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Lord Zee QUOTE "Move fast or die!" | PROFILE Full Name: Keesin'Godda (prefers to go by 'Key’). Date of Birth: 2158, october 5th. Species: Quarian. Gender: Female. Age: 25. Occupation: Mercenary. Service Rank: N/A. Profile: InfiltratorPowers: Tactical Cloak Belongings: Incinerate AI-Hacking Sabotage Avenger Assault Rifle III (has a winking skull painted on the side) Punisher Sniper Rifle III or M-97 Viper (has a frowning skull on the side) XO Suit: (equivalent to Medium Hydra armor IV):This custom exosuit is an improvement on her envirosuit by Key herself to make it tougher to penetrate her armor and potentially kill her from infection. Inspired by mechs and Batarians, Key has been carefully and steadily improving her envirosuit for years. The armor of her base suit has added and improved layers on it, whatever she could scavenge and repair, making it tougher and more resilient than your average Quarian armor. It also possesses a knock off version of the Batarian Blade armor (as hers are omni-blades created from her armor rather than actual blades) further making her armor tougher and more dangerous. She's installed jet thrusters on the back and limbs to give her brief bursts of speed, or increase her jumps. They are rickety at best, so true flight and extended levitation are both impossible. Fix it: A VI in Key's helm that can scan whatever vehicle, tool, weapon, or system she happens to be working on. It can bring up schematics, highlight damaged areas, recommend the best tools for the job, and in general makes her life much much easier. Shoot-it: A drone that Key has built together from pieces and bits of junk she could scrape together. It follows her commands and shoots at what she desires, and can do little else. Rather than the quiet movement of most drones, it rattles and shakes as it flies by. It has an pistol firing mechanism in it and a flamethrower. Logic Arrest IV Omni-Tool (customized to be able to flash forge tools for vehicle repair, and to launch grenades farther than Key can throw them) Grenades (Standard, sticky, and inferno) Incendiary, Shredder, and explosive ammo Role:Pilot/Driver, general support in combat. |
PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE
Key was never suited for Migrant Fleet life. It was too stifling, too crowded, too focused on survival rather than living. She yearned for freedom, for doing things for pleasure rather than because the scrap heap they called a ship required it. Stories and dances offered brief escapes, but they became so frequent an escape that they eventually only served to even further remind her of her problems. Now that she's finally free of the constraints of the migrant fleet, Key is able to live the life she always dreamed of.
As a result, Key is an impulsive, materialistic, and somewhat selfish person, living by her passions. She does things for the thrill of it, and keeps things for little more than she thought they were pretty. Her emotions tend to be fiery and high, and she exhibits little control over them at any given moment. Her motivations are rarely beyond 'I want to own or do that thing' or 'I think it'll be fun.'
She's an adrenaline junky, doing things because she thinks she'll enjoy them or they’ll give her a thrill. This has developed into a gambling addiction that has usually kept her out of credits and constantly looking for more, as she always swears that the next few credits bet will be the big one and she’ll win it all.
With time, or guidance, she may temper her high emotions and excitability with wisdom, but for now she remains as she is: passionate and tempestuous.
Key is a fidgety person (always seeming to be 'Keyed up' hence her nickname), always eager to be moving and exploring new areas. After being trapped on her homeship the Gazan for 16 years, she's developed a strong sense of wanderlust and curiosity, never liking staying in one place for too long. She spent far too much time doing that during her time on the Flotilla. She's always eager to meet new people, and experience new things (As much as she can. Obviously a lot of things are off limits given how they'll kill her). That being said, her time on Omega has tempered her slightly. New experiences aren't always safe. New people, while interesting and exciting to talk to, aren't always good people. She's always prepared for that new person to be yet another regurgitator of the same old disparaging remarks (or try to rob, harm, or manipulate her in some way).
She's heard all the insults. 'Suit-Rat'. 'Beggar'. 'Thief'. She's determined to prove these people wrong, be it through interacting with them (likely through arguing once they rile her all to easily triggered anger) or doing jobs for or with them. She constantly feels like she has to prove herself to these people and others around them, to unravel the Quarian reputation as best she can.
Her time on Omega has hardened her. She often won't go to help anyone unless it benefits her in some way, for one too many times she's had her kindness and trust manipulated. She trusts only a select few, and her empathy for others extends a limited amount to whatever team she happens to be working with, and fully only to select friends. She's never very relaxed, a side effect of her brush with death. She's always ready to move in an instant, afraid of being caught off guard again.
Another side-effect of her brush with death is a phobia of Varren. Key has a deep, instinctual, terror of the Varren. The sight of them is enough to make her start hyperventilating, and if one gets too close she'll panic completely. Given how closely Varren, Vorcha, and Krogan are associated with one another, this extends to a lesser degree to Krogan and Vorcha. She gets nervous and even more twitchy around Krogan and Vorcha, expecting a Varren to leap out of the shadows at their command any second.
And beneath all of that, Key is a sappy romantic at heart. She believes in things like love at first sight, that love can conquer all, and that everyone has a soulmate. She's more or less certain that for herself such a romance is impossible (given that she's a Quarian who has abandoned the Fleet) but knows that for everyone else, destiny will bring them together with their soulmates and true loves.
