Love and War

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"I swear to even the Asari goddess that when I get out of here, that lizard Kandros will wish I was an exile for what I'm gonna do to him!" Quinn Talos raged as she was unceremoniously shoved into a holding cell on the operations deck. The dark haired woman paced for time, thinking it was would all be straightened out once Tann got wind of what Kandros had done. She should have known better. As far as she believed, human's still weren't exactly favourites of the other alien species. On earth Quinn had an excellent service record within the Alliance, just as most members of her family did, but she had wanted more. She wanted to explore, to see things no human ever had, which was why she signed up for a place on the Andromeda Initiative. The only problem was, she wasn't the pathfinder, and her superiors didn't believe in security personal leaving the Nexus. As well as she performed her job, the call sign 'Cutie', thanks to her unfortunate initials, meant she wasn't exactly taken seriously. Quinn was slumped on the floor with her back against the wall now, glaring at the Turian guard outside the forcefield. She had fought her hardest for the safety of everyone on the Nexus, and this was her reward; being called a traitor and about to be dumped on some godforsaken planet with the rest of the exile scum. All because Kandros feared losing what little power he had to her. The asshole can keep it, she thought bitterly.

Quinn snorted and shook her head. "Maybe it was not sleeping with him that got me in this mess."

"If my being here is upsetting you, I could always... leave." Kandros purred, remaining as charming as ever.

"You really think so?" The salarian asked. "Want to talk about it over drinks? I'm buying." He gave her a timid smile and stood, offering a hand to help her up.

Maggie tried to tell him that she wanted him to leave but her eyes once again fluttered closed. The salarian had given her a sedative thinking she was about to have another medical event. "I hate humans." He muttered. "So dramatic."

Quinn figured she had nothing else to do, though didn't accept the hand offered to her. This was still a strange place, and she didn't know this man.

"Yeah, but that's what makes them so much fun." Kandros chuckled. "Some of them have no filter, like they have to say what pops into their head or it drives them to insanity."

The bar was more like a prison and the people inside just as mean. The salarian ignored them, looking as if the very idea of their kind made him nervous. 
When they sat down he turned his eyes toward her. "Well? Why did they send you here? What did you do?" 

"And this one? Does she have a filter?" The salarian asked, as curious as the others of his kind seemed to be. He hadnt missed the secret touch.

"They say I gave access codes to the exiles and smuggle out supplies." Quinn replied, neither confirming nor denying this as fact.

Kandros chuckled quietly, well aware of what the salarian was trying to do. "I may take good care of my team, but even I must draw a line somewhere."

"Sounds like someone was trying to get rid of you." The salarian said. "My name is Jargon by the way. I was cast of the Nexus for being caught in the middle. Whatever that means."

"I see." The doctor nodded. "I'm going to keep her here for a few days if that's all right. Her blood work is off. The mass effect field could not have made her this sick and I want to study...it."

Quinn had zoned out somewhat as she watched the other people in the bar. It was a healthy mix of different species, but it seemed the humans were top dogs here, for now. "You don't have to stay here if you don't like it, you know." She finally commented.

Kandros was no longer smiling. "We're beyond calling humans 'it', aren't we?" He asked with a snort.

"Will you leave with me?" T
Jargon asked. "I'm worried about you. You don't know what this place is like." 

"You seemed to take that personally, General." The doctor purred. "Feeling guilty?"

"I could be lying." Quinn replied coolly. "I could have been thrown off the Nexus for murder." She added, gesturing the asari behind the bar pour her a drink. "I really don't need babysitting by some scared salarian."

"No, I feel foolish that I hired someone who wasn't smart enough to know you don't touch a forceshield. They are there for a reason." Kandros replied, trying to cover his emotions.

"Oh...I see..." Jargon set the drink down on the bar and quickly headed out disappearing in the crowd.
"Well that was stupid." The asari snorted. "You could use a friend like him here."

"Then fire her. Give her up to science. Send her to her to Kadara even." No sense in keeping the weak and unintelligent. Right?" The doctor purred. He made sure to put emphasis on giving her up for science.

Quinn still wore her helmet, so the asari wouldn't be able to see her expression through the visor, though the human woman's head was tilted to the side slightly as she watched the other alien. She knew she should feel guilty for being so stand offish, but the last thing she needed was another body to protect. "What if I prefer a friend like you?" She asked with a quiet chuckle.

"She has her uses." Kandros replied before he could help himself. "I mean, everyone is here because they had something to offer the initiative, right?"

"I'm good for a night. But not for protection, sweetie." The asari purred. "Jargon is the worst of us. As squeamish as he may seem..." 

"I keep hearing that. But the humans...i must say I question theirs. You may go now General. I'm not going to kill your employees if that's what you're hanging around for." The doctor muttered.

"I find that hard to believe." Quinn snorted. "That guy, not squeamish? I just don't see it." She added, simply looking down at her drink now.

"You try anything... And I know how to make your death look like an accident." Kandros warned, clearly not happy about leaving.

The asari smiled again and turned to another customer. "Your tab has run out, sweetie." She reminded Quinn. Maybe you shouldn't have missed off the bad guys. Hum?" She purred. 

"Have a nice day, General." The doctor said cheerfully, waving his long fingers as he turned in the opposite direction.

