[Redd]

The door slid closed behind her and locked with a sharp click. Lodging in Omega, unless you had a name, cash and a booming illegitimate business, was always going to be rough - that just came with the territory. She was fortunate to have a stable income at least, thanks to her job as an agent of the Shadow Broker but even that meant that you just had the option of a secure house in a bad area, or a house with poor security in an area with less crime.  She opted for the latter. Stealth tech (courtesy of Cerberus, though taken with a five finger discount) solved the problem of being stalked home, but this time she didn't bother turning it on.

Korinne sighed and leant against the door, looking around the apartment. It was a studio, that's all she could manage. A black and red kitchenette fulfilled most of her dining needs, though she ate out most nights and a futon was shoved into the adjacent corner. She obviously wasn't thrilled about sleeping so close to the floor but it wasn't worth owning furniture.

Not if this universe was doomed.

[Redd]

"Andraste? Where did we end our last session?" Korinne unceremoniously flopped on the bed and keyed started tapping on her omni-tool.

"The state of Omega and noted threats." the VI responded without hesitation, the screen disappearing under her fingertips and a transcript of her audio log appearing. With a frown she swiped it away, it wasn't needed.

"Hrmmm... nah, I'll leave that where it is. Pull up that therapy module, look for something relevant." Korinne sighed, exhaling and leaning back against the cold synthetic wall and closing her eyes.

"For legal reasons, my primary application is a personal assistant and a organisational VI, this unit should not be relied on for medical reasons." the VI began to say, before Korinne gave a vague dismissive wave. Knowing her reaction, it changed tack. "Let's start with: What brought you to download this software?"

[Redd]

"An AI who had too much spare time ...Ah ahem. It was recommended by a friend. I was- am dealing with an environmental change. Not that... any of my problems came from the change. I blamed it for a while but I think... I'm always like this.

Omega's just... highlighted problems. Kirkwall was always... there was always the next problem to solve. It masked the real issues. It kept things moving at such a fast pace that I never needed to stop and consider what was going on. But when Kirkwall fell, it... became apparent. The problems, that is.

First of all, I know... no one in Omega. I have... loose acquaintences I work with. I have people I occasionally have to message.

It's... immensely difficult. In a world like this, so connected, it's incredibly easy to feel alone. All to easy to fall in the cracks. If I went missing, who'd know? My employers, maybe. After a couple of days of not showing up.

[Redd]

I mean, I'm probably considered as good as dead back home. Though it's the same story. You spend your entire life somewhere and walk away from it with one person who maybe notes your existance. The rest knew you as... a monster. A cutthroat who only looked out for themselves. A mercenary. A lunatic with anger issues. You name it, if it's negative, it's probably been used to describe me.

I'm not all that surprised. Honestly. I ran away from my duty. I maybe didn't have the best way of conducting myself.

Maybe I didn't understand people as well as I thought I did. Well, below a superficial level. I can manipulate, I can charm, I can get my way on a day-to-day basis with people I barely know but beyond that, I'm useless.

[Redd]

I'm starting to note differences in my past behaviour, versus everyone else's. I'd pour my entire being into something, and they'd leave at the first mistake. I'd sit there, agonising over what I did wrong. I'd never get an answer. The moment Kirkwall fell, everyone scattered and left and I was branded as a criminal.

I thought I'd built myself a future with friends and family, I never realised I'd built it on sand.

And in part, that's how I've ended up as who I am today. I don't trust. I don't let people close. I panic if I'm alone in a room with someone I don't know. I don't believe the average person isn't a threat. I don't believe offers of friendship are legitimate and... it's taken this long, it's taken... ending up in a world doomed to end, in a pirate-run outpost on outer fringes of the Milky Way to identify this as a problem.

[Redd]

That's... probably a very long way to answer the question... huh?

I mean, otherwise... maybe I'm coping with the difference between Thedas and this future-world. It's hard to say. My whole life, I've assumed I'm good at blending it, pretending to be like the rest. You hang back, you observe, take notes, learn what's expected, how normal people behave and then you attempt to mimic it.

I could be utterly failing though. There's a very real chance I've deluded myself into believing that I'm fitting in. I could be absolutely failing to see beyond the immediate and putting together my own conclusions that absolutely do not match the bigger picture.

[Redd]

A loud bang on her front door snapped her back to attention, quiet resignation swapped to fear. It was hard to reign in the urge to reach for her old-world daggers, stashed somewhere away in a closet. Not that they couldn't cleave through armour - they could quite easily - but there were better tools in this world. Ones more subtle.

With a heave, she pulled herself up to her feet and ordered, "Okay Andraste, I think we got enough. Submit and swap to combat mode. Load up that dual dagger config we set up the other night. Bind it to A1."

And with that done, she sauntered over to the door and opened it with a button press. "Hello, come here for somethin'?" she smirked, leaning heavily on the door and surveying her visitor through lowered eyelids. Grizz stared back, unimpressed. Ah well, she tried.

[Redd]

"Ugh. Yes, can I come in?" He glanced both ways down the alley and Korinne moved away and re-postured into something more serious.

"I can assume from the lack of weapons being shoved in my face, that it's a not a no from Aria?" Korinne gestured at the Turian, before leaning up against a wall, arms crossed.

"Believe me, if it were a no, I wouldn't be casually inviting myself into your apartment. We looked a bit more into... what did you call it, your 'side hustle'? I'm more than aware you're more than capable of handling yourself without a gun." Grizz replied, air quotes around the last phrase.

"Aaah, Trev. You sad sob. He ratted me out didn't he? You'd tell me if he did, right?" Korinne grinned right back at the Turian, the interface on her omni-tool lighting up, two glowing orange blades flicking into existence, one for each wrist. She honestly just wanted to test the configuration and he'd given her a decent opening.

[Redd]

She'd still not quite got alien expressions down, but the twitch of his eyebrow ridges and his mandibles flaring ever so slightly seemed to imply she'd rattled him, just a little bit. Good.

"I... We don't rat out informants." He managed to recover, trying to throw on an unimpressed expression and reached for a datapad. "And I'd save your energy, Aria's agreed to cut you a deal. You're good at making people disappear. To demonstrate your worth, she wants you to handle this." He offered the datapad and Korinne took it, expression turning from arrogant to shocked.

"You want me to... Him?" She replied, barely managing to scramble for words. "You do not just make a Krogan disappear?!"

Grizz shrugged, though his expression was sympathetic. "Usually, we send people against marks that showcase their skills. With your skillset, ordinarily I'd pick something more sabotage and espionage. Assassination maybe. Aria... handpicked this one herself." he offered, with a grimace.

[Redd]

"Yeah I... it couldn't be further away from what..." Korinne mused, mostly to herself. It was a mark that deliberately worked against her skillset. Could her blades even get through Krogan skin? And she wasn't in possession of a suit of armour. Maker, this... was a suicide mission.

The datapad had plenty of information. Informants, frequent haunts, favoured weapon and armour. "Kassa armour... Armageddon... great. Man's loyal to Kassa Fabrications I see. This is going to be fun." She groaned, copying across the data to her omni-tool and handing back the datapad.

"Good luck." Grizz offered, before taking the datapad back and quickly exiting the same way he came.

Knowing Shepard was going to get her killed. The woman wasn't an asset, she was a curse.