Chapter 18: Scourge of Omega
"Three days on Omega." Garrus mussed, dropping into an open chair in the mess hall. "I know where I'm not going for a while then."
"Not like Shepard would let you leave Turian." Zaeed chuckled taking a bite from a plate of something that Garrus didn't want to try and describe.
"I'm not going to argue." Garrus replied, a smug grin on his face.
"Even if it is Omega, I'm glad to get off this ship for a few." Taylor replied after wolfing down a large portion of his own mess of food.
"Got plans for the next few days there Taylor?" Zaeed grinned, giving the dark skinned human a knowing look.
"Not the kind I'm willing to share." Taylor replied, turning back to his food.
"How 'bout you Carmine?" Zaeed asked, looking over his shoulder at the human that was still cooking.
Rah looked to the three of them that were at the table and reached up to his ears. He pulled out a small device from each and gave the mercenary an inquiring look.
"What's up?" Rah asked, clearly not hearing what Zaeed had said.
"What are you going to do while we're stopped?" Zaeed asked, filling his mouth with the other man's cooking seconds latter.
"Great grub by the way." Zaed commented, his mouth still full.
"Thanks." Rah replied, rolling his eyes.
"Going to be paying a visit to an Asari friend of mine." Rah smirked. "Going to see if she can help me with a problem that I need taking care of."
Garrus looked into the man's eyes. Garrus had quickly picked up that the only way to truly read him, was to look into his eyes. While his sheepish grin told the mercenary what he wanted to hear, Garrus knew that Rah wasn't saying everything.
"What? That little number below engineering not doing it for you?" Zaeed smirked.
The temperature in the room dropped about ten degrees when Rah scowled at Zaeed. Everything about Rah promised death to the grizzled soldier.
Rah's biotics flared and Zaeed's plate lifted off the table. The glow around Rah died after the plate smashed itself into Zaeed's face. The shards of the plat dropped into the man's lap and the food began slowly sliding down his face.
"Tread every carefully Massani." Rah growled.
Massani stood up and so did Garrus. Garrus' taloned hand dropped onto the mercenary's shoulder. Zaeed looked to him and Garrus shook his head. It wouldn't end well for Massani if he went at it with the N7.
"Fuck you." Massani spat at Rah. Thankfully, Massani left the mess hall and headed to the elevator.
Rah nodded his thanks to Garrus and then turned back to his cooking. After a few minutes, Rah took two plates of the food he'd made and headed to the elevator.
Garrus found it amusing and a bit warming to see that the man that was broken more so than Jack, was the one that went out of his way to seek out the woman and simply be there for her. Even in just the two weeks that Rah had been on the ship, it had become a ritual for Rah to bring every meal to Jack. Garrus knew from Tali telling him, that when Rah would go down to see the biotic, there would be almost no sound coming from either Rah or Jack until Rah left. Those few times that Jack was seen out of her room, she seemed to be less on edge. Not friendly, but not looking like she would kill everyone if they looked at her wrong.
Garrus didn't know what it was that Rah did, but whatever it was, it was doing wonders to calm the otherwise angry and pissed off biotic.
"Care for some lunch Princess?" Rah asked after stepping off the stairs down to Jack's niche.
"Smells good." Jack chuckled stepping from the shadows and took one of the plates from Rah's hands. "But you're late Boyscout."
"Blame Zaeed." Rah replied, shaking his head.
The two of them sat down on Jack's cot. Rah began digging in, but noticed that Jack hadn't.
"What is it?" Jack asked, looking at the contents of the plate with a quizzical look.
"Ground beef mixed with cheese, barbeque sauce, and diced peppers." Rah replied, smiling to the biotic.
Jack took a hesitant bite of the food. Rah grinned when the woman closed her eyes and savoured the tastes that had filled her mouth.
The two of them ate in silence for several minutes. Rah was rather surprised when Jack decided to break it for once.
"What are you going to do when we get to Omega?" Jack asked, not looking at him.
