A/N - Regarding this chapter, if you've been reading this, you'll notice that I've added Amelie Lacroix as one of Shepard's crew. I've never played Overwatch though find the characters and lore rather interesting and have read a lot of it in detail. The lore of Overwatch doesn't mesh with the Mass Effect universe so I've had to adapt Amelie's backstory to fit this universe.
Australian / British standard English. There is a good chance of reading the following: lots of profanity, characters drinking, typos, and bad grammar at times.
Proofreading and editing suggestions provided by OhDave1. Any mistakes are still mine.
Comments are appreciated as always.
Feedback by email is always welcome. Enjoy chatting with anyone who likes my work.
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Shepard helps Amelie with a personal problem.
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No one asked me why we were making a quick stop at Omega as I waited by the airlock. I think most of them had already noticed that I'd come aboard with Samara and Morinth though not with Aela. It was only when I was waiting for the airlock to open that I heard the click of heels, not looking at Miranda as she approached me.
"You were distracted by the crazy bitch, and I don't mean Jack," she said once she was standing next to me.
"Don't let her hear you call her that."
"She'd probably agree with me though then either want to fight or fuck me." That made my eyes widen as I glanced at her in surprise. She met my eyes and smiled. "I don't think either of us are actually attracted to women, Shepard, so don't go thinking things." Then her smile broadened as she added, "Though I'm sure you'd be delighted with a threesome including me and Jack."
"What's brought this on?"
"I'm simply amused that we left Omega without the recruit because you were distracted by a real crazy bitch. Was the sex that good?"
"I'm sure you know that I fucked her on the ship too."
"I wish we could have watched it on video. I think the entire ship would have enjoyed the show."
The airlock opened and I was relieved that I could escape before Miranda started to suggest other things. Afterlife was calling as I was hopeful that Aela hadn't disappeared while I'd been away. Taking Morinth to Lesuss and then returning to Omega had taken a few days. Not seeing any sign of Aela or at least someone of her description, I made my way towards Aria in her usual place. She took one look at me and laughed.
"I heard you left with a couple of asari. I can only assume one of them was who you were after. Distracted were you, Shepard?"
"Is Aela still here?"
"She is though I know she's working right now." She opened her omni-tool and I received information rather quickly. "She's here. Nothing major. I think she'd dealing with a couple of batarian... I think the human term that you'd use is fuckwits. Generally making human lives miserable here."
"I'll track her down."
Given that I never entered Omega without my armour and weapons, I called Garrus, Grunt, Jack and Miranda, wanting a little firepower, and I knew Jack and Miranda disliked batarians as much as I did. Jack had gone into detail about her time spent as one of their slaves. I wasn't surprised that she escaped nor that she'd dealt with them brutally.
Once the four had joined me, I explained the story. I didn't think we'd need to go in all guns blazing, but without knowing what to actually expect, I wanted to make sure that I had enough support in case things went south. The section of the station we were heading towards had no human presence whatsoever. And given that the three mercenary companies that we'd wiped out had yet to restore a foothold, other gangs were starting to throw their weight around.
"Have your weapons ready but we don't want to shoot unless necessary," I instructed my team before we entered the area, "She's apparently in a tavern up ahead. No humans. Mostly full of batarians and vorcha. Look around. No asari either. Very few turians. A few krogan at most."
I felt the eyes of every batarian on us as we approached the small establishment. None of them were stupid enough to approach us given we were either armoured or quite obviously shielded. Add to the weapons that were on display, and while there might have been more than one comment in our direction, none of us reacted. I didn't particularly want a bloodbath.
It felt like one of those old westerns when we entered the tavern, and the place seemed to fall silent almost immediately. The clientele was a mixture of batarian, vorcha and krogan with a sprinkling of other species. Not a human in sight except for one near the back of the tavern, at a table by herself. She removed the leather hood from her head, and I recognised her immediately from the photo that I had.
The place remained silent as we moved through the crowd. More than one batarian glared in our direction. Any vorcha that met my eyes looked ready to start a fight. I would smile at them and walk past. I knew the others were watching my back when I took a seat opposite Aela. She had incredibly long red hair, the leather coat she wore clung to her ample bosom, and I noticed the pair of pistols on the table.
"I know who you are," she said without introducing herself, "And you know who I am."
"Sorry for the delay but..."
"I was aware of your previous visit here and why. If you hadn't taken care of her, I would have given it a go. Aria would probably have liked the situation resolved. Killing visitors who enjoy her establishment isn't good for business. Can't have that sort of reputation."
"I take it that you've received information from Cerberus about the mission?"
"Sure have and quite a lump sum of credits."
"And I understand you have a personal matter..."