"It's about time Tatarum fucking paid. Smile for the camera while I rip your shell clean off your body."
A tad obsessed with someone who probably didn't know you existed, but that hardly mattered now. He knew he bit off more than he could chew when took this assignment from the Blue Suns. To be the rat in a Blue Sun branch who was acting without the permission or the authority of the big bosses at the top – smart, but ultimately suicidal when the one you were supposed to be ratting out successfully ran a rogue branch for a reason.
The paranoid ones always found out. And Relya was one particularly paranoid bitch.
Her temples scrunched and her eyes lit with fire as she approached him, barrel pointing straight down his gullet. That wicked smile she wielded probably meant she intended to make good on that promise.
"Stop! P-please!" he pleaded, his hands struggling against the barriers she placed around them. "They forced me to, I am sorry, just have a heart, please!"
"Oh, now you have the gall to say sorry after what you've done?! I am a walking, talking corpse!" spat Relya. "And to think that such a pitiful coward of a Krogan managed to go unnoticed for so long, under my watch. That changes today, you fuck."
He struggled and struggled to find any sort of weakness in her biotics, only to come out short. That's centuries of experience for you. It conditioned you.
As if to be dramatic, she stalked up to his body like a predator about to pounce.
There was no Tatarum to swoop in and save the day, no Ganar to give him tips and tricks to survive as a solo.
Given how little he was moving, she probably thought that Kakmar had frozen up for good.
As always, the number one thing that Tatarum emphasised again and again was to be unassuming. Your ego was the most dangerous factor in deciding whether you lived or copped a bullet to the brain. For a whelp such as him who lacked the raw firepower to charge into the fray head-on, this was his most valuable asset.
So he appealed to her vengeance, her ego – the need to control. She probably thought that giving him a slow death was the course correction she needed to soothe her ego's own gaping wound.
She paid the ultimate price. The scared rookie, after all, was an act. Concentrating small bursts of biotics with Ganar paid off big. Just a little bit more pressure and the screws holding the capony above them would come undone.
Good thing that the structures of Omega did not meet OSHA regulations.
The screws violently unfastened, clinking on the ground with a deafening metal resonance. The asari swiftly turned toward the sound – biotics flaring. A cautious merc such as her would have had a biotic cone flared around her body by now, but the lack of information betrayed her.
The metal roof collapsed, and a stifled scream escaped her lips before metal and flesh became one – crushed and smeared beneath a tangle of metal beams.
Blood pooled slowly and steadily toward his feet. He carefully stepped past it. An all too fitting end.
Second most important tip for becoming a solo merc: a mental map of your surroundings. The environment was your friend and their greatest enemy. Companies and businesses big and small sought to utilise Omega as a tax-free haven to run their businesses. The only problem was, with no regulation, nothing was stopping the competition – malicious or otherwise – from running you over. It became a huge problem when everyone and their mother had a firearm of some kind, which brought inherent risk to trading – so many opted to take the loss on the chin instead of following up with finishing. It left many construction projects unfinished and unmanned, and with a lack of eyes… it left many temporary vacancies open.
A twinge of sorrow tugged at his hearts witnessing this land go to waste—a potential haven for the destitute on this forsaken rock. Yet, a smaller, more selfish side couldn't help but relish how much easier it made his job.
He didn't have any more time to think, only to act – it might as well have been a hundred grenades going off on his exact location.
So, he did the smart thing: grabbing her modded weapon, and leaving the scene.
Leave the glory of battle for other Krogan. He was only here to get paid!
He maneuvered through the unpainted walls, darting towards the nearest flight of stairs through a corridor.
The echoes of shouting and thundering footsteps pursued him with equal fervour.
Yet – upon realizing that his assailants could swiftly turn the stairs he intended to descend into a deadly ambush, he came to an abrupt halt.
The safety of his rifle clicked.
With his biotics, he pulled all forms of wood and metal toward him, a makeshift barrier erecting. The lights of Omega's skyline shone brightly, and he felt a sense of relief as he discerned their shadows converging in his direction through his optics.
As the first masked assailant peered through the opening, he took a deep breath – and pulled the trigger. A single shot to the head made the figure stumble back, staggering – the target's rifle firing with wild abandon – before another bullet sailed and silenced him for good.
The sight of their comrade dying so violently should give them pause… And pause they did. Just enough time to leave the scene and disappear.
It seemed quick and painless, but….
As he stared at the kid's cold, dead eyes, he wondered if the money and his cause even mattered anymore. He shook his head. Not now.
Unclicking a sticky grenade, he gave it his best lob, aiming for the hallway.
