good to see you again.”
“Bad timing. Five seconds Feron, then I shoot.” Aria growled.
Feron felt his insides twist with mild panic. Aria was definitely not in a good mood. He turned his head to Kolyat, his expression serious. “Let me do the talking,” he said quietly as he sat up, keeping his hands raised.
“Listen, Aria. I don’t want any trouble with you, I just want to get off Omega with my friend here. I was just minding my own business, getting a few supplies. Had a bit of a run-in with Ecet and some batarian named Charn. Things didn’t go well.”
He could see Aria’s expression tighten at the mention of Ecet’s name. Good…she’s not happy with him. I suspected she probably already knew about his dusting problem…more than likely he’s skimming off of his supplies and not paying for it. I doubt she’s happy with that…
He let himself visibly relax, even though his muscles were still tight, ready to move into action. If he needed to run for it, he’d probably get out of there with minimal chance of injury but…he glanced at Kolyat. The kid wouldn’t have a chance.
Why should I protect him? I barely know him. Met him today. Aria will kill us both if I don’t give her a good enough explanation. His insides twisted sickeningly at the thought. Gods, what is wrong with me…Liara…Liara would never forgive me. No, I have to make this work. He turned his eyes back to Aria.
“I’m guessing you already know Ecet’s been skimming his Red Sand supply. Did you know he’s been dusting himself? The damn salarian’s got a permanent glow around his spindly little fingers. I’ll bet he doesn’t even pay for it. Stupid…” He shook his head sadly, letting a tone of disbelief enter his voice. Play this right, Feron. No use lying to Aria. She’d know if you do. “Not to mention he’s been working with that Charn fellow. I could get you some more information on that guy if you want. No charge.” He grinned at Aria, dark eyes glittering devilishly. “You know I’m good for it. My current employer has…quite the connections. I’m sure you’ve heard the name before. What was it again? Oh yes. The Shadow Broker.”
He’d have to beg Liara for the info. Dangerous, he knew, to offer Aria information she might already have. Dangerous too, to pull Liara into this. Aria was a formidible enemy, and it was possible that the woman would snap his neck after she got the info she wanted. He couldn’t let Aria know just how well connected to the Shadow Broker he was. He wouldn’t risk Liara. He’d die before letting her get hurt.
Feron could feel Kolyat tense next to him, and shot the boy a warning glance. Come on kid, everyone knows the Shadow Broker is well connected, and with dangerous agents. Don’t freak out on me now. Wanna get out of this alive? Stay quiet.
He returned his attention back to Aria. “So here’s what I propose…Get me and my young friend here to my ship that’s docked here on Omega, and I’ll forward you every bit of information I can find on this Charn guy. And also Ecet. I still know a few people here that he might run to. He can’t hide from you forever, we both know that. Let me make it a little easier. You get Ecet, I get off this station with my friend here. We both leave this as happy people. Do we have a deal?”
Aria T’Loak regarded Feron for a moment; the information was…interesting. Not so much about Ecet, she would have that salarian drawn and quartered no matter how slippery he thought he was and now that she had a name; Charn was dead as well. Their organs could pay for the stolen credits.
No, more interesting was Feron’s connections to the shadow broker. Aria hadn’t been able to cement a useful working relationship with the shadow broker and recently her connections with the organization had been, strained, to say the least. She tucked her gun in it’s holster, cracked her shoulders and waved her bodyguards to relax. It would be fun to splatter both the drell around her private room, she was feeling a violent itch pushing her biotics to her fingertips but it would be equally fun to see them grovel.
“So here’s what I propose…Get me and my young friend here to my ship that’s docked here on Omega, and I’ll forward you every bit of information I can find on this Charn guy. And also Ecet. I still know a few people here that he might run to. He can’t hide from you forever, we both know that. Let me make it a little easier. You get Ecet, I get off this station with my friend here. We both leave this as happy people. Do we have a deal?”
“Another of your silent companions. Do you keep a collection of them?” Aria watched the young drell, he seemed to trying to blow Feron’s head off with his eyes. “For the batarian’s name I won’t squeeze your brain out through your ears but that is all. You are sorely mistaken if you presume I do not know the workings of every batarian on Omega. And as you say, he cannot hide from me forever which makes you rather redundant, doesn’t it?”
