Layla

Bang!

The noise rang around my skull and I felt my fingers tighten by my sides, teeth gnawing on the inside of my cheek. There was a curt stab of nausea that I had to squash before Max saw the growing grimace of discomfort on my face.

I killed someone.

A sharp exhale came out of my nostrils, and my turian companion caught it, throwing me a questionable glance. The only thing I could do was weakly smile, hating the pitiful glint in his alien eyes. I shouldn't need it.

The barrel stared me down, it's gaze was burning into my skull.

This whole fucking situation was so… abnormal - from glancing into the avian features of the once human boy, to gawking around at the grimey streets, to realising that perhaps this isn't quite my body after all-

To shoot someone blank in the face.

He lifelessly fell to the floor, hole in the middle of his forehead.

The sickening taste of bile crawled up my throat, scratching my tongue.

It was one thing to watch death from behind a screen, but to actually view it straight in front of you was a different matter entirely. His face wouldn't leave my brain, burning an eternal image in my mind of what I did. A pang of guilt ate at me as I began to think through his shoes; he was probably just as desperate to survive on Omega as I was. He probably had family. He probably wasn't going to even shoot me, maybe he was trying to just intimidate me...

But….

Given the opportunity, say time rewound itself; I would make the same choice.

I had to survive, no matter the cost.

It was him, or it was me.

Besides…

My eyes glanced to the turian in the corner of my eye, a bittersweet smile twitching in the corner of my mouth.

Can't exactly leave this dork alone either.

Despite just having met Max, he was one of the only people who could clearly understand my situation. I would much rather not be here at all, but it was nice to have someone in the same boat next to me- to help me. It was reassuring to know that I wasn't completely and utterly alone in this.

Turning my head to the side, my eyes peered around the current area. Large cylinder buildings, embezzled with yellow lights, rose to impossible heights. Neon shop signs above the nearby stores, one being an omni-tool workshop, another being a Tuhi storage. An asari stood in front of one building, selling what appeared to be cheap weapon mods. Her gaze caught mine, and I quickly moved along, jogging to catch up with Max.

I looked over to what looked like a taxi service, with a small building next to a few shuttles. A volus behind the dirt smeared window- which if I had to guess by the weak, blue hue glinting off the glass, it had some form of kinetic barrier to protect the main server or assistant.

It wasn't exactly bustling with a crowd, but had more than a few good people. Most of them were another species. Max and I gathered a few looks, possibly due to our odd duo-ship. A turian and a human. I supposed they thought we were either hired together, I hired him as a bodyguard, or we were significant others. The very last one I knew was somewhat taboo. Not that there were any laws against it, but cultural differences still allowed the shock factor.

"I wish we had the credits for a shuttle." I mumbled to my companion, slightly whining.

"Well we technically kind of do. Just… we really can't have any unnecessary costs right now." Max explained.

It was true, we were very limited on what we could spend our money on. Food was top priority and shelter was second. I would have to put up with the excessive amount of walking we would be doing now. Life was shitty, but it could be worse. A lot worse.

Right now, we needed to put action into our plans. A job was very much desired, just incredibly difficult to get ahold of. Especially since people around here didn't seem… extremely fond of my kind.

I stopped walking, drinking in the foreign sights. After some observing, at a loss I turned slightly to Max, "where do you even wanna start?"

Max rubbed his talons against his face, before answering. "I'm not entirely sure. I suppose we want to keep an eye out for more… legitimate work. Work that won't get us into trouble, and that is structured. As close to a regular job as possible, really." He then shrugged a little, "no idea where exactly to find something like that though. And I doubt we will find exactly what we are looking for."

I numbly nodded along to his words but knew it was impossible to find something even remotely white collar. Omega didn't strike me as fair, so the more searching, the sooner we branch out, the better.

"That place?" I lifted my arm, directing Max's green eyes to a noodle place. Lights shone behind the steam, which rose around the stool. A few cruddy metallic chairs were scattered around the shady area, various species seated. A batarian with a white mask covering his mouth stood behind the register, exchanging quick conversation with a customer.

