Author's Note: In case some people didn't read the profile update, the 99 Percent has been reedited and changed. I want this story to be a Slice of Life story (with some action), rather than a completely action-filled fanfiction. If you enjoy reading my action fanfiction, then author alert me and wait for my upcoming story: The Homefront. Most of my updates come from my profile bio. Sorry to anyone who wanted the 99 Percent to be an action fanfiction. Read and Review!

Starting from Scratch

The Next Big Thing

Day 1. It's been one day since we've left Anhur for Omega. Secretly, I'm worried. Worried that Jeeran and I have gotten into shit, way bigger shit than anything we've done before. We've always had each other's backs, but this time we've got to work together to survive. Of course, there's no way I'm telling Jeeran this.

"What is that?"

Jeeran stared at the block of metal on the desk. Ira clapped a hand onto the block, starting the machine. The block slowly began to unfurl itself, beeping and whirring as the sections started to move apart. The machine extended upwards and another piece rose from the top, ending in a roughly rectangular block of metal with a glass front wrapping around the front. Arms, legs, and finally the head materialized in front of him. A red rectangle appeared on the glass and the room grew silent again.

"That is next big thing on Omega."

Jeeran leaned forward, staring at the machine's head. The machine stared back, motionless and inactive. Well, of course it's not doing anything. It's a machine. I can't believe I'm even thinking about this. "I was hoping you would be more explicit."

"This is a LOKI mech, a security robot produced by Hadne-Kednar. The Alliance started producing more LOKI mechs after the Battle of the Citadel to make up for their losses. We just started getting the first shipments a few weeks ago."

"They don't look particularly useful," Jeeran commented.

"They're inexpensive, simply built, and versatile. The LOKI mechs are the galaxy's new krogan." Ira keyed in a command on her omni-tool, and the mech closed in on itself, crouching and shrinking until it was once again a metal box, not out of place in the room. "Hadne-Kednar usually makes shit, but these are on top of the pile. And they're easy to build and program too."

Ira turned to Jeeran. "Can you make them?"

"I don't know, Ira," Jeeran said, rubbing his head. "I'm just a car mechanic.

"And also one of the best engineers in the Terminus Systems," Ira said. "You went to the Beckett Institute of Technology, one of the best engineering universities in the human colonies. Aria has other people working on them too, but they're just as shitty as they used to be. I just need you to upgrade these mechs, give them an edge. Can you do that?"

"Ira, I don't even know how to upgrade it. I've never worked with LOKI mechs before."

"Not that many people have either, and that's what will give you the advantage and Aria the advantage as well. They're simple to program and arm, and Aria can pay you for your work. 1000 credits for every mech you give to her. The LOKI mechs are only worth around 650 each. Will you do it?"

Jeeran sighed, standing out of his seat. "Where can I get them?"

Ira handed Jeeran a data pad. Jeeran scrolled through the data, noting the contact numbers and information. "That's a list of people who can get you the materials you need. I'll send you the requirements and settings for the mechs. Oh, and you might want to take a look at the number at the bottom."

Jeeran looked down the list. "Who's Tedril?"

"He's an information broker and your man on the street. If something sneezes in the Koplar district, he'll know who. Fortunately for you, I don't think you're going to have a lot of problems setting up shop in the Koplar district."

"How so?"

"There was a brief war between the Street Men and the Skulkers in the Koplar district. The Skulkers won, but their pull in the district is much smaller than before. I don't think you'll hear from them for a while, if you do at all. Your house is actually the Street Men's base of operations. The Skulkers didn't have the resources to occupy the house while they regrouped."

"I see," said Jeeran, standing up. He placed a gloved hand on the mech. "Do you mind if I take this mech for inspection?"

"Sure," Ira said, leaning back in her chair. "Aria wants forty mechs for the first shipment. Get them to me in a week. Of course, if you finish earlier, then bring them to me when you have them. The software and hardware specifications are on the data pad."

Jeeran glanced at the data pad, scrolling through the long list of numbers. He stepped outside. "How long will it take for the parts to arrive?"

"Depending on the supplier, it should take a few days. It shouldn't take you as long to build the mechs."

"And if I can't in a week?"

The door began to close. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

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

"What the hell is that?"

Brendan tapped the mech's head, and the mech's headlights flickered in response. He retreated back to his couch, resting his chin on his hand.

"This is a LOKI mech," Jeeran said. "And also our method of generating funds."

Brendan peered closely at the mech. "How's this robot going to make us money?"

"Ira wants us to build and program these mechs so that she can give them to Aria T'Loak. She gave us a data pad for contact and supplier information."

"Let me see that." Brendan scrolled through the data for a minute, and then tossed the pad onto the table. "Do you know how to build one of these things?"

