Omega Solo Mafioso (Patreon)

Omega Solo Mafioso - or “How a Human became the Galaxy’s most renown Gangstar!” (Mass Effect SI)

EDIT: Back from a classic of the past, this time a bit revised to be a bit serious but still crackish. It's been roughly two years since the 'Omega Solo Mafioso' oneshot was first written and... this is nothing like that~.

Do you believe in coincidences?

Because, right now, I was having a rough time believing all of what was going on around me was planned. One moment I was asleep, the next I found myself in a makeshift hospital somewhere in Omega and being looked after by what looked to be a Turian.

Guy from the masculine frame, scarred left eye and a bit of a creepy vibe to his relieved expression as he realized that I was awake. This was not a good way to wake up but-

“Oh, so you’re finally awake. This is not a good situation to be sleeping at the moment.”

I would have been a bit more frightened by the situation if not for another thing that got my full attention- which was the loud explosion that rocked the entire building we were in, causing most of the lights to flicker.

“Shit,” The Turian spoke in proper British English which made absolutely no sense as I doubted people spoke Human languages at this point and… I realized my left arm was heavy with what looked to be a strange glove. “I think it’s time for you to leave.”

I frowned, a bit uneasy at the double meaning of that sentence.

“W-What?”

“The entire place is falling apart. It’s… it sucks to say but I don’t think a civvie should be slaughtered with the rest of us.”

I was still recoiling with what was going on around me at the time, but I could clearly see numerous groaning people in no shape to fight back the kind of siege the building was getting and… and I am not someone that missed on the fact I was pulled there to be patched up as I could see bandages around my right arm.

“Couldn’t you all just leave from the rear- is the entire building encircled?”

A grimace adorned the Turian’s face. “The Blue Suns have us encircled and they have tanks to support this. It’s not a good time to be part of this gang.”

Blue Suns- we are in Omega. I had not locked in on where I was as the world of Mass Effect was massive but… this was bad. Omega was lethal to anyone that tried to conquer it solo, and I couldn’t leave this situation without money.

So… I needed to do something to get a group to help me. This group. Why this one? Well, if the Blue Suns were after them, then there was a chance they are not bad bastards. Bastards maybe, but not the worst scum Omega has to offer.

“I will try to help.”

“Don’t,” The Turian sounded a bit more strong-worded at this point. “I can tell you want to help but… this is a lost cause.”

I didn’t push it, just nodding and following him to a small section that led out of the building in a less-troubled area outside of it. He gave me a lost look before going inside, not even bothering to exchange names since it could have been his last time being around and talking with someone he barely knew and…

I am not the kind of guy that ignores kindness like that. I don’t know what caused me to get wounded, but I barely felt any stress on my right arm and the wound was mostly sealed- I could tell this much just by feeling alone. So, I had a compelling reason to help on a moral principle and because I needed someone to get money from by the end of the day.

Once I was alone, I paused to check the ‘heavy glove’ I had on my left hand, knowing that it was the device that helped communicate with the Turian- which was an…

An orange hologram covered my arm as I pressed an invisible button.

Oh, I have an Omni-tool. I guess I can actually do something with this~.

…

If I get a hang on how the commands here work, of course.

—-------d-d-d-d—--------

Larmus Quitis knew today would have been the day he died.

He knew that his life wouldn’t have gone for long ever since he left the Turian Army, ever since he left the strict military life imposed to him by his parents and the horrors he had to be part of before deciding to go for Omega.

The former minerary station had long seen better days, but with how unstable and seedy the place was nowadays, it was tough to imagine it- even more if you were a ‘local’ of this unpleasant place.

Larmus had not planned to live long there, having plotted to leave once the gang he joined had made enough credits to allow a proper retirement away from his past mistakes. As a marksman and a medic, this opportunity was within reach as his traits were well-paid.

At first. Then the gang started to hit on bigger fishes- too big for the gang itself as the Blue Suns were not wrong in trying to crush them like this. With their leader long dead and this small remnant of the once large group getting destroyed in that building, things were quite bleak.

It wasn’t the place he had hoped to die on, but it wasn’t like there wasn’t much of a choice in a place like this. In Omega, you either make it big or you die small and forgettable.

Right now, as the building he was helping around in looked ready to collapse at the shelling of the Blue Suns. It was imminent, it was unpleasant- to know that he could have done more- said more even.