Aria stepped forward bending low enough for Feron to get a good look at her from his position on her floor. ” Get me in contact with the Shadow Broker and you have a deal.”
Sins of the father: “You’ve been had Charn. He’s clearly not going to show.” Kolyat lazily...
“You’ve been had Charn. He’s clearly not going to show.” Kolyat lazily inspected the handle on his pistol. It was the most expensive thing he had ever bought. He liked to look after it. Just like father he thought. Shaking his head he stood up.
“Right, we’re moving out drell.” There was a hint…
“Ecet get down here you bastard! You were supp- drell? Krios! What’s going on here?”
Krios? This certainly didn’t look like the assassin Shepard had on her crew. Maybe…He didn’t let the recognition show on his face as he lifted his hands to show he meant no trouble.
“I don’t know him, my hands are clean.”
He could see the resemblance now…the kid certainly looked like his father. Shit. His thoughts raced as Ecet came back through his doorway, a small bottle in his long-fingered hands. The salarian blinked rapidly, looking between the batarian, Krios, and Feron before narrowing his eyes, setting the small bottle on his counter.
“Another customer. No matter. Information on Normandy devil-ship useful, Charn? Heard raid was mostly successfull. Or perhaps came for other information. Expensive. Will cost you.”
Feron glanced at Ecet, a small frown pulling at his lips as he casually took the small bottle of pills and slipped it into his pocket. The batarian…Charn…glared at him, tilting his ugly head at Feron, baring his teeth. Feron tried not to shudder in disgust. He could smell the batarian’s putrid scent from across the small room, even over the scent of the medicines.
Charn turned his attention away from Feron and glared at Ecet, not dropping his rifle a bit. “Lost the whole ship, you damned idiot. I came to get my money back.”
Feron’s eyes widened ever so slightly before narrowing, just as Ecet spoke. The salarian was obviously irritated. The blue glow flickered around his long fingers as he gestured rudely at the batarian. “Not my problem. Would consider giving further information, however. Perhaps private discussion? After killing drell associates. I hate drell. Remember too much. Troublesome, yes?”
That pistol was pointed at him again. Shit. I promised Li I would stay out of trouble, but…
“Krios!” Feron shouted the name, spinning into action faster than he himself thought was possible, dropping a smoke bomb, and darting through the open doorway behind Charn, grabbing the young Krios’ arm, and landing a stomp on Charn’s booted foot as he dragged the kid out of the shop and down one of the twisting alleyways.
He glanced around, his grip tight on the kid’s arm as he led him down several turns, and into a dark, dirty-looking building before dropping the kid’s arm. “Well that was exciting,” he said, giving the kid a cheeky grin, panting slightly from exertion.
Still unsure about what had happened Kolyat tried to regain his breath, a huge grin on his face. Before he could stop himself he blurted out “Wow! That was fun, really showed Charn!” Remembering the other drell Kolyat quickly silenced himself. Standing up straight he eyed him warily.
“Who are you? Do you know my father? Did he send you?” So many questions were running through his head. All buzzing around preventing him from thinking properly.
“What just happened? You saved me? Why? No wait, first, thank you.” Slowly he calmed himself, studying the other drell. Kolyat didn’t recognise him at all, there was very little that was recognisable. He would be a very hard man to follow.
“My name is Kolyat Krios and I’d like to formally thank you for saving my life.”
Feron blinked rapidly at the sudden outburst from the kid. Not quite the reaction I was anticipating, but hey, that works. The kid fell silent and straightened, eyeing him warily. Good. He’s cautious…smart. I could be some creeper looking to slit his throat for money, for all he knows.
“Who are you? Do you know my father? Did he send you?What just happened? You saved me? Why? No wait, first, thank you.”
Feron tried not to let out an amused chuckle at the sudden stream of questions from the kid, who suddenly calmed himself, and started studying Feron.
“My name is Kolyat Krios and I’d like to formally thank you for saving my life.”
Feron blinked, and gave a cheeky sort of bow. Too trusting. If I hadn’t already heard his of this kid before, and if I were a bad guy, that much info would be enough for me to pretty much learn everything about him, his family, and steal all his credits too. Luckily, I’m not that much of an ass.
“The name’s Feron, and there’ll be lots of time for questions later. I don’t know your dad personally, but I know of him. I’m friends with a friend of one of his friends. For now though, we’ve got to find a way off this rock without your lovely batarian buddy finding us. Lucky for you, I know a few people.”
