And here we go!
Standard I do not own spiel :)
also, do not own anything of the works for In This Moment.
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Chapter 20: Burn it to the Ground.
'Raine's POV
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I have to say that Omega is not for the faint of heart.
After stepping off of the shuttle and being directed by the Krogan to 'Get my ass to Afterlife' I opened up the messaging/email app in my Omni'tool and sent off a quick message to Mordin, with whom I'd been in contact with before leaving the Citadel about a job in his clinic as a nurse, and let him know that I'd gotten a 'request' to see Aria. I'd been thinking of heading out of the shuttle bay itself but when I glanced up after sending the message I saw an individual with his focus on his messages suddenly get yanked off to the side just as he left the bay to talk to a shady looking Krogan and Batarian who loomed over him threateningly. A moment later he handed over a chit and was shoved on his way.
I turned to the very Krogan who had stopped me, and was apparently tasked with shadowing me, and indicated the man who'd been waylaid.
"Did I really just see that? Right outside the bay?" I asked, shock in my voice.
"Hmph. The shuttle bay itself might be a neutral zone Human, but step one foot outside it and you're on your own." He flashed his teeth at me in a Krogan smile.
Yeah... I blinked, looking back and came to a complete halt as I heard the ping from my 'tool. I was NOT stepping outside the bay just yet.
"Human..." The Krogan grumbled low.
"I am NOT stepping outside the bay when I NEED to make sure my potential employer understands WHY I'm going to be late for my 'test shift'." I snapped back, looking at him levely and not breaking my gaze.
Rule One when Dealing with a Krogan; Don't back down on the small things or they'll push you around with the big things. I'd learned that by watching the nurse in the Citadel deal with unruly Krogan patients. Rule Two was to always judge what 'big things' you actually wanted to fight them about and if it was worth it and Rule Three was to always make sure you had back up in situations that fell under Rule Two. She'd had more Rules then that but those were the Big Three.
He held my gaze for several long moments and then flashed another toothy grin my way as he barked out a laugh. He nodded his head slightly and leaned against the wall. I relaxed a bit and looked over the message waiting for me.
'Odd. Aira wishes to speak to you? Tech specialist. Sniper training. Medical training. Spent time on Flottilla. None of these things specific enough to catch 'Queen of Omega's' attention. Arrived under own name or alias?'
I bit back a laugh, he messaged like he talked, but at least it was a LOT better then the Doc I had to deal with back on the Citadel.
'Alias' I messaged back simply, wondering if he would end up digging into 'my past' at all. There was a bit of a wait for his responding message.
'Aria's intrest in tracking you high then. Background check showed no criminal history. No service history. No outstanding debts. Never visited Illium," That made me raise my brow. 'Something about your medical history?'
I let out a soft laugh and decided to indulge. He'd find out about it at some point anyway.
'In a sense. If I get any treatment here on Omega it's going to be by you, so you have my full permission both as a potential employee and as a future patient to check my Medical Records and see the reason why I THINK she is interested in me.'
'Will look into it.'
At that point I grinned and closed my omni'tool. Rolling my shoulders and taking a deep breath I focused on the area just outside the bay. I was, quite literally, entering hostile territory and even if the Krogan was going to be shadowing me to make sure I headed to Afterlife, I was doubtful he'd actually act to protect me if anything happened.
I was right in that assessment too. Halfway to the club two male Human thugs stepped out of the shadows in front of me blocking the hall by standing side-by-side and they both flashed me cold smiles that were all teeth. I raised a brow at them as I paused and a glance to my side showed that the Krogan had moved to lean against the wall. No help there. He MIGHT keep them from killing me but even that was also a questionable line of thought considering Omega was a very 'dog eat dog' kind of place.
I flicked two fingers at the men in front of me and crossed my arms with a small frown that I hoped radiated confusion. A glance around showed that there were others in the shadows watching, trying to judge how easy of a mark I was going to be in the future. I decided to play it dumb for a few as I still had a nifty little hacking program that I'd modified but had yet to try out. The original program file was sent to me by Tali. It worked like Overload but was used to temporarily fry someone's Omni'tool and not their shields. The modification I'd done would cause a 'tool I hit with the program to send out a taser-like burst of electricty into the wearer.
