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A few hours later, James made his way back to the Omega Clinic to find out what the results were on the toxin. Dr. Solus immediately had him brought in with a rather excitable tone in his voice, clearly liking what the results were after James had his guns disabled. "Come come Mr. Campbell, come!" "Wh-what did you find?!" "Fascinating results, very unusual! Very rare to find such results, come!" Dragged into the back area of the clinic in his personal testing area, the raptor stood waiting amidst the various jars and beakers that bubbled over with at least 52 kinds of toxins, with at least 27 being fatal to him. Not that he knew but Dr. Solus told him in mid-chatter to not touch any of these as the raptor stood rather still in waiting, soon hearing the doctor reply: "Results on the toxin you brought in, very precisely manufactured. Specially designed for soporific effects, non-lethal, bypass immune system and head straight for the brain shutting down non-vital functions. Very specific, clearly engineered." "Wait, engineered? You saying this is not natural?" "But how to not kill whilst acting as disease? Body suspected nothing whilst it passed through the system." "You're saying someone MADE this stuff?" "Definitely, not natural, no known toxin in natural environs that could affect such. No...hmm...ahh. Vaccine." "Huh?!" "Vaccination, weakened form of virus, given an extra strain that does not kill but render unconscious! Fascinating." "Vaccines eh," said FG pondering, "...heeey wait, I remember something, the guys that did this pretended to be medical ships." "Hmm?!" "Yeah, that's it, I remember hearing that whoever used this was pretending to be medics, or at least their ships were." "Hmmmm...contaminated medi-gel a possibility, would be very easy to bypass security if one needed to, undetectable, or harder than most. Makes sense with this particular strain, understand clear as day." "You figured it out?" "Yes," said Solus. "Ribodextrosalicylic Acid, definitely engineered." "What the hell is ribodextrosicilian?" "Salicylic, normally can be used like aspirin, but concentrated correctly can cause soporific effects, drowsiness, sleep. Particular strain catering to quarian immune systems, blends with medi-gel, works like medi-gel...pumps through the neural system." "Jesus...that's pretty nasty." "Would be worse if fatal, agonising in such case." "So do you know if anyone came through here, like a turian medical ship buying quarian stuff?" "Possibly, allow me."

He quickly brought up his omni-tool and scanned through possible information, checking through various supplies and trades he made as well as former patients. One name stuck out to him, bringing it up for FG to read. "Petalavan Petavareen." "Huh?" "Petalavan Petavareen, turian ship, claimed medical urgencies in the Far Rim." "Wait you sold them medi-gel?!" "Simply that, nothing else, would never sell toxins unless proof of infection verified." "Did you by any chance see a turian guy with like a long red mark across his face?" "Yes," said Dr. Solus, "conferred with me on medi-gel, made transaction, paid well for services to Omega Clinic, allowed me to buy new equipment for haemotology." He patted the machine that looked like a coffee-machine on the far right of his desk. James saw the vial of blood that had been taken from him three hours ago still warmly inside it. "Well that's...cool, but do you know where they went, who they met?" "No, simply transaction of credits." "Damn, not even the toxins?" "Toxin supplies interesting, might find someone able to trace it, let me give you data." The doctor transferred his findings to FG's omni-tool, a shimmer of amber on his screen which soon revealed some disturbingly complex molecules that he could not comprehend. "Possible drug dealer in Omega that could supply such, best bet is to find Archangel." "Archangel? Who's that, some kinda crime lord?" "Oh no, quite the opposite! Vigilante, heads up a small group, takes down criminals across Omega. Very determined, almost impossible to tell his identity, never shows his true face, gangs despise him, want his head as a trophy." "So it's a he then?" "That much obvious, turian, body structure and whatnot, experienced too. Few times I saw him showed military training, normally obvious for turian but style was...unique." "Unique how?" "Specialised training, possibly C-Sec, human influences quite clearly in his style of tactics." "C-Sec? ...hmmmm..." "Hmm?" "Nothing just...so where can I find this Archangel?" "Can't find him normally, must cause trouble in order to be found, best way to do so is to find gang and start trouble." "Wha?! You saying I should start a fight?" "Not quite, too risky, can get killed, not sure on your experience. Best to ally with them, follow them to Archangel spot, meet him there, show willingness to surrender without shooting him." "And how the hell do I do that and not look suspicious in front of a gang?" "Up to you. Pretend, shoot badly, unless you already do in which case shoot normally." "Haha, funny. Well I guess that's good enough thanks for the help doc." "Hope to not see you again." "...what?" "Would prefer you don't get shot, that way not require attention, would prefer not to see doctor again wouldn't you agree?" "...yeah actually you're right, thanks then, bye." With a wave of gratitude he walked out of the clinic with the new data he obtained. Yet as he left, Dr. Solus looked over towards the blood sample he had obtained from James. He had also been running tests upon it and found something rather fascinating that slipped his mind before he could catch FG leaving. "Damn. Should have said blood sample was strange I collected from him, oddly human but...fewer blood cells than usual...perhaps normal for his species but, compared to other raptor...much weaker. Strange substance effects throughout the blood, odd resonance of energy undetectable by even most advanced equipment...appears similar to...no, surely, doesn't show any signs of indoctrination. Hmph, if should return, will note to him. Would be shame to see young life turn to waste, not able to contact him either unfortunately...hope other contact finds Eletanian algae soon."

