The walk to the compound was a silent one, almost like that of a funeral and it sort of was, they had to deliver news that the team to go get them was dead. Fun times this team had, or at least Raya thought so with all the trouble they got onto even they tried not to get into such situations.

But they were also silent because they didn't want to attract too much attention to themselves. Even though she didn't mind a fight, she knew full well that the team had its limits, her included. So she was silent, keeping her head on the swivel and her biotics ready. With her biotics at the ready it made her a little bit more jumpy than normal. But she was use to it, as her biotics were usually ready to throw up a barrier or tear someone apart.

When they came to the compound the lights were bright, nearly painfully so after the dark that they had just crossed through. Raya tensed, she didn't like meeting like this, in "no man's land" as there was evidence that Jek's men were capable of holding the line. She didn't want to be one of the smear marks just yet. Plus she didn't like crowds, and entering the compound meant that she would have to deal with others.

As soon as Nik stepped into the light someone from the compound shot at them or Nik. Raya raised her weapon ready for whatever else may come. But someone called from the wall and this was were she stopped paying attention. Instead she turned her eyes over to the darkness, she could see the compound and knew what to expect from it but it was the darkness that held the unknown. She heard the door begin to open but her eyes remained on the darkness and sure enough something came flying from no man's land. "Shit!" was all she yelled before taking cover.

The damned Crimson Fist seemed to have enough bodies to keep throwing themselves into the line of fire. Are they breeding the damn Vorcha? She thought as she laid on cover fire a small smirk played on her lips as she watched the enemy fall.

But the fun didn't last long as she saw the large pulsating explosives, but it took her a moment to realize just what they were. They planted explosives! SHIT!

She didn't have time to move back, the explosion threw her back into something hard and metallic. Whatever it was it dug into her back causing pain to shoot up her spine. As she moved to push herself off the ground, pain again shot up through her spine. She hissed knowing that something was wrong, she reached around to touch her back and when she brought it back to look at it, her hand was covered in blood.

Raya stood up and after taking a moment to breath she walked back to the group at the door. Though she didn't stand in front of anyone, she would have to ask Daro to look at it later. But right now wasn't the best time for such things, instead she would endure the pain and act normal as possible.

Raya raised an eye brow when the Turian told Nik it was probably not a good idea to give his name then he himself gave his own name. Either he liked giving advice and not following his own or he was just dumb. She was thinking the latter.

When Nik asked the team if they should bring the Turian on her first thought was yes, but after hearing Daro she felt conflicted. As after all she just got hurt from the explosives. "I'm all for causing mass death of the enemy, but I'm inclined to agree with Daro....." She paused as she looked from the Turian to the Drell. "But it's up to you boss, if he has other skills that can be used then sure. But the end choice is yours and we will follow what you say." Raya said in a rather nice way, which was different from her normal uncaring or sadistic way.

She took in a slow breath trying to stop the pain, she could feel her suit pumping omigel and stims into her system. But she had tinkered with her suit earlier so that not a lot of either would be used, she didn't want to be caught in a fire fight and run out of either. This left her in pain for a bit while fighting, but she fought better while hurting just like animal, they were most vicious when hurt. It was the time in between the fighting that was annoying.

"Daro step behind me.... please." She whispered into a private comm with the Quarian. She knew her use of the word Please would get Daro's attention and let her know that something was up. Raya didn't want to make a big deal about it, but she wasn't sure how the young one would react. Everyone acts different when someone they know gets hurt, and she was no exception. She remembered when Haze got hit once, she was worried and angrier and she took that anger out on the enemy. Poor buggers got ripped apart slowly. She never told Haze that she was worried though, she played that part down.

She hated growing "soft" on her team.

The group gave their opinions on Ardan’s enlistment, which he took easily with his rifle cradled between his arms. Predictably, his fellow turian, the team sniper who’d earned himself a reputation as something of a crack shot, approved without hesitation. He was surprised, however, to hear that the sniper was familiar with him. The sapper nodded in recognition before turning his attention to the quarian, who had begun to speak her mind. She was a scrawny thing and the light robes that adorned her armour seemed to be quite out of place in a battlefield like this, the filth of combat making quite the impression. She wasn’t a decisive one, a medic from what she was saying. While it wasn’t quite a no, she clearly wasn’t happy with the prospect of a seasoned soldier in their company on account of his specialty with explosives. He wondered if she had any reservations about the asari, whom Ardan had heard a lot of things about – mostly that she was a crazy, bloodthirsty lunatic that was simply in it for the bloodshed. She also was in the indecisive camp. From her reputation, Ardan was expecting someone a bit more vulgar and confrontational. Today was already full of surprises.

The turian looked towards Daro with a wink. “Look, if it makes you feel any better, any idiot can set a bomb. If you don’t understand the yield or the type of explosive you’re using, you can cause a lot of collateral damage and probably blow yourself and half your line up. Sometimes, less is more. Nothing I ever set a charge to broke more than it had to.” He turned his gaze around to the others. “Look, how about this, I help you guys complete the mission and then you guys who haven’t made up your minds can have some time to think over it, and seeing how you guys don’t have vorcha numbers, an extra set of hands can’t hurt.”

The silence hung around the group almost oppressively after they all stated their opinions. All eyes drifted towards the Drell who was not looking at any of them. Nikusill was looking down at the Striker in his hands running nimble fingers across it making sure it was not damaged in the explosion. You could hear the pop as he fingered the release peering down at the heat sink, taking the pistol he turned it upside down and there was a plop plop plop as coolant dripped out of the gun hitting the ground the chemicals fizzled against the metal evaporating into the dark.Clunk, the metal slide was slammed back into place as he finally looked up and peered at Ardan. Analyzing, pulling apart just through eyesight as he took the entirety of the turian in before dissecting him in his mind, he listened to the others opinions all making valid points but in the end it was up to him. ”You’re in. But that does not mean I owe you anything. You fuck up you deal with it. You show bad discipline with your explosives and somebody gets hurt? I’ll be the one that puts the bullet through your skull.” The Drell explained voice automatic and cold this was business after all.

Soon afterwards the Krogan manning the wall sauntered up to them, his armor covered in old blood that had been plastered layer after layer atop. He was huge dwarfing both the turians and being wider than the both of them standing side by side. The large shotgun he was carrying jet black in color was as thick as Nik’s arm and just about as long and the lizard carried it in one idly between two fingers. He introduced himself to the group as Krag, he explained that the continued attacks against their fortifications had been going on solidly for the past two days as the Crimson Fist tried to break through to flank Jek’s main force. Though so far all the main fortifications had held as Sirn had only been sending his grunts forward desperate gangsters that he could pay off by the hundred to go hit into their fortifications again and again to soften them up enough for the real Crimson Fist soldiers to walk in and slaughter any that stood in their way.

”So you are pretty much just waiting to get killed.” Nik asked as his mind warped around the situation trying to figure out a plan.

”That’s about right. Unless of course Jek finds out a way to break through their lines. Which I believe is where you and your team is going to be helping.” Krag explained as he gestured towards them with no pomp. In truth Krag knew that was exactly what Jek was planning and he also knew that it was most likely a suicide mission. It was a shame to as the Drell and his companions didn't seem like too bad of people at all.

”Hmm I see. Well I guess we shouldn't keep him waiting.” Nik voiced and at that moment a screaming sphere of crimson shot into the air lazily like a drunken fireball. Another flare, another attack. Krag looked up and cursed getting to his feet and gripping his shotgun. A Salarian peered over the wall of the fortification and shouted down to them.

”Krag we got more Crimson Fist coming our way. A whole group of them maybe thirty all together. These are’nt the gangbangers either these are the real deal and they are packing!” The Salarian yelled down to his superior, looking back and forth in a worried fashion. Krag laughed a deep and hearty laugh that only a man born and raised in conflict could produce in such a situation as an almost manic grin appeared on his face as he shouted in a loud voice that echoed across the campsite.

”So it is time for the real battle? Good! Very Good! Raise Boys! Today we fight! Today we die!” Krag’s men cheered and all began rushing to their respective defensive positions. Scrambling from eating food and checking weapons to their positions. Even the men injured with missing limbs and bleeding out in the medical area rose to their feet leaning on one another as they grabbed their weapons and rushed towards the wall. They were prepping for their final glorious stand. Krag looked back at Nik and his squad and spoke. ”You should go this is not your place to die. Follow the road and it will lead to Jek. Tell him Krag will kill him when he is dead.”

Nik nodded to the Krogan grasping him by the shoulders and slamming his head against his crest plate. Nik stepped back skin torn on the hard scales and blood dripping down but he did not look in pain rather he and Krag laughed. Nik in his years working undercover for C-Sec had learned the mannerism of many a species and a lot of those being Krogan many of which he adopted into his own brutal berserker like style. ”I like you Drell. Now go!”

”Don’t need to tell us twice!” Nik nodded and motioned to his squad to follow him away from the fortification as Krag rushed towards the wall as symphony of gunfire began its opening orchestration. Explosions illuminating the darkness as they progressed further and further away from them through the empty forlorn streets and abandoned buildings. As they moved away the Drell spoke aloud to the rest of the group. ”Almost there... This job is becoming more and more complicated by the minute.”

On the Flotilla, 'Can you please stand behind me?' was unofficial code for another Quarian to check the integrity of one's seals, to ensure the ports weren't accidentally left open after going without an envirosuit as well as to ascertain whether one's cloth layer was worn back to front or not. Naturally Daro followed the order quickly, even without the please, though it made her move a little quicker.

She barely managed a shrug and a nod at the explosives expert, too preoccupied with whatever it was Raya needed of her. Of course it was a medical emergency, not one that could've been caused by a Vorcha assailant at all. From behind the comfortable guise of her mask, Daro shot a suspicious glance at Ardan before turning back to the jagged wound interrupting the smooth line of the Asari's suit.

"Oh – you've got a bit of, ah, Vorcha guts here. Should clean that off before it spreads disease... And I've I heard there's humans using it as a drain-cleaner it's so acidic..." Daro was honestly surprised she managed to keep her voice level as she pressed a finger to the base of the Asari's spine to inspect the damage, omnitool buzzing as if it had a mind of its own (which of course it didn't because AIs were bad). It was messy. Daro guessed that her teammate wished to keep the injury a secret and was holding in just how much it hurt. The concept of "suffering in silence" appeared near universal, it seemed, and soldiers of all walks of life like to do it. Much, much quieter, no more than a faint whisper over the comms, she added, _{"Bosh'tets and their bombs..."}

Asari weren't entirely different from Quarians when it came to basic biology. It made it easier, certainly, for Daro to reach closer and know she wasn't going to damage anything vital like a heart or a spleen. A grimace of apology that nobody could see staining her face, she activated one of her tools, one of the optional medical sort that bogged down her device when it was running: the pick. It hit something solid, metal. Was that something lodged in there? A part of the armor?

"If you stay very still I can remove it while you're standing up," Daro said after a click, switching comm channels to a private one. It was a good thing she was a Quarian doctor rather than any other species, because if anyone was talented in dislodging foreign objects from one's body while suited up and sitting down, it was someone who wore a damn envirosuit all the time. Bullets had to be taken out then and there, and for something so simple (no matter how few inches it was away from Raya's spine), Daro could do it in her sleep.

(Well, in her sleep she usually failed and her patient died, but that was neither here nor there.)

Ah, a Krogan was approaching. That would make a welcome distraction. Daro changed the setting to forceps and dragged the metal out without nicking a single essential organ – only soft tissue. And if there was one thing medigel was good at, it was repairing tissue. It was only after when the shard of metal was lodged firmly in her hand did Daro realise that she hadn't used anything numbing. Of course, it would likely have a paralytic, can't-walk effect, so perhaps it was for the best. Just a dose of medigel, then, straight from her own suit since Raya's didn't seem to be wired up properly...


It was for a worthy cause. "There, good as new," she said, and reconnected to the main channel. It was probably bad practice to be dropping out so often, and secrets were bad, Daro knew that, but she couldn't help it.

Daro wiped her hands, sprinkled with purple blood, on the back of her envirosuit – the metal part, not the lace, though that too held its fair share of Vorcha insides. She dropped the bit of metal, kicking it back into the darkness. She'd missed most of the entire interaction with the Krogan, only enough to know when to force her legs to move and follow as battle started again.

To the group, she asked, "Anyone else feel that the target's almost too big?"

“Sure thing. I’ll follow your lead, won’t be my first round of clawball. I won’t blow shit up unless there’s an order to do so, or if I absolutely, positively am sure it’s for the best interests of this team and our allies. Well, unless there’s a tightly bunched group of bastards behind cover or in a choke point, but that’s what this is for.” Ardan replied to Nik, tapping the stock of the grenade launcher resting on his back. “I won’t let you down. But if you really have to shoot me, try to go for somewhere other than my face. I’m rather fond of it.”

Soon, the colossal krogan that had ordered Ardan to set the charges lumbered towards the group from the open gate carrying one of those obnoxiously huge Claymore shotguns that were just hitting the markets. They weren’t overly popular because the recoil was so powerful only krogan could fire it without turning their arms into bone shard soup. Nik and Krag spoke quickly, giving a quick rundown of the larger mission at hand. He didn’t pity the dumb bastards manning the wall, dying because a gang wanted to waste lives pretending to fight a war that mattered. Wasn’t the point of joining a gang to earn wealth and power? It seemed pointless to squander it dying for some asshole who probably didn’t even know their names. They would die at this wall, have their corpses looted, and probably left there to rot. It truthfully didn’t seem like an ideal scenario, but Krag and his goons seemed pretty keen on their station, and morale went a long way. It was possible they’d make it through alright, and most of them seemed decent enough over a drink or two waiting for Nik and company to arrive. After Nik dashed his brains over the krogan’s crest, a remarkable feat in that he could reach the damn thing, Ardan approached Krag.

