Work Text
This place reeked of alcohol. Arri did his best to keep to the walls, avoiding the gaze of passing soldiers and crewmen as they darted around the way station. The sounds of docking and undocking ships could be heard from everywhere, even over the loud chatter of multiple species. A few humans glared at him as they passed. Most of them did. Lone turians were easy targets to harass about the First Contact War, or so he was finding. It didn’t matter that he was only sixteen. As long as he kept his mouth shut and found a crew willing to take him on as quickly as possible, he should be fine. There shouldn’t be a repeat of last month.
He pulled the hood over his head a little more as he passed a group of turian soldiers soberly heading back to their ship. Other species may not realize how young he was, but they would. The last thing he needed was for someone to recognize him from the missing persons report his mother probably had going around. He’d had a few close calls in his first few months; people recognizing him and trying to drag him back to Palaven. They could never catch him. Now, though, he knew he didn’t look like a healthy turian teenager. Months of hard labor and scavenging for meals had made sure of that, but at least it meant he wasn’t recognizable at a glance.
The work board was near the cargo dock. It was where crews posted hiring lists when they needed temporary labor or something bad had happened to a crewmember. He just wanted the temp jobs. His goal was to find a way to one of the “free” human colonies out in the Traverse; the ones without Alliance or Council oversight. Yeah, humans haven’t been great to him, but he’d heard that these colonies were even accepting quarians to help out. No one would think to look for him on one of those colonies, either. The only problem was that he had a strong possibility of getting himself turned in if someone so much as thought he did something wrong, but he had to try. It’d be a better life.
A lot of people were gathered around the board, looking at the listings. Pushing to the front was dangerous because most of these people were more desperate than he was. Almost getting stabbed had taught him that. So, he waited. He put his hand into his pocket and played with the clicky toy he’d found on some other station, laying abandoned like a piece of trash. It was probably his greatest find. He was able to keep his hands occupied while he watched for anyone suspicious so his stuff wouldn’t get stolen. The clicking sound wasn’t even too loud. He’d learned from experience that people get annoyed at a lot of things really quickly. The last thing he needed was to get his hand broken by some hungover asshole who thought he was aggravating.
He was about to move up in the crowd, when movement to his right caught his eye. Turning his head, he saw a turian walking towards him. A turian man wearing heavy blue armor. His red colony markings were very visible against his pale plates and marked him to be someone from Palaven, making Arri nervous. The guy was coming straight for him. Arri tried to convince himself that whoever this was was just looking for someone else or a different ship or something, not him. There was no way this guy was going to look at the board. He was too well off and probably had a ship waiting for him.
After a few deep breaths and some rapid clicks of his toy, he checked again to see if the guy was still walking towards him. Yup. He knew if he left now, it’d be at least four hours before enough new jobs were posted, but that wouldn’t even matter if he was sent back home. Shaking his head, he calmly left the group and started walking towards the section where all the shops and bars were. There were more people there. He could lose whoever this was in the crowd and wait it out. The only problem was that he didn’t have any money to spend anywhere, so he’d have to stay out on the main walkways. It’d be easier for someone to grab him. Hopefully, the amount of people would be enough to hide him.
He reached that area, looking over his shoulder to see that guy still following him. His heart was racing. The crowd of people grew thicker and rowdier around him. He got jostled around, moved towards the ages because he was alone instead of in a group of friends. A few drunk people grabbed his ass or his arm, thinking he was a buddy, but he just pushed forward in the hopes of getting away. He looked over his shoulder again. The guy seemed to have disappeared, probably having lost his target and giving up. Best case scenario. At least this hadn’t ended with him becoming a stowaway just to get away.
Slowing down, he peeled out of the crowd and slunk in between two bars. It smelled like garbage, but he seemed to be alone. He took a deep breath and reached in his pocket for his clicky toy, trying to calm himself down. Mom had probably raised the reward for finding him. That’s the only reason why people would still be trying to find him now. It’s been almost a year. Normally, people gave up after that. He knew Mom wouldn’t though. Mom had never given up on anything in her life; it was how she’d reached general status in the Hierarchy while being a single parent. Arri’s dad had abandoned them after Arri was born. It was something about drugs. Not that it mattered, it wasn’t like he was suddenly going to come after Arri now. Though, that would be something.
