"Mycerra, do you know where my boots are?" Amani asked from the bedroom.
"I think you left them in the bathroom." Mycerra answered.
"Is the Challenger really going to be at the dinner?" Amani asked as she moved across the apartment. "Of all the people to ask for your help, it's his mechanic."
She considered the many people she crossed paths with in the last eight months. She met powerful people during the post-reaper world affairs. Garrus Vakarian, Primarch Victus, Titus Deltano, Calun Dravis, Nihlus Kryik, Edwin Haestrom, Aria T'Loak, Lotticia Hinder, and now Hadrian Yanus 'the Champion.'
She knew people by sheer coincidence.
"Omega to Mycerra." Amani snapped her fingers in front of Mycerra's face.
Mycerra blinked. A foot from Mycerra, Amani stood. "Apparently The Champion knows all about you." She said carefully, hiding her jealousy. "He has a cousin you helped save."
"I did?" Amani slipped into her casual boots Mycerra bought her as an apology for flipping out at the planned dinner several nights ago.
Aria refused to talk to Mycerra and Mycerra refused to talk to Aria. To make matters worse, Lotticia Hinder placed a crew member on her tail. It made working with the Collective difficult, and Mycerra warned the group she'd have to step back until she found a way to not endanger their wellbeing. Voss sent her an image of the red sand dealer who sold the red sand his uncle overdosed on. She promised to handle that business agreement in short order provided the man was still on Omega.
"Apparently." She smiled. "You'll have that autograph after all."
"You think he'll take us for a ride in his sky car?" She asked hopefully.
Mycerra laughed. "If he does, I won't say no." She looked forward to the idea of having someone capable behind the wheel of a vehicle primed for fast speeds. The ghost of fun lingered on the horizon for the overworked, overstressed women.
"How is Bohai?"
"Better. Him and Tallyn aren't talking but give it a week or three. They're young men. They'll get over it." She shrugged off the stupidness of everyone involved. "He likes working for Inos. He's happier working at the cinema. I think he's going to try and seriously work there for the next six months."
"I hope he finds his niche." Amani kissed Mycerra's cheek. "Are you ready, Tiamna?"
"We're okay, right?" Mycerra asked for the umpteenth time since apologizing. "If we're not, you can tell me. I'd understand."
Amani hugged her. "My aunt and my mother are convinced I should keep the baby here. I told them to keep out of it."
"Why are they so afraid of me?" Mycerra asked in genuine confusion. "Your mother doesn't even know me."
"I'm not known for the best decisions." Amani cleared her throat. "Don't worry about it."
"But I do worry about it. I don't care about your history, Amani. I'm not going to leave you."
"We have a friendly dinner to go to, and I was promised to meet the Champion." Amani ended the conversation before it lifted off and sunk their plans for the evening.
Amani's omni tool pinged.
"Work?" Mycerra asked.
She shook her head. "Tonight is about us. Being normal people. Now go." Amani rubbed her hands together in glee.
Mycerra stepped out of the apartment. Amani's eagerness rubbed off on Mycerra gradually. She looked back into the space they shared. The loaded memories the apartment possessed mocked her. She dispelled biotic energy, the nerves kicking up with the ghost of fun playing against the idea that with good evil always loomed close.
"The Champion." Amani said in awe. "And he's impressed with me?"
Mycerra laughed. "First time?"
"Oh, this happened to you before?" Amani shot back playfully.
She nodded. "It felt weird at first. You helped me realize what they saw in me."
"And what was that?" Amani asked.
Mycerra put her arm around Amani's offered arm. "It's not the outcome that matters as much as the effort. Success makes people believe, but trust builds the foundation. When everything is dark and you need a light, you cling to the one person pushing back. I happened to be that one person."
"And Wei Bohai?"
Mycerra laughed shakily.
"Boss, what's the plan today?" Amani mimicked Bohai. "Boss, I'll clean your weapon for you."
She squeezed Amani's elbow. "You sound jealous."
"I'm not jealous." She protested. "Who needs a loyal lab assistant? Certainly not me."
"It's not easy being someone people look up to." Mycerra said. "You can't slip up. Knowing who looks up to you makes it easier to dance the dance, but when it's more than a few people, you really must be perfect."
"Or choose not to care about the consequences of being imperfect." Amani suggested.
They walked in silence to the taxi stop and rode in comfortable silence to Mannis's ground floor apartment.
Mannis greeted Mycerra with a shoulder tap. He shook Amani's hand. "It's a pleasure to finally meet the other half of this crazy human."
"Crazy? Her?" Amani asked in wonder. "Do tell."
Mycerra gave Mannis a warning look.
