Tela awkwardly shuffled as she and Rigel stood in the cargo bay, waiting for Nova to pilot them into Omega and drop them off.
"Rigel…I–"
"Don't worry about it." Rigel said, easily, his features obscured by his helmet. "I get it. Hearing about Oryx shook you up. We're good."
Tela looked like she wanted to say more, but the loading ramp began to lower. Rigel started walking down before it was even halfway extended.
"So where to?" Rigel said out loud as the Blind Well exited the hangar, returning to its place in orbit around Omega.
"I don't know." Tela said, having focused herself on the task at hand. "My leads didn't turn up anything useful, so I'm thinking we might just start smashing Eclipse bases. We might spook Jaroth, but we also have a better chance of learning where he is than by aimlessly wandering around the inside of an asteroid."
"Jaroth, huh? Hate that bastard."
Ace was in Rigel's hand and leveled at the voice in the shadows before he even registered who was talking.
"Woah, friend. We're on the same side." a turian in blue armor said, raising his hands placatingly.
"Care to prove that?" Rigel said, Ace still aimed directly at the turian's helmeted head.
"Mmm, well, I suppose I could tell you I have three snipers covering the area. Since I haven't given them the signal to take you out yet, I'd imagine we're friends."
Nova?
He's not lying.
Rigel cautiously looked up, seeing a sniper directly above the turian, a salarian in red armor, wave good-naturedly down at him. Rigel had no idea where the others were or if the one he'd seen was the extent of the turian's backup and he'd lied about the quantity.
"I guess we're friends then." Rigel said carefully, lowering Ace but not holstering it. "I have to admit, I'm curious about when we became friends."
The turian crossed his arms and leaned against the railing beside him. "It may not be the most stringent criteria, but people who blow up Blood Pack depots land themselves on my friend list."
"You saw us." Tela said, eyes narrowed.
The turian nodded. "That I did, spectre Vasir. I have to say, I didn't expect one of your types to take an interest in Omega. I was sure the council had written this place off."
"They have." Tela said, muscles tense as she slowly looked around for any other shooters. "I'm here tracking down a lead for another job. Time sensitive."
The turian chuckled, his shoulders shaking heartily. "Those are the most annoying jobs, aren't they?" He pushed off the railing, taking a few slow steps closer to Rigel and Tela, his hands very clearly away from his body. "Maybe we can help each other? I've been looking for some competent help to take out a right bastard. As luck would have it, we're after the same guy. That is, unless you're friends with Jaroth, then we might not be friends."
Rigel was careful not to make any hostile movements. "Far from it. We need to have a talk with him, but after that we're planning on killing him."
The turian reached up, pausing to splay his fingers wide as Rigel's hand twitched. When Ace stayed lowered, the turian brought his hands up to his head and pulled off his helmet. "I think this is going to be a mutually beneficial partnership. Name's Garrus Vakarian, but the people around here have taken to calling me Archangel."
Holstering Ace, Rigel reached up and removed his own helmet. "I'm Rigel. It seems you already know Tela."
"By reputation only, but I'm looking forward to working with you. I've had mixed luck with specters. Maybe you'll tip the scale in the right direction."
Tela scoffed. "I'm not Saren, Vakarian." Apparently she'd recognized him by reputation as well. "I'm not Shepard either, but I won't enlist a geth army to attack the Citadel."
The turian's mouth morphed into an expression Rigel guessed was a smile. "In that case, I'm sure we'll get along just fine."
X
"We're gonna need to draw him out." Garrus said as everyone huddled around a small map laid flat on a table. In addition to Rigel and Tela, Garrus had gathered together three people from his crew – the salarian Rigel had seen in the hangar, a batarian, and a second turian. "I can play bait, but if we drop a tip too obvious he'll know it's a trap."
"I'll handle that." Tela said, her arms crossed as she stared down at the map with calculating eyes. "I have a friend that does business with Eclipse on occasion. I'll get her to drop a tip and get him to come."
