Kappa

Based on: N7 Demolisher (Engineer)

"So, I'm there, cooped up in this hole in the wall, whilst these bloody Krogan underneath me start doing things with each other! I can't take the shot like that! I'd be discovered and killed instantly!" Kappa roared.
The rest of the bar howled in laughter.
"Turns out that male wasn't sneaking experimental genophage cures in after all, he was out for this woman," he finished.
"They're a rare sighting, Krogan females," his friend next to him said.
"I know! Only one I've ever seen in my travels," Kappa replied. He downed another shot.
The crowd started to break away, with all the excitement over. Travellers weren't rare on this dock, but Kappa was renowned and usually had great stories to tell.
The dock was just a small overnight-stay sort of place, travellers from all over the galaxy sought refuge for a drink and a warm place to stay between missions.
Kappa considered himself a retired gun-for-hire; he spent his days spending his hard earned money in places like this, drinking and watching the local 'entertainment'.
"Strange how dark-sided politics can get," he grumbled.
"Everything ok?" asked a Salarian by passer.
"Rho?" Kappa said, "I haven't seen you in a while."
When recognition crossed the Salarian's face, he smiled, "You too, old friend!" he said enthusiastically, "what brings you to this damp, rotting corner of the galaxy?"
"I fancied a change of scenery, yourself?"
"Business with Al'Huk," said Rho.
"I'm surprised no one's finished him off yet," Kappa mused.
"Actually, I'm on my way to do it. My company's been developing high tech-high fall damage protection suits, I'm going to seal a deal to buy out his company, or show the galaxy what pressure does to a guy," Rho said.
Kappa laughed, "Fake suicide, only a Salarian could get away with it in this day and age."
"Remember the old days?" Rho asked, "Everyone was much quieter. No one got assigned to kill someone who spread rumours, or took away plans; they just dealt with them by themself."
"In the olden days, no one dared go against protocol. Galaxy was a much larger and dangerous place," Kappa interjected.
"You'd know more than anyone," Rho said.
Kappa just stared silently at his drink. Half empty.
"What's your story Kappa? Back in those days, you seemed much more… open, strong," Rho asked quietly.
Kappa turned and looked the Salarian in the eyes.
"My story?" he asked, "I don't have a story Rho. I have experiences. They've made me into what I am today."
"You hide behind that helmet, you tell stories as if they were all easy jobs, yet I know everything has a twist. One of those stories changed you, somewhere along the line," Rho said.
"Damn you Salarian," he laughed, and paused, "It was about five years ago…

