Chapter 17

"Begin."

I leant my torso forward, one leg extending out behind me mirroring the motion, until I was parallel to the floor. I extended my arms forward as I continued bending, my planted leg stretching more and more until I was almost bent in half with my extended leg now pointing directly up. That was as far as I could go with my leg planted, so I placed my hands on the floor and let my hips rotate forward in a slow, controlled motion keeping my legs steady until I was doing a front split in the air. I paused here, breathing slowly to regain the breath I lost in the initial movement.

I waited for about 10 seconds here, showing none of the strain doing so required. After this pause, I let my legs slowly move upwards till they met above me, leaving me in a full handstand. Maintaining this position was almost effortless for me now, an astonishing feet to me considering my initial struggles with it. Breathing in once more, I tensed my core tightly as I let my arms lower until my face almost touched the ground. I could see my reflection in the slightly polished floor, and my breath was bouncing back onto my face. I couldn't stay here long though, this was far more difficult to hold. In preparation for moving from it, I bent my legs, pulling my knees to my face as I curled my abdomen up, rounding my back. The moment I reached this position, I pushed up with my arms with all my might and lifting off the ground. I pulled my legs back, reversing the crunch I had going on forcefully enough to rotate my body in the air so that I met the ground with my hands once again. While doing so, I shot my legs out behind me, straightening them once more. My arms bent, flexing strongly to catch my momentum, and I successfully stopped my movement. My arms strained against the effort, wanting to let me fall but I didn't let them. Gritting my teeth, I maintained the position I was in, only my hands touching the ground with legs behind me in what I was told is a planche. To finish up, I let my legs move up and I returned to a full handstand. This I held for a final 10 seconds before I let one leg fall forward and one backwards into what my initial movement had been. Instead of waiting here though, I let my torso lean forward until it met the ground, curling over my body. The moment It touched the ground, I pulled my other leg forward rapidly, using the momentum it granted me to finish the rotation and leave me standing once more. Finally done, I let myself breath normally and groaned.

Cheering met my groan and I was soon surrounded by a blue wall of flesh, all hugging and cheering. I couldn't be bothered to move them even if I wanted to, so I just let the emotions wash over me. I had successfully done the routine, a really advanced one even harder than the one Bari had initially showed me 6 months ago. Seeing how far I had come, what I had achieved, it left me feeling satisfied and pleased.

I looked around me to see the Asari all still grouped around me, grins stretched across their faces. I could see Rialle, Peros, Mira and of course Bari. In the time I had been learning, I had gotten to know them all. They had been the most interested in Bari's actions with me, and they decided to help teach me as well. We had a somewhat rocky start, as they were all touchy people and were far too ready to hug or grab me. It took me a while to stop tensing up at their touches, but no one ever said anything about it which I was grateful for. Rielle was especially pleased about it, as she said it was 'good for me'. While I want to say I disagree, I appreciated the physical contact greatly and now looked forward to it. Somehow, they knew that as well because they somehow started doing it even more than before, even just when greeting me. They started with just pats on the shoulder and the like, they escalated.

"Well done Jack." Bari grinned at me, her eyes warm. "You've come a long way." I nodded in acknowledgment, but then a blue hand reached over and whacked her on the head.

"Come off it Bari, you damn well know you couldn't do that if you tried!" Peros chastised her. What? I looked over at Peros to find her looking exasperated, so I snapped my head back at Bari, whose face had frozen.

"What did she just say?"

"Ah. It's nothing, moving on." Bari waved her hand, seemingly unconcerned as she plastered a smile on her face. I didn't let her brush it off, grabbing said hand and holding it tightly so she couldn't escape.

"Let's see if I have this right. I've been working on a routine for the past month that you told me was the final step before beginning Jia'nor in full, and it's something you can't even do yourself?" my voice was eerily calm as I stared p at Bari. She shrunk back despite the height she had over me.

"…yeah?"

