Ekrom looked over the human's equipment, noting its worn appearance. He internally scoffed at the male human's bravado, but Ekrom thought the man should stop while he was ahead and someone else was taking care of his problem. It wasn't a question either, the bartender had already accepted Ekrom's credits and poured the drink. "Don't worry, Jason Rivers, you can make it up to me." He nodded to the human, trying to give him a plateau that would be fair.

The drell's eyes slid over to the Asari, the picture of sexy and collected. "Well met indeed... I hear your job needs a ship and that Quarian was never known to be dependable. I have my own frigate and with an slightly higher pay out agreement, I could see about joining your mission and lending you the use of it." He slowly sipped on his brandy. "But the command of the ship and crew will always be mine, the mission is the turian's contract, so the lead on that is hers." Ekrom turned to Sicari then. "Off the ship, your orders are final. On the ship, my word is law. If those terms are agreeable for you... please let me know now. I'd hate to pass up another contract waiting for answer from you, no matter how lucrative it could prove to be."

Sicari pulled her mandibles back in a smile and shook the human's hand. "Icarus, glad to meet you." She then nodded to the Drell. "We could use the transport, and I'm just fine leaving you in control of your ship." She chuckled a bit, remembering the one time she tried to pilot a ship. Long story short, she almost suffocated herself and spent the next week thumbing for a ride to Omega from the mining outpost she'd crashed near.

(( I've tried to keep typos to the bare minimum. I hope you enjoy :D ))

'You've got a murderous look on your face, Ay.'

Aaron glanced briefly at the human sitting next to him. 'Don't I always?' replied half-heartedly, reverting his eyes at the bag before him. He placed his C-Sec uniform on an hanger and put it in his personal locker.

'Yeah- I mean, more than usual!' he shook his head 'C'mon, don't let that turian chick get you down. It wasn't fate: there wasn't enough feeling between you two.' completed with a chuckle. Aaron deeply stared at him this time, feeling the sudden urge to smack the hell out of his head. Unfortunately, he couldn't fulfill his desire, otherwise he would have had to go look for an economic undertaker for his friend. From time to time, he forgot of his own outer shell.

'Here you go again. Oh wait, it's probably just your relaxed face.' said, before focusing on removing a pair of heavy leather boots.

'Michael, I can assure you this time I was filled with homicidal intent'. Aaron's mandibles snapped as he closed the locker and took his beloved gray hoodie from his bag. 'What a pointless morning. I completed the C-Sec training for what? To be left behind by some random drug rat in the middle of the world?' uttered dejectedly. His voice was heavy and rough; the turian woman gave him an hard time, running crazily about for practically one hour. He raised his trousers over the hips, closing the custom oblique zipper.

'Mate, each time I see you dress yourself up, I wonder what's wrong with this world.'

As usual, human expressions had no secrets for him. Michael's eyes were slightly more open than normal, hinting partial if not total disbelief or amazement. His human upbringing gave him an head-start during the specialized C-Sec courses for facial expressions recognisance. Quality credits, easy to obtain and to maintain his score high enough to continue getting the Alliance scholarship for aspiring C-Sec officers. Sure, his physical appearance was quite in contradiction with the assignment of such a prestigious human funding, but under the obsidian-coloured scales and leathery skin lived an human, not a turian. He felt uncomfortable with those biologically similar to him, unable to read their voices and expressions. Thus he had always preferred the company of those furry sentient beings.

'On my account, instead, your inability to adapt to newer circumstances never ceases to amaze me.' said sarcastically back, opening his mandibles instinctively in a sort of smile.

'Low blow, kid.' admitted the human with a soft grin. His partner always acted like that: honest, trustworthy and easy-going, but quite the observer.

In the meanwhile, Aaron had finished packing up his things. He put a pair of blue headphones on his neck and headed for the door. Just before exiting, however, he called for the friend, closing the translator. 'Michael' his voice was rasping and odd, labial consonants badly pronounced for the absence of lips; over the rhythm of the words had something unmistakably british in it. 'You may as well be two years older than me, but I am almost twice as you in size and weight.' uttered with a series of sounds that seemed a deep laugh. He switched back on the translator. 'See ya tomorrow pal.'

