Omega was her kind of place. Dark and seedy with the sounds of bodies slapping together in some hidden corner where a john took pleasure with his choice of whore. The unmistakable sweet smell of one of the more popular drugs wafted past her nose and Vali inhaled, enjoying the light tingle the contact buzz gave her.
Vali had turned down Aria's invitation to join her at Afterlife, wanting instead to be alone while she drank herself into a stupor. While the bartenders at the little dive she had found didn't have a hard on for humans, unlike the now dead batarian in Aria's club, drinking oneself senseless was not a smart thing to do either. Vali didn't care. She had too much on her mind, and even blind drunk she could take on a raging krogan and come out on top.
Today was her birthday. So far it had been spent with her being made to feel as if she were a mental defective. She had accidentally walked in on Miranda and the Illusive Man discussing whether or not to go through with the insertion of a control chip as they believed the Lazarus Project had gone incredibly wrong. To make matters worse, she had received a troubling letter from Lieutenant Girard in regards to an issue she had assisted him with a couple of years back on the Citadel. The date also coincided with the attack on Mindoir. Her day had just gone to shit within the first few hours of waking up.
"Hit me with another, sweetpea," she said to the salarian manning the bar, sliding her glass over toward him.
"How you're still upright is beyond me. You sure about this?" the bartender asked.
"If I wasn't sure, I wouldn't've ordered another one. Do I sound fucked up to you?" Vali growled, baring her teeth.
"Okay! Okay! Another drink coming right up!"
"Finally," she grumbled, her hand clenching around the glass the moment it was set within her grasp. Her movements were surprisingly fluid and graceful as she slipped around the other patrons to a booth in the back.
"Bartender knows what I'm drinkin'. Tell 'im to keep 'em coming until I pass out," Vali muttered to a passing waitress.
"Yes ma'am," the asari nodded to her. Vali curled up on the worn, yet plush, seat, pulling her knees up to her chest as she nursed her drink.
"Where's the commander?" Miranda barked at Joker.
"I dunno," he replied, keeping his eyes focused forward on the console.
"Don't lie to me."
"Seriously, I don't know where she is. Off the ship, more than likely, after your fucking prank with the Illusive Man," he growled. "Your project didn't fail, by the way."
"What the… how the hell did you find out?" Miranda gasped.
"She walked in on the two of you then came tearing over here and told me what was up. You freaks don't get it, do you? The Shepard you have is the real deal, now that she's not bound by damned Alliance protocols."
"Mr. Moreau speaks truly. I have taken the time to study Commander Shepard's history, Operative Lawson, and she is not acting out of character."
"See, even your AI agrees with me so if you actually think to shoot Vali up with some sort of control chip, you'll be lucky if you're still alive by the time she's finished with you," Joker narrowed his eyes up at the curvy brunette.
"Understood, Mr. Moreau," Miranda ground out, her footsteps loud as she strode away.
"So where is she?" Zaeed asked, the moment the Cerberus operative left the cockpit.
"I honestly have no fucking clue," Joker sighed, turning his head to look back at the merc. "With the shit Miranda and the Illusive Man pulled today, as well as the date, she was in a rare mood."
"What's today?"
"Her birthday. Also the day the batarians hit Mindoir. I can guarantee you she ain't somewhere like Afterlife where she'd feel like she had to be social. Probably in a hole in the wall somewhere - a place where she can relax away from crowds."
"Hmm. I got some ideas of where to look."
"Just make sure she doesn't kill too many people before you get her back to the ship," Joker said. "The last time this day came around, there were no fewer than four dead and nine injured in a bar fight that she started, and that was before she got spaced. I'm worried what that shit's done to her on top of all the other crap."
"Sounds like a lot of shit to drown," Zaeed commented, pushing away from the wall and heading toward the bay door. "I'll find Shepard and bring her back in once piece. If she's incited a riot, can't promise there won't be more damage before I get her out of there. My trigger finger's a mite itchy."
"Just bring her back alive, please," Joker requested, his concern evident .
"Got it, flyboy," the merc nodded in the pilot's direction, his mind already filtering through the different bars spread throughout the station as he stepped off the ship.
"I told you I ain't interested," Vali snarled at the turian trying to climb on top of her, effectively pinning her against the back of the booth.
"I didn't say you had to be interested, gorgeous. I like a woman with fight in her," he leered at her.
"If you don't get your filthy claws off of me, there won't be enough of you left to enjoy anything," she retorted, unholstering her pistol and shoving it in the turian's gut in one swift movement.
"Ooh playing dirty, are we? I think I'm going to have fun with you."
"Say g'night, sweetheart," Vali's grin was feral as she pulled the trigger, growing even wider at the look of shock on the alien's face. "I told you to leave me alone. Some men just don't listen it seems."
The patrons closest to her table stared down at the turian bleeding out on the bench beside the human woman, a few sliding further away from the general area, not wanting to get caught in her line of sight.
"Hey, that was my brother, you bitch!" Another turian yelled while he ran toward her table, his own gun cocked.
"Then he shoulda been taught the meanin' of the words 'not interested' better," Vali replied, pulling the trigger and catching the approaching attacker between the eyes. "Any other takers or can I finish my fuckin' drinkin' in peace?"
"Who the hell do you think you are, human?" One of the krogan patrons asked as he approached her table.
"I'm Commander Fucking Shepard, that's who I am," she growled.
"She's the one who let the Council die!" A salarian customer yelled.
"That's the Butcher of Torfan," wheezed an elderly batarian who made his way near the front of the pack that was starting to surround her table.