"That's what I thought." I sighed, then looked at the other girls standing around us watching eagerly, a glint in my eye.

"Girls." I ordered, and at once they all grabbed onto Bari, holding the struggling Asari tightly. Then, Peros began to dig her fingers into Bari's side. Bari's struggling increased even more, but to no effect, there would be no escape. Soon, the laughter began. I let this go on for a minute before I decided to be merciful.

"I think that's enough." The girls whined, but complied all the same. Bari was in a right state, tears streaming from her eyes and her top all rumpled from the assault of Peros' fingers. I watched as she caught her breath before she could finally talk.

"You already knew, didn't you?" she whined.

"Yep. I asked the girls a few days ago. They were all appalled at your actions, so were happy to assist in my revenge." I smirked at Bari. The others just started laughing at her plight but made no move to help, or even let her go for that matter

"Fine, I deserved that." She admitted, then looked up hopefully. "So, we good then?" I smiled at Bari warmly, she looked relieved, the tension in her shoulder's easing.

"Not yet."

Before Bari could react, she was once more entangled in the other's hands. This wasn't even my idea, it was theirs, but I was happy enough to go along with it. It was certainly amusing. I finally decided it was enough and waved the girls away. Peros pouted at that, her eyes pleading with me, but I ignored her. My lips may have twitched though.

"Now, I believe we can finally start the Jia'nor lessons then?"

"Yes!" Bari practically shouted form her relief.

"This wasn't exactly what I had in mind." I commented, staring at the upright pole suddenly present in the middle of the room. Bari stood beside me and clapped her hand on my shoulder.

"This is how it's always taught, the dancing part comes first. Why do you think most Asari dancers know Jia'nor, it's the first step in learning it. Admittedly, many never actually do any of said dancing professionally, but it's how it was initially developed and it has become tradition to learn it this way."

Bari then walked over to the pole and placed her hand on it. "This is the easiest part of learning the dance movements, the ones requiring a pole. It provides something to work off, as there are far more options when you are standing freely. Here, I'll demonstrate."

Bari then took hold of the pole more firmly and began to walk around it. She was slow at first, but after a moment she gripped the pole securely and flung herself, spinning around it rapidly. Then she began to do more than just spin. I watched Bari wrap her legs around it, hold herself upside down, use just her feet to support herself and more.

I … don't think this is terribly relevant to Jia'nor, no matter what Bari says … but it does look kind of fun, so I won't say anything. It might be traditional? I enjoyed the show for what it was, a display of Bari's skill, either way. Her movements were graceful and seductive at the same time, all of them were really. She walked in the same way, all the dancers did. It must have been something she learnt over time because she does it unconsciously. I've observed her long enough to see that the only times she isn't as controlled are when she's truly exhausted herself, or when she decided to do something silly. I wonder if I will eventually move like that, considering it's likely a result of what she's been teaching me. I'm not sure it will ever come to that, as I will never work as a dancer like she does, but I have already noticed some effects. I don't lose my balance anymore, really ever. I had good balance before, so the effect isn't enormous, but it'd easier to remain steady than before. I'd certainly noticed an effect in my fights with Aria as while I still only knew how to be a brawler, I had more options then before. The newfound flexibility and balance allowed me to strike at Aria in odd ways while in our close combat dance, more experience at battling her may have been a contributing factor. The added strength is helpful too, as Aria actually can't really block my blows anymore. The first time that happened had been a surprise, Aria raised her hands to block a kick of mine and was thrown back off her feet. She recovered quickly, but it was certainly fun for me. Well, it was fun before Aria stopped bothering to block. Turns out she doesn't really need to, as she can deflect and dodge everything I throw her way. It wasn't a perfect defence, but it made our fights annoying more than anything.

Bari finally finished showing off, cheeks flushed and breath heavy when she stepped away from the pole. Her eyes were dilated, and my face felt warm.

"Now it's your turn." She stepped towards me and grabbed my hand, pulling me forward and placing it on the pole she had been gyrating around, the other on my hip as she pulled and prodded me into the correct position.