"If you'll excuse me I have a meeting to get to." I smiled sweetly and shifted my stance a bit.
"Sure ya do sweet thing. First things first though. You gotta pay us," the thug on the right said.
"Pay you?" I asked with a lilt of curiosity. "Oh! I get it!"
They lost their smiles and blinked in confusion at my cheerful tone.
"Uhh?" the second one said.
"You two are applying as personal body guards!" I let out another clueless, high giggle, trying to confuse them further. "I'm really sorry but I don't need any body guards right now. You've got the scary look down pat though, I'm sure someone will hire you soon."
My words left them stumped just enough that I was able to get past them before they turned around and Thug One shouted at me.
"We're not looking for a fuckin' job!"
"Really?" I said I said in a high tone, turning just slightly and seeing that my Krogan shadows' shoulders were shaking with mirth.
"No! This is a Shake Down ya dumb bitch! Where ya take money from someone? Are you that dense?!" Thug One continued to rant while Thug Two nodded his head over and over.
"Oh, I see." I smiled again as I turned to them and looked at my Omni'tool. I punched in the buttons for the my little 'Shocker' app and also opened up the app used to transfer funds between accounts. Their omni'tools pinged with the request to open up a transaction and they blinked down at their tools. Everyone was watching now with baited breath thinking I really was just that clueless and dense. Oh, this was going to be fun and hopefully make a point too.
"Here's what I'm willing to give you guys, I hope it's enough." I said with a cheery smile and a tilt of my head as I hit the button to activate 'Shocker'.
The two let out gurgling noises as their Omni'tools shortcircuited and sent the shock through them. I kept the button pressed down for several long moments until they both hit the ground twitching before letting the button go. A bit more hacking and I took a hundred credits from each of their accounts. I closed the apps, making sure to activate another program to prevent them from trying to 'track' my account and walked over to nudge them with a foot. I turned my 'super cheery' smile to my Krogan shadow.
"Do you think they liked my 'gift'?" I asked innocently and blinked wide eyes at him.
The Krogan burst into laughter as we started to head toward the club again, the others all melting into the shadows with whispers of shock. Hopefully that would prevent anyone else from trying to rob me for a while.
-=-=/*/**/*=-=-
There was a large crowd awaiting potential entrance into the club. A line of Krogan, Turian and Batarian guards prevented anyone from trying to move past a certain point. Each person had to be checked before they could go through for their 'credentials'. I watched for a few moments and saw that 'credentials' entailed either showing a pass which had to be confirmed up-to-date or a hefty bribe. I knew Shep would be able to just go on up but... I looked to my Krogan shadow and spoke softly to him.
"Since Aria wants to see me do I just walk past?" I indicated the 'line'.
"Just go up and give your name Human. I don't have all day." He grumbled.
I smiled for a moment and started forward only to stop and look back at him with a raised brow.
"Is she expecting ''Raine Mathias' or 'Leonne Lannister'?" I asked.
He let out a rolling 'Heh-heh' of a laugh and bobbed his head.
"You're smart for a Human. You might even live longer then a week." I raised my brow at him waiting for him to answer my question and he barred his teeth slightly in a 'nicer' grin. "'Lannister.'"
I nodded my head and started up the stairs for the entrance. A Batarian held up his hand to stop me even though I slowed as I approached him.
"I'm here to see Aira please," I said with friendly smile.
He stared at me for a few long moments, probably shocked by my politeness, then straighted up.
"Name?" He asked as he called up a program on his 'tool.
"Lannister. She's expecting me."
"That she is," He answered as he closed down the program. "Don't keep her waiting Human."
"Thank you," I smiled and moved past him, ignoring the sudden indignant shouts from the others behind me still in line.
The music within the club hit me like a physical weight. Still a techo beat but of a slightly different style from what I half-remembered from the games. Band in question probably wasn't 'in' yet.