The busy streets of the mid-ward engulfed the Turian as he exited the C-Sec office. Aaron made his way through the swarming crowd of aliens, wearing at once his headphones and switching on some relaxing, slow swing contaminated with star age elements. As the vocals swirled into his head, the streets acquired new colors and substance. Everyone seemed to know perfectly to know where to go, and the world seemed in order as the neon signs and screens gleamed over the heads of the busy intergalactic community. Several police X3Ms flew up from one of the void-proof windows, skirting alongside the floor's main connection hallway to quickly hover in patrol over the main trafic routes. The Zakera ward had always been one of the most economically and "socially" active among the wards of the Citadel.

The shuttle connection wasn't particularly distant from the building where the C-Sec had placed an HQ. After a small queque, identification and scan for potentially hazardous items, Aaron managed to get inside the station and jump on the first available shuttle. Fastened the seatbelts, he allowed himself to unbend his muscles and observe out of the glass as the vehicle's engine ignited. Over the intricate mazy layout of the wards roads and passageways shone the presidium, political and cultural heart of the galactic society. A common sight around there, yet Aaron always found it so astonishingly inspiring. He and his sister settled in the Zakera ward already several years before, and ever since they had been working their lives out in that cosmic megalopolis. From time to time, Aaron still felt somewhat homesick, recalling all the fine memories of his childhood in London. Nevertheless, life went its way, and they followed accordingly. They now had a new place to call home, new friends to spend time with and new mundane habits. Everything was going smoothly.

Shin Akiba was quite distant, one of the last stops, so he drew a datapad outside of his bag and inserted the autopilot for the voyage. Aaron's eyes were caught by some headlines running about on megascreen along the road. The words "Geth Invasion on Human Colony." sent a shiver to his mandibles, which started itching slightly. Of the many possible things he would have impulsively done after reading that, checking on his sister to update her was the most logic option. They once spent some holidays on that paradise, so he felt obliged to inform her. The shuttle redirected itself to a major interchange, hiding the ominous characters behind some buildings. However, just when he had composed the number for Elizabeth's omni-phone, a private C-Sec communication made its way to his datapad. He grimaced, and dejected activated the call.

'Officer Aaron Brannheim, currently off-duty.' greeted, trying to sound as neutral as he could. 'How can I be of assistance, sir?' added shortly thereafter.

'Ah! Aaron, bad news, I am sorry.' replied back a familiar voice.

Knowing who was at the other end of the phone, he sighed deeply. 'Michael...?'

'As I've said, bad news. There's some serious crap going on around here.' Some clatter could be heard in the background. The sound resembles closely the noise of closing lockers. 'Apparently the higher-ups have scheduled some kind of unexpected dock patrol. Our squad has been dispatched to this mission.'

'Michael, I am off-duty now. You know perfectly I have to attend to... that thing. You know, Ade has finally been accepted into the Representative orchestra and he succeeded to get us a discout'. Two C-Sec shuttles thundered on the lane over him, only to turn suddenly right at the successive block.

'Yeah, bad luck. The lieutenant has assigned you as a plainclothes agent for this operation. You've got your Phalanx with you, right?'

Aaron felt the heavy pistol with his hand. The weapon rested attached to a belt strapped on his lower abdomen: he never parted with it as it made him feel unprotected. 'The old lady's with me. No need to worry.' said sarcastically.

'Meet us at the docking station. You should be able to recognize us from the C-Sec looking suits and bad-ass automatic assault rifles.' concluded the human with a chuckle, ending communications.
Aaron, deactivating the auto-pilot, quickly sent a message to his sister as the vehicle changed lanes.
"Sorry sis; we've got to reschedule."

---

---

Ekrom hated running to his own ship, much preferring to take his time if he could. Yet, of course this contract would have these kinds of complications, but he just didn't expect one so damn soon. His omni-tool flared to life, orange glow reflected in his pitch black eyes. His voice was urgent, "Get the ship ready Urg, we're leaving five minutes ago! C-Sec is on our ass so if you don't want to get bet booted out of the air lock, I'd suggest you put a fire under yours!" Ekrom didn't usually take such a harsh tone with his hired subordinates, but they knew that was when he truly meant business. He couldn't believe the turian hadn't made a point to say that she may or may not have had a run-in with a C-Sec earlier that day. Time was of the essence and it had run out before Ekrom could have thought to ask if they had a schedule to keep.

