:::::: CARNAVAS ::::::

Summary :: Two years after the Omega-4 Relay mission, Urdnot Wrex follows a tip that leads him straight into the heart of the Omega station. Searching for an old friend leads him down dark paths and warm memories. Post Mass Effect 2, Wrex's story.

Quit Notes :: Shepard is never defined as female or male, so open to interpretation. This could be cut into chapters, but it disrupts the flow. Instead, the story is sectioned off. Best read at 1/2 width, default tracking & font.

An Urdnot Wrex story

::: PRESENT :::

Omega. Home of the lost, battleground for the low lives. Described as either a living hell or a factory leasing job opportunities, Omega was home the cruel and downtrodden. It all really depended on whether or not you were talking to an unlucky opportunist or a bloodthirsty gang member. The exterior of the space station was built like a crude, skeletal fortress. Even the lowest krogan architect agreed the structure's aestheticism was lacking. Omega wasn't meant to be beautiful; I was built to be functional - and even then, its small size barely made room for the millions that massed its dark, ill lit streets.

Bullets were common, the drum of shots was white noise to the locals - ignored for the most part. Screams, fits of coughing, and drunken slurs were blurred behind the seductive beats of the many erotic clubs scattered at every corner.

Even though the sights and sounds were vicious and ugly, the one thing that you can be sure to take away from Omega was the stench. The stench was an ugly fusion of ruined dreams and low class criminals. Most public areas smelled like piss and alcohol if you were lucky. The increased population of vorcha did little to help with the scent of decay and rot, neither did the pollution and dead bodies that had piled up after the plague hit the lower commons.

Wrex stood there in front of the Afterlife, a scaled lip turned upwards in a krogan expression of distinct satisfaction. Hell, someone cleaned up the place over the last century or so. Someone who fancied the name Aria T'Loak. He grinned despite himself, a heavy head shaking before he sauntered towards the club. This was going to be one hell of a surprise.

::: FOUR HUNDRED YEARS AGO :::

'I'm already ahead of you by two clicks. You don't have a damned chance in hell, Aleena. But it was nice knowing you.'

Wrex's vessel already landed on the abandoned salarian space station, a cool eye fixed space wards at the vehicle tagging him. The krogan was used to racing fellow mercenaries for cred chips - it was part of the job. Bounties were plentiful, but solid opportunities were hard to come by. The rewards he could profit from the run away turian was enough to pick up some long due upgrades, and Urdnot Wrex could use one of those new claymore shotgun models.

'Laugh it up when you actually get to the target, krogan.' Her cool voice buzzed over the comlink. 'Your shuttle might be quick, but last I checked, I'm carrying less body weight and my legs have always outrun yours.'

This relationship was different compared to his mercenary connections in the past. Wrex never had any ties, but over the last fifty years, he was losing a few bounties to some three bit asari commando. Hadn't expected it, wasn't prepared for it. Started out easy enough, kept running into her when the marks were cornered. Lately, however...

'Knee cap healed alright, asari? Coulda sworn I knocked you down a few pegs back there.' He retorted sarcastically.

'How about your left heart? Still functioning?' He could detect the sneer in her voice, even over the radio. 'I knew I shouldn't have taken the time to crush it.'

He laughed out loud on the comlink. Wrex did not like being personal, and this professional rival of his was as close as he had ever gotten to calling someone a friend. Their similarities were uncanny: Heavy hitters, independent, and closed off. Neither cared too much for getting too close, and neither gave a damn about mixing up personal crap with professional business. Aleena always had a saying - Keep your personal life personal. Wrex admired that about her. Few people were wise enough to understand that.

'How's 'bout I buy you a drink after I collect this Turian's dead body?'

'Dream on, Patriarch,' She growled.

Snorting, Wrex pulled himself out of the shuttle and stepped onto the platform. He lifted his head, inhaling the space station's stagnant air. What didn't smell like dust and rot was probably the turian's trail. Nostrils flaring, the krogan followed his senses deeper into the station, dim lights leading him past a few cooridors. Behind him, he could hear the sound of Aleena's vessel parking into the abandoned space docks. Grinning, Wrex darted out of sight and out of mind.

'Since when did you start calling me Patriarch?'

'Since the day you grew up to be a smart ass.'

'Had to be awhile back.'

