Chapter 9! Enjoy!

Everything in this fanfic is owned by Bioware. No copyright infringement intended.


There was a faint crackle coming from the omnitool before a female voice speaking in synthesized English filled the small old room in the Omega living unit, "Good morning! You have one unread message from [IDENTITY WITHHELD], one message from KorvosVorcha and one missed call from Aria T'Loak. Reminder: your extranet subscription will renew within three standard Citadel days…"

A man groaned, deep within the bloodstained covers of his bed. A hand came out from under the sheets, its pointer and middle fingers had bruised nails on them and a healing scar circumvented the wrist. The joints seemed stiff as the fingers slowly curled around the omnitool, shutting the VI's announcements off. After a few moments of idleness, the rest of the scar-marred arm came out from under the covers, followed by a bruised shoulder and a neck with a couple of titanium studs jutting out from the lowest cervical disk. The long brown hair of Nicolas was sticking out in every direction as he came out from under the at least six layers of heavy fabric. Scars, old and new made his chest look like the surface of the moon, and his left arm was missing halfway through the bicep. The human toppled over on the bed when he tried to lean on the missing limb, so he cursed and helped himself back up using his right arm. The scar joining the hand to the arm stung, and he winced as he stood up naked. His legs hissed as he made his way to his armour crate.

Absentmindedly, he let the accessibility functions read out the message he received from the unknown contact:

Nicolas,

We found you at the lower docks in a bad state. I had our local mechanic bring your legs back to 'functional' at least, and our doctor was able to reattach your hand but your left arm had to go. You'll understand I'm functioning on limited resources, so I didn't get you a prosthetic, but I sent Korvos a message telling him about your predicament. He seems to like you so he might even throw a discount in. I don't know what you were doing in the lower docks, records say the building that you lit on fire was empty but I do know one thing: Aria isn't doing you any good. Not for your mind, not for your body. The best thing you can do right now is get off-station. Go back to the Citadel and get a less dangerous job. Admit to yourself Omega beat you.

Sincerely, A worried friend.

PS. Consider the new set of armour a gift.

Nicolas shook his head as he used his teeth to hold a strap around the gauntlet he was covering his right hand in, remembering Garrus and thinking of the turian's failure to ever reveal the fact the crew of the Normandy had been drugging him.

He's an asshole just like everyone else.

It had been a long time since Nicolas even flinched at his auditory hallucinations, and this wasn't the exception. He'd gotten really good at ignoring it, but when it was being too much of a nuisance… well…

The human opened a drawer beside his bed and produced a small bag with red-orangey powder inside.

Korvos was busying himself with a small bone, routinely inspecting the object and gnawing at any miniscule piece of meat he'd missed the previous inspection. His omnitool pinged at the same time he saw the door to his shop open. A recognizable head topped with brown hair walked in drunkenly… that was definitely the human. He stood up and his eyes widened a fraction, seeing the state the alien was in. His left arm hung limply, and a shotgun was held loosely by his right hand. A big bruise appeared from under the human's hair, extending from his temples down to the beginning of his lower jaw and his lips had been broken at several places, making him look like a meaty skull.

"Did the human have an argument with a varren?" Korvos hissed.

A smirk parted the human's mouth but he winced as his lips bled and he remained silent. Of all the times he'd come in to the store, this time was the one he'd looked the worst. It would be bad for business if his best customer stopped coming, so he walked over and out of the counter to see how he could better help the human.

"How is it that Korvos can help his customer?" he insisted as he approached the drowsy looking human. A touch of blue glowed around him, and Korvos barred his teeth at the tell-tale sign of Red Sand use, "maybe a metabolising pill? Korvos has started selling them now."

The human closed his eyes as he spoke in a paused manner, as if trying to remember the words he was trying to use, "Actually… I need… a prosthetic- a prosthetic! For a left… human… arm."

The vorcha's eyes drifted to the limp left arm and gave it a smack. The armour bent backwards past the point the elbow should have allowed and Korvos let out a gurgling laugh, "And what else shall it be, human?"

"I need to use your… manufacturing table. My legs aren't what they used to be."

Korvos chewed on one of his knuckles. His teeth broke the skin and the knuckle bled, but his nervous system had evolved to allow for the gesture and he didn't feel the wound as he evaluated the human's condition, "If the human pays for the prosthetic, the materials and a hundred extra credits, Korvos can fix the legs while the arm is fetched, then install the arm."

The human had still not opened his eyes, swaying as the blue energy pulsed weakly around him. He tilted his head back to face the ceiling and cracked his eyes open, "Throw in a… a… metabolising pill and we have a deal."

