Chapter 2

The Omega Nebula. Sarabaric. Omega.

The night had passed since the event at the bar, and now the group was in a suite at one of Omega's hotels. It was spacious and luxurious, though not in Elazar and Damia's usual sense. The room was a space of about a hundred square meters with three separate rooms, a kitchen, a shower room, a toilet, and an expansive lounge, where Damia and Elazar were currently located, watching the news on the Extranet through his omni-tool.

The Sister of Battle had removed her armor, finding herself in only her underwear, and was eating the food he had brought while the girls she had washed and changed were sleeping in one of the rooms. Damia wasn't the least bit embarrassed by the situation, even though it was considered vulgar in the usual local society, but she knew from somewhere that Elazar didn't care, which she was actually right about. Elazar considered her nothing more than a coworker or subordinate, and a rather simple person at that... someone easy to deal with.

- What's the plan, Inquisitor? - Damia asked, chewing another piece of meat. Elazar put the omni-tool away and smiled, picking up some fruit from the table and taking a bite.

There are obvious pluses in this universe, one of which is food. Its flavor and variety are beyond compare to the familiar options. The Imperium is huge, hence the amount of food it needs is enormous. Tasting food is the prerogative of the rich and someone like a free trader, but on the battlefield only satiation matters. For this reason, all rations are uniform and have no taste or smell.

Sure, Elazar by virtue of his position has attended dinner parties and been to the homes of the wealthy citizens of the Imperium, but here in this universe, the food is exorbitantly good. The sweetness of the fruit, the succulence of the meat, and the flavor has lodged itself in both Elazar's and Damia's taste buds, making past rations and the like seem like slop. That's not entirely far from the truth, though.

Besides, given Elazar's track record, he's never lacked for fine food. Especially when he was sent to investigate or interrogate. People were willing to go to great lengths to bribe an inquisitor and avert suspicion. Inquisitors were also very rarely sent to the front lines. Damia on the other hand... their food usually isn't much different from Imperial Guard rations.

- Now we wait.

- Waiting? What?" Damia asked without taking her eyes off her plate, "There's only two of us, I don't count this couple because they're useless. Shouldn't we do what we did yesterday?

- You're not quite right, Sister," Elazar began, "Yes, they're useless in battle, at least for now, but the information they have? It's exactly the opposite. Isn't it?

At these words he turned his head towards one of the rooms, where a blonde-haired girl dressed in simple baggy clothes stood watching them. She had a slightly frowning and tired look, but a hard and suspicious gaze. Elazar found her notable because she hadn't uttered a word at the bar and was mostly studying them. Also, it was this girl who had been the first to reach for the glass.

- Come, sit down, young lady. We are not your enemies. - Elazar smiled, to which the girl did not budge, and her suspicious stare intensified.

- But not friends either, right? - she said after a couple of seconds, and then flinched when she saw Elazar's smile turn creepy-"We are grateful to you. I'm grateful to you, but you'd have to be a complete idiot to think you saved us out of the goodness of your heart.

- You are right, young lady, we do need something from you, - Elazar said calmly, and his smile became just annoying again - But that doesn't mean that only we will benefit.

- And to-" the girl wanted to continue as her stomach rumbled loudly. At this she blushed with embarrassment, the air of seriousness was gone, and Elazar let out a chuckle, covering his mouth with his hand.

- Sit down and eat," Damia intervened in a commanding tone, "I don't want my efforts to be wasted on Grox. Who do you think carried you here, washed you and changed your clothes?

Under the gaze of the Battle Sister, the girl gave up and slowly approached the table and began to eat. Elazar, on the other hand, nodded briefly and looked at her.

- Piracy is a part of the Batarian culture, and they are not likely to stop doing it. Thousands of families have already been destroyed, and the numbers will only increase if nothing is done about it. That's why the Batarians need to be eradicated entirely. Yes, genocide of an entire race sounds unpleasant, but on the other side of the scale is saving billions of lives of ordinary people.