He shut his eyes for a moment, still trying to calm himself, when someone grabbed his arm. Jumping, his subvocals let out a very terrified sound. Unfortunately, the person didn’t let go. It was the guy that had been following him, letting out a very relieved sound with his subvocals. Arri tried to break away, but that didn’t work. It was like trying to get away from an iron clamp that someone had chained him to a wall with. Spirits, he didn’t want to go back home. He didn’t want to go back to bootcamp. Facing Mom, becoming a bigger disappointment than he already was...it was too much. He’d rather die.
“Kid, kid, relax,” the guy said, voice sounding like honey. “Quit acting like I’m going to try to kill you. I just want to talk.”
Arri kept struggling in vain. “Yeah. Okay. Then you drag me back home once I’m all...,urgh...trusting like a dumbass and collect your bounty.” He let out another grunt. “Get your fucking hand off of me you dumb fuck!”
“Wow, wow, wow,” the guy said. “First of all, stop being so rude. Second, relax. If I wanted to collect the missing persons reward, I would’ve stunned you and dragged your ass back to wherever you’re from. I’m here to offer you a job. One where you don’t need to keep running.”
Arri stopped struggling. A job? Why would this stranger be offering his a job? It wasn’t like Arri was particularly big or interesting looking or anything. Arri looked more like a liability, according to some of the crews his worked with over the past few months. This didn’t make any sense. But, he needed this. If he could stay with people who’d offer him sanctuary until he had enough money to start the life he wanted then he’d be set. Honestly, it sounded like a good idea. He’d need more details thought. Most definitely. Taking jobs without all the facts are how he ended up losing money rather than gaining it.
“First of all, can I get your name and stuff?” Arri asked.
The guy’s subvocals let out a satisfied noise. “Name’s Velio Heltis. I’m...security for hire, so to speak. My agency is looking to bolster our ranks. I see you walking through and figured you seemed the right type.”
“Security” sounded like mercenary work. He knew that working with mercs meant death, both literally and figuratively. There weren’t too many stories of mercs getting a happy ending and following whatever dreams they started out with. Besides, aligning himself with a merc group meant becoming a criminal. He’d be unable to get a job or move anywhere without going to prison. Unless he wanted to pay someone a shit ton of credits for an identity wipe, that is.
On top of that, mercs had absolutely no morals. A group of those Blood Pact fucks had raided a ship he was working on, only leaving him and a couple other people alive because an Alliance ship had caught their distress signal. He didn’t want to become a murder. He didn’t want to become a thief or a thug or anything else. He just wanted to be Arri. This may be Mom’s strict morals coming back to kick his ass, but none of those things were him. Yeah, he’d defend himself. He wasn’t above taking food either, but that was necessity. What mercs did was just excessive. He wasn’t going to kill, torture, or steal for profit. That was that.
“No thank you,” Arri replied.
Velio let out a small laugh before letting go of Arri. The young turian readjusted his jacket and pack, reaching into his pocket to check to see of his toy was still there. It was. He went to leave, but Velio blocked him. Oh Spirits, this turian was persistent. Arri’s subvocals let out a loud annoyed sound that he was pretty sure even a human could pick up. Worse comes to worst, he goes for the soft, unplated part of this guy’s stomach and makes a run for it. He wasn’t about to be forced into something he didn’t want to do. That was the promise he’d made himself. He’d reach his goal and he wouldn’t become one of those horror stories people liked to hear about on the news. He’d be a success.
“Kid, think about it, you nearly had a heart attack about me.” He poked Arri in the stomach. “You’re thin, dirty, and obviously alone. That spells target. If you join us, you’ll get paid well, you’ll be protected, and you’ll be free to make your own decisions. You can leave when you want to.” Arri relented his glare slightly at the last two parts. “Hey, why don’t you give it a try? No strings attached. If you don’t like it, I’ll give you enough credits to be on your way. Deal?”
Arri thought it over. That didn’t sound too bad. He was being given an option to leave if he wanted to with at least some credits. Velio was right too. He was a target out here. Sooner or later, someone was going to take more advantage of that than before. Besides, he probably jumped to conclusions about this being mercenary work. This guy still had colony markings and was displaying them proudly. Most mercenaries burned theirs off. Usually at the request of embarrassed family or a desire to not be recognized too easily, but they were still barefaced. Clearly, this guy was honorable. Trustworthy, even. Probably more trustworthy than the people Arri’s worked with for the past few months.
Arri nodded. “Deal. But I’m leaving if I don’t like what I see.”
