"Piece of cake!"
Aran leant back in his seat, his drink cradled in his hand. The thumping music of Afterlife tickled the surface of the liquid, making it dance. I stared in his eyes for a second, waiting for him to explain the real plan, but his lips stayed sealed. He glanced around at the dancers and servers, before taking a self satisfied sip. I arched forward, concentrating on his arrogant eyes.
"You're talking about stealing from Aria," I said sternly, "You remember what she did to those batarians?"
His eyes briefly gained a hint of worry, before a loose smile formed at the corner of his mouth, "We're not batarians."
"You're fuckin' crazy, man! I'm not doing it." I said. I finished my drink and headed to the exit. The bouncer remained rooted to the spot as I tried to pass him. He stared threateningly at me as I scraped by. As I emerged into the smog-strewn stench of Omega's street, I fumbled for a cigarette in my pocket. I planted it between my lips as I scanned the steps of Afterlife, the crowd of people moving and shifting was almost hypnotic. Staring for two long gets you a cracked skull, so I turned my attention to the balcony overlooking lower Omega. As I stared down at all the flickering lights and shadows, I ignited my cigarette.
I took a deep drag, the smoke filled my body. It gave me time to think about what Aran said. Even if by some miracle we were to get away with stealing from Aria, what then? We couldn't sell it on Omega, so we'd need to get a ship offworld. We can't afford a ship, so we would have to rent one, but who sees all the shipping records? Aria. Sometimes my brother just dosen't think about things, once he gets an idea he-
"Excuse me".
A soft voice appears behind me. I turn my head, and am blown away. I discover a beautiful asari, with a face of azure blue, and the most beautiful green eyes I have ever seen. I am speechless, I stare for a second or two before she speaks again,
"Have you got a light?"
"I, uh...Yeah, sorry."
I awkwardly pass her the lighter, which is still in my (now unusually sweaty) hand.
"Thanks."
She lights her cigarette, which illuminates her perfect face in the half-light of Omega. Her face is caressed by light grey smoke, as it adds to the everpresent fog over the street.
"Lyra", she says, handing me back my lighter.
"Uh...Isaac", I reply nervously.
"Nice to meet you, Isaac", She leans on the railing, peering over the side. She slowly turns back to face me, propping her elbow on the edge, "So, how come I've never seen you 'round Omega before?"
I take as second before replying, concentrating on forming words, "I just got here with my brother, we had to leave Earth."
"Running from something?" she asked, blowing a stream of smoke past my ear.
"Something like that", I replied, looking into the chaos below.
"Well, you came to the right place"
I turned back to her, her cigarette lit her face. Satin smoke left her lips as she continued, "Omega is full of dirty little secrets"
My gaze lingered for a second before I allowed a small smirk to mark my face. I took one last drag on my cigarette before, asking hesitantly, "So, what's yours?"
"Baby, you wouldn't believe me if I told you", she said, captivating me with every syllable. She flicked her cigarette over the edge, and pushed herself up. She turned to me with a fleeting glance, and said softly, "See you round, Isaac".
She immediately blended with Omega's mass of people and she was gone. I wasn't usually into Asari but she was the most seductive being I had ever spoken to. As I peered into the crowd, trying to catch a swift look, a voice I recognized emerged from the din,
"Isaac!"
My brother approached from the steps of Afterlife, waving at me. I turned briefly before monitoring the crowd again.
"Who was that?" My brother asked.
"Dosen't matter", I answered, as I slowly turned from the search.
"Well, let's go then", My brother proceeded towards a cab. I followed, after another glace into the masses.
We both climbed into the cab, before it streaked into the endless lines of traffic.