Zac'Reegar nar Usela was unfortunately very familiar with the wake-up call of batarians shouting and pounding on his door with the threat of "tearing his suit open and feeding his body to the varren ''. What came as a surprise to him was the added request phrase, "Aria doesn't like to be kept waiting." Aria had never asked to meet him. Hell, he almost died trying to introduce himself to her just to rightfully take credit for protecting a sector of her turf. He quickly thought up all the things he could've done to invoke the wrath of the pirate queen, but ultimately came up blank. He clipped his lucky shotgun to his back and finally answered the pager that had been buzzing in tandem with the pounding.
"Aria you say?" He asked, raising an eyebrow beneath his purple-tinted visor. "Whatever for?" He added with a twinge of a cheeky smile.

"Open the damn door, suit rat." The batarian responded predictably. "If it were up to me you'd've been killed twenty minutes ago, but Aria has made it very clear she wants you alive. I won't ask again." The batarian's voice was incredibly impatient. He really shouldn't have told Zac he was needed alive, it gave him all the more excuse to be an ass every step along the way. Zac signaled the door open and stepped into the frame.

"How do I look? Do you think she'll like the suit?"

Zac's snark was met with a sharp jab in the stomach, causing him to topple over. He figured he deserved that and opted to dial it back with the sass. He got back to his feet with a grunt and the batarian and his men turned to lead the way. A human and an asari tailed behind Zac to make sure he didn't try anything stupid. Zac followed a few paces behind the leader and smiled to himself. Zac'Reegar was many things, A gentleman, a mercenary, a freak of nature, a heartbreaker, a con artist, and many many other illustrious titles, but stupid enough to cross Aria T'loak was not one of them. He followed behind expeditiously hoping to whatever deity would listen that whatever Aria wanted from him, he could give it.

Afterlife was as busy and crowded as it ever was. Zac would've been lying if he said he hadn't spent his fair share of time within the walls of that place. It was one of the first directions he was pointed in when he got off his ship to start his pilgrimage. He had quickly learned two rules which became increasingly relevant with each step Zac and his entourage took toward Aria's platform. 1) Nobody cares what happens to quarians in Omega, and 2) Don't ever fuck with Aria. The batarian and his troupe slowly broke off from their formation until it was back to just the batarian who Zac had first met. They stopped within a few paces of Aria, who toiled at a datapad while Zac was scanned. "We found your suit rat." The batarian announced.

"Come on, you couldn't think of a better insult than that one again? You had all that time to think of one" Zac grinned. The batarian growled and walked away as Aria waved him out. Zac shut his mouth as soon as he made the mistake of looking Aria in the eyes. There was the suffocatingly powerful aura of control and strength that she constantly exuded, but Zac had met people like that before. Her eyes, on the other hand, were unlike anything he had ever experienced before. They seemed to slowly cook his heart and soul and pierce through every thought he had ever had. Asari, in general, made him very uncomfortable, and their eyes were largely the reason for the discomfort.

"Sit." She ordered. Zac hesitated for a second, then quickly moved to seat himself across the couch from Aria. She seemed to watch closely as Zac wrung his hands apprehensively waiting for some kind of command to have him taken out back. "Loosen up, will you? I wouldn't have brought you all the way out here to have you killed." She said in a tone that did nothing to ease Zac's worries. Nonetheless, Zac exhaled and tried to lounge a little more casually.

"Well, then I should thank you. He said genuinely. "It was a bit of shock to hear you've called for me personally. I hope I can help."

"I'm sure you can..." She mused ominously as she leaned back. "You seem to get around Omega quite a bit, Zac'Reegar. You've made quite a name for yourself. It's not everyday people see a biotic quarian." She seemed to sound genuinely impressed. Zac glanced at the coil of tubes that ran up his arms to his back that transfused asari blood through his body.

"It certainly gives me an unexpected advantage." He admitted trying very hard not to sound as proud as he was. "Is that what this is about then? You want me to infiltrate someplace and tear it up?" He asked hastily, eager to be away from Aria's eyes. She furrowed her brow and shook her head.

"Remember who you're talking to, Reegar. If I needed mercenaries I would just get mercenaries." She said sharply, purposefully looking Zac in the eyes. She must've known that he was uncomfortable making eye contact. He swallowed hard and nodded.

"Then to what do I owe this summons then?" He asked, shifting uncomfortably.

"You met with a volus named Vin Olar here a few months ago." She began. Memories began to flood Zac as he heard the name. "But then the two of you disappeared from Omega for a while, then he vanished out of the terminus system and out of my area of awareness." She concluded leaning forward at Zac who was now pressed back against the couch trying to avoid her gaze. "I want you to tell me the story." She finished

"That's it?" Zac asked after a few seconds of silence. Aria nodded.

"Your people are storytellers." She insisted. "It shouldn't be any harder than whatever you had to do to get your biotics." She attempted to lighten the mood, it worked a little bit.

"My people are scientists... I am a storyteller." He corrected. "And if you want to know the story of Vin, then you should know that it all starts right here in Afterlife..." He began, making himself comfortable on the couch. Aria clicked a recorder and sat back, watching him.