"Ignore her." Amani encouraged.
"At your own peril." She lightly warned Mannis.
He bowed his head to Amani. "All I can say is biotics are incredibly useful."
"Yes." Amani locked eyes with Mycerra. "They are."
"Make yourself at home. No need to take your shoes off." Mannis moved aside for them. Mycerra allowed Amani to enter first.
She locked arms with Mannis. "You can tell her whatever you want. I'm already on Aria's naughty list." She whispered to him.
He held her in place. "We don't rat out partners." He whispered.
He let her go. She patted his shoulder. The apartment smelled like a mechanic's garage mixed with cleaning agents attempting to mask the smell. Most of the apartment looked like a stock apartment furnished with basic furniture. She failed to find clutter, a well-worn spot on the couch, or a stained surface on the kitchen table – nothing to indicate the space was lived in.
"Hadrian should be right behind you." Mannis told them. "Amani, we have non-alcoholic drinks in the fridge."
"So thoughtful." Amani smiled in his direction.
Mycerra decided she liked turians. They always proved themselves to be the proudest and most honorable – and to date, most thoughtful – of races.
The bell dinged. Amani hovered near the fridge; eyes hooked on the door. Mannis blocked the front door and prevented her from spotting the celebrated racer. Mycerra threw her arms around Amani and anchored her to the spot.
"You're too adorable right now." She said.
Amani relaxed. "This is the Champion. He has a record of eighty-nine wins versus twelve losses on the record. He is the man to take down. Everyone bets on him. He's one of the most protected people on Omega. Rumor had he was engaged to an asari movie star from Thessia before the Reaper War."
"Movie star, huh?"
"Stop that."
"Which one?" She asked seriously.
Amani closed her eyes and thought. "Emolla D'Yin. She starred in a lot of C-list movies until one became a cult classic. Then she launched into B-list and broke into the A-list movies when the reapers attacked. No one knows if she survived the war."
"I take it she visited Omega at one point?"
"I think they were engaged before Omega. He came to Omega to continue his racing career."
They stopped talking when Mannis stepped aside.
Mycerra sized up the turian she only saw pictures of on the extranet. Bare faced. The lack of tattoos on his face struck her as alien and unnatural. After a few seconds, her mind adapted to the oddity and accepted it as a possibility. Darker gray toned, he looked every bit as handsome as every turian she laid eyes on.
He walked right to Amani. "You must be Gadriel's favorite chemist."
Amani spaced.
Mycerra lifted Amani's hand to meet Hadrian's. "She's a big admirer."
"I- "
He pumped the handshake, all smiles. "It's fine. I'm glad I could meet you. He wouldn't be alive if it weren't for your skills and knowledge."
"Which organization is he apart of?" Mycerra asked.
"Blue Suns." Hadrian answered. "My cousin says the ranks are shaking up, but he's not trying to rise to the top in these volatile times."
She cleared her throat. "Probably best that way to be honest."
"Should we talk later?" He asked in a faux whisper.
She shook her head. "I'm sure he knows more than he's told you. It should be fine if he's smart as you think he is." She flashed an OK sign.
Mannis tore Hadrian away to show him the car. Amani followed. Mycerra answered the door five minutes later and welcomed Brom into the apartment. She pulled out the ingredients for the mixed drinks. Brom lined up the glasses. They worked without comment.
"You're too good at this." Brom said to Mycerra, watching her vigorously mix the drinks in the shaker.
"Aria showed me a few tricks. That woman loves her drinks." She answered and watched him slice lemons and limes. Specifically, she watched the way he worked his three fingered hands. "Do you ever think about what it would be like to have five fingers instead of three?"
"That's an odd question."
She mimicked his hand shape to the best of her ability. It felt weird.
"How well do you know Aria T'Loak?" Brom asked.
She resumed pouring the drinks. "Amani is a valued chemist she relies on. We talk out of necessity, not because I like her." A partial lie, she admitted. Aria T'Loak grew on her. She respected the woman for controlling Omega. She hated how Aria used people.
"And her replacement?"
"Hinder can jump off a cliff and land on boulders. Why? What's the word on Hinder?"
He placed lemon slices on Mycerra and Amani's drinks. "She beat several Blood Pack members to death with her bare hands. And peeled back the plate of a krogan's chest. Left the krogan to die."
"Why so brutal?" She washed her hands and wiped the counter clean.
"That's how you make a name for yourself on Omega." He answered. "No one knows what her political leanings are. That scares people."
"The fact she pried a krogan's front plate off isn't as scary as not knowing what her political leanings are?" Mycerra asked skeptically.
