[B]A Collab between Sunny D and myself[/B]

It seemed only appropriate to be rising above the Nos Astra skyline to attend a nightclub Hakim Kalif thought, watching the skyline drop below him building by building as the glass-walled elevator ascended at a blistering pace, electromagnets propelling the carriage along without actually making contact with a surface. It made for a smooth and oddly quiet ride as he watched the sky turn a vibrant blend of crimson and violet as the sun began to sink below the horizon. His speedy rise to meet with Khel Zhar seemed to be a race against the dying light, and quietly he willed his elevator to win before the last glimpses of amber vanished. The elevator smoothly slowed to a halt as it reached the pinnacle of the tower several seconds after the sun had dipped below the skyline. Hakim smiled inwardly. Maybe next time.

The glass door opened and folded in like a breadbox, following a semi-circular path to admit the man to the nightclub which was filled with all sorts of patrons, most dressed in better clothing than he’d seen just about anyone wear. This was very much so a place where people had more credits than they knew what to do with. The opulence of the place was staggering, and if Hakim had been a cautious man, he’d have been wary to touch anything in fear of it coming with several charges or finding out that he’d just destroyed a 3 thousand year old table or other such nonsense. The entire place was very much so the typical asari architecture with the pleasing geometry and long lines and the entire club was filled with asari, which was hardly surprising given Illium was an asari colony. It in truth reminded the man of Bekenstein, only with more fine looking curves and blue skin than he was used to seeing. It was a welcome change from Noveria and Peak 37, given that the majority of the workers there were turian. Once more, he felt somewhat isolated and alone in a vast galaxy, as it was rare to see humans in any significant numbers outside of Systems Alliance space or the Attican Traverse. He counted perhaps five other humans in the club, not many at all, and he was the only one of North African descent.

Hakim picked up a glass of champagne, some unimaginably old Thessian vintage, and strolled over to a large glass window watching the skycar traffic below, like a child staring down at wonder at the procession of ants marching underfoot. It would only be a matter of time before Zhar would grace him with his presence. It still seemed to be a rather inappropriate place for a krogan to frequent, let alone own. But Zhar was living proof that you never bet against someone based on where they were born or their lineage. The fact Zhar triumphed against adversity and discrimination spoke volumes towards his capacity and willpower. He was not a man to cross.

Khel Zhar was not far away, taking the next elevator up after having landed his skycar on the buildings private landing pads. Over the past few days, he had been carefully watching the situation with the Prothean artifact, making a note of who was involved most heavily involved and predicting who was likely to get involved in the future. The man he was meeting today was a representative of part of the second group. Hakim Kalif was an ex-mercenary turned security chief under the employ of Halios Consortium, a research firm Zhar had provided information with on occasion. They weren't the type to try to directly seize the artifact, but once its nature was discovered Zhar was sure their leader and researchers would not be able to resist the chance to study it.

The last light of the Illium sunset had just left the building as the elevator doors opened. It was unfortunate, but then Zhar couldn't spend every evening looking at the sunset. Especially not when important business with high profile customers was to be conducted. Zhar spotted Hakim only a moment after leaving the elevator, humans were rare in this establishment, but even so Zhar knew exactly what the man looked like. It was foolish to meet with someone and not know who they were in his business, and Zhar was not foolish. He made his way to the bar first, taking the drink the Asari bartender had pre-emptively poured on seeing him arrive. There were benefits to being a well known patron. Once he had the drink he walked casually over to meet Hakim, offering his free hand for the traditional human greeting of 'shaking hands.' It seemed an odd custom to him, but it was at least better than the Krogan equivilant.

"Mister Kalif? I don't believe we've met. I'm Mr. Zhar."

Of course both of them would know each others names, but there was a certain formality and politeness that Zhar liked to maintain. It helped set him apart from the rest of his all too often crude race.

The human took the krogan's hand, which enveloped his own like a mitt, and he offered a polite, respectful bow in turn. 

"It is a pleasure, Mr. Zhar. Please, call me Hakim. Mister is what my employer calls me, and I feel much more comfortable with informal address, especially given the exquisite nature of this establishment." he smiled, easily one of his most captivating features. "I must thank you for meeting me on such short notice, by all accounts you are an exceedingly busy man, so I acknowledge and am humbled by your decision to grant me a few minutes of your time. I presume you know who I represent." he said.

"But of course." Zhar replied. "I would hardly be doing my job well if I did not. Halios Consortium, and mister Halios himself, are very well paying customers. I always have time for these." He sipped his drink and looked out at Nos Astra as the city began to light up. People may sleep within the city, but Nos Astra never slept. The Skyline Club was on one of the taller spires, and while not the tallest, there were few other buildings nearby that would obscure the view. "Quite the magnificent sight is it not?" Zhar spoke without without devious intent, truly wishing that more of his customers would take the time to enjoy the sights Illium had to offer. Most of them were far too caught up with their own pursuits and the shortness of their lives to relax though, believing one could not be both busy and relaxed at the same time.

Hakim joined his host in admiring the Nos Astra Skyline, the man smiling inwardly at the fact he had in fact been doing this on the way up to the club in the elevator only moments before. "We both work for markedly different trades, my friend. Halios Consortium also has a rather discerning client base, and I'm sure even you have made use of our products from time to time. Illium is one of our four main distribution centers, as you're likely aware." he stood in comfortable silence as he watched thousands of lives literally fly by, their own personal goals and aspirations with them. He always thought being up high made him appreciate what God must see. "I always take a moment to admire the views wherever I find myself. As you can imagine, working in a subterranean mountain facility leaves much to be desired in terms of stimulation. I can certainly see why you chose this establishment, Zhar. It certainly has a way of evoking a primal way of keeping an eye on things." he turned to look at the krogan. "While curiosity holds me, I've been hearing more than a few murmurs across the Extranet about some Prothean relic someone has allegedly uncovered. One wonders what exactly others are doing with this information? Funding an exhibition for a fable is an expensive farce I cannot imagine many would afford to do, even if the payoff for being right is unimaginable."