Finally reaching the long hallway, dockport in sight, Ekrom began to glow the usual biotic blue. He became a stream of energy, pushing himself at such speeds he wasn't truly visible anymore until he came to a skidding stop in front of the doors. Out came his Mattock as he took a defensive posture outside the air lock. He banged twice on the doors and two more mercenaries armed to the teeth came to join him. He looked back down the path he'd come down, both sets of eyelids blinking in consternation. Could these people be slower, truly?! The turian, asari, and human were making their way as quick as they could, just coming in sight of the Shadow Sword. "Urg!" His second in command, a batarian with a shit personality but the best damn merc he'd ever known, came right to his side, all four of his eyes narrowed in anger. "Don't you start with me, pus bag!" Urg laughed at his boss, knowing that Ekrom only insulted him to keep him on his toes. The drell, in private, was quite the kind man and very patient.

"Yea?! What kinda shit are we in now.. sir!" Urg growled, less of a question and more of a statement. Ekrom shook his head slightly, telling his right hand that he'd know soon enough, but this was not the right moment.

"Go inside, get those engines pumping and the Ship-buster all warmed up!" Ekrom ordered, which Urg seemed to take a glee in hearing. They didn't often get to use the hard to get Thanix Cannon and Urg was a sadistic bastard. Ekrom hoped it would be a last resort, not the first, but he wasn't about to disappoint Urg like that. Let him keep his hopes up and all that as the batarian ducked back into the ship. He pressed a button on his omni-tool, connecting with Sicari.

"Lose that plainclothes unit and get on the damn ship, Sicari! This is no time to be playing cat and mouse with C-Sec! WE ARE LEEEAVING!" the drell made the urgency very clear, as a few ships began to close in on the station. "By the great gods..." the drell muttered to himself. Grabbing the remaining merc by the front of his body armor, he came in close, his black visor reflecting the turians slightly scared expression.

"Cover me, I'm going for the magnetic lock controls on the walkway. If any shit-for-brains C-Sec pokes out their head, I want this dock to get a new paint job!" The turian nodded quickly and took up the position Ekrom had just occupied as his boss moved to the terminal just to the right of the dockport. With rapid strokes, he was getting into the system and gaining priority control, going around the usual channels that had locked his ship at C-Sec's request.

Jason made it to the ship just in time to hear Ekrom’s orders… FUCK. NO! Jason was not about to let that merc kill C-sec officers, no matter what he was getting paid. Then again what was he going to do, take on all the mercs? Maybe. But an ex Asari commando teamed with a nasty looking Turian and a Drell biotic? He might as well just shoot himself. That’s when he had an idea. He wouldn’t have to worry about anyone getting shot if he was the one doing the shooting.

Removing his Revenant Jason quickly took a position next to the merc. Although he couldn’t see his face, Jason could instantly tell the merc was about to question what the soldier was doing.

“We’re about to be swarmed with an unknown number of C-sec officers who probably won’t care about taking us alive and we have minimal cover. Would you prefer to be a hero or have some cover fire?” Jason gave the merc a side glance raising one of his eyebrows. The merc nodded and the two returned their gaze now the barrel of their rifles.

Lysia's own omni tool flared to life moments after Ekrom's, she had set it to monitor C-Sec activity as a precaution and was now glad that she done so. It was a precaution she took wherever she went and it had saved her life on many occasions. She strode alongside the others and with a thought her body began to glow blue. She might not be an tech specialist or even a gun specialist but she knew that when it came to Biotics she was a master and woe betide anyone who got in her way. She didn't particularly want to kill C-Sec officers, not because she cared about their lives necessarily, no she wanted to be able to return to the Citadel in the future. It wasn't good for business to burn your bridges behind you and the Citadel was certainly not a bridge she wanted to burn, it was good for business.