The walk between areas was exhausting to think, taking him at least 40 minutes to navigate between streets and come out of the district back towards Afterlife. After explaining the situation to his friends, James got the nervous approval to go and find this Archangel. "I never even heard of him," said Lirem, "other than like rumours." "Dr. Solus mentioned he was some kind of turian vigilante, and he is real. All the gangs here hate him, so they're all gunning for him. The best way it seems for us to find him would be to go join one of them." "I dunno James," said Norem, "I mean joining a gang's a bad idea, do you know what kind of things these people are into?" "I'll have you know that yes, I do. I was in a gang once...I can do this." "You sure you don't want us joining you?" asked Leiah. "I mean, going on your own sounds pretty dangerous." "No, the more of us there is the more likely we'll get shot or it's suspicious. If it's one guy joining in then it's just one guy but if it's a group then they're up to something. Trust me, I know, the times Sarah had to break apart small groups that tried to come into our gang, was so much more a pain than dealing with just some guy off the street. I know how gangs work, I know how to get in with them." "Which gang are you going for?" asked Jax. "You don't even know who to pick!" "I asked around a little down the market, they said it's either Blood Pack, Blue Suns or Eclipse. I'm gonna go with Blue Suns, they got a rivalry against Blood Pack so if any shit happens I can tell them about that krogan I killed back on the Citadel." "Oh now you sound cocky about it," said Leiah. "I knew that was gonna come up." "Hey, it works right? Besides they'll love me for it." "I guess..." "You might wanna be careful," said Lirem, "I heard the Blue Suns got into some serious shit a few months ago." "You mean that precious cargo?" asked Areh. "Tulan was talking about that, he said that they were doing something for the Shadow Broker, some kind of precious pod vessel. Maybe it was a body." "I wonder whose, but didn't that fail?" "Someone intercepted it, no idea who, that's as far as Tulan got before all the threads ran cold. Last thing he heard was that Blue Suns got ambushed here and killed by some unknown shooters, human possibly." "Damn," said FG, "so what does that mean for us?" "It means that they might have a chip on their shoulder at fucking up a big mission, so keep that in mind. You got what you need?" "Yep. I'll call you, but don't call me for anything. If I don't reply back by tomorrow then come look for me, I'll leave a message with that elcor guy just in case, the one who sold us that rock Leiah?" "OH sure," said Leiah, "just...be careful alright?" "Heh, I will."

He headed off back towards the Gozu District, but not going all the way through towards the clinic and rather taking a side-area in order to find some Blue Suns members. Large, hulking blue and white armour greeted him rather coldly as he walked up to the nearest group, two batarians and a turian leaning back against the wall before asking: "Hey, you guys Blue Suns?" "No, we're cosplayers," said the turian snarkily. "What you want?" "I wanna join you guys." "Heh...kid, you really think your scrawny ass can keep up with us?" "Sure I can, I got two guns and a shit ton of fire to throw around, I just need to shoot the right person." "And why do you think you can even stand with us? I mean, hey, a body's a body, but...call me generous and let's say this is an interview." "Alright, interview me." "Gladly." The turian pulled out his pistol and aimed it right at FG's head, but the raptor saw the way his hand went for his pistol and immediately shot up a flurry of wind straight upwards, knocking the gun out of his hand. In turn James pulled out his pistol and shoved it right against the turian's head, his other hand pulling out the submachine pistol and pointing it at both batarians. The gun from the turian fell back to earth with a heavy clunk a few feet away. "Did I pass?" said FG. "..heh...sure." They backed down cautiously as FG backed away in turn, making sure they wouldn't shoot him before putting his own guns away. He was glad he didn't have to start shooting, he never dual-wielded guns before and never even fired the submachine gun, not wanting to test its worthiness in such a tense situation. The turian simply picked up his gun and patted him on the shoulder, saying: "Come on, I'll take you to the big leagues." Walking behind the turian mercenary, James found himself being led down a darker alley, dark enough that it was almost imperceptible to one in passing before finding a larger back area of the district. An area much more proactive in its design, a wide space dominated by steel walls of ventilation fans and hanging wires crisscrossing all above. All around him were Blue Suns members hunched over crates, sitting and smoking, sneering at the fresh meat that walked in a little too cleanly into the place. James felt a dozen movie images flicker through his mind, memories of old-world cinema and a hundred different gangs all in the same sort of place. Back-alley filth, drugs and gunsmoke, the glimmer of knives as sharp as their eyes now piercing with unspoken threats. He knew how to play this, he returned the same stare with a dominant sneer not showing submissiveness for one second. The raptor slowly swung his arms out more, swaggered a little, made himself think he was hot shit as he drudged up his old memory. The memory of a punkass bitch who thought he could rule the world. Eventually, after passing through a corridor of wires and steam that darkened all around them, they reached the inner sanctum where a batarian stood proudly upon a throne made of ammo crates. Surrounded by humans, turians and other batarians, his boots clacked against hard steel as he busily tapped into his omni-tool, figuring out something with scrutinous glares upon his four glinting eyes. He looked up to see James standing before him, guarded on both sides by the turian and two other batarians before the leader spoke.