I paused to watch the dancers for a few moments, admiring their flexability and wishing I was even half as skilled when I saw one pull off a complicated bendy move. Kel had mentioned that for light weight Humans and Quarians training up to have a high level of flexability would increase skill for hand-to-hand combat and I wondered if I might get some pointers one day from a dancer. I let out a wistful sigh and moved past the dancers and drunks towards the stairs leading up to Aria's 'throne'.
A Turian stopped me this time and simply ran a scan over me without a word. I blinked a bit at him as the light flashed over me and waited quietly. He nodded and then jerked a thumb over his shoulder. I nodded and went up the stairs.
Aria sat on the couch in her usual laid back manner that was reflected in game. It was as if she had neither a care in the universe and also knew that no one would dare disturb her, like a slumbering dragon upon it's pile of gold and jewels. At rest but exuding an aura of danger and death for those foolish enough to steal from it.
Two guards stood at the top of each ramp of stairs, armed to the teeth. I was scanned a second time before being allowed to move closer to the 'Queen'.
I stayed standing for several long moments, not bothering to say anything as I knew she would speak when she was good and ready to. She waved one hand after a few more moments, indicating for me to sit. I gave a respectful bow of my head before sitting down and almost sinking into the plush couch. I couldn't help the faint sound of pleasure that escaped me as I wiggled into a slightly better position. The light-armored suit I was wearing was easy enough to move in, but combined with the stiff seating of the shuttle I'd been on, I hadn't really quite realized how much my body was aching after the long flight. I kept my eyes partially opened, mindful that I was surrounded by potential hostiles and noticed when Aria finally looked over at me. I tilted my head to look more at her but kept her guards in my peripheral.
"You seem to be a smart girl, if your actions outside in the corridor are anything to go by," She said as she shifted, uncrossing and then re-crossing her legs. The image of a dragon shifting and settling it's wings crossed my mind. "Do you know who I am?"
I tilted my head and ticked off my fingers. "'Boss', 'CEO', 'Queen'..." I shrugged slighty. "Simply put Aria; The leader of Omega."
Aria let out a mirthless laugh at that and flashed me her teeth. Omega was more about body language then words and she was expressing herself as, amusingly enough, the Alpha of Omega. I let my eyes drop from her gaze for a moment and she seemed to preen a bit at my attempt at acknowledging her with my own body language.
"Good girl, and do you know the first rule?"
"'You do not talk about Fight Club'," I said without thinking and then facepalmed as my Brain caught up with what my Mouth said.
A wary glance through my finger tips after a moment showed me something I wasn't expecting to see. Instead of an Angry Aria, I saw that she had her hand resting with one finger against her lips just the faintest hint of a smile on them, which for her was as if she'd burst into laughter. One of her brow ridges were raised as she looked at me.
I took a slow breath and let my hand fall away from my face. I offered her a sheepish smile, showing no teeth.
"Sorry, really. It's one of my favorite old Earth books so it's kind of... yeah..." I blushed and rubbed at the back of my neck.
"I know of it," She tilted her head at me. "Do try again though."
"Ah... um..." I knew I was still blushing and struggled to keep from stuttering. "'Don't fuck with Aria'? Maybe?"
"Very good," her voice dropped then to a pleased dark purr. "Do you know why I called you here?"
"I can hazzard a guess," I said slowly, the blush fading now as I felt the tension start to build up again. She raised a brow at me again and I let out a sigh and looked at her with a serious expression. "You do realize it isn't something that can be flipped on like a switch? The training I went through only helps me stay functional when it does happen. It's... not as reliable as other sources of information."
"'Reliable'? Oh, it is very reliable," she tilted her head at me. "Perhaps simply not as 'timely' as other sources."
I let out another sigh and leaned back against the couch. "You want me to share what I DO see."
"VERY Smart girl," she said in a condesending tone. "I have a number of various valuable tools that are just waiting to be used at the right time." She went silent for a long moment and then spoke again in a mockingly kind tone. "You have a lovely singing voice."
"Thank yo..." I sat straight and looked at her, my tone going flat. "What?"
Instead of speaking she opens her own Omni'tool and plays a short clip of me singing during one of my little concerts. For the Quarians. WHILE STILL ON THE RAYYA!