She nodded briefly to Ekrom indicating she understood that they were about to receive company and not friendly company at that. She eyed the Batarian 'Urg' and decided he seemed confident and capable. The other crew she saw also seemed competent and professional and it increased her confidence in taking the Drell on the mission. The human male whom she recalled was called Jason had already taken up a position to cover the entrance and she smiled briefly at him. It was a cool professional smile, but it did hold a hint of the appreciation she felt for his appearance. Like most Asari she found most races attractive, but Lysia had always had a preference for human males and this one was certainly a prime example of his race.

She took up a position with a good angle on the entrance but one that also provided plenty of cover and waited. She had already activated her barrier ability and was ready with her other abilities.

Sicari ran up into the ship as a C-Sec squadron rounded the corner, turning around and giving the soldiers a salute as the airlock closed behind her. "Well, that was a little too close for my liking." She made her way into the ship, crossing her arms as she came face-to-face with Ekrom.

"I should've said this earlier, but I am now. If you kill a law enforcer, you're cut from the deal. I don't want this coming back to bite my ass in the end. I'm not gonna be a cop killer." She stalked off, mentally kicking herself for not saying that earlier.

Jason made sure to take note of where everyone took a stance for a tactical appraisal. Lysia took a position with much better cover, but she had a longer distance to run to the ship. He couldn’t help but return the courteous yet slightly flirtatious smile. Jason’s worries were relieved when Icarus commanded that no C-sec officers were to be killed, now the only casualties they’d have to avoid were their own. She then headed straight into the ship, which at first would have seemed like a cowardice thing to do. But looking at it from a tactical approach, 3 would be enough to cover the entrance while providing the minimal amount of people they’d need to evacuate. Had she stayed out they would have only slightly more fire power but an evac extension of about 10 seconds minimum plus another body they would have to cover for. Overall it was better she stay out of the fight.

Not even a second after Icarus closed the airlock, a squad of C-sec plain clothes officers appeared from the hallway. One of them screamed for them to lay down their arms and surrender, this was followed by the Turian opening fire sending the officers into hiding.

“I had a clear shot on that guy and I had to fire over his head. This no killing thing is bullshit!” The merc yelled over the rapid gun fire.

“Hey, think of this like a game! See how close you can get to the target without hitting it.” Jason said back as he jumped from cover to start his round of suppressing fire. “If it’s too hard for you, you can head back into the ship and get that other Turian out here. I mean, it was her order, plus she’s probably a better shot anyway.” The Turian gave him a low growl but didn’t retort.

Jason kept up the pressure but soon his gun overheated forcing him back into cover. As he ducked he peared to the side to keep an eye on the officers. Just as luck would have it an actually armored and ready squad was making their way to aid the plain clothes. “Shit we got enemy reinforcements incoming. Your boss better hurry up with those locks!”

Most of the time, his officer duties were never easy. Yet, that mission had just gotten a lot more complicated. Aaron ducked behind a cargo container as soon as the shooting begun, trying to appear as harmless as possible accordingly to his superior's orders.

"Good grief" he found himself thinking, changing ammo to the only weapon he had. "At least they've got suits to protect them. This ain't easy." Take down a small smuggling team: the report never talked about experienced biotics and marksmen. Just because that wasn't enough, he had to cope with all that while trying to keep at ease that hot-head he had for a sister through short and evasive messages on his datapad.

He had already arrived at the designed location fifteen minutes before his fellow officers, had the time to scout the zone, and even take a close look at the mercenaries and the ship they were trying to stop. Hell! He was hiding just beside it: he was checking on the outer hull conditions when the C-Sec stormed in. Those unrelated with the matter had fled, or hid behind what nearer cover they could find, exactly like he did.

He took a rapid glance at the enemy line of defense. Barricaded over the dock. An asari, an human, a krogan and a turian. It almost felt like one of those old-human stereotyped puns. "... they each enter the same bar, one after another." reminded himself absent-mindedly. "The krogan beats the crap out of everyone, yet falls victim of the same alcohol which allowed him to survive the free-for all. Thus the winner is the salarian bartender and..." he stopped, noticing two things. Firstly, how bad he was at telling jokes, but that was public knowledge already; second, someone was missing to the count. Could it be-

A wild bullet hit his hiding spot, interrupting his thread of thought. He snapped back behind the box, utterly shocked by the close shot. Near a mercenary ship, the containers could contain all sorts of trinkets, some of which extremely dangerous and inflammable. No hissing sounds. He was greatly relieved to note he hadn't yet blown up, and that the cargo was most likely not hazardous. "Still" he thought "better take a cover closer to the squad". If he happened to find himself in trouble, he preferred to have the guns of his comrades close by, and not those of the mercenaries. Aaron quietly moved backwards from his position, sneaking a peek at the battle ground from time to time as he quietly reached the secondary access point to the walkway. It was then that he saw the drell fumbling over the magnetic locks of the cruise.