My eyes momentarily drifted to the tables, darting between individuals or groups as I nervously watched out for trouble. A flash of yellow caught my attention, my eyes widening in recognition when they rested on a trio seated by one of the corner booths. Yellow painted armor, worn and battered, yet clearly well maintained. A black sun and a capital 'E' displayed prominently across their chests.

"Max," I mumbled, trying to be subtle as I moved closer to his body. I gently nudged my elbow into his waist, head turned away.

"What? What's the problem?"

I met his gaze, feeling my spine slightly tense. They weren't attacking, they weren't threatening us. I knew the mercs around here didn't randomly grab civilians by the neck and just kill, unless provoked, they were hired to assassinate them or a bystander got caught in a turf war cross fire. Whilst they literally kill to get their uniform and be part of the family it would be bad for business to murder random people.

But that didn't mean I felt more at ease around them. They were an impressive, ruthless force. All of the mercs were.

Leaning more toward him, I put my hand on his shoulder to bring him down to my height, whispering, "the Eclipse are here."

Max turned to face me, looking quizzical. "Yeah? I think that's just something you are going to have to get used to. Mercs and gangs are all over the place."

"It's just a precaution." I responded, albeit uneasily. "If you see someone pull a gun or even hear someone mutter the word 'territory' be ready to get the hell outta dodge."

"If it comes to that, sure. Just, 'chill out' I guess. If something bad happens, we will deal with it."

"Alright." Reluctant, I released a soft sigh and followed him as he approached the noodle bar. Here goes nothing, I guess.

As the previous customer walked away with a plastic pot of noodles, Max went up and leant against the counter with his elbows, looking relatively calm about the situation, all things considered. "Hey, you got a minute?"

The four eyed man tilted his head up, layered nose scrunching the minute his gaze locked onto my turian companion, and briefly shot to me. There was a sharp edge to his voice, cold and curt. "I don't do dextro food."

"Not here for food, in fact, I'm looking for work. Me and…" Max gestured behind him towards me, I gave a short, relatively sheepish wave, "my good friend over here."

"Not hiring." His simple reply was quick, and he looked away in disinterest, filling a bowl with strands of noodles.

A clear dismissal.

I wasn't ready to accept it.

We were desperate, after all.

"Are you sure you don't have any positions?" I stubbornly piped up, heat bristling under my skin at him just brushing us off like a bug.

"Let me rephrase," all of the batarian's eyes narrowed at my persistence, stopping his movements to give us his full attention. "Fuck off."

My head shrunk back into my neck, disheartened.

"Alright. Fine, I get it, not hiring." Max held his talons in the air, "I will leave you to it. Sorry for bothering you." He then gestured for me to start leaving, and I didn't need to be told twice.

"Sheesh." I shoved my hands into my pockets, we walked to another stool nearby. This one was another noodle place, a rival. It looked slightly better in style, but still appeared to be run by another batarian. More people in his booth too.

He interjected before a word could leave my opening mouth. "No."

At least he didn't outright tell us to fuck off.

"Look, do you at least know anyone who is hiring?" Max said in a slightly exasperated tone.

He didn't answer, opting for ignoring our presence. I grit my teeth and felt my fingers curl by my sides, but they slowly relaxed when I forced myself to calm down.

"Come on," I quietly urged Max, swallowing the figurative frog in my throat. "Let's try somewhere else."

"Yeah, we will be sure to find somewhere eventually."

Dubious, I lifted my shoulders, giving him a forced smile. I didn't believe that for a second. Who would hire me? Especially since I wasn't even from this century, I didn't know the basics of an omni-tool from the activation of a door. Max, on the other hand, seemed to be picking up all this stuff fairly easily. I was envious he adapted to everything so quickly, bewildered that he was even able to keep a certain level of calm inside a body that wasn't even his.