“You called the charges too early. They should have been 13 meters closer to the gate before you told me to hit the switch. There’s that little thing called shrapnel and kill radiuses, in case you forgot. You’re lucky none of these guys got hurt.” He said, stepping into formation after the others, offering a wave to the defenders. They were idiots, but it didn’t mean they weren’t worthy of some measure of respect and acknowledgement. Spirits know their boss couldn’t give less of a shit.

Ardan listened to the others as he scanned the area for movement. Just because most of the Crimson Fist troopers were giving Krag a hard time didn’t mean there weren’t flanking elements. His rifle was kept at the ready, his helmet filtering out the worst of the war-ravaged air. “No target’s too big if you have enough intel and manpower. I’ve helped bring down some pretty hardass insurgent leaders in the colony worlds, and the look on their face when they realize their hiding spot wasn’t flawless is worth it every time.” He replied to Daro, scratching his mandible on his helmet liner. He was surprised when Haze brought up working with the Blue Suns. Those guys were almost as no-name as this lot. “I thought the whole point of this outfit was to stamp out criminals, so why would we want to enlist the help of them? I don’t know about you, but I’d hate to help some jackoff by offing his competition because it was a convenient alliance only to find out I more or less helped them become a powerhouse syndicate. Just because you look and act legitimate doesn’t mean you are. In my experience, that usually means you’ve got bigger things to hide. It also says volumes about humans if they’ve only been a part of the galactic community for a few years and already they’re posturing themselves to be major players in organized crime. That’s batarian-level bullshit.”

When Daro stepped behind her, she was relieved that she didn't make it a big deal. She stood still as the Quarian cleaned and inspected the wound, which hurt but she kept her face from showing it. That was until Daro whispered something about bosh'tets and bombs, this made her smirk. But the smirk was quickly replaced when Daro told her to stand still and began to pull out whatever it was that was lodged in her back.

The pain would of caused most to buckle or cry out, but she kept her face as normal as possible. She did bite the inside of her lip and her body tensed while in her mind she screamed, but unless you were looking for such signs of pain you would of thought she was just pissed off about something.

Once the debris was out Raya gave a small grunt and took a deep breath in before letting it out slowly. She nodded at Daro without saying anything, she didn't feel like she needed to. She knew that Daro knew she was grateful, so no words needed to be spoken.

Raya looked over at Nik just in time to see him dash his head on the Krogan crest. She smirked again thinking about how her father said that it was okay to headbutt things, and she out of all her sisters did it to pretty much anything that moved, much to her father's pleasure and mothers dismay. She shook her head to clear the thoughts of the past, she watched as the Krogan and the rest of his squad launched a defensive. She knew they were going to die, but damn if they weren't going down hard.

The team was walking away, but she watched the wall a little longer as the men began open fire. She turned slowly before jogging up to the team, which hurt like a bitch, but it wasn't too bad now. Though she was sure that Daro would disapprove of such actions after the mini operation. She reached the team in time to hear Nik's comment about how this was getting very complicated, then Daro's question and the others response to her. "For the team sure it's big, but if you want big take someone out who has political power and is well respected." She said coolly as she remembered taking out an Asari Matriarch.

The Matriarch was powerful and respected by those on the Citadel Council, but damn if that Asari didn't have a dark side. She had a hand in the slave and drug trade, she took family members of other political leaders and threatened to kill them if they didn't comply to her demands. In all she was evil and had many followers. Of course Raya didn't take her out on her own, no, she had a team of Asari that pretended to be followers of the Matriarch. It was a bloody fight and she lost all of her team once she reached the damn Matriarch. What was funny though was that the Asari thought she could talk Raya out of killing her. But those talks didn't last long and a fight soon took its place. They fought for many hours until they were both tired and reduced to hand to hand combat, Raya won by choking her to death.

What was great though was that no one knew what happened to Matriarch, as those that were on her team were dressed like those that followed the damn Asari. So it was a "great mystery" on who killed everyone. Raya never told the team about her exploits and things she had done in the past, but then they didn't ask much.

"You do realize Ardan, that is exactly what we are doing now? Offing Jek's competition so he will become the power house in this area." She said as she checked her gun and looked back up at the back of their newest team members head before commenting on the humans. "Don’t be too angry at the humans, they are simply quick learners and know when to take an opportunity when it arises.... Don't think that your species was any different, indeed all our species took opportunities even if those opportunities were not for the good of all. It's just some species are quicker to take them than others." She said coolly. She knew that her little speech would get her little love from Haze, but he knew her well enough to get over it (maybe not right away though). Ardan would probably get pissy and tell her off or something but she could careless.

She looked over at Nik seeing if he wanted her to stop talking, though it was mostly to see if she was in trouble for making such a comment. Goddess, who would of thought I would be acting like this. Seeking permission to speak! She thought as a light smile played on her lips.

Nikusiil made an audible tsk noise almost for a moment sounding like your standard disapproving parent as he listened to them speak. He activated his omni-tool with a swipe of his hand and started to read the attachment that Haze had sent him as they continued to walk. He knew the source well enough The Omega Observer, the premier source of news on the little floating hell hole since bigger stations like ANN would never dare set foot in the Terminus systems let alone visit Omega. The Observer's one employee tried doing a story on Nik awhile back almost four years ago now, Nik put an end to that nice and quickly when he broke into the reporter's small apartment/workspace and shoved a gun in his face. The Drell didn't need any unnecessary publicity about him. It was already getting harder for him to operate as smoothly as he wanted to on the station with the whispers of a demon in a Drell body going around and executing gangbangers with a righteous fury. Nik read the article his face illuminated by the pale backlight glow of the omnitool as the words scrolled by him, he took in the information.

Blue Suns eh? Don't know if these humans are stupid or just ambitious? Nikusill wondered to himself. They stylized themselves as a private security organization, a fancy name for a group of mercenaries that want to look respectable on their wealthier clients account books. Mostly humans with a smattering of Salarians in their wake. Seemed most of them were left overs from First Contact, soldiers who after the war ended needed something new to do. Though like most soldier types something new usually meant more killing since it is all your really good at. Killers of all types fall in pretty naturally in the mercenary business. It was one of the reasons Nik made the transition from undercover Officer to hired gun so easily, he was used to the violence. But these Blue Suns worried him on a grander scale, they seemed to just be a normal protection racket working out of the Verge to protect Humans from their Batarian neighbors. But if they were here it meant a change in direction for the group something more expansionist. Nik didn't have time for another group of lowlifes to deal with.

Haze implied the idea of maybe using them but already in his own mind Nik had already shot down that avenue of approach. He didn't need a damn criminal to do his job talking to Jek was already going to be stretching the lines of how far he was willing to go. As Ardam and Raya put it they were already helping some jackoff deal with the competition. But that was because in the long run whether the others could see it or not Jek was the lesser of two evils. He may be called the Butcher of Omega but unlike Qiyrloc he wasn't concerned with expansion or galactic dominance, no he just wanted the territory that his former partner tried to kill him over. He wanted his chunk of scum back that he could rule over as he saw fit. He was a little leech sucking off the big fat dying cow that was Omega but he was just that a Leech and a Leech don't cause too many problems. Nik wasn't out to kill all the gangs in the Terminus System just the ones that grabbed his attention if a few others rose up in their place? Well as long as they owed the Drell a favor and know what he does to those that cross the boundary from businessmen to monster and didn't cross that line they could do as they pleased.

The Drell listened as his Turian companions tried their best to hide their own xenophobic sentiments towards the newest shining stars in Citadel Space. He couldn't help but chuckle to himself barely audible when Raya decided to voice her own opinions on the Humans. He sometimes forgot that not everybody in the entire galaxy had such a deep seated hatred towards the monkeys from Sol as the Turians did. Nik couldn't care either way as the people he dealt with got a bullet in their head no matter what planet they came from, though he understood why the Turians could get all grumpy after the Second Fleet completely wiped the floor with the Turian Hierarchy during the retaking of Shanxi. It was a big old kick in their inflated ego that was. Though as the team leader he figured at this point that he may as well interject to stop something from boiling over though watching Raya kick the new guy's ass would be fun for fun's sake.

"You know what I think?" He spoke immediately breaking the tension as the squad turned to listen to what their leader had to say as the Drell had remained quiet in the discussion so far.

"Firstly I think that you all talk too much. For a group of mercenaries, and killers you talk more than the Council when they are deciding tax rates. Secondly I think that everything breaks down into three simple things that every sentient being must fall back on Food, Fucking, and Shelter: Food because you want to be the top of the foodchain and able to eat whoever you want, Fucking because you want your species to continue, and Shelter because you want somewhere where you can Fuck and Eat without having to always look over your back. And every Sentient race has their own gripes and problems because in the end they are scared of losing one of those three things. The Turians are scared because their position as big dog has been challenged by the savage primitive humans that managed to rip the stick out of their asses and beat them with it. The Quarians are scared because of the Geth, the Geth that took away their home, that took away their shelter. Now on their ships floating through space their sense of shelter of safety has all been demolished. The Asari are scared to, they are so concerned about remaining the top dogs, the most desirable. They are scared that someone or something is going to happen and they won't be the most fuckable anymore. A fear that is crystallized in the Ardat-Yakshi, literally unfucakble no matter what you try. And my own people are scared because we have already lost all of it we lost our planet and over ninety percent of all of us. We fear that we will lose our culture and our sense of self. We fear that we have become too adaptable to new cultures and surroundings that the old ways will be lost.

Now we all fear the loss of these three basic ideas because what they translate to is power. Those that have the most food, fuck the most and have the nicest living conditions? They are the ones with all the power and in the end we are all animals. Animals driven by our need to survive and our need for power." Nik explained pausing for a moment underneath a broken sliver of light as he let his point settle in with the team. "Now Daro that is why I'm not afraid of Qiyrloc or his men. I don't fear them because they are just like us. They are all animals scraping by, trying to assert their dominance and gain power the only way they know how guns and money. But they are animals just like us, and animals my doctor friend? I know how to kill animals." Nik explained and you could almost feel the cold almost predatory sting to his voice as he spoke. A voice akin to the the playful mewel of a tiger before it went to go chase its prey.

"Now that I'm done shitting on all of our respective cultural identities, I'm going to say this once and only once. Leave the race politics at the door. I don't care if a human killed your best friend and fucked your wife. It is not my job to care. My job is to kill people. You're hired killers not sociologists. You can hate whoever the hell you want on your own damn time. Now lets move the out" Nik explained never looking back to face them knowing that his words would be enough. They progressed deeper into Jek's territory as the sound of gunshots become more distant and distant fading away swallowed by the dark. The Drell checked his omnitool, they would be approaching the position marked on the map soon. For the rest of the trip Nik did not speak whether it was because he was angry, disappointed or just had a lot on his mind at the moment no one could really tell. What they could tell was that he seemed agitated about something.

After around twenty more minutes though of Silence Nik stopped in front of a building. The large neon sign outside read in big yellow letters Imports and Exports with the P in Imports and the X in Exports having been shot out by a stray bullet some time ago. The building was surronded by a swath of carnage outside mostly Crimson Fist Guys. They all were dropped in piles outside of the door as if they were forcing their way in or trying to crawl their way out. The still smoking craters and the fresh bullet holes told them that this battle had occurred recently maybe in the last couple of hours. Though there was no sign of Jek or his boys anywhere. There was no sign of anything really just the tangible silence that could be tasted upon the mouth after a slaughter. The Import Export building was the place that Krag had marked on the map for him, this was apparently was leading the defensive. Nik could see why it was a choke point, a meeting place between the three roads that lead from Crimson Fist Territory before they met together and went deep into Jek's own territory. The building were close here and Jek's men had tightened the path evermore with makeshift barriers and watchtowers built along the intersection. Not to mention the number of bodies with rifles that could hide within the surrounding buildings before laying down a rain of bullets down upon the enemy as they tried to force their way through. A perfect little meat grinder.

"Well I suppose we go in then." Nik whispered to nobody in particular as he made some hand signs hopefully Haze would be able to translate for the new guy. Nik and Raya would take the front, Daro would stay sandwiched in the center and Ardan and Haze would cover the back. Standard five man formation that they drilled into Nik's head at C-Sec when breaching an unkown building. They entered the threshold of the lobby and found it in similar condition to the outside bodies everywhere some Crimson Fist and some wearing the markings that Krag's boys had which would make them Revenants, Jek's men. The bodies told a story it seemed at one point or another during the siege that the lines outside broke and so Jek ordered his men into the building where they could funnel them through easier fight them room to room. It seemed the Reveants did a damn well job of it judging from the number of Crimson Fist that littered the floor. The stench of death was almost overwhelming forcing Neck to question his own personal decision of never wearing a helmet. What he would kill for a filtration system at the moment as the rotting bodies festered in the industrial heat.

They moved further into the building trying to ignore the smell. They moved through what first seemed to be the officer area lots of corridors and cubicles all littered with bullet holes and the occasional body. The building was dark suggesting that the Crimson Fist had cut the power at some point to try and get the edge on the defenders. The occasional light only came from a stary window or a whole in the wall blown in from either biotics or explosives. As they progressed deeper into the building the bodies became fresher as their blood ran more easily and followed down the empty halls. Though there was still no signs of any life until they heard something. A strangled yell. Nik raised his hand signaling them to stop. They waited and heard another yell. They were coming from the direction of the factory section of the building where the imports and exports were backed up or shipped in on large heavy conveyor belts with robitct implements. As they neared the door that lead to the main shipping and receiving floor they heard more noise coming and the occasional rare gunshot. As they appoarched the door it slide suddenly with a whirr as a Turian dressed in Crimson Fist armor came stumbling out. Nik looked up at him in confusion as the drell lowered his weapon the Turian was grasping at a large piece of what seemed to be piping jutting through his chest and out the otherside seemingly unaware of their existence too shell shocked and in pain to register anything. He stumbled past them pushing by them trying to get towards the entrace making it about a foot more down the hall before falling face first to the ground dead. Nik and his team very confused raised their weapons and on Nik's signal entered the floor.