My mouth opened and closed a few times, to Aria's amusement I'm sure. Finally I sat up straight and felt my gaze harden. I might be Human, but spending a few years amoung Quarian's one embraces certain mentalities. My voice came out cold as I pointed to the still running clip.
"Are they a threat?" I asked.
"Hmm?" Aria tilted her head at me.
"The person who sent you that clip and might well be sending you other information. Are they a threat to the Flotilla?"
"Ah, so the smart little kitten has claws?" Aria gives that faint hint of a smile again before shrugging. "There was a favor owed and now that favor is repaid. A simple enough thing, yes?"
"A 'favor'?" I said slowly as I leaned back. "Paid off simply by sending information about the 'odd Human'?"
"Information for information."
"'Knowledge is Power.'" I said with a sigh as I leaned back and rubbed at my forehead. I looked at her then with a frown. "Why should I?"
"Hmm?" This time the thrum of noise held a warning to it.
"Aria, respectfully, I am well enough off. I'm going to apply for a position at Mordin's clinic as a nurse, as I'm sure you already know. I don't have to stay on Omega, in fact I plan on leaving within a few years anyway. Hell, if things fall through with the Clinic I may just head back to the Citadel after repairs are confirmed done. Aria... What could you offer me to stay and even TRY to see anything for you?"
I kept my tone earnest, respectful and honest throughout my small speech. She eyed me for several long moments once I was done and then tilted her head.
"One could always threaten injury," she said in a soft, testing manner.
"I just lost my husband, my mate," I said coldly, "wouldn't work. Hell, I might even welcome the pain."
She nodded in understanding at that, accepting my bluff, and shifted her legs again.
"Threaten a... little blue bird perhaps then," Another jab, showing that she knows of my friends.
I actually couldn't help a laugh at that though. She bristled and I held up my hands in a surrendering gesture.
"I know this isn't the time for laughter but honestly, you're not getting at my Blue Bird." I snickered again at the thought of her going after Falare and shook my head at the thought. "Not unless you want to visit THAT Monestary."
I raised a brow at her, still smiling gently with no teeth showing. Her eyes widened for a moment before narrowing, the only sign she gave that she realized what I was talking about.
"I'd found information that you had training at one of our Monestaries, but that one?"
"Yes ma'am," I said with a shrug. "When you cannot meld without pain it's the place to go to learn the meditation techniques needed. All other Asari Monistaries primarily teach through melding, with learning on your own being a secondary option that most don't partake in, even if they are not Asari students melding to get the information is easier." I tapped my head and then shrugged. "It was also the safest possible location since my ability it so rare that people might have sought to take advantage of a young Human child."
I shifted a bit and held my hands up with a tilt of my head.
"So again, Aria, why should I?" I asked sofltly, keeping my tone sad.
She tilted her head and then looked back to her Omni'tool which was still playing. She turned it off and shifted to lean forward.
"Information, money, power, Favors." She said evenly. "You help me and only me, staying tied to me while you live here on Omega and I would return the favor later on."
I eyed her carefully and realized that having her favor might very well help me during the years of Mass Effect 2 and 3. I let out a soft sigh and then indicated where her Omni'tool had been lit upon her wrist.
"Was the clip just then part of the threatening process or did it have another point."
"It has another point. I may very well end up simply calling upon you on your days off from the clinic," she was assuming that I would pass whatever trail phase Mordin had in store for me. "come with me."
She stood then and walked off toward the stairs without a backwards glance. I blinked a moment in confusion and then stood and moved after her. She led me down the steps and through the doors that led to the back where I knew she kept Patriarch. The room itself was large and was filled with a number of different Asari who clustered around the Patriarch as he told his war stories. One Asari saw us enter and moved over to Aria with a smile and a bow of her head. It took me a moment to place her markings but I recognised Liselle after a few moments and had to glance away.
"Are they all here?" Aria asked.
"As you ordered," Liselle answer with another bow of her head and indicated the back part of the room where a Krogan, Turian and Salarian stood around equipment.