'Twenty years ago,' The asari answered. 'Don't flatter yourself, it means nothing in my language.'

Rolling his eyes, Wrex picked up the pace. Illuminescent blue dressed his figure, the biotic shield containing a body already reinforced with heavy plates. The turian was close, least his smell said as much. Still alive too. The krogan mercenary's eye checked the ground, noting the smear of blue blood. Crouching on one knee, a thick finger ran along the ground. Pressing index and thumb together, he tested the consistency before a tongue gingerly flicked out to taste the blood. Still warm. Nostrils flared again, detecting the asari mercenary's form as it left the docks and picked an alternative route. What was she up t-

"You depend on your nose too much, krogan."

His reflexes were timed wrong, Wrex turning towards the voice just as he felt a biotic field slam into his body. Lacking balance, the krogan felt his body get thrown back a good two feet as he studied the lithe form standing before him. Damn asari mercenary. He knew she had vanguard training, didn't expect her to be foolhardy enough to actually charge right into him. Then again, he was at fault for not expecting that tactic.

"Hah! God damn commando, but you still got the foresight of your father's kind," Wrex guffawed, whipping his shotgun around while he was grounded with its barrel fixed on the asari standing in front of him.

A shin whipped around, pushing the shotgun outside of its sight range. A few shells ricocheted off the wall, embedding themselves into the ground. He was hardy, but Wrex's reflexes were anything but greased for the going at the moment. Aleena smiled slyly, mocking grey eyes digging into his gaze.

"Salarians have good foretelling despite their short lives. Krogan can't see past seven hundred years ago. Or have you forgotten?" the asari grinned, flashing white teeth against the purple hue of her lips. Aleena's muscles bristled underneath the taut black leather of her uniform, a blue haze embracing her form as she turned briefly, preparing for another charge.

Wrex wasn't stupid. She wasn't just about to slam into him again. Woman had her eye trained on the ducts over his head. Aleena was about to make her escape. Thankfully, there's always a two second pause before a biotic is capable of another charge. He could already hear the sound barrier breaking as his hand turned above the air duct. Fingers clinched inwards into a fist. Aleena was above him, in the ducts only briefly before a sudden biotic surge pulled her backwards. She wasn't the only biotic around these parts. Aleena had a tendency to forget that.

"Yer father might've been a salarian, Aleena. But he obviously had shit for brains," the krogan mercenary snorted, his shotgun raised as he quickly paced himself off the ground and against the wall. "Yer tactical insight is certainly flawed by genetic default."

The asari twisted mid air. She may have been pulled, but she was hardly paralyzed. Legs whipped out, slamming into the wall nearby, giving Aleena the speed she needed to dodge the spray of ammo in her direction. She whipped her hand cannon around, shooting past Wrex's form. Hah, she missed.

Aleena smiled, upside down midair with her arms crossed. Smug. The smell of chemicals invaded Wrex's nostrils, as he spun to regard the explosive a few feet behind him... punctured and spewing.

"Foresight, Patriarch," Aleena tapped her brow once, sliding a finger across her nose.

Wrex's legs charged forward, carrying him as far away from the damned explosive as they could. He avoided the brunt of the attack, but could feel a powerful surge, knocking him into the ground and puncturing the armor plating his back. Heat and debris rained on the station's hallway briefly. The krogan mercenary choked. He didn't take the time to rest. Time was of the essence. Collecting himself, the krogan spun his gun out and around again. Damn.. She disappeared.

'Better luck next time,' Aleena sounded off on his comlink.

::: PRESENT :::

"I've got business with Aria T'Loak," Urdnot Wrex muttered off to some batarian enforcer, just at the entrance of the afterlife.

All four eyes were trained speculatively on the krogan. If he were four hundred years younger, Wrex would've been tempted to just pluck one of them out impatiently. "If you have business with Aria, you'd be in the Afterlife right now."

Wrex shrugged, eyes drifting from foot to head as he examined the thug. He could puncture his lung. Batarians only need one of them, right? "S'what I hear. But this is personal business. Aria doesn't broadcast that shit, I take it. Either you tell her that Wrex is here, or I'll tell her myself. You've got a choice son. Which way will piss her off less?"

The batarian blinked without coordination, one set of eyes at a time. After a moment of deliberation, the alien threw his hands up in the air and stepped back into the club. "Fine. Wait right here."