"Who's this?" "New recruit boss," said the turian, "thinks he's got what it takes to take down Archangel and wants to join us." "Huh...really?" "Damn right," said FG, "I hear about this guy and think man...that sounds like a real challenge to take down. And I'm a guy who's been looking for a challenge for five years." "Whut's yer name?" "James Campbell. You the boss I take it?" "I'm Karhne Durauk, I run this group but I ain't the head of them if that's whut you're asking...whut do you want with us then?" "I just said, I wanna take down Archangel. I think I got what it takes." "Huh...yer that sure of yerself? Well if that's the case, why the hell you wanna join us?" "Cuz I need to find him first. I mean, I don't know this place well, but you guys, you fucking run the place here." "Yeah?" "Come on, everyone knows the Blue Suns are the real guys that run Omega, you got half the place down locked tighter than a quarian's fuckpussy." "Heheheh...that whut you heard?" "Nah, it's what I know, don't take a rocket scientist to figure out who's holding the cards here. Just gotta wait for the right time to show your hand, am I right?" "Hmph...so whut do you get out of this?" "I wanna be the one who kills Archangel, and if I'm a member of the Blue Suns, that means YOU guys get the cred too." "Whut if someone else gets the cred instead of you?" "They won't. Trust me." "Heh...yer a cocky little faggot aren't you?" "Just stating a fact, that make me cocky then fine, I am cocky, because I'm right." "Whut kinda skills you got then?" "I killed plenty with a pistol, submachine I'm still working on but I learn fast. Also got plenty of fire burning in my hands and a shit ton of other abilities I can work with." "No kidding." "He's right boss," said the turian, "guy here disarmed me with some kinda weird windblasting bullshit, I dunno what he can do." "Hahaha...well, you wanna sign yer death warrant with us, fine by me, just another gun fer hire who thinks he's hot shit." "I'm not just hot shit," said FG, "I'm THE shit, I killed a fucking krogan with my bare hands." "Whut?! You?! HAH!" The group around him laughed at this outburst, whilst James simply crossed his arms and waited for them to stop, before Durauk said: "Now yer just talkin' crap." "Fine, don't believe me, why don't you guys go ahead and ask the Blood Pack about what happened to their krogan friend back on the Citadel? Tell them some dino-looking dude did it, they ain't gonna lie to ya." "Wait, this wuz a Blood Pack dude?" "He dissed my girl. I fucking burnt his face...shoulda known better not to fuck with me after a bottle of ryncol went across his face." "Hhhahahahhaa...alright. Let's see how tough you are. You wanna ride with us to kill Archangel? Do something for me." "Who do I gotta kill?" "You catch on quick, I like that. There's a guy pushing drugs down two blocks away. We wanna get a cut of the stuff, but he don't listen to us an' he's wired like fuck to kill us if he even smells us coming. Yer new, you don't got our tags so you can go to him like a buyer and...erase him." "How dangerous is he?" "Crazy sharp at shooting, shoot a salarian's nostril at twenty feet. Deal with him, make him know who not to fuck with, then kill him." "No problem. Gimme his location and I'll be back in a few hours." "We'll get you to join our little raid on Archangel if you manage to come back."

The leader Karhne Durauk uploaded a map location to James' omni-tool, a few streets away towards a small back area that at first seemed suspicious, but within an hour of leaving the Blue Suns' turf he found to be even worse. Clearly a drug smuggler's den, and not a very good one. It was badly-maintained and dilapidated like a hurricane aftermath, crumbling roof of rotting steel and broken fans hanging loosely from above their ventilation. Remembering what Durauk had said, the raptor readied himself for defensive tactics as his nanos began to twitch. The seemingly-abandoned home had a glow from within its windows, two of them on either side of a central door on a street closed off from the main area. Clearly no one had bothered to come claim it and frankly it was too much to hope that there was any council on Omega for such modest improvements. He cautiously stepped forwards, as the glimmer of a gun came from the darkness in the same moment that FG brought up his shield, formed by the tetra blocks wrapping around his hand before spreading out before his face. The gunshot pinged off the blocks near his chest. Even with the armour on he wasn't taking chances from such a powerful shot that almost knocked him back hard, shuddering through his shield. The holes even at this distance between the blocks were too small to perceive for a normal shooter, as a voice squawked out: "WHO'S THERE?!" "COOL IT MAN," roared FG, "I JUST WANT SOME STUFF!" "WHUT?!" "JIMMY TOLD ME 'BOUT YOU, SAID YOU GOT SOME REAL SHIT, SOMETHING TO WIRE ME UP!" "...I DUNNO NO JIMMY!" "WHAT!? COME ON MAN, YOU KNOW HIM! JIMMY! JIMMY CRACK CORN, ALWAYS CRACKIN' OUT, LYIN' ON HIS ASS LIKE A DUMB SHIT!" "...ALRIGHT! YOU GOT MONEY!?" "I GOT ENOUGH TO BUY A FUCKING CRATE, COME ON LEMME HAVE SOME!" "OKAY, FINE! BUT YOU PUT YOUR FINGER ANYWHERE NEAR THAT TRIGGER AND YOUR HEAD'S COMIN' OFF!" "OKAY SURE!" The raptor cautiously disintegrated his shield back into his claws, the nanos sparking off as he walked slowly towards the dealer. In the house of darkness he could barely see anything, a few hanging wires and illuminated chairs and terminals all around the room. He smirked to himself at how he managed to get this close, for he knew there was always a Jimmy somewhere involved, in his experience at least. The house had at least three rooms he could see, as a shadow walked up to him before revealing a bald middle-aged white human, twitching with his eyes and clearly the very epitome of a skank dealer. But despite all this he had none of the signs of a drug junkie, no sunken eyes, no hollow cheeks, no cracks in his teeth. James would have preferred that he looked like a junkie for what he was about to do before the dealer said: "So Jimmy sentcha eh? What he say?" "He said that you had some fucking good stuff that'd make me feel like a god. You got any of that?" "Ooooh yeah I do, but money first, how much?" "...fifteen thousand I got to spend, that'll do?"