The Krogan stood in front of what looked to be a type of drum set. The Turain, female from the lack of a promanent fringe, stood tuning some kind of five string guitar-like instrument. The Salarian was fiddling with a hard-light keyboard synthesizer while t
shying away from the occasional glares of the Krogan within the room. They looked up as Aria and I approached. The Krogan sat down behind the drums, letting one elbow hit the largest of the three in a 'Boom' that made the others quiet for a moment.
"Pah! Ignore them, they've got their own business and it's best you lot stay out of it. Now as I was saying..." The Patriarch started his story back up and I grinned before Aria drew my attention back to the band in front of me.
"This is Durge, Lieta and Mui." She indicated the Krogan first, then the Turian and lastly the Salarian as she spoke. They each stayed silent. "Like you they have a reason to be here, however their only wish has to been to form a band in exchange for their services when I need them."
"I take it they need a lead singer?" I asked with a raised brow.
"Indeed," her voice dropped a few degrees as she looked the group over, "However they have been picky about who they wish as a Lead and you will be the last chance for their band before I find new placement for them."
Mui gulped and seemed to shrink on himself even further while Lieta glared and Durge honestly didn't seem to give a damn. Durge finally leaned forward, fist slamming down on the drum with another 'Boom'.
"It would help if you didn't keep sending idiots that can't Feel the music our way," Durge said in an deep and even tone. "Some of the ones you've sent couldn't show emotion if you killed their damn parents or kids."
Aria snorted and waved a hand at me. "I've sent you the vids, you agreed to hear her in person."
"Yeah, we did." Durge leaned back and looked at me with a frown. "So human, I've seen you sing those damn love songs and songs of loss and despair, but can you make me feel Anger, feel Pride, feel the need to Fight!" The last came out in a shout and the others in the room, even Patriach drifted off from his story to look our way. I blinked a bit and called up my Omni'tool.
Now years ago I'd found that some bands, moves and simply some people didn't exist in the past of this dimension. One such music group was a band called In This Moment. If he wanted to feel the need to FIGHT, then I knew just which song to play, I just needed to be able to send them what to play. It took a few moments for LK to respond to my request to send me the information I needed and then I forwarded the orcistral information over to them. Their omni'tools lit up and a moment later hard-light visors formed over each of their eyes as they looked it over. Durge was bouncing his head a bit.
"Maybe, maybe. But let's hear you sing it, kid."
I nodded my head and took a deep breath. I had to get angry now, because this was not a gentle song at all. I reached down to brush my mind over the anger I felt deep inside and gentle pulled a bit of it upward, away from the loathing and the hate I kept in check deep inside beneath the core of kindness and Light I struggled to reflect. When I opened my eyes Lieta and Mui seemed to start and Durge grinned a wide toothy grin. Aria moved to sit over at a chair to the right, Liselle serving her a drink. The others all went dead quiet and then I nodded to Durge who started the drum beat and Lieta who started to thrum her instrument which sounded like a deep bass guitar. I grinned called up a hard-light mic and started to sing in a deep tone.
"I feel the pressure is building in me
My stomach's sick, it's getting harder to breathe."
I reached up to clench my hair and leaned forward as if hunched in pain.
"I hear the screaming, I feel the disease
There's blood in the air, and there is death on the breeze."
I jerked up at the last word, screaming it at the ceiling. I turned then to look at those around me challengingly.
"Will you come with me?" I held my hand out to them.
"Will you stand with me?" I indicated to them to come close and watched at the small crowd leaned forward.
"Would you follow me? Would you believe with me?" Another imploring gesture.
"Tell me you'll bleed with me," I tilted my head back then slashed my hand down, surging forward a step, "Tell me you'll die with me!"
I beat my fists against my chest and started to stalk around the room.
"Come on, come on
Let me hear your war cry
Come on, get up
Let me hear your war cry
Come on, get up
Let me hear your war cry
Come on, get up
Let me hear your war cry
Yell it out, do or die
Let me hear your war crrrrrrrrrrrrry."