"There are a few people that I'm going to visit while we're there." Rah replied with a small smile.
"Figure I might as well see some of them one last time before I put myself into death's bedroom." Rah shrugged. Rah looked to Jack when she stiffened next to him.
"Why are you doing this?" Jack asked, still refusing to met his gaze.
"I told you I had killed an Ardat-Yakshi before." Rah sighed, setting his food down next to him.
"Admiral Hackett ordered her death after she had killed my partner. One of the best of the best murdered in cold blood." Rah grit out, holding back his hatred of those that didn't care about their genetic mutation.
"He left behind a wife and daughter. The devastation that his death caused to them, no one should need to go through that." Rah told Jack simply.
Rah admitted that he could be cold. That he could be ruthless. That he was the death of thousands of beings. But he couldn't stand it when he saw just what his actions, or those like him, did to families and friends. He couldn't change who he was, but he could at least make the galaxy brighter while he was in it.
"I'm not going to let a mother kill her own daughter." Rah told Jack.
He didn't notice that he had be crying until Jack's hand found it's way to his face and pressed a thumb to the wetness.
"When I was thirteen, I found my family again." Rah told Jack.
"I found out that I had a mother, a father, and two older sisters." Rah spoke, remembering the day like it was yesterday.
"They brought me back into their lives, but I was still broken from escaping the Cerberus welcomed me into their home and hearts with open arms." Rah smiled sadly, remembering how he had felt their unconditional love.
"But one day, our home was broken into. The guy that did it took one of my sisters hostage at gunpoint." Rah spoke, his body beginning to shake.
"I snapped and killed the fucker, but I lost control. I couldn't control my biotics and ended up killing my entire family when they tried to help me." Rah told Jack, barely holding back from sobbing in front of the woman.
Rah held out his right arm, turning it to show the tattoo that was on the inside of his forearm. It was a sword with a banner wrapping around it. The blade of the sword was shattered. Written in blood red letters were the names of Rah's family.
Rah shook his head and stood up. he quickly wiped his eyes and turned away from Jack.
"I'm sorry that you had to hear that." Rah told her somberly.
Rah quickly strode out of the lower portion of engineering and ducked into the lift. He was certain that he had just ruined whatever small friendship he might had had with Jack. He had crossed a line that shouldn't have been crossed.
Rah cursed Aria T'loak. He should have known better than to ask that asshole Asari for help. Just as usual, the queen of Omega had no real information, just guesses and speculation. Rah had dealt with the Asari before, and should have known better. The only thing that Aria had given him was the password to the VIP area of Afterlife, saying that the girl that had been murdered by an Ardat-Yakshi had gone there a lot. It was a good a point to start looking as any.
Rah shook his head at his own stupidity. Nothing could be done about it now, he just needed to get ready for going to lure Morinth into his trap. He was going to try and draw her attention to him, and then kill her when they were alone. While on Omega, he had picked up some attire that would be better suited for this kind of thing than heavy plate armor.
Rah looked down at himself in contemplation of his choices. He had grabbed himself a pair of black cargo pants, a near skin tight black t-shirt, and a pair combat boots. The sales girl at the store he had picked to buy the stuff from had tried selling him on a pair of leather gloves to go with it all, but he had refused. He hated covering hs ink as it was, it was every much a part of him as his face was. He had instead opted for a pair of sunglasses that would sync up to his omni-tool. With some help from Fox, he had rigged it to sync to his armor as well.
Rah put on the shades and stretched in his new clothes. He felt weird with so much on. It was rare for him to wear anything more than shorts and a t-shirt when out of his armor. Rah heard the elevator doors open up behind him. Rah turned to see Samara stepping out of the lift.
"Ready Justicar?" Rah asked, striding towards the Asari.
"I am ready." Samara replied, looking at Rah and giving him an approving nod.
"Come on, we can discuss what you know will help lure Morinth out on the way." Rah spoke to the woman, striding into the elevator.
