Prologue
No one would have believed that the barely functioning ship that docked at Omega was only several months old, an improved version of the most advanced ship in the Alliance. The crew that disembarked was a strange one: humans talking amiably with a turian, a salarian walking astride with a krogan. They seemed to have only two things in common. The first was their battered stated: uniforms torn, armour scorched and dented and all were obviously suffering from exhaustion. The second was the air of celebration that seemed to surround them, easily read in the way they smiled and stepped lightly despite their tiredness. One woman was unmistakeably in charge. Although she wore the same uniform as most of the others, bearing no distinguishing insignia, something about the way she held herself spoke of command. For all that, they had no fear that they would draw attention. Far stranger crews arrived at the Omega docks daily.
Despite their confidence in their inconspicuousness, they were being watched. Three operatives had been sent to Omega to wait for this ship and inform their employers of its return. The first was unfamiliar with this type of work, and had agreed to do it only as a favour to a man he respected deeply. The second was employed by the Council, sent to spy on the woman they half hoped would never return from beyond the Omega 4 Relay. The final operative was fully aware of the other two, had ferreted them out and discovered their intentions within hours of their arrival on Omega. She made no move to hinder or kill them as her employer would have wished; there was no need. Had the ship taken any longer to arrive, however, she may have considered it. She was growing bored with Omega's meagre entertainments and wanted the small excitement that hunting the others would provide.
The moment they caught sight of the ship and its commander, the operatives hurried to report to their employers.
In recent months Kaidan Alenko had become reacquainted with insomnia. It was an old and unwelcome visitor, his frequent companion for a year after his commander's death. Sleep had returned eventually, and the new responsibilities that came with his promotion usually left him exhausted at the end of each day. That had changed after running into a ghost on Horizon. Now every night he lay awake, torn between fury at her traitorous new alliance and a terrible fear that he would lose her again. Even though he had refused her offer of a place on her crew, there was also the small and petty resentment at being left out.
As a result he was awake when his terminal beeped quietly, alerting him to a new message. Although he had been waiting for it for days, he hesitated for a moment before opening it. What if it confirmed his worst fear? When he eventually hit the button, his shoulders sagged with relief. The message was short but all that he had hoped for: Normandy back at Omega. Shepard alive.
In an office not far from Kaidan's, Councilor Anderson was receiving a similar message. It was practically a report, going into detail about the state of the ship and the crew, but in essence it was the same. He had gone to considerable trouble to obtain it. The other councillors had not informed him of the covert surveillance taking place on Omega, but suspicion told him they would not allow their troublesome Spectre to go unmonitored and a little digging had proved him right. A few thousand credits had convinced a trusted official to send a copy of the spy's transmission to him once it arrived.
In three widely separated, highly guarded facilities three secure terminals beeped in unison. Having been ordered to be prepared for a message, operatives had watched the terminals in shifts for several hours. When the alert came they were at the keys in seconds, entering the complex password that would allow them access to the encoded transmission. When it was finally opened the message set in motion a flurry of activity and preparation that stretched throughout the galaxy.