The vorcha nodded and mentally calculated the final price as he tugged at the human's collar towards the back of the store. He held the human's hand over the payment receptor as his omnitool came to life and the credits were deposited. He took an extra fifty credits for his trouble… the human wouldn't notice.

Nicolas' head pounded as the Red Sand was purged from his system. His brain felt heavy in his head, as if when he turned to face somewhere else, the brain inside would take a few seconds to follow suit, bumping into the inside of his cranium. He saw the vorcha working on his numbed shoulder and remembered he was in the back of the weapon's and armour store.

"The met. pill seems to have worked. How is the human feeling?" Korvos asked as he attached a miniscule wire under Nicolas' lifted skin. The smell of cooked meat reached the human, making his nose wrinkle.

"I didn't know these operations bled so much," the human muttered as he looked at the bed he was laying on, the top of it a bright red with splashes of blue, which he could only assume was coolant fluid for the limb.

"They do not, human. Most of this is not the customer's blood."

"Oh…", Nicolas muttered as he suddenly became aware of the other several different colours of blood that caked the bed.

The vorcha eyed the human for a moment before resuming, "Korvos gave the human a large dose of antibiotics. Korvos would not recommend drinking or eating for a day, since humans should not receive such a dose."

In an attempt to distract himself, Nicolas looked down at his legs and tested the functionality. They no longer hissed when he moved the joints, and many of the pieces that weren't necessarily damaged were replaced with brand new ones. Korvos seemed to have done a good job… he'd check the bill later.

"It was hard to find an arm with five fingers in storage, but this one will fit inside a suit and will provide sensory feedback as well."

Nicolas turned his head towards the vorcha again, wincing at his headache, "what was it meant to be used for?"

"Mercenary enhancement. It interfaces with weapons to predict and counteract recoil. It would be convenient to begin using this hand more dominantly."

The smell of burnt bone filled the room, making Nicolas nauseous. Korvos slipped a platinum ring up his arm, attaching it to the human's shoulder, where the prosthetic began and the body ended.

"The rest of the arm had to be removed to allow for the whole prosthetic to be attached. Korvos did not know how to modify the arm so as to allow for the bicep to remain original. A good thing is that now the arm is bulletproof, or at least it will not let bullets pass."

"That sounds nice… You said I can't eat or drink?"

"That is what Korvos said. It is cheaper to administer antibiotics than clean the bed," the vorcha gurgled out a laugh, "If the human drinks, it risks fatal infection. Food will be unpleasantly vomited for the next twelve standard hours or so."

"When the hell did you become a doctor, Korvos?"

The vorcha shook its head perplexed, "There is an installation vid that comes with every prosthetic limb, human."

With a grunt, Nicolas began to get up, aided by the vorcha. He started to put his armour on again as his new arm started triggering the interface between itself and his body's nerves. The prosthetic twitched as he covered it in armour, up until the point where he put on his helmet, darkening the visor. With a quick command on his omnitool, the voice distorter was activated in his suit, one of the many programs Hal left installed when he disappeared.

Nicolas faced the vorcha and nodded before talking with a distorted voice, "Thanks for the help, Korvos."

The familiar booming of Afterlife's music welcomed Nicolas as he walked into the club. He made a beeline through the crowd and past the VIP floor guards. A turian stood beside Aria and walked briskly to meet the human, not understanding why everyone was letting him pass. Before he could fully raise a hand to stop the alien, though, his left mandible was grabbed onto and twisted backwards, making the turian follow powerless as the human stepped closer and closer to Aria.

The distorted voice carried effortlessly through the music, "You should pick your bodyguards better."

Aria smirked as Nicolas let go of the turian, "You only got to him because the rest knows to let you pass. He'll kick your ass someday," she stood up and motioned towards the back of the VIP floor with her head, "Shall we?"

The turian looked at the pair walk for Aria's private room until they were out of sight. He then turned to the other bodyguards, "Who the hell is that guy and why did you guys know to let him pass?"

Anto the batarian chuckled before bringing his omnitool to life, "He's some human that does business with Aria. Only Aria and I know who he is, but his omnitool has a program that notifies her when it's him. That notification is sent to us but you clearly aren't in the system yet."

"Spirits!"

"So you took your own sweet time with that drug bust…" Aria's coy tone was accentuated by the exaggerated way she swung her hips as she walked for the bar in her room, inspecting the variety of bottles at her disposal before turning to face Nicolas with an inquisitive expression, tilting her head towards the bar.

"I had a little trouble with the escape. The manpower was bigger than your intel," he said as he shook his head, denying the asari's offer of alcohol.

Aria huffed and rolled her eyes as she took a swig from some Serrice Ice Brandy. She walked towards Nicolas, a look of lust on her face, "I remember you used to be really good at working with limited information," she closed the distance between them and traced her finger along the bottom seal of his helmet. She detached it when she found the release button and got closer to the human. Their lips were practically touching as her eyes darted between his when she asked, "Is my own personal Blasto going soft?"