"I will not be able to help you unless you need it you know." Samara told him once the doors had hissed shut.
"I know. I should be able to handle myself. But If I get in a bad spot you come runnin' ya hear?" Rah asked and Samara nodded.
Morinth looked around the club from her dark corner with bored disinterest. Ever since she had melded with and killed that sweet Neff girl, the club had been nothing but a bore. She had yet to find anyone that drew her attention. Sure there was the stupid human near the door that seemed like he would be fun at an Expel 10 concert, but even then, she didn't have any interest.
Morinth thought for the hundredth time in the last few days about just packing up and going onto another district. Surely there had to be someone else on this shithole station that would catch her eye.
Morinth closed her eyes for a few moments, pondering the different places she could claim as her next hunting ground. Her eyes snapped open when she felt a shift in the air, and a very powerful one at that.
Morinth watched as a new human strode into the club, he took off a pair of dark glasses before walking deeper into the club, his gait confident and purposeful. She couldn't help but notice that the human bore scars and ink alike on what skin she could she. She noticed the odd markings he had tattooed around his eyes. Morinth recalled some ancient human culture that once wore those markings. She knew that those people were masters of the arts, and if this human identified himself with them, he demanded her interest.
This human had the gait of a soldier, yet seemed to carry himself with a natural grace. These, coupled with the power she could feel from him, made Morinth exceptionally glad that she hadn't left.
Her eyes tracked his movements as he waded through those in the club. He seemed to be able to both flow through the crowd, but also part it as one would part a sea.
She watched as he confronted an overly zealous Turian. The fool had been trying to buy one of the strippers for more than just a dance all night long. This human simply stepped up to the two and asked the dancer something. He completely ignored the Turian until a clenched taloned hand flew at him. The human caught the hand with ease and then snapped the arm. Morinth could hear the sickening crunch from where she was and grinned at the human's display of force and cold violence. Some of the bouncers pulled the Turian from the human, dragging the sorry creature away by his cowl. The dancer seemed to give something to the human and whispered into his ear. The human grinned and moved on.
Morinth stalked the human's movements once more when he made his way over to the bar. The human struck up a conversation with one of the Turian bartenders. After a few moments, the Turian yelled out, his voice barely heard over the music and the people.
"Round of drinks on the new guy!" The bartender called out. Everyone in the club let out hoots and hollers, taking the drinks without a second thought. Morinth felt a stirring in her. She wanted this human, but she would wait, for now.
Morinth watched with amusement as a human woman and an Asari walked up on each side of this human. Morinth knew their intentions, but decided to see what this human did. Soon, the two women pulled him onto the dance floor. Grinning all the while, the human let himself be pulled along. Soon the three were dancing in the center of the floor. While the two women danced with purpose, that of seducing this human, the human let the music take him. He seemed to turn into liquid and let the music determine what he did.
After a few minutes of dancing, the human looked around. She didn't know how, but the human's gaze met hers. The human winked at her, and then went back to dancing with the two women next to him. Morinth knew without a doubt now that he was going to be hers.
She slipped out of her both and gracefully stalked over to the human. She pushed aside the two that were with him. She fell into step with him, flowing as he did and taking every chance she could to brush up against him. When she got the chance, she leaned in and whispered into his ear.
"I've been watching you." She whispered. "And I must say you've caught my eye."
"Let's go find out why then." The human whispered back, his voice musical and sultry. The way he still made it sound like a command sent shivers down her spine. She would definitely take him, and she would do it tonight.
Morinth took his hand in hers and lead him through the crowd. She could feel the angry glares of the other women in the bar, but she didn't give them any thought.
Morinth sat down on one side of her booth and the human sat down on the other. He quickly propped his boots up on the bench next to her, showing his complete relaxation and confidence in the whole situation.
"My name's Morinth." Morinth told him, relaxing in her seat as well. "Most nights I come here and there's no one interesting. Sometimes there's just one. Tonight, that's you."
"Carmine." The human replied, a half smirk on his face. "And I'm not surprised."