Damia grinned as she listened to him, amazed at how the Inquisitor could lie so smoothly. She was well aware that he didn't give a damn about the Xenos and their opinions or lives. Damia thought that Elazar was a typical representative of the Ordo Hereticus, who only cared about achieving his goal, whatever it was, and whatever sacrifices it cost. Like the Exterminatus of an entire planet, for example. She's not much different from him, though, though the goals are usually an order of magnitude simpler.

- The Council will not allow it. Even if the Batarians are not part of the races under its control, it will not ignore genocide. The public will not accept such a thing," the girl spoke up, "And how do you plan to accomplish this anyway? There are only two of you.

- In time, that will change," Elazar shook his finger, "And the public will accept our goals, since the Council is essentially inactive with regard to Batarian hegemony. We will kill in the name of justice, and that is very righteous.

- But... I can understand killing Batarians that have already committed crimes, but an entire race... even children.....

- I want to help," came another voice, and everyone present turned toward its source. A second girl stood at the entrance to the room, looking at Elazar with confident and brave eyes burning with desire as she leaned against the doorjamb - You want information, don't you? I'll tell you everything I know if the bastards go to hell.

- Maya, you're awake! - The blonde jumped up and ran over to the black-haired girl, examining her and spinning her around - You need to rest!

- No, I've had enough rest, Sybilla," the girl called Maya replied emphatically, and with her friend's encouragement walked to the table - What do you want to know, Mr...?

- Preston, Elazar Preston, Miss Maya, and my companion is Damia Howard," Elazar introduced the duo, "Eat and gain strength. You need it. My questions can wait.

She nodded and proceeded to eat while her friend watched her worriedly. Elazar waited patiently for Maya to be satiated, and Damia was content for now.

- You... heard everything, didn't you? - Sybilla asked, looking at her chewing friend, to which she nodded - Then... Why... Why...

- Face it, Sybilla," Maya said, swallowing her food and looking her straight in the eye, "No one cared about us. The Alliance is too right, and so is the Council. We are nothing more than lost souls to them, to be simply forgotten. Too petty and insignificant to waste time on us.

- But... Genocide of an entire race..." Sybilla began, and Maya slapped her with a loud slap that left a red mark on her cheek.

- Who would have saved us if it weren't for these people?! How many days would have passed before we would have just been killed and thrown in the garbage?! We were beaten, mixed with dirt, fed slop just because we were unlucky enough to be their next target!" Maya shouted in her face, "You were sold only a month ago, but I've been sold for three years! Every day I prayed to God for help! Counting the nights I've lived, hoping for salvation, only to just walk away!

At the look in her friend's eyes, Sybilla was taken aback and moved slightly aside. Maya's vengeful eyes burned the girl with the temperature of the sun and drilled as if they were trying to make a hole in her head.

- Well, no, I don't agree to that! - Maya gritted her teeth - I want to kill them! All of them! I want revenge for what they did to me! Just like they did at the bar! To have their fear-filled eyes stare at me while I plunge the knife into their bodies, slowly twisting it both ways and smiling right in their faces!

She then took a deep breath and looked at her friend with an icy expression.

- My tears have long since dried, Sybilla, and now I want blood. If that doesn't suit you, then..." Maya began and shifted her gaze to Elazar, who was watching with interest, like Damia, but with a degree of apathy.

The inquisitor was surprised. Really surprised. At first he had thought that it was Sybilla who was the "hilt," for she had taken the case first, and Maya the "blade," for she had followed her, but now it was the other way around. It was the latter who showed cold hatred and steely determination. However, that made things less interesting for Elazar, but no less rewarding.

- She's free to leave if she wants, Ms. Maya. Everyone has different views, and I see no point in holding someone against their will. - The inquisitor stated calmly, and then all three of them waited for the girl's decision.

A minute passed, two, three. Maya's gaze did not falter one bit as Sybilla's eyes ran between her friend, the door, and Elazar. The Inquisitor could naturally see the uncertainty splashing in them like a fish being thrown on dry land. The girl was struggling with herself, choosing between reality and her own morality.