The room was seemingly coated from top to bottom in blood and Crimson Fist bodies With the occasional Revenant corpse mixed in. They soon found the source of the yelling in the form of a krogan dressed in the armor of a Crimson Fist Lieutenant who was currently getting his ass handed to him by a middle aged shirtless Batarian Male who currently had him pinned to the ground and had a large butcher's knife jabbed into the small space between the Krogan's head and Crest Plate and was prying it up through sheer brute strength of the Batarian. The Batarian who was not facing them and seemingly did not notice or did not care of their intrusion was shouting at the Krogan as he tore the crest plate from his face. "You think you're big? You stupid sack of lizard spawn? Well I'll tell you, you ain't big enough to deal with Fucking Jek!" He yelled as the Krogan shouted bloody murder as his own pain tolerance and resistance to being killed allowed him to be awake through all of this. Finally with a sickening popthat made even Nik squirm and his stomach twist a little bit the crest plate came off of the Krogan's head.

"Fuck You!" Jek punctuated with a large overhand swing as he grabbed the crest plate and then brought it down with the force of an angry god upon the exposed flesh of the Krogan skull. The first hit with a Splurt crack as it caved in the weak bone that lay under in support of the crest plate and he brought it down a second time splattering himself with brain matter and blood as the crest plate wielded as a bloody instrument of war punctured the Krogan's skull. The Krogan's body still twitched under the weight the backup organs trying to get the body to move again but before it could the batarian using the large butcher knife he used to pry the plate of he buried into the eye of the twitching corpse and twisted hard his muscular arms flexing with great strength as he did.

"Bastard." The Batarian said softly as he spat on the body and ripped his knife out of the now still corpses eye. He wiped the blood off of the knife on his pants as he turned to face the group that had just entered his knife primed and ready to go but he relaxed as he saw Nik. "What caught you up on the way over Turian fucking you up the ass?" The batarian asked reaching his free hand out ot Nik. The hand like the rest of the Batarians body was covered in blood and entrails of the Crimson Blood.

Nik almost chuckled as he put his own gun away in a gesture of peace and reached out to shake the Batarians hand not seemingly paying to mind the blood coating it. "I'm Nikusill and this is my team. And you must be Jek."

The Batarian looked and Nik and give him a smile that only the devil himself could give to a man. "Did the Knife give me away?"

---

Jek
The Butcher

Boy, the boss is pretty touchy. Big words coming from a guy who comes from a race that killed their planet and had to become the hanars’ serfs and playthings in exchange for surviving. Easy to complain about people being scared to lose power when you come from a race that only exists because a group of obnoxious jellyfish got bored of the regular zoo offerings. Ardan thought, keeping pace in the formation. Nik had an overly simplified way of looking at things, and that was fine. Didn’t make him right, but the man had a point about them picking a pretty stupid time to argue politics. Ah, growing pains. The team would figure each other out, somehow. Nik was also probably bitter about having lost a few men. Ardan never had a chance to meet them, but the day was apparently quite taxing on the lot. He picked a bad day to enlist. Listen to yourself, is there ever a good day? Man’s probably a bucket of fucking sunshine like this all the time. Probably needs to get laid before the tension makes him lose his mind.

After several moments of awkward silence, Ardan decided to break the tension. “So, about the Ardat-Yakshi being unfuckable… Anyone ever try anal?” he asked.

Twenty minutes in a combat zone was an eternity, and it was impossible not to feel the tension and uncertainty hound every step. Stopping in front of the Import – Export building, Ardan took note of the casualties. It was remarkable the Crimson Fist managed to keep in power if they kept bleeding off manpower like this. He tried to come up with a satisfactory estimate of the value of the equipment just laying around, discarded like their owners, and nothing came to mind other than a shitload.

"Ardan, in case our fearless leader has forgotten that you're just as ex-military as I am, he wants the two of us to cover the rear." Haze explained, sarcasm dripping from his voice like a leaky faucet.

"Always the fun job. Think we'll have time to visit the gift shop?" Ardan replied dryly.

Ardan picked up the formation quickly enough, the mercenaries running off their own variation of a fairly standard tactical formation. Ardan took up the rear, walking backwards to cover the group and relying on the IFF beacons of his team to keep himself oriented behind them. His Vindicator was shouldered and the fire-selector set to automatic, room to room fighting about the only time it was a viable option. Things were quiet as the team moved in silence through the battle-ravaged building, passing bodies from both attackers and defenders, their armour telling who was who. Gunshots filled the air, muffled from being in a separate room, and Ardan kept his position in the rear, watching for flankers. He changed a look at the sudden thump of a dropping body and noticed the turian with the severe impalement and wondered if Daro was trying to think of ways to save the dumb, unlucky bastard’s life. As far as fatalities went, that one was at least different.

Soon, the team entered a room that looked like a slasher vid with bodies and blood sprayed all over the damn place. Ardan’s face, concealed behind his helmet, grimaced as he immediately gave up trying to figure out what organs were splattered over the table nearest him. He swivelled gracefully to face the batarian and his men torturing the krogan, deciding to look elsewhere at the other men as the batarian tore off the Crimson Fist soldier’s crest. Ardan wasn’t a squeamish guy, but shit like that was pretty uncomfortable to look at. He watched the volume of his ear pieces diminish on his hud as the screaming was drowned out. Tonight was definitely a drinking night. As soon as he heard the batarian speak, Ardan returned the volume to normal. Not helping his race’s reputation, the batarian looked like a cannibalistic serial killer. When he discovered that this piece of work was Jek, Ardan groaned over the private line to the squad communications.

“So, he seems nice.” He said sarcastically. “If you were looking for blood transfusion supplies, Daro, I’ll go grab a few buckets.”

"The boss-man said we as a group talk too much," she said over the private channel. "So, this is me not talking. There's not much point when I have nothing worthwhile to say, either." Sure, Nik's outburst had been unexpected and megalomaniacal and insane, the type that Daro would usually use anti-psychotics to treat, but she was pretty certain it was a joke.

She hoped. The staying quiet part was 'just in case'.

Daro wasn't particularly affected by the various sights of death and bloodshed, burnt flesh and imploded suits and the like. She figured that must mean she was getting used to Omega and scenes like these, albeit never as bad. Then again, she had found a pile of Vorcha corpses three feet away from her clinic's front door in the past: not a warning, just someone who thought it would be funny. After that, she'd found nothing too disgusting or obscene. The filter took the edge off the smell, yes, but it was still there, and she wondered how the others must perceive it. "Well, I never thought I'd be thankful for an envirosuit."

Silencing herself with a sharp intake of breath, she kept her attention to the combat scanner. No life signs meant there was little chance of them being ambushed by the corpses littering the building. They were definitely dead. The fading blip of the Turian who staggered in front of them was nothing of importance. Even with a wound that big, she could save him, but only if she had a proper operating table and some heavy-duty medical supplies, all of which was either at home or destroyed with her clinic.

Plus, it probably wouldn't go down well with her allies. She resolved herself to ignore the body sliding wetly down the pipe with only a muttered, "Keelah."

But it only got worse, with the Batarian tearing off the Krogan's crest in a move that was far too brutal to stare at for more than a few seconds. Daro pointedly turned her head away so she didn't have to view the scene, thinking of anything but the amount of pain it would've been causing.

"Why would I take it from them? It would be useless for a blood transfusion without the proper equipment around... Oh, right, I get you." A joke. Humour. It was a common thing on Omega, a defense mechanism for some, utter insensitivity for others. Daro preferred her own method of pretending it wasn't happening.

Watching this, though, it was very hard for her to pretend that Jek was someone they should be helping instead of killing. He was exactly the sort of terrible person that Omega was ran by, and Daro could only hope that they – the vigilantes, the thorn in the sides of gangs everywhere – were not becoming mere mercenaries themselves.

She hoped Nik knew what he was doing.

Raya simply raised a brow at Nik's tangent before pretending to zip up her lips and locking them and throwing away the key. But one thing bugged her in his little speech, how the hell did he know about the Ardat-Yakshi? Barely anyone out side the Asari knew about the Ardat-Yakshi, it was something her people wanted to keep others knowing about them. If there was something that her species was ashamed of it was those freaks.

Though she had been accused of being an Ardat-Yakshi many times, even got a few damned Justicars after her once. But as soon as they realized she wasn't, they hunted her for other reasons. That was when she left Asari space, knowing that they didn't travel much out of it.

Her thinking was suddenly interrupted when the new guy said something about the Ardat-Yakshi. He obviously didn't know what they were and how they killed, or how they were more irresistible than normal Asari. She gave a cold glare at Ardan before looking at Nik , her eyes asking if she could kick the new guys ass. But to her disappointment he shook his head, she would have to wait until the mission was over before she did any of that.

The team walked until it got dark and quiet, Raya grew tense. It always seemed that when the team got to a quiet section of Omega they got shot at. When they came to the cross roads Nik gave the signal to form up. She took her position next to Nik in the front, before moving in.

The stench of the rotting bodies was enough to make anyone gag, but it just reminded her of the colony that some mercs used to test weapons. Only here there was full grown aliens, no children or mothers trying to protect their babies. Raya cleared her thoughts and only breathed when she had to, but in the mean time she kept her weapon up.

As they got deeper into the old building they could hear the occasional gun shot and yelling. By the sounds of it the fight was nearly over, a shame, but not overly disappointing. Hopefully though their contact wasn't dead as that would be a big hole in their plan to take down the Crimson Fist.

When they came to the door that lead into the mean cargo hold a bloody Turian with what looked like pipe sticking out his chest came stumbling out. He didn't seem to even notice that they were there, Well he is as good as dead. She thought as she turned around and followed Nik into the larger room, which recently got a fresh coat of bloody paint.

But what caught her attention was the Batarian trying to pull the crest off of a Krogan Crimson Fist merc. It was a hard thing to do without biotics, she would know as she did the same thing. The screams from the Krogan were that of extreme pain and rage, but he was unable to do anything. Raya knew that her team mates wouldn't be able to stand it, and with all respects they shouldn't be able to stand it. As it takes a pretty messed up person to watch as someone took someone else's life slowly and painfully. She just so happened to be that messed up person, what was worse though was that she was use to dealing out such torturous acts.

Once the Batarian was done he finally noticed the group. Raya looked him over and concluded that he wasn't half bad looking, though she never had a thing for four eyes. Her preferences laid else where when it came to being attracted other species.

She could hear the groans and comments of her team mates. Are they seriously that blind that they can't see that I'm like the bastard infront of us? She wondered as she was just as sick as the Batarian, prettier but messed up all the same. But then she didn't really have the opportunities to do acts like this, she had to wonder if Nik was trying to keep her from doing such things. He probably was but why?

Raya remained silent, she would wait until someone asked her to speak. As after all she "talked too much".

"So as much as I love admiring your handiwork, shall we get down to business?" Nik asked the batarian who watched the entire team with an almost predatory gaze eyes darting over each of them ripping them to shreds mentally as they looked for any perceived weakness. Nik though was just tired mentally at this point having run the gauntlet and almost killed several times over as well as some unplanned losses it was a miracle that the squad only got that tangent from him. Though that was his way, any sense of emotional grounding was ephemeral, he was as stoic as the mountains and unfazeable as the ground one walks upon. The only emotion he held onto for long bouts was anger, anger directed inward that he used to fuel his actions to be better, to stop people from dying, to stop failing. So yes he was tired and honestly at that point he just wanted these damn talks to be over with already. He wanted to be able to agree to terms with Jek, get briefed on the situation so he could deal with it. While watching displays of brutal aggression were all fun they were just wasting his time, time that he could be spent doing anything else, saving somebody else.

Jek seemed to sense his new "allies" eagerness to get things done with as he idly fidgeted with his knife spinning it within his hand. He was partly happy that the group had stumbled upon him when he was finishing up business for it give him a chance to gauge them. You can tell a lot of people from looks, appearances and reactions especially after they have witness something brutally unsettling. The slightest squirm or sense of enjoyment could tell you a lot about a person and from what Jek saw of the group as they observed him he mentally filed it away never knowing when something like that could be useful. Though his eyes then turned attention back to the Drell standing in front of him. The batarian gang leader was honestly expecting more, somebody taller maybe? The Drell seemed normal enough for a lizard nothing that would mark him as the ghost that was making every petty drug dealer from Ilium to Omega check under beds before they went to sleep. And yet there was something in the way he carried himself that the batarian took particular notice to for it was something he could see within his own self. The Drell carried himself with a sense of confidence this sense of gravitas as if he knew that if he wanted to he could kill everyone in the room without even much of thinking of it. It was this aura of something that you don't just learn, something that you have to be born with and those that are, are usually devils hiding out amongst men. Yes, the drell would be an interesting one to watch a better friend than enemy for at least a while yet.

"Yes back to fucking business as usual. Though it would seem I'm a little bit undressed for talks of important manners. Look like a uncivilized bastard I do. " Jek explained with a wave of his hand towards his currently shirtless and blood covered body almost jokingly. "Your lot will go to the meeting room and I'll meet you there in a moment. Now where is that bastard?" Jek explained as he searched around looking about them but seemed to not find what he was looking for. "Amaandis? Where the hell are you you damn floating jellyfish?"

"This one is right here and humbly ready to serve Mister Jek." A strongly curt and articulate voice sounded as a hanar floated into the room holding a datapad with one of its tentacles. Nik raised an eyebrow at the entrance of the Hanar. Being a drell despite living on the Citadel for most of his childhood knew a handful of Hanar as even offworld the two races had a close relationship with one another. Hell Nik probably knew more about Hanar culture than he did his own culture due to the nature of this pact between the two. Though he would never imagine to find one of them floating about on Omega let alone working with a crime lord like Jek. Yet here the creature was in all its translucent and polite glory as it floated up to Jek. The Batarian seemed used to the Hanar's presence as he whispered something to the floating jellyfish and Amaandis made a twitching gesture with one of its tentacles in return. The utter juxtaposition of it all in any other situation could be considered comedic even the notoriously backwards and barbaric Batarian covered in blood and the graceful, floating, peaceful, Enkindler worshipping Jellyfish of the Hanar were two completely opposite sides of a coin and yet here they were. The two seemed to regard one another as at least close acquaintances.

