A/N: It's out... sorry for the wait.

Ch. 10

To have command is to have all the power you will ever need. To have all the power you will ever need, is to have the world in the palm of you hand.
Author:Tiberius Caesar

The door to Omega opens before us and we get a good view of it... if there is such a thing. Afterlife's pulsing music the faint smell of death and the sight of Aria's club Afterlife. Shepard intterupts my story to ask for directions. "Where's Aria?"

"See that massive building infront of us with the pulsing music, that's Aria's club," I answer, "you'll never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy..." I quote one of my favorite movies.

"Glad it's our first stop then," Shepard remarks wryly. I grin at her mood.

"The view's nice though."

"The view," Shepard asks.

"You'll see," wait maybe I shouldn't have made that comment... wait I don't want Shepard to like me... do I? I need to decide on that... but not right now. I lead the way towards the club Shepard and Kasumi look at the line. "We don't have to wait in line," I head right up to the guard at the door.

He looks at me then Shepard and Kasumi, "Aria's expecting you," the door opens. We're assaulted by more of the techno music. We're not even in the actual club and the music is loud.

"I told you," I grin and Shepard takes the lead. I expected smooth sailing straight to Aria... but I forgot about the batarians in the hall.

"What are you looking at," the batarian in the center of the other two asks me when he notices me glancing over at them.

Can't look weak in front of Shepard, "An idiot," I answer simply and keep walking. I feel a hand on my shoulder... not female so. I spun around one hand grabbing the collar of the batarian's shirt and the other pulling out my knife and pressing it against his throat. "Back off," unlike most of the time my tone is level and calm. I toss him back into his two friends.

Neither Shepard nor Kasumi commented, because at that moment the door to the main building opened. The sound is deafening... in a good way. I actually kind of liked the Afterlife music. I do a quick sweep of the room, people at bars buying drinks, at tables talking... asari dancing around poles... I get elbowed in the ribs when my gaze lingers on one for too long.

Shepard clears her throat and leads the way through the club. Oops... I got caught. Her mouth moves but I can't hear I catch one word, "...view..."

There's no explaining so I just follow Shepard who leads us past Aria's booth into the under-area she leads to the other part of the club and we begin wandering around in circles. Until finally she sits down in a booth in the first room. "Where the hell is Aria?"

I try my best not to laugh, Shepard got lost. "I'll show you." I walk straight there... I shouldn't find it so funny I mean when I first played ME2 I got lost and couldn't find Aria's booth, but I didn't expect Shepard in real life to be lost. I bow and gesture for Shepard to move up the stairs, "Madam."

"Jokes are only cute for so long," she remarks leading the way up the stairs. I'm annoying yay! Kasumi and I follow after her. We reach the VIP area and I spot Aria up a smaller flight of stairs. Shepard moves up the stairs and the guards move out of the shadows guns drawn. "That's close enough," Aria says to Shepard. Fast as a blink my two pistols' laser sights are on two guards' heads, you can never be too careful.

Someone comes up and starts scanning Shepard, "Stand still," he orders.

Everyone puts their guns away I however take the laser sight off one of my Phalanxes and point the beam in the eyes of a batarian that was giving me a dirty look.

"I was told you were the person to talk to if I have questions," Shepard says, I turn to look at her and she's pointing at Aria.

The scanner stops, "They're clean."

Aria spins around and stares at Shepard neither is backing down from the other's gaze. "Depends on the questions," Aria answers with a business face.

"You run Omega," Shepard asks. What a dumb question I practically told Shepard this. I switch the laser light to a turian who was starting to give me a dirty look, I have a feeling most of the guards are gonna get this treatment. It's funny seeing someone try to hold a dirty look with a lazer light in their eye.

I hear Aria's laugh, I can imagine the scene too, she turns arms outstretched, "I am Omega."

Ok, back to the batarian. I flash the laser light between his eyes again. He's getting pissed, I sing song in my head. I wonder if i'll piss him off enough that he attacks me. That might be fun. Damn, he's showing that he's pissed but he's not acting on it. Oh well props to him on self control.

"...Queen if you're feeling dramatic," Oops I haven't been listening to Aria's rant. "It doesn't matter, Omega has no titled ruler and only one rule..." Cool at least I get to hear Aria's most popular line. She sits down exuding that, 'I own everything here,' aura. "Don't fuck with Aria," she smiles at the end of her words. A thought comes to my mind, I want to see Aria disheveled, it might be weird but to see her lose her composure or even afraid.

"Easy to remember," Shepard comments.

"If you forget someone will remind you," Aria responds always the one to have the last word.

"Then I toss your sorry ass out the nearest airlock," the scanning batarian from earlier adds. I flash my laser light in his eyes.

"All due respect, threaten Shepard again and I'll toss you through the airlock," I growl. I grab the spot light for a moment and everyone stares at me. It seems to get tense as guards put their hands near their weapons.

Then Aria laughs. The tension dispels and Shepard sits down. "So what can I do for you," Aria asks.

"I'm looking for someone named Archangel," Shepard answers. Wow they're straight to business. I keep bugging the batarian that had threatened Shepard, laser light cycling between his four eyes. He's still glaring at me, I glare right back.