But in that moment of dreadful clarity, where his life was now no longer his to keep but of the cruel fate he got stuck with… luck decided to produce a miracle.

Luck and stupidity.

The abnormal development for the good outcome of this matter started in a gradual fashion. First the barrage lessened- the sound of bombing continued but it was redirected elsewhere.

The dreaded attempt of the infantry to break through their desperate holdout vanished as the Blue Suns troops shifted away to handle ‘something dangerous’, and then… one of the soldiers guarding the main entrance reached the rear rooms.

“The- The Blue Suns- they are gone.”

Confusion, shock and yet curiosity all clashed within Larmus’ mind, following a small group of fellow-minded mercenaries to check what was going on. As the guards had said, there was only destruction as all Blue Suns troops had been decimated and the source of this carnage being the sole vehicle slowly pulling close to them.

The gun was aiming elsewhere, well away from them as what Larmus recognized as a M-080 pulled over by the entrance. Once the vehicle parked, its rear entrance opened to reveal the very civvie he sent out of trouble bringing a few boxes containing what he could already tell was… Medigel.

The kid he had patched up and sent out of trouble, a human saved by a Turian, decided to come back to help in such a terribly destructive fashion. How?

“Th-There are other boxes in the tank,” The human pointed out as he approached them, stuttering as he was carrying around five heavy crates filled with medigel.

Some of the guards were stunned by the development and unsure what to do but… Larmus took steps forward to catch up with the young man and grab some of the small crates.

“How many?”

“Roughly six, maybe seven- wasn’t exactly paying attention while I loaded them in the vehicle.”

That was… great. No, even better than that. Medigel was what the wounded needed in that moment and with how limited supplies were, they could manage a profit by selling what they didn’t need to keep around. It would be money, it would be breathing space to rebuild from scratch and get the gang going but… Larmus felt hesitation.

Was this the way to go?

He came close to death today and, as much as his Turian mindset dictated a need to ‘finish the fight’, what ‘fight’ was there to finish if they were so weak? His dilemma was a reasonable one, yet it wavered as he realized how terrified the young man was- even though he was the sole responsible of that massacre, he hardly looked like the kind of guy that should have done this.

Larmus kept quiet about this as he helped around with the boxes and started to use the medigel on the injured members. There was an odd sense of peace during this intense moment of the day- no war, but a tense peace that left him uneasy.

Everyone was stuck in a similar situation and… then the truth came out. Who did this, who saved them.

The young human looked absolutely surprised by the cheers he got, which wasn’t truly a confusing reaction considering the overall circumstance he was responsible for but the celebrations were not meant to last for long as an issue appeared now before the attention of everyone.

What now?

They lived through this massacre and they didn’t have a plan for the ‘aftermath’.

“Well, if I may be honest with you all, how about some of the people here looting the bodies and carrying all the resources of the dead enemy here to split so that we… the gang can get back to work?”

The suggestion was offered by the human and while some were reluctant to go out just yet, most were sold to the idea of trying to retain some normalcy out of these dreadful days.

Plus, the loot would be enough to pay the mercenaries and deal with the costs of fixing this place and get new equipment. It would be enough to stabilize things for now but… Blue Suns was more than just the group sent against them. They had more equipment and more men. Yet, that was nobody’s concern at the moment.

Too much had happened and too many things had yet to be discussed- especially the leadership.

Still, while everyone was moving to ‘fix’ things up all around, Larmus decided to focus on the one individual that brought so much good change in little time.

“Human,” He greeted curtly. “I think you need to sit for a moment.”

Surprise flashed on the young man’s face. “I’m fine-”

“That’s for me to say and I can tell you’re still under shock for… killing for the first time. Pretty much leading to a massacre.”

The muted shock was enough of confirmation of this and he sat down without fussing any further.

“My name is Larmus. What’s yours?”

He didn’t even think of asking- with all that had happened today, knowing a new civvie that turns out to be some sort of gifted one man army, luck or not, was not something he had put much thought on.

“John.”

“So… how did you even do it?”

The narration was enough to leave Larmus perplexed, but, at the same time, aware that the individual he was speaking to may be one of those unique characters his father had many times pointed out of great importance:

A man with the will of the time to change things, either for good or for bad.

—------d-d-d-d—-----

AN

I can’t tell precisely ‘when’ this is happening, but I will just say it’s before the beginning of Mass Effect.