The Secrets of Stars

by Solo Starship

The year is 2184...Flynn and Dellin, Two spacers just trying to make an honest cred, finally land a high paying salvage job. They don't know it at the time, but what they've unearthed is the key to an ancient secret that will change the galaxy forever...

2. Chapter 2

Secrets of Stars: Chapter 2

A/N-

Okay, I didn't mention this in my first chapter, but this is my first story. I've done a lot of writing, but this is the first one I've ever felt was up to being posted. Hopefully, you all don't hate it ;)

Flynn sat alone at the cramped lounge table, staring intently at the crystal cone that sat on its end just in front of him. It had gone dim down in the hold, and hadn't changed one bit in the half-hour that had passed since then. Suddenly, he felt like he was twenty years old again. His minds eye flashed back to the day he had pulled it out of the burning soil on that miserable planet. He had been so excited, so intrigued by the mystery of it. Now, even after all this time, he felt no closer to solving it than he had been on that day.

"What?" he spoke to it. "What the hell are you?"

At that moment, Dell's heavy footfalls could be heard ascending the aft stairs into the galley. Flynn leaned back in his seat and snatched the crystal from the table.

"Nothing interesting?"

Dell's beak parted, his mandibles widening slightly: the turian equivalent of a small grin. "Definitely not nothing," he answered. With a flick of his right talon, a small chunk of debris landed on the table, sliding to a stop in front of Flynn.

"What the hell?" He asked, squinting down at it. "A hard drive?"

Dell slipped into the booth perpendicular to him. "That's the memory core from the geth that tried to end you."

"A memory core?" Flynn's eyes widened considerably as he picked up the chip. "I always heard they flash-fry the memory when they shut down."

Dell nodded slowly, his golden eyes surveying Flynn's face. "Lucky for you, I'm a shotgun savant," he boasted, his brow plates sliding into smug expression. "The shot blasted it out of the thing's head before it had a chance to purge."

"Look at you," Flynn said, the corners of his mouth twitching. "One geth kill and you're a different man."

Dell shrugged in response, his mandibles betraying a hint of a smile.

Flynn chuckled softly and lowered his gaze to the table. "But really, man…Good shooting down there," he mumbled. "Pulled me outta the fire."

"Well, I've been doing it our whole lives," Dell retorted, his flanging voice laced with sarcasm. "Why would I stop now?"

Flynn gave a dejected smirk but said nothing. Gingerly, he set the memory core down on the table's cold surface and rubbed his fingers together to warm them.

Sighing, Dell leaned forward and rested his armored elbows on the table. "Come on. Don't get depressed until you hear the bad news."

Creases formed instantly on Flynn's brow as he looked up at his partner. "What bad news?"

Dell nodded to the chip that rested on the table. "I went through the terminal that our friend there hacked. It accessed our logs."

"Aw, shit. What –?"

"Cargo history, travel history…it even got our ship info and heat emission signature."

Setting down his crystal, Flynn slapped his coarse palms to his forehead and dragged them slowly down his face, groaning in frustration. "Perfect," he spat. "Do you think it had time to upload? To call reinforcements?"

"I believe we have to assume it did."

Flynn let out an exasperated cackle, causing Dell to flinch slightly. "Spectacular!" he exclaimed sardonically. "What a stupendous couple of days it's been. We lose our best friend and we're now wanted by the geth. The geth!"

Dell had suddenly gone rigid. He sat motionless, saying nothing in return as his piercing eyes simply blinked at the table in front of him.

Flynn noticed his expression and sighed ruefully. For a long moment, the two friends sat in silence, unsure of what to say to one another. The words had tumbled from Flynn's mouth before he could think to stop them. The grief wasn't nearly old enough yet.

Desperate for a way to kill the awkward silence, Flynn's gaze fell back upon the crystal cone that he had set on the table top.

"Do you think it knew?" He asked quietly.

Dell's head slowly tilted up to meet his gaze. "What?"

"This thing," Flynn nodded to the crystal. "You think that geth knew what it was?"

