Starting from Scratch

Washed Up

For Omega, new arrivals were an everyday occurrence. For a batarian and a human, this was their first time. Jeeran glanced up at the human next to him, who was staring quietly into the deep void outside the shuttle. Probably still thinking about whether this was a good idea or not. Omega is a gamble; we're throwing all our chits on the table by coming here. No. It's not. Stealing money from his parents and leaving Earth was a gamble. Moving to Anhur was a gamble. Selling our car parts store on Anhur was a gamble. Coming to Omega is akin to jumping off a skyscraper.

"Please prepare to disembark. Approximate arrival time to Omega: five minutes."

"This is the last stop, Brendan," the batarian chuckled darkly. "After all we've been through, this is the biggest."

"We were finished on the Anhur, Jeeran," Brendan replied, never taking his eyes off of the window. "It was either leave and start over, or work a dead-end job for the rest of our lives. On Omega, we have a chance to make it big."

"We're not exactly one of a kind. People from all over the galaxy end up in Omega. We're no different from the rest of the wanderers that stumble onto this station."

"That's exactly where you're wrong, Jeeran. We are different. Our names are gonna be all over the fucking billboards on Omega. We'll show that asshole Kenje back on Anhur that we can do this."

Jeeran narrowed at the mention of the rival dealer on Anhur. He had sold them an engine that was set to explode when it was activated. The engine in question ended up rigged to the man's front door, much to his surprise when the foul-smelling goo splattered all over his apartment. His response had been to call the authorities and periodically throw insults at the pair during their store inspection. "Ten thousand credits isn't a lot of capital to work with, Brendan."

"You've always been more of a glass half empty guy."

"I call myself a realist."

"Shut the fuck up," he smiled, finally tearing his gaze away from the glass. "Either way, you're stuck with me until the day we die."

"Please exit the shuttle," rang the shuttle VI. "We are not responsible for any belongings left on the shuttle after departure."

Jeeran stepped onto the spaceport floor, the sound echoing in the corridor. The other passengers shuffled out of the vehicle, avoiding eye contact with anybody. That's the rule of thumb on Omega. Don't piss anyone off you can't handle. Anyone more, and you're dead. Reminds me of Earth. Jeeran looked skywards, taking in the immense sight of the dirty metropolis. People walked to their destinations quickly and quietly, eyes facing the ground and hands in their pockets. A few turians in armor hung at the sides of the crowds, hands clasped around barely concealed weaponry. A couple of krogan stood in the corner of one of the endless walkways, shaking down a scared human. Jeeran had just enough time to step back as a vorcha sprinted past him, hissing and spitting at someone behind him. It reminded him of the cities on Earth, dark but dotted with lights, dank, and full of low lives just waiting to pounce on them. Then again, we're on of those low lives too. Just part of the endless crowd of the desperate. The only one who seems to be unaffected is Brendan. Jeeran glanced at him, big, tall, stretching a bit from the flight. Brendan met his look. "Cheer up, man," he said, noting his dark expression. "All we have to do is get a start on Omega, and we're on our way."

"Do you have any suggestions?"

"…well, I was kind of hoping you did."

Jeeran nodded, used to the bald man's antics. He pulled up a list of contacts on his omni-tool. "I have a few contacts on Omega. One of them was my colleague back on Earth."

"I don't remember you having any friends," Brendan frowned.

"She used to—"

"Oh, I see. A lady friend."

Jeeran scrolled through his contact list, struggling to remember her where he had filed her information. The orange glow of the omni-tool shone on his face, illuminating the perpetual glare he held. "Okay, I'm sorry. You can continue with the story now."

"She used to work as a reporter back on Earth. But that wasn't all of what she did. She was also able to give me information about the job market on the Anhur and what was in demand at the time, which was why I suggested we set up an auto parts store."

"You still didn't answer my question."

"I met her while she was reporting a car crash in front of a bank. Fortunately, my deposit was still safe. In any case, we kept in touch after she interviewed me. The last time I saw her was when she told me she was going to Omega to visit a friend."

"How long ago was this?"

"Approximately three years ago, before we moved to the Anhur."

Silence. Brendan shook his head. "I guess that's a fucking reasonable timeframe for visiting friends. Do you know if she's even here?"