All in all, Key is just living her life to the fullest, embracing thrills she thought she'd never get a chance at.
She’s the perfect candidate for Operation Kingslayer, as her tempestuous nature and lack of reserve makes it incredibly easy to blame her for anything and everything if the operation goes wrong and she's willing to go to almost any length to get the jobs she is hired for done.
As a result, Key is an impulsive, materialistic, and somewhat selfish person, living by her passions. She does things for the thrill of it, and keeps things for little more than she thought they were pretty. Her emotions tend to be fiery and high, and she exhibits little control over them at any given moment. Her motivations are rarely beyond 'I want to own or do that thing' or 'I think it'll be fun.'
She's an adrenaline junky, doing things because she thinks she'll enjoy them or they’ll give her a thrill. This has developed into a gambling addiction that has usually kept her out of credits and constantly looking for more, as she always swears that the next few credits bet will be the big one and she’ll win it all.
With time, or guidance, she may temper her high emotions and excitability with wisdom, but for now she remains as she is: passionate and tempestuous.
Key is a fidgety person (always seeming to be 'Keyed up' hence her nickname), always eager to be moving and exploring new areas. After being trapped on her homeship the Gazan for 16 years, she's developed a strong sense of wanderlust and curiosity, never liking staying in one place for too long. She spent far too much time doing that during her time on the Flotilla. She's always eager to meet new people, and experience new things (As much as she can. Obviously a lot of things are off limits given how they'll kill her). That being said, her time on Omega has tempered her slightly. New experiences aren't always safe. New people, while interesting and exciting to talk to, aren't always good people. She's always prepared for that new person to be yet another regurgitator of the same old disparaging remarks (or try to rob, harm, or manipulate her in some way).
She's heard all the insults. 'Suit-Rat'. 'Beggar'. 'Thief'. She's determined to prove these people wrong, be it through interacting with them (likely through arguing once they rile her all to easily triggered anger) or doing jobs for or with them. She constantly feels like she has to prove herself to these people and others around them, to unravel the Quarian reputation as best she can.
Her time on Omega has hardened her. She often won't go to help anyone unless it benefits her in some way, for one too many times she's had her kindness and trust manipulated. She trusts only a select few, and her empathy for others extends a limited amount to whatever team she happens to be working with, and fully only to select friends. She's never very relaxed, a side effect of her brush with death. She's always ready to move in an instant, afraid of being caught off guard again.
Another side-effect of her brush with death is a phobia of Varren. Key has a deep, instinctual, terror of the Varren. The sight of them is enough to make her start hyperventilating, and if one gets too close she'll panic completely. Given how closely Varren, Vorcha, and Krogan are associated with one another, this extends to a lesser degree to Krogan and Vorcha. She gets nervous and even more twitchy around Krogan and Vorcha, expecting a Varren to leap out of the shadows at their command any second.
And beneath all of that, Key is a sappy romantic at heart. She believes in things like love at first sight, that love can conquer all, and that everyone has a soulmate. She's more or less certain that for herself such a romance is impossible (given that she's a Quarian who has abandoned the Fleet) but knows that for everyone else, destiny will bring them together with their soulmates and true loves.
All in all, Key is just living her life to the fullest, embracing thrills she thought she'd never get a chance at.
She’s the perfect candidate for Operation Kingslayer, as her tempestuous nature and lack of reserve makes it incredibly easy to blame her for anything and everything if the operation goes wrong and she's willing to go to almost any length to get the jobs she is hired for done.
DETAILED HISTORY
Born in 2158 Key has always been trouble for her ship. Her mother died in childbirth, and her father died defending the ship soon after when some spacers went back on their deal with the quarians and attacked. Taken in by a family that didn't have a child of their own, Keeto'Godda vas Gazan and Shia'Godda vas Gazan, Key never really felt like she belonged on the Gazan. Her foster parents were nice, but not her own flesh and blood, and they were all too happy to stay in one place for all their lives. She was always yearning to be somewhere else, to have her own space, to do something other than survive. She wanted to have things because they brought her pleasure, not just because they were effective and useful.
She wanted to explore the galaxy without being chased out of every sector by some corporation or government that viewed them as parasites. She wanted to have her own space and do things for fun rather than try and keep herself surviving so the future of her race can survive. She would be constantly reprimanded for misuse of materials and time, pursuing trivial things when she should have been preparing for her Pilgrimage or helping keep the ship running.
She would spend hours, days, weeks or occasionally even months downloading things from the outside universe onto her datapad. The Fleet’s extranet was, to put it politely, absolute garbage, so opportunities to quickly download and see what the rest of the universe was like were few and far inbetween. Key cherished these opportunities and every little piece she could get of the outside universe, as they reminded her of what she could experience when sent on her Pilgrimage. She would come home, of course, but only after experiencing what the universe had to offer.
The only times her interests and the desires of the Fleet met was when she was learning the ship was flown and working on its flight systems or when she was helping create fabrics for the suits they were all required to wear. Something about the possibility of freedom and flying through space with nothing more than a desire to explore and a ship was enthralling to her, and she had a steady hand and a creative streak making her designs both sound and interesting. She was consistently top of her class in the piloting training they were all given in preparation for their pilgrimage, and nothing delighted her more than pretending to be behind the controls of her own ship.