He peeked his head out of the door, glancing down the alleyway. “Stay close, kiddo. We’re gonna have to pay the queen bitch a visit.”
And let’s hope Aria doesn’t want me dead too. Gonna have to pull a few favors for this…
“Charn? He’s an idiot. He’ll never find us.” Kolyat fell in behind Feron, taking extra care to ensure he wasn’t seen. As they made their way to Afterlife Kolyat remembered what Feron had said about his father.
“You’re a friend of one of my father’s friends? You must know Shepard.” Kolyat reasoned. When Feron wasn’t forthcoming with an answer Kolyat fell silent.
I’ve probably said too much already he cursed silently. He studied the man in front of him. He moved easily through the shadows. That suggested a profession in which disgression was preferrable. An assassin perhaps? Or thief? Kolyat couldn’t be sure. Kolyat decided to be more cautious of the drell, he had reacted quickly back in the store with Charn, he could be dangerous. For now however Kolyat had to simply trust him.
The bitch queen? He must mean Aria. Kolyat hadn’t met her. He didn’t particularly want to. I hope he has a better plan than to beg Aria for help thought Kolyat. With her reputation help would be unlikely to say the least.
Feron moved through the shadows like he belonged there, his steps silent, and eyes wary. Having a perfect mental map of the place helped, even if there’d been some changes since he’d last been here. He felt his muscles tense at the mention of Shepard’s name and he remained silent, keeping wary watch of the throng of figures moving about the club. He sighed and turned to face the kid.
“All right, looks like we can’t go in through the front door…that Charn fellow of yours will probably want to talk with Aria too. Especially if he’s as big an idiot as you say. I doubt she’ll give him any help, but since I’ve learned that Ecet’s working for Charn instead of her, I have a feeling Aria will be less than pleased about it.”
Not to mention the fact that the damned salarian idiot was dabbling in the red sand she was allowing him to sell. He wondered if Ecet was even giving Aria her full cut of the profits.
He leaned against the wall and grinned at Kolyat, a cheeky little smile. “So here’s the plan….”
He explained his plan in detail, keeping his voice quiet, glancing occassionally at the front entrance of Afterlife. Kolyat’s dubious expression nearly made him chuckle. “It’s a good plan, kid, long as you stick to it. My plans always work.”
Well..not always, but he wasn’t goint to say that.
* * *
And that was what led to him and Kolyat both on the floor in front of Aria, groaning from how hard they’d hit the floor after falling through the vent above her booth, the guns of Aria’s usual associates pointed at them.
Feron blinked and gave Aria a cheeky grin, ignoring the deadly glare the young drell next to him.
“Uh…hey, Aria. Good to see you again.”
Shit. Well….it sort of worked the way I wanted it to…
Hours passed before Garka nervously slunk back into Afterlife; from the ridiculously cowed expression on the batrian face, Aria knew the news would be unacceptable. She felt the heat of anger radiate around her body and she bared her teeth, her lips did not curve up.
Red sand had a copious market on Omega, due to abundance of dusters, and all trade of the drug were subjected to Aria’s authority.
The Salerian would pay and pay dearly; no-one skimmed credits from Aria.
“Well?”
“Ecet’s place was smoking. He’s not there.”
“I see.” Aria drew a deep breath as she brought her arm up and biotically slammed the batarian against the wall. Useless.
Cracking her neck as she rolled it to alleviate her frustration, she keyed a code for her communications system on her Haptic Adaptive Interface. It listed her current associates on Omega who specialized in the field of wet work. As she scrolled through all her viable minions, the vent in her roof ripped with an explosive crack. Aria had her guns trained on the heads of the two drell before the smoked had cleared.
“Uh…hey, Aria. Good to see you again.”
“Bad timing. Five seconds Feron, then I shoot.” Aria growled.
Aria grabbed the datapad from where it sat innocuously on the table. Eyes narrowed, she let her fingers constrict the device until a hairline fracture shot down the middle of the screen. The monitor lights fluttered up a token of resistance, before sliding into an inky darkness.
Unacceptable. No-one refused Aria. Not with such little finesse.
“Garka!” Watching the Batarian hop awkwardly in haste to follow her orders, failed to amuse today, Aria sighed. Rubbing the tension from between her eyes, she chucked the datapad at Garka. “You’re going on a trip.”