Urdnot Wrex frowned. He was looking forward to razing the club. Would've been like old times.

::: FOUR HUNDRED YEARS AGO :::

"Uncanny. Didn't we do this the first time we met?"

"Laugh it up, Wrex."

It was a tie. A tie.

The krogan mercenary was giddy after the race for the bounty. It took both Wrex and Aleena a good eight Tuchanka hours before they had successfully reached the turian. Both had spent too much time fighting each other to bother paying attention to their target. Damn turian nearly escaped, before Aleena stunned her rival long enough to crack the bounty's head clean off with a round house kick.

Wrex still had the energy to catch the turian's head and rush towards his shuttle. Leave Aleena, as far as the krogan was concerned. Whoever raced to their purchaser first was good as gold. He lost sight of the asari several clicks back. He assumed she was pouting in the space station, with the turian's remains.

It wasn't until the krogan mercenary arrived at his bidder's establishment carrying the bounty's head, that he saw Aleena calmly standing in the waiting room - covered in blood from head to toe, armor ripped, with a the turian's decapitated body slung uncomfortably over her shoulders.

It was a tie.

He should have known better. This happened before. Happened the first damn time they met. It was uncanny how history has a nasty habit of repeating itself. The location was different, the target's background different, hell even the seller was different. Still, the circumstances were uncannily alike. Only, this time, Aleena was more sour than smug.

Urdnot Wrex slammed down another drink in his private shuttle, the heavy alcohol glorifying his senses as he relived the fight between them. A cool eye settled on Aleena, a challenging smile fixed on his lips. She was distraught and irritated. Getting under her skin was his favorite hobby.

"Yer no pushover for an asari, Aleena." Wrex stated thoughtfully. He rarely paid compliments to anyone, and even shared fewer positive words with the asari commando mercenary. Her arrogance was sky high as was, but he could sense a bruised ego. A little bandage never hurts.

Aleena grumbled, picking up another glass of krogan battery acid and drinking down the heavy alcohol. Asari could survive the heavy drink, but it frequently floored them. Aleena was an exception to the rule - probably because she was over six hundred years old and had the alcohol tolerance of a small krogan tribe. "Yeah..." She muttered into her empty glass. "And you're no empty heatsink for a krogan."

Wrex suddenly frowned. Flattery? "I've known you for thirty years, Aleena. You don't pay compliments." He shifted his head upwards, krogan non-verbal for discomfort. "There is more to this than the turian. What's eating you?"

The asari's cool exterior suddenly chilled, her body visibly tense as fingers clutched the drink. Her lip thinned, gazed fixed away from the krogan mercenary. She slowly crossed one leg over the other as Wrex studied her features.

Asari were universally attractive in the galaxy. The krogan was convinced it had something to do with their mental prowess. Either they meant to or didn't mean to, but he swore the asari species telekinetically exuded some kind of mental pheromone that made them desired despite their appearances. Maybe it was their coloring. Or their facial markings. Wrex was never able to pin point what it was.

Aleena once told him the reason behind the asari's facial markings. Had something to do with the father species genetic integration into asari biology. That's when he made the mistake of asking her who her father was - he had never seen her markings on another asari before. The symmetrical circles centered on her forehead, lower lip dotted with the thick line drawing past her chin. The markings were unique and distinctive. It took her two years to tell him why.

Her father was salarian, but her grandfather was a krogan. Her maternal grandfather fought in the rachni wars, a war hero amongst the krogan. But her father was the politician who managed to convince the turians to unleash the very policy that was killing Wrex's people.

Needless to say, it took him a while to talk to her again. Her father and grandfather's background definitely explained why her markings were distinct. He never knew an asari line that carried both krogan and salarian traits. It was absolutely unheard of, considering the animosity between both races.

"This isn't about the salarian comment I made back at the station, was it?" Wrex muttered drunkly. He knew better than to bring up that personal business, but in the past, Aleena would just shrug it off and say something even more biting involving the genophage and krogan stupidity. It was all done without tact, but nothing that ever created a grudge.

Aleena shook her head, leaning back into her chair with both arms crossed under her breasts. A cool gaze found Wrex's eyes, her features placid. "No. But just drop it, Wrex. Its nothing."

