Inho paused where he'd been pacing the hangar bay outside the ship. Hanjin was right afterall. Sure, the echos were just snips of conversations, but it didn't mean he couldn't gleam some information from them. Of course Hanjin was right. This didn't have to be difficult.

And no matter how many times he told himself this, he still managed to avoid Daebak's attempt at hugging him again earlier, casually pushed the toolkit to Hyuk with his foot, somehow avoided Jeongha altogether, and didn't have any problem giving Yoonshik as much space as that man normally wanted. And the rest of the crew just avoided him in general. Thank whatever spiritual being there might be that Hugo hadn't seen him at all today.

But Hanjin was right. And it made no sense for Inho to be pacing out here when he should be working.

“Just keep telling yourself that,” Inho muttered to himself in annoyance. Finally giving up, he reentered the Fringe, and found himself automatically heading towards the cockpit.

“No, but seriously.”

“That's new! When's the wedding?”

“Ha. Ha. Funny. She's thirty years older than me, and married. I don't think so.”

“Sugar momma?”

“I'm hanging up.”

“Aww. Well, I should get back to,” Inho could see Jeongha making air quotes with his hands, “work. Not much going on these days.”

“Yeah, not a whole lot of work here either,” another voice cooed out 'pretttttty booyyyy' from the connection Jeongha was speaking to, “Ughhhhhhhhh. She's found me! Save me!”

“Good luck, Haneul!” With a final laugh, the communication ended. Inho sat himself in the co-pilot seat, earning him a pleased smile from the pilot, “Hey! How you feeling?”

“Fine,” Inho shrugged, slumping into the chair comfortably, “bored mostly.”

“Saaaame,” Jeongha sang in agreement, “we're still waiting on where to take the last shipment.”

“We're still on that job then?”

“Yep,” he popped the final sound of that word, “but we still need to work until then. Ilium has not been nice at all,” Inho leaned over to see what Jeongha was beginning to do on the console.

“What the...is that solitaire?”

“Don't tell Yoonshik. He'd have my hide,” Inho shook his head, smirking ever so slightly at the thought of Yoonshik coming after Jeongha for playing a card game. Sadly, he could see it fully happening.

“What's your better half doing?” The pilot asked, closing the game, “Daebak was talking about us all taking a day to explore Ilium, but Hanjin popped off before we could ask.”

“He probably needed a break from the ship,” Inho offered with a shrug. Part of that was probably true in some respect. He knew Hanjin well enough that he was either contacting C-Sec, but he also could very well just be taking a break from the group.

“Well Daebak will be disappointed,” Jeongha propped his feet up on the console, slumping down to a more relaxed, comfortable position, “but we'll invite him the next time. Are you going to come? Hugo said he had a friend recently land who worked in textiles. Well off guy. Might have a temporary job for us until we can drop the last payload. We're going to meet with him and then spend the rest of the day in Ilium. Up for it?” Inho only hesitated for a moment before Jeongha whined at him slightly, “C'mooooooon! You've been in a hospital bed for far too long. Come join our merry band of idiots!” Without really realizing it, Inho was already nodding, and Jeongha smiled at him broadly.

And then Inho was lifted off his feet when someone grabbed him from behind in a big hug.

Why is everyone gone-

So lonely-

Follow me kid, I'll look after you-

Why am I different-

You're my kid; that's all you need-

What happened to everyone-

I can't get close, too many flames-

Alone-

“You come with us, yes?” Daebak exclaimed, still holding onto Inho tightly. The echoes of voices flooded his consciousness again. Physical contact aside, this time he could actually swear he felt the heat of fire as the panicked voice of Daebak mentioned flames. It was too much. Inho struggled, and managed to release himself from Daebak's hold.

Ignoring both Daebak and Jeongha's concerned inquiries, he left the cockpit. He needed air again. Despite what he might have told Hanjin, he half expected memories from Daebak to be far less dark. He expected food or maybe even silly memories of the crew. Not fire and flames. He could actually taste in the back of his throat the residual effects of a gas fire. This was by far the most vivid of any of the visions so far.