There was one job I had in the back of my mind, one so simple I could do in my sleep. I didn't need to know techno-babble to perform such easy tasks. However, I didn't want to retort to that quite yet. We were desperate, but still had some sort of hope.

Around the third job application attempt, I rolled my tongue at the unpleasant woman behind the terminal, who insulted my style in attire before declining. "If you can't dress yourself properly, I can't expect you to have an understanding in clothes."

Max had to drag me out.

We moved to another place straight after that, and I let Max lead again instead before I exploded on a potential employer.

"I'm sorry, we're just not hiring right now." That one didn't particularly seem like a dick, they seemed to be genuinely refusing to give us a job due to inaccessibility. "Come again in a few months, perhaps we'll have an opening."

This happened in a few other places too.

Other restaurants were too busy for us to even get passed the reservation desk, and they didn't believe us when we claimed we only wanted to speak to the boss. Others just didn't trust us, and gave the excuse that they had recent thieves.

We spent the entire day, or what felt like the entire day, searching every nook and cranny, every orifice; only to find nothing. No one hired us. No one considered us. We got to the stage of straight pleading on our knees.

I grunted, my body roughly colliding with the hard ground. I heard a thud, a heap of weight following after me. One glance told me it was Max, another behind told me that the burly security man (krogan, fittingly) was already wandering back inside the shop.

Of course, since we wouldn't leave, they had to throw us out.

In defeat, my face pressed on the floor, and I groaned out, "that's it. We're done. We're screwed."

Mental images came to mind, and in denial I immediately squashed them to the back of my head with a grimace twisting along my face. No, not yet.

"It wasn't a good day, no." Max lurched slightly, and gave a slight moan of pain. "That krogan hit me too. Not an experience I would like to relive. That being said, I don't think we are done just yet, just on hard times."

A throb pulsated on the side of my head, I rolled over to my back with a wheeze. "Max, no one will hire us. We don't have much food. Our credits are nearly out. We'll get kicked out our room and forced on the streets." I tilted my exhausted eyes to the side so he couldn't see, feeling them sting. "We're done."

"Don't say that." Max said as he lifted himself into a sitting position.

"I'm being realistic." I had to pause, clenching my jaw, the lump in my throat making it hard to speak. "We can't survive out here."

"Look. Times are tough. This is very obvious. But if we just give up like that, it's no fault but our own."

He had a point, but I was already knee-deep in cynicism. I heard my voice croak. My vision blurred, "what's the point of trying if the reapers are just going to kill us anyway?"

A contrast to my disheartened, negative view, Max was optimistic. It was kind of refreshing. "That's not a point, nor an argument. Everyone dies at some point, nobody is immortal. That might happen, and I will do my best to avoid it, I certainly don't want to die, but if it happens, at least I can say that I tried my best."

Dully, I moved my head to peek out from beneath my hair, which had fell in a curtain around my face. A tight squeeze was in my chest as nostalgia washed through me. A memory echoed in my mind, and my heart sunk.

"Two wolves, Layla." His eyes twinkled, an encouraging smile curving his lips. "Who are you going to let win?"

Dammit, old man.

"I know, I know," I grumbled, more to myself than to Max. I stood, then reached my hand up toward him. I craned my neck, feeling the ache in my muscles. It's been a long day. "Little help?"

"Yeah, that would be great, thanks." He replied, taking my hand to help pull himself up.

I acted as though my mini break down didn't happen, placing my hands on my hips.

"So, where should we check now?"

"I don't know, if you have any ideas, any at all, they might be helpful. Even if you might think them as silly, who knows? The world is a silly place sometimes."

I had a few ideas.

Feeling my heart skip a beat, I shakily fidgeted. "There's the Blue Suns, they recruit people right? Dangerous but hey, beggars can't be choosers." I shook my head. "There's also another option, if you wanna be open minded."

"What's the other option? I know the Suns are recruiting, but I don't think something like that would be best for us right now."

"Aria." I blurted. "Her club."

"Afterlife, right? You think we could get work there?"

I shrugged. "It's worth a shot, we've tried everywhere else."