"You fine with starting now, or do you need … a break?" Bari spoke into my ear, I could feel the skin on the back of my neck raise at the warm breath. Her hand felt incredibly hot on my waist, almost scorching. The skin to skin contact did something for me, her hand on my stomach bringing back memories. I had switched over to a top similar to Bari's ages ago, all the dancers used it really. With how much I had to contort myself sometimes, the singlet hadn't been able to handle the strain, it even split open on one memorable day. It had only split halfway down my back, but thinking back on the day still left me feeling embarrassed. It doesn't help the others had been there that day either, they kept reminding me of the event for weeks. It was my fault too, all the other dancers worked in similar tops but I had thought it was just a fashion choice at the time.

I ignored the flush that overtook me and nodded, keeping my eyes pointed away from Bari.

"If you're sure~" Bari trailed the hand down just a touch, but enough for me to notice. "You look a little red, you might be coming down with something" she peered at me with faux innocence. I nodded jerkily, after trying and failing to tell her I was fine. The squeak my voice let out never happened.

"Anything interesting happening with you?" Aria asked, reclined into her couch. I thought about her question, and some things came to mind. Some of the lessons with the dancers have been getting quite … suggestive. We had at least started learning the Jia'nor stances and movements after Bari decided I knew enough about the dancing aspect to get by, not that those lessons were over, those were the suggestive parts. To my surprise, the movements actually were pretty similar. What was also similar was the girls touching me as much as they could, all trying to get the best reaction out of me. The sudden grabs from behind were getting old, and the pile's they sometimes decided to form over me always had something getting grabbed. I'm going to have to something about that soon, I think my lessened reaction to it was making them escalate. They had been doing it long enough that I could hide my reaction somewhat. Doesn't mean I wasn't screaming inside. Yes, I will have my revenge, of that I have no doubt.

"No." Not telling her about any of that though, explaining it sounds just painful. Aria sighed next to me at my answer. Likely looking for more. Well tough, I now you're just trying to put off paperwork.

"I'm bored as shit. Can't you do anything to entertain me? Hell, how about a fight?" Aria sounded hopeful at that, which I'll admit is probably my fault. This wasn't the first time she had tried to use me as an excuse not to do her work, she was largely successful. What? … I got bored too.

"No. You have work to do. You have been putting it off for a week, and it's actually important this time." I really didn't want to be her glorified assistant, but Vassen had caught on that I was more able to get her to do anything than him. He didn't do it often, but when he asked for my help like this it was normally for a good reason. I didn't mind helping him too much, I could tell Aria was mostly just having fun annoying her employees. It was also interesting to watch, which is why I only helped when it was actually important. The last employee of Aria's that requested my help in getting her to do something was stared at for long enough that he ran away with a metaphorical tail between his legs. I'm not sure how they found out I helped Vassen, maybe he told them, but the information must have been distorted significantly for them to expect similar help.

I try to be helpful when I can, so sadly the initial fear held for my armoured presence has faded, so people were now willing to approach me. I wasn't exactly friendly, but people had gotten used to me enough that they no longer feared me, any more than normal for someone armed on Omega. I miss that, if I'm being honest. Staring people down was the best part of guarding Aria.

Lost in my thoughts, I almost didn't register the commotion happening below. I could hear screaming and crashing noises even over the club's music. Finally, something interesting. I straightened up from my position leaning against the wall at the same time Aria stood up, abandoning her work. Can't have that. I grabbed her shoulder before she could get anywhere, gripping it tightly. Aria turned to me frowning.

"You still have work to do." I pointed back at her abandoned data-pad, where Aria's eyes flickered.

"What? No! Screw that, there's a fight going on. I'm going to go deal with it." Aria scowled at me, frustrated. I paused, as if thinking about it, but instead I gathered some biotics and used it to lift Aria up and throw her into the chair. I'd caught her by surprise, so she just sat there and stared as I walked out of the room after secretly pressing the panic button inside it. The doors slammed shut behind me with a hiss, loud clunking audible.