By the time her Pilgrimage had come (at age 16, early by her own constant insistence), Key could barely contain her excitement. Finally, finally she could experience what the galaxy had to offer and all the joys it could bring. Her first two years free in space only confirmed that the universe was everything she had hoped it would be. There was so much space! So many things to do! She didn’t have to share a room with anyone unless she so desired! It took some getting used to, the space and the silence of well running ships, but once she stopped being uncomfortable about how well run the rest of the galaxy was, she loved it. Towards the end of her second year, Key realized that she hadn’t even thought about her pilgrimage. Hadn’t even thought about what she would do to go back to the Fleet, or even if she would go back to the fleet. And that was...okay. She didn’t need to go home. Home was just more arguing and more people clinging to dead traditions. She didn’t want to go home.
Drawn by the rumors of how wild and lawless Omega was, Key made her way through the terminus systems towards the asteroid.
This was a mistake.
Within the first week of being in Omega, Key had her small shuttle that the Fleet had given her for her Pilgrimage stolen, along with all of her credits and nearly her life if she hadn’t managed to fight off her attackers. It would not get better in her first year. She was robbed over a dozen times and what credits she didn’t lose through force, someone would swindle her out of through clever words and feigned kindness. People would attack her simply because she was a Quarian, because she had walked in the wrong area, or because they were bored. To survive, Key had to become stronger and colder. She upgraded her armor with the blades that she had seen on batarians around the station, making it dangerous for people to grab her. She avoided eye contact and kept moving no matter who called out to her or what they said. She kept herself armed and was always ready to use it at the slightest provocation. Eventually Key stopped being a victim. She didn’t thrive in Omega, no one who wasn’t Aria did, but she was no longer a target for whomever wanted to attack her. Still, she needed credits to buy a shuttle to go back to exploring a less terrible place of the galaxy. Not a lot of honest jobs were available on Omega, and even less that wanted a ‘suit-rat’.
Eventually she landed a job with what seemed like the only honest person on Omega. A turian by the name of Zertus, owner of a private ship repair yard. In return for two years of her service, Zertus would give her a derelict shuttle that she could repair in her free time.
Everything she could learn about the turian seemed to be trustworthy. He never double crossed customers or slacked on work. He always held up his end of bargains, even when it was to his loss. Warily, Key agreed to the job.
Also working for Zertus was a human named Tyler. Tyler was dressed more strangely than any human she had ever seen. Decked out in leather and spikes, with a bright green mohawk. He had a magnetism that Key couldn't seem to shake, a way about him that made her want to listen to him. Inevitably drawn in through curiosity of his attire and charismatic personality Key found herself spending more and more time with him. He was one of the few people who didn't seem to judge her for being a quarian, and actually cared for what her thoughts and personality was. Tyler had been born a spacer and left to start his career as a galactic music star, before the cruel realities of life set in and crushed his dreams underfoot. A string of poor choices and failed starts had led him to Omega. He was now working for Zertus just to live, playing his music on the side sometimes.
Through this day in day out interaction, Key was introduced to the human culture of 'Punk' and fell in love with it. Perhaps it was because of the emphasis on personal freedom, the way she could easily accessorize and stylize her suit with it, the loud aggressive music, or all three, but she embraced the culture of it wholeheartedly. With the way Tyler treated her and made her feel special, it wasn't long before she became infatuated with him. True romance was impossible, of course, but she could dream. She would spend as much time as possible with him, learning music from him as best she could. He was the one who gave her the nickname 'Key' in reference to how excitable and fidgety she was. She embraced the nickname with great joy. Infatuated as she was, Key ignored Zertus’s warnings about Tyler as a person, and the various signs that he was simply manipulating her for his benefit. She loved him, and in time, he would love her.
On the side she would participate in vehicle races around Omega, racing through the streets in vehicles of questionable safety for prizes of credits. The thrill of speeding through tight turns and at dangerous speeds made Key feel more alive than she ever had. The credits were nice too. To get into these races, often run by the local gangs, Key would bet her own credits and free servicing of her opponent’s vehicles if she lost. Key was a skilled driver, and she very rarely lost. Much to the anger or chagrin of her opponents. Key never showed weakness or fear to them. She had learned from her first time in Omega, and knew better than to let herself become a victim.
Tyler was never there to see her race, always busy with another gig or job for Zertus, but he would always be there to celebrate with her when she won, helping her decide where to spend a portion of her winnings on the celebratory party and on what they should be spent on.
This was how Key was introduced to gambling, and she was immediately hooked. A great deal of what credits Zertus paid her and the winnings from her racing were sank into the local clubs and casinos of Omega, with little to no return. Key kept going back, swearing upon everything that this bet was going to be the winner. Tyler was always by her side, egging her on and sharing in her winnings.
A year passed like this, and it was the first good times since she left the Migrant Fleet two years ago. Her relationship with Tyler was the highlight of her time (even if it wasn't as romantic as she'd like), and Zertus was an honest turian who kept up his side of the bargain and ensured that she was taken care of while working for him. Her ship was ready to fly, all she needed to do was finish her contract with Zertus and then she could start exploring the galaxy again at her leisure. To her surprise however, Zertus fired Tyler after this year. She never figured out why, but given the angry look on Zertus' face, and the way he warned her to stay away from Tyler for the rest of her life, it must have been something that the turian thought was very bad. But it was Tyler, her one true friend in Omega. She made plans to meet up with him later, to help plan to mend whatever had happened between him and Zertus.
