February 10th 2184 CE
It felt nice to be clean. Garrus sauntered out of the rent-a-shower, back to the filthy streets of Omega. Despite his surroundings, for once, he was in a chipper mood. Today had been incredibly productive. He'd finally found the perfect place to setup a base of operations. With its long bridge, sniper's perch, and underground bunker he couldn't think of a more beautiful find. The icing on the cake was the three foot thick walls both above and below ground. It would take some serious firepower to make a mere dent in the building's construction. And thanks to his extreme frugality over the last few weeks, he had enough for the first two months rent. It took some digging to locate the property's owner. But his persistence paid off and he had an appointment with his soon-to-be landlord in the morning.
He also used the time to get a real feel for the lay of the land. Not only did he complete a comprehensive reconnaissance on Omega's infrastructure, learning the ins and outs of the space station's extensive tunnel and catwalk network, but he also took the time to get to know its three major players. Blood Pack, Blue Suns, and Eclipse. Out of desperation, many of the local populace relied on The Blue Suns for protection. While they didn't outright declare it, the merc band was known for deliberately hooking civilians on red sand. Once the poor fools were penniless and out on the street, The Suns would swoop in and procure them as slaves. The Blood Pack had an incredibly strong foothold on Omega and were known to randomly terrorize the local populace. Eclipse consisted of ruthless, powerful biotics. Paired with salarian intelligence, they were nearly unstoppable. However, Garrus planned to change all that. It was time these thugs learned some hard lessons.
An odd screeching sound that could only be made by metal on metal caught his attention. The offending noise was swiftly followed by a minor explosion and gunfire. He unclipped his rifle and used his nifty climbing gear to reach the closest cat walk. Something was going down. And he wanted to check it out.
45 minutes earlier
"Booyah! Take that Motherfuckers!" Ripper fell back into the passenger seat and reloaded his two semi-automatics. "Let's put some lead holes in these bitches! You with me Dusty boy?"
"Hell yeah! Hit these Mofos where it hurts!" Dustin revved the skycar's engines. "Gettin' you there in style, man. Make it count."
Dustin pulled the car's yoke back into his chest, causing the vehicle to abruptly change course and begin soaring towards Omega's skyline. He skillfully navigated across the skyscrapers' rooftops, dodging air filtration systems, clotheslines, and countless heaps of rotting trash.
A gang of six men on hover bikes flanked them. Ripper busted through the sunroof, loosing both rifles into the enraged group of Blue Suns. "Three down. Only three more of these lil' bitches to go. Hand me the rocket will ya?" Once he had the launcher in his arms, he synced up the target lock with the foremost biker. The remaining two weren't far behind. He pulled the trigger and cheered as the massive salvo nuked the first Sun causing the other two to crash into him in a blaze of glory.
"Woooweeeh. That's right. What'd I say? With these bitches dead, we'll be in and out in a jiffy." Ripper dropped back into his seat, trembling with adrenaline. Their skycar pulled up to a chic rooftop bar, which was closed and showed no signs of life. "Alright. There's a stash of credit chits in the safe. You got the cracker?"
"Locked and loaded man."
"You never disappoint."
Both men swiftly disembarked and blasted through the establishment's doors. They made their way to the safe, the sound of crunching glass accompanying their every step.
"It's right through here. In the boss man's old office." Ripper pointed to a small, dark alcove that was home to a battered yet solid metal door. Dustin quickly activated his omni-tool and went to work. Despite the man's hulking 200 lb frame, he was no uneducated brute. His engineering skills were on par with Alliance trained soldiers.
Dustin quickly cracked the safe within and they filled their packs with more credit chits than any humble man had the luxury of setting their eyes on.
"Alright man we gotta move. Those bastards'll be all over this place in a few minutes." Ripper readied his semis and headed towards the exit.
"There's a hidden compartment. Gimme a sec." Dustin was back on his omni-tool, his sausage fingers flying over the virtual keys. For as long as he'd live, Ripper would never understand how that man's hands could be so nimble given that his appendages looked closer to overgrown carrots than fingers.
