Chapter 11: Crunch time
Sitting relaxed, waiting by the bar in Afterlife, wasn't exactly Jacob's idea of a mission. He had seen Kelly, escorted by Grunt and Zaeed go past him a few minutes ago and although he could hear the conversation going on, in Aria's VIP lounge, he couldn't get any more tense. Sure, Kelly was part of the crew, but she had no field experience. She would have to analyze Aria's mood and try to make her warm up. Jacob's idea of Aria? If Miranda could be a cold hearted bitch at times, she had refined it into an art form. Good luck with that, he mumbled, downing a drink. As a biotic himself, Jacob too had all the perks of an advanced metabolism. A drink or two wasn't going to make him unfit for the mission. Plus, he'd be attracting attention as the only man in Afterlife not having a drink.
Are you sure drinking this fast is a good idea, Jacob? Miranda's voice echoed in his ear.
Nothing I can't handle. How did you know? he inquired.
Bio-readings from your omni-tool, she clarified.
Things in the VIP lounge were tense. Aria didn't know what to expect of the situation. There was Zaeed Massani, that the Blue Suns kept barking at her for his blood, a twitchy krogan whelp, judging from his headplate, that she had seen with Shepard before, but then, there was this curious little redheaded thing in front of her. She wasn't sure what this one was supposed to be. She didn't seem threatening and she blubbered a lot. Shepard must have fucked her sideways, she thought to herself.
Enough with the chat, Aria snapped. Tell me what you're really here for.
Kelly was taken aback with the asari's directness. After all, Miranda said to chat her up and if she couldn't do that, what was she supposed to do? We've come asking for help. No doubt you've heard of the commander's predicament in the Citadel.
Yes, she replied. None of my business.
You do have valuable information, though, that could help Shepard. The murderer's trail shows that he came through here first. If you rely this information to us, we would forever be in your debt, the yeoman pleaded.
Fuck debts, she barked. I helped Shepard many times and all it ever did was get me more trouble than he's worth. So what do I get?
One of Aria's bodyguards was staring at Grunt for a while now. The krogan had most certainly taken notice. He returned the gesture with a sneer. The bodyguard didn't seem too fond of that, as he went to stand in front of Grunt, pressing his gun against the krogan's chest armor. It was all he needed. Grunt headbutted the guard into unconsciousness. When the guns all pointed at them, he and Zaeed didn't even flinch.
Shit, Jacob swore, prepping his concealed gun.
Wait! he heard Miranda shout in his ear. Give them 30 seconds. The former cerberus agent complied, holstering his pistol and laying in wait once more.
Please, Kelly begged, reaching a hand out and grabbing Aria's knee. There must be some way we can reach an agreement. How about we go through a list of demands? Anything you want.
Aria's face settled into a very familiar sneer, as she looked at Kelly's hand. The human girl, seeing how it unsettled Aria, withdrew it, as if she had placed it on fire. But the asari's face seemed to calm down, the sneer turning into a smile, as she focused back on the redhead. This place is too noisy for deals. I have a, she paused, as if thinking, better place in mind.
Shit, shit, shit, Jacob murmured, squeezing the glass in his hand out of tension.
Ten seconds, Miranda reminded him.
Yes, anything, Kelly beamed, as long as it helps the commander.
Aria gently placed her hand on Kelly's cheek. You won't need your bodyguards where we're going, she instructed her.
Kelly nodded in agreement, before turning to Grunt and Zaeed. It's alright. I can take it from here.
The glass shattered to pieces in Jacob's hand. She's taken the offering, Miranda spoke into his ear.
She's taken the what? Jacob questioned.
The offering, Miranda clarified. Kelly is the offering.
Jacob's face managed to look confused even in realization. You don't mean ...
Yup, Miranda concluded. Kelly is about to break the one rule on Omega. She's going to fuck. With Aria.
What about Grunt and Zaeed? he wondered.
I don't think they'll be doing any fucking, Jacob, EDI chimed in. The ex cerberus agent lifted his hands in frustration. The rest of the club, interpreting it as a gesture of him having fun, just cheered in accordance.
Grunt wasn't particularly pleased with being lead this way and that by people he didn't know, but he was doing this for Shepard. Miranda was convinced that Kelly would be able to get the information they needed. So far, it seemed like she was going to get herself killed. He hoped the redhead was battle trained. Zaeed had been taken to a different place earlier on, leaving him alone with one of Aria's bodyguards. The room was large and empty, for the most part. A table here, a chair there, but that was pretty much it. Someone will be with you shortly, the bodyguard, a turian called Grizz, told him, before leaving the room. Grunt took a sit in the chair, then decided to play around, tossing the table. It was rather boring, until the door opened. Another krogan showed up and Grunt remembered him after a small pause. Patriarch, he called him out.
Grunt, the venerable warrior returned. Up for a fight? he asked, pulling out a shotgun.