The krogan mercenary shrugged. She didn't like to get too close, and neither did he. Wrex respected that, but it was beginning to get tiresome. Thirty years was a long time to get along with another person, and despite the professional rivalry, there was a certain level of closeness that had to be privately acknowledged.

For that reason, Wrex wasn't just about to let it go, "This isn't about the other night?" He inquired, brow raised.

"I said to drop it," Aleena growled, pushing the empty glass back as her biotics bristled under the pressure.

Urdnot Wrex sighed. He should've known. "Whatever happened to 'Sex is just sex', Aleena?"

"I said DROP IT." Aleena's hand whipped out, a surge of energy biotically pushing Wrex backwards off the stool and against the wall. The asari's eyes glowered, luminescent blue flicking off her skin. Aleena scowled before she turned around quickly and tread towards his shuttle's exit.

He could hear the sound of his vessel's door closing, leaving him stunned in the silence.

::: PRESENT :::

"She said to move your business elsewhere. Aria doesn't know an 'Urdnot Wrex'. You got the wrong person."

The batarian enforcer returned, though not alone. Several turians and batarians armed to the teeth (or mandibles, depending on the species) flanked the thug, congesting the Afterlife's entrance as they watched the rogue krogan from doorway.

Wrex smirked, shaking his head from left to right. If Aria was smart, she'd know that even a handful of well paid thugs wasn't enough to throw him off. And if Aria is who he suspected she might be, the display of power was just a distraction. There was something else to brewing behind the facade of turian and batarian enforcers.

He lifted his gaze, red eyes aggressively searching the batarian features. Wrex stepped forward, snarling in the alien's face as he debated whether or not he should charge into the Afterlife with guns ablaze. One hand steadied towards his shotgun, until a familiar form briefly stepped a hundred yards or so to his right. Krogan were blessed with enhanced senses, Tuchanka's rough environment gave the species an evolutionary advantage in terms of eye sight, hearing, and smell. Wrex could read a sign two hundred yards away with some clarity. The asari was familiar and dully noted. The krogan's gaze shifted briefly from the batarian to the alley nearby, watching a lone asari tread towards the dock with both arms crossed under her breasts.

She watched him sidelong, their gazes locked briefly. The asari shifted her head towards the docks, disengaging the acknowledgement between them as she tread towards her private shuttle, and out of sight.

Wrex sighed, stepping backwards from the confrontation as he redirected his attention from the thugs. "Fine," the krogan started, turning around and leaving the paid arms as he sauntered towards the docks. "Tell her I will be back," he said with some finality.

"Whatever," The batarian enforcer muttered, the group keeping a solid eye on the krogan as he disappeared into Omega's docking platforms.

::: FOUR HUNDRED YEARS AGO :::

The citadel was the last place a mercenary usually picked up credits or a loose bounty, especially after the Turians instituted C-Sec some century after the krogan rebellion. But considering his hire's position, Urdnot Wrex was hardly surprised the presidium's seedy underground was going to be the designated meeting spot.

Stepping into Flux, the krogan mercenary picked up his com frequency until attention was paid to a nervous volus shifting uncomfortably between his attendants. Volus diplomat, fifty years old. Just started on his career. Something was up. Something was always up.

"Welcome, krogan!" The volus breathed heavily, raising his arms to emphasize his greetings. "Please. Take a seat."

Wrex didn't like working with politicians. They were usually dirtier and nastier than his other hires. But, as he often told himself, credits were credits.

"Cut the crap," the krogan mercenary gruffed, ignoring the diplomat's offer. He preferred to stand anyways. "How much and who?"

Anxiously, the volus shifted in his seat and motioned for his attendants to leave. The turians slowly left the booth, eyeing Wrex before repositioning themselves at the flux's door. Out of earshot, but always watching.

"I have... a loose end," the volus explained, breathing heavily through his filtering mask between each word, making the conversation more long winded than necessary. "My political career is picking... up at the Citadel... I can't have loose ends."

Wrex nodded once, acknowledging the information. "I don't need to know how or why, I just need to know how much and who," He repeated gruffly.

"Indeed.." the volus sighed, illuminant eyes dimming nervously before he continued. "30,000 credits... Asari commando... mercenary leanings... Her name is Aleena..."