"Got it." Dustin reached deep into the safe, and pulled out his prize – some sort of computer crap by the looks of it.
"The fuck is that?"
"An info chip. Wonder what's on it. Must be important."
"Whatever. Let's get outta here."
As they raced back to their sky-car, the booming voice of their former commander and chief greeted them. "No one fucks over The Blue Suns." He bellowed as a barrage of bullets trailed them into their get-away vehicle.
Ripper sprinted hard, making sure to give as good as he got, firing back as they darted for the car. Once Dustin was behind the wheel, Ripper popped through the sunroof and laid into him. "Fuck off Tarak. We're done with this shit."
"The Blue Suns are for life." Tarak shrieked. "You leave. You die. You fuck us over while leaving, you die painfully."
They sped away with countless Suns hot on their heels. "Hey Dusty, c'mon we need more speed." Ripper lobbed a few grenades at their unwelcome entourage. He counted twelve hover bikes and a god damned MAKO M35 tank, heavily modified and far faster than the standard versions. "Seriously dude, they're gaining on us."
Ripper popped his head back inside to figure out what the hold up was, only to see his friend steering with one hand and frantically pressing the other to his neck in an attempt to stem the flow of blood. "Shit shit shit." He snatched the medi-gel and swiftly applied it to Dustin's wound. "Hang in there brother. I've got you. I'll get us outta here. You just hang on."
"Ripper. I'm sorry."
"No way brother. You're not doin' this to me. From cradle to grave remember? C'mon." Ripper was trying to move his friend from the driver's seat when their sky-car hit a pole and spun wildly before tossing them into the street.
Garrus quickly located the offending noise – a burning husk of a sky-car had made a nasty landing after colliding with a lamp-post. And from the looks of it, some crazy human, dressed in nothing but a simple white tank top and green cargo pants, was the passenger. Using his sniper's scope to zero in, he could see a tattoo reaching from his collarbone to just under his ear – some sort of rope-like creature was entwined around a dagger, it's strange mouth opened revealing a two-pronged tongue. Alone and unarmored this man was attempting to fend off an entire platoon of Blue Suns. Using the sky-car's flaming remains as cover, he threw grenades and recklessly shot into the chaos with two automatic-type rifles.
From his perch above the crash site, he had a perfect view of the oncoming suns and their prey. What was this human up to? And why was one of the most notorious mercenary bands hell bent on killing him? Should he help? Continue to observe?
"I swear to fuckin' god Tarak. I'll fuckin' end you for this." The human was screaming uncontrollably. In his arms, was a large missile launcher the likes of which Garrus had never seen before. The thing packed a punch too. Not only did it have some sort of target-lock built in but when the salvo was released, it laid waste to several Suns who were attempting to dismount their hover bikes. When he ran out of ammo, the human started loading the gun with shards of broken glass and scattered debris. To Garrus's amazement, the weapon fired. Although, it didn't seem to be making much of a dent against The Sun's armor.
It was now or never. Without help, this human was already dead. Unbidden, Shepard's sad, distant voice echoed in his mind. Look to the enemy of your enemy and you'll find a friend.
He took aim and quickly turned the foremost Sun's head into a shower of gore. The human jumped in surprise, and Garrus repeated the favor. Suddenly, a MAKO M35 turned the corner at an alarming speed, blasting a massive hole in the burning sky-car. Despite the fact the human's cover was now blown to smithereens, he refused to run. Instead, the insane man hit the deck prostrating himself over what appeared to be some sort of brown, lumpy fabric.
"I've got this." Garrus hummed to himself. If there was one land vehicle he knew inside and out it was the Mako. The Systems Alliance's technology for ground vehicles was severely lacking when compared to galactic standards. And The Mako was no exception. They opted to continue using fossil fuels and their relevant tanks. While the armor was supposed to protect the fuel tank from gunfire, if hit just right with enough force, it would set off a fierce explosion.