It took a moment for Dell to respond. He glared at the cone, his eyes narrowed in thought. "It was trying quite hard to get it from you."

Flynn nodded, feeling a tingling sensation creep up his spine. "I think it did," he said dramatically. "I think it knew exactly what this thing is."

"Look, I know what you're thinking," Dell sighed, leaning back against the booth and letting his arms flop to his sides.

"The answer is on that memory core," Flynn felt his face grow slightly warmer as he spoke. "We need to see what's on it."

"No." Dell replied crossly. "We need to get to Omega. We need to get those geth parts to Sal and get paid."

"I know that, okay? I just –" Flynn scooped up the crystal in his hand. "I've had this thing for seven years, Dell."

"I'm aware. I was there when you dug it up."

"Then you remember how odd that was," Flynn said, rapping his knuckles on the table as he spoke each word. "It was left there for me. It's important. I want to know what it is and what it's for."

Dell closed his eyes and slowly drew a breath. "We need the money," he said, keeping his flanging voice neutral.

Flynn clenched his fist around the cone and shifted his jaw from side to side. "This could be some sort of special geth tech," he was trying to appeal to Dell's stubborn sense of reason. "It could be worth a billion creds."

Running a hand along his head spikes, Dell simply stood up from the table and made for the hallway. "We took a contract from Sal. We have a job to finish."

Flynn rolled his eyes and sat back with a deep sigh. "Jesus…Fine. Omega first. Are we leaving now?"

"Yes," Dell nodded. "I highly doubt the get would make an appearance right next to a major settlement like Elysium…especially not in Citadel space, but…I don't want to take that chance."

"Sure."

Flynn sat alone at the table for several long minutes as Dell returned to the cockpit. His fingers absentmindedly turned the crystal over and over in his hand, sliding along its smooth surface.

Going to Omega.

Going home.

"Shit."

Feeling a cold chill settling over him, Flynn unwedged himself from behind the lounge table and headed back up the passageway, rubbing his hands up and down his arms as he slipped into his cabin. After stumbling over the armor that he'd forgotten to tuck away, he flopped down on his thin mattress and slipped beneath his blanket.

"VIC"

"Yes."

"What's the temperature inside the ship?"

"The current temperature is seventy-seven degrees Fahrenheit.

Flynn's eyebrows pulled together in confusion. "Raise it to eighty, please."

Omega.

A thriving metropolis, a hub of cultural exchange, a nexus of galactic wisdom and knowledge, and a nerve center for the best that every species has to offer…none of these things described Omega.

Flynn and Dell muscled their way through the crowded streets of the station, doing everything in their power to mind their own business. A scowl had plastered itself on Flynn's face, and it wasn't about to leave anytime soon. The smell of the place alone was enough send a first-time traveler scrambling for the nearest airlock. The grotesque combination of alien musk, unidentifiable foods, rotting garbage, and death immediately made Flynn regret leaving his helmet on board the ship. At least he thought to wear his armor.

Only snippets of conversation were audible to him as he and Dell worked their way around the twisted streets, and Flynn was glad that his translator couldn't pick up most of the ambient noise. He shuddered to think of what the aliens around him were actually saying. Ahead of him, a pair of krogan could easily be seen parting the masses as they stomped their way through. Flynn and Dell were forced to split and practically run to the gutter to avoid being trampled.

"Jesus," Flynn growled, speaking loudly to make himself heard over the rabble of the crowd. "How do we keep ending up here?"

Dell, who had nearly lost his footing after stepping in something wet and green, shook his head, baring his sharp teeth as he let out a turian curse. "No idea. Home is where the heart is, I suppose."

Flynn's scowl deepened. "Give me a break. Who the hell says that?"

"I thought humans did."

"God…Just keep an eye out for the nearest transit hub."

"I see it," Dell raised his left talon and pointed ahead of him.