He nodded. "You must look at it from the perspective of someone who chooses to live on Omega. Aria T'Loak represents stability. She keeps the merc gangs in check. Once she's gone, it'll be warfare. Unless her replacement can keep the groups in line. Omega is more than Eclipse, Blood Pack, and The Blue Suns. It's more than the smaller groups that try to make a name for themselves. It has people who have nowhere else to go or a way off this station. People who genuinely call this place home."
"Lawless Omega can become a nightmare if Hinder enforces laws that affect people." Mycerra summed up.
He hesitated.
"You think that with a population accustomed to making their own decisions, the sudden enforcement of laws will cause disruption and rebellion." She pushed.
"As you said." He allowed.
She leaned on the counter. "Brom, we're in the privacy of a friend's home. You don't have to hedge around truths and opinions here."
"You're human. You're prone to defying the establishment." He nitpicked.
She shrugged. "You're allowed to have opinions on if something is good or bad for the whole."
"You're not turian. You don't understand."
"Bromitus, how dare thee accuse me of not understanding without trying to explain it to me." She shook a finger at him and smiled. "I think I understand. You have this ingrained respect for the law that to criticize it is considered heresy."
He sipped his dextro-based cocktail.
"I have lived with a few turians for- "She counted on her fingers. "Four months before I set foot on Omega. I think I've learned a thing or two about them."
"A thing or two?" He challenged, relaxing.
She smiled ear to ear. "Oh, the stories I could tell of all the orgies- "
Brom burst into laughter.
"There's this army general, turian, who helped me lead Haven 1. He helped me with a lot of challenging decisions. The people that survived crashlanding to Earth were a mixed bag. Antonia and Cecilia had my back. Women stick together, hoorah." She cocked her ear toward that the door that connected to the garage. Amani gushed over the sky car in the middle of body work and an engine rebuild. "There were a few racists among the crew, but that's unavoidable."
"There's a generally accepted code that if you accomplish the mission, what you do off the clock is ignored." Brom explained. ", this means your general could be a red sand user and it wouldn't matter unless he ran up debts and endangered the lives of his soldiers."
"Deltano was not a red sand user." Mycerra snapped.
"It was an example." Brom raised his hand to stall off the argument.
They both turned their heads toward the far door that connected to the garage.
Amani squealed in pure delight.
"You may have to leave here tonight a single woman." Brom teased.
She shrugged. "That's okay. I have the exotic appeal." She smirked.
"I don't know. He is THE Champion."
"Eh. I'm the one who's giving her exactly what she wants between the sheets."
"Hm, I've heard rumors about the Champion between the sheets too."
Her brow lifted. Brom laughed. She laughed. They clinked drinks together.
"Let her have this moment. She has too much tension on her already." She whispered to Brom. "Besides, I don't think it's just Amani geeking out in that garage. I think the Champion is too."
Brom leaned backward against the opposite counter. "Quincent's aim has improved at the range. He can assemble and disassemble an assault rifle in two minutes. I'm trying to convince him to join the turian military."
"Well, if Craid becomes a pilot and Quincent becomes a turian soldier, that's two successes Omega can claim." She allowed herself to believe in the good, the rare moments Omega produced something to crow about.
The door opened.
They turned toward the trio advancing toward them.
"Hadrian offered to drive me around the Doson Racetrack and Abbercroft Racetrack." Amani explained all smiles. "We have free tickets to the private charity race next month."
Mycerra sipped her drink instead of reminding Amani it was a PR stunt.
"Aria T'Loak and Lotticia Hinder will be there, so we'll have to be seated separately, but- "She clapped her hands together. Mycerra put down her drink and held out Amani's drink to her. Amani accepted it. "-we have seats for an exclusive event with high security. So, you don't have to bring your shotgun and we can dress up for the event."
"Hammy has my back at all times."
"No Hammy at the race."
"But- "
"No." Amani held up a finger. "No Hammy or armor at the race."
Mycerra turned to Brom for support. He embraced his drink. Mannis handed Hadrian Yanus's drink to him. "I'm glad you made it." Mannis raised his drink to Mycerra. "We might actually make progress on the body work tonight."
"No noise complaints?" Mycerra asked.
"I had Hadrian talk to them." Mannis winked.
She laughed. "Alright, alright…you smooth bastards. Let's do this. Amani, don't forget your breather mask."
Amani lifted the breathing mask from within her tunic collar.
"What's first, Mannis?"
"You're omni tool is the best for micro patching the bumper. How much more memory space do you have in it?" Mannis demanded of Mycerra.
"Don't worry about it." Mycerra shook off his concern. "Just know it works as intended."
"You're crazy. And I live for it."