Every Krogans' head was bobbing and even Aria and Liselle were looking intrigued now. A glance at Durge and the others showed their heads bobbing to the music as well, fierce grins on their faces. I flashed them a toothy smile and then hunched in on myself again, stumbling as I looked up through my hair at the crowd for the next verse.
"We wanted peace but you brought this war
We took enough and we can't take any more
With our fists in the air, we'll burn it all to the ground
We will tear your fucking empire dooooown."
Again I straightened with a shout to the ceiling, a defiant cry.
"Will you come with me?
Will you stand with me?
Would you follow me?
Would you believe with me?
Tell me you'll bleed with me
Tell me you'll die with me
Come on, come on
Let me hear your war cry (Durge started to echo me; Let me hear your war cry!)
Come on, get up
Let me hear your war cry (Let me hear your war cry!)
Come on, get up
Let me hear your war cry (Let me hear your war cry!)
Come on, get up
Let me hear your war cry (Let me hear your war cry!)
Yell it out, do or die
Let me hear your war crrrrrrrry!
I twisted around then, walking over to Lieta and swaying to the drums before jerking my head back and SCREECHING. Her eyes widened and she swayed a bit, still struming her 'guitar'. She grined before throwing her own head back and screeching at the point where the music called for it. I laughed, a primal sound and turned to Durge. He started off the vocals at the right point.
"Ohhhhh oh ohhh oh ohhh oh oohhh," Leita joined in then, her twanged voice adding a higher double layer to the chorus, "Ohhhhh oh ohhhh oh ohhh oh oh oh ohhhhh..." I picked up the song again at that point.
"We wanted peace but you brought this war
We wanted peace but you brought this war
We wanted peace but you brought this war
We took enough and we won't take anymore!"
"Will you come with me?" This time when I held out my hand the small crowd roared out.
"Will you stand with me?" They stood and stomped their feet and roared out again.
"Would you follow me?
Would you believe with me?
Tell me you'll bleed with me
Tell me you'll die with me!
Come on, come on
Let me hear your war cry
Come on, get up
Let me hear your war cry (Let me hear your war cry! The small crowd joined Durge in the chorus and I flashed another grin at the others.)
Come on, get up
Let me hear your war cry (Let me hear your war cry!)
Come on, get up
Let me hear your war cry (Let me hear your war cry!)
Yell it out, do or die
Let me hear your war cry (Let me hear your war cry!)
Come on, get up
Let me hear your war cry (Let me hear your war cry!)
Come on, get up
Let me hear your war cry (Let me hear your war cry!)
Come on, get up
Let me hear your war cry (Let me hear your war cry!)
Yell it out, do or die
Let me hear your war cry
Let me hear your war cry!"
The song ended and the music died away. The others were still cheering within the room and I saw that the crowd had actually gotten larger with more Krogan and Turians and even Humans filling the room and cheering. I laughed again breathlessly as I turned to face Durge, Lieta and Mui.
"So," I panted out as I let the anger drift away, "Did you feel That?"
Durge and the others shared a look before they each nodded their heads and turned to me grining.
"You'll do." Durge said as he stood and held out his hand for me to shake it and I took his larger, three clawed hand in mine with a laugh and shook it.
-=-=/*/**/*=-=-
Aria was pleased with my success with the group, glad to have her valuable information network on hand and making money for her. We would jam together several more times to work out how things would roll. Mui said we would need a gimic to attract a crowd before I left and I shrugged.
"Make me the gimic if you want to," I told them.
"What do you mean?" Leita asked in a soft twanging tone.
"Well, I'm probably going to be working at Mordin's clinic, I most likely wont be available for all the shows we might plan if I'm on call. If we do a series of sets with you guys playing, and you're good by yourselves," The fact that they picked up the music I'd sent them so quickly without all that many missed keys attested to that, "and then space that with a series of my songs building into a kind of finale, then that could be a kind of gimic."
The others shared a thoughtful look and I shrugged at them.
"Thiink about it, I've got to get to the clinic anyway." I waved at them and rushed off for Mordin's. Along the way I got a call from Lucian and came to a halt near the clinic, his voice was altered.
"'Raine."
"Hey, did things go alright?"