So imagine her shock that when she met up with Tyler that night, he told her he had been fired because he had found out that Zertus was planning on selling her ship, and had spoken out against it. Fearing he would tell her, Tyler claimed Zertus fired him and forbade him from coming anywhere near the shop again. At first she refused to believe it, everything Zertus had ever shown her and done to her was of an honest turian that wouldn't betray her like that. Plus, several of Tyler’s details were inconsistent or flat out didn’t add up.
But it was Tyler, the one who had always treated her like an equal and paid attention to her ideas and plans, and when he produced a bill of sale, the kind she had seen hundreds of time of the last year and a half, with her ship on it and some stranger's name as the one owning it, she had to finally accept the truth. She was hurt, and angry. So angry that she missed the inconsistencies in the document. So angry that when Tyler told her they should steal the ship before Zertus could sell it, with any supplies they could steal from the old turian, she agreed without a second thought.
The theft didn't go quite as planned, them tripping an alarm almost as soon as they tried to break and being forced to grab whatever they thought looked useful, but they managed to get the ship up and gone before Zertus and whatever force he could bring to bear to stop them. Excited that they were going to finally explore the galaxy and elated they had gotten away with it, Key and Tyler blasted punk rock music as they flew away from Omega. Tyler dubbed the small ship the Freedom, as that was what it had given them.
Another year would pass, with the two of them doing odd jobs (usually light mercenary work) around the Terminus systems. Life wasn't always comfortable for the two of them, given how they were in no way prepared for the costs a ship would have and were always on the brink of financial collapse (in no small part due to Key’s gambling addiction), but they had fun. Key was becoming more and more infatuated with Tyler, and this culminated in her declaring that her name was now Keesin'Godda vas Freedom and Tyler was her crew, the most important person in the galaxy to her. She saw a brief look of shock, annoyance and disgust, quickly masked by gracious acceptance, but dismissed it as a trick of the eyes.
Soon after that, and a particularly long dry period without jobs, with their credits running low and their fuel running even lower, Tyler came up with another daring plan. They would go to Omega and rob one of the gangs there, stealing some equipment to sell and a better ship to explore with. Key agreed, and they set their course for Omega once more.
On the way there Tyler decided that they would hit the Ragers. A gang that was made up of rejects from the Blood Pack, he reasoned it would be relatively simple to sneak in past their stupid Vorcha and dull Krogan to snatch a ship and equipment from right under their noses.
The plan was simple, Key would cause a distraction and Tyler would use the distraction to snag a ship and what equipment he could, then come pick her up at a docking pay so they could once again get the hell out of Omega.
It went to shit almost immediately.
Key wasn't equipped to deal with a three Vorcha, a Krogan, and a pack of four Varren. While her grenade was enough to kill the Vorcha and one of the Varren, it had little to no effect on the Krogan. Upon seeing something of that size charge her with murderous intent in his eyes, Key panicked. She fired off a submission net, immobilizing the monster, and ran for it. She managed to keep her head long enough to inform Tyler that she couldn't keep the distraction going as long as needed, and he reassured her that it was fine, that he was already in. All she had to do now was get to a safe spot and wait for his call.
Ducking into an alleyway, Key paused to catch her breath and gain her bearings, so she could accurately respond to Tyler's call. While she was attempting to figure out where in Omega she was, the three Varren caught up to her. All Key had in warning was a snarl before an impossibly heavy body slammed into her chest, and powerful jaws crushed into her suit's shoulder. She screamed, instinctively firing her pistol into the creature's body. As it slumped off of her, she scrambled backwards in a panic, desperately trying to activate her blades. The yellow spikes came up just in time to stop another pair of jaws from crushing her skull, causing the beast to recoil with a howl of pain. She fired wildly in a panic again, killing the Varren.
Pulling herself to her feet, breathing ragged and raw, she aimed her pistol at the last one as it prepared to charge her. Click. Key didn't have the time to feel despair as the Varren crashed into her, knocking her to the ground, jaws only barely being held back by her failing shields and omni-blades. She could practically hear her shields cracking, and flicked open her omni-blade and stabbed recklessly in desperation. She's fairly certain she nicked herself more than once, but that doesn't matter. She killed the Varren right as her shields broke, the feeling of it's jaws stopping their pressure around her throat just before they punctured her suit haunting her nightmares to this day.
Pulling herself up, her shoulder a mess of blood and agony, she made a call to Tyler for help, telling him what happened. No reply. Telling herself to relax, to calm down, she tried again. And again. And again. After an indeterminable amount of time, she realized he wasn't going to reply. Either he was dead or...no. Tyler wouldn't just abandon her. He was dead. The Ragers had killed him. That was the truth. It had to be. She desperately tried to ignore the flood of memories and warning signs she should have seen before now.