"As long as I don't live for the crazy, it's all good." She kissed Amani's cheek in passing. "Alright, let's do this before I get too drunk, and the food ends up burned because none of us are sober enough to cook."
Hadrian nipped at her heels in anticipation.
Mannis and Brom sandwiched Amani. "We'll keep her from losing a hand. But we're curious which one you prefer she'd keep – left or right."
"Both." Amani informed both.
"Alright, alright." Brom played along. "Hey, Colton, Good news. You keep both hands."
Mycerra flicked them off.
"I hear you don't bet at the races." Hadrian made small talk.
The sky car dominated most of the garage. A small table off to the side held a bumper. Cubicle storage on the other side limited mobility. Amani stayed back with Mannis and Brom. She cleaned metal parts with gloves while they weighed the parts.
She moved toward the table with the bumper mid repair. "Never had much use for my money before Omega. I used to work for a billionaire. Babysat his son. Never stayed in my apartment to dress it up, never had time to wear flashy clothing, and his dad owned all the shuttles and cars. Then the Reapers hit. Worked up from rubble. Omega is the first place credits mattered."
"And you can never keep ahead of the damage to your armor and weapons." He said knowingly.
"I think I purchased two bio amps since my arrival. Burned out an aftermarket bio amp. Bought a legitimate amp, been coasting on that one since." She activated her omni tool. "Amani says Tiamna should be tattooed on my forehead. It's not my fault I want people to have good lives."
He stood off to the side without lifting a finger to help.
She went work without instruction. Her omni tool patched the holes in the metal bit by bit. They chatted about his race record, his racing sky car, traded trash talk with Mannis and Brom, Amani occasionally throwing in her own offbeat comment. Somewhere in the middle of attaching the bumper onto the vehicle and taking pictures, Amani slipped off to the kitchen to cook for everyone. They ended the night with more drinks. Hadrian drove Mycerra and Amani back to their apartment, Brom choosing to stay at Mannis's apartment.
"Remind me- "Amani clung onto Hadrian's arm. "-to give you a few extra bangs for your brother."
"Tonight was amazing. We really should do it again." Mycerra agreed.
"Sometimes it's good to touch roots." Hadrian agreed. "Well met, Colton, Well met."
"Hey, next time we bet credits on you, and you lose, you owe us." Mycerra joked. "Watch after yourself, Champ. Nothing but love from this couple."
He blushed and walked them to the elevator. They parted at the elevator.
"That was a-mazing. I am no longer mad at you." Amani promised Mycerra.
Mycerra threw her arm around Amani. "I never wanted you in the middle of it."
"I know. It's not your fault and you should be paid for what Hinder wants from you."
"Fuck that bitch."
"You can't like everyone."
"Fuck. That. Bitch." Mycerra grit her teeth. "I'd have less qualms of working with her if she paid me. And for that matter, Aria. I can't keep taking gear, fixing it, flipping it for credits. I need to do better than that."
Amani leaned on her. "I know."
"We good?"
"We're perfect." Amani purred. "And you're not as drunk as you should be."
Mycerra unlocked the door and lifted Amani in her arms. Amani wrapped her arms around her neck. "You're going to complain about that now?" Mycerra demanded impishly.
The door closed behind them.
A new normal settled for Mycerra and Amani. Bohai stayed for dinner twice a night. Mycerra and Amani attended the Doson Cinema once biweekly. Lenaye Ysett visited for two days Mycerra and Bohai attended to Collective business. Amani assured Mycerra after the visit that they had nothing to worry about. Aria and Lenaye would stay out of it, Amani promised.
For a brief month, nothing happened.
Bohai completed his service to Inos without a smudge on the record. Baccus recommended Bohai for a pay raise and a part time job at the cinema. Bohai agreed to take the part time job after a second's consideration.
Then Omega crashed the peace.
During a walk to school, Craid told her about tickets his mother purchased. She passed on the information to Hadar after dropping Craid and his friends at school.
She paid the customary price for the varren strips.
"Hadar, I know you said you were tossing the idea of living on a colony around, but I never heard you mention going to Kar'shan."
"Why would I want to return to Kar'shan?" Hadar argued and dropped another basket of varren strips for the next customer. He short handed a ticket and signaled the next person in line he was on top their order. "How long have we talked? Nine months?"
She stood off to the side, tasted the strips, and drowned herself in the flavor.
The truth nagged at her.
"Hadar, feel free to ask Yusa yourself, but according to Craid, she bought two tickets to Kar'shan. Craid walked in on her talking about it to your neighbor."
Hadar scoffed.