This barrier he erected would serve two purposes: as a failsafe in case they decided to rush in to avenge their fallen comrade, and a means of withholding critical information about whether he was still present or not.
At least, that's how he justified it to himself in his head. It was rather eloquent prose for what amounted to fleeing the scene.
It was tough to tell how many flights of stairs he passed when the shouts finally started to fade away. He felt he finally earned his rest when he leaned by the walls of an empty room several flights down, panting like a dying dog. He wasn't going to risk going out of breath when the most difficult part of his escape plan would be coming up soon.
His initial plan, sniping Relya from afar, obviously didn't work. It was a good thing Tatarum had drilled another piece of advice into his head: always have a plan D!
Two was too fickle, three was cutting it close, four? He read somewhere four represented death in certain areas of Earth. He took away a rather loose lesson from that sentiment.
All there's left to do is to run for the hills.
Exhaling, he made a break for the crane.
THE DAILY OMEGANITE
Blue Sun Spot
Stunning scenes! One particularly stubborn Blue Suns merc laughs in the face of gravity!
The following footage has been unedited and shot by on-the-ground civilians.
As if straight out of a holo-flick, one of our mercenaries hatched a daring escape plan that involved scaling up a crane to jump from one building to another more than a block away. Dodging the bullets that hailed down upon them with grace and prowess, he can be seen running up the arm of the crane before performing a move only possible in a fairytale.
Through their tactical use of biotics, what would otherwise have ended in a rather gruesome scene had instead ended in a success story most other mercenary syndicates could only dream of: the target eliminated, and a swift and painless exit of the scene.
This footage showcases our ongoing commitment to produce the best mercenaries the Terminus Systems have to offer. It also highlights our dedication to expanding our influence and successfully executing tasks beyond the narrow image of a 'private security firm' that other mercenary groups would lead you to believe.
Blue Suns: radiating excellence™
THE DAILY OMEGANITE
Eclipse spot
Sloppy and unprofessional: a critique of viral 'super-Krogan' video
Recently, a video had been circling on the extranet that showcased a Krogan leaping from a crane to another building in a display of biotic prowess. At the time this article has been posted, it would have garnered 100 million views and counting. While admittedly flashy, there are key areas of the video left unaddressed.
It is convenient how they did not bring attention to the collateral damage the Krogan left in their wake: the destruction of property as seen in the explosion in the crane control centre. Falling beams could have easily fallen onto the streets of Omega, endangering innocent lives.
It is also convenient how we ignored the circumstances that led up to the mercenary deciding that this was the safest, most efficient method of escaping the scene after the target had been assassinated. Far more experienced biotic users, such as Matriarchs, which make up a large portion of Eclipse, would have not chosen this route due to its inherent danger. They would always go undercover and not draw attention to themselves, partly to protect themselves, but also the client. This is an amateur's work and a caricature of what mercenary groups actually do, but because it is flashy, it is making the rounds.
Think twice before subscribing to blatant marketing pieces of a mercenary group. Perhaps the Blue Suns should stick to being a private security firm.
Eclipse. Quality assured.
Chat: THE BOYSSSSS and 2 girls
Chaz
Somebody took the Relya job? They got some balls.
Woro'Pali DOG
It was an external contractor. Type of shit we'd post on public billboards to not only pawn it off to some sucker but also send a message. "This is what happens to dissidents" or something along those lines.
Woro'Pali DOG
But I'd say it's half that and half Blue Suns are too scared of what she could do, given her portfolio. Wonder how this one guy got the best of her.
Chaz
They kept jacking up the reward, so some poor sucker was going to line up for it eventually.
Woro'Pali DOG
Except they weren't a sucker, were they? Shit man it's like one of those holovids. Wish I had the balls to do something like that.
Varrencock
Brother you would be red paste on an Omega street don't fool yourself
Rya
+ you are fat so you would flatten like 3 people in the process
Woro'Pali DOG
fuck off ya dog cunt
Varrencock
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Journal entry: I'm a fucking idiot
Why did I do that? Why did I think it was a good idea to put an explosive in the control room of the crane. Omega is DENSE. Of course, someone would see. People are everywhere.
I honestly didn't think it would work. I thought the pressure of doing something so stupid would make me crumble. Thank God, I had the sense in that situation to put my mask on. If Sala saw me doing something as stupid as that maneuver, she would throw me off the same crane herself. Clips of me are fucking everywhere.
All credit where credit's due: Ganar was great at pushing me to failure. Some things never change across cultures and races. The concept of training until failure is alive and well here. Although the conditioning would leave me with a horrendous headache that lasted hours, soon they only lasted an hour, then thirty minutes. Now, only a mild migraine would come over me whenever I try to boost myself up using biotics.