Key knew she needed to move, and began stumbling through the streets of Omega. She doesn't remember much of that time. Flashes of pain and blood, terror that whatever bacteria or diseases resided in a Varren's mouth was going to kill her, and a single, fervent desire to survive. Somehow she managed to make her way into a clinic, for the next thing she knew she was awake in a white, sterile, room. Her shoulder hurt but wasn't in agony any more. The doctor, a turian, reassured her that she was okay. She had been out for more than a week, as her body struggled to fight off the infections the Varren bite had given her, aided by the strongest immuno boosters and antibiotics they had. Key gave them the last credits she had, and promised to stick around and help them with anything they needed to pay off the rest.
A deal was struck, giving Key a small sense of relief. She was alive, at least, even if she was back right where she started. Despite all odds, Key found herself enjoying her time at the clinic. Helping people for a change, rather than waiting for them to turn on her, was nice. Surprisingly, she enjoyed helping people. Maybe it was the feeling of saving beings' lives, or proving to them that she was more than just a thieving suit-rat, or maybe she just enjoyed having a dedicated purpose after wandering the galaxy and nearly dying. Regardless, she applied herself with a will to the clinic. Seeing how eager she was to learn and help, the doctor soon had her making runs with the clinic's medical vehicle and repairing any equipment that broke down. The clinic worked primarily for a mercenary group, The Thirty Blades, that protected it in exchange for the clinic patching up any members that were injured for free.
Seeing her way out of Omega, Key signed on with the Blades. It didn’t take long for her to prove her worth, as her technological expertise, piloting and driving skill, and ever growing combat skills proved invaluable to the group. It's been five years since she nearly died and joined up with the Blades. She's sharpened her skills in fighting and built her XO suit in that time, determined to never be put in that situation she had been in with the Varren again.
She's built a reputation as a skilled pilot and driver and a competent mercenary whose willing to do nearly any job and will see it to the end no matter the cost.
The idea that Tyler may have just abandoned her never truly left her, but she buried it as deeply as she could. He couldn't have just left her. He couldn't have. The fact that she had never heard of his death or found a body gnaws at her confidence in the matter, however, keeping her from fully laying it to rest. Rather than address her problems, Key distracts herself from them. When she isn't doing her mercenary work, she's betting her credits in various forms of gambling. Some people turn to alcohol for their problems, Key turns to the rush of everything depending on one random roll.
She intends to save up enough credits to buy her own small ship and go exploring the galaxy again, but every time she gets any amount of credits she can't fight the urge to take it and bet it all away (something she feels extremely guilty for, but can't stop). She's never won, but she's always drawn back by the slight chance she could win back all the credit's she's lost, and then some.
She was recently contacted for Operation Kingslayer. They claim they hired her for her skill in piloting and driving and her record of successfully completing missions no matter what obstacles get in her way.
In reality, she also makes a perfect deniable agent. Her history of merc work, her status as a Quarian , and even her personality all make for excellent things to make it look like she acted on her own should things all go wrong.
She wanted to explore the galaxy without being chased out of every sector by some corporation or government that viewed them as parasites. She wanted to have her own space and do things for fun rather than try and keep herself surviving so the future of her race can survive. She would be constantly reprimanded for misuse of materials and time, pursuing trivial things when she should have been preparing for her Pilgrimage or helping keep the ship running.
She would spend hours, days, weeks or occasionally even months downloading things from the outside universe onto her datapad. The Fleet’s extranet was, to put it politely, absolute garbage, so opportunities to quickly download and see what the rest of the universe was like were few and far inbetween. Key cherished these opportunities and every little piece she could get of the outside universe, as they reminded her of what she could experience when sent on her Pilgrimage. She would come home, of course, but only after experiencing what the universe had to offer.
The only times her interests and the desires of the Fleet met was when she was learning the ship was flown and working on its flight systems or when she was helping create fabrics for the suits they were all required to wear. Something about the possibility of freedom and flying through space with nothing more than a desire to explore and a ship was enthralling to her, and she had a steady hand and a creative streak making her designs both sound and interesting. She was consistently top of her class in the piloting training they were all given in preparation for their pilgrimage, and nothing delighted her more than pretending to be behind the controls of her own ship.
By the time her Pilgrimage had come (at age 16, early by her own constant insistence), Key could barely contain her excitement. Finally, finally she could experience what the galaxy had to offer and all the joys it could bring. Her first two years free in space only confirmed that the universe was everything she had hoped it would be. There was so much space! So many things to do! She didn’t have to share a room with anyone unless she so desired! It took some getting used to, the space and the silence of well running ships, but once she stopped being uncomfortable about how well run the rest of the galaxy was, she loved it. Towards the end of her second year, Key realized that she hadn’t even thought about her pilgrimage. Hadn’t even thought about what she would do to go back to the Fleet, or even if she would go back to the fleet. And that was...okay. She didn’t need to go home. Home was just more arguing and more people clinging to dead traditions. She didn’t want to go home.
Drawn by the rumors of how wild and lawless Omega was, Key made her way through the terminus systems towards the asteroid.
This was a mistake.