"Works for me." Garrus said, pointing out different locations on the map of the square down in the Kenzo district. They'd selected the location to limit the number of civilians in the area of the firefight. "I want snipers here and here. We'll need a group to draw their fire from this alley here."
"I'll handle it." Rigel said easily. "Keep your people back. I don't need the support."
Garrus looked at him, skeptical. "Look, I know you probably think you can take on the whole station after busting up that Blood Pack depot, but these guys are well trained and well equipped. They're a much different beast than a bunch of uncoordinated vorcha running around without shields."
"He can handle it." Tela said, drawing a surprised look from Garrus. "He beat a krogan with a shotgun in melee range. Trust me, he knows his own limits."
Garrus looked at Rigel again, reevaluating the human before him. "Alright then. We'll try it your way. But if you get killed, it's not on us."
Rigel shrugged, not caring about the danger.
Turning back to the map, Garrus made a considering sound. "While I'd like for him to only bring a small crew, he's not that stupid. His brother and that asari he's screwing will be there at the very least. It's safe to assume there'll be at least four or five more." The turian turned to Rigel with a curious eye. "Are you sure you're alright on your own? If we set up and you change your mind it'll be too late to help you."
"Leave the human be, Garrus." the other turian at the table said, exasperated. "If he wants to die, let him."
Rigel grinned at the turian. "Your vote of confidence is most appreciated."
The terrain glared at Rigel. "What? You think you're hot shit because you got lucky with a few grenades and managed to blow up a Blood Pack base before that krogan could gut you. You need to–"
"Sidonis," Garrus cut in tiredly. "He's working with a spectre that says he can handle it. Spectres don't partner with just anyone, believe me on that. We don't need to be at each other's throats hours before we're supposed to be watching each other's backs. Make sense?"
The now named Sidonis scoffed, pushing away from the table to storm off somewhere else in Archangel's mobile base. Understandably, Garrus hadn't wanted to bring Tela and Rigel back to their true hideout if they would only be working together for a single job.
Shaking his head, Garrus rolled up the map, turning to Tela. "Get in touch with your contact. I'll get my people in position to handle whatever nasty surprises Jaroth is sure to bring along." With that said, he left, the batarian and salarian falling into step behind him.
"Well they seem like a cohesive team." Tela commented dryly as they walked away from the small planning area they'd set up.
"So long as they don't run when the bullets start flying, I couldn't care less." Rigel said, turning around and walking away. "Get in touch with Jinass. I'm going to scope out the ambush site." he said over his shoulder.
"Rigel–" Tela started to say, but Nova pulled Rigel away with the Blind Well's transmat beacon.
How do you want to handle this? Nova said in Rigel's head as he rematerialized two blocks out from the ambush site.
Less lethal obviously. Rigel said back as he began walking down the street, his eyes peeled on the surrounding neighborhood as he looked for potential problems. It'll be hard to interrogate Jaroth if he's dead.
Sooo what should I get you?
Just Quickfang. I really need to make a rifle other than the Fugue when we get back to Mercury. I'll handle taking Jaroth alive with Stasis.
…Are you sure? I don't know if we can trust Garrus.
At this point, it's safe to say our poorly-disguised secret is out. Whether they'll think she's crazy or not, Tela's going to report everything she knows about us to the Citadel Council. We might as well stop holding back. At least until we stop this Minagen X3 fiasco. After that? Who knows.
It might be a good idea to grab some supplies and head back to Mercury. Jaroth should know where some Eclipse stashes are. We can loot everything useful from them and burn any drugs they might have left over.
Works for me. Rigel said, ducking into an alley to let Nova transmat his sword to him without drawing too much attention. If he was going to be playing bait, he needed short range options. Hopefully Archangel's people were competent enough to take out any ranged threats before they became too much trouble.