"Complete success. It's going to take time to iron things out though. I"m actualy calling to see if you'd be alright with the idea of taking Inri in under your wing."
"Ah," I blinked a bit in surprise, "Just Inri?"
"Alani has to stay with me, She wouldn't be able to hide anything in a meld with Asari authorities and they are going to want to see what happened."
"Wouldn't that add to the trama in most cases?" I asked.
"If it's done right that kind of meld is supposed to help share the pain so the child can recover easier, like talking to a therapist," he said.
"And she has seen things that can't be shared without putting everything in danger," I said with a nod to myself.
"Technically she and Inri should both be dead, but their survival doesn't interfere with things in the long term," I could hear the frown in his voice despite the alterations done for the call. "Inri still wants to be a Turian Citizen and that means going thru military school in two years. He can't just show up out of nowhere so I want to send him to you as a survivor of the attack."
"And what will he say to anyone who asks?"
"The truth for the most part; the attack happened because of the one scientist, I managed to kill almost everyone but he and Alani were taken to be sold to recoup the enemies losses during the attack. Inri had the chance to escape and if it took him x amount of time to escape you'd either be on the Citadel or on Omega and to find you."
"Because I'll keep him safe."
"Exactly." He said.
"Alright, I can do that. He's a good kid." I'd gotten to know Ini and Alani over the years through their friendship with Lucian, so it wouldn't be too much of a bother.
"Good, thank you. I'll be sending him over in a few weeks alright?"
"Alright. I have to go see Mordin though, I'm already late as is."
"Late?"
"Aria 'asked' that while I'm here on Omega I try to See things for her on occasion."
Lucian snorted and I could picture him shaking his head. "Careful then."
"I will be."
He ended the conversation then and I entered the clinic after taking a deep breath to calm my nerves. When I entered Mordin was already buzzing about the Clinic seeing to a few patients in with what looked to be broken bones. They all looked to have been in a fight. He turned to look at me a moment then back to the patient he was tending.
"Good. You're here. Hope meeting with Aria constructive. Setting bones of this patients arms. Wash up and run scan on the one laying on the bench. Possible broken femur but may be fracture. Need to confirm."
I nodded and swiftly moved over to a small sterlizing unit. I passed my armored hands through the beam and waited for it to signal an all clear before moving over to the Human moaning in pain on the bench. Mordin called out to me as I started the scan.
"Can armor be removed from suit?"
"Yes, Doctor Solus." I called back as I watched the scanner. "I can remove it later so itis not so bulky."
"Good, understand treatment complete for your immune system. Suit may been needed however when dealing with sick patients as immune system may still be affected adversely by pathogens."
"The Doc did warn about that," I raised a brow as the scanner finished the report and I called out to him. "Left Femur has a clean break right in the middle. Left Fibula has a hair-line fracture about an inch long and the Patella is shattered."
"Hmm, worse then expected. Perhaps next time bar fight occurs will make swift exit, yes?" Both patients moaned out an assent and then we got to work stablizing the breaks. The trail work he had me do took through late into the night and Mordin expressed his pleasure with my work. He mentioned that his newest assistant, David, had gotten sick and would be gone for several days if not a few weeks while he recovered.
"Amazing advances in medical science and yet no cure for Human 'Common cold' and 'Flu'." Mordin shook his head as I helped him clean up. "Viruses on Earth very addaptive. You may stay here the night if you have not located lodging of your own."
He said the last so suddenly that I almost missed it. In the whole hubub with Aria, the band and then the work I had completely forgotten about finding an apartment of my own. I flushed in embaressment and thanked him for his kindness.
"No need to thank me, " Mordin sniffed. "Very busy day for you, busier for most Humans that is. Difficult to find safe lodging this time of night. Will see you in the morning yes? Will be in my office."
I laughed and shook his hand when he held it out. I blinked a bit as he held my hand a little longer then I expected and tilted his head. I looked down at his hand and then shook my head.
"Did you just try to do what I think you did Doctor?" I said with a smile. "'cause if you did I'd need to take my glove off."
"Ah yes, sorry. Curious ability, would like to see how it works if you would be willing to indulge?"