"I've been watching her too. Not because I don't trust her, because reapers know I want to trust her." She placed the strips on the countertop. "Bohai overheard the pirates that kidnapped Craid and his friends. Heard the name Yusa. We investigated records on Omega. Yusa Voldek and Yussa Grai. Yussa Grai is nonexistent. The Maw's records are spotty. Tallyn and Bohai couldn't make sense of the bits left in the system."
He worked and listened.
"Things didn't add up. When we returned Craid, she didn't seem happy about it. She didn't like that we were walking Craid to and from school. Still doesn't."
"She thinks Craid needs to learn life skills. Being soft on him won't toughen him up."
"Every second doesn't need to be a battle, Hadar. When people are raised like that, they don't get a childhood. They don't have a moment to breathe and realize the world isn't a total shitshow waiting to kill you. People are allowed peace."
He hand motioned for her to stop and handed over food to the customer, cleared the ticket, and started another. It all flowed smoothly. She envied his precision. With a brief gap between the fryer, flipping toasted buns, he turned to her. "I trust you have better evidence?" He demanded.
"I've been watching her. I wanted to confirm the reports before I brought accusations. She leads a double life, Hadar. While you work all day, she colludes with pirates and slavers. Don't misunderstand me. I know people do crappy things to survive on this station. I'm prime candidate one for that corruption. But she's colluding with pirates and slavers. I can send you the videos as proof. She's talking about visiting Kar'shan. She's distancing herself from the neighbors. I didn't think much of it, but then Craid mentioned two tickets to Kar'shan, not three."
"Send me the videos."
"Craid's at school."
"With all due respect, Colton, this isn't your fight. Thank you but stay out of it." Hadar ordered.
She grabbed her varren strips. "I was just trying to help." She announced.
"Your help has been received." Hadar coldly dismissed her.
She sent him the videos via omni tool. "Knock yourself out. You know how to contact me if you need my help." Her gut sunk and twisted.
She meandered along a familiar path. Passing the clinic Dr. Parsi used to work at, she caught her reflection in the shined metal and admired the toned figure she honed and maintained. Her gut twisted. She turned away, feeling lost again, yearning for Earth.
Sinking onto a nearby bench near the taxi stop, she opened her email and sorted through the spam email. Ads for Enkindling Lubrications, Elkoss Combine, Labbina's Used Sky Cars, and the best snacks on Omega filled the spam box. She deleted it all.
She held off on accessing the emails from Wei Bohai out of respect to his embarrassment.
With nothing to lose, time drowning her, patience's leash shortening by the second, she opened the emails. She started from the beginning. She starred the ones with daily reports, determined to read them when time permitted. People passed by, no one taking a great deal of notice of the solitary human seated on the bench an abnormally long time. She looked up to find Lierra standing in front of her.
"Are you okay?" She asked the young asari.
"Are you?" Lierra shot back. "This isn't where you normally sit and rest."
Mycerra patted the spot on the bench next to her. Lierra sat. "Five months. Five months until I can leave for Earth. Then I'll have to wait four years before Amani can join me on Earth to help raise Tia."
"You knew this before."
"It's stupid how lonely you can feel when you have the world at your back, right?" Mycerra said. "I can't explain it. It just is."
Lierra tossed a singularity from hand to hand. "And nothing anyone says seems to make it better?"
"On the head. What brings you to my moment of reflection?"
"Wilmak and Tallyn joined Hinder's crew. Voss, Taya, and I are thinking about leaving Omega." She shared. "I wanted to warn you before we left."
"Where to?" Mycerra asked.
"A colony. They're going to need people who know how to set up infrastructure. We've seen and experienced everything on Omega. Should be easy for us."
"I wish you well, Lierra." A hollowness attacked Mycerra, the feeling all too familiar to her from a distant past.
"Thank you." She dismissed the singularity bouncing palm to palm. "Tallyn and Wilmak handed over all our camera locations. We've abandoned the hideout. After today, there is no Collective."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Mycerra said sincerely. "If you need to keep in touch- "
"-we have your contact information." Lierra finished smugly. "I know. It feels like yesterday we first met. Hard to believe in five months it'll be a year since your arrival."
She walked down memory lane. A full year. How much changed at Haven 1? How much stayed the same?
"Could you tell Bohai we - we left him a parting present at his apartment?" Lierra asked.
Mycerra nodded. "I'll pass on the message."
"It was a pleasure working with you." Lierra held out her hand.
Mycerra shook it. "Bohai is going places in the world. Try to keep in touch with him." She advised the young asari.
Lierra walked away.
Mycerra sunk deeper into the loneliness.
She didn't belong here. She belonged on Earth.
She prayed Voss, Taya, and Lierra found peace in their next foot of life.