Ekrom noted the movement to the side, after one of his merc's shot hit near the top. It seemed someone had gotten closer to the airlock than any of the other C-sec operatives. The others were stuck behind the suppresive fire of two more of his men, arriving in response to the heavy squad of officers. Pretty soon Sicar's standing condition was going to be more of a hindrance than just a minor inconvenience. Didn't C-sec realize they were outclassed? Adding more firepower to the situation just meant that more would be sent in retaliation! Ekrom had just blasted through the last firewall and was using a brute-force software program to plug in the access codes to the locks. The hard part was over, now he just had to hold out against the cops.

"Clear a path!" he shouted to his subordinates, who quickly yielded to their now glowing boss. His barrier ability had soaked up a many number of bullets, which would force Ekrom to reactivate the biotic armor. Perhaps there was another way, he thought. He threw out an arm, a long and powerful string of biotic force blasting away, but not killing, the C-sec task force. They were bashed against surrounding walls, not leaving a mark on the white walls, but more than likely knocked unconscious. Sicari was lucky Ekrom didn't just shoot her and take the contract on himself. It would make this entire expedition all the easier, not having red tape on a wetwork contract! "Who does she think is?" Ekrom wondered aloud, barely above a murmur and unable to be heard over the biotic detonations.

She'd be reminded that it was only Ekrom's quick actions and decisions that had allowed her such quick departure. Who the hell cared about the Citadel and her officers? Ekrom shook his head at his thoughts, not wanting them to allow his focus to wander. He'd given her free reign of decisions involving the squad while on the ground, but Ekrom would have to talk to her privately. Sicari needed to be reminded that he was a mercenary leader first and an accomplice second. And that orders could only go as far as the paycheck... She had another thing coming if she thought that her words were absolute.

Even as he waited for the program to finish its work, Ekrom drew his pistol. He quickly went over the last few moments in his perfect memory, realizing that he'd been right about the movement on their flank. His waking dreams refocused until Ekrom could easily see that a Turian had snuck from the recently shot cargo box, back around a wall not too far away. A beep brought his eyes back to the present, and the screen showing him green lights. Punching in a couple of commands, his nerves settled as the magnetic clamps released and raised away from Shadow Sword's wings.

Aaron watched in disbelief as the drell wiped out almost all of his companions with a single gesture. Could it be possible for them to be knocked out so easily? For just an instant, he was about to run to his companions and aid them, but he eventually realized what were the alien's real intentions. "Not on my watch" whispered between himself, drawing himself closer to him. Analyzing carefully the distance between him an the mercenary, Aaron pulled the sums of what do do. Well, there wasn't much actually: the passageway was quite open, without any decent cover from which he could get a clear shot. Sneaking up on him was definitely insane, and many other plans were either impracticable or deadly. Then, he simply tired of sitting idly.

Without much noise, he exited from his cover, standing in a straight line towards him. If madness was required to stop the ship from departing, then he might as well go with the worst option of all. He remembered fairly well his high-school years from Earth: especially the rugby PE sessions. Now that would have been funny. He smirked, nervously glancing both the fallen officers and his target. Firstly hopping back and forth on his flexible feet, he touched the ground with his left hand. The screen suddently emitted a green glow.
Now! He fixed his gaze upon him, determination filling his eyes, and then sprinted towards the drell. "Eat this, Northampton Saints!"