Zhar was beginning to like this man. He wasn't demanding like so many of his other customers, and he seemed to appreciate good taste while also being well-spoken. That or he knew exactly the right things to say to Zhar to make him like him.

A shame he'd be dead in fifty years.

The man got to the point elegantly enough, and so Zhar obliged him by getting straight to the answers to his questions, satisfied with the small talk offered. "Some, it seems, are rushing to the rumour heedless of the possibility of falsehood. But of course there are always a few, the impatient, the foolish and the hopeful. Some of the sizable groups appear to be donig nothing, while some among the less reputable have rushed to men like me to confirm the veracity of these rumours. Let me save you the time of asking the next question - the Prothean relic is real enough." He turned to the human then, his eyes equal to the mans even though his hump made him tower over humans. "But the wise do not rush in. Eagerness to put oneself in danger is not a survival trait in the Terminus Systems." With that, Zhar turned back to the view. Contrary to popular belief, he did care about his customers well being. They couldn't buy more information from them if they were dead, so keeping the well paying ones from doing anything overly stupid was just good business.

Hakim listened without interruption, committing the information to heart. He had half expected Zhar to demand some sort of compensation up front, but was pleasantly surprised that he chose to share the information freely up front. The cost would be negotiated later, it would seem. He had to smile at the krogan's warning, cautioning the man and his company against hasty action. "Do not worry, my friend. Those men are eagles, and I am content in being a raven. The eagles will risk their own bodies for the kill, but a raven never goes hungry when he steals the scraps from the eagles." Hakim said with a chuckle. "We never made it as a company due to throwing ourselves recklessly at every tempting prize. We always make our moves when the winner's bloodied themselves and thinks they're home free. Then the contest really begins. It's interesting that the relic is in fact real, given how many false flags are announced all the time. It's why I came to you first, I knew if anyone could verify the truth, it would be a man of your... persuasion. Now we can act accordingly, and time, as they say, is money." he said, taking a drink of champagne from the glass. He couldn't tell the difference between ancient old and five years, but it was damn smooth. "I can't make promises, but when I run this information by my boss, I'm going to propose that if we do obtain the artifact, we'll give your agents access to the device in a capacity and length of time I'm sure we can discuss when it becomes an issue. In exchange, if there's anything that comes up that Halios Consortium should be concerned about, you keep us informed, which will still result in the same compensation as your regular fees. After all, if you help us become unimaginably rich and powerful, we like to remember the people who helped make it happen. I harbour no illusions an information broker such as yourself can find one or two things of increasing interest."

Zhar considered the proposal for a moment, sipping his drink as he did so. It wasn't standard practice to make deals enabling a constant flow of information, it reeked of taking sides and that could dangerous. Still it wasn't entirely unheard of either, and Zhar knew that Halios Consortium had the funds to back up the request, while remaining just far enough outside the conflict to avoid drawing attention to the fact they were well informed. He decided after a minute that the pros outweighed the cons this time round. "That is acceptable, Hakim. Today's information will come at a steeper price to cover the risks I take in signing a deal with you, and future information will still cost the standard price, but you will have access to all intelligence regarding the artifact immediately." He set down his glass and brought up his omni tool, tapping in the modifications to the immediate price before sending it across to Halios' account. "Is there anything else you or your company requires today Hakim?"

The human made another polite bow, grateful to his host. "I had rather been hoping you would find the arrangement agreeable. Please understand that myself or my employer would never willingly put one of our allies at unnecessary risk. The galaxy's rather dynamic and interesting these past few years, and having the extra expenses to ensure our tracks are covered is well worth the investment. We would never ask you to share information about your other clients, as we understand the value of neutrality. We simply ask to be kept informed of things that directly concern us, as the relic." He smiled. "After all, we have never wronged you, to my recollection. Consider this a customer loyalty program of sorts, if that helps set your mind at ease." 

Sensing the end of the business discussion, Hakim shook his head. "Myself and my employers are more than satisfied with this arrangement." he said, not mentioning that Halios had no idea this meeting was being conducted. "I do not wish to impose on any more of your time. With your leave, I intend to take in the pleasures that are on display here and make this one of the more memorable business trips I have been on. You have my thanks, Zhar, and my admiration." With a final smile, Hakim extended his hand towards the krogan, pleased with how the dialog had went.

"Thank you for your business Hakim." Zhar replied, taking the humans hand in his and making the customary motion that Humans seemed to like using for both meeting new people and sealing deals. "Additional information will be forwarded to you the moment the funds clear." With that, he turned away, making it clear that he was finished with the human. He would only be staying to finish his drink tonight, there were things that had to be done back at Zhar tower - things that could not be done here.

While he sipped his drink, he mused on the humans notions of how his business worked. It wasn't entirely incorrect. But at the same time he seemed to have misunderstood the manner in which neutrality was maintained. Zhar would happily sell Halios' secrets to a person offering the correct sum, just as that same person may have their secrets sold in the very next transaction. Neutrality was not maintained by loyalty, no, that was something much too hard to come by in this modern age. It was maintained by simply being too useful to everyone involved to be a target. The battlefield of information functioned much as the human Cold War had - every player having the capacity to annihilate the other several times over, and every player knowing their enemy could do so. That was why it all worked, everyone always wanted just one more edge over their foe. It was how the Shadow Broker operated on a grand scale, and it was how Zhar worked too, playing all sides at once in the name of profit.