Author's note: By the time I type this, there are 23 chapters on AO3. I'll leave you poor souls with chapter 5 for a bit, but I'll upload the others soon, too. Because I'm hungry it's past 12pm and I haven't had breakfast yet After all, it wouldn't be polite to flood poor ffnet with 23 chapters at once, it's important to be considerate of others.
He reached the end of the building and disappeared. The world in front of him was dark, behind him, it was illuminated by an absurd, warm glow. Arek wanted to follow him, but the screams from across his roof drew him back. What good would following him have done anyway. There was not much he could say. No, there was exactly one thing he wanted to say, but right now, it sounded weak and shallow, even to himself.
A step away from falling, he watched the fire. In its hunger, the flames were working their way through the upper floors. The stench of molten plastics was growing stronger, and the black clouds of smoke seemed to belong to the thunderous drilling in the distance. The air shimmered from the heat, the thin metal walls were dented, sucked inside by a sudden vacuum when the air inside the building was consumed by the greedy fire.
Whatever Murakos had used to cause it made sure that his victims didn't have a chance to survive. Arek's stomach turned into a knot, and a bile taste rose up his throat; he thought he smelled burning flesh, but his mind fought to shut the fear down. He stood too far away, he could feel the heat, but the smell had to be his imagination. Too much space between them, too far away to smell anything, or to do anything to help them. He didn't have a chance, nor did he have the time.
He tore away from the sight, stepping back from the edge of the roof. If he only...
He picked up the rifle.
"Wow, you're heavy for a viper, aren't you?" He stroke over the metal frame. It had lost most of its shine, the surface was dull and covered with scratches. Sighing, he sat down, letting the weapon rest on his lap. He reopened the channel on his omni-tool.
"Amalthea?"
"Arek! Are you all right? There was that explosion when we were cut off, are you two safe? What happened?"
Arek smiled. There was nothing left of the secrecy in the asari's voice, whatever district she was in was now listening, if they wanted or not
"It's... it's so good to hear your voice." He swallowed hard, the already faint smile twitching. "We're okay... no, Thea, nothing is okay. I mean, we aren't hurt, but..."
"Arek, listen to me!" Meyrani took over. Which was good, she had her voice under control. Very good, Rani. At least one of us can keep a cool head.
"Always, dear, I'll always listen to you."
"Arek, I didn't have the time to dig deep enough, but what I found out about Murakos is ugly enough. If we knew earlier, and had sent you sooner... He's ruthless, dangerous, and knows what he's doing. What happened isn't your fault, you weren't even supposed to be there. Arek? Do you hear me?"
"I hear you, but you're wrong, Rani." He patted the rifle. As his fingers glided over the frame, they felt a pattern too regular for signs of use. He turned it around, having a closer look at the bottom of the rifle's stock.
Remember, idiot, skill always beats luck! I. K .
I.K.? The Batarian? No, his name was different, something with M. What a weird dedication, but yet, so wonderfully fitting that it made Arek chuckle.
"Arek? Hello? Arek, where's Mojo, neither Amalthea nor I seem to be able to track him!"
Alright, ladies, time for your buddy here to make a confession.
"Do you both hear me? The truth is, what happened is my fault. My fault alone. Mojo had the chance to kill him, and I stopped him. Maybe they'd still be alive if the shot had hit Murakos' head instead of warning him. They could live, if I..."
"Wait, Arek, wait! What do you mean? What exactly happened, and where the fuck is Mojo?!"
"I'm sorry, Thea. And I don't know where he is. Let me explain from the beginning." He began his tale from the point they had reached the roof. How he and Mojo argued after Meyrani's call, and what was going on in his mind when he saw himself forced to make a decision, and how he finally made the wrong choice.
"I never thought there was anything in this world he could be worked up about, Thea," he came to an end. "He left and... I let him go. Well, at least he now has a very good reason to hate me." He laughed, finding more amusement in how wrong it sounded than in his words.
"Shit," was Amalthea's response. He could hear her talk to Meyrani, but was unable to understand what they were debating. If they kick me out of the squad I sure deserve it. But... Deserved or not, he didn't want to leave, not yet. He had to put some things right first.
"Arek, please be serious for once." Almathea using a calm, almost a bit sad voice was worse than her yelling. "Do you know why you made your decision?"
"Yes. Because I let a personal matter interfere with a professional situation. Thea, I-"
"Exactly. Arek, don't get me wrong, I don't put the whole blame on you. Maybe neither of you is to blame for the escalation, we do not know if Murakos intended to let them go if he got what he wanted, Mojo's shot warning him or not. As a fact, however, both of you could have assured their safety if it weren't for your personal feud. That's the blame you both have to share."