"I have located her apartment. She lives in the Riordan district. I suggest we leave for her apartment before nightfall."

"What are you talking about? It's always night on Omega."

##################

Jeeran stopped at the ninth door in the hallway. "This is her apartment."

Brendan peered at the rusty metal door. Years of neglect had left the door almost entirely orange. "Doesn't look like much," he noted.

"Don't be fooled by the door. Look up."

The big man looked up. At the top of the doorway, a black dot sat in the center of the frame, bigger than the other molded spots. "I would consider knocking," Jeeran said. "but she already knows we're here. You can open the door whenever you like."

The door slid open, revealing an asari, who happened to be holding a pistol to Brendan's face, about two feet above her. Unlike most of the asari they had passed on the way here, this one was holding a dangerous weapon and wore less revealing clothing. "What the hell do you want?" said the asari. Ah. Exactly the way I remember her.

"Ira Calori, I take it?" Jeeran offered.

She switched the pistol to his face instead. "Who are you?"

"A question many people pose to strangers, but in this case, I am Jeeran. Unless you don't recall our association back on Earth?"

She squinted for a second, glancing back and forth between his eyes. A problem most species face when dealing with my species. Which set of eyes to look into? For everyday use, people should look into the lower pair. "Jeeran," said the asari, breaking into a smirk and thankfully lowering her pistol. "What brings you to Omega?"

"…career change," he finally decided. "Omega has many opportunities for those who take advantage of it."

"I see," she said, letting her pistol hand fall to the side. "Who's this?"

"Runaway, car salesman, and soon-to-be-king of Omega at your service," Brendan announced, making Jeeran wince.

"He still hasn't changed," said Jeeran.

"He's always been annoying."

"I'm still here," said Brendan.

"You should probably just come inside before Aria's people believe you're a threat," said Ira, allowing them inside the apartment.

"Her people watch you?" asked Jeeran.

"On Omega, you learn to watch your ass. Aria has a lot of enemies."

"Wait, you just insulted us," Brendan realized.

"Just take a seat here," Ira pointed. They sat down at the coffee table. Jeeran looked around her apartment, which was filled with asari art and other less frugal objects. Compared to what he had seen on the way here, it was nice.

"What do you do here, Ira? I don't suppose there is much room for a reporter on Omega. Or rather, visiting friends for three years."

Ira looked behind and around us, as if she was looking for anyone inside her own apartment other than the two of them. "I didn't come here to visit," she finally said.

"I suspected as much."

"I won't hand out biographies of my life to everyone. That includes you, Jeeran. But I can tell you that I work for Aria."

"The Aria T'Loak?" said Brendan, raising an eyebrow. "As in the "don't fuck with Aria" Aria?"

"No, the other ruler of Omega," replied the asari, rolling her eyes. "She asked me if I could gather information for her on…certain items of interest on Omega."

"She asked you to report things to her?" said Jeeran.

"I couldn't refuse." She shrugged. "Eventually I wound up staying here."

"What about that friend?" piped up Brendan.

She dismissed Brendan with a wave of her hand. "It's nothing that concerns you."

"Other matters aside," Jeeran interjected. "we did have a purpose in coming here."

"I expected that," Ira said, laying her pistol to the side. "What did you have in mind?"

"We were looking for some…lodgings in the area. Know of anything available?"

"Well," said the asari thoughtfully. "there is a recently vacated building in the Koplar district. You could stay there."

"Recently vacated?" said Brendan. "The hell do you mean by that?"

"There was a gang war going on in that district between Gold Train and the Skulkers. The Skulkers won, and they killed all the Gold Train gang members in that building and kidnapped their leaders to torture them. So now the district's calmed down."

"Why the hell is that the safest option?"

"It's not the safest," replied Ira. "Nowhere on Omega is safe. But that is the best option, unless you want to ask that other reliable contact you have."

"And why is it the best?" said Jeeran.

"Any other apartment around here is "protected" by the Skulkers. Extortion for protection: you know the drill. They control that district, so you're exempt from their taxes."

"And you've escaped your payments?" Jeeran asked.

"Working with Aria has its advantages."

"Then it is fine," Jeeran concluded. "How much do we pay you?"

"No need," said the asari. "Just don't mention me at all, and you'll be fine."

"Like getting into the Earth mafia," muttered Brendan, getting out of his chair. "We'll just go now."

