Chapter 18
Hunter and Hunted
Dorin was used to getting small jobs with small payouts, so when the hit came in for four Citadel soldiers, he jumped at the opportunity. Had to fight off two turians and one particularly angry krogan in order to do it, but after stepping over three corpses and signing on, the placer was more than satisfied with his skills and simply stated "You're hired."
Not that he was expecting anything else.
"What can you tell me about the targets?" he asked, examining his sniper rifle.
"Three humans, one turian," the recruiter explained. "Two of the humans appear to be injured; one's walking with a limp, the other is being carried. 500 credits for each of those two."
The batarian frowned slightly. "I thought the payout for this was good?" he asked.
"Well, the other two are worth 4500 credits each," the recruiter continued with a grin.
Dorin's eyes widened slightly. Ten thousand credits for killing four soldiers? Now things were getting interesting. "Who are these people?" he asked.
"One of 'em is John Shepard from the Alliance Navy." Dorin had heard the name. The human was relatively well-known, especially in recent years, but he hadn't made a huge dent in the galactic community. Whoever placed the order on his head must really have hated him. The next name really got his attention. "The other is Callus Orion."
Noveria, Ten Years Earlier
The wind bit Dorin's face as he settled in to his sniper's perch. He hated the cold. It was numbing, and it felt like he was being cut repeatedly. He wanted to try a different location, perhaps somewhere inside, but he knew this was his only chance to get the job done.
Hernate Divoriq was a big political opponent of Dhalen Orion, and his advisor had hired Dorin to make sure he couldn't hurt the ambassador any more than he already had. The turian had given him explicit instructions to only kill Orion, leaving his family unharmed. That suited him fine. He didn't kill women or children of any race.
Other batarians would often sneer at him, calling him soft. One even called him a half-human. He couldn't say anything after that on account of being dead. But Dorin had his reasons for showing restraint. He may have been a killer, but he refused to be called a monster. Enough batarians had to go through that. He didn't want his family having to go through that shame.
Movement at the door of the hotel caught his attention. Bringing the scope of his modified sniper rifle to his best eye, he looked downrange and saw his target. As he was about to pull the trigger, the wind picked up and forced him to yet again adjust his sights. Cursing to himself, he tried to judge the correct place to put his crosshairs to make the shot. A second look at the target, however, and he saw something wrong; the turian's facial markings were different from Orion's. Dorin lowered the rifle and grumbled slightly to himself as the wind picked up again. This wasn't going to work.
Omega, Present Day
Partway to the port, Riley slipped from Shepard's arm and fell to the ground. Callus stopped and looked at the scene with a look of pure annoyance. "Spirits," he muttered, marching to the duo with a medi-gel pack in his hand. "Just give him some damn medi-gel and let's get moving!"
Shepard shook his head. "No medi-gel," he replied. "Can't risk him running away."
"He's an asshole, not a coward," Callus pointed out, crouching to administer the gel.
Shepard caught his wrist, glaring at him. "He was working for Hollister," he said flatly.
Callus stopped cold, looking between the two with an increasingly angry look on his face. "Why the hell are you protecting him?" he demanded.
"He was betrayed by Hollister. He can tell us what he knows."
"For what? It's over. The killer is dead."
Shepard stood up, as did Callus. As the two glared at each other, Riley sat up and reached for the medi-gel pack Callus had dropped. Shepard ignored him, knowing he'd be eaten alive by Omega's gangs if he tried to run. "This is not over," Shepard said in a low voice that brokered no argument. "Hollister has Commander Anderson. The person who saved my life. The person who gave *you* a chance at revenge. I'm saving him, with or without you, but I'm going to do it my way."
Callus continued to glare at him, and Shepard thought for a moment he would strike out at him. Then Callus let out a slow breath and looked away. "Fine," he muttered. "Let's go get ourselves killed."