"I know, and I'm sorry. And I really have to apologize to him, and have no clue where he is. In a few minutes, I lost a squad member and the lives of three innocent people." If not more. He prayed to whoever was in charge that the building had been empty when the fire broke out, and that he'd only have to load his conscience with turning innocent people homeless.
"Thea, what do I do now? I don't have any clue where to search, and time's running. I'm out of ideas." For all his biotic powers, is usually quick wit and feet, and stubborn willpower, he had lost. He hadn't been aware how bitter defeat could taste.
"Meyrani and I agreed that the two of us are quite capable to guide a general across the street and into our shuttle. As your leader, I have an order for you: You will investigate what led to the death of Kabale's family, and find out what you can about this Murakos. That's what I'll report once we're back. A shuttle will come and get you once you're done.
Of course," she continued with a grim chuckle, "finding Mojo and talk about what happened, and what he knows about that guy counts, even if I didn't conclude that detail in my report. Do you understand me, Arek?"
"I understand. Thank you, Thea. I won't disappoint you... again." He cut off the connection. The interface flickered away. Amalthea's and Meyrani's voices were gone, and here he was, sitting alone on a roof, chaos and murder behind his back. Hours seemed to have passed on this space station that was so strange to him, yet the night would never come, and no morning would follow. He raised his eyes to the sky. It had been years since he had watched the natural course of a day, twilight bleeding into the night, a morning washing away the darkness. If he had a wish free, he'd ask for a few days on earth, a vacation in his home town.
Come on, Arek. This is meaningless. You can't run away, you don't even know if there's still a Glasgow to run to. Of course there was! And one day, he'd go home and spend a few days doing nothing but lying on a green meadow, with a drink by his side, and watching the mist creep over the grass before the sun touched the world. A real sun on a real sky.
He'd keep the thought in mind, for later, but first things first. A war had to be settled, and then there were those reapers who had to be defeated, too, but neither would happen if he continued to be sorry for himself.
The rifle in his hand, he stood up. All he needed now was a lead, and a safe way down from this damn roof.
Busy. Loud. Colorful. Like nothing had happened at all. Travelling through space had changed the concepts of words like 'ground breaking' or 'shattering' for Arek. An asteroid collides with a space station, a few hundred souls burnt in a planet's atmosphere to dust in the morning? Nothing but a status report for the other end of the same system. By noon, he'd be two systems away, and the greatest worry would be a thresher maw threatening a colony's water supply.
Cosmos, micro cosmos, in the end, everybody worried about their own world.
Yet, it was unfair. He felt sick on his stomach when he thought about the screams, about the dead, and the soon homeless while they watched the fire claiming their home. The same district, the own neighborhood, couldn't care less.
Could anything jar the market place's soul? Maybe it was its strength, the self-preserving essence of a life living by its own rules Why care as long as it lived?The raunchy yet oddly beautiful atmosphere had changed, or maybe he hadn't noticed it before – a relentless cruelty that lurked behind every corner, in every eye, ready to strike when life was at stake.
Arek shivered. That was too much philosophy for his brain right now. Besides, he had reached his destination.
"Marsh, wasn't it?" He put on a wide grin, waving at the Batarian, but waited for an amiable greeting in vain. The vendor ignored him. Unperturbed, Arek walked straight up to the stall, and leaned on the counter.
"I need your help."
"I need people with credits. As we both can't expect what we need from each other, why not get your human ass away from here?" Marsh picked up what looked like a high caliber barrel for shotguns, and thoroughly cleaned it with a rag. He put it back, and inspected a pile of thin metal slates. He glanced at Arek, and continued with sorting the slates by their sizes.
A volus showed interest in a collection of spare parts, and threw himself into bargaining before Marsh had finished his friendly 'hallo'. Words were exchanged quickly, and satisfied in his belief to have struck a bargain, the customer left.
Marsh filled the empty space with a used, but perfectly in shape pistol. A carnifex, if Arek wasn't mistaken. He smiled, nodding approvingly when the batarian scowled at turned away from him, and focused on his collection of weapon mods once more.
"Alright, alright!" After cleaning over the parts a second time he stuffed the rag behind his belt. He stomped to Arek, and slammed his fists on the counter. "I make you an offer: I let you ask a question, and in return, you finally leave my store alone!"
"How about I leave your store alone after you answered my question?" Arek grinned, trying his best to keep down a chuckle at the batarian's exasperated snort.
"You heard my offer, take it or leave it!"
"Please, you're a businessman, bargaining is a part of the job."
"Yes," the batarian shot back, pointing at a passing elcor who eyed his store front with mild interest. "For paying customers, not for hairless pyjaks without a credit to their name."
"Apes, we descent from... nevermind." Sidetracking into science fields he had no clue about wouldn't bring him any further. He decided to come to the point, "Marsh, it's about Mojo. You know him, don't you?"
