On the lower floor of Omega's Afterlife, two quarians sat at a table in a dark corner. The dark lighting, smoke, and loud music made it ideal for discussing their plans. Both were on pilgrimage but had decided to work together for a common goal. To steal a batarian slaver ship. Other quarians were on their way help plan their attack.

The leader, Tevak'Semis nar Defranz, toyed with a pistol his father had given him. He was dressed in dark blue garb mixed with a bit of yellow. It was his idea to take the slaver ship and present it to the Flotilla. Turning to his female companion, he asked, "Do you think they ran into trouble?"

"No, I'm sure they're just late," said Shia'Xey nar Rayya. Dressed in all black, she had a quiet mystique about her. A month ago she had run into Tevak in Afterlife. Since then they had been gathering allies. On this unfriendly station, it wasn't hard to convince other quarians to join up.

"Did you hear that the geth attacked a human colony?" asked Tevak making conversation. Through his visor he eyed Shia's body for a second.

"Yeah, I heard on the news vids. Eden Prime, I think it was," answered Shia. "Won't be long before they come after the Flotilla."

"Hopefully soon," said Tevak. Shia was taken back by his answer but she knew what he meant. He had a boyish obsession with war and wanted to fight the geth badly.

A few minutes later two more quarians arrived. One of them they already knew, Qin'Teemba vas Defranze, a childhood friend of Tevak's. His clothing had red and black patterns all over it. He spoke somewhat irritated, "Sorry we're late. Had trouble getting in the front door. Those elcor can be assholes."

"Tell me about it," grinned Tevak.

The other quarian they had not met sat silently staring at Tevak and Shia. He seemed slightly bigger than the rest of them. He wore white garments with some blue. Setting his hands on the table he introduced himself, "I'm Leim'Za vas Omega."

"You actually live here?" asked Shia in disbelief.

"How old are you?" Tevak could tell by Leim's tone that he was definitly older.

Leim sat quietly again as though annoyed by the questions. Gathering his thoughts, he spoke again, "My pilgrimage started ten years ago. After a time I decided to not go back. And yes, I do live here. Now do you want my help or not?"

"Yes, of course. Qin tells me that you can get us weapons," said Tevak. He shifted in his seat unsure if Leim was trustworthy.

"I can but..." Leim continued to stare at Tevak. "I want to come back to the Flotilla."

"Fair enough."

"And... I want to captain the slaver ship when you..."

"No!" Tevak slammed his fist on the table. "It was my idea. The three of us already decided that I would be captain."

"Then you can do it without my help," said Leim crossing his arms.

"Perhaps we can find a compromise," Qin spoke up. "The admiralty board ultimately makes the decision. There's no guarentee either of you can be captain."

Shia interjected, "We can promise you the next highest rank if not captain."

"Fine," muttered Leim. "Meet me at my apartment tonight. Qin knows where it is. I'm going into the market to buy the weapons we need."

After Leim left they sat for a moment. Tevak was the first to speak up, "Where did you find that prick?"

Qin became miffed by Tevak's accusatory tone. "In the lower wards. He's the only one with spare credits to spend. What else are we supposed to do?"

"We can do it without him. There must be another way to make some creds around here," said Tevak looking around the bar. Spotting the asari dancing on the top platform he grinned, "We could have Shia get up there and shake her stuff..."

Shia elbowed Tevak hard in the side. Sarcastically she said, "That would be real fun having all of these filthy aliens clamoring over me."

"Come to think of it. I don't think I've ever seen a quarian stripper..." mentioned Qin looking up at the gyrating asari.

"That's because it would kill us to take off our suits you idiot," huffed Shia. Her feelings for Tevak made her feel threatened by the nude female aliens walking around.

"Alright, let's get moving," said Tevak standing up from the table. "I'm going to scout out the docking bay where the ship is at. The two of you head to Leim's place."

"When will you be back?" asked Shia.

"Sometime tonight. Don't worry about me. Just make sure Leim holds up on his end of the deal." With that, Tevak went off on his own.

A/N: If you like quarians then you should like this tale. I've got three stories planned for this set of characters spanning the entire Mass Effect series. This one takes place during ME1.