"That's true. I imagine it would be pretty good to get a job there, working under the person that basically runs the whole station must have its benefits."

"If we get the job."

"Right, and I suppose that is the big if." Max dusted himself off slightly, before continuing, "I suppose we should get going then, unless you have anything you want to do first."

"No, let's go."

So we did.

The minute my foot stepped into the club, warmth, sweat and the stench of booze engulfed me. Music drowned the entire place, bouncing off the walls. Afterlife always resembled a darker, grittier Chora's Den to me, specifically the roundness. The second noticeable thing was obviously the dancers, swaying and curving their bodies in a sultry manner atop the large, circular bar. It was hard to miss the scantily clad, blue women. Their skin tight outfits clinging to their fit bodies. I looked away when I received view of intimate areas I didn't really want to see.

If I wanted porn, I would've asked Max to bring it up on the omni-tool.

Craning my head, I took in the impressive structure. There was a second floor, featuring a huge opening in the center and more asari dancers that writhed and wiggled on a big ring suspended from the ceiling, snaking the large cylinder like a catwalk. It had a purple hue, glowing like a beacon amongst the bar.

Moving my neck back further, I saw a balcony coiling on the edge of the walls, flaming torches hanging from the rim.

At the back, which appeared guarded by two krogan and a couple turians, I could only assume was Aria's quarters that overlooked her bar. Afterlife fulfilled my expectations, and more.

"It's smells….urgh," I cringed, leaning back a bit and pinching my nose for a second or two. This is probably a lot more enjoyable for my male friend. "Musky."

"That is definitely one way to put it." Max stretched out slightly, turning to me. "So, what's the plan?"

"I'd say approach Aria but…" Nervously, I gulped. "I don't think we speak to her. I think she chooses who can even look at her, let alone have a conversation. So this may… prove difficult."

"I doubt she involves herself much if at all with regular staff. I think asking around the workers here would be a better plan than trying to go for the head honcho step one."

"Yes, we should do that." I agreed to his plan. "Should we do it together… or…?"

Max swiveled his head to peer down at me with a casual shrug. "Might as well go together, no reason not to."

"Okay, I say we approach her first." I pointed to the asari at the bar. Distinguishable facial tattoos, dark violet coating her lips. She was leaning over, hand swirling in a repetitive motion with a cloth between her fingers. "Ask her, then the other staff if she just says," I deepened my voice, mimicking the jerks that turned us down before, "no."

"I imagine she would know at least the right direction to push us in, and I doubt they will be openly hostile, bartending isn't exactly a job where you can get by if you are an ass to your customers."

I waved my arm outward. "Lead the way, maestro."

Max nodded. "Sure, I can do that." And he went over to the bar, trying as hard as possible to look approachable and upstanding. The asari bartender at least took notice of him, and went over.

"What'll it be?" She politely inquired, putting her cleaning cloth underneath the counter to give him her full attention. I peered around his arm, sending her a friendly, but tired smile.

"Well, work, if you have it. See, me and my friend here are looking for someplace where we can actually make money, and we were hoping Afterlife might be hiring. Would you be able to point us in the right direction?"

For the most part, her face was calmly stoic, not giving away to any irritation she may have been feeling like our previous potential employers. Her hand rose, pointing us to a turian who was sitting in a corner booth.

She nodded his way, response short but less harsh than others on this hellish rock. "Talk to Aetius,"

"Right, thanks." Max turned to me, "So, shall we go then?"

My answer was a silent nod, and we both sauntered over to this… Aetius.

Upon closer inspection, I noticed faint orange markings along his beige face. A particular shape between his eyes that resembled a diamond, along with streaks next to his mandibles. I noticed his razor-sharp amber eyes lazily moved to the movement in his peripheral, being us, before returning to his cards.

His companion, a barely modest asari dancer (I guessed they were all on break) slapped her cards down on the table, "fold."

"So easily, Zelana?" Amusement tinged his flanged, husky voice. The turian leaned back on his chair, talon resting along the arm of the seat.

