"Is he serious?" Kaidan shoved the datapad containing the dossiers into Miranda's face. "These are the people who are going to help us take down the Collectors? I can see why he wanted me to go for the salarian first; he's the only one of the bunch who seems like he might be somewhat stable!"
"He asked you to recruit Dr. Solus first so that we can develop a counter-measure to the Collectors' paralyzing agent as quickly as possible. As for the rest, Alenko, keep in mind that you won't always find the galaxy's best and brightest wearing a uniform."
"A vigilante," he said, beginning to flip through the datapad, "with a body count a mile long. A shunned warlord, deemed too bloodthirsty and vengeful for krogan society. And then we've got Jack. No last name, no history at all outside of his rap sheet." He slammed the datapad onto the desk. "Yeah, I'm sure we'll all make a hell of a team!"
"Playing by the rules isn't going to stop the collectors. We have to be ready to do whatever is necessary to get the job done. Say what you'd like about our potential recruits, but they've proven their willingness to take risks."
"Looks to me like all they've proven is that they don't work well with others."
"Well, Alenko, part of your job here is to make them. If you don't think you can handle that..." Miranda let the threat hang.
To be honest, Kaidan wasn't sure he couldhandle it. Shepard would have had little trouble; she had a way of speaking to people that, while harsh at times, was effective. She'd convinced a krogan to help her destroy what, by all appearances, was a genophage cure. She'd talked the indoctrinated Saren into taking his own life to end his connection to Sovereign. He'd seen it all, but could anyone but Shepard could truly be Shepard? Still, he'd promised himself that he wouldn't let her get involved in this. So he would manage, somehow, even if he had to come up with his own way.
He snatched up the datapad, gritting his teeth. "I can handle it just fine."
"Now," Jacob was saying as they exited the shuttle onto Omega, "you'll want to speak with Aria T'loak. She's set up shop in the Afterlife nightclub. If anyone has information on how to find these people, it'll be her."
They made their way through darkened streets and entered the darkened club. He supposed the dimness was appreciated by many of the residents here; the better to conceal illicit activities, after all. The weird lighting was likely to give him a migraine, though. Except that the L2 was gone. He picked up his pace a little as they entered the main area of the club.
The clubs Shepard had dragged him to on the Citadel had nothing on this place, he realized. A huge bar dominated the center, with dancers on a platform above it, while tables lined the walls and patrons danced on an upper level skirting the edges of the large room. Kaidan headed toward the back, looking for a quiet place where Aria might be waiting.
He suspected he'd found it when a guard thrust a pistol in his face. He raised his hands slowly. "My name's Kaidan Alenko. I'm here to see Aria." The turian nodded and motioned him up the stairs, where more guards flanked a dark-complexioned asari seated on a leather sofa. "Aria?" he said to her.
She nodded. "Kaidan Alenko. Former Second officer of the Normandy. Commander Shepard told me you were dead."
He kept his voice level, trying to control his reaction at hearing her name, distinctly aware of the two Cerberus agents standing beside him. "You've spoken with her?"
"She drops in here from time to time. And before you ask, I don't keep tabs on her or anything. If she's not on Omega I don't know where she is. And she's not."
Well, that took care of that problem; he didn't have to worry about Cerberus getting any information on Shepard. He would have liked to have some kind of lead, though. "So, do you... run Omega?"
Aria laughed and stood up, throwing her arms out in an expansive gesture. "I AM Omega." She stepped closer to him. "Take from that what you will. Omega has no titled ruler, and only one rule." She settled herself back onto the sofa and narrowed her eyes. "Don't. Fuck. With Aria."
Kaidan might have rolled his eyes if he didn't have every reason to believe the woman facing him could kill him with a thought. Instead, he nodded slowly and said, "I'll keep that in mind." Shepard wouldn't let herself be intimidated by Aria and he had to do the same. So he took a seat beside her and continued. "I'm looking for a couple people who I heard were in the area; I hoped you might help me find them."
"Give me the names; I'll tell you what I know."
"The first one is a salarian doctor, Mordin Solus."
"I know him." She nodded. "Spent a few years in the salarian Special Tasks Group, I heard. Crazy bastard. Still, I like Mordin. He's as likely to kill you as heal you. He's set up shop in the slums near here. There's been a plague running through there; the Blue Suns have quarantined the whole area. But if you can get in, that's where you'll find him."
"Thank you. The other guy I'm looking for goes by the name of Archangel."
"Now that's not a name you want to mention too loudly."
"I take it you're not a fan?"
"He's caused a lot of trouble for me, made the mercs restless. Pretty impressive, actually, considering he's managed to get the Eclipse, Blood Pack and Blue Suns working together. They've actually set up a recruiting center downstairs, looking for people to help take him out."
"And what happens when they find out I'm not here to kill him?"
"I think you're smarter than to let them know that before you find him. And as for me, as long as you take him off my hands I don't much care how you do it."
"Well, ah, thank you for your help." Kaidan stood and extended a hand. Aria made no move to take it. He nodded and headed down the stairs.
"So, Shepard's been seen on Omega," Miranda said, thoughtfully.
"Yes," Kaidan responded, "and she's not here now." It was enough to make Miranda drop the subject, for the moment. "Come on, let's see if we can track down Dr. Solus."
The commerce district was as dimly lit as the corridor they'd entered from, with only slightly more color. An array of shops and food stands lay in front of them, but curiosity led Kaidan down a narrow corridor where a quarian had set up a stall and was working with a piece of machinery. "Excuse me," said Kaidan.