“Don’t worry about it, kid,” Velio said, moving to put an arm around him. “I’m sure you’re going to love it.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The first thing Velio did was make Arri clean himself up. He hadn’t exactly been buffing his fringe or filing his talons lately. The clothes he was wearing had been outgrown after a series of growth spurts and had only been washed every three weeks. Way stations by relays had stores where he could buy new clothes or at least get a cheap kit to take care of himself a bit, but it’d seemed unnecessary. Besides, a lot of ships looking for extra help were human or batarian. They literally only allowed five minute communal showers to be more efficient and sometimes to save on hot water. Honestly, turians were expected to be at fifteen minutes or just not bathe that day. Most of the people he’d worked with over the past few months looked just about as well as the beat-up ships they served on, anyway. If he kept himself up, he’d stick out. Before they’d even left the station in Velio’s little private ship, Arri had been given a kit, new clothes, and a sweet speech about the importance of appearance. “Clients look at you, kiddo. Not just at your species or what kind of weapons you carry, but at you. If even one of us is a little too thin, they’ll think we don’t get enough jobs to get paid well. If you look like someone dragged you out of a gutter, they’ll think we’re inexperienced. Clean and professional, kiddo. Remember that.” After that, Arri had been sent to the bathroom while Velio got ready to depart. It was a small, standard bathroom for a ship. White walls, silver-colored everything else, and a harsh light that kind of buzzed when it was on. The only thing not so standard was the poster on the back of the door. Arri hadn’t really expected it after the whole speech about appearances and how well put together his new found friend? acquaintance? was. It looked like one of the posters out of the human history book he’d read when he’d taken a class about human society. Drawn, kind of realistic, but also not really, with big block letters proclaiming “Anytime, Soldier!” The main focus was the blonde human woman. She was smiling, her hair was done up in an old-fashioned style, and she was leaning forward to show-off her chest. The bastardization of an Alliance dress uniform made that very easy to do. Heat rising to his neck, he quickly turned around to go about the task he’d been assigned. Maybe it was a joke? He felt that humans were attractive in a weird way, most species to him were, but that just felt wrong. Besides, it was in the bathroom. That wasn’t exactly where he would...never mind. He was just going to stop thinking about it and focus on making himself look presentable. There wasn’t really a counter he could work with, so he just stuck the kit precariously on the sink and the clothes by his feet on the floor. Well, this place was cleaner than anything he’d seen in months. The first thing he did was take his old clothes off. He rolled them in a ball and threw them in the corner near the trash can, which was hard to do since they were so stiff. In the mirror, he saw that he looked like shit. There was some muscle on him from lifting crates and stuff, but it was very overshadowed by the slightly underfed look he was sporting. His growth spurts probably hadn’t helped. He just looked stringy. And dirty. Spirits, his mother would kill him, bring him back, and then scrub him until his plates were gone if she saw him. At least his fringe seemed to be coming in nicely and most of his gray plating was fused together. Now, he just needed colony markings and he’d be set for adulthood. If he deserved his, anyway. He suddenly felt very itchy. Taking what was probably the longest shower in his life, he scrubbed himself until he felt like a new person. Velio didn’t disturb him in that time. It was a nice change from the cargo ships where there were at least three people who always bothered anyone, complaining about everything that someone else did. The problem had never been any of those people’s faults. Well, at least that’s what they thought. Arri had seen different. By the time he had put the new clothes on--making sure he stuck his clicky toy in his new pocket, the ship had already left the waystation. He quickly finished up and--ignoring the poster on the bathroom door--left to join Velio at the helm. Well, what would be the helm if this ship was made for more than five people on a three day excursion. He was about to leave fully when he heard the other turian speaking to someone on comms in a low, brisk tone that made Arri pause. Knowing too well that he could be taken advantage of, he leaned partially through the door to keep it open, but was ready to move if he was noticed. Velio had his back turned to him, but that didn’t mean anything. Arri had former drill sergeants who could tell when someone was back sassing from across the camp. Besides, it was probably nothing. “Don’t worry. I can tell the kid’s got talent. You know I’ve got an eye for that sort of thing and he’s kept himself alive for months,” Velio said, subvocals betraying his annoyance. “Most turians running from the Hierarchy go back within a few weeks. The fact that this kid didn’t prove he’s what we want.” Arri felt himself swell with pride a little. Barely knew the guy and he was already vouching for him. It was fucking amazing. No one back in the Hierarchy would have done that, at least not for a screw up