Welp…

Full apology at the bottom.


Dust in the Mass Effect

Chapter 12

"Move to a Better Neighborhood"


I don't think I said a single word until we landed planetside.

It had been… I want to say 'tense', but that really doesn't do the whole thing justice. The entire hour we had to wait for our flight to leave was filled with this heavy sense of misery topped with gut-wrenching anxiety. The thought that Tealer and Fleer may have sold us out was sitting on our minds, weighing on us with the threat of an already shitty day becoming infinitely worse.

The spaceport wasn't like anything I'd expected. It was more like a train station than an airport. Way smaller in scale, at least. Definitely faster to get through. We just handed off our luggage to be processed and then sat ourselves to wait. Etrius said not to worry, that fighting in the ports was forbidden by the leadership so as to keep travel to and from the station unhindered. I remained unnerved in spite of this, considering that the security force that enforced this rule was comprised of several armored batarians toting rifles and shotguns. Gangster military, no doubt.

We did make sure to make ourselves less conspicuous. Sen changed into some civilian clothes before we entered, and Etrius washed up the best he could in one of the restrooms. Of course, we still looked like a bunch of weirdoes – a fact that Holden was all too keen to point out.

Weirdoes or not, we sat and waited. No guns or armor, as they were against the rules. If any of the security guys had wanted to kill us, we'd have been sitting ducks. We knew that they weren't above doing as much. While we waited, one vorcha son-of-a-gun decided to run his mouth about what he thought of the local boss. They were still cleaning up what was left of him when we got called to board.

We were scanned with omni-tools as we arrived at the shuttle, but no issues were found. We boarded, took our seats, and, about five minutes later, Omega was floating away outside the windows. We cleared the surrounding asteroid field and hit the Mass Relay within minutes. With that, time officially marched on.

I was off Omega. No more fuss. No more junkyard. Nothing. Finally, after having the most important part of the plan get derailed right before our eyes, something had gone our way.

I fell asleep from pure exhaustion about ten minutes later. Thankfully, it was a boring flight. Several hours of FTL flight later saw us arriving in the Crescent Nebula's Tasale System. This was home to the hot and massive world known as Illium. It was a colony run by asari corporate interests, founded recently enough for its first native child to only just be hitting middle-age. One fact of note was its proximity to the Terminus Systems, to the point of it being a trade center between them and the Asari Republics. For all the blue women one could find here, they could also find just as many aliens either conducting business or hunting fortune. Not the worst place for a collection of turians and their human tagalong to be inconspicuous.

It was the notice that we were entering the atmosphere that woke me. For some reason, I braced myself. Simply from the experiences of my previous life, I expected atmospheric reentry to consist of a lot of shaking and fire. On the contrary, thanks to mass effect technology, it was more like a gentle glide that just happened to remove us from outer space and insert us into Illium's atmosphere. Luckily, I sat behind everyone else. They didn't see as I looked around wildly, waiting for things to get out of hand.

We eventually were set down on one of several landing pads stuck in the side of the Nos Astra spaceport. I followed the turians through the motions as we disembarked, this time with way more bureaucracy. We had to wade through crowds of people, stand in line, get our bags checked, show our papers, etc. Of course, I didn't have any papers, not being of this dimension and all, but, thankfully, seeing as I was emigrating from Omega, I was given an option. Instead of going straight to prison for illegal entry, I got to sit in a room for three hours, fill out a mountain of documents about my this and that, get 'interviewed' by asari feds so that they could make sure I wasn't there to 'cause trouble', and pay a nominal fee to be issued a temporary ID. Apparently, this sort of thing wasn't entirely rare for this place. Morons flew to the civilized world from the other side often enough for them to have a system in place to handle it. From what I picked up, a lot of it was refugee stuff. I rolled with it. As far as I was concerned, I actually was a refugee.

When I finally got out of the tiny room they'd kept me in, Etrius, Sen, and Holden had ditched. I was left with a message on my omni-tool that had an address on it. 'Itga Apartments, number 74' and a passcode application to get me inside. After using what few credits I had left on an extranet connection and a taxi, I made my way to the place.