Flynn craned his neck to see over the brownish horns of the salarian in front of him. Mercifully, Dell was right. A transit hub with a few cars was only a few yards ahead of them. The vehicles in Omega's hubs were far from luxury crafts, and they were usually just as filthy as the streets, but they were also usually reliable. Ignoring the angry grunts and alien insults that were fired at them as they passed, Flynn and Dell wormed their way to the nearest skycar and popped the canopy. Immediately, both of them withdrew several steps, gagging loudly as a particularly foul odor wafted over them.

As he scanned the inside of the car for the source of the stench, Flynn's eyes fell upon an amorphous brown puddle that lay festering in the seat nearest to them. The two of them simply stared for a moment, trying to wish away the sight in front of them.

Flynn blinked several times before speaking. "Is that –?"

"We'll take the next car," Dell said firmly.

Slamming the canopy, the two of them quickly walked past the first car and opening the second with a hint of dread in their stomachs. Fortunately, there was nothing inside…other than the usual dregs from countless past occupants.

Dell slipped inside and fired up the mass drive. With a sigh, Flynn dropped into the seat next to him, adjusting the assault rifle on his back to make himself more comfortable. It took only a few seconds for Dell to lift off and head into the open air of Omega's interior.

For being almost totally constructed in patchwork styling, the station could almost seem impressive. A massive, hollowed out asteroid that had been completely overtaken by organic life. It was an engineering marvel. Dingy skyscrapers and mottled apartment complexes rose up hundreds of feet in the air, coming in every size and shape. Upside down buildings clung to the roof of the asteroid like massive, metallic stalactites. From a distance, the skyline could look a bit like a colossal geode bathed in dull, red light.

Flynn stared out the window at the teeming streets below, wondering what kinds of horrible things were going on. "I don't miss it one bit," he said, his hollow voice resounding inside the cabin.

Dell said nothing.

"Think the Resolution will be fine where we docked it?" Flynn asked, turning away from the window.

"It'll be safe."

"Like…Omega safe, or…actually safe?"

Dell chuckled and looked over at him. "It's the same guards that are always there, and nothing has ever happened. Relax."

Exhaling slowly, Finn nodded his head and unclenched his fists. In truth, he didn't remember balling them up. After another minute of silence, he opened his omni-tool and checked his messages. There was still no response from Qui'ann. Before they had left orbit of Elysium, he had sent a message to her on the flotilla, explaining what had happened to Vance. He had also expressed a need for her help, but he hadn't given details. Such a thing was best kept off the extranet. Still, that had been nearly two days ago, and there was still no reply. He wondered if she was away from the Migrant Fleet, perhaps on a mission of her own. If only he'd kept in contact with her…he would have up-to-date information.

"I told you," Dell said, his mandibles widening slightly. "She has better things to do than keep up with a couple of salvage jocks. She's got her own people to look after."

Flynn pursed his lips. "I know, but…we were like family once. I don't think she'd write us off. Besides, I can't think of anyone better than a quarian tech expert to crack a geth memory core."

Dell nodded. "True enough."

After a moment, they passed over a section of slums that was all too familiar. In spite of himself, Flynn's lips formed into a small grin. "Home sweet home," he said sarcastically.

Dell laughed and reduced his speed, looking out his own window at the narrow streets below. "Our old haunts. Hey, remember where we helped with our first bounty?"

Flynn laughed and scanned the emaciated rooftops, searching for the tiny tavern where he and Dell had accidentally bumped into a fugitive. "There!" he pointed to the ground.

"It's still there!" Dell said incredulously. "What were we? Ten? Twelve?"

"I was twelve, you were fourteen," Flynn corrected him, suddenly feeling nostalgic. "Man…I thought Zaeed was gonna shoot us both when he saw us."

Dell let out a bark-like laugh. "Nah, if it wasn't for us, he probably wouldn't have caught that runner."

Flynn smiled and shook his head. A thousand memories bristled in the edge of his mind, waiting to be remembered. Despite the fact that most of them had been buried for a reason, Omega seemed slightly less abhorrent to Flynn. Maybe it wasn't so bad to be back here.

