<span style="color: Blue">Holes are part of the job.</span>Vega smirked.<span style="color: Blue">It may seem like too great of an expense, I admit.</span>he shrugged.<span style="color: Blue">But protecting my life and preventing the leaking of sensitive information regarding some of my business partners requires that I protect your lives. I'm willing to make an investment on those grounds.</span><br/><br/>He nodded to Firas.<span style="color: Blue">We'll get you set up with one of my engineers once we've surveyed the the tower. You can give them your specs and I'll tell them to set you two up with some of our armor. I won't be paying you for this so its the least I can do. With any luck, after tomorrow night you'll be able to get whatever Ren Kalga owes you and be done with this mess. I know Omega smugglers can be notoriously stiff with their wallets.</span>Vega folded the suit back up and put it back in its case.<br/><br/><span style="color: DarkOrchid">You know the Volus?</span>Ashana asked, eying the human as he put the case back on its rack.<br/><br/>Vega looked down and frowned, nodding slightly. He looked at the three and nodded for them to follow him and started back the way they came.<span style="color: Blue">I do. His operation was the one I selected to move the object I'm middle manning for my client. He's a bastard, but unfortunately what I needed from him required a bastard.</span><br/><br/><span style="color: DarkOrchid">In my experience, he's on the nicer side of Omega's inhabitants.</span>Ashana said, following Vega.<span style="color: DarkOrchid">We're still breathing, and he hasn't figured out that I lied to him about how many people he's supposed to be paying.</span><br/><br/>Vega laughed.<span style="color: Blue">You know a lot of people on Omega?</span><br/><br/><span style="color: DarkOrchid">I know most of them.</span><br/><br/>Again, Vega laughed.<span style="color: Blue"> I'll be sure to give you a call for a recommendation the next time I do business in the traverse.</span><br/><br/>The group emerged into the manufacturing plant, the noise making any continued conversation difficult. Vega led them back to the door they had entered from, where the transport was still waiting. They took their seats, and Vega opened his omni-tool and spoke into it.<span style="color: Blue">I'm going to need tower transit at pad 6.</span>He said nodded to the driver.<span style="color: Blue">Pad 6.</span>The vehicle began moving again.<span style="color: Blue">You'll get some time to settle in after I show you around the tower where the event will take place.</span><br/><br/>Pad 6 was a short ride away, and not long after their arrival, a skycar arrived to ferry them all up to the tower. The skycar was a model Ashana had never seen before. The ride was extravagant, well furnished, and spacious. This was the business side of the human's operation, Ashana knew as they vehicle took off smoothly and she settled into the leather bench seat. She crossed her legs and rested one hand delicately on her knee, the other beside her on the seat while she looked out the window. She felt more comfortable here, more at home. Though, she mused, it was so far from Omega and its grime. If only there were customers who could afford this kind of luxury on Omega. Ashana smirked as she thought about it. She remembered the game. She remembered how good she was at it. Who was worth the most credits, who wasn't; how to bend, to turn, to wink; all of the wonderful tricks to try and fuck a few more credits out of them.<br/><br/>The skycar moved over the industrial zone with the tower etched out in front of them, the suns rays just barely reaching the horizon as it began to set. encircling the tower were perfectly kept gardens with green trees and glistening clear pools. The car landed on a pad among them, and Vega led the group up a path through the green Tower the tower. Ashana looked up and was finally struck by the scale of the building. It was black, like a spire of obsidian glass. It wasn't too unlike the many towers on Illium, except that it stood alone at the center of Vega's industrial zone. It was meant to impress, and Ashana noted that it was working admirably on her.<br/><br/>The reception hall was equally impressive. Its black floors were speckled with silver and polished to mirror quality. Ashana looked down and amused herself with thoughts of wearing a skirt into the building. To the left and right of the doors were waterfalls and behind the long reception desk were two half circle staircases. Behind the desk, mounted in front of yet another glistening semi-circle waterfall that reached from stairway to stairway where glass cases with weapons in them. The center held a curved sword, something Ashana had never seen before. The others held ancient firearms in pristine condition. Two women sat behind the long desk, one of whom, Ashana noted, was the one that had contacted them on the ship.