The quarian jumped, startled. "Hello, sir. Are you interested in any spare parts or salvage? I have many fine items available."
The quarian's diction was odd in his translator. Kaidan doubted he'd been away from the fleet for long. "I might have a look. What brings you out this way? Seems an odd destination for a pilgrimage."
The quarian had continued to work as he spoke, but at Kaidan's mention of pilgrimage he actually looked up, bright eyes looking right at him through the faceplate.
"My name is Kenn. I left on pilgrimage several months ago. This was only meant to be a brief stop on my journey. Then, before I could plan my next destination, I was robbed. They took everything I had. Now I sell salvage to try and make enough for a ticket off-world. But no one will buy; my prices are too high."
"And you can't lower them?"
Kenn shook his head. "I have a deal, with Harrott, the elcor who runs the machine shop in the square. If I undercut him, he'll put me out of business."
"How much would it cost you to book passage out of here?"
"I've scraped up a bit; I'm still a thousand credits short of a ticket, though." As Kaidan reached into his pocket, Kenn raised his hands. "No, sir, I couldn't let you do that. This is my pilgrimage, my mistake; I need to solve it on my own."
Kaidan nodded slowly, admiring Kenn's determination with so much stacked against him. "Then let me buy something from you." Kaidan surveyed the available goods. "Those FBA couplings; are they the T6 model?"
Kenn nodded vigorously. "Yes, sir. Yes, they are. Are you interested?"
Kaidan handed over his payment. "My engineers were looking for a set of these; they'll appreciate this."
"And I appreciate your business, sir."
"You know, for that price you could have gotten those brand new," Miranda said once they were out of earshot.
"And I could have given him the thousand creds for his ticket. You might want to keep that in mind when you're balancing the books." Scattered neon signs brightened the atmosphere as they entered the main trading square. A batarian, perched atop a crate, blasted a tirade against humanity for anyone who would listen. Shops and food scattered themselves throughout the area. Seeing Omega in all its glory made Kaidan realize just how clean even some of the lower wards of the Citadel were. Everything there was so orderly; this place reminded him of some of the seedier areas of downtown Vancouver where he'd stayed once upon a time, only more alien. And Shepard had grown up in those types of places. Omega probably didn't faze her one bit.
The massive form of an elcor dominated one of the larger storefronts in the marketplace. The sign hanging above informed him this was Harrott's Emporium. Kaidan stepped up to the counter. "Are you Harrott?"
"Condescending: What is it to you, human?"
"The quarian told me about you. Said you've been pressuring him? The guy just wants to get out of your hair. Isn't it in your best interests to let him?"
"Losing patience: Don't presume to understand my interests."
Bargaining had failed; what would Shepard have done in his position? Probably call the elcor an asshole, followed by some scene of waving a pistol around combined with a threat of broken legs. Such scenes, while effective, had always made him uncomfortable; fortunately, he could afford to be more subtle.
Kaidan rested his hands on the counter and leaned forward, letting his biotics flare slightly. "Let's put it this way, you make things a little easier for the quarian, and I won't have to make them difficult for you."
"With barely contained fright: Very well, human. The quarian may set his own prices. And to show there are no hard feelings, let me offer you a discount on my wares."
Kaidan waved his hand at the elcor "Hmm. Maybe another time." He turned and continued toward the quarantine zone.
"I wouldn't have expected you to threaten someone so casually," Miranda said as they walked away. Kaidan wasn't sure, but he thought he'd heard a hint of praise in her voice.
Not that it mattered. He wasn't trying to impress her. "I did him a favor. Bully like that, only a matter of time before someone decided to go beyond threats."
"I assume you're speaking from experience?" she asked.
Kaidan caught Jacob's glare as she did so. He wasn't surprised that Cerberus had acquired this information about him; he'd never been in doubt of their information gathering. What surprised him was the way the off-handed reference to Vyrnuss had stung, even all these years later. It had been a precision strike, but not one intended to hurt him; instead reavealing just enough information to let him know she had the upper hand. Kaidan shrugged but remained silent.
Kaidan had seen some rough places after Brain Camp, but even those had had at least some rule of law. The quarantine district took the anarchy of Omega to another level. Occasional fires dotted the streets, a makeshift attempt to dispose of the bodies. A number of doors locked from the outside indicated early attempts to contain the virus, before someone had just decided to lock down the whole area. Luckily, Dr. Solus had been able to manufacture a cure, which they hurriedly managed to release into the air supply.
As for the salarian himself, well, he was more than just a doctor. A genius, certainly, and almost unnaturally focused on his work: more than once, Kaidan had to interrupt his brainstorming to remind him there was someone else in the room. His Cerberus dossier had indicated that he had been part of the salarian Special Tasks Group, a detail that Kaidan had skimmed over at the time.
"So, ah, what kind of research did you do with the special tasks group?" Kaidan asked as Mordin looked over the equipment in the Normandy's lab.
"Not just research. Several recon missions. Covert. High-risk. Studying krogan genophage. Served under young captain named Kirrahe.
"Yeah," Kaidan said, "I think I met him. He helped us take down Saren's cloning facility, on Virmire."
"Yes, jury-rigged explosive. Good captain, always did get job done with minimal resources. Bit of a cloaca, though. Heard Kirrahe died on Virmire."
Kaidan nodded. "We tried. Just couldn't get everyone out before the explosion hit. I lost a friend there, too." He scratched a spot on his midsection, a phantom itch from a phantom scar from a geth who managed to get through his shields on Virmire, just before Shepard hauled him away. "Suppose we should both get back to work, then. See you around."