A few minutes later, Dell had set down the skycar in front of an old, familiar shop. Tilting his head up, Flynn smirked at the "Swift Salvage" neon sign that buzzed loudly on the front of the building. Together with Dell, he strolled through the front door, admiring how little the place had changed.

A large brown desk, piled high with broken mechanical parts, vid projectors, and broken terminals was there to greet them. Behind it, a lone salarian flurried about, chatting excitedly on the comm while typing and searching starmaps. He didn't even acknowledge the two men as they turned to the right and strode down the dusty, white hallway. They passed several offices as they went, but their business was in the very back: the large, circular door with the red lock on it.

Dell calmly reached out and tapped the intercom on the wall.

"Who is it?" a thick voice answered.

"The two best scrappers you've ever worked with," Dell answered.

Immediately, the door's lock turned green and slid apart with a swish! Flynn and Dell walked confidently into the large office and stopped in front of the oversized desk that sat against the back wall.

Sal Swift, a thin-haired, overweight, olive-skinned man sat in a colossal leather chair, his beady eyes fixed on a vid screen in front of him. He growled in frustration at something he saw, slamming his ham hock fist down on the desk surface.

"Do you believe this?" He shouted, angrily gesturing to the vid screen. "First Eden Prime gets whacked, then the Citadel gets blown all to hell, then Shepard gets hisself wiped out, now some human terror group lets loose some kinda disease on Gagarin Station!"

Flynn and Dell exchanged glances, unaware of the event that Sal was referencing.

"Fuckin' unbelievable," Sal continued. "Humans attackin' humans." He switched off the vid feed and let out a sigh that Flynn could almost smell from a distance.

"Sal," Flynn says with a small smile. "Good to see you."

"Me?" Sal stood up and made his way around his desk, brushing some sort of crumbs off of his grubby white t-shirt. "Look at yous guys!" He exclaimed, pulling Flynn into an uncomfortably tight hug. Slightly surprised, Flynn could only pat Sal's back, breathing through his mouth to keep from smelling him. After a few seconds, Sal released him and gave Dell the same treatment.

"How many years since I seen you two boys?" He asked, waddling back to his desk.

"Eight years," Dell answered.

"That long?" Sal ran a hand through his thin, oily hair. "Yous guys are all growed up! Kids! You was just kids when ya first came to work for me! Now look at ya." He sat back in his chair. "I been on this rock too fuckin' long."

Before the boys could reply, a sharp tone cut through the dank air of the office. Sal leaned forward and hit the interface on his private terminal, worry lines creeping across his forehead. A young man wearing Eclipse armor appeared on the screen. His voice was inaudible, but Sal nodded as he spoke.

"All right, good. Put a few extra guys on it just in case. We lose this one and we're all out of a job." The merc nodded and the screen went blank.

"Something wrong, Sal?" Flynn asked.

Sal reclined in his chair, rubbing his thick fingers across his face. "Ah, it's this 'Archangel' guy. Some uptight turian prick – no disrespect, Dellin. You know I love ya – he's been giving the mercenary groups a whole lotta shit the past couple o'months. Sabotaging shipments, killing God knows how many guards…goddamn guy's cost me a fortune."

"It's a tough business, being a smuggler," Dell chirped jovially. "Lucky for you, we've got something that should put your mind at ease."

Sal sat up straight, an excited gleam in his eye. "You got the parts?"

"Just over twenty-five hundred kilos of geth parts," Flynn confirmed. His mock pride sounded almost believable.

Sal clapped his hands together and stood once more. "Excellent! Those babies will bring in some solid creds. Everybody wants to know more about those robot bastards!" He opened his terminal again and scanned over the readouts. "Dock one-oh-two. You boys are still flyin' that old heap?"

Flynn scoffed. "Why change a good thing?"

Sal chortled, his rotund belly quivering as he did so. "Yeah, yeah."

Flynn's omni-tool suddenly chimed softly. He was momentarily hopeful until he saw that it was from Sal.

"I'll send some guys over there to unload 'er. Meantime, you boys should head over to my apartment in the Kima district. Sleep in some real beds for a change. I just sent ya the entry code."

