[Redd]

He shook his head and moved back over to the door. "Really doesn't do you good to refer to a VI like it's a person. They don't feel, you know. They're just code." he tried to argue, but it was a topic they'd bickered about for a while. He knew he wasn't going to change her mind. "I don't care what you do in your spare time Hawke, just don't bring your side-job here and we'll be good."

He swung open the door and came face-to-face with one of the other bouncers. "Is Hawke her- ah, you, someone's asking for you at the door. Big Krogan." he said, guesturing for Korinne to follow before walking off.

"Eheh.. speaking of my side-hustle..." Korinne laughed nervously, before following suite. She had no idea who would be asking for her. Well, barring the two goons who usually tailed her when she walked home.

[Redd]

boss this beefy krogan at my job one of yours? i thought we said no mixing the 2 jobs, its going to blow my cover.
No.
well shit. then i might be in trouble.
Keep me informed and I will advise on how to proceed.
acknowledged

Korinne looked up from her wrist and took a deep breath as she approached the door. So this wasn't something to do with her side job, though she wasn't sure if that was a blessing or a curse. The fact that it was a Krogan ruled out Cerberus, though she still couldn't put that one aside. Killing their recruiters for a bit of credits on the side was still going to draw attention at some point or another.

Which meant it was one of two options; Aria's thugs finally got bored of waiting for her to be alone or she'd kicked out the wrong person. Both options weren't really... favourable and to say she was starting to get a bit worried was a bit of an understatement.

[Redd]

"Thanks Era." Korinne nodded at the bouncer, gesturing for him that it was okay to leave, before turning to the massive roadblock standing at the entrance. Dark green shell marked with knife gouges, yellowish skin, wide-set prey eyes, dark heavy armour of an unknown brand and what seemed to be a M-300 Claymore hanging off his shoulder, though she was operating off memory at this point.

"Can I help you, or were you just admiring the scenery?"

His brow furrowed, lips parting in that flat toothed scowl that was probably more intimidating than the needle-sharp teeth of a turian. That was probably not the best way to start off the conversation. She had to remember she was not dealing with humans. Human-likes? Did that have xenophobic undertones?  That was the hardest part of this whole... world hopping thing. A plot straight out of an isekai, that's what Kasumi called it but Hawke wasn't sure if she was taking the piss.

Anyway now was not the time to get lost in thought!

"You're a hard one to catch, girl. We're going to talk. Now." he growled, jerking a thumb behind him, gesturing for her to follow. No guns yet, that was a good sign.

[Redd]

"Right. Follow the Krogan into the dark alleyway, this is going to go well." Korinne muttered to herself, zipping up her jacket and crossing her hands across her chest in a bid to stay warm. "Maybe I don't like being followed, hardly think that's all that unusual." she raised her voice to respond, picking up a short jog every few steps to keep pace with the brisk stride of the reptile. "Mind actually telling me where we're going? Assuming it's not a death trap?"

"Boss doesn't want you dead, not yet. Otherwise it'd already happen." he replied, rather impassive about the topic. "She'll talk to you, that's not my job."

"She? Like... say a certain Asari tyrant?" Ah, she's angered a certain blue overlord. Interesting.

its aria
T'Loak?
yeah
This may present opportunity to be installed in a better vantage point. Tone down the smart ass remarks and be polite. Keep your story consistent. She's after answers, you don't exist on any database. If there's an opportunity for recruitment, offer it. Otherwise just get through the exchange without being killed.
comforting, acknowledged
-- S. B. has gone offline.

[Redd]

As expected, after being forced into a taxi and shuttled to the main hub of Omega, Korinne found herself standing outside of Afterlife itself. She'd avoided the main area of the hub for the obvious reason of avoiding attention and her usual marks were often found deep within the bowels of Omega. She had to stare, she'd eventually gotten used to the sheer size of these space stations, often housing two or even three times the amount of people as a Fereldan city, but in half the space and it always looked so... busy. She could see out the main observatory window various ships shooting by, no two the same. Looking back in, the line into the club was stretched for... well, actually she couldn't see the end. The Elcor bouncer at the front of the line was in the process of bickering with a disgruntled patron, though she couldn't take away anything from his impassive face.

"Hey. This one's with me." the Krogan grunted as he strode past, earning a nod from the Elcor and a string of curses from the human patron. "Let's go human."

[Wild Pet Found]

[Redd]

Afterlife was... almost exactly how she expected it to be, as far as her minimal knowledge of futuristic bars and nightclubs went. She peered out around the side of the Krogan to get a better view of the centrepiece of the entire establishment. A bar sat squarely in the centre of the room, with a dance floor built into the roof of it, it's shiny glass lit up by orange light, catching the curves of the predominantly Asari dancers, pulsing and thrumming in an almost hypnotic display.

Tearing her eyes away and further downward, it seemed like no species was exempt from this place, even Vorcha where here though their numbers were few. The music drowned out most of the conversation, if there was even any taking place. With the amount of drinking, dancing and private shows, she really doubted much talking was taking place. And Maker, her work was tame compared this and she had no idea how much she'd missed this lifestyle until now. Sure, beating people in for looking at her funny had it's merits but it didn't really... leave time for satisfying some of her other needs. Didn't leave a whole lot of trust for that either.

