Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect or characters.
Author's note: This story follows the adventures of my RPG character Kolyat after the events of the Thane loyalty mission. The Savage Worlds Mass Effect RPG is a lot of fun (I do not own Savage Worlds either)
Kolyat settled in to working for Captain Bailey in C-Sec. A lot better fate than being tried for shooting a bodyguard and threatening to kill a politician, he thought. It had taken some adaptation, despite C-Sec being the police force on Citadel, they violated the laws a lot as well. Captain Bailey had explained that things couldn't always get done by the book. He was making things better in Zakera Ward though, violent and property crime was lower in Zakera than in other similar Wards. Kolyat wasn't officially in C-Sec though, he was a hired informer. Some might say a snitch, but Kolyat considered himself a private investigator. The cover story was he was on Probation. It was an excuse for him to go see Captain Bailey twice a week, to get assignments and report what he knew.
Kolyat was just getting to the part he enjoyed in his meetings with the Captain, the part after his report, in detail, even recalling things the Captain asked that he had not considered important. After he was given his assignments of what to watch for, after the official business was complete. Captain Bailey would relax, smile his thin smile and ask how Kolyat was doing, personally. In ways, the tough C-Sec Captain was more a father figure than his real father had been. He could tell that Bailey really did care about how he was doing. As he finished telling Kolyat to keep an eye on what was moving through the warehouse district, he leaned back and nodded towards the coffee pot.
"Go get us some coffee and we'll chat a bit, I'm buying" he joked. Of course he was buying; it was free to all C-Sec Officers.
Kolyat smiled as he went to get the coffee, black for the Captain, but he added five spoons of sugar to his own. 'How can he drink this crap without sugar?' he wondered.
"I said I'm buying the coffee, but you keep taking all the sugar I'm gonna have to start charging you" Bailey joked as Kolyat returned.
"If so, I may need to charge more for my assistance, Sir" he replied drily, getting a laugh from the Captain.
"How are things going for you, Kolyat? Any problems?"
"No, Sir" Kolyat replied, as he always did to this question. His life was actually pretty good here; he had a small apartment, steady income and opportunities to make his own way as a free drell.
"Talk to your father lately?" This was always the second question Bailey asked. Family was important to him, the reason he had done so much for this young drell was that his father had come seeking to keep him from a life of crime. That he had come with Commander Shepard had certainly made an impact as well.
"Yes" Kolyat replied, then looking down at his cup, "he said that he may be beyond communication for a while though".
Bailey wanted to say something comforting, but what can you really say to a young man whose father was an assassin, traveling with a Spectre, likely on some mission too dangerous to even hint at? Before he could reply the intercom buzzed. "Captain, sorry to disturb you, but the hanar Preacher is back" a woman's voice announced.
"Can't you deal with this?" he replied, irritated.
"I'm sorry, Sir, I wouldn't bother you if I could. It's preaching just outside the doors to Dark Star and refuses to move. You said we can't use force and it isn't responding to my orders."
The last thing Bailey needed was reports of C-Sec using force on a hanar. They were maddeningly annoying, but never violent. There was enough anti-human sentiment on Citadel already. He still had one option left. "I'll deal with it" he said before closing the intercom. He looked up at the drell, "I'm sorry to have to cut our visit short, son. Perhaps you could help me with this, can I ask for a personal favor, Kolyat".
He tensed, setting down his coffee. "You want me to deal with the hanar… Do you think that is wise?"
"Yes, I do" Bailey replied firmly. "Kolyat, you may best be able to convince it to either stop preaching or buy the damn license. I know you dislike the hanar, but you know them better than humans." After a moment he added, "But I am asking as a personal favor, if you don't want to then I'll deal with it."
He considered this a moment, he was being asked as a favor. Hanar never asked favors, they expected them. Captain Bailey was clearly uncomfortable asking for this favor.
"I'll see what I can do, Captain" he said with a nod, finishing his coffee.
As Kolyat approached the entrance of Dark Star he saw the hanar and C-Sec Officer still arguing. He knew a hanar would argue all day before giving in. The C-Sec Officer was a young human woman with dark hair. He recognized the voice as the one that had called Captain Bailey. She was likely repeating the same argument, trying to get the hanar to move on. "Look, there are laws, you need a license to proselytize on Citadel, and then only in approved areas."