Riley stood and started to run. The medi-gel doing its job. Before he got ten feet away, a bullet tore through his other leg, bringing him down cursing. Callus and Shepard immediately moved for cover. As they crouched behind a rusted pipe beside Joker, they heard a batarian voice yell at them. "Callus Orion!" it said. "Nice to see you again!"
Callus froze. He recognized that voice. He'd never forget it.
Noveria, Ten Years Earlier
"Callus!" Madin Orion called for her son. She frowned, wondering where that boy had run off to this time. She moved through the hotel suite, looking in every open place she thought he might try to hide. As she checked in the second bedroom's closet, a small figure scurried across the floor toward the door, hoping to get out before she could find him. "Don't even think about it, young man," she said, stopping Callus in his tracks.
"Aw, mother!" Callus whined. "You weren't supposed to be able to see me!" He looked at the floor and pouted, his attempt to scare his mother failing.
"You know you're not supposed to hide from me or your father," Madin said sternly, though her amused expression was not lost on the much younger turian. "Now finish packing! The ship for Palaven leaves in an hour."
Callus continued to pout as he moved to his suitcase. "Do we have to leave?" he asked.
"Yes," Madin said for the hundredth time. "I told you; your father has a very important gathering to go to, and we're supposed to be there to support him as his family."
Callus' frowned deepened. "It's so boring, though!" he complained.
"That's enough, Callus!" Madin snapped.
Callus closed his suitcase sharply and stomped to the door, only to run straight into Dhalon, who heard the conversation. Callus stared at the floor, part ashamed, part scared. To his surprise, Dhalon crouched down and looked gently into his son's eyes. "I remember being just like you at your age," he said. "My father always had some meeting to get to, some banquet to attend. And, more times than not, I'd get dragged along with him, having to sit quietly in a chair while he stood in front of the crowd making a speech." He smiled slightly at the memory. "I hated every minute if it. I told my father this one time, and do you know what he said?"
Callus shook his head. "No, sir."
"He said 'Son, nobody likes going to these gatherings. Including me. But I have to go to them. And, as boring as it may be, you've got to come with me. If you do the things you've *got* to do, that opens the door to be able to do the things you *want* to do.'"
Callus frowned. "I don't understand," he replied.
Dhalon chuckled and held his son close to him. "You will, Callus," he assured him. "You will."
As the family left the hotel suite, Dhalon's advisor walked briskly to him. "There you are!" he exclaimed, annoyed at the potential ambassador. "The ship is leaving soon. We've got to get going!"
"Alright, Britus, calm down," Dhalon replied.
Britus didn't seem to hear him. "The meeting is tomorrow morning, and we're lightyears from where we need to be!"
Madin smiled at the advisor. "Afraid you'll miss all the politics, Britus?" she teased.
Britus glared at her, and Dhalon stepped between the two. "Believe me, friend," he cautioned, "you do not want to upset her."
The four moved onward, going for the exit. As they neared it, a batarian pushed past Britus and brandished a pistol. As he raised it to Dhalen's head, Callus heard him calmly say "My regards to your spirits."
Then Callus saw something in his father that he'd never seen before. He moved quickly, grabbing the gun and pushing it away as the batarian fired. He then twisted with all his strength, making him drop the gun. A well-placed kick to the gut brought the would-be assassin to his knees, effectively ending the fight. Callus stared at his father, amazed at his skill. H
Britus looked past Dhalon with a horrified expression on his face. "Dhalon!" he exclaimed.
Dhalon followed his eyes and saw his wife in the floor, clutching her chest. "Madin!" he said frantically, rushing to her side and applying pressure to the wound. He looked around, desperately looking for help. All he saw was Callus, standing still looking absolutely afraid. "Get Callus out of here!" he ordered Britus before returning to his wife.
As Callus was ushered away, he noticed the batarian shooter staring at the ambassador and his wife, looking as horrified as he was.
Author's Note: Sorry about the long wait. Wanted to find a way to make Shepard's first visit to Omega really memorable. Please don't forget to review!