Three words to describe Nos Astra? Huge fucking place. I'd never really managed to visit a truly big city back home. Let me say it now, though. As I flew through a cityscape of massive skyscrapers and loads of pedestrian traffic, I truly felt how small I was compared to everything else. It gave me pause, if anything.

What the hell am I doing here?

A prudent question. I'd finally accomplished what I'd initially set out to do. I'd escaped Omega with minimal damage – to myself, that is. It'd cost me practically everything I'd come to hold dear in my time there, but at least I was safe for the time being. What came next, though? Was I just going to go along with Sen's crazy plans? She'd offered to make me a mercenary, help me get revenge or whatever. As I sat in that skycar, however, I had to ask myself if I even wanted revenge. Sure, the idea of getting back at Yun for his bastardry was certainly an appealing idea, but was that something I was capable of?

The answer didn't come to me before the taxi landed at a carpark near ground-level – or floor-level, considering that Illium's surface temperature was so high that the city was elevated to allow comfort. I stepped out, throwing my cloak over my shoulders to cover my bad arm before proceeding. The area map I'd downloaded for my omni-tool claimed that this was the place. Itga Apartments, a relatively small place, was named for some old Asari word meaning 'belong', or so the website claimed. Using the passcode I was sent, I made my way inside. The place did seem rather basic for a science-nonfiction apartment building, I couldn't help but think as I walked down a hallway. I sighed and shook my head at such a thought, deciding to just be happy that everything looked clean. It was a far cry from Omega, where the air itself had seemed dirty.

At the end of the hall, there was an elevator. Not having any other way, I entered it and found the button for number six on the panel. The door closed, I waited a few seconds, and then…

"…Holy shit," I mumbled as I stepped out into a room that overlooked a most vibrant vista of Nos Astra's skyline through a window that stretched the wall's entirety. It was dazzling, to say the least. Buildings of all shapes and sizes as far as the eye could see, skycars zipping about in lines, lights that almost seemed to twinkle… and then I remembered that I'd only gone up half a dozen floors from the bottom.

"It's a digital display."

I turned to find Holden walking up. He raised his omni-tool and hit a button. The vista vanished, replaced by a news report talking about hanar protests somewhere. My hand automatically came up and slapped me on the cheek, totally awestruck.

"Beats the hell out of that junkyard, eh?" the turian driver voiced.

"Definitely," I wholeheartedly agreed.

That said, I walked into the rest of the apartment. It was huge, further adding to my feeling of smallness. A full kitchen, multiple sitting areas and fireplaces, an upstairs, more bathrooms than I could even find – we even all got our own bedrooms! As I walked around and stared at it all, wide-eyed and grinning, I couldn't help but ask…

"How the hell did we land this place?"

"According to Sen, it's a gift from Clavis," Holden dropped the name of Sen's mysterious friend in a high place. "She's off meeting with him, in case you were wondering."

"Alone?" I thought it strange.

"He's not exactly the type to receive a lot of guests. That's what I've been told, at least. Never actually met the guy myself, but, if what I've heard is true, then he owes Sen a few favors."

"Hm," I ruminated, turning to face the majority of the apartment. The thought that someone who can 'gift' away an apartment like this might owe Sen favors was rather impressive.

"What exactly does Clavis do?" I asked.

"He's a businessman," Holden offered the vaguest answer he could while still being helpful.

"Meaning…?"

"Look, as I said, I don't know the guy personally. Sen doesn't talk about him a lot. I think maybe he and her dad were in a unit together back in the day."

Sen's dad again…

"What's the deal with her and her dad?" I changed the subject.

"You'd have to ask her," he shook his head. "Just warn me if you do. I want to be far away when she explodes just from the thought of him."

I rolled my eyes. So much for figuring out that mystery.

"Okay then. What about you? How do you know her?"

"We went to school together. Fell out of touch when she went to train as an officer, though. I wound up a grunt working colony outposts while she was off… doing Spirits-know-what. Didn't even know she was still alive until she called me asking about Omega."

"She was an officer in the military?"

The turian stifled a chuckle. "Look, kid, you wanna know about Sen? Just ask her. I know she seems a little unhinged sometimes, but that's just how she is. Been like that for as long as I can remember."