"Mojo? That damn son of a bitch." The vendor's pose eased, he even smiled when he picked up a barrel extension. "After all these years he still won't let me have a look at his viper. So stubborn, you'd think his mother's a krogan."
"Don't I know it," Arek sighed. He'd go a step further and say that krogans were easier to handle. At least they were straightforward in their appreciation as well as in their aggression. Don't give them a reason, and they don't give you a cranial fracture. Easy as that.
"So you've known him for a while. Sure you can tell me where he'd hang out if he, well, doesn't really feel like company?"
"You mean, if he has another grudge against the rest of the world?"
"Exactly!" This guy seemed to know the turian quite well, and for a second, Arek was willing to believe that the role model of a jerk really had a friend in this galaxy.
"You've got some nerve, human." Marsh laughed, crossing his arms in front of his chest. With his back stretched to his full size, he was more than a head taller than Arek. "So you pissed him off, yes? No, don't say anything, your face tells me enough. Why am I not surprised." He shook his head, and returned to inspecting his goods. "Annoying little human. Why should I rat out a good customer to a pest like you?"
"You think I want to harm him?!" Please, I'm the one who's one of the good guys here! I wasn't the one who let down his team mission for mission, and laughed at them afterwards!
"I think he doesn't care for your company. And he's not the only one, you understand? Why do you humans always think the galaxy will jump because you bark?"
"I get it, I'll leave you alone, but I'd really be grateful if you helped me find him! It's kinda important." He put the rifle on the counter. "Maybe he doesn't want to see me, I'm sure he wants his viper back."
"What the... He went without her? That sounds like a story worth telling." His four eyes recognized the weapon at once, looking over it with mild curiosity.
"Not really, to be honest." With a sigh, he turned the viper around and showed him the inscription. "See, it's really his. I guess you know who I.K. is?"
"I pride myself to have made business with every merc of a higher rank, and of course with the best freelancers!" Marsh patted himself on his chest, a proud smirk coming with his serious nod.
"Kader was one of them. Decent, for a human. He knew the worth of a good gun when he saw it. He also was a regular for spare parts."
"Was? So he's dead?" A human that got along with this batarian, and with Mojo? This Kader either was a super hero, or a super villain, either way, he had to be an interesting guy. Or maybe just a crazy masochist.
"Who knows. He left Omega a few years ago, never heard of him again. Probably went to hell, and I thought Mojo followed him. I was surprised to see him again." There was a tone of relief and appreciation in his voice which Arek found hard to take serious, considering that he had wished Mojo to hell more than once over the last few weeks, daily.
"From what I know, he joined the turian special unit. Armygear Legion, or something."
"Armiger Legion. So the rumours were true after all. He joined the lawful side." The disappointment dripped heavy from his words as he looked down at the rifle.
"I'm sure it was in name only," Arek comforted him, unable to picture the turian as a heroic fighter for law and justice.
"I promise you that he tries his best to make my, our, life a living hell." Arek wished the delighted smile in Marsh's face at his words would surprise him. "You know, he tried to strangle me, just a few hours ago. Here." He pulled down the collar of his shirt, revealing his throat. "See the marks?" Now the batarian grinned. Arek, however, only felt tired.
"Good. Glad to see he's still sane in his head."
"Yeah, sure." His head began to ache. This was getting nowhere, and he was certainly not getting one step closer to find Mojo.
"Marsh, any idea where I can find him? I swear I'm not going to shoot him with his own rifle." He lifted the rifle. He tried to prop its stock against his shoulder the way he had seen Mojo do it. He clenched his hand around the grip, uncertain for a moment where he should place his other hand. No, no, they felt too close to his chest, which made it hard to balance that damn large gun. That couldn't be right, held this way his arms would be numb before he found a target through the scope, let alone before he fired the first shot. Blushing when the batarian chuckled, he put it down again.
"Guess he'd kick me to the ground before I figured how to aim with that damn thing." He'd stick with shockwaves and, if necessary, his smg, that was for sure. At least his inapt performance had put Marsh in a better mood, so he didn't make a fool of himself in vain.
"The former ExoGeni building, Kenzo district." He pointed behind him, over his shoulder, roughly in the direction where Arek remembered the shuttle service to be. "Has been occupied by beggars and crooks for years. Try the roof. He and Kader used to hang out there."
"Thanks, Marsh. I swear you'll never see me again." Finally, but – roof? So another climbing exercise was lying ahead for him. He grabbed the viper and turned on his heel. Kenzo district, the shuttle service should be able to help him with that. There was only one last thing.
"This Kader guy and Mojo, what were they exactly, to each other, I mean?"
"Partners. And now get lost, I've got work to do!"