"This one believes it has the right to speak the truth" the hanar replied in an annoying monotone. "The Enkindlers gave species speech in order to make truth known."
"Pardon me, but perhaps I can be of some assistance" Kolyat said as he approached. The woman turned, sweeping an arm towards the hanar.
"Be my guest" she said as she stepped a few meters away.
"This one is pleased to have the assistance of one brought to our world" the hanar said through its vocalizer.
Kolyat hadn't had his eyes altered to see the ultraviolet range that hanar used for most communication. However, what was said in the tones he could see spoke an air of superiority it didn't vocalize. He clasped his hands behind his back, being careful to stand erect despite his ingrained reflex to bow.
"This one has not undergone the procedure to see the language of luminescence. However, this one is concerned by the Enkindlers' follower."
The hanar glowed with several colors in the visible spectrum, Kolyat could understand only the tone, not the detail: "confusion, concern, confidence that one bound by Compact must aid".
However, it vocalized: "This one does not understand one's concern. This one would welcome aid in resolving one's dispute."
Kolyat replied with feigned sadness, "It disturbs this one that a follower of the Enkindlers would turn to petty crime."
The hanar flashed shock and confusion. "This one is insulted by the accusation. This one has committed no crimes."
"This one must inform the follower of the Enkindlers that the Council of the Citadel has passed laws requiring a license to proselytize and setting aside areas to do so where it does not block passageways. This one must note that the follower of the Enkindlers is blocking an entrance. These are criminal acts." He shook his head sadly, as if disappointed. The reaction was as he hoped.
The hanar flashed shame, a deep, slow pulsing of color. "This one understands. This one lacks funds to purchase the required license however."
Kolyat knew that it expected him to purchase the license, even though they had never met. It made him angry. "I hope that you won't turn to other crimes as well then" he snapped. "You could always try to find something useful to do to raise funds instead of just wasting C-Sec's time."
The hanar slowly floated away, vocalizing nothing, but the shades of color showed it was angry and offended by his outburst.
Kolyat watched the hanar glide silently away through the crowd, he could see that it was unconsciously muttering in indignant anger by its luminescence. Behind him he heard the C-Sec Officer reporting: "Situation is resolved, Sir. No need for you to come down." There was a pause, then "Yes, Sir, I'd love to."
She approached him at a slight distance on his left side, a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth at the idea she was wary of being considered a threat.
"Great job, thank you, I thought I'd be here for hours." She smiled, half turning towards him.
"You might have been" he replied in a low voice.
"Well, since you saved me from that, how about I buy you a drink then?" She motioned towards the doors to Dark Star.
They had no trouble getting a table, there was not much of a crowd inside. As they took their seats an asari woman in an outfit so tight it could have been painted on came over.
"Were you able to get rid of the hanar?" she asked.
The human waved towards Kolyat, "all the credit goes to him, I wasn't getting anywhere."
The asari smiled, "well then, first drink is on the house. Damned hanar was blocking the door."
As she left to get the drinks, Kolyat cautiously asked "I suppose Bailey suggested this?"
"Actually, no" she replied with a smile." I'll remember that you have good ears, but Bailey just told me I could end shift early. The drink was all my idea."
"I didn't intend to eavesdrop, my apologies." Kolyat said in an even, deep tone. "I am Kolyat"
"I guess I should have known" she replied. "Not many drell on Citadel, much less in Zakera. I'm Marana" She extended her hand, "pleased to meet you."
Kolyat had observed this human ritual, but never participated. He cautiously extended his hand, clasping hers. He was unsure of whether to grip firmly or lightly, unfamiliar with the details. He chose a light, firm grip, careful to not hurt her.
"If I had known you were a couple, I'd have brought something different" the asari announced as she approached. They quickly pulled back their hands at the suggestion. Kolyat realized that holding hands was considered a romantic gesture to humans and asari as well as drell. Marana seemed just as embarrassed by the assumption.
"No… No, we actually just met" she said quickly.
"Hey, no need to be defensive" the asari said setting down the drinks. "I don't judge anyone." As she started to leave, she turned back towards them. "If you change your minds though, I have something special, on me" she said over her shoulder before walking away.