Rigel spent the next half hour or so scoping out the location they'd chosen for the ambush. It was a small pull away from a road that backup could only reach from two directions. There were sufficient structures to provide enough sharp-shooter positions. Though the ground itself was mostly clear, the buildings were close enough for Rigel to rapidly shift into cover if necessary.
Content that he'd familiarized himself with the area, Rigel ducked into an alley a block away from the site and knelt on the ground.
Keep an eye out for me, would ya?
Of course.
Rigel closed his eyes. His breathing grew slower, more controlled. Rigel focused on the dueling forces within him, pushing the Void away much to the energy's protest. Void had always been the power Rigel felt most connected to, but there were times he was required to make use of others. Arc and Solar, like Void, had been with him since he was reborn. The power he called to now was a far more recent acquisition.
Around a year ago, Rigel had received a call from an exo he'd never met or even heard of. Intrigued, he'd followed her directions to Europa where he met Drifter and Eris, both of whom had also received a summons. The strange exo revealed herself as Elsie Bray, the granddaughter of humanity's most brilliant psychopath. She'd offered the three Risen a power outside the Light of Rigel and the Drifter and the Hive sorceries Eris had enveloped herself in since the death of her ghost. A power intrinsically tied to the Darkness. Of course Rigel had accepted. Who wouldn't? It was new space magic.
Then that young wolf Saladin would never shut up about rolled through Europa, bringing with them the expected amount of explosions and conspiracies. Rigel had never met a trouble-magnet quite like that one, and he'd been around a long time.
Rigel had stayed long enough to say hello to Ana then left, opting to explore Stasis on his own while Europa self-destructed under a single Guardian's incessant need to turn every foe they faced into a new and exciting firearm. Not that Rigel couldn't relate of course, but he felt justified in leaving when he'd heard Taniks had somehow managed to come back to life again. That Fallen had more lives in him than some Risen Rigel had met.
Rigel inhaled a deep breath, feeling new powers fall into place deep within him as others faded. Opening his eyes, Rigel stood and rolled his neck.
Have we heard anything from Tela or Garrus?
Not yet. It's only been fifteen minutes.
I'm getting better. Rigel replied, feeling pleased.
The more time he spent using a certain power, the more easily he could summon it. After having spent so long enraptured in the Void, he could pull it back to him in the space of a breath. Solar took him around forty-five seconds. Arc took him just under five minutes. Stasis, as the newest and least used power in Rigel's arsenal, took the longest to summon.
Rigel peered out of the alley he'd sequestered himself in, his eyes finding no one around him. Content he was alone, Rigel pulled up his omni-tool and called Tela.
"Rigel?" Tela answered almost immediately, her voice speaking through the speakers in Rigel's helmet.
"Is everything set up?"
"Yeah. Jinass just got in contact with one of Jaroth's lackeys. Apparently knowing the location of Archangel is enough of a tip to talk to the control freak himself."
"And Jaroth wasn't suspicious?"
Tela snorted. "Not when Jinass demanded enough credits to buy and outfit a ship almost as large as your corvette. She's already picked up all her shit and booked transport to the Citadel. Jaroth will be here soon. Where are you?"
"Walking into the area now." Rigel said, cutting the connection as he entered the kill box. Looking with his eyes, the movement shielded by his helmet, Rigel scanned the various buildings and catwalks around the area for sharpshooters. Sure enough, Rigel was able to spot six armored figures half-hidden behind cover. Garrus and Tela weren't among those visible, but then again, Rigel figured they were more competent than Archangel's team. The majority of them seemed like ex-mercenaries trying to repent for a life of vile deeds or some other mistake. It wasn't hard to believe they were outperformed by Tela and Garrus.
Tela was obviously a Spectre, with all the skills, equipment, and training that entailed.
Garrus, though, was an oddity. Rigel didn't know much about him, but he carried himself, planned, and ordered his people around like a seasoned veteran. Tela had recognized his name. Maybe he'd ask her about him once all this was done.
I could also look him up when we're not expecting a fight if you're still curious.