The raptor showed his bank balance off on the omni-tool, not too bothered by a drug peddler seeing it as the man nodded. "Ohhh that'll do good for ya. Heh...sorry for bein' all twitchy, gotta lotta trouble around here." "Yeah this area seems kinda shit, you uh...don't sample your stuff right?" "N-nah nah, not unless I gotta check its quality, but nah. Just all twitchy cuz of shit round here." "Alright, just asking, sorry. Yanno I expected a guy like you to be in more wealthy areas." "Yeah?" "Oh yeah, 'cause most drug deals happen in like suburban areas and shit, not the ghetto, mainly cuz of bored whitebread housewives and middle-aged men having crises from their dull-ass lives." "Pfft, you know something I don't?" "Nah I used to deal myself, back over in Chicago on Earth." "Yeah?!" said the dealer. "What kinda shit?" "Pot and stuff, nothing nasty, just to give a little buzz and fuck with people a bit." "Well, this shit's more than just a buzz, this is prime-cut red sand right here." "Red sand huh? We don't get a lot of that stuff on Earth, what's it do?" "You take a snuff of this, you fuckin' flying, you biotic baby! You feel like yer a goddamn superman who wanna fuck up the place!" "Sounds like crack to me." "Pfft, this shit's way better than crack, course it'll kill ya just the same if ya take too much of it, fucks up yer brain good enough for biotics but..." "Right...I bet a lot of punks round here take that." "Yeah but they can't afford it...unless they steal fer me, hehe." "You know you can sell that shit on Illium if you got a permit." "Hahaha, yeah right, look at me, I look like a fucking troll. You think anyone in a high-society's gonna buy from me?" "Fair enough, you know your flaws so you gotta work with it. How much can I get?" "Three-thousand for a usual, lasts for like two weeks." "...gimme two then, I feel like the next month's gonna get rough for me." "Hah, gotcha." The raptor paid him 6000 credits as the dealer walked off to the next room to obtain the red sand, which was being steadily cultivated in a bathtub for a particularly high mixture, at least as far as James could see. He felt a pang of guilt for the fact that he never bought drugs before, even if he never planned to use them. Sarah's glaring eyes of shame echoed in his thoughts as he walked towards the twitchy dealer, who looked far more relaxed in the instance of business than before.