Nicolas was about to pull back when a blue hand held onto the back of his neck and Aria closed the remaining distance between them. He never knew how it was that he hated her when they were apart, but he couldn't put even a few centimetres between them when they were together. The asari pushed Nicolas towards the couch and they fell on it together. After a few minutes, Aria pulled back, straddling Nicolas, "Looks like Blasto has definitely not gone soft."

"I'm wearing armour, Aria. You can't know."

"I know your kisses, Nicolas," she answered slyly, not missing a beat, "but I can tell that even if your body wants to, your mind isn't in it, and that's no fun. I have a small assignment for you, and maybe we can have a little nice time when you're done with that one, how about that?"

"Yeah, that sounds swell."

Getting off of the human, Aria walked over to her drawer and produced a small datapad, which she tossed over to Nicolas, assisted by her biotics. Plucking it out of the air, Nicolas attached it to his omnitool to download the contents. He put his helmet on and waited at the door for the asari to catch up. She groped him when she did, before opening the door wordlessly and walking off into the club.

The human suddenly got a feeling like he desperately needed a shower. A deep gravelly voice came from behind him.

She's fucking hot.

"She's using me."

Who gives a fuck? As long as she's giving you money and sand, you might as well give her something in return.

"Fuck you."

Nicolas shook his head to loosen a drop of sweat forming on his brow without having to remove his helmet. His hands started shaking as the last remnants of red sand were filtered out of his system, looks like I'm not getting into any action today.

He breathed heavily as he attached an isotonic bottle to the entry port of his helmet, taking long sips from the cooled fluid. The HUD on his helmet directed him silently to the location Aria's assignment indicated and he ended up turning a corner to face a large building tessellated with small windows leading into tight living units. Looking around as he panted, he saw a small alleyway that might lead him to a good vantage point. Climbing to the top of the building he was walking around was noticeably harder than other times. His right wrist stung where the limb had been reattached, and the left arm felt awkward, a little stiff on the joints. The worst part about the climb to the top was the queasiness that flooded his stomach and the beads of cold sweat forming on his forehead. If only he had brought the little bag that was sitting atop his bedside drawer…

Panting, the human collapsed on the roof of the building. After what felt like minutes, but was surely hours, he sat up and approached the edge. Lying on his stomach, he expanded his sniper rifle and aimed for one of the small windows. A man walked was walking around the living unit, accompanied by a small... varren? The pet followed him around as he heated up something that looked like real human vegetables. Nicolas' eyes widened a fraction as he observed the man pull an actual raw chicken sealed in vacuum from the cooling unit. Nicolas looked away from the scope of his rifle and opened his omnitool to check that he was looking at the right target.

Jose Arnöt, human male. Jose has been monitoring the communications of our weapons convoys for the blue suns. The suns have been warned to back off, but the monitoring has continued, so he has to be eliminated. Find a way to make it look like an accident. Even if the suns suspect it was my doing, they will not be able to blame me.

His housing unit shouldn't be heavily protected as he works behind the scenes for the suns but be careful anyway, wouldn't want you to come back damaged, or more so.

Nicolas shook his head, "It says nothing about the varren."

Moving his head back to the scope he saw the man holding an old fashioned frying pan in his hand over a heating unit. Zooming in, he saw the glow of blue fire heating up the pan, it was gar operated. A piece of toast leaping into the air startled Nicolas until it was caught mid-air by Jose. There was a toaster in the man's kitchen as well.

A small smile tugged at Nicolas' lips as he tried to not let his shaking hands move the scope too far away from the living unit, "Bingo."

"The human wantsss nano-carbide sheets and Varren sleeping pills? Does Korvos look like a veterinarian?"

Nicolas pressed two fingers to the bridge of his nose. He needed to get the Varren to sleep, "How else would you knock a Varren out without leaving a trace?"

"Would it not be stupid to use sleeping pills? Easily traceable. Korvos would strangle it. Will the human still buy the nano-carbide?"

"Yeah just give me small sheets, like a datapad."

Nicolas left quickly, putting his helmet on as he entered the streets of Omega. The thought of having to strangle a Varren gave him goosebumps, but at least the one there was small. He just needed to do it without waking up the owner. Do Varrens bark? He thought to himself as he wandered around the station's halls, waiting for the deep hours of the night cycle. As his patience ran low, his mind drifted back to the bag on his bedside drawer and a cold sweat started forming on his forehead and lower back. Maybe he could go and get a little before finishing his assignment.

Look at you. You're a nervous wreck.

"I've gotta admit I'm not doing so good."

