Member
Trishar Rayana
Trish stood in the middle of the group after the team had barged into Vol's office. Making their way through his building was pretty much a cinch, almost as if the volus had completely forgotten exactly what they were capable of. Hired mercs? Cliché booby traps? Well... the turrets were a nice touch, and Rayana had to admit that she wouldn't want to make the slightest move that would set them off... Okay, perhaps Vol had learned a thing or two while gallivanting across the galaxy with them.
The asari was about to suggest that they withdraw and target the turrets with biotics, or use some of Zik's explosives (as, without a doubt, the salarian still had some on him), but the assault team's leader had a better idea in mind. What exactly that idea was and where he was going with it, Trish hadn't the slightest clue. Nevertheless, she watched with sheer anticipation as the salarian paced about the room and gave a grand and totally bullshit speech. It became quite evident he meant to use a bit of psychology and clever misdirection to throw Vol off his game and pin everything on his assistant. The human woman attempted to protest several times, to Trishar's amusement, but she got no where before the Talons arrived.
After Short's entertaining exit, Vol's rapid change in attitude only brought a sharp smirk to Trish's lips.
"Uh-huh...," was all she could say in response when he finished.
While the others secured the area and harassed Vol, Trish turned away to bring up her omni-tool and tap out a quick message to Declan.
We're done here. Location for RV?
Declan Callaway
Back at Aria’s VIP booth in Afterlife, the asari stood with her back to Declan, overlooking her domain with crossed arms and pondering eyes. She had finished listening to the man’s proposal nearly a full minute ago, but she was mulling it over in her thoughts, contemplating everything that had just come out of his mouth. Half of it appalled her, the other half intrigued her beyond anything else.
“You’ve just given me a lot of sensitive information, Callaway,” she said in a foreboding tone. “Are you so sure I won’t turn around and sell it to the highest bidder tomorrow morning?”
“I’m sure,” the man said with firm confidence. “Doing so would mean that you stand to lose everything… And we both know you’re not one to play it fast-and-loose anymore when it comes to Omega.” Throwing a thumb over his shoulder at the guards, he also said, “And you have a thing for holding on to the past, too, it seems.”
Aria turned her head to shoot an icy glare over her shoulder. “Don’t test me, Callaway.” There was a brief spark of biotic energy that arced across the back of her neck for only a second. When she let the comment go, she turned her gaze back to the dancer’s platform in the center of the club and said, “You’re going to need a helmsman. Mr. Mansfield perished in that brave stunt you pulled two years ago, didn’t he?”
Declan allowed a more somber tone to escape him in his reply. “Yes… he did. And Trish brought up the same fact. I’ll need a good pilot, even though I know that no one can ever take Darcy’s place. She did have a recommendation for one though… Someone currently working for you, as a matter of fact. You apparently sent him on a mission just a while ago to mess with the Blood… Pack…”
The man’s voice trailed off when he saw that Aria had dropped her arms to her side and was clenching both fists. Her entire demeanor had changed, but Declan couldn’t get a solid read on her so long as she continued to stand there with her back to him. But a slightly bowed head and tense shoulders revealed a mixture of emotions to him.
“T’Loak?” he asked.
“Of course she suggested him…,” she mumbled, barely audible to Declan. “I’ve already lost one child to them, why must I lose another?”
… “Huh?” Declan felt an overwhelming confusion envelop him right where he stood. “W-wait, hold up… This person is one your daughters? But Trish said “he”, and I know gender doesn’t really apply to asari, but--”
“He’s not an asari,” Aria said, cutting him off. “He’s a human.” She finally turned to face him, her eyes revealing a tangle of emotions.
“You... adopted a human son?”
“Not something so formal, Callaway,” she began to explain. “He was a slave to a batarian trader on the station. When Cerberus arrived, the imbecile that owned him died in the wake of their chaos. I felt… empty after--” she raised a fist close to her chest and turned back around. “Nevermind that. I found him and took him under my wing. That’s all you need to know.”
Scratching the back of his head, Declan dared to ask, “So… just how old is this guy?”
“Old enough to pilot an array of vessels,” she replied. “And old enough to understand what it means to kill someone, if that’s your concern.”
“You mean Trish literally just suggested I take on a child as my helmsman?”
“Yes, it’s absurd. ...And I have a litany of objections to her incomprehensibly irrational idea…”
“Then I’ll gladly find someone else. There’s no way I’m letting a kid on my crew--”
“And that’s precisely why I also demand you take him.”
She said what now? … “--The fuck?!”
Aria turned back for a final time and marched up to Declan, practically coming nose-to-nose and staring him down in a forceful way that actually made the man step one foot back to brace himself from falling over. “As long as he’s with your crew, I know he’ll be safe. He doesn’t belong on Omega, surrounded by this… filth. Trish has tried to convince me of that several times, and I’ve always pretended to brush her off, but… She’s right. He needs to leave. You object to it not because it would be a pain in the ass, but because you don’t want the same thing that happened to Darcy Mansfield to happen to someone else, especially a youth.”