The last three steps however, he rushed straight towards him and grabbed the dealer's neck, choking him violently before kicking the back of his legs to force him kneeling, the man screaming with shock as FG said: "Lemme tell you something, pal. I don't fucking do drugs, and frankly, you're a fucking stereotype I'll be glad to get rid of if you make kids steal for ya." "H-HHHHRRRK!" "It's shit like you that fucking ruin these neighbourhoods by trying to kill your damn clients, not like the little pot sellers just paying their way through college, the ones that KNOW that dealing meth and crack is a bad BAD idea. But you don't fucking know that do you?! DO YOU!?" "HHHUUU-UUUKK!" His claws wrapped tighter around the human's neck, choking more and more as he threatened to rip his very throat. A darkness came inside of him briefly, glimmering in FG's eyes that almost terrified him. But he didn't let go, he couldn't let go. This wasn't an innocent person, this was a criminal and he knew he would not be missed. Yet a feeling of remorse came from inside James the more he felt the sinking feeling of his gut. His words were empty to him, there was no justification for him in them for it was all statistics that he was fed from long ago. The intimacy of murder without a weapon, and outside of battle, was one he had not felt in a long time. A growing part of him wished he had not felt it again. "I have no reason to kill you," confessed FG, "but the Blue Suns made me...I'm sorry, but I got bigger problems than you, and buddy...you're just dust in the wind." "_HHH-HHHAAAAGGGH- KHRRK! _" The final sound made by the screaming drug dealer came from his broken neck, as James snapped it violently back with his claws digging into the throat itself. Tearing the skin and cracking the bone back, the drug dealer slumped against his body, given no chance to even breathe his last moments. The raptor sighed with blood on his hands and wiped his claws on the cleanest nearby rag, taking his money back from the dead man's omni-tool and leaving. Outside was one of the Blue Suns, a turian staying out of range from the drug dealer's area. "I heard him scream," said the turian, "the fuck you do to him?" "Choked him like a bitch," said FG, "that what you wanted?" "Yeah...that's just what we wanted. Come on, boss'll wanna hear this." He nodded and walked back with the turian, taken around back to the Blue Suns local leader and was given his induction. His clear ability to go the distance of completing a job for hire without any apparent remorse, was perfect for the mercenary group. James left a message with the elcor merchant he had befriended before, and relayed him to tell Leiah that he was fine and now in the Blue Suns themselves, ready to find Archangel. The induction however was not without cost, for they had a certain way of introducing members into the fold. Namely in the form of a tattoo that had to be marked upon his body, as proof of his membership forevermore. Thankfully James was given the opportunity to ask where to have it and he suggested one of his arms, his left one soon given a burning deep blue mark with a white circular oval and a fuller circle within. To the raptor, it resembled a power-on button, and it was explained also that should he ever have to take a high-risk mission, he would be forced to remove it by acid wash. Days passed, his armour was repainted blue and white, and occasionally he was ordered to deal with smaller jobs that none of the seniors had time to deal with, killing off small drug dealers or threatening other criminals. All of Sarah's teachings that she wished never to have taught him came flooding back to him. Intimidation, fast-talking, subjugation, brutality.

With each new act he did his regrets came further. He started to worry more and more that he was turning soft. The people he fought before were either murderers or trying to kill him either way. That was self-defence, that was justifiable. But he could not help but think that the more acts he committed of violence upon others who bore no ill will towards him, regardless of their morality, the more unforgiveable he would become to Koopin. Even if he would never learn about them. But James would know. Always he would. Finally, after five days of small jobs and thug-lite activities, he was finally given the chance to shine. Archangel had been spotted on the roofs overlooking the Fumi District, a civilian area where a string of assaults had been made by a smaller gang of locals. The Blue Suns decided to step it up and plan their own miniature assault in order to lure him out. Naturally the vigilante was on the case ready to save innocents, which was the perfect opportunity to take him down. James was allowed to head off first, his cocky nature looking all the world like the perfect cannon fodder as he walked off towards the roofs, waiting and alone. The armour was covered by a cloak he bought from a cheap vendor as he waited in semi-darkness hiding. He knew that he would be seen already by unseen eyes in darkness, and so did the Blue Suns. What they didn't know however, was that his very position as bait would be the perfect chance to find the turian vigilante for his own ends, without any of them interfering. They stood waiting for the signal, a small group of about 20 mercs upon the rooftops, watching the scene below. A small group of their fellow merces were attacking a small group of students, stripping them of their belongings. The screams of panic down below pierced into James' heart as he struggled to remain cold and aloof, standing on another rooftop apart from the group, who remained hiding in shadow. "When will he be here?" he asked through his comms. "Soon," said Karhne. "Should be in about five minutes at least." "Alright...you sure people saw me?" "Absolutely, you might be hiding in a cloak but you'll get picked out first, that'll keep 'em distracted long enough to...what?" He suddenly put a hand to his ear as communications came through, the scene unfolding out below as the students started fighting back. Things were not all they seemed as one merc on the ground said "He saw us, get outta there now!" "WHAT!?" "Get out it's a trap, he's got his sights on-KKRHH!"

The shot of static pierced his ear as powerfully as the bullet that went through the ground merc's head, the people dispersing their own separate ways but not before something was thrown by one of the students. James could barely see it, but the blast that came after was more than enough warning for those observing. A violent explosion that easily killed the ground mercenaries, one of the students throwing off some of their clothes to reveal some not-so-civil armour underneath. One or two of them looked up towards James' right. He turned to look across the roofs to see that indeed there was a shadow. Faint but marked out beneath the red and yellow lights of incomprehensible signs, boards of advertising cruelly indifferent to the plights of this world. The tiniest glimmer came from the shadow, and James knew exactly what was about to happen. "GET DOWN!" He immediately threw up his shield, the tetra blocks coalescing once more around his chest and face as they sprouted from his hands, just in time to block the piercing sniper shot. It managed to pierce its tip through the blocks, but it was stopped dead enough despite FG falling backwards by the sheer force of the shot. The batarian noticed him as he stood up, shouting: "KILL 'IM, HUNT HIM DOWN NOW!" The Blue Suns rushed forwards with FG at the front of the group, immediately getting a head start as the sniper wasted no time in ducking out and firing once more. The raptor kept his shield up and ready, cumbersome to wield whilst running but it was all he had. The two shots that came piercing out the darkness came straight towards FG, but he had his shield up once again and blocked them deftly. James kept running, dodging over rooftops, blasting ahead with his wind charge and leaving the Blue Suns behind. Soon however, the Archangel appeared to be intentionally missing the raptor, firing right past him regardless of where he would dodge. The sounds of screams and gargled death cries came loudly from behind him. The Archangel appeared to realise that the raptor was much more difficult to take down by a single guarded shot, than the horde that were amassing behind him. James realised this with a smile of approval, as Karhne's voice came roaring over communications. "HE'S KILLING US DAMMIT!" "I KNOW, I'LL FUCKING GET HIM ALRIGHT?!" "YOU BETTER, CUZ EVERY ONE OF MY MEN THAT GET KILLED I'LL PUMP A BULLET IN YER LEG TO MATCH!" The signal cut off, and James became more terrified as the Archangel's shadow appeared to roll from one spot to another, firing once again at the group behind him. James kept his shield up just in case, but it was only a deterrent at the very least. One shot came a little too close and winged him in the right shoulder, scarring past his armour as he spun and fell hard upon the metal floor. But he soon found a more immediate problem after seeing something glint and start beeping beside him. Something rather flat and metal like a disc latched onto a side corner. "...SHIT!"