"You and half of Omega," Aria responds, "you want him dead too?" I grin at that, farthest from the truth.

"I'm putting a team together," Shepard answers, "he's on my list." I wonder if I should tell Shepard who Archangel really is...

Aria smiles... I'm never comfortable when Aria smiles, "Interesting." I'm a little nervous now. "You're going to make a lot of enemies teaming up with Archangel."

Good more things to shoot... that sounded like Grunt a bit... It's gonna be awesome seeing Grunt... truth be told I liked pretty much all of the team in ME2. Miranda I thought was a bit of a bitch but after her loyalty mission she was much more agreeable. I digress...

"...He's in a bit of trouble right now," Aria finishes. Damn it I was off in my own little world and missed more conversation and my laser light strayed from the square pattern I've been drawing on the batarian. I change to a sort of figure eight. Am I having too much fun with a laser pointer?

"Just tell me where to find him," Shepard answers. Going according to the game dialogue I see. The only difference is an idiot playing around with a laser light. Come on idiot fight me, I want to punch something.

"The local merc groups are recruiting anyone with a gun to take down Archangel," Aria suggests.

"We get to make them pay us for destroying them," I laugh, "that's awesome."

"I doubt they'll pay in advance," Aria remarks with a grin, "They are using a private booth for recruiting." "Just over there," she gestures slightly, "I'm sure they'll sign you up."

"Thanks for the help," Shepard says standing up. I turn off the laser light. Good self control.

"See if you still feel that way when the mercs find out you're there to help him," Aria comments. That's when the shit hits the fan, and depending on your disposition the 'fun' begins. I do often feel like hitting something or shooting something... but I'm not sure wanton violence is my thing.

We head down the stairs and find the guy outside the recruiting booth. A blue suns batarian... why is it most mercenaries I meet are batarians? "I hear you're recruiting."

He looks us over, "Go on in." The door opens and we pass someone who's apparently just been hired. We walk in and surprise, surprise, a batarian mercenary...

"Who's next," he asks. He notices us. "Well aren't you cute," if he starts hitting on Shepard I'll break his head in two. "You're in the wrong place honey," wait did this asshole just call Shepard honey? "Strippers quarters are that way," Ok that's it I'm splitting his head in two. I start to step forward hostile intent obvious... obvious enough that Kasumi puts a hand in front of me to stop me. Now I could blow straight past her and have my fist halfway through four eyes skull but... Shepard pulled her gun...

"Show me yours tough guy," she says almost threateningly, "I bet mines bigger."

I stop dead in my tracks... I'll leave this to Shepard. She's more experienced and... tougher. "Impressive, so you're here to fight then." Ok I don't really care about the rest of this conversation... unless four eyes insults Shepard again. I really want to play with the laser sight... I pull it and the pistol it belongs to, I reattach it. Then I aim it at the wall and pull the trigger it hits right where the sight was. Wow I feel better now...

"...If this is the place to go after Archangel," Shepard answers.

The batarian seems to smile at this... he probably thinks we have a grudge against Archangel. "This is the place," he answers. He goes through some details about payment and if we die... I lose interest. "Anything else," he finally asks after wasting precious minutes of my life with legal crap.

Shepard cracks her knuckles and makes a grin, "Where do we go?" She's getting into this.

"Just over to the transport depot outside the club," he answers, "one of our boys will take you from there." So we're finally gonna go kick some ass... oh, I just remembered my dream... that's bad. "Send the next one in," he says into his comm. We turn and head towards the door, I wonder if... the door opens and the guy you can stop from being a merc walks by us.

"Is this where I sign up," he asks the batarian.

Shepard answers instead, "You look a little young to be freelancing as a merc." I'm so tempted to cough 'hypocrite...' I mean I'm younger than this guy and Shepard's taking me along.

"I'm old enough," he answers indignantly. "I grew up on Omega," he adds, "I know how to use a gun."

"Don't be so cocky," I warn him, "you'd be nothing but fodder."

"I know how to handle myself," he argues, he's mad it seems. Then a confident smile appears on his face, he pulls out his pistol, "I just spent fifty credits on this pistol and I wanna us it." This is the part where Shepard can do the interrupt. To my surprise she turns to leave.

I step forward and take the pistol out of his hands, "Kids shouldn't play with toys."

"Hey that's," he lunges for it. I catch his collar with my other hand and lift him clean off the ground.

"You'll die," I tell him with certainty. I drop him and falls to the floor. I smash the pistol against the wall, and it breaks into pieces. "You'll thank me later." I walk out with Shepard and Kasumi.

"Good deed of the day," Kasumi asks me.

"It's one less to fight," I answer with a neutral expression. Truth be told I never let that guy become a merc...

"Let's move it," Shepard orders. We pick up the pace and end up at the transportation depot and immediately see our ride. Shepard walks straight up to the batarian driver and says, "I'm on the mission."

"I hope you're ready," the driver responds, "Archangel's been annihilating you freelancers."

"Ready when you are," and Shepard actually smiled at the news of the freelancers being annihilated.

A/N: Next chap will be out faster...
I want to apologize for the long wait times.