Within the first week of being in Omega, Key had her small shuttle that the Fleet had given her for her Pilgrimage stolen, along with all of her credits and nearly her life if she hadn’t managed to fight off her attackers. It would not get better in her first year. She was robbed over a dozen times and what credits she didn’t lose through force, someone would swindle her out of through clever words and feigned kindness. People would attack her simply because she was a Quarian, because she had walked in the wrong area, or because they were bored. To survive, Key had to become stronger and colder. She upgraded her armor with the blades that she had seen on batarians around the station, making it dangerous for people to grab her. She avoided eye contact and kept moving no matter who called out to her or what they said. She kept herself armed and was always ready to use it at the slightest provocation. Eventually Key stopped being a victim. She didn’t thrive in Omega, no one who wasn’t Aria did, but she was no longer a target for whomever wanted to attack her. Still, she needed credits to buy a shuttle to go back to exploring a less terrible place of the galaxy. Not a lot of honest jobs were available on Omega, and even less that wanted a ‘suit-rat’.
Eventually she landed a job with what seemed like the only honest person on Omega. A turian by the name of Zertus, owner of a private ship repair yard. In return for two years of her service, Zertus would give her a derelict shuttle that she could repair in her free time.
Everything she could learn about the turian seemed to be trustworthy. He never double crossed customers or slacked on work. He always held up his end of bargains, even when it was to his loss. Warily, Key agreed to the job.
Also working for Zertus was a human named Tyler. Tyler was dressed more strangely than any human she had ever seen. Decked out in leather and spikes, with a bright green mohawk. He had a magnetism that Key couldn't seem to shake, a way about him that made her want to listen to him. Inevitably drawn in through curiosity of his attire and charismatic personality Key found herself spending more and more time with him. He was one of the few people who didn't seem to judge her for being a quarian, and actually cared for what her thoughts and personality was. Tyler had been born a spacer and left to start his career as a galactic music star, before the cruel realities of life set in and crushed his dreams underfoot. A string of poor choices and failed starts had led him to Omega. He was now working for Zertus just to live, playing his music on the side sometimes.
Through this day in day out interaction, Key was introduced to the human culture of 'Punk' and fell in love with it. Perhaps it was because of the emphasis on personal freedom, the way she could easily accessorize and stylize her suit with it, the loud aggressive music, or all three, but she embraced the culture of it wholeheartedly. With the way Tyler treated her and made her feel special, it wasn't long before she became infatuated with him. True romance was impossible, of course, but she could dream. She would spend as much time as possible with him, learning music from him as best she could. He was the one who gave her the nickname 'Key' in reference to how excitable and fidgety she was. She embraced the nickname with great joy. Infatuated as she was, Key ignored Zertus’s warnings about Tyler as a person, and the various signs that he was simply manipulating her for his benefit. She loved him, and in time, he would love her.
On the side she would participate in vehicle races around Omega, racing through the streets in vehicles of questionable safety for prizes of credits. The thrill of speeding through tight turns and at dangerous speeds made Key feel more alive than she ever had. The credits were nice too. To get into these races, often run by the local gangs, Key would bet her own credits and free servicing of her opponent’s vehicles if she lost. Key was a skilled driver, and she very rarely lost. Much to the anger or chagrin of her opponents. Key never showed weakness or fear to them. She had learned from her first time in Omega, and knew better than to let herself become a victim.
Tyler was never there to see her race, always busy with another gig or job for Zertus, but he would always be there to celebrate with her when she won, helping her decide where to spend a portion of her winnings on the celebratory party and on what they should be spent on.
This was how Key was introduced to gambling, and she was immediately hooked. A great deal of what credits Zertus paid her and the winnings from her racing were sank into the local clubs and casinos of Omega, with little to no return. Key kept going back, swearing upon everything that this bet was going to be the winner. Tyler was always by her side, egging her on and sharing in her winnings.
A year passed like this, and it was the first good times since she left the Migrant Fleet two years ago. Her relationship with Tyler was the highlight of her time (even if it wasn't as romantic as she'd like), and Zertus was an honest turian who kept up his side of the bargain and ensured that she was taken care of while working for him. Her ship was ready to fly, all she needed to do was finish her contract with Zertus and then she could start exploring the galaxy again at her leisure. To her surprise however, Zertus fired Tyler after this year. She never figured out why, but given the angry look on Zertus' face, and the way he warned her to stay away from Tyler for the rest of her life, it must have been something that the turian thought was very bad. But it was Tyler, her one true friend in Omega. She made plans to meet up with him later, to help plan to mend whatever had happened between him and Zertus.
So imagine her shock that when she met up with Tyler that night, he told her he had been fired because he had found out that Zertus was planning on selling her ship, and had spoken out against it. Fearing he would tell her, Tyler claimed Zertus fired him and forbade him from coming anywhere near the shop again. At first she refused to believe it, everything Zertus had ever shown her and done to her was of an honest turian that wouldn't betray her like that. Plus, several of Tyler’s details were inconsistent or flat out didn’t add up.
But it was Tyler, the one who had always treated her like an equal and paid attention to her ideas and plans, and when he produced a bill of sale, the kind she had seen hundreds of time of the last year and a half, with her ship on it and some stranger's name as the one owning it, she had to finally accept the truth. She was hurt, and angry. So angry that she missed the inconsistencies in the document. So angry that when Tyler told her they should steal the ship before Zertus could sell it, with any supplies they could steal from the old turian, she agreed without a second thought.