He rolled out of the way just out of range before the mine went off, lit up by his proximity to it as the blast rocked the rooftops hard, sending him flying towards the edge. He wasn't damaged thanks to his armour and being on the outer radius, but the blast wave was still enough to push him hard. Even worse were the other two blasts that went behind him, triggered in tandem by the first, hidden within billboards. The proximity mines fired off without warning, killing five more of the Blue Suns or at the very least wounding them as the shrieking blast shattered half the billboards around them, sending rains of hard plated glass down upon their heads. Two mercs were killed simply by the raining daggers piercing their heads, plunging through their skulls as they stumbled forwards before falling. The group was catching up, slowly but surely after struggling through gunfire and explosive traps. James lied upon a cross-section of residential roofs that went to the east and north. He could see the Archangel running off into darkness for further cover. He had only one chance of catching him alone. "HE WENT THAT WAY!" cried FG. "YOU SURE?!" shouted Karhne. "I SAW HIM DODGE OUT THAT WAY, JUST GO!" "Whut about you?!" "I'll catch up, I'm fucking faster than all of you he just fucking winged me a little!" "Fine, LET'S MOVE OUT! YOU SEE A SHADOW, SHOOT IT DEAD!" "YES SIR!" The group rushed off towards the east in completely the wrong direction, leaving the raptor rather pleased that they weren't smart enough to put any scouter points ahead as he got up after Archangel, heading towards the north. His shoulder stung but the armour managed to guard it enough, running over the roofs and trying to catch sight of the mysterious turian vigilante. Leaping over at least three roofs into a darker district, he was soon clotheslined by a dark blue armoured fist, cracking into his sternum as he fell hard onto his back. Standing over him was a creature in turian-style armour, black and blue with tinted visor for his helmet, covering eyes in jet black. A huge sniper rifle was at his side in one hand, long and black as night and before he could bring it up towards FG's face, the raptor striked out with a blast of wind to throw him off. Pushing the vigilante back, he leapt up and charged into him with a shoulder slam attack, knocking him against a raised vent. The turian however grabbed FG's wrist, dropping his sniper rifle before slamming a fist into the raptor's jaw. Then he did it once more, pulling FG close before the raptor burned up his claws with fire and tried to scratch across the head, following it up with a fast uppercut to knock the turian back with a scarred helmet. But the Archangel was more than just a marksman, as he grabbed at James' neck before headbutting him hard to push him back. He followed this with a turning kick towards the waist, smacking the raptor down limping. James stumbled his way back up and waited for another attack, grabbing the Archangel's arm before elbowing him in the face and sweeping his leg.