Out, away, just somewhere where he didn't need to be around anyone for a little bit. Inho emerged from the Fringe, the taste gone from him mouth, and the noise of Ilium filling his head instead of those panicked, fearful voices. Instant relief is what this was. Inho walked some distance away from the ship until he could rest against a crate. All the sensations of voices were finally gone. He heaved out a shaky breath. Truly, he'd not been prepared for that...

“Penny for your thoughts?” A voice he sincerely hoped didn't belong to the captain of the Fringe asked him.

Unfortunately, he was met by the familiar masked visage of Hugo. Beside him was another man, dressed in colorful and mismatched attire. Behind them still was another young man, looking altogether bored and unimpressed, as if he'd rather be anywhere else at this moment. Inho felt himself cringe a little inwardly. He really didn't want to deal with figuring out the enigma that was Hugo at this moment. When he didn't answer Hugo, the captain actually raised his brows, something Inho surmised was akin to concern at this point.

“Who is this?” The colorful man asked, extending a hand out to Inho in introduction, “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Changhui and this is my cohort Ted!” Inho couldn't help but stare at the offered hand, and chose to stand up straight and ignore it. Ted, the bored young man, actually took notice of this and smirked ever so slightly in amusement when Changhui simply gave up and let his hand drop.

“This is Inho. A member of the crew,” Hugo still had the same expression in his eyes, but otherwise spoke normally, “The Fringe is up ahead if you would proceed,” he motioned and Changhui nodded, moving on without Hugo. Ted followed suit. Inho himself had just turned to join them when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Immediately he tensed, waiting for the onslaught-

Nothing. All Inho received was another look from Hugo. Again, it felt like Hugo was trying to read into his brain, and at any moment he was going to make some monumental observation. Part of Inho expected Hugo to say, 'I KNOW', but nothing. Instead, Hugo gave his shoulder one firm pat before moving on, “We're working on a shipping deal with Changhui. I'll tell you more tonight.”

Inho watched him walk back into the ship before letting out the breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding. Around him the busy hum of Ilium continued uninterrupted by any voices or visions or smells or-

“You okay?” Hanjin's concerned voice asked. He approached Inho, shouldering a bag of items he'd probably purchased on Illium, “Dude, you're pale! Are you feeling alright? Come on, back to the ship-” He'd reached out to take Inho's arm in an attempt to urge him towards the ship but paused and hesitated just before, “Oh, right, yeah, so-” Instead Inho grabbed his arm, Hanjin protesting, and waited.

Nothing.

“It stopped...”

“What?”

“The...the mind meld!” Inho felt far more ecstatic than he thought he would, “Nothing happened.” Suddenly realizing they were in the open, Inho immediately hushed his voice, Hanjin joining.

“What? Really?” Hanjin seemed relieved at first, sharing Inho's sentiment, but it was soon replaced with a frown and disappointed groan, “You mean you can't mind read Hugo then?”

“...or worry about hearing everyone's dirty laundry,” Inho added dryly. Hanjin lost the disappointed expression, and replaced it with a sympathetic one.

“Yeah...sorry. That had to really .” The shorter man scratched his head, looking just a little apologetic, “but uh...yeah. So I guess we're back to just waiting,” despite trying his best to not be, Inho recognized the disappointment in his tone, “Back to making friendly with the criminals, right?”

“They're not that bad,” Inho offered with a shrug, “actually, I'm heading out with them later. Did you want to come?”

“Nah,” he began to head back to the Fringe, “I should hang around the ship, or maybe try to contact headquarters. But you have fun with them. I'll let you know if we make any headway on this. Don't worry buddy. We'll get this over with and be back home yet.” Inho followed after him, the brief moment of relief now gone.

He didn't have long to dwell on that however. The moment they made it to the ship, they were ambushed by Jeongha and Daebak. Both proceeded to grab Inho by the arms, dragging him off with much protest. Hyuk had paused to speak to Hanjin, but all Inho caught was a shake of the head and a highly amused looking Hanjin waving him off like a parent saying goodbye to their child.