"Pissing off bad guys is what I do best. Bad guys, good guys... All the same to me." Quinn remarked, pouring the drink over the bar before turning away.

Kandros muttered something under his breath about things he would do to the doctor is they weren't on the Nexus. Back in his office Kandros was surprised to find he couldn't concentrate. All he could think about was how his gettign rid of Quinn was going to affect Maggie.

The now angry asari was not the only one watching the woman as she left the bar. A well built man sat at the far end of the room, watching her with strange silver eyes. 

"Kandros, your former employee has woken up." Jargon's face appeared on the personal monitor in front of the turian. "What do you want me to do now?"

Quinn certainly stuck out in this place. Her initiative armour, while well built, made her easy to spot. Even the Angara seemed to know with no more than a glance who this newcomer to the slums was. The young woman didn't think she had cause that much of a scene to attract the attention of anyone toher than the bartender.

"What would you like to do?" Kandros countered, knowing he could either leave Quinn to the mercy of any trouble she may get herself into, or he could directly order her death. "She's not the pushover princess she looks."

The man with the silver eyes was visible to Kandros. The turian would recognize him easily. 
Seth Adrwin had been a thorn in the Initiative's side since they'd began opening stasis pods. He'd stolen a ship, armor, and several of weapons. Then he'd murdered several turians. Even hand delivering Kandros himself to the Kett. 
According to those on the Nexus he was the worst of the worst. Especially when he refused to give a reason for his actions. 

"I realize that." Jargon snorted. "I say let her go. Ardwin is already interested."

Quinn was still in the slums, though she seemed torn on whether to stick around inside the gate, or take her chances outside in the wilds. She knew all about their 'golden worlds', and how she wouldn't last long without a source of water.

"Ardwin?" Kandros echoed, a small voice in the back of his mind telling him this was not a good thing. "What interest does that lowlife have in her? She's only been there a few hours!"

Ardwin had Quinn followed. That would make it much easier for him to find her when it was time to get rid of her.

"He said he knows her father. Said the bastard owed him credits." Jargon laughed. "I swear he's the only human I know who can blackmail his own mother."

Quinn had opted to stick within the gated slums, for now. She was walking around, taking note of what she saw. It seemed to be full of people hooked on some strange drug, which she figured she should probably both stay away from, and find the source of. The young woman laughed at herself with that last thought.

"I seriously doubt that." Kandros growled. "But let us say he did owe him credits, how does he think the man's penniless, outcast, daughter will help that?"

A young dirty faced asari girl watched Quinn from the shadows, holding onto her growling stomach. She'd been promised a big meal if she kept up with this human. She was already imagining what it was going to taste like. 

"They are mercenaries, Kandros. I'm sure they'll figure it out. And your dear friend is the worst of the worst." The salarian reminded him.

They dragged on until finally Quinn stopped in her tracks and threw her head back with a heavy sigh. "If you're going to follow me, at least keep your stomach quiet!" She remarked without turning around.

"I would love for him to try and sell her, that would take the little upstart down a notch." Kandros mused, already imagining Quinn in chains as the slave of some lonely exile. "Keep me informed of any developments."

"Me?" The girl tried not to groan, sure she was going to get beaten for revealing herself. "I'm not following you. Just...going the same way." 

The next morning despite the doctor saying he had wanted to keep her, Maggie was at her desk. It was piled high with data pads and she was on the comm in front of her, trying to arrange a meeting with director Tann. She didnt look well at all.

"Right... For the past 2 hours?" Quinn snorted. "Whoever it is paying you to do this... I am going to hand their ass to them."

The comm suddenly went dead and Kandros pushed the data pads off Maggie's desk. "Are you insane?!" He hissed, emotion again creeping into his voice. "Why aren't you in the med lab?!"

"You humans are weird." The girl said wiping dirt from the end of her nose. "Kros says you are squishy too. How come you dont take your helmet off? Are you ugly?"

Maggie jumped, as the data pads made a loud crash on the floor. "We are short handed now, sir. It's not right for me to leave my team in a bind. Not to mention...my sister..." She didn't dare to look him in the eye at this. She knew what he was going to say. "Has been framed. I need to fix it before something happens to her."

"Maybe I'm not human, maybe I'm a Quarian." Quinn countered.

"You know you can't bring an exile back." Kandros replied. "And working yourself to death wont change anything that happened. Your sister is a big girl, she can take care of herself."

"Really?!" Her giant blue eyes sparkled and the girl dared to get closer. She even reached out and poked Quinn in the stomach. "Kros told me a story before I went to sleep but I've never seen one." She breathed. 

Maggie got to her feet, getting rather close to her turian superior. "Tiran, she's all I have. I can't survive without her." She said softly, her voice shaking ever so slightly.

"Kros... Who is that?" Quinn asked, taking the girl's fingers and pushing them away from they had taken to repeatedly poking her in the abdomen.

"All you have?" Kandros breathed, forgetting himself for a moment as he allowed a rough finger to gently trace Maggi's smooth cheek.

"Kros takes care of me. Sometimes..." the girl was circling her now, still trying to see if she was in fact an alien. "You could meet him. That way you'd be still and Ardwin would feed me."

Maggie's gray eyes swept over the turian's face and she found herself lost. He'd made it very clear they were to keep their liaison a secret. Which made what he was doing now even more confusing.