I heard Aria pound at the door a few times before stopping, then her face appeared on my Omni-tool.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

"Protecting you of course." I replied, my voice remaining steady even as I supressed the mirth within me.

"We both know that's not why!" I held it in only for a moment longer before I began chuckling.

"I was bored too, and this is your punishment. You wasted too much time doing your work, so I'm just … encouraging you. In case you didn't notice, I hit the panic button." Aria's eyes widened in realisation.

"Oh, you bitch!"

"Have fun, I have to go settle the fight now that you're safe." I waved at the screen before closing the device. I could hear her screaming in fury at me from behind the door, rather impressive considering the sound proofing installed. I'm pretty sure the safety feature was installed before Aria took over, it was old enough. She only used it for secret 'meetings' which meant she wanted some time alone, either with someone own or by herself.

She was going to get me back for this, but all's fair in love and war. I had to keep her on her toes after all. Shaking away my amusement, mostly, I moved down to the floor and found a serious situation. I sobered up immediately, seeing how bad it was. Me and Aria had been joking around because this happened every now and then, if somewhat rare. That time as a bouncer was the first I saw, but they were never all that serious. Aria's staff was competent, so she let them handle it, and while my first time was worse than the average, the few I had been through since testament to that, this was different.

There were bodies scattered around the floor, some of them patrons and some of them employees. They were wearing proper armour too, but that hadn't saved them. Whoever was attacking this time was competent, especially as the firefight was still going on. I needed to stop this, now. We still had patrons scattered around the room, huddling behind any cover they could. I finally spotted who I was looking for, Vassen. He was crouched behind a pillar, taking pot-shots at what appeared like armoured mercenaries. If this was a gang, they weren't simple pirates. Vassen was stuck behind the pillar though, a decent amount of fire coming his way. He was one of the only ones still fighting back either, I could see many of Aria's employees huddling behind cover as well. I don't blame them myself, it isn't what they were trained for, or signed up for, and many had already fallen. These weren't her enforcers, they were just bouncers. They haven't had to go through what I had, hadn't known horror that far outstripped this like I do, and it's too much for them. I hope we don't lose them.

No use wasting time, I need to draw the attention of the assailants, the weaponry they were using was chewing away the cover Aria's people were hiding behind and it wouldn't last much longer. A few of the bodies were lying behind what used to be cover. Must be military grade weaponry. Whoever's behind this might have been seriously aiming to take over Omega itself.

I stepped forward from my shadowed position, right into clear view from across the club, and a biotic aura surged around me in a bright flash that ended when I slammed my hands together, the energy now surrounding me in a glowing, near-impenetrable barrier.

"Employees of Afterlife, fall back!"

I raised my voice enough to be heard over the din, but barely. What really drew attention was the massive flash of light from my barrier, I knew from experience it would be almost blinding in the dimly lit club.

My opposition was professional though, they began firing upon me immediately. I could feel the small impacts littered across my frame, largely accomplishing nothing. My armour was top of the range, with a top-notch barrier that Aria insisted I have. When I combined that with the barrier I currently held, there was little the handheld weaponry they had could do. It's a good thing there were no Krogan mixed up in this group though, their weapons would pose a serious danger to me.

I let the gunfire come unhindered, neither dodging nor shooting back. All I did was walk forward, my pace even, slow. There was a reason I was going about it this way I could see the other guards evacuating out of the corner of my eye. Moving from the insufficient cover they had. I'm not heartless, I don't want to see them dead and they have been kind to me in my time here. I hoped they had enough time, I couldn't give them too much. The barrier I currently held was strong, very strong, but wouldn't last long. I could only hold it for maybe a minute, and that was pushing it. My barrier may not be flickering to the eye, but that was through careful control, an Iron will and practice. I grit my teeth at the effort it took to maintain it, but regardless I was out of time.