The theft didn't go quite as planned, them tripping an alarm almost as soon as they tried to break and being forced to grab whatever they thought looked useful, but they managed to get the ship up and gone before Zertus and whatever force he could bring to bear to stop them. Excited that they were going to finally explore the galaxy and elated they had gotten away with it, Key and Tyler blasted punk rock music as they flew away from Omega. Tyler dubbed the small ship the Freedom, as that was what it had given them.
Another year would pass, with the two of them doing odd jobs (usually light mercenary work) around the Terminus systems. Life wasn't always comfortable for the two of them, given how they were in no way prepared for the costs a ship would have and were always on the brink of financial collapse (in no small part due to Key’s gambling addiction), but they had fun. Key was becoming more and more infatuated with Tyler, and this culminated in her declaring that her name was now Keesin'Godda vas Freedom and Tyler was her crew, the most important person in the galaxy to her. She saw a brief look of shock, annoyance and disgust, quickly masked by gracious acceptance, but dismissed it as a trick of the eyes.
Soon after that, and a particularly long dry period without jobs, with their credits running low and their fuel running even lower, Tyler came up with another daring plan. They would go to Omega and rob one of the gangs there, stealing some equipment to sell and a better ship to explore with. Key agreed, and they set their course for Omega once more.
On the way there Tyler decided that they would hit the Ragers. A gang that was made up of rejects from the Blood Pack, he reasoned it would be relatively simple to sneak in past their stupid Vorcha and dull Krogan to snatch a ship and equipment from right under their noses.
The plan was simple, Key would cause a distraction and Tyler would use the distraction to snag a ship and what equipment he could, then come pick her up at a docking pay so they could once again get the hell out of Omega.
It went to shit almost immediately.
Key wasn't equipped to deal with a three Vorcha, a Krogan, and a pack of four Varren. While her grenade was enough to kill the Vorcha and one of the Varren, it had little to no effect on the Krogan. Upon seeing something of that size charge her with murderous intent in his eyes, Key panicked. She fired off a submission net, immobilizing the monster, and ran for it. She managed to keep her head long enough to inform Tyler that she couldn't keep the distraction going as long as needed, and he reassured her that it was fine, that he was already in. All she had to do now was get to a safe spot and wait for his call.
Ducking into an alleyway, Key paused to catch her breath and gain her bearings, so she could accurately respond to Tyler's call. While she was attempting to figure out where in Omega she was, the three Varren caught up to her. All Key had in warning was a snarl before an impossibly heavy body slammed into her chest, and powerful jaws crushed into her suit's shoulder. She screamed, instinctively firing her pistol into the creature's body. As it slumped off of her, she scrambled backwards in a panic, desperately trying to activate her blades. The yellow spikes came up just in time to stop another pair of jaws from crushing her skull, causing the beast to recoil with a howl of pain. She fired wildly in a panic again, killing the Varren.
Pulling herself to her feet, breathing ragged and raw, she aimed her pistol at the last one as it prepared to charge her. Click. Key didn't have the time to feel despair as the Varren crashed into her, knocking her to the ground, jaws only barely being held back by her failing shields and omni-blades. She could practically hear her shields cracking, and flicked open her omni-blade and stabbed recklessly in desperation. She's fairly certain she nicked herself more than once, but that doesn't matter. She killed the Varren right as her shields broke, the feeling of it's jaws stopping their pressure around her throat just before they punctured her suit haunting her nightmares to this day.
Pulling herself up, her shoulder a mess of blood and agony, she made a call to Tyler for help, telling him what happened. No reply. Telling herself to relax, to calm down, she tried again. And again. And again. After an indeterminable amount of time, she realized he wasn't going to reply. Either he was dead or...no. Tyler wouldn't just abandon her. He was dead. The Ragers had killed him. That was the truth. It had to be. She desperately tried to ignore the flood of memories and warning signs she should have seen before now.
Key knew she needed to move, and began stumbling through the streets of Omega. She doesn't remember much of that time. Flashes of pain and blood, terror that whatever bacteria or diseases resided in a Varren's mouth was going to kill her, and a single, fervent desire to survive. Somehow she managed to make her way into a clinic, for the next thing she knew she was awake in a white, sterile, room. Her shoulder hurt but wasn't in agony any more. The doctor, a turian, reassured her that she was okay. She had been out for more than a week, as her body struggled to fight off the infections the Varren bite had given her, aided by the strongest immuno boosters and antibiotics they had. Key gave them the last credits she had, and promised to stick around and help them with anything they needed to pay off the rest.
A deal was struck, giving Key a small sense of relief. She was alive, at least, even if she was back right where she started. Despite all odds, Key found herself enjoying her time at the clinic. Helping people for a change, rather than waiting for them to turn on her, was nice. Surprisingly, she enjoyed helping people. Maybe it was the feeling of saving beings' lives, or proving to them that she was more than just a thieving suit-rat, or maybe she just enjoyed having a dedicated purpose after wandering the galaxy and nearly dying. Regardless, she applied herself with a will to the clinic. Seeing how eager she was to learn and help, the doctor soon had her making runs with the clinic's medical vehicle and repairing any equipment that broke down. The clinic worked primarily for a mercenary group, The Thirty Blades, that protected it in exchange for the clinic patching up any members that were injured for free.