If either of us remembers, go for it, but I'd much rather you focus your attention on Eclipse.
What am I? An amateur? I can multitask. Speaking of…you've got company at your seven.
"Risen." a familiar voice called suspiciously. "Given your most recent interactions with our organization, I suppose it makes sense you would throw in with Archangel. But I can't help but feel disappointed. You seemed like such a professional."
"What can I say, Jaroth?" Rigel called back as he turned around. "I got wise to the people I was dealing with." In addition to Jaroth himself, there were over a dozen Eclipse mercs, all asari except for Jaroth himself and the salarian immediately to his right, all equipped with shields and a diverse array of weapons.
Jaroth's eyes narrowed from behind a spectral, orange-hued overshield. "Where is Archangel?"
Rigel grinned behind his helmet. "Don't worry. We'll talk later."
Jaroth's eyes widened in shock as a pale-blue glow enveloped Rigel's fist. He moved to raise his pistol but was too slow.
Rigel disappeared from his space in the center of the small plaza and reappeared directly in front of Jaroth, already moving to slam his fist into Jaroth's head. His punch connected, transferring a blinding energy as it did.
Jaroth began to recoil from the blow; he rapidly slowed as light-blue crystals quickly encased his entire body.
"Stay." Rigel said, poking Jaroth's frozen forehead. Rigel teleported once more as the only other salarian with the Eclipse, lashed out with an omni-blade.
"You bastard!" the salarian bellowed, drawing a pistol and opening fire on Rigel as he reappeared.
The Eclipse mercs around the salarian overcame their shock at their boss becoming a living popsicle and raised their rifles to open fire on Rigel. Before any of them could get a shot off, the street beneath them exploded. Carefully-placed explosives were detonated by Archangel's team, throwing the asari out of formation and outright killing a few of them. As the asari began to scramble back to their feet, loud, clapping sniper rifle shots echoed around the area.
Rigel couldn't help the feeling of disappointment settling in his stomach as he easily deflected an omni-blade strike with Quickfang, retaliating to shatter the enraged salarian's barrier and impale him.
That's it?
Apparently abushes work really well when you're not fighting enemies that can teleport or Cabal that don't care that they have twenty bullet holes in them. Nova idly commented as sniper fire rained down on the asari mercs as they tried to flee.
Archangel's team emerged from the shadows and leapt from low-hanging roofs to give chase to the disarrayed asari.
Garrus himself ran by Rigel, pausing a moment to say, "Pleasure working with you. Please don't market that freezing tech." He lowered his head and sprinted after his team, shots ringing out in the direction they ran as they cut down the fleeing mercs.
"Well that was incredibly boring." Rigel said aloud.
An amused snort drew his attention as Tela's sniper rifle collapsed into the carrier on her shoulder.
"Not every gun fight involves a shotgun-wielding krogan or a burning building, Rigel. When you catch overzealous idiots off guard, it's actually rather easy to deal with them."
"Noted." Rigel said distractedly as he walked over to the Jaroth statue at the opening to the plaza. Rearing his fist back, Rigel punched the frozen salarian directly in the eye, causing the crystals immobilizing him to shatter.
Jaroth spilled to the ground with a howl of pain. The Stasis explosion hadn't killed him, but it had shredded his barriers and torn through his armor, impaling the salarian with a dozen crystal shards.
"Nova, hack into his omni-tool for me. He probably didn't store any info there, but you might find something fun." Rigel said as he idly kicked Jaroth's pistol away.
Already on it.
Jaroth began to slowly crawl away from Rigel, shaking arms dragging the rest of his body across the ground.
"Okay, this is just pathetic." Tela said as she stepped around Rigel. She kicked Jaroth in the shoulder, rolling the salarian's body over so he was lying on his back. "Hello, Jaroth. I need to ask you some questions."
"Fuck you, whore! I'm going to–"
Tela stomped on the salarian's face. "Now that's not very nice."