"You disappoint me."

My words visibly effected the mercenaries in front of me, I saw many of them falter, glancing amongst themselves. Good, my bluff was working. Still, I had no time to waste so I stopped my walk and raised my hands, placing them together. I channelled more biotic energy into my hands then swept my hands around me, rotating my arms even as the ball in front of me grew. The motion was smooth, controlled, and fast. In half a second I formed the singularity and fired it at the centre of those I could see.

I didn't wait around to see what effect It had, leaping to the side and over one of the bars into a controlled roll, popping up into a crouch using the momentum it granted. I didn't know if there were any others not caught in my singularity, and my barrier broke, its duration finished. I hope everyone had gotten out of the firing zone, because they would be easy pickings now. I paused for a moment to centre myself, then I slammed my hands together once more. This time, the barrier wasn't nearly as strong, but this was something I could hold for far longer, maybe 10 minutes. That was a good thing, as the first one was far too energy intensive to use repeatedly.

Having reformed my shield, I stood up and observed the surroundings. There was a squirming pile of men orbiting my singularity, more than a dozen. That was a respectable number, but I remember seeing more than that. Where were they? My eyes flickered back and forth, searching. A flash of movement caught my eye, and I found a head poking around the doorway to the left of the main entrance before moving out of sight. I narrowed my eyes, that was a staff entrance to the main floor. What had been done with the staff?

I hopped over the bar, crouching to absorb the impact and soften the noise, then I stalked forward once I saw no one heading in my direction from the main entrance still blocked by the singularity. That would only last a little longer, hmm. I raised my right hand up, pointing it at the singularity, then waited till a gun poked out of the doorway. I shot of a small blast at the singularity, and it exploded brilliantly. Body parts flew everywhere, splattering the unfortunately damaged walls. Sorry Aria.

The distraction served its purpose though as the Turian paused in the doorway, gaping at the sight not noticing my dark clad form. I didn't let the chance go and pressed a button on my Omni-tool. A glowing blade extended from that arm, drawing the Turian's eye. He opened his mouth to warn the others undoubtedly behind him.

"urgk-"

Pity he didn't have the time to before my blade pierced through his throat, silencing him. It's job done, the blade flickered out of existence leaving behind a gaping hole. Omni-blades were fearsome things, hideously sharp but quite fragile. They could get handle two strikes if they were lucky, I had only once managed three.

"Contact!" another voice screamed from behind the dying Turian. There must have been 2 dozen of them tightly packed into the hallway but they could only fit two abreast, how unfortunate. I pressed another button and this time blades appeared on both arms, generated by the custom fabricators built into my armour. I also changed the setting to automatic, seeing the numbers before me. It was a present from Aria while I was an enforcer.

The gunfire was hitting my shields and I had no way to dodge, but I didn't need to. They weren't prepared to face me in close quarters. I lunged forward, swinging one arm through one of the outstretched guns and the other through a Salarian's torso. He fell with a gurgle, his blood splattering all over the wall and me. I didn't stop there though, I slashed, ripped, and tore my way through the hallway chopping off weapons, limbs and heads. I cut them all apart in a frenzy, it's been a while since I was able to do this, not since I was an enforcer. About three quarters of the way through, I ran out of the material that formed the blades but I had too much momentum to be stopped. Biotic energy surged through me as I punched a human's head hard enough that it split against the wall. Similar fates befell the rest, collapsed ribcages, torn off limbs and even a few broken necks laid behind me, a testament to my savagery.

I stood there, gazing upon the final mercenary, my armour dripping with blood and viscera and a Batarian crushed beneath my feet. The human fell to his knees before me, terrified, and I left him there for a moment before placing my hand before me and channelling more energy. Thrusting my hand up lifted the human up into the air where I held him, my hand steady. I needed information.

"Who sent you."