I took this in stride. I suppose it was a bit silly of me to just up and grill Holden about Sen.

"What about you, then? How'd you wind up on Omega?"

"Well," he started dramatically. "After it came down that I wasn't some upstart military genius who was going to put our family on the map, my parents turned their attention my younger brother and left me to fend for myself. Moved to Omega just to spite them. And yourself?"

I paused. For fuck's sake, what was I doing?! Had I not just spent four months dodging this kind of question from Cockney? But, then again, Cockney never really told my much about himself, either. He was only friendly to me on the basest of levels. Holden, in the meantime, had just played a huge part in getting me away from Omega and had already told me his story. Blowing him off now would have been a serious dick move.

"I'm from Earth," I cooked up quickly. "Small town, never much to do with the greater galaxy. Didn't make it through school, wound up working odd jobs here and there. Then, one day, I woke up on top of a trash heap on Omega."

Yep. I said it. Didn't even lie, really. All of that was true. Important details concerning time and reality were left out, but then what place did they have in casual conversation anyway?

"You just… woke up there?"

"Look at my face," I scowled at Holden. "Do I look like I'm making this up?'

"Tssh," the turian scoffed. "Sorry. Just sounds a little farfetched to me. That's all."

"Yeah, well, I don't know what else to tell you," I shrugged, going ahead and taking a seat on the couch. The news broadcast was still playing. Apparently, several higher-ups from the Armali Council were in town raising a stink over broken contracts with a local firm.

"That's your story and you're sticking to it, eh?" he surmised, sitting down in a nearby armchair.

"Yup. As far as I'm concerned, that's what happened. I blinked, and then 'Shit!', I was there."

"Huh… Trippy."

"No kidding," I almost laughed, glad that he was taking the tale so well. On that cue, however, my stomach growled.

"What the hell was that?"

"It was my gut telling me I need to eat," I explained, remembering Sen remarking something similar when she heard it growl the other day.

"Log into the place's extranet site. The menu's pretty awesome."

"You ate?"

"Yeah. You wanted me wait? You were gone for three hours, dude."

Grumbling at being late to the party, I pulled up my omni-tool and began the process of summoning food. Speaking of being, gone, though…

"Where's Etrius?"

"No clue. Said he was going 'shopping'."

I blinked in confusion as the turian made air-quotes with his fingers.

"Like… for what?"

"Who knows with that guy? Tried to chat him up during the shuttle ride. Bounty hunter, in it for the cash for as much as I can tell."

I found the driver's attitude towards our resident heavy. From what I'd seen, Etrius was arguably the most normal and grounded person I'd met on Omega. But, then again, he was also a professional killer. That was always something to take into account.

"You don't like him?" I dug further as a particular dish on the menu caught my eye. "And do these meals get added to the rent bill?"

"I make a habit not to like anyone who has more money than me," he chuckled. "And no. You gotta pay on delivery."

"Shit…" I grumbled. I was practically cleaned out now that I'd finally gotten here.

"Tssh," Holden scoffed again, shaking his head. "Go ahead. I suppose it wouldn't be right to let a hungry junk rat be denied a good meal."

"Holden, you're a wonderful person."

"Thanks. Make sure they write that on my tombstone when I die broke."

T

About thirty minutes later, while I was munching on a spectacular plate of chicken parmesan, Etrius finally came waltzing out of the elevator. Holden and I both turned and were gobsmacked to find taller turian wearing new clothes. Not only that, but both hands had huge cases clutched in them. He took them straight to the dining table and plopped them down with harsh thuds.

"Whoa, man! Don't scratch the marble!" Holden interjected as we both hopped up to see what was up.

"It's fake," Etrius countered, opening one case. Coming around, we found it to be filled with what I assumed to be parts of a large weapon.

"Rifle…" he stated before hooking a small handle at the bottom of the carrier. Lifting it, he revealed another set of parts. "Shotgun…" He lifted again. "Pistol."

He quickly got to work with the pistol parts, throwing them together at a rate that could only be attributed to a practiced user of the craft. Within seconds, the pistol was in one piece. I recognized its frame.