Jeeran scratched the back of his head. "For the moment…no." Brendan worked his mouth for a few seconds. "Great," Brendan said, standing up. "Let's tear this thing apart."

It took Jeeran a moment to catch up. "What? For what purpose?"

"You want to know how these mechs tick, right?" Brendan said, lifting the mech's arm as if there was an instruction manual hidden there. "You have to take it apart."

"Perhaps we should consult someone about this, first."

Brendan let the arm fall back into place. "All right. Go on the extranet. Omnipedia it. Just let me know which part I should take off first and which parts I should avoid."

Twenty minutes later, the mech lay in pieces on the floor. Brendan wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead as he dug his hand through the mech's visorless face. In the space of twenty minutes, Jeeran had learned a lot about LOKI mechs and their hardware and software. Unfortunately, Brendan was still wondering about how they were going to put it back together. The closest matching result as to how to do so was an OmniAnswers post blatantly stating, "You shouldn't have taken it apart at all, n00b. XD ROTFLOL!"

"Don't touch that!" Brendan's hand froze for the sixth time, fingers still clasped on a small square object. "That's the navigation systems matrix. If you remove it, the mech will not be able to guide itself."

"Right," Brendan said, slowly releasing the matrix. His hand gingerly retreated from the mech's head. "Are you done yet? I thought you were a genius. They said your IQ was, what, one sixty something?"

"Genius does not completely refer to the ability to absorb information," Jeeran responded testily. "Despite their simple programming and even simpler construction, the LOKI mech is difficult to build. I'm attempting to find a supplier who can deliver LOKI parts that even an amateur"—Jeeran glanced at Brendan—"could assemble."

"Now that's just hurtful," said Brendan as he attempted to insert the mech arm into an unidentified section of the mech in vain. "I helped put together cars. I'm pretty sure putting a mech together won't be that hard. It was easy to take it apart."

"Naturally," Jeeran mused. "Why don't you try rebuilding the mech?"

"Sure, the parts just go…" Brendan realized the futility of his efforts, and abandoned the arm. "All right, just work on that. I think we're going to have to consider another factor in our "business plan"."

"What is that?"

"Security. Omega is kind of like Earth. There's gotta to be some gang that's running the district, and they usually charge people for "store security"."

"The Skulkers," Jeeran said.

"What? All right, the Skulkers. Either we hire security, maybe we could get some of Aria's guys, or pay their prices. I think a merc company is going to be a lot cheaper."

"We'll discuss it when the time comes," Jeeran said. "At the moment, we need to discuss what our plan is for the future. For now, all we have is an idea for building LOKI mechs for Aria. Eventually, we will need to branch out."

"We won't just have to make them for Aria. We can sell them to other buyers. Aria's just a starting point."

"We have to have a base income first. That's Aria. We can't do anything until we are sure that we have enough available resources to fund our business. I will begin searching for a list of possible contractors and buyers. Get in touch with Tedril."

"Who?"

Jeeran slid the data pad back to Brendan. His eyes fell on the last name on the list. "Tedril is an information broker. Specifically an information broker for the Koplar district. We need to learn the situation in the Koplar district now concerning the Skulkers."

Jeeran activated the communicator on his omni-tool. "Wait, Jeeran."

"What?"

"There's one thing we haven't considered," Brendan said seriously.

"What is that?"

Brendan held his arms out wide. 'Is there any place here where we can get a drink?"

Jeeran smirked.

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

Brendan's hand fell heavily on the table, cracking the dirty glass cup as it impacted the hard metal. He winced, and poured the asari liquor into the glass, not even reacting as the liquid partially spilled onto his hand. Brendan downed the drink in one gulp, breathing hard as he repeated the cycle for the sixth time.

"Brendan," Jeeran said, setting down his own glass. It was his first. "If we're planning to meet the information broker, we need to be sober. This includes you."

"This is nothing," Brendan said, slightly slurring his words. "No fucking way asari liquor is going to keep me…down."

The big man set his cup down again. The shot glass shattered upon touching down, falling into glittering pieces on the table. Brendan barely noticed, grabbing the liquor bottle by the neck. He shook it tentatively, and tilted his head back as the liquor ran down his throat and neck.

Jeeran sighed, and looked around the bar to see if their contact had arrived. The Red Dwarf was not his first choice, or any of his choices at all, and the people there seemed more destitute than the building itself. The bartender glanced at their booth against the wall while absentmindedly cleaning a glass cup with a rag that was dirtier than the cup. An enormous human sat heavily on two straining stools near the counter. His eyes drooped and he stared at the doorway while one meaty hand lay dipped in a puddle of liquid. A drunken turian was lying in the corner, bottle still clutched in hand. The lonely bartender had told Jeeran that there were usually more people in the bar. The thought didn't seem very endearing to him.