The offending Mako was accompanied by several black and awfully familiar looking sky-cars. Garrus didn't hesitate. His HMWSR Sniper Rifle was locked, loaded, and on target. He pulled the trigger, setting off a massive explosion that engulfed two of the four smaller vehicles. A batarian rolled down his window and bellowed orders through a megaphone. "He's got back up! Retreat! All units retreat!" The remaining cars quickly reversed and sped away from the flaming wreckage. Time to see what this guy's all about.
As he cautiously made his way towards the human, now bent over the rumpled, brown mass his visor now identified as a body, he noted the man's tattoo was more tasteful than most. While he hadn't the faintest clue as to what the creature was, the colors – black, silver, and green united in a graceful pattern.
"That was quite the standoff." Garrus had a pistol discreetly aimed at the man's head, unsure if he was friend or foe.
"Dustin.. My friend….."
"I think you know the answer to that. I'm sorry, but he's gone."
"It's all my fault…. If we hadn't gone back for the creds…." The human released a low, bitter moan and slumped beside his dead comrade.
"Ah, this may not be the best time but I have to ask. What did you do to piss off The Suns?"
"We left. They don't look kindly on deserters."
Garrus turned sharply, there was an unmistakable ruckus in the distance. And he wouldn't be surprised if the mercs had regrouped and were returning for round two. "Hey, look. If living's on the agenda, you better run. I can hear The Suns. Sounds like they're coming back for more." With his curiosity satisfied, Garrus turned to leave. It's not like the human was helpless by any means. And he wasn't about to declare war on the Blue Suns prematurely over some revenge plot by a disgruntled merc.
But the human didn't budge an inch. Instead, he stared absentmindedly at the ruddy ground with his head in his odd, five fingered hands.
"Uh hello?"
"The fuck do you care? Why you helpin' me?"
"About mercs killing mercs? I don't care. In fact, I think it's about time the trash learned to take itself out. But I am curious as to…."
"I'm not a good guy." The ex-Blue Sun interrupted. "But don't you dare compare me to those cocksuckers. I signed up for quick ticket outta the gutter. Not this slave-trafficking, red-sand dealin', rapist bullshit."
"Uh huh."
"Whatever man. Even I can hear 'em now. Either gimme a grenade or get lost. Gonna take out as many of 'em as I can before I croak. Maybe I'll get lucky and blow up Tarak."
"A last stand?"
"Gotta stand for somethin' or maybe I just gotta take a stand."
"I can respect that."
"Gonna gimme a grenade then hot shot?"
"Something better."
His answer came in the form of a disgruntled snort.
"Hear me out." Garrus holstered his pistol and knelt down so they were eye-level. "I'm going to give The Blue Suns, Eclipse, Blood Pack, and every other slave-dealing asshole on this station the beating of their lives or a bullet to their heads. But I can't do it alone. Join me and you'll not only have revenge. You'll have a cause worth fighting and dying for.
The merc met his gaze, and Garrus found himself staring directly at two hard, brown eyes while the human considered his offer.
"Ripper."
Garrus met his outstretched hand and shook. "Castor. Now it's about time we got the hell out of here."
"You don't owe me nuthin' man. But, Dustin., I can't leave 'em like this."
"We're going to be scaling buildings in a few minutes. I don't think we can..."
"I get it. I get it. Got any booze then?"
"Unfortunately, no."
"Gas?"
Catching his meaning, Garrus pulled out his M-451 Firestorm. Ripper snatched it and immediately unleashed its full power on his friend's body. Even after the corpse had caught fire, the ex-merc continued the onslaught quickly turning the body into a pile of smoldering ash. He tossed the flamethrower back to Garrus and began filling a tin with the glowing remains.
"Alright. We really need to move." Garrus lead them back to the catwalks and whipped out his grapple and ascension cable. He hooked one arm under the human and pulled them towards the overhanging footway. They made their way back to Garrus's humble hideout in melancholy silence.
Yet, upon seeing the meager accommodations, Ripper protested. "If this is where we'll be sleepin' I need a few stiff drinks in me."
"It's just for tonight. I've got a base lined up but my appointment with the landlord isn't until morning. Besides, I'm not exactly flush with creds."
"I got you covered."