Seeing her way out of Omega, Key signed on with the Blades. It didn’t take long for her to prove her worth, as her technological expertise, piloting and driving skill, and ever growing combat skills proved invaluable to the group. It's been five years since she nearly died and joined up with the Blades. She's sharpened her skills in fighting and built her XO suit in that time, determined to never be put in that situation she had been in with the Varren again.
She's built a reputation as a skilled pilot and driver and a competent mercenary whose willing to do nearly any job and will see it to the end no matter the cost.
The idea that Tyler may have just abandoned her never truly left her, but she buried it as deeply as she could. He couldn't have just left her. He couldn't have. The fact that she had never heard of his death or found a body gnaws at her confidence in the matter, however, keeping her from fully laying it to rest. Rather than address her problems, Key distracts herself from them. When she isn't doing her mercenary work, she's betting her credits in various forms of gambling. Some people turn to alcohol for their problems, Key turns to the rush of everything depending on one random roll.
She intends to save up enough credits to buy her own small ship and go exploring the galaxy again, but every time she gets any amount of credits she can't fight the urge to take it and bet it all away (something she feels extremely guilty for, but can't stop). She's never won, but she's always drawn back by the slight chance she could win back all the credit's she's lost, and then some.
She was recently contacted for Operation Kingslayer. They claim they hired her for her skill in piloting and driving and her record of successfully completing missions no matter what obstacles get in her way.
In reality, she also makes a perfect deniable agent. Her history of merc work, her status as a Quarian , and even her personality all make for excellent things to make it look like she acted on her own should things all go wrong.
MISC DETAILS
Appearance: Standing at 5ft 7in (1.7 meters) and decked out in as much customization as she can add to her suit, Key tends to attract even more attention than the average Quarian does. She embraces this, always making sure her suit is as clean as it can possibly be with her spikes shining and her leather belts oiled to perfection. In general Key takes great pride in her appearance, always on the look out for things she can further customize her suit with. She moves and acts like she has something to prove, almost always seeming to somehow have her shoulders squared and her chest puffed out, ready to defend herself against some disparaging remark or outright physical violence. Life is not kind in the Terminus systems, least of all to Quarians by themselves.
If you look closely you can see where her enviro-suit has been repaired on her left shoulder. It mirrors scars beneath, and is the result of a near death experience. Because of that Key is always ready to move in an instant. She never comes across as fully relaxed, even when she's somewhere safe, always appearing tense and in a hurry to be somewhere else, usually playing with something (typically a hand puzzle) to occupy herself.
Key can play the drums and is fairly good at them. She has a set in her apartment on Omega.
Key loves the human punk culture, and has a playlist of their heavy rock songs queued up and ready to go at any time.
Key is an avid follower of Clawball and Biotiball, frequently betting on the outcomes of those games.
Key has a collection of useless things that she keeps around purely because she likes the way they look. This ranges from a pretty rock to a piece of scrap metal or shrapnel that she thinks is shaped prettily. She's constantly gathering more as she goes about her missions. She doesn't really have a reason, she just likes something and picks it up. She's a bit of a hoarder.
Key shamelessly loves garbage soap opera tv shows, terrible romance novels (you know the ones. Where every cover has a some male showing off his muscles or power with something ominous above him like 'He could take on anything, except her love.'), and her favorite movies are the sappy romantic ones like Fleet and Flotilla (her second favorite being horror movies, and she has a large collection of both in her apartment and omni-tool.).
Key likes to use Simstims to experience things she normally could not, given her practically nonexistent immune system.
Key is a video game nerd, having clocked several hundred hours on Galaxy of Fantasy, Grim Terminus Alliance, Alliance Corsair, and numerous other games.
Key enjoys hand puzzles (like the rubrics cube) and has at least one on her at all times.
If you look closely you can see where her enviro-suit has been repaired on her left shoulder. It mirrors scars beneath, and is the result of a near death experience. Because of that Key is always ready to move in an instant. She never comes across as fully relaxed, even when she's somewhere safe, always appearing tense and in a hurry to be somewhere else, usually playing with something (typically a hand puzzle) to occupy herself.
Key can play the drums and is fairly good at them. She has a set in her apartment on Omega.
Key loves the human punk culture, and has a playlist of their heavy rock songs queued up and ready to go at any time.
Key is an avid follower of Clawball and Biotiball, frequently betting on the outcomes of those games.
Key has a collection of useless things that she keeps around purely because she likes the way they look. This ranges from a pretty rock to a piece of scrap metal or shrapnel that she thinks is shaped prettily. She's constantly gathering more as she goes about her missions. She doesn't really have a reason, she just likes something and picks it up. She's a bit of a hoarder.
Key shamelessly loves garbage soap opera tv shows, terrible romance novels (you know the ones. Where every cover has a some male showing off his muscles or power with something ominous above him like 'He could take on anything, except her love.'), and her favorite movies are the sappy romantic ones like Fleet and Flotilla (her second favorite being horror movies, and she has a large collection of both in her apartment and omni-tool.).
Key likes to use Simstims to experience things she normally could not, given her practically nonexistent immune system.
Key is a video game nerd, having clocked several hundred hours on Galaxy of Fantasy, Grim Terminus Alliance, Alliance Corsair, and numerous other games.
Key enjoys hand puzzles (like the rubrics cube) and has at least one on her at all times.
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