"You still keep that place?" Dell asked skeptically.

Sal nodded, switching off his terminal. "Yep. Ya always gotta have a nice place to put up clients and secret girlfriends."

"You mean hookers?"

"Same difference," Sal shrugged. "Either way, it's a nice place, you boys should at least stay there for the night. It's the least I can do. Yous guys really came through for me."

Flynn looked over at Dell, whose brow plates arched skyward as he nodded. "Sounds good to us," Flynn said. "Thanks, Sal."

"My pleasure, my pleasure." Sal put a hand over his heart. "I appreciate you boys doin' this for me. I'll call you if I got another job for ya, eh?"

"That would be great," Flynn said. "Nice to see you, Sal."

"Hope to see you boys again soon."

Flynn and Dell had taken Sal up on his offer. After a short trip from his office, they had made their way to his spare apartment, which was shockingly upscale for Omega. It was, undoubtedly, the most opulent place either of them had ever stayed. As soon as the door slid open, Flynn's eyes instinctively squinted against the brightness from inside.

The entire place was white. Sterile white. The floors seemed to be made of polished marble, something that seemed like it would have been out of Sal's price range. Stone columns rose perfectly from the floor that separated the sitting area from the kitchen/dining room. Cerulean velvet hung in front of the massive bay windows, matching perfectly with the throw pillows that accented the sofa set in front of them. Along the walls, every fixture was coated in spotless chrome, brilliantly reflecting the ornate décor around them. The entire thing reminded Flynn of something fit for ancient Roman royalty.

"Well, slap my ass and call me Sally"

Dell slowly swiveled his head and looked over at Flynn. "Who the hell says that?"

"I'm pretty sure it's a turian expression," Flynn cracked as he stepped in.

"Not to my knowledge."

Further exploration of the apartment yielded three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a sauna, and a workout room. Immediately, Flynn and Dell picked out bedrooms and shed their weapons and armor. The shower on the Resolution was barely bigger than a storage locker, and both men were looking forward to bathing comfortably.

Flynn cranked the hot water to full power, letting the heat wash over his bare flesh. The left side of his ribcage still held a significant amount of dried blood and medi-gel, a souvenir from his skirmish with the Blood Pack. Feeling it again refreshed a memory that he wished he would forget.

The wound was tender, and larger than he would have liked. He was going to need dermal regeneration…or stitches, at the very least. The scalding water trickling into the laceration stung significantly, but Flynn welcomed it, wishing it hurt more. Acting on impulse, he dug his thumb into the open tissue, gritting his teeth as the bathroom quickly filled with steam. Around his feet, a thin ribbon of bright crimson blood circled toward the shower drain.

Some time later, Flynn emerged from the bathroom, running a plush towel over his hair. The air was cold against his still-wet flesh, and he wished he had set out some clothes to put on. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't brought any clothes with him at all. He wondered if there would be any in the closet across from him. As he stepped further into the room, he suddenly caught a miniscule movement out corner of his left eye.

Someone was in his room.

With his adrenaline promptly shooting through him, Flynn dove across the bed tucking his nude body into a somersault and snatching up his assault rifle in one fluid motion. As he rolled off the edge of the enormous bed, he whipped the expanding barrel toward the intruder and took aim.

"Don't fucking move!"

The quarian's trembling hands shot into the air. "I – I'm sorry! Please don't shoot!" She cried.

Flynn's hardened gaze suddenly faltered. He knew that voice. "…Qui?"

Qui'ann nodded quickly, directing her visor away from Flynn's naked body. "Yes! I – I'm sorry to barge in. I came – I mean I – I went to see Sal and he – he told me that you were…here."

As she stammered her way through her explanation, Flynn hurriedly tossed his gun down pulled on the bottom half of his armor, breathing out the adrenaline that had been coursing through him

"Are you…dressed?" She asked hesitantly. Her hands were still in the air, and she remained staring at the wall until Flynn made his way over to her.

"It's okay," he told her, feeling the embarrassment on his face. "Come here, you."