"Oye, so this is Amaandis, my personal assistant and the one that makes sure all the cogs move as they should. He'll lead to the meeting room while I put on some new fucking clothes." Jek explained to the room as he turned and walked away without another word. Nik always had the problem with Hanar of never knowing when they were looking at you as was the case with Amaandis who floated silently in front of them for long enough for it to become slightly awkward without acknowledging them. Nik almost wondered if he had fallen asleep or died or something but that idea was whisked away as the datapad in its possession glowed and flickered with signs of activity. It seemed something else was preoccupying it for a moment but then it finally did speak to them in a calm waxing voice in direct opposition to the rough and jagged curse filled tones of its business partner.

"It is truly sorry for the daily Mr. Vos and Companions of Mr. Vos there was another matter that this one had to finish intending to before it could deliver to you its fullest attention. If you would please follow it at your pleasure." The hanar explained as it turned and began to float out of the blood covered room. Nik turned and looked at the rest of the team his face caught in a moment of "well this is certainly strange" before giving a tired shrug and following in suit. Amaandis spoke very little as he led them through the rest of the empty shell of the import and export building past abandoned hallways and cubicles with trinkets still left like snowflakes suspend in air before the blizzard. They came out of a back door that struggled to open as they stepped back out into the perpetual darkness of Omega. The interconnected pathways behind the building were like some sort of demented spiderweb all laying atop of one another in interlocking patterns, a maze of sort.

Through this maze was a welcome change to what the others had been dealing with in that it was brimming with life. As the recent Crimson Fist attack had been faltered the people living within Jek's territory had received the all clear to continue their day. Like the rest of the damnable asteroid it was a collective melting pot of different races, ages and backgrounds scumming their way to the finish line. The merchants had already reopened their stalls and stores and voices of all kind were intermixed with one another as the argued, talked and went about their day. It was almost an odd thing how easily life seemed to return back to its normal grind, it's normal day to day operations of do that and now do this after such a brutal onslaught. But was part of the hidden majesty in a place like Omega people learn not dwell on the terrible things for too long because if they did then all the pain and suffering would become too unbearable to deal with too quickly. No their conditions forced themselves to be able to adapt to not let the things that go bump in the night effect you all that much. It was a strange antiseptic, it was. The people seemed to pay little notice to the group following the hanar as they became another small drop in the large and churning ocean around them. These sounds of talking and bantering seemed to clash more within Nik's head than the explosions and gunshots of earlier each voice hitting with the ferocity of a cannon and then fading away like a dying breeze. Talking that is what he realized was strange his head had gotten so used to combat that normal talking on this scale had become the audible dissonance that his ears had to adjust to.

Amaandis lead them to a building that towered over the rest in the area by a few stories and would be in the center of this proviable spiderweb were all the interconnecting roads and pathways ended up meeting. It was the focal point, the genesis of the area upon which all others stemmed from. It was almost unassuming in its appearance on the ground floor it looked like any standard dive bar, neon sign in the window displaying a changing dancing visage of an Asari and no discernible name expect in the other window in bright red neon it stated simply Jek's. The floors above it were nondescript looking like any other building in Omega though the brightened windows suggested activity of some sort. Nik was almost expecting something else for a ganglord but no, it made sense Jek seemed to appreciate the more... simple things in life.

Amaandis approached the front door and they entered into a smoke filled room of shouting and yelling. All around them were Revenant, still dressed in their armor celebrating their recent victory. The boom of some loud nondescript technobeat in the background automatically filled thier bodies and pulsed with each individual upbeat. Thump, Thump, Thump. At the bar a Turian was serving out drinks with a fluid profecency about him skilled hands moving in every which way as his attention remained on the crowd. On the bartop two scantily clad dancers moved to the ever present beat one human and a Asari bodies moving in an enticing visceral passion. The Revenants all looked towards the door as it opened hands automatically going to their holsters but upon the sight of the Hanar they visibly relaxed and soon went back to enjoy their respective vices. Ammandis lead them through the swath of people to the back where open pressing a hidden switch the door pulled back revealing an elevator. They all stepped inside and the door closed behind them instantly muffling the voices and music beyond it as a much simpler musicle arrangement was pumped into the elevator as it silently ascended. Nik notted that the elevator had no buttons and seemed to move on its own, probably used for VIPs only a direct line to the butcher himself. They was a soft click as they reached the top floor and the doors slid open silently and out they walked.

The top floor consisted of one uninterrupted room with large glass windows surrounding every wall looking out down upon all the territory below. Some might even call the view impressive as the mixture of utter darkness and bright neon stretched out as far as the eyes could see in any direction. The scale of Omega was something that few perceived until they actually arrived upon the station of truly how massive it all was. Directly in front of them stood their host his back facing them as he looked out upon his dominion seemingly in deep thought, the cool blue lights casting an almost ethereal glow upon him. Jek let out a deep laugh that seemed to fill the entire room appearntly due to his own observations as he turned back around and faced them the same devilish smile upon his lips. He was dressed diffrently now like a proper businessmen in a three piece suit that clung to his muscular form, a scientist may even call him a perfect speciem of sorts perfect portions, all muscle all the dwon that seemed to try and bulge out of the stitching with every movement. Nik was impressed, Jek owned the corrupt copreate executive look just as well as the crazy mass murderer with a knife look. Though through a quick observation one could notice the knife from before now perfectly clean hanging at his side in what seemed to be a homemade leather holster of sorts attached to his left leg,

"Finally here eh? I assume you liked the little tour through my neighborhood." Jek explained as he made a motion for them to follow him. He lead them to a large round wooden table a dark brown, almost red in color like the color of dried blood. It looked more in place with the bar downstairs that it looked in this neo-ciche business executive space. They all sat around it with Nik and Jek facing one another as Jek summoned serving staff out of nowhere who presented the group with a large plethora of selection of their own alcoholic vices. Nik declined any as he at least wanted to preserve this idea of professionalism. Jek looked at Nik having gotten his own bottle of very old and very expensive Batarain liquor as he poured himself a glass he spoke calmly and fluently as if he was used to these sorts of things. "So I suppose you know why I've asked to meet you and your motley crew of fuckers Mr. Vos"

"Well if I had to guess, i would assume it had to do something with you wanting us to kill somebody for you." Nik explained dully his eyes never leaving the Batarian who seemed amused at this statement. The Drell wasn't one for business intrigue and mindgames, he got to the point as quickly as he could just made things easier.

"Well you're a blunt bastard aren't you?" Jek declared with a laugh as he took a swig from his cup of liquor letting the liquid fire burn a path through his insides clearing his mind. "I assume you know of Qiyrloc Sirn or at least you've been acquainted with his spineless men by this point. Those damn Crimson Fist Bastards."

"Oh I'm well aware of our Krogan Friend. He's wanted throughout Citadel Space for ties in many illicit activities most of them sicking beyond redemption. And as the word on the street goes he was also your partner." Nik explined casually as even the mention of Jek and Sirn's former business status seemed to agitate the Batarian greatly.

"Former Partner. Bastard stabbed in the back literally and figuratively and left me to bleed out in some fucked alley with the hookers and drug addicts." Jek explained noticeably still angry about the whole affair.

"Ah yes you two did have a falling of sorts. But where not here to deal with the past, I'm here to deal with the present." Nik explained trying to stop Jek from losing his cool.

"Hmph, yes the present. As you can see the bastard still wants me and my livelihood dead. I'm just a fucking businessmen Drell, I make sure that everybody in the area that I control get's protection for a nice flat rate of 15% of their income or else they get their heads beat in. We don't deal in drugs, slavery and only willing prostitution. Compared to Qiyrlock I'm a fucking angel and I'll I really want is for him to be dead so I can live the rest of my life in peace, fuck who I want and drink when I want wihtout having to look over my back for one of his damn hired killers." Jek explained as if the act of asking for a hit on somebody was something of a normal everyday occurrence a simple as mowing your lawn.

"Of course, of course you make a reasonable request. Everybody wants some peace and quiet now and again." Nik explained as it was true and the words Jek spoke did hold a value to them he wasn't Qiyrlock compared to most gang leaders in Omega he wasn't even that bad if overly brutish.

"Of course the request is reasonable Jek don't make fucking wishes, he makes actions. Now you see in the next couple days I'm planning an attack straight into Crimson Fist Territory, I've got three other local gangs in the area ready to help as they all have lost territory to the bastard. We are going to push until I get to cut that fuckers head off with my knife!" Jek declared excited by the thought of drawing blood on Qiyrlock .

"Well that's just fucking crazy enough to work. But if you have all this help why do you need us?" Nik asked intrigued by the idea of an all out onslaught but needing to know more.

"You see while the rest of us push up against his defenses to put the cracks in the wall his men will be diverted. Your team is going to go around the back and fuck him up the ass. Your group should be small enough so that any actions you take will be undetected in our onslaught and you'll be able to take out thier defense from behind. We will all meet in the middle and take the fucker out." It sounded simple to Jek, so simple and so crude that it would probably work. The simplest plans are the ones with the most success rates after all. And it wasn't like Nik didn't want to crack in some Crimson Fist heads.

"Hmm, an infiltration team. We can do that. Of course we have to get paid."

"Of course, of course. Will talk about more planning later but for now you should all relax you all seem like you had a long fucking day." Jek sated with a brutish laugh.

"You could say that again."

"Tonight my entire territory will be alight with celebration at beating the Crimson Fist bastards back. There will be drinking and celebrating abound and I implore you all to act as if a demon has taken root inside of. I myself have some business I must attend to but Amaandis will be able to take care of discussion of pay and your tempory dwellings as your stuck with us fucks." Jek explained as he ushered them out and back into the elevator the sound of the music below in the bar beginning to reach back up to them.

---

Omega
Some hours later
That odd twisting period between Late Night and Early Morning

The Drell sat at the foot of the small bed his hands tending to the bandages and medi gel that he applied to his body. Amaandis had supplied them all with rooms side by side within a shoddy run down apartment building that Jek's men used as a makeshift barracks of sorts. Each room was identically the same, small and square in shape with an adjoining bathroom and shower combination that was tiny enough that if Nik outstretched his arms his fingers would brush each opposite wall. Sparsely furnished except for an old bed and a half working computer state of the art in 2150 and barely functional by 2151 simplicity at its crudest. The rooms each had one small window to let the air circulate but beside that they did not have any real air circulation system and so they were consistently of terribly hot temperatures with an unbearable level of humidity so the air stuck to the skin like an adhesive.

Nik's armor was in one corner of the room having been discarded long ago to at least let his skin breath for a little bit. He was dressed now in a pair of pants and not much else as he was currently attending to his own bruises and wounds from their sojourn for the day. He could of asked Daro to help him but if it wasn't anything too serious he delt with it himself not wanting to further stress her out and limit her supplies. This career of makeshift doctor has left its mark upon the Drell as all the little scrapes and bruises have a peculiar way of adding up. His skin was a patchwork of scars and bruises in states of being healed and fresh, each with its own story and own tale. A life time of stabbing and killing did that to a person and the wear and tear has a way of showing through. But Nik couldn't stop, he wouldn't stop.

"Well you look like shit don't you Nikusiil?" A voice asked and it drew Nik's eyes upward. It seemed to be a ghostly apparition of a Drell looking very similar to Nik but much younger, more full of life and bright eyed. His arms were crossed and he looked down at the Drell tending to his wounds with a dissapointed gaze. Nik could only let out a sigh and continue to work on has bandaging as he spoke.

"And your my fucked up brain trying to create a tangible appearance to my guilt so that I may try and accept it. So just leave me alone." Nik voiced sounding more tired then anything else at this point as he continued to wrap the gauze as he watched the other Drell.

"Nik, Nik is that any way to talk to your brother?" The spector asked in a hurt voice as it moved closer to him and sat down next to him on the bed. Nik moved over away from it and its touch as he glared at it his eyes now somewhere in a mixture of anger and tired as they bore down at the ghost.

"My Brother died close to twenty years ago, because I couldn't save him. That's the reason I'm doing this if you've forgotten your just a hallucination that I'm not sure why I'm talking to." Nik voiced as he sat up finishing the bandaging and moved towards the bathroom he stepped inside and turned the faucet on cupping the water in his hands he tossed it up into his face but in the mirror the apparition was still there.

"All true Nik, all true indeed and yet I'm still here talking to you, meaning your head has something to tell you." The thing asked sounding condescending as if it was talking down to the Drell who could only glare at him angrily through the reflection.

"And what would that fucking be?" Nik asked clearly not amused at anything happening in this conversation.

"This whole idea of your vigilante suicide squad. Going up against somebody like Qiyrlock who has more money and resources then you could imagine. The fact that in your path of revenge as you look for some sort of redemption is going to drag all the others down with you? Is that really fair, fair to Daro, to Raya, to all of them? How many of these hopeful souls that you've recruited have ended up dying because of you." The apparition of guilt asked questioning, interrogating and never easing up.

"Too many.."

"Exactly. And how many more most die before you get it through your thick head?" The voice asked tone rising and anger as Nik visibly became more agitated clutching the corners of the faucet arms tense as he looked down breathing deeply. The apparition continued to speak but Nik did not hear any of it.

"shut up.... Shut Up.... SHUT UP!" Nik yelled at the apparition and brought a fist up and without thinking slammed it hard into the mirror where its face was over his shoulder. The sudden pain made him curse as he pulled back the glass being embedded in his hand. Blood began to drip down into the sink in lazy circles. The Drell looked up at himself and the apparition was gone all that was left was a broken and splintered mirror casting a corrupted and confused reflection of Nik back at himself. The blood dripping across the glass coating the face distorting it more as it fell down, drip, drip, drip.