“Well… I…”
“So you’ll take more precautions this time to not… fuck… up.” Aria finally backed away and returned to her couch, where she dropped back on the cushion in a manner that betrayed relief; a very rare sight to see from the queen. “That’s my stipulation to the deal. Take it or leave it. I know this doesn’t become me, Callaway, but I’m willing to sacrifice my desire for vengeance if it means he’s given a second chance at life.”
Declan thought he had known all that was needed to know about Aria T’Loak; enough to sum up into three “C’s”: clever, charismatic, and cold-hearted. But the rumors about her having a few soft spots were true, it seemed. Everyone knew about Liselle, the daughter of Aria’s that was presumably murdered in cold blood many years ago. Just how many daughters Aria has is unknown, but the loss of Liselle had visibly affected Aria to the point that it escalated her level of paranoia and fierce protectiveness over Omega. All of that was ancient history, as far as Declan was concerned. He hadn’t entered the picture until after the Reaper War, so he had only second-hand knowledge of those events. Regardless, her peculiar concern for this young human male confirmed the past’s portrayal of her current self.
Gesturing defeat with raised palms, the man said, “Fine. I’ll take him… despite not knowing his name.”
“As a slave, he didn’t have a name,” Aria calmly replied after taking a sip of her Noverian Rum, “until I gave him one. Ezra; that’s what I settled on after a day of having him around.”
“Ezra?”
“I chose it from among your kind’s more ancient names. It had a nice ring to it.”
Crossing his arms, Dec asked, “I don’t suppose he’s taken ‘T’Loak’ as a surname, too?”
“Just Ezra,” she replied matter-of-factly. “He only wanted the given name. Wouldn’t say why.”
“It’s a nice name… I guess. So, where can I find him?”
Aria allowed herself a small smile before plucking up the datapad she had been reading earlier when Declan approached. A few finger taps pulled up a screen with several images of a large vessel, at least from what the man could make out from where he stood. Before needing to inquire, the asari tossed the pad at him unexpectedly, but his reflexes were still sharp, despite being locked up for a while.
“He’ll be waiting aboard your new ship… Captain.”
Those images portrayed a frigate-class starship, military grade by the appearance of the armor. The outer hull gave away its obvious human origins. A commandeered Alliance vessel, perhaps? No… the colors aren’t right, and-- Declan pulled up the ship’s details on the pad’s interface, --it’s been outfitted with Silaris armor plating? That’s far too advanced for the navy’s budget, not to mention the fact that its asari by origin. The final piece of information that the man made note of was the ship’s christened name: the Marathon.
“Where’d you acquire this beauty?”
Raising her chin with an air of cockiness reminiscent of the Aria that Declan had come to know, she answered, “When I took back my station from Cerberus, I sent those thugs packing through the airlocks… with none of their ships attached to the other side.”
Declan stared at her for a moment with wide eyes and jaw slightly agape. “This is a Cerberus vessel?”
“I believe it’s a Dashers vessel, now. Don’t you?”
---------
After settling the deal with Aria, Declan made his way back down from the VIP booth to meet up with Errol. The man had just retrieved what appeared to be some personal belongings, already gearing up for their inevitable departure from the station. Callaway smiled at the sight. Despite the two of them butting heads every now and then, Errol was a good person to rely on, and he always displayed integrity worthy of praise. Declan did worry a little though, whenever he saw Errol following him back into Afterlife and almost all the way to T'Loak. His conversation with Omega's leader needed to remain only between the two of them... for now. Luckily, Errol had turned back before anything of significance had been said.
When they exited the club, another familiar face came approaching from out of nowhere... Alexia. "Well damn, the Fitzgerald character returns from the dead. I bet Errol is both delighted to see you and consumed with wanting to beat you into a pulp. And before you say anything; yeah, I know, but you honestly need to read more of the classics."
Declan let out a light chuckle. "Like you're one to make fun of names," the captain replied. He wanted to hug Alexia, having missed her spunky personality, but considering that she was covered in goodness-knows-what, he decided to pass on that for now.
Errol's heavy hand on Declan's shoulder and the words that followed in response to Alexia teasing the captain about his gambling debt helped to push out the remaining uneasiness that settled in his stomach after his conversation with Aria. “Oh no, we’re good. Didn’t you hear, Stone Cold? He’s paying in installments.”
"But no interest," the man insisted with a raised finger. "Two thousand credits and nothing more."
His omni-tool beeped several times in rapid succession. Declan raised his wrist and the haptic display activated instantly to reveal a message from Trish.
We're done here. Location for RV?
Tapping his response, Declan replied, Docking bay E-71. Have everyone gather their belongings.