"I'm not sure how we could change our minds about having just met" Kolyat said, confused.
Marana laughed, "she means if we decide to admit we are a couple."
"That would be something special, indeed" he said with a small smile. Marana blushed slightly, turning her attention to her drink.
He's a quiet one Marana thought, occasionally glancing at her companion. She watched his eyes, he scanned the room constantly, watching those that walked near. She was fascinated by the two sets of eyelids that seemed to work in a rhythm. Occasionally his eyes would lock on hers and she would glance away. She decided she was going to have to break the silence. Perhaps he's shy.
"I didn't catch everything you said to the Preacher, what did you say to get it to leave?"
"I shamed him" Kolyat said in a low voice.
Marana had to lean in to hear over the music, the drell's voice was low and gravelly. "I wish we could do that. He usually argues for a few hours before moving on."
Kolyat thought for a moment before replying. "He will likely think of an argument to counter with soon. He assumed I would help him because of the Compact, but I refuse to be bound." Kolyat stopped, realizing he was getting angry just discussing it.
Marana waited until his grip loosened on his glass before speaking again. "Forgive my curiosity, but I don't understand, what is the compact?"
Kolyat tried to relax, he stared at his half finished drink in his hands. "The Compact is the agreement between the drell and the hanar. Centuries ago, my race depleted the resources of our planet, Rakhana. We had not yet developed deep space travel to explore other planets. The hanar discovered our planet in a state of war over what resources remained."
He stopped, finished his drink in one gulp to steady his voice before continuing. "They offered to take thousands of us to Kahje, to save the best and brightest of our people. Those that went made the Compact with the hanar, to serve them for saving them. Now, drell are a servant race to the hanar."
"How are you unbound then?" Marana asked.
"I choose to be" he replied. "The Compact is not enforced, it is expected. Hanar expect drell to always aid them. To them we are theirs to use, like you might use a tool, or a mech." Kolyat looked up, gazing into her eyes. "I refuse to be used anymore."
"I… I'm so sorry" Marana stammered. "I really had no idea, I'm sorry I brought it up."
"No" Kolyat said, his voice again firm. "I apologize for becoming emotional. I need to work on my self control." He glanced away from her eyes, he could read sadness and concern in her expression. He feigned interest in a volos passing their table.
"The hanar expected me to buy his license, instead I pretended to be upset to see him turn to crime."
Marana laughed, "you did what? You're kidding, right?" She covered her mouth with hers hands as she laughed.
"No, I am not kidding" Kolyat said in a serious tone. "My intent was a ruse, to shame him that even a lowly drell was ashamed that he was breaking the law." He looked back down to his empty glass, "of course I got angry and ruined that plan too."
Marana was still chuckling, "well, it worked, he left."
"Yes" Kolyat agreed, "however if I hadn't gotten angry I might have been able to shame him into ceasing to ignore the laws. As it is, he left for now, but will just go elsewhere."
"That's good enough for me!" Marana replied, smiling. She noticed that he wasn't though, he was clearly upset over the incident. "Hey" she said, turning serious, "you still got rid of him, me off shift early and us both a free drink, not bad at all."
"I suppose not" he muttered, still looking down.
Marana finished her drink, as she rose from the table laid a hand on his shoulder. "Well, anyway, I enjoyed talking with you more than I was enjoying arguing with the Preacher. For what it's worth, thank you."
Kolyat looked up, enjoying her smile and a faint scent of flowers, "you are welcome."
"I hope to see you again sometime" she said as she walked away.
"So do I" he said a few moments later before leaving as well.
Later, in his own apartment, Kolyat was about to go to sleep when the memory flashed in his mind.
*He extends his hand to hers, careful to not hurt her. Her hand is soft, warm and moist. She seems so fragile. Moments pass, her eyes are a faceted brown, flecked with gold. She is smiling, not quite showing her teeth. Her lips are a light pink contrasting with light tan skin. There is movement to his right, the asari approaches.
"If I had known you were a couple, I'd have brought something different"
Her eyes widen in surprise, her grip tenses a moment, then she pulls away. He draws back his own hand as quickly. The asari is smiling.*