"I d-don't know~" he whimpered. Not good enough, I tightened my hand and increased the pressure on him, at least I would if I knew how. I could only hold him here, that was all my control was capable of. Instead, I lifted my other hand up and stroked his cheek, leaving behind a red streak, before grasping his throat. He choked at the action, struggling to breath.

"I said, who sent you!" I hissed at him, bringing my head close to him.

"Please! … I'm sorry, I don't know. I'm sorry … don't kill me, please don't kill me" he started to cry, and my anger left me. It left me feeling drained, weary. It had been so long since I'd done this, I … I thought I was no longer capable of it. Guess I was wrong, and I hated that about myself. The anger was given to me by them, and is still held sway over my mind even now.

He wasn't faking the breakdown, I could tell, the crying was too real. Looking at him closer, I saw how young her really was, a human my age. His face unmarked by battle or age, almost a child. Bitterness welled up within me, and I sighed. I know I should, but I didn't have it in me to finish him. No more dead children. No more.

Both of my hands dropped, as did he. He collapsed to the floor, breathing heavily and whimpering.

"Go." I muttered, staring at him. He only stared back, confused. You don't have time. I kicked him in the arm, pointing behind him.

"I said leave!" I roared. He flinched but jumped back to his feet and ran away from me, his weapon forgotten behind him. I just watched him go, unwilling to move. I remained there even after I could no longer hear him.

"Fury, come in. What's your status?" Vassen's voice filled my ear, he was one of the few with access to my communication channel. I gave it to him shortly after I became an enforcer, trusting him to not abuse it. I activated my com with the button on the side of my helmet.

"The situation should be handled. I have dealt with all the mercenaries I could find, but may have missed some stragglers."

"That's good then, I'll deal with it. You should return to Aria. Anything I should know while I have you?"

I glanced around me at the blood-soaked and damaged walls, the floor littered with corpses and thought back to the damaged entryway. He probably knew about the main entrance already, but not the hallway.

"… I'll take that as a yes?"

"The hallway to the staff area will require a clean-up."

"… Did you do it again?" Vassen was the one who normally cleaned up after me when I was an enforcer. He was one of the few who knew what I was capable of. At least those slaughter were justifiable, I knew what those monsters had done. I didn't know much about today's, for all I knew they were hired as a show of force. No, today … I was the monster.

"That's a yes then," He sighed, "I'll get a clean-up crew. Vassen out."

The conversation done, I turned around and walked back through the hallway. I didn't try too hard to avoid stepping on the corpses, it would have been difficult. I left the hallway behind me as I walked through the club properly, bloody footprints trailing behind me and dripping from my armour. It was no particularly distinct colour, the blood of the different races blending.

The club was almost silent for once, the music having been turned off. I could see a few of the patrons currently leaving the club, escorted out by the bouncers. They all gawked at me, stopping to stare in horror, but no-one said anything. Not even as I left a trail behind me that they would likely be cleaning up.

My steps almost echoed in the silence as I walked up the steps, finally alone as I entered the code in the door. It hissed open and I walked through to find a scowling Asari sitting directly opposite me, legs and arms crossed. Her frown increased when she caught sight of me.

"You enjoy yourself then?"

"No." I began to walk closer to her, but a raised hand stopped me.

"Don't come any closer until your armour is cleaned up. I don't want you staining my couch." Ah. Right. "What happened?"

"Mercenaries of some sort, they had military grade weapons. There was a few casualties on our side before I stepped in, but I don't know too much about that. I would ask Vassen for more details." Aria nodded.

"And how many casualties did the upstarts have?" I waved my hand at my dripping form, not feeling like answering verbally. A puddle was beginning to form beneath me. Aria leaned her head to the side. "A lot, then." I nodded and waited to see if she wanted anything else. Aria looked at me for a moment carefully, then her face became just a little less stiff.

"That'll be all then, go clean yourself up." She ordered, and I turned around to leave but just as I was, I heard her say one last thing behind me.

"And don't think you won't pay for locking me in like that."

Ah. Damn.