like him. Velio was right too. Arri had kept himself alive without giving up and going home. Screw those assholes in basic who said he’d never be able to handle himself without his mother to hold his hand. Clearly, they were morons. He stayed in the doorway still, eager to hear a little more before interrupting...and a little nervous about interrupting. Even if he didn’t like it when he got there, he didn’t want to screw anything up anymore than he already had. He’d called Velio a “dumbfuck” when they’d first met. Granted, he’d grabbed Arri by the arm, but still… Velio continued, “Kid’s scrawny and under-trained, but I can fix that no problem. I can tell he listens too. Hierarchy lost a real asset, but that works in our favor...Yeah, okay...See you in three hours.” With that, the conversation ended and Arri thought it was safe enough to leave. He did his best to hide his pure joy at being praised like that and he thought he was doing well at it. Velio didn’t make a comment about it as Arri approached him. In fact, the other turian seemed to be fully engaged in flying the ship. The mass relay was about two hours away from the way station; a precaution to avoid collisions and give the station a chance to prepare if there was warning of a raid. Arri never really understood that. Not even a reject from a moron factory would think of attacking a place that multiple council militaries used. It’d be fucking suicide. “Hey, kid,” Velio said, only giving Arri a glance before motioning for him to sit down. “You cleaned up okay?” Arri nodded eagerly. “Yeah! Thank you so much for...everything! I owe you so fucking much.” “Don’t worry, kid,” Velio said, playfully punching Arri in the arm. “If everything works out alright, I’ll be the one owing you. Now, tell me, what were you training for before you left bootcamp. Engineering? Crisis control? Infiltration?” Before Arri could stop himself, his subvocals let out a mournful tone. He reached into his pocket and started playing with his toy, trying to figure out the right way to say this. It was embarrassing. After all that praise over the phone, Arri really didn’t want to tarnish that with his own failings. “Um... I was put into...It wasn’t...They said…” Velio put a hand on his shoulder. “I get it. Okay, what did you want to do?” Now that he could answer. “I wanted to be a havoc trooper, like my dad. My mom used to tell me stories that he told her about his time there. They just sounded so fucking badass and my mom really admired them and I thought I could do it.” Arri then deflated. “Apparently, I only had what it took to be a regular foot soldier.” “Turians like you and me aren’t cut out for that, kid,” Velio said, subvocals faintly sounding venomous. “We’re not made to be happy with whatever the Hierarchy says.” Arri almost fell out of his seat at that. Yeah, he felt that way. He just hadn’t expected to find another turian who shared the same sentiment. Turians, as a whole people, were practically bred to be proud to serve the Hierarchy in whatever way they could. Yeah, anyone could move up in rank, but you never heard of a janitor becoming primarch or a school teacher leading a military squadron. Sure, everyone served a compulsory two years in the military, but they had you pegged from the moment you left bootcamp. Worst part was, you were at the mercy of the higher ups all the time. Yeah, they’d say that they were impartial and fair, but if even one lieutenant didn’t like you, you were fucked. Hypocrites. Velio put the ship on autopilot and turned to face Arri, subvocals making a proud sound. “I’ll tell you what, kid. Now, I’m no Havoc trooper, but I’m pretty damned close. I’ll show you everything I know. Plus, the security group I work for has a former N7 as our head. Annabelle’s already interested in you too. She says that anyone willing to say ‘fuck you’ to the Hierarchy is worth her time.” This was great. Arri tried to contain himself again. It would be the biggest fuck you to his COs that he could think of. Yeah, it wasn’t exactly what he wanted, but it was close enough. N7 soldiers were absolutely fucking amazing too, or so he’d heard. Obviously, if an N7 soldier was in this group, clearly they were okay. He wouldn’t believe someone who’d gone through that kind of training would suddenly turn to mercenary work. Oh, he couldn’t believe this offer was an actual thing though. Finally, someone was actually giving him a chance. A better chance than what he would have gotten in the Hierarchy and a fucking lot better chance than what he would get staying with cargo crews. It was almost too good to be true. He hesitated. Nothing really this fantastic had ever happened to him in his life. Everyone either passed him by or compared him to his mother...or worse, his father. He also had to remind himself that he was in the Traverse too. It was practically a free-for-all out here. He shouldn’t be getting his hopes up just because someone showed him some basic fucking decency for the first time in months. No, he needed to be smarter than that. At least a little bit smarter. “Thanks. I’ll think about it.” Arri said, subvocals still quietly humming in excitement. Velio stood up and patted Arri on the shoulder. “Don’t think too hard, kid, you might end up with more than just a headache. Now, I’m going to go grab a vid for us to watch while we get to where we’re going. Do you like human vids? I need to watch Lord of the Rings before everyone kills me.” Arri nodded; he’d been meaning to watch those too.