"Just stay alert," Ira advised behind us. "Omega doesn't protect the weak."

"We'll keep that in mind," said Jeeran. "But wait, I need to talk with you for a minute." The door closed, leaving Brendan standing outside. The only thing he could hear at the moment was the staccato sound of his foot against the floor. Then, Jeeran appeared just as quickly as he had disappeared. "What were you up to in there?" said Brendan.

"Making sure we stay a step ahead of the rest. We need to go now." Brendan frowned at the batarian.

"Where the hell is the Koplar district?"

#######################

The aircar zipped past the market district, a dark shadow moving across a sea of lights. Jeeran looked down to the night clubs, to where the famous Afterlife club was located. Dark, purple pulsing lights flashed from windows, and Jeeran thought he could faintly see an asari stripper dancing in the light. I never could understand the galactic fantasy for the asari. Then again, they are quite flexible for a species. I wonder if Brendan had seen that stripper. "Jeeran, you're going to hope that you have a fetish for asari. Omega's the best place for asari."

Of course he did. Jeeran looked back to the pilot's cabin. "You're supposed to be paying attention to driving, not distant strippers."

"There's no fucking road here! I can pay attention to anything and still drive."

"Perhaps if you had let me pilot the aircar…"

"No way. I don't want to be going two damn klicks per hour and get pulled over for going too slow.

"There is no law enforcement on Omega."

"Shut up."

"That's the second time you have told me to shut up."

"Make it three. Shut up."

"We are here."

The aircar finally landed at the edge of the district. Brendan popped open the car doors. "And she just let us have her aircar?"

"It was not hers."

"Then whose was it?"

"Does it matter?"

Brendan twisted his head to Jeeran, who was innocently unloading his luggage from the car. The smell of the Omega air permeated everything, leaving Jeeran feeling like he needed a shower already. Brendan wrinkled his nose, squinting at Jeeran through the smog. "You're a very sneaky deviant." Brendan concluded.

"Opposites do attract."

"Hey, I can be devious when I want to be."

"That was not my intended meaning."

"Okay, that's just mean."

Jeeran looked up at the building. For a free house, this was impressive, with a garage in front and two levels in the building. The entire building was seated on the edge of the level, with an unobstructed view of Omega on the other side. A balcony jutted out from the second level and gave an excellent 180 degree viewpoint of the district. A discarded rifle lay buried underneath a pile of garbage. Brendan picked it up. "Free toy too," he said, checking the weapon. "But it doesn't have a thermal clip."

"We are lucky to find one at all."

Jeeran punched in the codes for the house, unlocking the door. Inside, overturned furniture lay strewn across the floor, with a couple of drawers and a refrigerator left standing. The staircase was riddled with bullet holes, and an abandoned thermal clip was sitting on a counter, along with a spray of dried blood. A broken helmet lay discarded in the corner, almost unrecognizable. Upon inspection, the upper level was less damaged, though one section of the floor was missing on the other side of the building. A sniper rifle was found snapped in half, hidden underneath one of the four bunk beds in the front of the house near the balcony. One window contained no glass at all. "I think it looks great," Brendan commented. "The blood adds to the visual aspect of the building."

"We should decide how to generate funds for ourselves first, and then redecorate."

"Just hold on. When there's a will, there's a way."

"Where did that quote originate?"

"I actually don't know. Wait, how do you know that's a quote? I could've thought of it."

"Highly unlikely."

"Shut up."

"Four."

"What are we going to do on Omega?" Brendan demanded. "We can't do cars again; there'd be way too much competition. Where are we going to get contracts? We don't know a fucking thing about this station."

"I believe you were the one to say that we would own Omega."

"That doesn't mean that I know everything we need to do! What do you think we should do?"

Jeeran looked out the window. "Ira said she had an idea for us. I can wait."

Jeeran paused. Brendan looked around the room, absentmindedly picking at his shirt. The Sahrabarik star cast a dull orange light on the room, and Jeeran was suddenly aware that the day was drawing closer to dark. The end of our time on Anhur…but the beginning of our time on Omega. I don't know if that's a good thing or bad thing. I've spent the first part of my life on Earth, then Anhur, and then Omega. I acutally think I'm worse off than I was in the beginning.

"How long?"