[center][h1]Taria Lucimus[/h1][/center]
[center]-and-[/center][center][h1]Galm Ralquera[/h1][/center]

[hr]Taria Lucimus had never been to Omega, but she knew it by its absolutely sterling reputation among law enforcement circles. Her favorite observation was one of her old SRD squadmates insisting they should have "let the Reapers annihalate that damned asteroid and done some genuine good". She wouldn't have gone that far, personally, but by this point she could empathize.

"Nice fringes, sweetheart. Guess good things come in small packages, eh?"

Taria scoffed, shouldering past the leering Batarian to the walkway beyond, a few of the seedier individuals looking over her as she bolted past. She had arrived in plainclothes so as not to draw undue attention, with the tradeoff that everyone looked at her with the intent of sizing her up for a fight or propositioning. She was never self-concious about her height, but she still missed how a good set of C-Sec heavy armor shut the creeps and troublemakers up.

Shifting the satchel on her shoulder to the right side to put the bag between her and an approaching human with an unfriendly glint in his eye, Taria went off to the side, checking her omni-tool to get directions. Locating the docking bay where she was scheduled to meet her new employer, she smiled as a notification popped up that her private shipping container had arrived on time from a Turian merchant frieghter. Thanks, mom.

"Hey there," came a gravely voice behind her. "Want to show me what's in that bag?" Glancing up and catching sight of the craggy-faced human standing right behind her, Taria couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Why don't you come and find out?" Taria challenged him. Stepping forward with a grin, the man drew a knife from an inner pocket.

"You're a brave little o-"

There was a yelp that stopped the foot traffic on the bridge and a flash of black and gold. By the time anyone stopped to look, the man was on the ground, Taria's knee planted in the small of his back as she effortlessly bent his arm backwards.

"You still want to know what I have in the bag?" Taria asked again, using her other arm to press her sidearm against the side of his head.

"Uh...erm....no ma'am," the would-be thug stammered, his face rapidly losing color.

"Thought so," Taria said, releasing his arm to pick up the knife discarded in the scuffle and pocketing it, leaving the whimpering wreck behind. "And don't call me little..."

Galm spots the fight from a nearby walkway. "Huh... She looks familiar..." He begins to walk over to her, in full armor.

Taria, not noticing the other Turian following her just yet, smiled as the crowds gave her a wide berth. Checking her omni-tool for directions again, she turned down an alley and came to the docks as scheduled, punching in the passcode she was given by the Volus.

"Ugh, by the spirits these things are slow," Taria grumbled, tapping her foot as the computer processed the passcode.

A bird squawks at Taria, flapping her wings. Galm says "Ethen, quiet now! She might try to kill us... She's also walking on the same path as us." He blinks in confusion, adjusting his omni-tool brightness.

Taria tensed, hearing the strange animal cry echo from nearby. Cautiously, Taria removed the satchel from her shoulder, revealing a stash of ammunition and her M-55 Argus. Loading a clip, she kept her senses tuned as the door finally slid open.

"Better not be some elaborate trap," Taria mumbled in spite of herself. Venok wouldn't have sent her into a trap, and he was too good at his job to be duped like that.

Ethen ignores Galm's plea and squawks again, to a frustrated Galm saying, with a raised voice, "Be quiet, bird! Do you see that gun?" However, he ends up following Taria "Wait, miss, were you invited here too?" He seems more relaxed now.

In a split second, Taria spun around, weapon raised, before she spotted the fellow Turian and his...bird? Relaxing somewhat, Taria lowered her weapon slightly.

"Yeah, I was," she said curiously. The Turian seemed familiar somehow. "Saris Fen sent me an invitation..."

The bird does not like this, and flaps her wings. Galm raises Ethen's shields and his own to low power. "That Volus sent me an invite too." He takes off his helmet, to get a better look. Surprisingly, Galm and his bird look very similar. He squints his eyes, tilting his head. "Miss, you seem familiar... Do I know you?"

Taria's intense focused softened at the sight of him, lowering her firearm just a bit more. "Now that you mention it...you do seem awfully familiar. Did you come from the Citadel, or...?"

"No ma'am, got myself onto a cargo frigate when I was young, got lost in space. Technically kidnapped, I suppose, yet nothing ever bad happened to me, except for the Reaper war." He says, nervously rubbing his neck. Ethen, on the other hand cleans her feathers.

"Heh, yeah, I know the feeling. That was rough for everyone," Taria said, rising up from a fighting stance. "Kinda glad I got stuck on the citadel at the time, considering what happened to Tremellia."

Galm looks utterly shocked "T-Tremellia? I grew up there... It was my home, nice and lovely solar system... Did you live there too?"

"...yeah, I did!" Taria said, her mind working furiously like it was screaming something she forgot at her. "Mom and dad always talked about it being one of the best starports in the galaxy, and I hung out there all the time with Nafteed, Ramsley, Ga-"

The rifle fell to Taria's side with a clatter as everything clicked into place.

"Galm! Galm Ralquera!"

Galm goes wide eyed. "T-TARIA! I thought you died!" He begins having a mini-freakout, runs up to her and hugs her "I'm so glad you're okay!" Ethen flaps her wings and lands on a nearby guardrail.

"I thought [i]you[/i] -ng- died!" Taria almost shouted, dropping her guard entirely as the two embraced with a small thud, swaying slightly on the spot. "I'm glad you're okay too, I tried to contact you to say goodbye before I left for Citadel space, but everyone said you were gone!"

He keeps hugging "I've missed you so much! I'm sorry for being an idiot and adventuring that ship!" He looks to be on the verge of tears, unable to find more words to say.

"I-I'm sorry you had no idea where I went," Taria stammered, equally tear-stricken. "We uh, got a lot of catching up to do I guess, ha..."

Galm nods, sniffling "We do, I'm just so happy we're together again. All that matters is that we found each other... In this large galaxy." Meanwhile, Ethen angrily hops towards a bystander, squawking and jutting her foot out at the Batarian, making him back off.

"Somehow I'm not surprised you managed to find a bird like that," Taria grinned.

"Greetings, everyone!" came a booming voice from within the chamber behind them.

"That's the Volus." Galm says happily. "Wanna walk together?" he offers, as the bird keeps harassing the Batarian, then flies back to Galm's head.

"Absolutely," Taria replied, retrieving her rifle as she walked into the docking area and feeling a lot better about this assignment then before. 

The bird and Galm seem overjoyed, both smiling. Well, Ethen tries to... Somehow. The Turian seems to be absolutely happy with life at this current moment, like he's achieved peace, despite his armor and guns. He sighs, clearing his thoughts to appear tough. He then walks forward, by Taria's side, Ethen showing off her pretty feathers and wings, asserting her dominance over the group.