"I was a professional gun-for-hire kinda guy. Eager to get my hands dirty in the filth that was the galaxy back then. But I was different from the rest. You'd see me lined up with Krogan, Turian, even Batarian. They all brought along shotguns, assault rifles; all that heavy-weapon crap.
Now I'm not saying mine was any lighter, but I was a sniper. Difference was, I was into research as well. Tech stuff, the stuff you're into. I modded my rounds, altered circuits and powered things up. Best tech guy in that business. Everyone else was soldier trained, or very limited with branches of tech and biotics.
Anyway, they all hated me. I was better than all of them, they knew it, I knew it, but they didn't know why. I was offered more contracts a week than they were a month. The money helped me expand further. No one could track me either, everything about me was hidden. So what did they do? Teamed up and put a price over my head. Anyway, more on that later.
I get this job one day. Not my usual type of thing, it's from an anonymous source as well, very shady.
But I accepted; the pay was well above average for something so trivial. I had to secure a cargo-ship onto a docking station. I didn't have to be on the ship, just, at the station so it arrived safely. Obviously my 'anonymous source' had some high valued stuff on it.
So I goes over, set up and stuff. I'm all set waiting for this cargo-ship to arrive.
I've positioned myself up on a ledge, got boxes all around me. I'm good to shoot anything that moves before that ship arrives.
And this assassin falls down behind me! He was a Quarian assassin, in the flesh, well, suit, trying to kill me!
Of course, them Quarian's are more techy guys, this one pins me to the ground, but he's weak, I easily fight him off.
I get my pistol, ready to kill him, but he summons this drone that completely takes me out. I almost fly off this ledge, but I got a magnetic upgrade in my suit that keeps me stuck on it, and I crawl away, thinking of how I can escape this guy. Quarian or no Quarian, someone hired him for a reason, so I gotta keep my guard up.
The Quarian's smart though, he somehow de-magnetizes me. Bloody gadget guy. At this point, I've not got far to land, another railing. But I decide to get out of there and rethink my strategy. Cargo-ship's not due in for another hour or so, so I can get him away and deal with him elsewhere. I'm running through tunnels and he's right on my tail, throwing grenades at me, trying to drop my shields.
Eventually we get to an opening; we're on a service line in this station. There're vehicles flying all over the place, and a couple of grounded ones. Course, at this point, people have obviously heard and started looking.
I get in a vehicle and start flying away, but he still chases me.
It's in that vehicle, I had a revelation.
No one knew what I'd be doing that day. I keep myself covered, my history safe. Only person who knows was the employer. Bastard had double crossed me. I doubted there even was a cargo-ship at that point. Why he sent the Quarian though was another matter; and one which resolved itself later.
I suddenly notice other ships joining the chase.
My 'anonymous source' it seemed, had hired as many people as possible to get me. The Quarian was just the lucky first one to get there.
Just because I was the best.
See, in this line of work, we don't like competition. And when someone gets too good for their shoes, they're eliminated to make it fair for everyone, else we'd have war.
There must be six on me at this point; we're dashing through these side lines, gun fire everywhere! My vehicle takes a few hits, nothing serious, until I notice security's getting involved. But they're just trying to keep the peace.
I'm trying to shake them all off at once. Now there were some experienced pilots in that crowd. I'm trying some dangerous stuff myself for such a limited room. Up coming's a landing pad, runs straight to the main floor. There's not just merc's here, it's kind of a big port, so I head for cover with the masses. I somehow manage to fly perpendicular through this horde of traffic, take another hit in, semi-crash into a car, which sends me spinning down. Luckily, I land on this platform, get out and run through a cascade of bullets from behind. All I've got with me is a pistol. I quickly load up some e.m.p rounds, and manage to hit something like two out of the now doubled twelve vehicles that crash behind me. Those two fall to the ground. It's ten on one now, plus how many others were trying to kill me on foot.
Whilst I'm stood there, I take a sniper bullet to the leg.
Only one thing to do when that happens, try and run away.
I go crashing through citizens, looking for cover, ducking as the first of my pursuers turn the corner.
I got nowhere to run except a bar like this one, on my left. I'll have to fight them off or die.
Don't ask me why I chose a bar; I know it was a stupid decision. But I figured there'd be a lot of people in there to hide in.
There was, but there were also a lot of people hired to kill me too.
I limp straight in, find a seat with these Krogan fellow, and a Turian.
"Busy day?" the Turian asked.
"You don't know the half of it," by that point I knew they were going to kill me too.
"Boss said a guy like you's worth money," one of the Krogan said, "He's going to triple pay the one that kills you."
Money means a lot to hired guns. I can't judge them; I'd have done the same.
By this point, rest of the pursuers have filled the bar and are looking for me.
"Better not waist time then, else they'll have their chance," I say. Pain in my leg's unbearable, might I add.
"Except, no one's going to know exactly who killed me. Everyone else will claim they did, they were all in the same place at the same time. So I suspect this 'boss' won't triple pay any of you," I also say.
"Good point," the Turian says. He's bluffing though, his hand is twitching.
I don't know why they stalled like that, maybe thought they were hard. Kinda stupid of them though, I reach down to my leg, the one that's shot, and take some grenades from my belt. Thicko's didn't even notice.
"It's a shame you've wasted so much time," I start, "You should have just got it over with. Now I'm hurting more in my leg… But, I guess it's nothing to what happens next."
I load, and drop three grenades on the table.
Upgraded, might I add.
You need a shield adaptation to survive this. Sure, I can feel the heat and force of the blast, but my shield's specially designed to withstand it, to about half percent.
Rest of the bar knows where I am now, but it's already too late for them. I'd tossed my supply into the crowd, each one exploded as soon as it touched something.
I even shot a couple down in the confusion.
Before I know it, room's a smoking mess, and I'm the only one alive…"

"No way did you kill an entire bar with a few grenades, and take no damage yourself," Rho said.
"Nah, I lied about that bit, my shields went down fully but I'd overturned the table before I took most of it to the face," Kappa replied.
"So, what happened next?"
"Well, I get up, feeling like Death, and carefully make my way back. I went up through the service tunnels again though, security were in there within ten minutes. I go to pick up my rifle, turns out there was a cargo-ship there after all, so it kinda makes me wonder whether it was my employers ambush or not, but I'll never know. I was however, shocked to see about eleven dead Cerberus soldiers on the ground. They'd tried to ambush the Cargo-ship, so I'd failed my mission anyway, and took some casualties. What they wanted I'll also never know. But that mission taught me something important. Be the person others want you to be, and you'll stay untouched. I had to change everything about myself after that, and I've never been tracked since. In this line of work, it pays to be good, but it kills to be better," Kappa finished.
"Well, I suppose that's one way to put it," Rho said.
"Finished your drink?"
"I have, shall we?"
Kappa led the way out of the bar.
"Any new tech advancements?" Kappa asked, making general talk.
"Not much. Information suggests someone's close to fusing tech like powers with steel, but I doubt that'll get off any further, my company's on the frontier of research, we're incorporating a lot of new systems into suits that should make environmental hazards less of a problem," Rho described.
"Any news on a cure for the genophage? I know your people are working on it secretly," Kappa asked.
"For the last time Kappa, I can't talk to you about that, it's confidential, not even the top Salarian government knows of this work, if it were discovered there'd be a schism," Rho replied.
"I've got some good Krogan acquaintances Rho, I see the struggle they're going through, you'd better hurry up, whatever you're doing."
They walked in silence, till Rho reached his ship.
"It was good to talk again Kappa," he said.
"Talk? I did all the talking," he laughed.
"You should come out of this 'retirement' of yours. Galaxy needs hired-guns; believe it or not. If you threaten people enough, soon they'll get the message," Rho said.
"I don't know. I'm waiting for the right job," Kappa replied.
"You could go into engineering for a while, it'd be great to have you on my team."
"Ha! Forget it, get out of here," Kappa asked.
"See you soon, friend," Rho smiled, and took off.
When he was just a dark speck in open space, Kappa turned and walked back to his room for the night, he had certain 'entertainment' planned to keep him busy on the trip.
But Rho's words echoed in his head.

Damn Salarian.