But the turian hopped over the leg whilst stunned and twisted his body round to behind FG, locking his arm around the neck and trying to choke him to submission. The raptor felt the smooth armoured limb wrap tight and force against his throat, choking to a coughing fit before he reached up behind his head and tried to hurl him by a judo throw, smacking the legs behind him in the process. Instead he found himself tripping with the Archangel above him, the two falling with him on top before FG rolled off and tried to kick him in the face. Then the turian began playing dirty. He grabbed James' foot and charged up an electrical shock, shooting it straight up along his foot with an overloading spark. The raptor's one weakness would be his downfall that day, screaming a stuttering cry of agony as he went falling into a crumpled heap, spasming and twitching as the electroblast sent a series of violent pains throughout his body. It was a pain he hadn't felt in months, and wished he could forget. The closest thing he ever felt to being torn inside out as his body struggled to discharge it. As he shuddered and retched horribly by his reflex of agony, the dark Archangel stood tall above him in the blood-stained light, a huge sniper rifle now back in both hands and rubbing the tip against FG's snout, warm and rounded. The voice beneath the helmet came through with a dry turian treble in his accent, the lace of snark evident as he said: "Not bad...for a rookie in the Blue Suns." "W-WAIT WAIT!" "You're the third person I ever met to have caught up with me...the last two never made it back to their masters." "AA-a-aaaa SURRENDER! I SURRENDER!" "Really? So now you get caught you decide to just lie down like a wounded varren and forget all the things you've done...heh...kinda disappointed in you honestly." "W-w-would you rather I fight you to the death?! F-fuck my heart, it FUCKING HURTS!" "It'll make things more fun, show you're at least willing to go out with a bang." "I'm not here to kill you! I swear I'm not, I SWEAR JESUS FUCK WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?!" "Just a little Overload I imagine, nothing to get excited about...strange...I don't suppose you got a pacemaker in you that I accidentally overloaded?" "N-N-NO, j-just...GUH! N-nanos! FUCKIN' NANOS!" "Oh it'll wear off, don't be such a baby, you've done plenty worse to other people." "Wh-what?!" cried James. "I seen you enter the Suns recently," said the turian. "Murder, extortion, intimidation...you're a real wannabe gangster aren't you?" "I'm not here to kill you, I SWEAR I'M NOT! Whatever shit I did before I did it to meet you alright?! I'm sorry, I regret what I did I'm sorry!" "I've heard that before, buy me flowers next time and maybe I'll forgive you." "I only joined them because it was the best way to find you, I need your help!" "Help? With what?" "I...I-I'm looking for someone. Someone who's a murderer, someone worse than them, someone that was here that I need to hunt down before they kill again." "What kind of person?" "I'm talking about terrorists." "...you know normally when someone wants my help they go through some channels, maybe make a request or just end up in a bad enough situation that I come swooping in." "Yeah I get it, you're fucking Batman." The turian cocked his head with curiosity at this before asking: "Why do all the humans keep saying that? I don't even know what a bat look like frankly." "Look, the point is I need your help, I'm not even gonna shoot, take my gun, check everything you want, I won't fight."

He hurled his gun away as a sign of trust, both handgun and submachine gun clattering across the roof as he put his hands up and kneeled reverently. The turian however was concerned by another thing. "...what about your friends?" "Do you see anyone following me?" Archangel looked up briefly whilst keeping an eye on FG, switching between views before putting his gaze back on his target and bringing up his comms. The raptor started to feel the electric shock finally go away as the Archangel said: "Anyone following me?" "No," said his ally. "You sure?" "Positive, they got distracted and headed on down another way. Looks like that dude you just caught sent them off on a wild chase, told 'em to go one way." "...I see." "What you gonna do with him?" "...I'm gonna interrogate him a little, see what he knows. Keep me covered." "Got it." He turned off his comms and swiftly disarmed FG through the simple use of a one-armed grab, grappling both his hands by the wrist and kicking him over onto his side, before tightly restraining him with something that felt like cuffs. It was an oddly professional maneuver that James recognised in authority figures long ago. "Wait, are you a cop?" "Heh...there aren't any police in Omega." "Not answering my question." "The name's Archangel, that's all you need to know. Now..." Dragging FG up by the arms behind his back, the turian pulled him over towards a nearby air-conditioning unit, big enough to house at least three people. He placed James down safely at the side whilst saying: "You move, I shoot both your legs off with one shot." He then slowly unscrewed the shaft opening whilst holding onto his rifle, using a small screwdriver add-on from his omni-tool before opening it and grabbing James to push him inside. Quickly ducking in, he closed up the completely empty unit and sat inside, tapping against the walls which strangely did not echo as him and James sat on opposite sides of the space. "Soundproofed, just in case." "Right," said FG. "Always good to have some set up in the city, you might need 'em." "Right right...um...are you gonna untie me?" "Firstly it's not a rope, secondly not until I hear from you on what you want, you're still wearing Blue Suns armour after all and you have committed quite a few crimes whilst on Omega." "I know...I'm sorry." "I mean the drug dealer I can glance over since he was an ass, but extortion and intimidation that's...I'm not buying that." "W-well, listen, I'll make up for it, I'll redeem myself with anything you want." "Just tell me what you want me for first."

"Okay...I'm looking for a ship that came into Omega and left with some medical supplies. But the supplies were drugged with some kind of poison that affects quarians and knocks them out to sleep, without killing them." "Hm...interesting, and the problem here is?" "The same guys went to Susskind Station and blew it the fuck up. They were part of this terrorist organisation called Facinus." "...well, that changes things." "Huh?" "What's the name of this ship?" "It's...uh...fuck I can't remember it now, it was on my omni-tool. See, Dr. Solus down at the clinic, I had him analyse the poison and he knew one ship that must have had it snuck into their medi-gel, but I...dammit...um...it...started with a P...pet a lava...pet a larva thingy...ungh, if you just untied me I-" "Petalavan Petavareen," said Archangel flawlessly. "Wha...YES, that was it!" "Hmmm...I see...terrorists you say?" "Totally, I fought with them before, they also tried to kill a councilor on Illium and killed a bunch of miners on Epho and stole all their shit!" "Really? And you decided not to tell the authorities about this?" "Firstly, how long is it gonna take until they can actually mobilise? Secondly, who the hell do I go to when they commit crimes in like three fucking solar systems?!" "Heh...good point, both of them actually." "So can you help me?" "Already on it." The turian lit up his omni-tool and began to monitor through various data feeds and camera recordings that he had. The screens spilled out across the walls of the ventilation unit, leaking with orange lights as pieces of Omega came flitting back and forth. Archangel passed through them with a cautious hand, filing and shuffling through various fleeting glances of gunfights, sad victims and deals gone sour. As he scanned through his recording data, he noted: "You know you're a very interesting visitor to this city...first you hang out with a rock band, then you go talk to Dr. Solus about poisons, then you try to sneak into the Blue Suns just so you can talk to me, and now you're asking me about terrorists." "I'm a mixed individual." "No you're not." "Huh?" "You're a guy that got into something way over his head and just doesn't wanna let it go, whether by arrogance or by a sense of morals...or even both." "Heh...guess you figured me out huh?" "I have my ways...ah, here, recognise this?"

