(Omega) Cruentation

Perdido Street Outskirts, Omega - The Oubliette

The Perdido Street Oubliette was one of half a dozen run by Eclipse across Omega.

It shouldn't be a surprise, really. Asari, salarians and humans all have gargantuan cultural differences, but none of them would throw something away if there was the off-chance it would be useful later. Hence the Oubliette Network, where former high-ranking Operatives could be interred (for years, if need be) in the hope they might be needed one day.

---

"Prisoner Sixteen is singing again."

"So?"

"So it's fucking annoying, Malik, and it's your turn to tell her to shut up."

Abd Al Malik grunted. "Fine. But after I take a piss."

"Ew. Too much information, dude. If you're heading outside, don't forget the ACB. Don't want Her Lieutenant-ness to bawl us out. Again."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." And with that, the human opened the door and stepped into the alleyway.

---

"Those other fuckers think they're strong; With big-ass guns and their cocky song..."

Prisoner Sixteen had a shocking voice, but that didn't stop her singing.

"But bring them on, bring one bring all; we'll sing them down and prove them wrong..."

Neither did the catcalls from the handful of other inmates. Not that they could see her, given the total isolation each of them was kept in, but sound bled through the walls.

"We'll take knives and guns and poison gas; Bend them down and stick it up their ass!"

Prisoner Sixteens voice rose with the song, approaching its finale.

"We'll fillet those fuckers and watch them die; Then kiss the maidens 'till they cry..."

Not many asari would sing 'kiss' instead of the songs original lyrics, but then again, Prisoner Sixteen wasn't just any asari.

---

As Malik emptied his bladder in the alleyway behind the Oubliette, he couldn't have known he was only aiming about eight inches away from the asari lying concealed in the pile of rubbish he was relieving himself into.

Then again, maybe that wasn't his biggest problem. Two sets of invisible microlaser targeting beams were caressing his head even as someone was slipping into the Oubliettes camera suite and the prisons mech contingent.

Six asari Commandos had once taken a Blood Pack battalion captive without reinforcements or supplies.

Assigning three to Operation Cursor was almost definitely overkill.

Scalefin lay in the dirt and refuse, watching Malik zip up through her main visor while she checked the other windows.

Ive got eyes on the N candidate. Valhawk, where're the other threats?

Ex-Union is still in the guardroom, the LT is still doing her rounds and I've got eyes on the wannabe Huntresses.

Copy that. Songblade, I'll take N candidate and the frog, then you enter. Valhawk, you hit them the second the all-clear beacon goes dead.

Copy that, Scalefin.

Copy. Scalefin, the floor is yours.

---

Abd Al Malik was whistling while he turned around, all-clear beacon tucked under one arm and an old Lady Sweat tune going through his head.

He didn't see Scalefin rise up behind him like a ghost.

Didn't see the monomolecular knife shining in her hand.

He didn't even feel it slice the back of his neck open - his last thought was wondering why the lights went out.

---

His salarian friend didn't have a chance. One moment the all-clear beacon went off, and the next Valhawk had assumed control of the Oubliettes security net.

"Mayday mayday mayday!! Malik's down, cameras down, mechs non-responsive, tool up and-"

And a shape came through the door at a crouch and a hail of supersonic shredder rounds tore him in half.

---

Still locked in her cell, Prisoner Sixteen smiled like a shark.

---

Mechs on the rampage, random prisoners released, lights flickering off and on at random, screams from dying Eclipse and rioting prisoners.

The Oubliette was in chaos.

And chaos was a Commandos playground.

The worst part about facing a team of Commandos was the silence.

Noise-cancelling helmets meant there was no warning, no speech, just the harsh rip of a sub-machine gun or that unmistakeable sound of biotics tearing gravity to shreds.

---

The Lieutenant was hit from two sides at once, a Pull from behind setting her up for a bone-breaking Throw that cracked her hardsuit against the bulkhead.

A pair of salarian techies were so focused on dodging fire from the malfunctioning LOKI mechs that they didn't see the figure drop down behind them before being sliced limb from limb.

A human guard, cut off from the rest of her unit, had her shotgun snatched away as a biotic punch snapped her spine.

The final cluster of Eclipse had taken cover behind one of the Oubliettes anti-riot barricades. They didn't notice it lift ever-so-slightly into the air before a colossal Throw sent it hurtling into them, smashing them to the ground, easy targets for the bursts of mass accelerator fire.

---

Three arcologies away, a pair of Mantis gunships lifted off their moorings, packed with Eclipse and bristling with heavy weapons.

---

The two Commandos opened Prisoner Sixteens cell door.

"Stay down! Hands where we can see them!"

"Stay down! Hands where we can see them!"

Nassa D'Veyra had been a Commando long enough to know they do not fuck around. When the two asari burst into her cell, she was lying face-down on the ground, hands on head, legs spread and knees bent - ready for prisoner transport, in other words.

"Name and rank. Now."

"Sister-Major Nassa D'Veyra, CO 16 and 89 Compan-"

"Not that malari shit. Your original name and rank."

D'Veyra breathed out slowly. [color-lightblue]So that's how they want to play it, hey?[/color]

"Commando Nassa D'Veyra, Ulisian First Cadre."

"That's better. My partner here's going to check you for tracers and weapons - if you move, you die. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Very good. Sit tight and we'll have you back in R-Space inside a day."

---

Songblade's check was clean - no subdermal tracers, no amp, no weapons. Eclipse might be nasty, but they made good jailers.

"Stand up."

D'Veyra stood up slowly, trying to make it obvious she wasn't a threat. She might've been unarmed, but nobody that obviously gene-modded could ever be called harmless.

Scalefin aimed her SMG straight between D'Veyra's eyes as Songblade's arms moved around her waist.

"Don't even think about making a run for it. You stick with us and you'll be okay." The Commando checked the doorway. "We're clear, come on."

---

The trio set off for the Perdido Street docks at a brisk pace, stopping only when D'Veyra bent down and twisted an Eclipse jailer's neck so hard it nearly decapitated them.

"She spat in my 'paste," was the only explanation given.

They moved on, neither of the Commandos thinking to check the asari corpse's amp port.

---

"Approaching your position Valhawk, target is in tow. Anything on the threat boards?"

"Two yellows coming in hard and fast. Ninety seconds 'til their scopes can track us, another ninety 'til we're in firing range."

"Copy that, Valhawk. We're at the LZ now and- Merciful Ajrakila!"

D'Veyra was gone.

---

It wasn't much of a plan, really.

After five months in more or less solitary confinement, the last thing D'Veyra wanted was to trade one prison for another. Tides, as she'd put it, Shit I've done? The Republics have no reason to want me alive.

She'd palmed the corpse's amp when she broke it's neck, popped it into her own port when the time was right and stepped off the edge of the dock.

---

One floor, two floors, three floors, four floors, now!

Muscles moved, triggering nerve impulses that flashed into nodes of eezo strung throughout her body, and then the amp kicked in and-

"Fuck!"

-hurled D'Veyra into a batarian taking in the view at a lower level.

By the time Valhawk had a visual, she'd grabbed the blink's gun and made a run for it into the dark heart of Omega. With the Eclipse forces only a human minute away from catching sight of the Commandos, there was only one thing they could do: Leave.

And hope that D'Veyra found them before Eclipse found her.

---

She only stopped running half an hour later. After so long trapped in that cell, just moving felt good. Hell, breathing in the air felt great, even with the vorcha-smell.

Trapped on Omega with Eclipse after me, without creds, a 'tool, a hardsuit or a friend. On the plus side, I've got a gun and an amp and a lot of energy to burn off.

Tides, it's good to be back.