Qui'ann laughed nervously as he gently pulled her into a hug. Her arms wrapped around his torso, gently at first, then tighter. She gave a small laugh. "I always wondered what you looked like naked," she jested. Her enviro-suit gave her voice a flanging effect similar to Dell's.

Flynn laughed loudly at her remark, pulling back from her. "You got a new suit. I didn't recognize you. For all I knew, you could have been someone waiting to kill me."

"Kill you?" Qui sounded genuinely surprised. "What kind of business have you been doing?"

"The bad kind," Flynn replied. He didn't enjoy the sincerity in his voice.

He made his way to the closet on the other side of the bed and opened it, grateful to see full sets of clothing, including matching ensembles for every species. Apparently, Sal did a lot of alien entertaining.

Flynn grasped the nearest set of human casuals and pulled them from the closet, furrowing his brow as he saw the logo embroidered on the cloth. "Cerberus?"

"What did you just say?" Qui asked, sounding slightly concerned.

Flynn glanced over at her. "Nothing, nothing. Turn around for a second?"

Placing her three-fingered hands on her shapely hips, Qui'ann slowly spun around and faced the opposite directions, an audible sigh coming from behind her helmet. "I already saw it once, you know."

Blushing hard, Flynn dropped his armor and hitched up the Cerberus pants. They fit snugly, but weren't overly constricting, and he liked the black-with-white-pockets color scheme. "Okay, you're good."

Qui twirled back around as Flynn was pulling his shirt over his head. "Wait!" She called, shuffling over to him.

Flynn froze. "What?"

"You're hurt," she ran a gloved finger along his left side of his ribs, causing him to wince. "Here, sit down."

With a bit of grumbling, Flynn allowed her to sit him on the edge of the bed with his left arm raised. "Go easy, doc."

Qui opened her omni-tool and tapped a few commands that Flynn couldn't understand. Hers was obviously much more advanced than his.

"How did you get this?" She asked, inspecting the wound.

Flynn lowered his head at the thought. "Aforementioned bad business."

Qui groaned. "I thought you hated fighting."

"I do."

"Then you seem to be in the wrong line of work."

Flynn chuckled softly. "You never seemed to mind it."

Qui shook her head. "I was on my pilgrimage. Adventure seemed like a good idea at the time. Besides, you were…fascinating"

"So, if adventure is no longer your thing…what are you doing here?" Flynn asked, replaying the last part of her statement in his head.

A few seconds of silence followed his question. Qui'ann had ceased her scanning of his bullet wound and raised her head up. Flynn could see her eyes blinking behind her visor. "He was my friend too," she said softly.

For a moment, the two of them looked at one another, and Flynn gave a tiny smile. "I'm glad you're here." His voice was barely above a whisper. "It's good to see you."

Flynn couldn't see her lips, but he could tell she was smiling. "You too," she said.

All at once, a violent humming sound erupted from between them as she fired a focused laser at Flynn's laceration. Instantaneously, his fists and teeth clenched hard as his flesh was painfully seared together. It lasted only a moment, but felt like a lifetime.

"There," she said as she finished. "You'll have a scar."

Panting, Flynn slapped a hand over the still-warm area. "Not the end of the world," he choked out. "Thanks."

Qui gave a nod and stood up. "Now before I go see Dellin, your message said you needed my help with something."

"Oh, yeah." Flynn reached behind him on the bed, retrieving the geth memory core and his crystal from inside his armor. He held the memory core out for her, feeling a slight dread that she would have no idea what to do with it.

Tilting her head, Qui took the core from him and held it close to her visor, studying it for a few seconds before slowly looking back at him. Even behind her helmet, Flynn could see her eyes were wide.

"Flynn…where did you get this?"

A/N-

So, there we go. A few clues and a little bit of backstory for our heroes. I know you're craving some action, and I promise that the next chapter will have plenty. I just wanted the audience to really get a feel for the characters, here.

The intrigue and adventure are just beginning. Please, stick around and see where it goes from here! =D

Thank you very much for reading. Feel free to leave a review, if you'd like.