"You cheat, you bastard." Her nose wrinkled, distasteful in demeanour. "I'm cutting my losses while I still can."

Aetius gave a low chuckle, mandibles twitching with mirth. He placed his playing cards along the table, face up. Zelana scoffed in aggravation at the result, shaking her head. She muttered something under her breath when the asari stood, giving up in this game.

"Good luck if you wanna gamble, kid." She briefly grunted my way, moving past.

"Are you here to play?" The raised question brought my attention back to the avian creature. He wasn't looking at me, merely shuffling his cards. He appeared casual, tone civil.

"Looking for work, actually. We were told to talk to you about it."

The mysterious turian nodded slowly, placing his cards down. Absent-mindedly, he waved his talon to the opposite seat, where the asari sat. "Take a seat."

I did as was told, parking my rear. I fidgeted in my spot when he stared me down, gaze piercing. My friend awkwardly stood behind me, seeing as there was only one chair. "Hi, Aetius. My name is Layla, this is my friend Max-"

"Unfortunately, Layla." He suddenly drawled, interjecting. My stomach fluttered anxiously, clammy hands folding in my lap. "We only have room for one more." His intense eyes drifted between us, "I count two of you."

"Oh, right. What would the job fully entail, if you don't mind me asking?" Max responded to the information quickly, trying to save face.

The turian straightened and clasped his six fingers, adopting a professional manner. "Usually I wouldn't waste time on fresh meat but recently an employee had an… incident." He droned, as if more irritated than concerned over this, "due to these events, we have an open audition for a new dancer, particularly for something new and…" his eyes scaled me, my breath hitched, "different."

"What about bartending?" I asked, suppressing the urge to bite into my lip. Different? As in a new species? I didn't see an awful lot of humans, mainly asari, so maybe...

"We're already full on bartenders." His light hearted statement dampened my excitement for getting both Max and I hired.

"You can't… are you sure-"

"I am certain," he cut me off, ungracious. He picked his cards back up, making the motions of intermixing them. "Reach a decision, and I'll make the arrangements for your audition with Aria."

Max breathed out, sounding a bit uncomfortable, "alright, we'll do that and get back to you."

The turian didn't react, ignoring his company. The chair creaked, the weight disappearing as I stood. I walked to the side with Max, and then stared up at him, uncertain.

"It's one job, and I'm not happy about it but it's something." I offered weakly. "But… what about you?"

"It's pretty obvious Aetius already made the decision, and I'm pretty sure male turian dancers are not exactly high in demand? I just want to make sure you are comfortable with this."

"I'd give it the old college try, if it's any consolation." I threw him a feeble grin.

In truth, no, I wasn't comfortable. But dancing was my passion back home, and I could probably integrate it into this as a way to get money. It wasn't the way I wanted to get a job or career with my dancing but it was food money, dammit, it was rent money.

We needed this.

I had to do it.

"I have to do this." I tried to speak with conviction, attempting not to wince.

"I just don't want you to feel like I'm forcing you to do this."

I shook my head. "This is my choice."

"Let's go inform Aetius then. Get it out of the way."

"Alright," we walked back, I leaned my hand on the table with a frown and opened my mouth.

He glanced up, and he already seemed to know my answer. Aetius spread his mandibles slightly. Due to my inexperience with alien expressions, I could only guess it was a smile, of some sort. "Excellant. I will arrange your audition. When are you next free?"

I literally have no life now, so eternally. "All the time, I'm unbelievably flexible."

At my words, his brows twitched and I realised how that sounded. My cheeks flamed, but he seemed unbothered. "How about-" there was a ping, he stopped and brought up his omni-tool. Aetius blinked a few times, sending a glance of to the side, "oh, hm, how about that. She'll see you now."

"Now?" I gaped, jaw falling slack. Right this minute?! Didn't I get to prep?! Why didn't I get time? How did she even know I was here to audition? Why was she bothering to take notice?!