Sighing, Rigel pushed Tela aside and knelt down next to Jaroth. "Look, I'm a reasonable fellow, so just tell me where else you sent that Minagen X3 I sold you and I'll end you fast. If you don't, I'm turning you over to her." Rigel stuck a thumb over to indicate Tela.
Jaroth coughed, a smile growing on his lips despite the situation. "A little late for regrets, isn't it, Risen?"
Got it. He keeps a log of incoming and outgoing shipments. All of the Minagen X3 that wasn't sent to Illium was shipped to Urdak. I have the coordinates.
Rigel drew Ace and shot Jaroth between the eyes. He holstered his gun as fast as he drew it and began walking away.
"Rigel!" Tela yelled, looking between him and the dead salarian. "He didn't tell us anything!"
"He didn't need to." Rigel said, stopping to face her. "Nova pulled it from his omni-tool. Apparently he was too stupid to realize you don't carry a literal criminal record around with you on your arm. His loss, our gain. Were you going to accompany us or do you want to find a ride back to the Citadel from here?"
Tela blinked in surprise. "I thought we'd agreed we'd see this thing through together."
Rigel shrugged. "Together it is. Nova?"
Tela let out a surprised shout as she was enveloped in white light. When she and Rigel rematerialized aboard the Blind Well, her pistol was drawn, her head whipping around in search of threats.
"Transmat." Rigel explained simply. "Fasten yourself in. Urdak's close. I want to be there before Eclipse can send out a warning that Jaroth was killed. They might run."
Tela's jaw was hanging open as she fumbled to blindly holster her pistol, her gaze fixed on Rigel. "You have teleportation tech. That…it's all theoretical. How do you have working–"
"Were you going to sit down or do you want to be thrown around by the G's?" Rigel said over his shoulder as he took control of the ship from Nova.
Tela walked forward in a daze, falling into the copilot's seat as Rigel accelerated away from Omega towards Urdak. "Rigel…You have no idea how much this would change. You have no idea how many people you would help by sharing this. What else do you know? Your technology has to be more advanced if you have the capability to teleport organics and technology alike. I thought it was just one of your powers but–"
"Alright, I'm going to cut you off." Rigel said, his attention focused on flying the ship, his features hidden by his helmet. "Simply put, I don't trust your Council with any of my technology. Since I've arrived, I've been exposed to slavers; drug runners; a space station unlike anything I've ever seen controlled by a cabal of corrupt, power-hoarding, arrogant racists; and a galaxy too comfortable with its wealth to understand everything it has or what it would be like to lose it." Rigel turned to face Tela, his faceless helmet somehow emanating a cold rage. His voice was hard as he said, "You are too concerned with lobbying against each other to understand what will happen if you're actually able to overcome the other. Everything will be destroyed. If I were to give you anything from my home, whoever received it would hoard it and use it to gain a frightening level of superiority over the other Council races. I've seen what interplanetary war between entire species is like. I will not facilitate an interstellar war between species just so you can have something shiny to show to your bosses."
Tela recoiled as if she'd been slapped. "Rigel, do you seriously think I want that? I'm not an idiot." Her voice picked up as anger overcame her. "We aren't ignorant children reaching towards a flame, unable to even conceive of the fact we'll be burned. We would have to control the distribution so no one who…what?" Tela demanded as Rigel began to laugh.
He shook his head, looking back out the viewport as he pushed the ship to accelerate. "I can't even count the number of times I've heard some variation of 'I'm the only one who can be trusted with X'. Every time it ends in disaster."
Tela narrowed her eyes as she stood up, her expression angry. "Let me know when we're five minutes out from Urdak." she said, steadying herself with an iron grip on the rails built into the walls to help the crew move about mid-flight as the interior of the ship shook from course corrections. "I need to cool off."
Rigel stared forward, pushing the engines a little harder to get the ship to Urdak as fast as possible so he could put this nightmare behind him.