Today marks job twenty post meeting Tatarum. This work is bloody and the line between black and white is getting blurrier by the day. I hope to never become so desensitized that I no longer pause when taking the lives of others, but I recognise that this conditioning was necessary if I want to accomplish the things I want to accomplish. With at least triple the number of completed jobs, I should begin to have some clout in the mercenary world.
The decision to take this stupid job was not made lightly. It was obvious that it was a job posting that was designed to keep Relya on her toes and constantly watching her back, rather than actually following up with anything. Frankly, I am glad that Relya was actually four different kinds of whack when I whacked her. It eases some burden on my conscience.
I saw Tatarum earlier today. Same as usual, only this time I earned an even more impassioned butt onto the cranium for a 'spectacular job well done'. I guess he likes the romantic side of mercenary life a bit too judging how much my antics was plastered everywhere on TV.
But it's gotten to the point where I have to acknowledge my relationship with Tatarum is weird. He invested so much into me, and yet barely gets to know me. To be fair, I never pry into his life either. But that was the nature between mentor and mentee, right? He is with me all the way, yet distant in every way that matters. I hope this changes soon. Yet I am scared to make the first step.
Now, onto news with Sala's business expansion endeavours.
In the past few months, we have seen a lot of growth with relatively low overhead. Although I don't necessarily agree with the methods, I can't deny the results. She didn't seek out experienced franchisees who have been in the business for long, but rather people who otherwise would never have gotten the opportunity to operate a franchise. These are the destitute, the bums, people who don't think their life was going anywhere but underneath the metal grating of this hellrock. A little bit exploitative, but what we got was rather loyal franchisees who executed our vision with near perfection and franchisees who didn't ask for much in return.
This gave us a lot of capital. It gave me the budget to introduce a rather popular dish into our menu which was this galaxy's equivalent of an Indomie and Mie Sedaap instant noodle packet – inexpensive and quick to make, yet quite scrumptious.
As for everything else? I have decided to show my hand in the Illium stock market. I was surprised at how small many of the mainstays were when compared to when they showed up in the main games. Noveria Development Corporation was at its founding stages, and many of the corporations that would give them significant market share were not around yet – for example, Binary Helix was nowhere to be seen. Buying a few shares of an immoral corporation never hurt anyone, right? I also bought some shares from names that I remembered from the games – Curve Glider Sporting Goods, Serrice Technology, and Synthetic Insights. Dunno if they will go anywhere, but that was not the end goal of my investments in the stock market.
Kinetic ammunition. The galaxy seemed to all agree that waiting for regenerative ammunition to recharge one's rifle was deemed too inefficient. I scoured for any corporations or companies that even remotely considered producing this form of 'primitive' firepower. I was all about ready to hang up my proverbial hat when I found an article published 8 years ago. Supposedly, a prominent researcher from Armax Arsenal tried to get this concept off the ground – but due to the strictness of the hierarchy in most Turian legacy companies, he became frustrated and left the company. How do we know they were from Armax Arsenal? It was an offhand comment during an interview set in what seemed to be a firearms contest.
Holy crap. It was one thing to quit a company, it was another to quit the whole scene entirely. He looked like a relatively young guy (not decrepit) so I wondered what must have happened behind the scenes for him to make such drastic changes. If I could somehow find him and contact him, I could kickstart the kinetic revolution early. But therein lies the problem – how? Well, I could try my luck at the next yearly Firearms contest held in the Citadel, but that required me to stop whatever I was doing here for one week or two. Omega was ridiculously far away from Widow.
After mission twenty-five, I was due for a vacation anyway. As a born and bred Texan, I will be sure to represent the Lone Star state well…
She couldn't believe her eyes. The balls to do that stunt in her domain while being registered as a sole trader merchant were utterly insane. Where did he even find the time? Merc by day, chef by night? Get that shit out of her face.
Still, a little bit of property damage wasn't going to break the bank. No, she had bigger plans for him. She sensed something special in him. Having business sense in the merc and mercantile world made for a potent cocktail she hadn't explored yet. A new perspective.
Her rule over Omega was dominant, yet it could be definitely better. She didn't even want to count the number of back-alley dealings happening without her knowledge. All because these potential clients see something in these other mercenary syndicates that they don't see in her.
It was going to take a while, but recruiting him into her retinue could be the first step in solidifying her rule as the Queen of Omega for good.
She would not think of him again that night, and she would only be reminded of his existence again the following morning by the black tick beside his name.
Hello! Another chapter out finally. Read some of the reviews and I will definitely take into account the suggestion to have something consistent to keep the plot grounded and clearer.