If you get us a fix, you'll relax, maybe even do your job better.

"I don't think that's how it works."

Of course it does. When you're stressed, you can't focus, and you need to focus, right?

"Ok, but only a little."

He swayed in front of the building. Having removed the scope from his rifle, he peered through it to look at angles he hadn't seen before. There were motion sensors in the corners of the apartment, but no cameras, making his entrance easier. He would still have to avoid tripping any anti-theft alarms but now it became a mission where Hal isn't essential. With a quick hack, he got into the building and made his way to Jose's apartment. Standing at the door, he activated his omnitool and started searching for cables with high data traffic in the walls. He followed the tangle he found to what was probably the VI hub of the apartment, so he produced a grenade from one of his pouches and configured it to the EMP setting. Giving it a twenty second fuse, he backed away to the other side of the third floor, putting as much concrete between himself and the grenade. A high pitched buzz came and went, and Nicolas checked that his omnitool was still operational before going to the door.

He removed the grenade shell and put it back in his pocket before approaching the door. With slow movements to reduce noise, he engaged the manual override and entered the apartment. Nicolas stepped onto the floor mat and waited for the sound of the varren stirring, but in five minutes of pregnant silence, it didn't come. As he got ready to walk into the apartment proper, his sight was drawn to two white-ish dots glowing in the dark at knee height.

Nicolas smirked and whispered, "So you don't bark after all."

At this, the varren moved, inching closer and closer to the intruder before leaping throught the remaining three meters, silently and straight for the human's throat. Lifting his left arm, the Varen's teeth met with a solid arm, but the teeth dug into the armour regardless. Electronics protested but were muffled by the ceramic plates as Nicolas fought the varren's thrashing motions, trying to find a good position to strangle the animal. Its force pushed the two into the wall and to the floor, where Nicolas was finally able to subdue it. The human's eyes focused on the lifeless motion detector on the corner of the room as the Varren gradually stopped struggling. Without moving his eyes away from the motion detector, Nicolas gave a hard twist and stood up slowly, wondering why he wasn't feeling guilt or disgust at himself.

Slowly, he walked deeper into the apartment where he was jumped by his target. Nicolas' eyes caught sight of a gun in the human's hands. If he shoots, it definitely will not look like an accident. The two struggled around the corridor, trying to align the barrel into each other, crashing into various decorations hung on the walls and strewn around the floor. After a well-aimed punch to the throat, Nicolas gasped for air as he started losing in the battle of strength against Jose.

The barrel was starting to align with his head when he spared a moment to release his left hand from the grip of the pistol, moving it for the small of his back where the emergency medical controls were. He released a dose of adrenaline into his bloodstream and a serum with a high concentration of oxygen when the barrel of the gun finished aligning on his head. He jerked his head back right as the trigger was pulled and the round entered the top of the helmet. The bang resounded within the suit, dazing Nicolas, who went limp immediately. Jose let go and looked at his pistol, panting and shocked.

Nicolas blinked the shock away as the adrenaline made his head throb. He was on the floor, his legs going under Jose's as the man stood there, contemplating what to do with the supposedly dead body. With a quick and practiced motion, Nicolas swept Jose's feet out from under him. The target's startled yelp was interrupted by a hand zooming up to cover his mouth as an armoured arm coiled around his neck and grabbed his pistol arm, twisting it so the weapon clattered to the floor. Jose was pinned to the floor with Nicolas on top as he tightened his lock around the Blue Suns' merc. The sounds of gagging and gasps for air filled the apartment. A blood vessel popped in Jose's eye, tinting it red as foam formed in his mouth and dripped onto Nicolas' arm, who looked up at the ceiling through his cracked visor, waiting for the last spasms that would signal his target was out cold.

Panting, he got up and walked to the heating unit, tracing the gas pipe to where it reached the main tanks. He unscrewed the hose that fed the gas to the house until he heard a faint hissing and walked over to the toaster, bringing the nano-carbide sheets out of his pockets. Placing the sheets in the toaster, he waited for the apartment to fill up with gas as he felt the entry wound on his helmet. The HUD had glitched out from the bullet wreaking havoc within the electronics of the helmet, the visor was cracked and something warm was trickling down the back of his neck, probably from some jagged piece of ceramic that had been broken out of its place. Shaking his head at the situation, he could hear the bullet rattling around behind his head.

After getting a faint smell of natural gas, Nicolas activated the toaster and walked out of the apartment. He slid the door closed behind him and opened the manual override panel. With a red-hot monofilament from his omnitool, he welded a small piece of metal into the frame, jamming the door release. He walked out of the building and into the street when the gas caught fire and the windows of the living unit pulverised and flew off in a cloud of glass.


Hope you enjoyed it!

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