I laughed again and slipped off the glove of my suit, holding out my bare hand to him and he reached to touch the bare skin hesitantly now. I waited until his fingertips touched mine and then let out a breath, allowing my eyes to loose focus. I blinked a moment later and pulled my hand back, slipping my suits glove on again. He was looking at me expectantly.
"I'm not sure what I saw, I mean I did see you, talking to other Salarians, something about taking water samples in a desert. Nothing clear really."
Moridin seemed to slump for a moment before tilting his head with a frown. I then explained to him about the different types of visions that I could have, mostly about the past. What happened when I sometimes touched a dead body and the rare flashes of the future. All truth, for other people who truly had the ability. For myself it was just the lie I needed to share in order to better help the others once I joined them on the Normandy. All in all it was a interesting night talking to him before I finally crashed.
-=-=/*/**/*=-=-
I'd found lodging easily enough, not a high class apartment but something comfortable with two rooms. A few weeks later, while working during a quiet shift with mordin, my suits armor plating stored away in my employee locker I got a message on my Omni'tool. It was Inri, writing what would appear to be a frantic letter but was in fact the signal I needed that he had arrived on Omega. I let out what I hoped was a frantic hiss as I read over the letter and set aside my coffee. Mordin watched me with a frown as I grabbed my pistol from the locker and darted for the door.
"Is something wrong?" he called after me.
"Inri is alive!" I called back as I left and rushed to catch a cab for the hanger bay he'd indicated.
Inri was waiting in the bay, not daring to leave the hanger itself even though he had a few guards glaring at him. I barreled my way past a group of thugs who tried to waylay me, tripping them as I moved. Inri saw me and perked up at bit, waving at me. I rushed to his side and drew him into a tight hug, both relieved to see him and also trying to let him know that I was here for him. He did just recently loose his mother and to be seperated from his adopted sister was not going to be easy for him. He actually let out a keening noise a moment later and slumped into my grasp. One of the Turian guards moved over slowly and I shifted Inri in my grasp to shield him from the guard.
"You know this kid lady?"
"I do, he's the son of a friend who died recently," I looked down at Inri and ran a hand gently over his fringe in a soothing manner. "What happened Inri?" I asked for the benefit of the guard.
Inri went into the details of the attack as planned, changing things to reflect the capture and escape scenario Lucian had come up with. The guard offered to try to contact Inriis family in a surprisingly kind gesture but Inri gripped be tight then.
"'Raine's my only family now," he told the guard softly.
After that I was able to get him home without any problem, though Leita, Durge and Mui all came over to visit when they heard the news. Even Mordin visited at one point to check Inri over and give him a clean bill of health. The band was using my place for our jam sessions since I had a decent sized living room. Leita just about started crooning over Inri and gave me no end of advice on nutrition and offers to watch over him while I was at the clinic. Mui rattled off quicky suggestions for training when Inri and I brought up him wanting to gain his Citizenship and we quickly formed up a schedule to visit the shooting range together to all keep up our skills. Durge though was quiet as he watched the other two chatter away and I walked over to his side and nudged him.
"You alright Durge?"
"Hmm? Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just surprised."
"With what?" I asked.
"You. Lotta Humans I've met over the years hold no love of aliens, or even if they do they wouldn't take in a kid like you have, especially a Dextro kid."
"I'm not like most people Durge," I rested a hand on his shoulder and gave him a gentle, toothless smile. "It's not what you look like to me, it's who you are. If you're a good person then I want to know you... even if you're likely to outlive me by a few hundred years."
I bumped his arm lightly with my fist. He snorted. I looked over my budding group of friends and hoped that I would be able to protect them all as the years passed.
-=-=/*/**/*=-=-
Alright. Next chapter, started of ME2! YAY!
Now, fyi, once this switched over there is going to be a ratio of two to three chapters with Raine for every one of Lucian's. The main bulk of the action is going to be on 'Raine end. I might even pop over to Lucian's POC during one of 'Raines chapters if it calls for it.
Anyway, next Chappy, Lucian speaks with Shepard about life, the universe and... everything :)