<br/><br/>Vega led them up the stairs to an elevator. He punched in floor 38 and they started upwards smoothly. The doors opened onto a very large, open room with very high ceilings. Its far wall was entirely glass that looked down on the gardens and industrial zone beyond. There was a second level  above that looked down on the main hall and various hallways leading off into other places. The hall had at least a dozen people all managing it, cleaning, moving furniture and planters, setting up lights.<br/><br/><span style="color: Blue">This is the event hall where the party will be taking place.</span>He walked out into its center and held out his arms.<span style="color: Blue">Tomorrow night it will fill with several of the most rich and powerful names in the weapons industry.</span>His voice didn't echoed as much as it should have in such a space.<br/><br/>Vega looked across the room and spotted a tall, broadly built human with a shaved head looking at a data tab.<span style="color: Blue">Malcolm!</span>Vega shouted. The man looked up and Vega waved him over.<span style="color: Blue">Firas, Ashana, Darion, this is Malcolm Ricard. He's head of security. Malcolm, these are the additions the shadow broker sent over.</span>The big human looked at them and nodded.<br/><br/><span style="color: Red">So you'll be on the floor with us?</span>He asked, looking at them.<br/><br/><br/>***<br/><br/><br/>The elevator opened and the three people on the Acheron's bridge watched Sorv stoically as Shira ushered him onto the CIC. Falkris' expression was less threatening than the Human captain's. A long silence passed between the two parties as Cantenelli stared into Sorv's enigmatic visor.<br/><br/><span style="color: Red">Shira'va,</span>Falkris said cooly,<span style="color: Red">lower the weapon. We have no need for hostilities here.</span><br/><br/>The Quarian's glowing eyes turned to Cantenelli, waiting for the Human to echo the command, but he stayed quiet, looking at Sorv. She glanced back at Falkris then slowly lowered her shotgun and stepped off to the side of Sorv.<br/><br/><span style="color: Blue">I... apologize... for the necessity of our caution.</span>Cantenelli finally spoke.<span style="color: Blue">We were going to keep you in the med bay while you healed from your injury... and until we decided what we were going to do about this... this situation we're in.</span><br/><br/><span style="color: Blue">My name is Armando Cantenelli. This...</span>he motioned around him,<span style="color: Blue">is my vessel. The vessel you unrightfully stole from me. You are Sorv, and you, Sorv, are in the unfortunate position of being the only one of your crew left on my ship. Before you ask, they're on Bekenstein, the planet we're now orbiting. They're following the lead that you and your human friend provided us.</span>Cantenelli glanced at Falkris.<span style="color: Blue">The Salarian you captured did provided your crew with the shadow broker's location. That was 27 hours ago. You have been unconscious since.</span><br/><br/><br/>***<br/><br/><br/><span style="color: Navy">Well, on a refined and streamlines system, everything probably would be software reconnection. But the Acheron here is prototype. Her next generation probably wouldn't have half of the stuff that's in her.</span>Taseer responded to Kala's comment on the bypass.<br/><br/>When Kala brought up the distrust she felt from the captain Taseer spoke up again.<span style="color: Navy">You're already better off than those others that were just on board. They're the ones who stole the ship. Unless something changed recently, the Captain's got half a mind to leave them on Bekenstein. He gave you the choice to stay. He needs mechanics, and I prefer mechanics like you to ones who only work with high end tech. Tech tends to have occasional low end problems, and I don't like explaining how simple operations work.</span><br/><br/>The indicator on the module blinked for a few moments after Kala reconnected it, then turned green.<span style="color: Navy">It was a joke, Kala. Cantenelli's not the type. Its a shame too, he can be very up tight sometimes - needs to get laid. Its the ex-alliance commander attitude he's got.</span><div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>