Movement by the door suddenly caught Jeeran's eye. The lone salarian made his way to their table, stepping over several fallen bottles and barely avoiding a lumbering krogan as he stumbled to the exit. The salarian sat down next to Brendan, whose head was lying on the table. His beady black eyes focused on Jeeran, looking up and down, sizing him up. Jeeran's eyes met the salarian's eyes and held his gaze.

"You're Jeeran, right?" the salarian said, breaking the silence. Jeeran leaned back a bit; he hadn't realized he was leaning forward.

"I am. I assume you're Tedril?"

Tedril leaned forward, clasping his hands together. "Yeah. I heard that you're in the market for some information. What kind of information?"

Jeeran's finger twirled around the inside of his glass. "I need to know what the situation is in the Koplar district. Concerning the Skulkers."

"Oh, that's easy." Tedril raised a hand and beckoned for one of the bar's employees. The human worker dropped a dusty data pad onto the table and retreated to the counter. Tedril glance disdainfully at the menu and left the pad on the table. "It's not my first choice of bars."

Jeeran nodded. "Agreed. The information?"

The salarian's head snapped straight, as if just remembering something. "Right. The Skulkers. What do you want to know about them?"

Jeeran poured the liquor into his glass and took a long draught, setting the cup to the side. "First, what is their relative strength in the Koplar district at this moment?"

"Let me see," Tedril said, tapping his fist against his chin. "Not really high."

"I was hoping you would be more specific. For instance, what happened in the district to bring the Skulkers down so far?"

"Okay, okay. They just had a war with the Street Men, and then someone went and raised the prices on red sand. That really hurt them, and then the…" Tedril began to mumble under his breath, and then he looked back to Jeeran.

"Right. Several weeks ago, the Skulkers ran the west side of the Koplar district. They had their hands in smuggling, drug dealing, protection; you name it. The Street Men were on the other side of the spectrum. Literally. They ran the east side. The Skulkers were more organized than the Street Men. The Skulkers shook down storeowners for money and created "protection expenses". The Street Men would slit your throat for a credit chit and leave your blooding corpse where they cut you. Kind of why I worked more on this side of the district. The Skulkers are more civilized about it."

"Then, four weeks ago, some Street Men guy went over to the west side and slit a guy's throat. Unfortunately, this guy was a Skulker, and he was the leader of the red sand operation in that area. The Skulkers took the Street Men guy and sent his head back to the boys back home. The Street Men got mad and brought all of their men into the west side of the district. That day was just a shitstorm. Bam, bam, bam, and the Skulkers won at the end of the day. Of course, the Skulkers lost a lot people in that war. I think I remember that they had around fifty guys left. I haven't heard much from the Skulkers since the gang war. I hear that their base of operations, which is where they are right now, is somewhere in the middle of the district. You can actually walk out into the middle of the street and look anyone in the eye without getting shot. Well, unless you look at krogan. Or a batarian. Or a group of drunk humans. Actually, don't look anyone in the eye."

Jeeran reached for the bottle to pour more liquor into his glass, but the bottle was empty. Huh. I don't recall drinking that much. "So it would be safe to set up a business in the district right now?"

"Oh yeah. Right now, this district is safer than any other on Omega. Well, except for the Afterlife district. You have plans?"

"Yes, they're…" Jeeran stopped. "Well, that's what we needed to know about the Skulkers. I guess that's—"

"Fuck." Tedril slid to the edge of the booth as Brendan slowly rose to the edge of the table, shaking as he gripped the cold metal. His eyes were bloodshot.

"Shit," Brendan mumbled. "What happened?" He glared at Tedril squinting through the dim light. "Who the hell is this?"

Tedril shook his head. "This is Brendan?"

"…yes," Jeeran replied.

"What?" Brendan said, running a hand through his hair. "So this is the information broker? So then…you guys are done talking already? Shit, Jeeran. Come on, you got to wait on me, man. So what are we doing now?"

"We will keep in touch," Jeeran said. "Wait, I thought I needed to pay you."

"I don't ask for payment on the first call," Tedril explained, walking away. He was soon immersed in a conversation with the bartender.

"That was not cool, Jeeran," Brendan said in a half-daze. "Not cool."

"So was drinking four bottles of asari liquor."

"I told you," Brendan said, shaking the bottle for any remaining liquor. "There's no way this much asari stuff can stop me."

"Save it for later," Jeeran said shortly. He swallowed the last of the liquor left in his glass. "I need to make some purchases. I estimate it will take two to three days."

"What…kind of purchases?" Brendan said, stumbling to his feet. His head swayed dangerously close to the hanging ceiling light overhead.

"LOKI mech parts. At the same time, we must find a possible store location for the future."

"I'll do that," Brendan volunteered, rubbing his forehead. "Just get back to the house and order the parts. I'll meet you later."

Jeeran exited the building. "Indeed."