"Fuck." Nik muttered softly to himself as he stepped out of the bathroom and sat back down at the foot of the bed heavily. He grabbed the medical kit left where it was and began to process of slowly pulling the glass out of his hand. The lone window opened casted the soft orange glow of the outside neon within illuminating the tiny drips of blood leading from the bathroom to the bed. The sounds of the still continuing celebration drifted in and as he tended to his new wound Nik wondered how the others were faring.

Today was full of unexpected things. Ardan didn’t expect to be spending his night in a slum of an apartment building that was inexplicably worse than his own, and finding out Jek ran a mostly tolerable district with steep protection rates that shunned charming things like drug and people trafficking while providing a decent quality of life for the inhabitants was certainly not something the turian had expected from the sociopathic crime lord, who after being introduced via some snuff shit ended up cleaning up nicely and running one of the classier establishments on Omega. Ardan had expected to be bedding down in some bombed out building with a shotgun cradled in his arms, but instead found himself in a small prefabricated apartment that was more like a hotel room than a permanent dwelling. The water still ran and wasn’t disrupted, which was nice, and some rundown and abused computer terminal. Ardan didn’t have a change of clothes, so after showering in the cramped stall, he dressed in his under suit he wore under his armour and desperately wanted a drink.

The room was hot and stuffy, and it was unlikely he was going to be sleeping tonight, so he made up his mind to head out on the town and find some stimulants to help him perk right up in the morning, along with something to eat. He slipped on a small personal shield generator around his wrist, a model popular with VIPs on colony worlds where political assassination was a depressingly looming reality. It looked a lot like a watch, and its capacitors were only good for thwarting a couple of pistol shots before shorting out and needing to regenerate, which was often enough to save your life on a trash heap of a colony like Omega. That second or two of protection could often be the difference between life and death, especially if you were caught out alone in a bad neighbourhood. Unfortunately, it didn’t do anything to stop a punch to the face or a knife in the back, as Ardan had discovered on a couple of notable occasions in the past few months. Still, some protection was no protection, and until he could afford bulletproof suit jackets, he was making due with extremely dumbed down versions of common armour shield generators.

Sidling into the creaky and well-abused desk chair that groaned in protest when he sat down, Ardan booted up the terminal and waited as the horribly neglected machine booted up, the display flickering in odd intervals as it struggled to stay alive. Giving the terminal a few minutes to sort itself out by stripping his pistol and reassembling it for inspection and to make sure his muscle memory still worked, Ardan set his sidearm aside as he checked the Extranet connection, halfway surprised to find that it worked. He logged into his account and checked his messages, ignoring the assorted spam mail and irrelevant shit until he found what he was looking for. He opened the file.

A turian face, slightly older than his own but with the same facial tattoos but the same green eyes, returned Ardan’s gaze. He was in the grey uniform of the hastatim, looking every bit as severe and authoritative as Ardan did not. It had been three weeks since he’d received a message from Casius.

“I know you aren’t a fan of seeing me in uniform, but it’s been a busy week here on Taetrus and I need to get down time when I can afford it with the uprisings, and I had more than ten minutes, so I figured it was this or you not hearing from me for another month. Despite the increase in activity, it’s business as usual. You never know if the door you go to is going to have a citizen willing to comply or a separatist waiting in ambush. We lost three of our number in the campaign so far, but people are getting the message.

“On a more personal note, Lyvia and I have been getting pretty serious, been looking for a house together and been talking about kids. Marriage isn’t in the cards yet, but you know how things can change. But with both of our careers, it’s kind of hard to make any arrangements like that. Besides, it’s not like you’d come to our wedding anyways. You’ve made it pretty clear you have no intention of returning home. Speaking of which, mother and father still refuse to talk about you and it seems like they’re pretending like they don’t have another son, but they’re also in a bad place financially and they’re both pretty miserable. I’m worried it might lead to divorce, but we’ll see.

“I won’t lie, the way you’re making Omega sound is a far cry from what I’ve been hearing, seems like it’s too good to be true if you’re looking for independence. You mentioned working for a mining company? Interesting career change, although makes sense with your military background, and being a mining station, they probably pay a former combat engineer like yourself top credit to set blasting charges. It must be interesting, living somewhere where there’s so many species living together, it must be like the Citadel. I’d visit, but it’s not like the Terminus Systems are accessible travel destinations.

“I have to wrap this up, there’s a raid today and it’s going to be a bit of a mess. I hope you change your mind and decide to come home, I’d like to have one of these conversations in person instead of time-delayed extranet packets. I hope you’re keeping yourself well and safe, brother. Reply when you can.” Casius said, reaching towards the screen and a message confirming the end of the video appeared on black on the screen. Ardan frowned, idly fondling his pistol as he thought about what Casius said. The thing was, he couldn’t go back, not now. His pride saw to that, and he never turned away from a problem, even dangerously stupid and impossible ones like ending crime on Omega. The longer he stayed on the station, the more he realized how much the common person suffered under the gangs and other bastards with power. It wasn’t just something he could turn his back on.

I really need that drink. he thought, rising from his seat. Strapping his pistol to his leg and swiping the key from the table, Ardan left the apartment, heading to the seedy underbelly of Jek’s town.

Collab with Hex

It was easy to see that the Batarian was sizing everyone up, searching for any weaknesses no matter how small as they could all be exploited and cause damage. How did she know he was doing this? It was what she would do and was in fact doing. She wasn't one to relax and let her guard down even when everything seemed safe, her gun might be lowered but she didn't need a gun to kill.

When Jek realized that Nik just wanted to talk business he pretty much blew it off and went on to say he wasn't dressed for the occasion. Raya cocked her head slightly to the left as she looked his shirtless form over again. She knew he saw her looking as having four eyes made Batarians notorious for picking up slight body movements. 

He likes to impress, can't wait to see what he plans on wearing. She thought as she watched Jek leave while leaving them with the jelly. Now that was unexpected, a damn jelly? She had seen the species before and thought them as rather annoying, though they made the funniest squishing sound when you stomped on them. She took note of Nik's expression before they started to follow the jellyfish, he was just as surprised as the rest of them, or her at least.

The jelly, (Raya really didn't care about the damn jellyfish's name as she didn't particularly like the species, they were hard to read) lead them through a maze of allies and streets that was all rather confusing. That was when they came to a part of Jek's territory that suddenly came to life. There was people everywhere, all going about their business and not paying much attention to the team who were covered in blood. But then this was Omega, seeing people covered in blood was a common occurrence and she was sure that the people could careless unless it was theirs or someone they loved.

The bar/club was full (which was rather annoying to her) but the dark under currents of the beat and how ran through her body was oddly calming. Sometimes she wondered why she wasn't an Ardat-Yakshi, she acted like one. The jelly lead the team to an elevator that seemed to only have one use, to take them to see the master of this territory. Finally! She thought as she was growing tired of the crowds and the constant chatter.

Once in Jek's office she took note of the Batarians clothing, he truly did like to impress. He was someone that she would give the time of day to and maybe a little more. When Jek lead them to an area to sit, she sat but only on the edge of her seat and she refused a drink. She wasn't about to relax not even here, even though she  Jek wasn't going to kill them (yet anyway) as he need them. When Nik and Jek started talking Raya zoned out, she knew she would be filling in later.

---

Raya was laying on the bed in the room that Jek graciously provided. It was small but it was enough for her as she didn't need a lot. She was no longer wearing her armour, instead she was wearing a black tank top that clung to her female form and a pair of human military pants that hung from her hips and her combat boots. She had gone to a bar earlier, but she wasn't exactly in the mood to dance or drink. Though she had hoped that the drinks would make her feel better and loosen her up, but they had the opposite effect on her. So here she was laying in bed waiting for morning.

As she watched the ceiling she could suddenly hear Nik talking. She sat up slowly and swung her legs over the edge of the bed and looked over at the opposite wall. She wondered who Nik could possibly be talking to, as far as she knew he had no one over there with him. As she listened to his voice she could hear that he was getting upset. That was when she heard a crash, without thinking she got up and went over to Nik's room and knocked on the door.

"Nik?" She asked through the door before opening it. First thing she noticed was the blood on the floor from the bathroom (which she also noticed the had a lot of glass on the floor) to the bed. She could see the Drell pulling glass from his hand. She walked into the room and shut the door behind her. You okay?" She asked even though she could see that he wasn't.

Nik didn't look up when Raya entered the room seemingly a world away from his own physical self. The medical kit was thrown open haphazardly upon the bed casting about metal instruments that shone like stars in the sky when the light from the window hit them just right about as well as bandages, packets of medical gel and whatever else was stuffed inside of it. He currently had a tweezer like clamp in his uninjured hand was forcibly ripping the glass out of the hand. It was nothing pretty and he wasn't moving with a precision that somebody like Daro would have it was brutish but effective to a point. After ripping out a sizable chunk he reached haphazardly for a bottle of antiseptic that cap already torn off as he had repeated the process numerous times at this point, some of the liquid having spilt out by a shaking hand dotting the sheet with dark spots. He grabbed the bottle and dumped more of the contents onto his hand cursing as it hit the wounds and flushed them clean, the rest flowing off of the hand and onto the floor mixing with the blood diluting it to a light soupy red that swirled about as more liquid hit it. It was at this point that he finally seemed to notice Raya standing there with a quick upturn of his head.

”Yeah... Yeah... I’m fine. Just got into a fight with a mirror and it seemed the mirror and I pulled a draw.” He explained obviously a lie but not too much so that it was a total stretch of the imagination. He wasn't about to tell anybody that he had just had a verbal joust with his own self guilt taking form as his dead brother. No, that wasn't something you did. It sounded crazy even in his own head. But now she was her and Nik had a feeling that Daro and Haze who at least respected Nik’s privacy’s to one degree or another if he told Raya to bugger off it would get him nowhere pretty quickly. ”Can you hold this for a second? I kind of need two hands for this and I’ve already made quite the mess already.” Nik asked as he shook the bottle of antiseptic in his non injured hand. It was’nt quite a polite asking for help and yet it wasn't an order. No, instead it had the direct connotation of well if you're staying anyway you might as well be of some use. 

It was obvious that Nik was in his own little world as he focused on pulling glass from his hand. She watched as moved with unskilled hands, she could see the slight tremor in them. He was in pain not so much physical but more mental pain. She didn't know too much about her leader, but she knew pain when she saw it. She on occasion got the same drawn away look, that was mostly when she thought of her family. If that was the case for him then she wouldn't ask, no one likes reliving the past. Though she knew that was harder for Drell species, seeing that their memories could be so strong that they seem real. She wouldn't wish that on anyone.

"You don't say?" She said coolly though there was a hint of amusement in her voice. Crossing her arms she walked further into the room so that she was standing directly in front of Nik. When he asked her to hold the antiseptic bottle, she could tell that he knew that she wasn't going to leave so he was going to make her do something. Rolling her eyes and sighing she knelt in front of him and gently took his hurt hand and the tweezers and began to pull out the shards of glass. She was gentle and worked steadily, in fact this was probably the most gentle that the Drell has ever seen her be. 

She didn't look up at him the entire time she pulled out the glass, or when she took the antiseptic and cleaned up wounds. "Can you give me some medi-gel..... please?" She nearly whispered as she looked up slightly at him.

The Drell looked at the Asari in a sort of peculiar fashion as she knelt down and continued his process of removing the glass from his hand taking the clamp from his hand and began to work albit with much more grace and refinement than Nik had been using on his own. This scene contradicted every mental image and idea of Raya that for as long as Nik had known her had been inside of his head. She was a warrior goddess, a killer, a living embodiment of Kalahira’s grace. And yet here she was moving with the same gentle and concentrated precision that once could expect from the likes of Daro not from Raya or not from the Raya Nik at least thought he knew. Hands that he’d seen easily strangle a man to death were making small gestures and flicks dragging out tiny slivers of translated material stained with blood. Then she asked for the medi-gel and even added please after it. [i]Please[i], no, no this couldn't be Raya, Raya didn't say please with anything, it was more give me that thing before I cave your head in.

”...Oh Sure” Nik voiced almost on autopilot as his brain tried to work its way around the scene in front of him still. His uninjured hand reached for one of the packets of medi-gel feeling that cool temperature emanating through the package. He placed it into her outstretched hand without making much of a sound. And for a split moment through the pain and the memoires racing through his hand things became calm for a moment in his head if only  for a moment before they turned back to the norm. Like the sort of faint afterglow from a dying ember that just happened to touch him just at the right time. 

”So.....” Nik tried to speak, he tried to say anything really but he was at for the first time in awhile a loss of words He couldn't place his words upon it maybe it was the combination of his eidetic memory still in sort of overdrive, maybe it was because of his conversation with his past incarnate and maybe it was this unprecedented kindness that one did not expect to find in the dark corners of Omega. But he still couldn't quite find the words he was looking for as his mind still floated about in the somewhere between here and there. He just hoped somewhere in his head that he sounded a lot less awkward right now then he did in his head.

The smallest of smiles touched her lips when she caught the look that the Drell was giving her.  He was confused and she couldn't blame him, it's not easy she wasnt an angel. In fact she was also confused by her gentleness and her use of the word Please.  She simply drummed it up to having a hard and busy day, though that was a vast understatement. 

When he gave her the medi-gel she quickly applied it to his hand, grabbed some gauze and gently wrapped the hand up. She was just about finished when Nik drew out the word so. Raya paused for a moment before looking up, she could see that he was lost. Not just for words but within his mind as well, or was she just projecting herself onto him?  She looked down at the dressing and tied the gauze, probably a little tighter than she should so she fixed quickly before standing. "I recommend no hitting any more mirrors, it doesn't end well for either side." She said with sarcasm plane in her voice. 

Standing there for a moment she felt a little weird, as it was like something fluttering in her stomach and it wasn't the drinks she had earlier. "You want to go get a drink? See how the others are doing? Maybe get a few strippers?" She asked with a small nervous smile. Why was she nervous? For goddess sake she was psychotic killer, why and what was she nervous about? "It's probably the best way to get our...... your mind off of things...... I can get one of the strippers come back here later and help you relax. I'm rather good at getting them to do that." She said hoping he didn't pick up on the "our" part when she talked about getting his mind off stuff.