A smile gleamed off the tankbred's face. I'm itching for it, he replied, pulling out his own. Grunt seemed to kick himself into overdrive, his breath coming shorter and shorter, chortling, as his nostrils flared. The two krogan started emptying their weapons at each other, but seemingly doing little damage, the wounds healing themselves before either one got a chance to bleed out. Grunt did away with his shotgun, the Patriarch following suit. They each lunged for the other, grabbing any hold they could find from their armor.
I. Am. Krogan, Grunt shouted in a fit of rage. He picked the Patriarch up, slamming him against the walls of the room, making huge dents on the metallic hulls, the floor, even the ceiling. Trying to finish this as fast as he could, the tankbred krogan planted Patriarch on the floor and proceeded to headbutt him, till his headplate seemed to cave in.
In spite of the huge amount of damage done to his body, even his head, as Grunt walked away, Aria's krogan warlord didn't seem to be daunted, retaining a smile. You're forgetting something, he said, as the tankbread distanced himself. I am krogan, too. Patriarch's wounds started to seal up, bones knitted themselves back together and even the dent on his headplate seemed to reform to its proper shape. The battle starting anew, Grunt found himself hard pressed to keep away from Patriarch's ferocious attacks. Eventually, the young krogan found himself with his back on the floor, nearly choked to death by his opponent. Still, he fought hard and didn't give in. Patriarch searched for something to use and found his overheated shotgun. He reached for his gun and placed it over the tankbread's mouth, as he wrestled for another breath. Popping the heat sink, the thermal clip found itself into Grunt's mouth. The pain from the searing heat drove him insane. He slammed his fist repeatedly with overwhelming strength and conviction on Patriarch's face, slowly making him dizzy, then moving to barely conscious. Grunt spit the clip out, a piece of his tongue stuck to it, lifting the krogan up and tossing him across the room.
He felt a hand on his shoulder, so he turned around and punched the one that tried to grab him, only to be headbutted in return. His berserk rage subsiding, the haze from his eyes lifting, he saw yet another krogan, drenched in blood, his crimson armor shinning a brighter red, a series of scars running down from his headplate, all the way to his neck. This gave Grunt a reason to pause. We're getting out of here, whelp, Urdnot Wrex ordered. I carved a path from blood pack mercenaries just to get here. We'll need a second one just to get to the Normandy, he explained as a smile formed on his lips, and it's not going to carve itself.
A few hours later, Patriarch woke up, healed of most of his injuries. Picking himself up, he stared at the destruction around him and approved with a condescending nod. I am krogan and it. Is. Glorious, he reminded himself.
I can't believe you lost him, Miranda chewed Jacob off.
Well, maybe I wouldn't have if you hadn't be barking at my ear the whole time, he snapped back, his patience running thin. The truth was, though, that he had lost Zaeed from his eyes, in spite of Miranda's instructions of the opposite. For a while now, he had been following a trail of screams, blood and bodies, trying to reach the mercenary. From the sound of it, he was getting close. I think I'm there, he concluded. Has your friend reached Grunt yet? he inquired, but didn't seem to get a response. Miranda? he asked again.
She is apparently choosing to remain silent, agent Taylor, EDI's voice filled him in.
No shit, he told himself, reaching a door where the screams sounded their loudest. This should be it, he prepped himself before diving in. The exchange of fire was heavy in the room, but he could see Massani not too far from where he was crouching. With a couple of lunges from cover to cover, he made it next to Zaeed who looked at him as if he was the most absurd thing he had ever seen in his life.
Taylor? What the bloody hell are you doing here? The mercenary demanded.
I'm your back up, the former Cerberus agent screamed.
Back up? Zaeed retorted, tossing a grenade to a couple of blue suns that seemed to go off in a loud bang with just a cry of 'oh shi-aaaaaah'. With a few seconds to spare, Zaeed turned to Jacob once more. What part of 'I was the only goddamn one to make it out the fuck alive' did you not understand?
Taylor stared at Massani for a moment like a 4 year old that just heard Santa wasn't real, then looked back at the exit, then back at him. I should go, he remarked before making a hasty retreat.
Kids these days, Zaeed remarked, shaking his head, before jumping out of cover with a loud roar, firing Jessie as fast as he could.
Out in the hallway, Jacob saw a small band of Blue Sun mercs making their way through, trying to flank Zaeed. With no cover and little equipment more than a concealed pistol, he felt under-prepared for this little skirmish. The mercs seemed to talk with each other for a minute, before one of them pointed the rest towards Taylor. It was all, however, over in a minute as a small blue orb seemed to lift the group in the air, while blue bolts of ligthining flew at them, decimating them on the spot. Jacob turned around to see where all this was coming from. Another man, this time dressed in alliance blue stood there, the strain visible on his brow, trying to catch his breath. We met on Horizon, he explained. I heard you needed help. The name's Kaidan. Kaidan Alenko.