[Redd]

Where she was headed though, was up a flight of stairs towards what seemed to be an observation deck. As she headed around the corner, she got her first glance at the crime-lord, lounging around on the luxurious leather sofa, idly examining a data-pad, before a pair of Batarians stood squarely in her way and gestured for her to halt.  

"Hold still, any weapons you want to tell us about, or should we just try to find them?" One of the pair sneered, barely even waiting for an answer before one started scanning and the other started patting down her coat.

[Redd]

On a good day, she could barely handle people touching her, unless she'd invited it. And today, she'd already had to knock some heads around so it was not a good day. "You can look, you won't find anything." Korinne growled a warning, doing her best to clamp down on any urges to retaliate, as the hands wandered maybe a bit too far. The boss said be polite. Kneeing this idiot in the face for getting a good feel was not polite.

She took another deep breath, mentally counting to ten, breath hitching a bit around around 6 or 7 as a hand got a bit too low for her liking. Polite or no, she had fucking standards.

"Though if you continue, you'll find I do not need a gun to snap your neck." she growled, hand whipping out to catch a wrist. The Batarian snarled, all four eyes snapping to her and his buddy lept back with a yelp, pulling out a pistol.

[Redd]

"Alright, enough." A voice snapped through the murmur of voices and thrum of music. Instantly, the pair snapped to attention, all sets of eyes sheepishly darting back to the Asari on the couch. Korinne let go of the alien's wrist with a contempt grimace, before bringing her attention to where it should be.

All signs of previous bravado were short-lived upon getting a proper look at the Asari, sprawled across the red leather couch. This was someone who just didn't care. Hawke, the bodyguards, the nightclub patrons, they meant nothing to this Pirate Queen. Aria sighed, brushing off something from her pristine white and red leather jacket, before straightening up and placing the data-pad she was perusing down.

[Redd]

This was someone who could have her killed on a whim and there were more than enough people here to make sure that was possible, even if Korinne used her stealth tech to it's full extent.

"A necessary measure." she added, languidly gesturing at the seat adjacent. Korinne's mouth twisted into a concerned frown, but she complied.

And her boss wanted her to try and get in on this? Madness.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet Omega's very own Pirate Queen, but I assume this isn't a social call." Korinne leant forward in her seat and regarded her opposition with an eyebrow raised. Fear was dealt with via humour, that was simply something she couldn't turn off.

[Redd]

"A social call? No I suppose it isn't." Aria scowled, picking up the data-pad again and keying something in. "Hawke, was it? Arrived... roughly three months ago. No name, no ship, no residence. No. Records." As she spoke, her brow furrowed and her face turned into something terrifying. She was fuming. "Usually, people If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're a spy, but I'd at least like to know who you work for, before Grizz tosses you out the airlock." she gestured to the Turian standing off to the side.

Korinne's breath hitched. A stupid response really, all considered, she mused to herself. She knew the situation, she had multiple means of handling it. Shepard was an option, revealing her true employer was... even if Aria was working with Cerberus like some intelligence implied, she could work around it.

[Redd]

She took a deep breath and settled into her mask. She had the narrative. She just had to sell it convincingly. "If you look through the docking requests on the first day I was logged, you'll find records of the Normandy. I am seen within the hour." she calmly replied, ignoring her heart that was pounding in her chest. She waved a hand across her omni-tool, pulling up detailed logs and records. Some... stolen from Omega's 'port authority'. "I can send you logs that prove my claim."

Aria cast her eyes over at Grizz, who seemed to be confirming Korinne's statement. "Interesting... Shepard's interest only means trouble. The plague, Archangel, the Ardat-Yakshi... so what's she interested in this time?"

[Redd]

"The Omega 4 Relay." Korinne replied, keeping it simple for now. It was better if she assessed exactly how much the crime-lord knew first.

While it was obvious Aria had expected that answer - there at least, was no obvious surprise - she still made a show of thinking. "Shepard still may have use yet, sorry Grizz, maybe another day. However, I've got no interest in one of her's spying on the situation here. We have it under control, so you can go back to whatever hole you crawled out of." she replied, waving a hand carelessly, probably to dismiss her.

[Redd]

She had a feeling it'd come to that and while Korinne frowned, she still had a backup. She just wanted to hold onto her last card for a little longer. "I have a counter proposal then." she carefully stated, eyes intently moving to watch for threats. Aria wouldn't like the fact she withheld information, she had to be very careful moving forward. "Information, for your permission to stay. Access to my resources."

That caught her attention. The Asari leaned forward, interested but her eyes narrowing warily. "What could you offer me, that I don't already have?"

[Redd]

"As an Agent of the Shadow Broker? Access to information you know you don't have."

Aria leaned back, her expression thoughtful. "So, holding out on me, and an agent? I don't appreciate information being withheld from me. However, you are correct. It's a tempting offer." she paused, clearly weighing up her options. "I'll consider it. Grizz, escort her out. You'll hear from me."

The Turian moved forward and grabbed her arm, tilting his head for her to leave. Korinne snarled and jerked her arm away but he was already moving towards the door and Aria was already immersed in something else. She'd have to leave it there and just hope for the best, she guessed.

Great.

could have gone better could have gone worse i suppose
she knows i work for you so the cats out of that proverbial bag
im a primitive medieval colonist so no miracles but at least she's interested
Remind me to send you a vid on grammar and how to write a formal report sometime...
Andraste: Task: Study of Human Grammar and Task: A Guide to Comprehensive Report Writing have been logged.

[Wild Pet Found]