”Duly noted no more getting into duels of honor with mirrors.” Nik replied with some of his own characteristic bite back into his voice. His own mind finally being able to let go of the memories and slowly force his way back into the present.

Though moments later it was the Drell’s turn again to look upon the Asari with an expression that fell somewhere between bemusement and almost comedic value far cry of what it was a few moments ago. Had Raya just offered to drink and seduce strippers with him for the purposes of stress relief? He was fairly certain that she had and was there a we in their somewhere. The very idea of it was something of an amusing thought to the Drell. Nik was by most accounts not much of a people person sure in his time he had “learning experiences” with the fairer sex it was something that was unavoidable but they always only lasted one night and usually Nik ended regretting it and smelling of a mixture of things obscene and of the stench of regret. And for most of those occurrences it was for work, to be able to infiltrate an enemy gang or the like nothing had ever really been for his own accords and reasons. 

”Well I’m going to have to decline on the Strippers Raya. In my current state I think it would be counter productive. But for the sake of alcohol, I think I may have the both of us covered.” With that he rose from the bed and walked over to his small pile of stuff  clustered about the armor and shuffled about pulling out a bottle. It was an old vintage of hard Asari Liquor that Amaandis had bestowed upon him by proxy through Jek as a sort of “housewarming gift” strong stuff they say during First Contact Turians would use the stuff as a disinfected when they ran out of medical supplies. Unopened and almost a hundred years old the stuff was a very pricy market item and another symbol of Jek’s wealth. It was his way of showing off not that Nik in this situation wouldn't mind using it.

”In almost every race in the galaxy they all share the common idea of sharing a drink with their friends and those close to them as a sort of bonding both physical and mentally. So I figure if it is good enough for the rest of those fucks it might as well be good enough for us.” Nik explained slowly regaining his showman’s flourish as he mentally worked himself out of his funk and with a flourish and a quick pulse of biotic energy the wax seal and cork was forced out in one swift motion landing somewhere in the far corner of the room. He walked back to the bed with the bottle in his bandaged hand and his free hand grabbing one of Raya’s arms gently and dragging her along to sit next to him as she seemed very uncomfortable standing about. Nik took a swig from the bottle feeling the burning liquid tunnel its way through his body as he handed the bottle over to her as in their current accommodations they had no cups of any sort. 

"Well you're no fun, you don't have to do anything with strippers, they dance and whatever else you want them to do and all you have to say is that their tits look nice." Raya said coolly though there was amusement plane in her voice. She watched as the Drell got off the bed and went digging through his things. It didn't take long to find what he was looking for as it wasn't like he had a lot of stuff. Indeed none of them had many things, it seemed that was in the job description. But that was fine with her as she never had more than what was on her back. 

Raya smirked as Nik made his little speech, he was always making a little speech and thing was everyone listened when he did. He should of been a politician, he would of be great at that. But life had a way of dealing out shitty cards to those that least deserved it. Though she was glad to see the Drell becoming his old self again. She was suddenly pulled out of her thinking when Nik gently grabbed her arm and pulled towards the bed. The only time anyone pulled her towards a bed was when they wished to sleep with her. But this was a welcomed change and one that brought a smile to her face.

"I haven't seen this brew in forever!" She said as she admired the bottle once Nik handed it to her. She brought the bottle to her lips and took a swig. The warmth it brought was second to none, and the few memories it brought were good (not great but better than most she had). She handed the bottle back to Nik, with a small smile on her lips. In truth this was the most she smiled in a very long time.

The hallways were, impossibly, more stuffy and oppressive than the rooms themselves, with no circulation or windows to vent the collected heat. Ardan considered knocking on the doors of his teammates to invite them out, but decided against it. He was still the odd man out, the new guy who they got instead of the team they had already been fighting with for the past several weeks. He doubted they wanted to bond with him just yet, and he needed time alone to consider what kind of mess he had gotten himself into, and to help take away the sting of his brother's message.

As he rounded the hallway, Ardan was surprised to see Hazan and Daro climbing down from the roof access stairwell into the hallway. It was an awkward situation all around, and Ardan wasn't sure if he was interrupting something private. "Uh, hi." He said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I was heading out to get out of this furnace of a building. I hope I didn't intrude on whatever it was you guys were up to."

As he and Daro were leaving the roof, a voice from below them caught his attention, and he instinctively stopped her with an arm, pushing the smaller Quarian behind himself while simultaneously reaching for the Tempest that he knew wasn't there. When he saw Ardan's face, though, he relaxed and lowered his arms, standing straighter as he smiled sheepishly and shrugged.

"Nah, we were just leaving, actually. Were you, uh, busy with anything?"

Daro shuffled behind Hazan even though though her combat scanner picked up Ardan as an ally, a green triangle on the radar rather than a red dot and a harmless buzz rather than a beep of alarm. It didn't make it any better; her face was still flushed beneath the comfort of her mask and again she was thankful for the privacy and protection from horrible, horrible situations like this one.

They weren't doing anything! Ardan was just... misinformed!

It was a blessing that Hazan spoke before her – she just had to lift an arm and waggle her fingers in greeting.

"Not overly, just needed to get out, clear my head." Ardan replied truthfully. "Say, you two up for a drink? It would be nice to know who I'm fighting with and figure out if I didn't make a really boneheaded mistake seeking the team out."

Hazan shrugged and smiled.

"I don't think you made any sorta mistake, Ardan. And sure, I'm okay with having a drink, as long as it's not at Jek's. You okay with getting something to drink, Dar?"

On the Flotilla, Daro might've dodged the topic, but drinking was an acceptable pastime on Omega. She didn't have to stay alert at all possible moments just to fix an engine if it went haywire or check on the life-support. All that meant, of course, was that she was free to drink as much Turian Brandy as she wanted to.

Her toxin filters were on the edge of failing, though... It was fine, she would be fine. "You even have to ask?"

"Well, at least you guys aren't the crazy asari." Ardan said, clapping his hands together. "Alright, reconnaissance mission. Let's find ourselves a canteen worthy of a banner and forget the fact we're at the mercy of some savage batarian who really does his people no favours. Ever onwards!" he said, leading the way to the stairwell that would take the trio out of the apartment and into the streets.



As it turned out, Jek's private world wasn't an entirely unpleasant place, and it was clear that conflict didn't often roll through as it was pretty clean by Omega standards, and several neon holograms invited patrons to spend their ill-gotten gains. Half of it was in non-standard languages, but a sign attached to a squat, single story establishment glowed in the common turian language Spirits, both a dig at turian religious beliefs and the common name for liquors. Ardan gestured to the establishment, surprised it was one of the first places they had come across. "Well, I think it's on us to clear the perimeter and see what we have here. Ladies first." he said, holding the door for the pair.

The inside was quite cozy, as far as drinking establishments went. The furniture was old but well cared for, and several booths lined the walls, as well as a few arcade machines, Qazar booths, and a large fishtank, filled with a bunch of exotic aquatic creatures Ardan didn't readily recognize. On several screens, a clawball game was playing, and from the look of it, it was a several-month old broadcast. He knew this because he'd seen the game, one of the ones that Casius had emedded in one of the extranet packets. Ardan found a booth that allowed the group to keep an eye on anyone approaching and the door, and after a few moments, he allowed himself to relax somewhat. "I figure this place is as good as any, and it looks like it's turian owned, so all of us should be able to drink whatever and not have to worry about shitting ourselves to death." he said, leaning his elbow on the table and his chin on a balled fist.

"Well, Spirits, this looks like a place for us."

He smiled and nodded his thanks to Ardan, following him to a booth shortly after. It was cozy enough, with stuff he'd seen during his childhood back on Palaven, old arcade machines and such, with old music playing through tinny speakers scattered across the ceiling. He sat, letting Daro sit next to him, as he placed his arms on the table and clasped his hands together.

"It's a good thing we're all dextroamino-based beings, huh? Imagine if the other guys were here, they'd have a hard time getting a drink in this place."

"Their loss – they never get to taste a Dextro Heat Sink."

The bar was certainly classier than Afterlife. It didn't have the headache-inducing music nor the frequent bar fights – she hoped. Still, Daro felt out of place. A Quarian in an establishment that was meant for people with money was basically a disgrace. Racism against her people still burned brightly in most parts of the galaxy and it came from all corners: Turian C-Sec officers (she'd heard the stories); Asari bartenders; mercenaries of all walks of life...

That was a little morbid to think about, wasn't it? She took another look around the room to distract herself and couldn't help but tilt her head to the side in confusion. "If this place is so nice, why does everyone always go to Afterlife?"

"To surround yourself with the powerful. Aria T'Loak is pretty much the de facto leader of Omega, so people want to try to get noticed by her. Bunch of groveling varren fuckers, if you ask me, they're part of what's wrong with this station. Also, I'm not at all bitter at being turned down at the door one time. So, what are we going to have to celebrate poor life decisions?" Ardan asked.

"The usual. Turian Brandy, single measure."

He chuckled and shook his head. Always the same drink, wherever he went. Still, it's smooth flavour was something he was quite addicted to. Couldn't get enough of it.

He turned to glance at Daro, who was sitting next to him.

"Having the same, Dar?"

"Triple filtered, if they have it. I prefer not to die of infection from a night out because bacteria got into it somewhere in the process," she quipped, tapping her fingers on the table absently. It was definitely best not to put more strain on her filtration systems than had already been done.

There were mercenaries in this bar, the type that her team would usually kill. She did hope they didn't know who her companions were. Well, Daro's claim to fame was being 'the half-mad Quarian who set up a clinic in the slums', but she wasn't sure the same went for Hazan, or if Ardan did anything much, much worse.

"Brandy it is." Ardan said, flagging the waitress. A few moments later, a very overworked-looking turian waitress showed up. "What can I get for you?" she asked joylessly.

"Turian brandy, triple distilled if possible for our quarian friend here. Failing that, anything triple distilled, thanks." Ardan said. The waitress disappeared like a wraith, her heels clicking on the hard floor. "You can really tell when someone loves their job. Speaking of which, how the hell did you both end up doing this? I can't imagine 'Drell Zealot Squad' was a particularly easy sell. What made you sign on?"

Hazan gave Daro a glance.

"Your filters reaching their cap already? I thought you cleaned them before we left for this whole mission, Dar."

He smiled and sighed, shaking his head. Oh she loved her drink, sadly. He couldn't complain much.

"Well, I've worked with Nik before. We met on a contract put out by this volus, he wanted some guys to mess up the front door of some security company so he could sneak in the back door to steal their secrets off their mainframe. Long story short Nik blew up their front door with some high explosives and I shot anyone coming out. Did that contract without a hitch, paid well too. But we never saw that volus again. Can't imagine why."

He shrugged and gently drummed his fingers on the table.

"Then after that, Nik suggested the idea of me joining his mercenary outfit, which at the time only had Raya and this other Turian, went by the name of Madran. I was running solo back then, had been ever since I landed on Omega, but well, he said he'd pay well, so here I am. Feels a lot better knowing I've got folk like Dar here with my back in case I get hurt, instead of no one, right?"

He bumped her shoulder with his and chuckled softly.

"Right." Daro smiled to herself self-depricatingly. It was a real shame it was only for her benefit. "I was a doctor... Well, I am a doctor, but a few months ago I ran a clinic in the slums. You might've heard of it: the crazy Quarian who probably harvested organs – not that I ever did!" She felt her voice pitch upwards as she worried they might think she was being serious. "Nik knew who I was because I fixed him up once or twice, but of course, all the mercs and criminal gangs on Omega knew who I was because I did it without asking any questions or demanding extortionate prices."

She frowned again, looking down at her clasped hands. "Or demanding payment at all, really. Those Blue Suns you were talking about earlier paid well – and Aria T'Loak's people – but the same can't be said for the others. When I got more popular, my medical supplies dealer upped the price on everything so I sorta..."

Stole it. Was there an easier way to say that that didn't involve admitting she was a criminal, even one with a good heart and good intentions?

"Stole some?" She giggled nervously, unable to stop herself. The next bit wasn't very funny at all. "Of course, that started a chain reaction where he had merc protection and sent them after me. It's a miracle I'm still alive because they burnt my clinic down and took over the remains."

Leaving out a whole lot of begging previous employers and friends for favours, she finished up simply. "Nik offered me a job because I'm excellent at what I do and, well, that's that. Better working here than for criminals, you know?" Daro looked towards the bar as if waiting for the Turian Brandy to show up.

"Technically, Daro, we are criminals for doing this. Vigilantes tend to be frowned upon by polite society, especially when bodies start piling up." Ardan said, leaning back into the bench cushion. "Sounds like both of you didn't see a better option. Bad luck about your clinic, but I suppose that's why you decided to get rather hands on about making Omega stop fucking around.

"As for my sob story, been here about three years now, tried to work proper respectable jobs from time to time, but nothing really stuck. Ended up doing some smuggling, which I ended up not fucking up, and all the while this place started rubbing off on me like some kind of itch you can't scratch. I saw a lot of good people getting crushed under heel here by people more aggressive, and some of the worst poverty I've ever seen.

"It started to piss me off, and then I heard about this plucky drell and his merry band of marauders starting to push back against these gangs and syndicates, and you know something? Word on the street for a lot of people is what you guys do is starting to give people hope, a symbol to look up to. I decided that I needed to be a part of it. Beats sitting at a 40 year-old CCTV terminal looking for crooks that never show up." Ardan concluded, looking over as the waitress returned with the bottle of Brandy and three glasses. After asking if there was anything else, she resumed her patrol. Ardan began to fill the three glasses, glancing at Daro, wondering how the hell she was going to drink. He glanced over at Hazan.

"So, you two an item? I've seen that body language before, and sour old bastards like me shockingly know what affection looks like. Shocking, right? It's cool if you are, but you might want to keep it cool around the boss. Nik seems like he might be a bit of a hardass when it comes to distractions, if first impressions are anything to go by. He's very high strung." He paused, pulling his glass towards him. He held it aloft for a moment, hesitating. "We should toast something. Seems wrong to break open an 80 credit bottle and not do something formal about it."