- I..." she began, and Maya's gaze intensified, as did Elazar's interest with Damia's indifference, "I'm with you... I... I have nowhere to go anyway....

- Good, I'm glad," Maya nodded, and the cold expression on her face was replaced by a soft smile, "Now, let's eat. We haven't had a proper meal in a long time. Here, let me feed you.

-0-

An hour later, a message arrived on Elazar's omni-tool. With a brief nod to Damia, who, seeing the gesture, put on her armor, and asking the girls to stay in the room, Elazar, along with the Sister of Battle, headed for the market near the hotel. And now the duo was walking past stores, the stalls of which were filled not with food, but with various weapons, armor, and other technological gadgets.

- So," Damia began, surveying her surroundings, "You have achieved your goal, Inquisitor. They're following us now, but I still don't understand what information these two have that could help us. And would you really let her go if she wanted to? Also, you didn't mention that we're part of a galaxy-wide declared terrorist organization.

- Of course, and they don't need to know about Cerberus," Elazar replied with his usual smile, "And the information? You'll understand everything when we get it, Sister, don't worry.

True, he didn't mention what would happen when Sybilla left the hotel. An unarmed runaway slave on Omega? There's no way he'll get a taste of freedom. Besides.

Elazar and Damia walked into one small store that sold omni-tools and all sorts of improvements to it. Both legal and not so legal. The salesman was a middle-aged man with a bald spot starting to show, some stubble, and a gruff face.

- Good morning, Mr. Marlo. How's business? Fine as always, I hope? - Elazar asked, to which the salesman snorted irritably.

- Shove your courtesy up your ass, Elazar, like that smile of yours," he said and placed the clipboard the Inquisitor had taken on the counter, "Everything is ready. The batar credits have already been transferred to the accounts you specified. Of course, I have already taken my share. I was also able to fulfill your request and pull all the information I could from their omni-tools. It's all on this tablet.

- Payment?

- I included it in my share, so we're even.

- Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Marlo. Have a good day.

- Yeah, yeah, now get out of here, unless you have other orders. - and the duo left the store and headed back to the hotel.

Besides, they can be traced. Even a toddler could match recently killed Batarians, missing slaves, and transferred funds. Sybilla would be found and questioned quickly, killed or sold again in the process.

Without pausing, Elazar began to look through the contents of the tablet, and after a couple of seconds, he managed to find a list of available slaves with two names: Sybilla Noll and Maya Scott. Next to them were the price, age, race, gender, and all such information, including dates of purchase or sale. The Batarians document something like this just to brag or show off their status. It's part of their culture. But Elazar needed this information for a slightly different reason.

As the duo approached the hotel entrance, Elazar's eyes shifted sideways. They were being watched. Damia noticed it as well, her expression became focused and her hands prepared to grab her bolter.

- How many? - Elazar asked as soon as they entered the elevator.

- I count three outside and two more in the lobby," Damia replied, "Should we prepare to attack?

- No," Elazar said, to which he received a raised eyebrow from the Battle Sister, "My saying that there are no laws here is a bit inaccurate. There are, but their areas of effect are rather small. You can't have combat on the station if non-participating personalities are going to get hurt in the process. The wording is vague, but still. In public places, like a hotel, especially where the chance of such an event happening is much higher than on the streets. Breaking the law can be punishable by everyone who witnessed it, and so our pursuers will be waiting for their chance.

- And I take it you want to give it to them, Inquisitor? - Damia asked.

- That's right, but they will have to be patient for that, - nodded Elazar - And now you can relax, Sister, first we will get information from our runaway slave girls. Then we will make plans on how to cut off the unwanted tail.

- As you say, Inquisitor. - Damia shrugged her shoulders, and Elazar's smile became creepy again.

If there's a chance, why not take it? You can't waste resources for nothing, can you?

-0-

A/N: How's the chapter? Give us your opinion. You may well be able to influence future chapters.