There was a deft silence and a sudden growth of tension that stilled the air between the diplomat and his potential hire. Stepping from foot to foot, the krogan wasn't sure how to respond so instead he chose to intimidate the volus by default, red glare digging into the creature's squat face.

"Hnnn.." Wrex grumbled, "You aren't getting this one past me, volus. Aleena's hard. Know her by reputation. Worth more than 30,000 credits, and you know it," One thick finger pointed directly into the diplomat's face before he turned and sauntered towards the exit. "We are done here."

"Wait!" The volus shouted, scrambling to the top of his seat as he lost his composure. "Wait... 10,000 up front... 40,000 when the job is done."

Wrex paused, a tongue running over flat teeth as he turned his head and steadily gazed back sidelong. "20,000 up front. 50,000 after, no more no less."

"But I don-..." With defeat, the volus' shoulders collapsed. "Fine. Done. 20,000 credits. But you won't see a single chip of that 50,000 bounty unless I have her head, is that understood?"

The krogan nodded once, sliding his secondary chip card towards the volus, "If I don't see that 20,000, I'll let the past catch up to you on her own sweet time."

"Done."

::: PRESENT :::

When Wrex approached his shuttle, he had half expected he was suppose to be following the asari's private vehicle. It appeared, after watching the female's shuttle stall for some few clicks, that he wasn't suppose to follow her - she was expecting to follow him.

The krogan sighed to himself, pulling his space shuttle out of the docks and watching the other vehicle from his port screen trail from behind. He pulled outside of Omega and towards the lower levels, somewhere overrun with the sick and decaying. Few mercenary groups were interested in the slums unless there was an exceptional run, and with Shepard and the Normandy crew providing an excellent distraction, their interests in Omega's resources were spread thin and far.

He parked in an ill lit alley, where the bodies of vorcha and krogan had been left to decay after some run in between the Blood and some other rival gang. Wrex watched carefully as the shuttle behind him docked the street nearby. A door opened, revealing the lone asari who searched the area briefly before stepping over the rotting corpses and treading towards Wrex's car.

He opened the opposite door, turning off the shuttle's engine as the asari seated herself beside him.

"Wrex."

"Aria."

::: FOUR HUNDRED YEARS AGO :::

Aleena laughed, fingers running across her scalp while the other hand steadied herself on Wrex's barstool. She was giggling like a maiden, delirious with humor as the krogan snorted briskly.

"Well, did he pay?" Aleena managed to speak out, red flushing the purple hue of her cheeks.

The krogan grinned, rolling his shoulders as his joints popped. "20,000 in full. He wants you dead. Dead and gone. Why he called on me is anyone's guess."

The asari shrugged, gingerly picking her drink off the bar and testing the crystal's surface between her fingers. "Everyone knows you and I dominate the mercenary networks. Our reputation exceeds us. However, few know you and I actually share drinks and professional lives." Aleena rolled her eyes as she tasted her alcohol. "Must be that whole.. working against one another thing."

The krogan mercenary shrugged. She was in a far more pleasant mode than the last time they spoke. And while Wrex was still curious what got Aleena in such a huff the other day, he respected her enough to prod. She'll get around to it, until then, this change of heart was more expected and comfortable.

"Well, Aleena? What's say you and I forget the whole damn thing and skip off with our 20,000?" Wrex inquired thoughtfully. "Hell. You might have fun knocking off some of the assassins he'll be sure teh pit against you. Heard Omega's lookin' for some new hands."

Aleena smiled, pressing a heavy head into her shoulder as she watched the krogan from their close proximity. "And what are we going to do in Omega, Wrex? Kick Urdnot Veyrlock off his pedestal and run the damn place as king and queen? Staying in one place doesn't suit your adventurous lifestyle."

"It could," Wrex said seriously, the humor replaced with some level of earnestness. "We've got long lives ahead of us. Once we get sick of Omega, we'll drop ship and go elsewhere. 20,000 is a good amount to start with."

There was a heavy silence that fell between them, the asari suddenly more preoccupied with her drink than with the conversation. Her brows knit together, mind dwelling briefly as her body suddenly tensed. Not this again.

"Aleena, we got somethin' between us. You and I both know tha-"

"Wrex," She suddenly drew herself forward, throwing her drink on the floor. Before he knew it, the krogan found both hands pressed on eitherside of his head with her forehead pressed against his headplate. Krogans were not savvy to affection, but this display was not alien to him. Before he could embrace her, the woman pushed herself away - creating a distance between them, grey eyes boring into his.