"You 'n me both, Ardan."

He smiled as their drinks arrived, held by a waitress on a little metal tray. Thanking Ardan softly as he took a glass, the other Turian's next question caught him off guard.

"A-an item?"

If Turians could blush, now was another time that Hazan didn't want to find out. He lowered his gaze to his glass, trying his best not to look shocked or embarrassed while swirling the brandy within in mock contemplation.

"I- uh, about that... Daro and I have been on the team long enough, I think. Nik's caught on, and if he doesn't know I'll down another bottle of brandy in one go."

His memory went back to when they first touched down in this sector for the meeting. Nik had teased the two of them and their shared drinking habit, and Hazan had picked up on Daro's wordless sound of embarrassment over the comm line before they'd gone quiet. He'd said nothing, of course, but he'd get the Drell back for it after everything was done.

"Yeah, I think he knows. He likes to tease us about it every now and then, her more than me, for some reason."

He picked up his glass and thought a bit.

"Hmm...I'd raise a glass to the team. Cause without Nik, I think we would've been in worse places than enjoying a drink with friends in a relatively safe place."

He smiled. Indeed, without their fearless leader, he would've still been digging the dregs for credits to live on, not here, toppling leaderships and earning lots of dough.

"Anything else you guys want to toast?

Daro reached down to her bag, the container of everything she owned that wasn't inside or attached to her envirosuit, to rummage around it for a small plastic case. She paused in her search, sitting back upright in alarm like a deer caught in the headlights when the subject of the conversation hit her. "Nik knows?" she asked before she could help herself.

But she'd definitely been subtle! And of course, if Nik realised they'd been... almost-courting, then there was no doubt in her mind that Raya did too, because she was an Asari.

Daro gave up trying to think of something witty and simply found her 'emergency induction port' (aka: a straw) in her bag, taking it out of the case an adding it to the glass. It was a good thing she'd bought a new one recently because last time she was out drinking she had to perform an emergency tracheotomy with it. No matter how long she sterilised it to ensure all the human blood was gone, she sure wasn't using it again.

As for the toast (because she so was moving on from that conversation), Daro was certain, 'Here's to not dying tomorrow.' wasn't cheery enough, even though it was her favourite idea. "To Omega?" she suggested tentatively. "Even if it is a dive, it is sorta..."

Home. But that wasn't what she said. "An important part of our lives."

"For a better tomorrow." Ardan said, raising his own glass in toast. The three clinked glasses and had a moment of reflection as they drank. As far as brandy went, it wasn't bad. In a way, it was kind of like Omega; you expect the worst, but sometimes something pleasant comes along and surprises you. Besides, this certainly beat drinking alone, and Ardan felt like things might actually work out fine.

"To life."

Hazan took a swing of his drink and smiled. This was a good night after all.

"To life," Daro finished before drinking as much Turian Brandy as could be taken in a single sip through a straw. The looming prospect of tomorrow's gauntlet didn't even register.

"....And that's when he said to me I thought you brought it from the shuttle!" Nik explained talking had slowly evolved into drinking and of course drinking slowly turned back to talking. The Drell had spent the last indiscernible amount of time as most old soldiers do when they drink talk of old war stories. Though these stories were special to a form they were all stories of his interactions with the squad members they had lost. It was his way of honoring them, of giving them the respect they deserved. To mourn for them would be accepting loss, accepting death. Nik had never really learned to accept death and instead choose to honor how they lived. Sometimes he even forgot that they died at all and was able to convince himself that they just had to go away. People also go away sometimes and maybe when he was least expecting it around that corner would be a familiar face.

Time had progressed slowly as it usually did without regard to those it affected. Their only source of estimation being the bottle of liquor that slowly dwindled down with each pass of hands. Once a flowing ocean it was all but a small puddle at the bottom of a prison of glass. Omega was funny like that with no sun or stars to speak you had to make an actual effort to be able to tell even for a moment how much time had passed or how little for that matter. The jubilant celebrations in the street had slowly died down, the roar of people become a distant murmur punctuated by the occasional croak of one of the pipes in the building trying to rush water from point A to point B. It was times like these that the great sprawling pit of darkness seemed almost normal as maybe if you closed your eyes and thought about it you could be anywhere else in all of known space and not the den of thievery and debauchery that it was.

It was these few hours of occasional piece that made it so Nik didn't leave all those years ago. It was at these times when he could recollect and think without having a gun pointed at his head that the thought crossed his mind that maybe it was all worth saving. All the people he had lost, the friends that had died, and the things that he had done. Because maybe if somebody hit harder enough against all of it, the inherent standard state of the system would change. It was something that helped himself get up everyday because for every gangbanger he had shot in the head there had been a normal person just trying to make ends meet.

But who am I thinking all this sentimental crap? You'd think I've gone and become a school boy again. No you know why you're here Nik, you're here because you want blood. Blood to fill the holes they created. Nik shook his head clearing it of the silliness of the midnight reverie that had slipped past his alcohol induced weakness. He passed what little remained of the bottle over to Raya and wonder what was he doing? Nik wasn't the type to share bottles and swap stories. It was easier to drop people by the wayside when it was convenient when you didn't spend the time learning about them. You didn't get hurt that way, because you didn't care. That was his modus operandi it was easier to be a hardass than it was to be a real person, he figured that one out through years of tribulation.

Raya chuckled at Nik's stories as he told them, and for some reason they kept getting funnier. But maybe that was due to the alcohol. She didn't care though, she was having a good time drinking and letting her mind go fuzzy. It had been along time since she last became anything close to drunk, but this was nice.

She had let Nik do most if not all the talking, as she could tell that he needed it. He had too much crap stuffed inside and it wasn't healthy for short lived species, it made life shorter for them. Even though he didn't talk about his early stuff, what he did unload was enough to keep his head. Or at least that was what she thought. It kind of surprised her how little she knew of her leader. But then you didn't need to know much, to know that they have your back or make good calls. Plus, it wasn't like she knew a whole lot about the others either, she just never took the time too. But if she did, knowing her luck if they didn't die fighting they would die of old age. So either way she would be losing a..... a... she couldn't bring herself to even think of the word.

Thankfully Nik passed her the bottle that was now dangerously low to being empty. She stared at the bottle for a moment before take a small swig. The burn that the alcohol when they first started drinking was now just a warm tingling feeling. She handed the bottle back to Nik before staring down at her feet. They had been silent for a while, both with their own thoughts, both either trying to think of something to say or just lost in their minds. They were surprisingly similar the two of them, though Raya was never great with words not like Nik anyway.

At that moment though she was in an internal battle, as a part of her wished to open up and tell someone about her past. But the other side didn't want to talk about it, it didn't want to share. It was her past anyway, her pain and no one else's. Why did she cling to her pain like some prized possession? It was all she had, if she shared it what would she have left?

It was a depressing thought, but she quickly shook her head and looked at the Drell. She smiled slightly before laying back on the bed, with her legs over the side. She looked up at the ceiling and watched as it seemed to dance. "Oh Nik! I see dancing stars!" She said before giggling. Realizing that the sound coming out of her mouth was something new and foreign, she placed a hand over her mouth but it wasn't enough to make her stop.

Damn alcohol!

Giggling that was a sound that Nik almost had forgotten about. He was accustomed to a plethora of sounds but giggling was not one of them. The sense of joy that came from it was a foreign concept, they were not the sounds of anger that he had become closely acquainted with. For those sounds to come out of Raya well it only added to the disconnect. Raya was a lot of things she was a soldier, hard as stone and somebody the Drell knew had gone through the baptism of fire and made it out the otherside. But that was all he really did know of any of the squad. He knew of them as soldiers and not much more than that. He never asked about their families, what happened before they met him. He never needed to ask because it didn't matter to him, they were guns, tools to an end and that was good enough for him.

His attention was drawn to the ceiling and the “dancing stars”. The light that drifted in from the window, the oversaturated neon slowly pulsing was splashed upon the ceiling. Every minute almost upon the dot, the colors outside would switch and the ceiling would be bathed in colors of first blue, then green, red, yellow and everyone in between. These small flashes illuminated the room playing off of the broken shards from the mirror casting them back up into the ceiling and back down off of anything with a shine to it. This drunken rainbow illuminating blue and green faces as they watched the show of light dance above them, a tiny sea of stars in the place without a sun. The Drell finished the last of the bottle and without much talking raised to his feet and walked by the window something on his mind.

He rose the bottle up to where the light was slipping in directly into the path. The light caught in this makeshift prism defused catching on the liquid still clinging to the bottle. The light became diffracted, each color shining through and as he tilted the bottle it warped casted ghostly images upon the ceiling and the room. Shapes of indiscernible height and size morphing and seemingly dancing about. It brought him back to a place far away it was a trick that he first showed his brother one day when he was sick to cheer him up all those years ago. It seemed so close, so vivid that he could almost touch it. But the picture morphed to a hospital bed soon afterwards, Nik got the call hours earlier but he had to ignore it, he had work, he had criminals that needed to be caught, he had his job. When he finally got around to listening to it, it didn't matter. No matter how fast he moved, no matter how quickly he ran, he would always get there too late. He would never did to get to say goodbye, he never did get to say he was sorry.

Then he was back in the present still moving the bottle about playing with the light. He let out a sigh and nothing more, the alcohol at least dampened his memory. He smiled shaking his head and put the empty bottle down upon the windowsill free the continue to cast its own little light show. He walked back over to the bed and laid back feeling the bed catch as he lay there next to Raya, shoulders touching as his attention was drawn back up to the ceiling above. The first words that came out of his mouth was not a question or even a statement. It just was a truth or at least what Nik thought to be the truth. ”We are all terrible people aren't we?”

Raya watched as the lights danced and moved across the ceiling, in her buzzed/drunken state she found it all rather entertaining. She could see the outline of the Drell walk over to the window, she wasn't sure why he did so but the lights on the ceiling suddenly changed. The way they danced reminded her of the time shortly after waking up from her coma. She went into the stripping business, she made a lot of money that way. Though she made more selling herself. g

She suddenly wondered if that was something to talk about, but then that might end up with them talking about why she got into it. Nah, it was best not to talk about such things. Plus she was sure the Drell knew something about her dancing, as she had done some cover work for the team. She posed as a stripper, in addition of getting the information they needed she got over three hundred credits.

She was suddenly pulled from her thinking when Nikusiil laid next to her. She could feel his shoulder rubbing next to her's. Then he asked a question, but she could tell that he didn't mean it to be. Turning her head slightly so that she could see the Drell’s face she smirked. "No..... well at least Daro isn't, she just runs with the wrong crowd." She said coolly before looking up at the ceiling again. She watched the colors dance for a moment before continuing. "I don't think Haze is horrible, he has too much honor. Sure he may have a past but who doesn't on Omega? And Ardan, well I don't know him so I can't say anything really..... You, well you must have some good or else you wouldn't be doing this." She paused again as her thoughts suddenly jumbled together and she forgot what she was talking about.

"All I know Nik..... is that I am a horrible person. I am an Ardat-Yakshi only without the condition, I enjoy the hunt and the kill.... I draw out their death sometimes unnecessarily so, and I like it. So I don't think you guys are terrible, but I know I am." As she listened to her own words she thought of all the people she killed and she felt pleasure and nothing. Yes, she was a terrible person and she had no idea what the Drell saw in her.
"Why did you offer me to be on your team? .... you watched me torture a Krogan worse than Jek did. What made you think a psychotic Asari would make a good addition to your merc group?" She asked as it had been bugging her for a while, she just never had the chance to ask. Until now that is.

"What was it? Seven years ago now? Back when we both were still working independently, I as the lone mercenary vigilante type and you as the ruthless Asari Huntress. We were both hunting after that Krogan. What was it trafficking, murder something or another. When we both eventually got to him and you started to butcher him. Well I saw something you know, I saw something in your eyes."He remembered it vividly, the scenes of that night began to slowly flash through Nik's head like the lights above as he continued to speak

"I saw an all too familiar look in your eyes, a look that a young drell had many ages ago, when he was barely a man. His brother had overdosed and his mother had committed suicide all within the span of a month all that was left of his family gone. The look of anger at the world that took away everything. It is a very particular t anger can not be taught. Maybe that's why I contacted you again later, maybe that's why I did not shoot you on sight, maybe that's why I told you my name. And for the rest of it, you proved that you were strong and capable. I don't care about the past or what you are thought to be because that did not matter to me. What mattered to me then and now is that you did your job well." Nik explained gaze still fixed upward at the ceiling.

"And so that is why you and Jek are different. Killing made Jek into a Monster. You, well I reckon monsters made you into a killer. The same goes for everybody else here. In my eyes, you are no worse then any of the others that I drag around to go dance with death. Maybe your actually better because at least I'll know you'll make it abundantly clear that you want me dead. Because subtlety just ain't your style. " He explained in his stereotypical blunt manner.

Raya kept her eyes on the ceiling as Nik spoke, she didn't even look at him when he revealed some of his past. She wasn't going to make a big deal about it, she wasn't going to pester him with question or pity him. She knew that what he told her, he told in confidence. She wouldn't bring it again or repeat what he told her to anyone, and maybe that was why he said what he did. He knew that she could keep her lips sealed and that she wasn't a gossip. But now that she knew a little about him, she could understand why he was so driven. Losing everyone you love could either break you and make you a mess or it could break you for a moment before making you into something new. Whether for good or bad it would be hard to tell. In this case a little of both.

"You got that right." She said, but to either monsters making her a killer or about her blunt nature was unclear. She just stared at the ceiling and the colored lights that danced there. As she watched the lights she reached out to find Nik's hand, once she did she brought it up to look at it. It looked much like her's only the two middle fingers had a webbing between them, why she wasn't exactly sure. "So I heard if people lick your skin they hallucinate or go on some sort of acid trip." She said as she looked at his hand. Before he could say anything she propped herself up on her elbow and with her other hand she gently touched his chin so he would move his head to the side. Then she licked the side of his face, before laying down again with a slight giggle escaping from her lips.