My eyes snapped up to the back of the bar, and higher, to where Aria would be standing. I found someone, a silhouette I couldn't really make out from here, leaning along the wall facing my direction.

Is that… Aria?

"You just claimed you were flexible," he pointed out, "you don't want to keep Aria T'loak waiting, human. I'd hurry along if you want the job."

Sending Max a mildly distressed sideways glance, I took a deep breath and began to walk to her office, Aetius trailing behind me, Max stared after me. With every step, I felt like I was being weighed down to an anchor. My heart sunk, and I wondered why I was allowing myself into this.

We approached the back until a krogan came into view.

"Grak." Aetius's deep voice was startlingly louder, indicating his close proximity, but I didn't look at him. I could feel his arm brushing against mine. "This human is here to audition for Ba'sana's old position."

The krogan he addressed gave a rough snort when he caught sight of my figure. There was a light pressure on my lower back, nudging me forward. I obeyed. The bulky mass stepped toward me and I felt my heart skip a beat. Grak brought his omni-tool up, practically inches from my face. I squinted through the irritating light and questioned if he was doing it just to annoy me.

A miniature scale of my body drifted in a circular motion above his arm as he scanned me. It took longer than I anticipated, causing my nerves to jitter uneasily the more lengthy the wait became.

"Clean, take her through." He gruffly commanded to the turian behind me. Aetius complied, and I carefully counted backwards in my head in a fetal attempt to calm myself.

Calm, Layla. Don't cry. Don't scream. Don't freak out. Just keep calm and you'll get through this.

"This way." Aetius's rough mandibles brushed the side of my ear. Goosebumps spiked on the back of my neck.

He brought me to what looked like a lounge.

I nearly collapsed over my own feet.

The pirate queen of Omega slouched on the cushions, leg folded over the other whilst her arm comfortably rested on the spine of her couch. At first glance, she appeared relaxed, but if you looked again, you could see the ever so slightly tensing of her jaw. Her eyes were painfully alert and searching over her club. Her body ready and on guard for an attack, a pistol in her holster. Though I severely doubted she really needed it, if she was as powerful a biotic as she claimed.

Aetius cleared his throat, drawing her attention.

Her steely gaze fixed on me, and I nearly forgot how to breathe.

Aria T'loak.

Author's Notes

So here is an actual on time update! Crazy, I know. But anywho, it would seem that the team is so desperate for work that Layla is willing to essentially demean herself for money. While Max continues to be unemployed, like the 100% hero-I-swear that he is. Not that he hasn't tried of course, but there is still one job he knows is open, it's just a question of whether or not he is willing to take that colossal risk.

Anyway, this is author's notes, so I might as well write what I'm sure is the only reason people read these, being review responses.

Anon- Yeah, that's the most likely circumstance. Even if you buy yourself nice food it's just going to end up being the dog's anyway. How could somebody say no to a dog? Just not possible, I swears it.

Spiritstrike- She isn't doing great, no. But, due to just how dire the situation is, they don't really have the luxury of freaking out too much right now. And yeah, that Blue Suns offer. It's got pay, on the job training, the whole shebang. Just the whole problem of 'you will likely die'. I'm sure it will work out though, it must.

Toothless is best- It's a fair criticism of Max to be sure, but you have to understand Max and Layla are different people. Max is much more laid back and willing to accept a situation, while Layla is much more cautious and has a more difficult time coming to terms with a situation. It's also worth noting that neither of these traits are superior to the other, Max's more laid back attitude has allowed him to integrate himself into this world with ease, picking up a greater understanding of how to function, but on the other hand this could be to blame for situations like Layla getting mugged, as he is less able to see threats coming.

DrStache- Yeah, they seem to be able to function well enough for now. It's more of a question of just how long they can last until all the bad things really eat away at them, and whether or not they will come out the other side the same. And that's also true, Max hasn't really had a properly 'bad day' yet, though I'm just sure he will get some wacky unemployed hijinks.

See you guys next time, where things may or may not happen!