It was a small group of people exiting a turian ship, which while was unfamiliar to FG, the turian at the front was unmistakeable. Tall and stridant, red paint across his face from ear to ear with a dip at the nose. "YES, that's him, that's the guy that fucked us over at Susskind Station!" "Hmmmm...know who he is?" "Thrassil Sanerix, some former asshole in the turian army that got discharged by claiming some bullshit, said he was on a failed mission that he was never on. Wherever he is, I'm gonna kick his ass." "Heh...former commander, good luck. Did he give you that eye of yours?" "Yeah...I wanna return the favour." "Well I can definitely tell you this. Someone sold him that poison easily down here in Omega, a volus called Fin Torvan." "And where can I find this Fin Torvan?" "Last I saw him he went off to the Citadel to celebrate his new riches, wannabe gangster who used to work at a bank and got a taste of the sweet life, just a poser with a knack for chemicals. But that doesn't mean he's not dangerous for being so selfish as to let wanton harm happen on others, for a little extra creds." "Heh...sounds like a banker alright." "Hmhm...there's something you should know about your new friends though. Fin Torvan hired the Blue Suns to be personal bodyguards, took one of their best with them too." "Wait what?! Seriously!?" "Mmhmm...guess you never thought to ask them huh?" "Well it...never occurred to me." "If you're gonna hunt down Fin Torvan then I should warn you about his bodyguard. She's a devious asari, formerly of the Eclipse mercenaries but went to the Blue Suns for better money, Anaira Kovis. Damn good biotic, had a scrape or two with her and...heh, well let's just say I'm glad she's not here and back on the Citadel with her new employer." "Right...when did this happen?" "About three weeks ago, but I haven't seen Fin Torvan come back and trust me a guy like him never escapes my notice. So he's probably still there wasting away his money." "Why didn't you do anything?" "Matters outside of Omega are not my problem...sad to say." "That's pretty cold man." "I can only save one place at a time...I can only go so far, unless I was a Spectre." "You mean like that Shepard?" "...yeah...like Shepard." The turian looked away slightly as if turning wistful, a sigh bitterly being swallowed in his throat before saying: "You have what you need, find Fin Torvan over at the Citadel and do what you have to. From what I know of him, he wouldn't wanna be too far from the Presidium itself so try to look for any nice bars or clubs to hang out at away from the wards." "Alright then," said FG, "hey uh...thanks for the help man I appreciate it." "Not a problem...James Campbell." "You even know my name?" "I know everyone's name on Omega." "So uh, I guess I'll never know who you really are huh?" "For all you know I could be a very smooth-talking salarian." "...maybe?" "Hehehe...I think we're done here, but first." He hovered over towards James and swiftly brought out a needle before jabbing in his neck, making the raptor freak out and try to back off before something took him. A strange sudden darkness dropped him to the floor fully, the rapid-fire injection shooting through his body before it had a chance to react. Archangel slowly removed his helmet once he was certain his guest was out, revealing his face in the dim darkness of the ventilation unit. A smooth grey-skinned turian with a single blue stripe streaking across his face, from cheek to cheek, smugly looking down on James before saying: "No offence but, can't take any chances with people I don't know, hope you understand. Don't worry, I'll put you somewhere nice where you won't get robbed or killed...maybe not an antique store...damn..." He looked down at his helmet in one hand, seeing the burn scar across it with a tutting noise in his teeth, before making call on his communique with a finger to his ear. "Need to get a new helmet no thanks to you. Sidonis." "Yeah?" said a voice on comms. "Gonna carry this guy out, he's not any danger, just a punk who got in over his head. I'm gonna drop him off at the markets, down with that elcor he always hangs out with. Keep me covered on any disturbances while on the way." "Alright...what you find out about him?" "Nothing I can use sadly...shame. Hopefully he'll learn his lesson and not come back here again...for his own sake." "Why's that?" "Because if the Blue Suns find him again...they're not going to be very happy with their new recruit once they realised what's happened...also, send someone to Dr. Solus' clinic to pick up more tranquilisers, I think I used up my last one."