She watched as the colored lights on the ceiling grew more vibrant, if anything this was mild compared to the drugs she did in the past. Though this was the most fun she had in decades without killing anyone, even if it was just drinking and listening to stories. She was even for a moment happy or at least content, it was something she hadn't felt in a long time.

The two stayed like that for a long time and talked a little bit more but in reality they stayed mostly silent. The hand that Raya had grabbed earlier laying limply in hers feeling the warmth. The face licking had caught him off guard his entire body going stiff and he had to fight the inherent reflex to pull away but in reality it actually didn't feel that bad. Eventually though the swell of alcohol took its course though and overtime eventually the Asari fell asleep next to him. Nik was at this point too tired and too beyond himself to do anything about it and so he simply readjusted her picking her up gently and laying her back down so that her head was upon the pillows and pulled the sheet up over her. He did not sleep though he let out a small sigh sitting at the foot of the bed and for the next hour went over his weapons and his armor polishing and running routine maintenance. When this was finally done he stood up and walked back over to the window peering out at Omega down around him. He activated his omni-tool and spoke gently into it recording another message for another day.

Excerpt From The Journal of Nikusiil Vos.

Darkness swirled and morphed, a gelatinous cube of shadow. There was nothing, nothing except the blank void that sat in endless silence. Then there was a light breaking through in a sodium-silvery haze, that was almost too painful to look at. It felt like a lot of things to Nik, getting punched in the face, getting dunked into a bucket of icy water, getting burned alive but then it all stopped. His eyes fluttered open as he looked up at an unfamiliar ceiling. The room was cool and the feeling of a warm breeze drifted in from somewhere. He slowly got out of bad as his feet met carpet that felt strange beneath his feet. He certainly didn't seem to be on Omega anymore.

The room he was well decorated to say the least. There was the bed he was just on the sheets a pristine white. The walls were lined with shelves upon shelves of books and beside that there was a small desk on one corner of the room with a picture frame on it. Nik walked over his footsteps heavy as every movement of his body felt he was encased in concrete. He reached out and picked up the picture frame and Nik shook his head, because it just had to be some sort of coincidence. No, no this wasn't real this couldn't be real. He opened the door and went to explore the rest of the house, he walked by an open window and he looked outside. He knew this place from a long time ago, an expanse of green and fields stretching out into the distance as an idyllic blue sky floated above. This was all wrong, he was in the middle of a fight, he needed to get back.

”Oh Nik is that you? Could you come in here?” Nik entire body froze his heart stopped beating and time itself seemed to stop as he heard that voice. Almost transfixed, enchanted he felt his feet moving towards where the sound was coming from. His nose picked up the smell of something food being cooked as he approached what figured to be the kitchen. And she was there in front of him. She was a tall asari with a small smile upon her lips as she turned to see the Drell at the table of this small quaint even kitchen was a small child that looked almost exactly like her mother but in a smaller form. Her expression turned from joy to worry as she saw Nik’s face and she approached the Drell and laid a hand upon his cheek as she spoke.

”Are you not feeling well Nik?” Nik took a step back peeling away from the hand even though it felt so real.The face of worry soon became that of concern and soon the little child rose up as well standing next to her mother and looking at Nik expectantly. Nik took another step back as he mind ran. None of this was real, he tried to tell himself it was just another mind game. Like it always was this was nothing at all. But he still couldn't get the feeling of her hand out of his head. He stepped back again but he found himself against a wall with nowhere to go his eyes looking but at a pair of curious blue of the little girl.

”You’re dead. You’re fucking dead. I saw you die!” Nik shouted to the girl shriveled up and head behind her mother. She did not seem to be angry through, just disappointed as she shook her head and spoke to him.

”I never died Nik. You managed to put your quest for revenge behind you and so it never happened. After that we left just like we always said we would and moved out here. It’s everything you ever wanted.” As she explained it Nik these new memories flashed through his head of a different time. There they were buying the land, building the house, everything flashing through hell he even seemed happy, happier than he had been in ages. More memories followed the birth of the kid, Nik holding the small blue bundle in his arms, how happy he felt it all came through in an instinct and then it vanished as quickly as the breeze. Nik swept out with his arm in front of him keeping them back as he spoke.

”What the hell is this! Nik explained his voice getting more angry as he was concentrated in getting back. He needed to get back to his squad, he needed to back and help them and whatever this was, whatever this was supposed to be this wasn't his life, it wasn't his life at all. She smiled calmly and approached him again and rested her hands on his shoulder as he looked at her frozen. The smile she gave him was a sad one, knowing and filled with pain and regret. Her eyes met his and Nik remembered a time long ago when he was happy and when things seemed to be going well. Back when he was still working on the Citadel. This was mirrored with moments of sorrow and pain, a memory of a gunshot and a bullet meant for him hitting her in the chest. And then nothing as this world faded away from him, like wet paint dripping down her entire body dissolving before his eyes. While all he could do was watch and stare.

---

The Drell came to with a sudden jerk his eyes opening as his body spasmed with life. The first view that greeted him was an unpleasant one to say the least. Jekk's four eyes were staring down at him with an almost predatory grin upon his face. Nik let out a groan as he shook his head, waking up from one bad dream and thrust into another as he pushed himself slowly up off of the ground. The Batarian reached out a hand which Nik grabbed and helped host him to his feet. He was definitely back on Omega and the stench of death was almost overwhelming, though he couldn't hear the gunshots anymore which was strange. He looked to be in some sort of makeshift medical area. His head was pounding and he reached up to feel a large bandage pressed against it. Jekk looked at him and laughed to himself, putting a strong hand on his shoulder as he spoke.

You, you look like you just seen a ghost." The Batarian explained with a laugh as he tongue danced over his sharpened teeth still polished to an impeccable white even as the rest of his face was covered in grime and sweat . He was dressed in full combat armor with the symbol of the Revenants emblazoned on the front of it. It was covered in dust, blood and blast residue. It seemed that whatever fighting that had occurred while he was knocked out

”Yeah.... you can say something like that.” Nik muttered as he and Jekk stepped away from the medical area. The streets looked like they came from hell and back. Bullets holes and explosive craters marked the floors at random intervals, blood of all colors mixed and congealed together. All around Nik could see Jekk’s men moving about the wreckage some dragging bodies away, others checking their guns and the rest just sitting around waiting for their next orders to come down the wire. The chatter intermingled with the sounds of fighting further in the distance somewhere. ”So pardon me by asking but what the fuck has happened here?”

”Well you went and met the business end of a wall and got concussed but I’m fairly sure you remember that much. But lucky for you at least your squad managed to hold out long enough for me and my boys to break through the flank and hit them in the rear routing them. We brought you back here and it's been about three week since then. We’ve pushed forward far enough that the Crimson Fist are starting to get worried and by my estimates your just up and ready for the final push.” Jekk explained as he continued to lead the Drell through the makeshift basecamp.

”Three weeks, I’ve been out for nearly a month? How many mercs does the damn Krogan have?” The Drell muttered. Three weeks was a damn long time to be fighting against one man and his self funded army. He was surprised that Jekk’s men had not all either died or quit by now. But then again Jek did not necessarily seem like the type that would understand the plight of deserters.

”Yeah you lazy ass. I paid for the best and all I get is a knocked out frog sleeping on the job. Though your squadmates have been of help recently. The explosive happy one has been helping out with our sappers to get rid of the bastard’s fortifications to clear the path to him, the sniper though not to happy about it has been doing some recon and “getting rid” of a few of the Crimson Fist lieutenants breaking down the leadership structure pretty damn good shot he is. The Quarian is a damn good field medic and because of her a lot of good men haven't killed over and died yet. Finally the Asari crazy bitch that one is so we keep on throwing her on with our strike teams figure let he ripped the heads off of the other guys before she kills us.” Jek explained with a laugh though Nik may have been hearing things but he did sound a bit grateful.

”Hmph well at least you're putting them to “good work” I guess. Not that I mind our chat Jekk but if you could lead me to where they are so that we can finish our job for you that would be just wonderful.” Nik explained in a tone somewhere between anxious and tired wondering when he could just be done with it all.

”Relax boy, relax. Where the hell did you think I was bring you the carnival? They should all be up by the barricade waiting for the next orders to come down. And my doctors said that it seemed it was just about time for you to wake up so I’d figure I’d give them a present before I sent you all on a suicide mission. Ah shit get down!” Jek explained to Nik as an alarm rang out and the Batarian dragged him to the side of a building and waited as moments later explosives rained down on the street before them turning up dirt, rock and corpses with each hit. Nik pondered on Jekk’s words as the barrage continued if was if drell was still supposed to suspect that he was a great guy and that the words suicide mission meant nothing to him as if it was just a day to day occurrence which frankly from appearance seemed to be the case these days. Eventually the explosions subsided and the alarm rang out a second time signaling the all clear. ”Bastard set up the motor teams about a week ago and they keep on hitting us like clockwork. Seems he’s starting to get scared because he is pulling out all the stops now.”

”I see, seems like he is staying true to his Warlord title then. Burning and salting the earth before he gets taken down. Hmmm guess its better than running right?”

”Yeah well at least he is making it fun. And look we have arrived.” The Batarian explained as they reached a small barricade of discarded metal and scrap built up to block off the rest of the street which Nik could only presumed headed into Crimson Fist Territory. At least a dozen small fires were set up on the street with soldier’s all around them. The soliders returning to their positions after the bombardment some dragging the unfortunate few caught in the blast away. Though the pair's attention was drawn almost immediately to the one in the center. The rest of the squad was all there talking amongst themselves. Frankly they all looked like they had seen better days covered in dirt, dust, blood in similar condition to their Batarian employer. But they were all there and to that Nik let out a silent sigh of relief. Jekk walked up to them with his characteristic swagger and a huge shit eating grin on his face. ”Oh if it isn't my favorite group of killers! And look uncle Jekk’s brought you a present and it isn't even your fucking birthdays!”

”Yeah, guess I’m not dead yet.”

It had been a hellish 3 weeks that had been more akin to a total war than a skirmish to deal with a crime lord, and Ardan was beginning to realize that some of the powerful gangs on Omega operated like semi-professional armies with no small amounts of resources to wage a protracted turf war, although he wondered what was keeping another big outfit from mobilizing and striking both the Crimson Fist and Jekk’s men in a pre-emptive strike. 3 weeks of savage ground war, plus a couple very notable instances with some of those new Mantis gunships, made Ardan fairly unhappy to basically be turned to Jekk’s lapdog while the boss was out. He’d wondered if Nik had secretly died and Jekk was just stringing the team along, holding them to their leader’s agreement with the ruthless bastard while driving them further apart to the point where they would be indistinguishable from his own forces, and much more pliable to pressure into joining.

He’d kept a good working relationship with Jekk’s men, particularly the sapper squad he’d been asked to work with, and tried to keep his head out of the bigger overall picture and instead focus on fighting a war, which was something he was entirely comfortable with doing. A war was something he knew how to deal with; potentially being a pawn for some four-eyed bastard with a hard-on for bloodletting wasn’t. It occurred to him on several occasions that he’d only seen the others in the team on a few occasions since they held the line alone against the Fists’ shock troopers and had been near constantly in the company of the seven other sappers he’d been assigned to help. It wasn’t that he didn’t catch glimpses of them from time to time; Haze had cleared out entrenched positions that had pinned Ardan down on a few occasions from some unseen sniper’s perch, Raya had been impossible to miss from the biotic fury that accompanied her actions; Ardan suspected she was hiding her own pain and uncertainty behind an impenetrable wall of rage that tore through vast swaths of enemy mercs, and Daro was almost always working overtime behind the frontlines dealing with a triage of wounded fighters, saving countless lives. None of the four had any time to think, and in truth, Ardan missed them mightily, even though he’d only been with them for a short amount of time. He couldn’t imagine how they must have felt, they’d been together for quite a while before Ardan stumbled into their lives.

Still, there was satisfaction in the work to be done. Ardan was always cool under fire, and he’d had a long career of infiltrating warzones to blow the hell out of something while the defenders picked their asses, thinking themselves to be too far from the frontline to be a target. It was almost a shame that they wouldn’t realize the cost of their complacency for more than a few moments before the charges went off, ending a very poorly-led life. One notable instance had been an entire four-story apartment complex that had been long turned into a fortified bunker with countless heavy machine guns and other gun emplacements poking out of nearly every window. Ardan and the sappers, along with one of Jekk’s elite assault squads, had manage to infiltrate up to the building and in a well-rehearsed execution, cleared out the ground floor and kept the defenders upstairs from retreating downstairs while the sappers went to work at setting charges over the supports of the building. While three of Jekk’s assaulters were killed in the attack, the entire building came down in a devastating blast that killed all the defenders, and there must have been nearly 100 of them, and cleared an essential route for Jekk’s forces to mobilize and hit some of the Crimson Fists’ previously protected encampments. Ardan had gotten very, very drunk that night.

That was a week and a half ago. Now, for the first time in a long time, the team was back together and waiting for a set of mutual instructions that at least made the turian feel more at ease with the situation, and he was taking the brief downtime to enjoy a quick ration pack, at least the stuff he didn’t have to heat up. Jekk’s booming voice caused Ardan to reflexively look up and he blinked slowly, realizing who he had in tow. He offered Nik a wide grin, setting his rations to the side and approached his leader, slapping him on the shoulder. “How nice of you to join us, boss! If you kept sleeping the war away, I was going to strap you to my back and take you for a nice refreshing walk through the battlefield to jog your senses.” His expression softened. “But seriously, I was worried. We all were. It would be a damn shame to have the dream end before it gets started, and I don’t know how many more of Jekk’s bad jokes I can take before I’d eat my own shotgun.” He stepped back, looking at the ruined district. “You missed one hell of a party.”