"M-6 Carnifex," he remarked. I perked up, remembering the name. "Expensive, but worth every credit. This thing can put a round straight through a krogan's hump."

"You went gun shopping? Didn't we bring an entire armory with us from Omega?" Holden asked, gawking at the huge case.

"We brought Sen's armory. I prefer to have a selection of my own on hand, including…" He reached over and flipped open the other case. "…this."

I couldn't tell what it was. Just pieces.

"Spirits!" Holden reacted much more sourly, reeling back so hard he almost knocked the plate out of my hands. "That is not legal!"

"It is on Illium," Etrius countered once again. "It even comes with ammo."

He lifted up the parts' carrier to reveal a full stock of things that made my eyes widen – grenade rounds, all marked to symbolize different effects. Yellow color and debris marker for fragmentation, red color and flame marker for incendiary, and white color and a snowflake for cryo.

"A grenade launcher... Damn," Holden was firmly taken aback now. "You planning on raiding a merc base?"

"Always be prepared," the larger turian put it simply before closing the case. "Turned in the bounty I claimed back in the junkyard. The payout was more than I expected, so I splurged a little."

"You call buying a full loadout a little splurging? Remind me to go with you when you decide to go on a full-fledged shopping spree. I wanna see what you buy then."

Etrius just smirked and closed the cases back. "Being a professional has its perks."

"Let's hope you live up to that title."

We all turned towards the elevator to find Sen walking out of it.

"The prodigal mercenary returns," Holden commented, folding his arms. "What'd our friend have to say?"

"That the place is ours, so long as we make ourselves useful," she stated as she moved over to stand across the table from us. "We've got employment."

"Dammit," the driver groaned, scratching at his head plates. "Should've known you'd say that."

"I know, I know," the female turian put her hands up in attempt to calm things. Apparently, this wasn't the situation they'd wanted. "I tried to refuse, but he wouldn't take 'no' for an answer."

"I thought you said you could handle him," Etrius noted, earning a scowl from our leader.

"Yeah, well, it's been a few years since I've done anything for him. He's moved up in the galaxy, it seems," she explained. "Said that it'd be 'bad for business' if he just started showing charity for random mercs from Omega. If we work for him, though, then it's something else altogether."

"So now we're a fucking private hit-squad for some crazy 'legitimate' businessman asshole?" Holden put it eloquently.

Sen took a moment to think about it.

"…More or less."

Holden opened his mouth to say something, froze, and then close his mouth back before going over to collapse onto the couch.

"What about you two?" Sen turned to me and Big E.

"How's the pay?" Etrius asked the important question.

"From what I was shown, good-to-high. We've got discretionary funds to help us settle in, even."

"Hm," the bounty hunter nodded, likely having expected hear that.

"And you?" Sen looked just at me. I was just finishing up eating, swallowing the last bite before answering.

"I've got nowhere else to be."

"Excellent," she grinned, leaning onto the table. "Now… About those discretionary funds."

I noticed that she was staring at my body and began to frown.

"We need to discuss your arm."

"Okay."

"And then your fashion sense."

Aw hell…


I'm sooooorrrrryyyyyyyyyyy! D:

I don't even really know what happened. I started playing video games and working more hours and making money and, next thing I knew, it was December and I hadn't updated this thing yet. It also didn't help that I redrafted this chapter at least five times. Three full versions of it exist now, with this one having won out by virtue of making me feel the least like a hack.

So… yeah. Hope you guys weren't expecting some epic conclusion to Omega. We're on Illium now! Woo-hoo!

Again, I gotta thank Warhammer 2-4 for being both an amazing person as well as a helpful beta reader. Shoutouts as well to TheWolfBoss06, Ranger Station Charlie, and cmitts93 for their kind words and encouragements. I couldn't have done it without you all.

Also, a super big thank you to the reviewers! I don't know if it was the time gap or not, but we hit 12 reviews on the last chapter! That's a NEW RECORD! You've all been so lovely to me, and I seriously can't thank you all enough. You guys don't know how much I appreciate it.

Well, that's enough of me. Till next time, I've been Digital Sage, and I hope you're all having a wonderful day.