"Yeah I let the damned Council eat space dust. I had a choice - let 'em live and take the chance of losin' the Citadel, or let the ships come in and shoot the fuck out of the damned insect ship eatin' the face off the Presidium Tower. And if you wanna call me the Butcher of Torfan, be my guest. I ain't apologizin' for that either. Now, unless y'all wanna find one of my guns shoved up your asses, I suggest you let me drink in peace," Vali yawned, propping her elbows on the table as she looked at the faces staring back at her.
"You're just one woman against all of us. I'd like to see you try," the krogan from earlier snickered. Zaeed stopped as he heard those words then slipped around the crowd to try and get a better assessment of the situation. Coming up behind Vali's booth, the merc counted no less than 27 patrons gathered around. If it were anyone other than the Commander, he'd have calculated the person's ability to get out of the situation alive at 0%. In her case, he figured the others had a life expectancy rate of only the next five minutes.
"Prepare for the ride of your life then, boys," Vali purred, throwing both hands out and letting loose with rippling shockwaves. Her eyes lit up as they flew through the air, leaving her a nice, clear path to the door.
"I think I'll be nice and let y'all live… for now at least," she smirked. Picking her way over the two dead turians, she sauntered toward the door, barely giving Zaeed a glance as he took her arm and guided her out of the establishment.
"I was expectin' more dead bodies with the way Joker was talkin'," Zaeed stated the moment they were clear of the bar. As her buzz wore off, the realities of the day crashed into her and all she did was grunt in response, yanking her arm from his grasp and folding it and the other over her chest.
"Oh I see how it is. I'm good enough to fuck but not good enough to talk to?" he growled, clamping both hands over her arms, pulling her around to stare at him.
"Get your damned hands off me! I came here to fuckin' relax and drown myself, not get goddamned manhandled," she barked, struggling to get out of his grasp.
"Ye daft bitch, drownin' yerself won't help worth a shit," Zaeed sighed, letting her go. Narrowing her eyes at him, she rubbed her upper arms where he had squeezed, trying to remove the sting from them.
"Helps for a little while and that's good enough," she muttered, her steps long and angry as she walked away from him toward the docking bay.
"So what was up with the dead turians?" he asked, following her through the winding alleys that made up the underbelly of Omega.
"One of 'em wouldn't take no for an answer, the other one was just tryin' to avenge his brother."
"Let me guess, he called you a bitch?"
"Got it."
Zaeed scanned the area, picking out landmarks from his previous time spent there, and without any prior warning, yanked Shepard into a dark alcove and down a set of stairs. His fingers were fast as they set the lock on the tiny apartment.
"Time for you to spill."
"What the fuck, Zaeed? You think because I let you have free range with my body and share my bed you have the right to dig into my head? Fuck you! Let me out!" she screamed, her chest heaving as she began to breathe heavily. The tiny space, combined with the alcohol and her inability to break the lock and open the door was pushing her panic buttons.
"Tell me what's going on inside that screwed up little head of yours," he said, though his words held no heat. Almost as if not hearing or seeing him, Vali began pacing the small confines of the room, her hands gripping tightly at her hair.
"Cages. Tiny cages. So much blood and death. Parents, shot dead before my eyes. Most adults, killed. Kids… kids they kept. Me, I was cute. Good money. Gonna sell into the sex trade. Little girl, Talitha. Used to babysit. Saw them shove a control chip right in her head. Did the same to others. Comin' for me. Locked in a cage. Couldn't get out. Grabbed the bars, shook them. Tried to break free. Not me. No! Gotta get away!" she mumbled, her steps quickening as she weaved around the sparse furniture. Her breathing was ragged, almost staccato in nature.
"Batarians comin' closer. Screams all around me as people got chipped. One of the four eyes talkin' about tryin' the merchandise before selling. Leered at me, grabbin' his crotch. Bars rattled in my hands but wouldn't give. Saw blue in the corner of my eye. Group of asari commandos, some salarians, couple of humans… cage opens. Salarian yanks me out. My cage further away from others. Easier to run away. One of the batarians chases us. Handed a pistol, take aim, and shoot. I kill him. None of the others can be saved. I'm taken away…"
Vali's body shuddered and she tried to hold still, her eyes still not focusing on her surroundings as if lost in some nightmare world. Zaeed stares at her in horrified fascination, almost afraid of what will come out of her mouth next.
"On the Citadel. Going after Saren. Lieutenant Girard contacts me, says my help needed. Survivor from Mindoir raid, batarian slave, found. Needs medicated. It's Talitha. I help her. Thought I helped her. Got letter today saying she killed herself. Therapy never worked. It never worked… I'm so fucked. No help for me. Happy birthday, Vali," she ended in a whisper, collapsing to the floor and curling up into a tight ball, rocking her body back and forth.
"Shit," Zaeed sighed, understanding the woman in front of him more, now, than he had before. He crouched down beside her and lay a hand on her shoulder, watching how her hands nervously went between gripping strands of her thick black hair between her fingers and clawing at her knees as she tried to pull them closer to her chest.
"Everything good, everything stable, it leaves me. Not good enough for Kaidan. Am a Cerberus bitch to him now. You'll leave too. So will Joker. And Chakwas. Parents first to go. Inevitable. Everything I need, it disappears."
"I haven't left yet, Shepard," his voice was gruff as he ran a hand over her head. He rubbed his other hand over his heart as he felt part of his defenses crack apart thanks to the woman in front of him.
"You will. Kaidan made me feel close to normal and he left. You do that and more for me. I want you, need you more than I did Kaidan, so you'll leave quicker," her eyes closed and her body shivered then relaxed as she passed out from the emotional overload. Zaeed slid an arm behind her back, another under her knees, and picked her up. With awkward slowness, he keyed in the code to unlock the door and carried her back to the ship.