"Take the bounty," Aleena stated with finality.

Wrex was dumbfounded, shaking his head, "What?"

"You heard me." The asari commando stepped around his quarters, collecting her guns and a few extra heatsinks from his inventory under the bar. "What makes you think you will catch me?"

"What makes you think I won't?" Wrex muttered gravely, his tone becoming more serious.

Aleena smiled darkly, one finger flicking her nose as she stepped out. "Don't insult me."

That was the last time he spoke to her. At least, for a long, long time.

::: PRESENT :::

After the brief introduction, there was a quiet that bridged the space between Aria and Wrex. Both were gazing outside in opposite directions, refusing to meet eachothers gaze and therefore refusing to acknowledge the presence of the other.

"How did you get the scar?" The asari whispered, arms crossed defensively under her breasts, one leg crossing over the other.

"You. Of course," Wrex answered curtly.

"And you didn't get it fixed..." Aria drew out, tapping a finger at her knee. "Why?"

"Memories," Wrex sighed, tasting the stagnant air with a dry tongue. "Good reminder of what I loved best."

The krogan warlord turned his upper body towards the asari, picking up a stern expression. "Where is she, Aria?"

The Pirate Queen was stilled into another lapse of silence, though not from trying to ignore Wrex. Her gaze shifted to her feet, chin buried into her chest as she focused on the shuttle's floor.

Urdnot Wrex didn't miss a beat, closing his eyes as he leaned back into the driver's seat. "When did she die?" he asked.

"Forty years ago," Aria muttered bitterly. "I've had daughters die on me, Wrex. Many in my arms. But she was special."

He breathed deeply. His chest felt heavy, like a burden that had crushed his armor was weighing him down. "And that's why you disappeared."

The asari nodded once. Her features were hardened, but the tension cut through her emotions. If she had a heart, it was hard to tell.

Wrex could tell.

"If I didn't, I would've had to kill you," Aria muttered. "I would've risked her life. Sometimes its better to disappear, than risk killing the ones you love."

Wrex shifted his weight, a grim face acknowledging her reasons. "What did you name her?"

Aria sighed, shakily. She nervously changed her position, crossing her opposite leg over the other as a hand braced her chin. Wrex noted how the nerves in her voice pricked his ears. No wonder she wanted to meet him privately, that kind of exposure could get her killed in Omega.

"Aleena, ironically. You should have seen her, Wrex. Wish you could've seen her," the female finally turned to him, a dark smile splitting her lips as her eyes wavered in the tragic memories, "She was a presence. Her biotics were off the charts. She also had your bullheaded attitude."

Wrex nodded, eyes closed as he smiled, "Bet she was born with her hands on her hips. Like her mother."

"Indeed."

There was a disenchanting quiet between the both of them. Finally, Wrex let up and drew one heavy paw over the asari's knee, a harsh grin peering at the pirate queen. "So what now, old friend?"

Aria rolled her eyes, but did not dislodge the turian's hand from her leg. "What now? Disappearing didn't stop you from finding me. Last I heard, your friends had a galaxy to save. Those stakes seem higher than Omega."

Wrex's grin suddenly widened, a spark of energy flicking through his eyes. "Doubt they'll be able teh do it without some brawn."

"And brains," Aria added, flicking her finger over her nose. Old habits die hard.

"Sounds like old times, Aria," The krogan smiled.

The pirate queen sighed, shifting her weight and bridging the gap between them. She pressed her upper body into Wrex's arm. "Yeah."

She grinned devilishly, her voice shifting thoughtfully as her tone reached back the centuries lost between them.

"Just like old times."

-Fin

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author's Notes:

Fan speculation is that Aria T'Loak is Aleena from Urdnot Wrex's dialogue back in Mass Effect 1, about some old Asari friend of his back in the day. He seemed to respect her. Aria also had a short conversation about her past in Mass Effect 2 about her background. Both stories carried very similar strains, hence the speculation.

This story is dedicated to all the Wrex fans, and all the Aria T'Loak lovers out there. Now let us just cross our fingers and hope Mass Effect 3 shows us some more Aria, and hope fan speculation proves correct. I'd love to see these two pair up as partner mercenaries.