“Yoonshik, hurry up!” Jeongha called back to a rather grumpy looking second-in-command as he followed slowly after them, “It's time for you to have some actual fun!” The word actually seemed to cause Yoonshik actual pain, and Inho chuckled a little himself. He was suddenly very glad again he wasn't able to hear the innermost thoughts of his friends- Inho shook that thought away and finally freed himself from Daebak and Jeongha so he could follow them more easily.

Later...

“These idiots,” Yoonshik muttered, shaking his head. Inho smirked a little as well, mentally agreeing with the other man as they both watched Daebak trying to communicate with the food stall vendor about what he was actually trying to find. This was number three in their current quest as it were. Next to Daebak, Hyuk was trying to apologize for the confusion Daebak's request must have been creating, but the vendor just looked more and more indignant and offended.

“How long before Daebak concedes that the Skald fish is a pet?” Yoonshik muttered to Inho, unable to hide the very slight hint of amusement.

This entire excursion into Illium had been for the sole purpose of finding a skald fish for Daebak to eat. While Inho had agreed willingly to join them, it had taken the joined efforts of Jeongha and Daebak to coax Yoonshik out. Thus far, the trip was actually...rather fun. He surprised himself honestly. The last time he'd just roamed for the sake of finding something interesting, he was still a trainee at C-Sec and he'd been dragged along with some others at Hanjin's behest. Speaking of Hanjin, Inho couldn't deny he'd wished the other could have joined them. Or at least would have. He'd opted out under the pretense that he had to run some personal errands. Again, Inho guessed he was trying to contact Bongpal. Really, all Hanjin wanted was for them to finish their mission and go home to possible promotions…

Mission. Right. In the midst of all of this, Inho always seemed to forget they were here for specific purpose. Maybe it was because so far, after he'd woken up from the coma, they hadn't done anything except hang around. Even the possible transaction with Changhui seemed to be harmless enough from what Yoonshik had mentioned. But then again, he has a very real reminder next to him of what this group could actually be…

Yoonshik shook his head again as Daebak suddenly let out a disappointed whine and slammed his hands down on the counter.

“It's too small! Must be a pet!” He then slumped down to his knees, hands still resting on the counter in an overly dramatic show of disappointment. Next to him Hyuk sighed, and patted the larger man on the head sympathetically.

“I'll never understand his obsession with eating fish,” Yoonshik muttered, “idiot,” though the word coming form Yoonshik's mouth had more of an endearing than insulting tone to it. Inho regarded him again. After a beat, Yoonshik, turned to look him directly in the eyes, “yes. I killed Yoonmi.”

“What..?”

“That's what you're wanting to hear, right?” When Inho didn't respond, he continued, “I've noticed how you and your partner look at me. Yes. I am the same guy you probably saw in the headlines for killing famous actress Yoonmi.” For a moment Inho wanted to deny having that knowledge, but in the end all he could muster was a shrug. That earned him a snort from Yoonshik, “I don't give a damn if you believe it or not.” For another tense moment, Yoonshik and Inho stared the other down before Jeongha's voice boomed next to them.

“FOOD!” He produced two steaming cups of something savory smelling. When neither took the offering right away, he glanced between the two, “Uh...did I...interrupt-?”

“No,” Yoonshik took one cup and left them to find a seat alone off away from them.

“Oookay,” Jeongha waved the remaining one to Inho, “What's gotten into him? He's more,” Jeongha made a pronounced scowl before laughing, “eh, don't worry too much. Yoonshik'll get over it eventually. Eat up!”

“What is this anyhow?” Inho took the cup and peered into the contents. A mass of noodles in a brown broth greeted him.

“The vendor was selling it as an Earth delicacy called 'ramen'. Let's see if they can make it right around here!” He paused before whispering loudly, “they don't. I ate some already. But it was a free sample.” That earned him a laugh from Inho, “No, but seriously. Yoonshik just needs to loosen up and have some fun once in a while. You'd think hanging out with us was a punishment!” Inho simply nodded, taking a sip of the broth and making a face, “that bad huh?”