The heavy slap of the Turian that had been hiding made itself apparent rather quickly. With not much time to react, Ekrom did the only thing logical, activating his Charge and coming up behind the stranger as he blew past where he'd been moments before. Who the hell was this asshole with the hero complex?! Gritting his teeth, he spun on his heel, throwing his arm high and wide, bringing it down with his impressive augmented strength. The butt of his heavy pistol cracked down sickeningly on the Turian's head, in the hollow where plates met scales. The male Turian's body was like water, just falling as he fell into unconsciousness. "Valkyr! Get this bilge-rat on the ship!" Ekrom shouted to his own merc, the Turian that Jason had been antogonizing earlier. Glad to be rid of the human, he holstered his rifle and lifted his kin onto a shoulder. The krogan had become a barrier protected meat shield for the two as the Turian merc struggled into the airlock.

"Boss! We gotta go!" the krogan roared, noting the trio of C-sec fighters taking positions around the ship. Ekrom's nasal slits flared in frustration.

"Goddamn these interfering assholes!" Ekrom growled, before turning to Lysia and Jason. "You two, on the ship! We're clear to take off and time is of the essence!" Firing up his omnitool, he issued clipped and brisque commands to Urg. "Forget the goddamn cannon!" Urg's face twisted in anger and disappointment and he opened his mouth to argue. "I know what I said, fine, stay there, but only aim at the engine thrusters! We want them crippled, not dead. At least, this time." Urg settled into a satisfied smile. "Get Valkyr to start up the ship and get her moving, I'll take over piloting once I'm on board!"

He grabbed at Jason, noting that his shots unnerringly always hit just shy of the police. "This human is soft and not just because of his hide!" Gritting his teeth, he grabbed the back of Jason's armor and pulled him, then shoved him towards the airlock. Letting off another shockwave, leaving the officers suspended in the air, Ekrom turned to Lysia. "Thanks for the support, but you need to get on, now!" Ekrom didn't want to overstep his bounds with the asari woman, Lysia, however. Her stance said she was a professional, one of those mind-flayers they called commandos. Not one to be trifled with.

Sicari had decided it was best to stay out of the line of fire during this, working up a valid argument as to why it's a bad idea to be on C-Sec's most wanted list. Besides, she was an infiltrator. Quiet and quick was more her speed, not loud and inaccurate. The perfect argument hit her as she saw Jason pulled into the airlock, then stood from her cover as Ekrom came in with the cop slumped over his shoulder.

"Cleaner costs. For each law enforcer we kill, we can expect to expend upwards of five-thousand credits on bribing friends and family. We'll get more pay if we're careful." She started to walk with the man, her hand on her hip. Pistol at the ready in case a mutiny was necessary before they even left Council Space.

Things were not going well at all. As the magnetic holds were lifted dozens of more C-Sec officers poured in. Had these guys been on standby? Or maybe they realized the destructive potential of this ship and couldn’t afford to let it take off. It really didn’t matter the reason, they were there and they had begun advancing on the ship. Jason was doing his best to lay down cover fire, but he couldn’t even get 3 shots out before his shields would be downed, forcing him back to cover.

“Where is Ekrom? We need to move NOW!” Jason barked at the Merc over the gun fire.

“Right there, and he’s got a hostage.” The Merc pointed over to Ekrom charging his way through the crowd. When he reached them he handed the hostage over to the Turian and yelled for Jason and Lysia to get on.

“Lysia, its time to go!” Jason yelled over to her. There was a problem though, a storming party of about 5-6 officers were making a charge on the ship and they were nearly there!

If she made a run for it, they would just beat her there and then there would be no stopping them even if they did resort to killing. Taking a deep breath, she took a risk jumping from cover and immediately sending a shock wave their way. The ones without shields were sent flying and the others were stunned long enough for her to get a running start. She didn’t make it far. A well aimed sniper shot ripped through her shield and went right through her left shin.

Lysia fell to the ground in pain. Jason almost immediately hurdled over to run to her, but was grabbed by Ekrom and pulled back. He wanted to fight him but Lysia looked and then and shouted, “JUST GO!” With much hesitation, Jason nodded and headed into the ship with Ekrom. There was no way to get to her without risking everyone else. The last thing they saw were the previously stunned officers surrounding Lysia placing her under arrest.

As they entered the ship Jason slammed his fist into the wall a screamed, “GOD DAMN IT!” He had never left a man behind before. Never.