[POV: Aria]

I had gotten quite good at dealing with Fury's messes, sadly enough from practice. It has been a while since the last one but trust me when I say you remember these things.

"What's the count?"

"Our … our best guess is that there were … 38? … assailants. 2 of them escaped, 36 are dead and there's a chance a few more that were never on camera escaped as well." The quarrian shuddered, gagging at the sight before us. It wasn't a pretty one. We were standing at the beginning of the hallway filled with body parts.

Fury was a … creative painter. Blood her paint, walls her canvas. I can understand Treena's hesitance at the count. It's a bit hard to figure out when there's a pile of body pieces. Even ignoring the horror I'd become somewhat immune to, the pile was quite messy. The others working for me hadn't seen this before, and nothing prepares you for it. The first time, I just faked it even when I was as disturbed as everyone else was.

The staff was terrified of Fury now, having not known what she was capable of before. I know a few mouthy people who are going to be rocking themselves to sleep tonight. It always surprised me how much more easy-going Fury is compared to who she used to be. Sometimes I almost thought she wasn't the one wearing the armour, but my doubts have now been answered. She hadn't lost her touch either.

I'm actually quite blasé about this whole massacre, especially compared to the others. I had always known how powerful Fury could be, what with her stunt with the warehouse. That was before she had years of training at the hands of the Pirate Queen herself. If anything, she had more in her. What she had already shown was impressive, walking into a storm of gunfire and just calmly taking it? I know I didn't have the balls. Some of the rumours I was hearing are quite amusing though, apparently Fury is an Asari Matriarch who has trained all her life, some god embodied, or a monster staring at the reigns Aria held. People are afraid of her, but they are also in awe.

I doubt anybody but me even remembers the human bouncer who worked here years ago, a viscous little scamp who's solution to everything was punching it in the face. The tattoos she has now are different, but I personally think they're quite striking. She even learned to restrain her open hostility, well she can at least hide it better, I'm not quite sure. That plus the turnover rate Aria's employees have means there is no-one who would connect the tattooed girl with the fascination with the dancers and the armoured shadow of Aria. All the employees competent enough to remain under Aria's employment were all enforcers now, the ones who didn't hang around the club but instead policed the station. I suppose it's wise in the long term, but it sure made this attack a hassle.

"And how many were Fury's?" I wanted to know just how outclassed we were, I was curious. The Quarian fumbled her data pad, but swiped to another screen obediently enough. She's a shy girl, but competent. I always thought Quarians got a hard rap.

"There were 6 bodies that died from gunfire and remain whole. The rest … were in pieces, so … 32?"

"Yep, sounds about right from our girl." I chuckled. Thinking about some of the other massacres she'd committed. Bunching up really wasn't a good idea around Fury, pity they didn't know that.

"You know h-her?" Treena yelped.

"Yeah, I'm the one who normally cleans up after her. She was behind that spring of massacre's a while back, the one that ended child slavery here on Omega, you might have heard of it. She was very effective."

"That was her?"

"Yeah."

"Did she … have some help, or …?"

"Nope. People didn't really want to be near her when she worked. She restrained herself a bit today, possibly as a favour to Aria. The building were normally more damaged" I was told to hide how close the two are, I was more than fine doing so. Aria's been good to me, and it's always nice to be on good terms with someone like Fury. Doesn't hurt that I like the girl, might also be a bit proud I was the one who brought her to Aria. I've watched her come so far from who she used to be, watched her grow. I look forward to seeing who she becomes.

"This was restrained?" Treena muttered, giving a hysterical giggle. She then moved off to continue helping in the clean-up. I almost laughed at her words. I might have revealed a bit more information than I was meant to, but it was at Aria's request. Something about revenge…? Who knows what goes on in that mind. Though I do wonder what effect this is going to have for Fury's reputation, maybe we'll get some new ghost stories. Oh, I wonder if she could make that bloody Salarian cry! What's his name, Reilin? God I hope so. He's a prick.