“Jeongha,” Yoonshik called to him, “I'm never trusting you to feed us ever again.”

“We'll name him Cipher!” Daebak's excited voice exclaimed. At the counter, Daebak had his arms wrapped around Hyuk's shoulders in a hug, smiling broadly as Hyuk paid for a small container and what Inho assumed was a Skald fish, “Thank you!”

“He spoils Daebak, I swear,” Yoonshik grumbled, “I'm not responsible for feeding it, that's on you two,” he pointed out to Hyuk and Daebak. Hyuk smiled in defeat while Daebak simply nodded excitedly, “...fine. Where are you going to put him? Is that even going to be proper housing for the thing? There's a pet emporium around here-”

Inho winced as a pain suddenly shot through his head. Jeongha noticed, and nudged him with an elbow, asking if he was okay. That touch sent a chill down Inho's spine as a faint whisper of a voice echoed in his head. The pain intensified, and he stumbled away from Jeongha, ignoring the concerned follow up from him. That was a mistake. The sudden pain made his vision blur, and Inho stumbled over his own feet. Someone caught him.

“Hey! What happened? You okay?” Yoonshik asked him, for once sounding genuinely worried. And immediately, Inho regretted everything.

YOONMI!!!

His senses were assaulted with the smell of blood, the resounding bangs of gunshots, Yoonshik's loud cries and gasping sobs, and the jeers of hundreds, maybe thousands of different voices.

Away. Get away. Inho didn't know what to do. Without waiting, he sprinted away from the group, only to suddenly be assaulted with more and more voices in his head. Every time someone barely brushed against him amongst the crowd of people, a flurry of voices and visions screamed in his head. He could barely see anything anymore. Shoving his way through the people, he tried to find some escape, somewhere. Too many visions were clouding his vision, what was real, what was illusion, were these even his own thoughts anymore? Everything just kept escalating. Where was he? He didn't care. He could barely hear what he assumed were the voices of the Fringe crew shouting at him. He didn't care. The pain was too much anymore. He couldn't focus. How long has he been trying to escape? Where could he go? There? Over there?

Finally, Inho ducked into a small alley of sorts, behind the vendor stalls, and slumped to the ground clutching his head. There was too many voices. Too many awful voices.

That girl shouldn't have fought-

How am I going to pay-

I should kill him-

Inho-

I want my mommy-

This human sickens me-

Trash Quarians-

I HATE THIS MUSIC-

So hungry-

Inho-

His screams were nice-

Age of consent be damned-

Inho-

So tired-

Inho-

Inho-

Inho!

The voices were being drowned out by a constant calling of his name. He knew that voice. The voices were dying down, the constant familiar voice calling him back to reality. One blink, two blinks, and the world around him was coming back into clear view. The voices were now just a dull hum, and were fading quicker and quicker.

“Inho, c'mon you bastard, focus, breath, wake up, c'mon…!” Jeongha's panicked voice urged on. Another blink, and Inho could focus on Jeongha's fearful face in front of him. His skin was tingling from where Jeongha had his hands on either side of Inho's face, keeping him facing Jeongha. Upon seeing his eyes focusing on him, relief washed over Jeongha's face followed by a weary smile, “you scared me. Are you alright-”

Inho-

Inho slapped away Jeongha's hands, scrambling up to his feet. He didn't miss the somewhat hurt expression on his face, and maybe he did feel guilty, but he couldn't keep hearing the voices anymore. He rubbed his face where the tingling sensation was fading, feeling his heart rate finally slowing. Jeongha hadn't joined him, still squatting on the ground, and looking down at his hands. With a quick headshake, he soon turned his gaze upwards towards Inho. The weary, relieved expression was gone. In it's place was uncertainty and confusion. He opened his mouth to speak, paused, and tried again, but nothing came. Assuming he was confused by his outburst, Inho extended a cautious hand out to him (hopefully he wouldn't hear anything this time), offering to help the pilot to his feet.

“Uh, sorry, I just-” Inho began, only to be cutoff by Jeongha finally speaking quietly.

“...are you part of C-Sec?”