"That so?" Morinth asked, giving him a playful look.
"I've yet to be proven wrong." Carmine told her, a suggestive and playful look of his own on his features.
"And just why is that?" Morinth asked, a warmth settling in her core.
"I'm someone that knows what he wants." Carmine smirked. "And tonight, that's you."
"Hmmm." Morinth mused, she wasn't going to make it that easy for this human. "Do you really? Some only say they know what it is they want, only a few really do."
"I know what I want. If I see something, or someone, I take it. Power lets a person do that." Carmine smirked, giving her a suggestive look.
"If you don't believe me, then we can go somewhere else. I'll show you just what kind of power I hold at my fingertips." Carmine smirked to her.
"Why don't we then." Morinth smirked at him, her tone sultry and inviting. She had him, there was no escape now.
Morinth stood up and offered her hand to the human. He took it and pulled her down to him. He forced her into a rough, violent kiss that set her insides alight with want and desire.
"A taste of what's to come later." The human smirked before standing up. Morinth was usually never one to play with her food, but just this once, she was inclined to break that.
Morinth straddled Rah's lap as they began delving into one another's bodies on her couch.
It had been easier than he thought it would be to get her to bring him home. As soon as they had crossed into the Asari's apartment, she had ponced on him. Rah hadn't complained the least. He needed to get close to her to do what needed to be done, might as well enjoy himself while he did it.
Rah worked open the top of Morinth's black leather jumpsuit. Her hands had found their way under his shirt and were exploring his muscled chest with deft, teasing touches. Morinth ground down on him and he could feel his pants tightening. Morinth grinned into his mouth while she kissed him, she could feel it too.
The Asari let out a low moan when he opened her front up, his hands finding their way to her breasts. Morinth tugged on his shirt and they broke apart long enough for her to pull it off of him. When he was free of the clothing, Rah's mouth found it's way to Morinth's neck. She moaned when he began kissing and lightly nibbling on her flesh. Her hands clutched his head to where it was, forcing him to keep going.
Rah heard the door to Morinth's apartment hiss open. Morinth stiffened in his arms, and Rah took his chance. His hands shot up with lightning speed and placed them on each side of her head. Before Morinth could utter a sound, Rah snapped her neck.
Samara strode into the apartment and Rah rolled Morinth's corpse off of him. Samara gave both him and the corpse of her daughter an inquiring look.
"Even the most skilled of hunters, falls prey to those it thinks is not a threat." Rah told her coldly, standing from the couch. Rah pulled on his shirt and turned straight into a punch to the jaw from Samara.
"You killed what was my duty to kill." Samara told him, flaring up her biotics.
"Had I let you kill her, the real monster would have been the mother and not the daughter." Rah snarled.
"Kill me if you must, but I will die with no regrets." Rah told the Asari, holding his arms out to the side.
Rah stared into the eyes of the Justicar, almost commanding her to do what she thought needed to be done.
"The Code says nothing on this." Samara spoke, dropping her biotic aura.
"Thank you for trying to help, but next time, I will kill you." Samara told him coldly.
"There won't be a next time." Rah replied, stepping past the Asari.
A/N: So I wanted to change this mission from what the game had done, and to an extent I did. I personally found the way that everything with Morinth was handled was a bit awkward. Hopefully, the way I wrote this seemed more natural. For anyone that might be wondering, I will be gettign back to Shepard and Garrus very soon, just wanted to change how the last few missions were handled and the best way to do that was by using my OC. Hopefully, you all have enjoyed it so far. If you haven't please let me know and I'll see what I can do to fix it.
Anyways, one more, thank you all for the continued support. Please let me know what you thought! I hope you all have enjoyed up until now and will continue to do so as I keep going.
Until next time!
Edit: fixed an error in Rah's background. He was thirteen when he made it back to his family after being taken by Cerberus, not sixteen like I had in here originally. No clue how I missed that when I was first editing this. Only reading back over for giggles did I notice it.
