As long as he'd lived, and as many places he'd been, there was one that Garrus had always hoped he'd never return to. One battlefield permanently and rightfully out of his reach. The center of his nightmares, his private fears, his greatest failures.

Omega.

Hovercars flew in every direction along the highway across from where he set his view, the dull roar of engines barely edging out loud conversations or even fights he kept hearing from every dark corner. Individuals, he knew, bent on accomplishing their own tasks, living their own lives. How many of them will no longer number among the living before the night is over?, he wondered grimly.

He felt the presence of two people nearby, as he had ever since he'd stepped off the Normandy's shuttle. One trusted, but unproven. The other, certainly proven, but not trusted. What exactly Gadschalk wanted with both Crazz and Renar wasn't quite clear, but whatever Garrus thought of the ex-Cerberus agent, he wouldn't allow the crime lord any victories. Five people would walk away from the abandoned factory that had been chosen as a meeting point. Gadschalk wouldn't be among them.

Garrus wasn't foolish enough to think that his foe wouldn't have plan upon plan upon plan. Someone well-informed enough and with enough connections to pull something like this didn't come upon that kind of power without being paranoid and effective. Everything would have to go perfectly.

So, naturally, Garrus expected his plan to crash and burn in the worst way possible. But even if it did, Renar and Solana would be alive. That was all that mattered.

He felt movement to his right, and looked over. Crazz looked pensive, but also disturbed. He was murmuring something to Renar, who nodded.

"What is it?" Garrus asked harshly.

Crazz shook his head. "Something about this...doesn't quite make sense. The message he sent you, the farewell? 'Auf wiedersehen'."

"Does that mean something?"

Crazz nodded. "It's equivalent to 'goodbye'. German, I believe, a culture on Earth. The surname Gadschalk, even if it is only an alias, also originates from there."

"So?"

"So...he specifically refused to tell you his name, yes? But that clue seems so...unnecessary. Even if you hadn't told us what you did, someone would have been able to inform you as to his existence easily, such as Dr. T'Soni."

"I...wait." Garrus' gaze hardened momentarily. "How would Liara know about him?"

"She knew where the Shadow Broker does and does not keep major operations." Crazz explained. "Someone who keeps that close an eye on the underworld doesn't miss a name as important as Gadschalk's."

"All right. So your point is that he...secretly wanted me to know who he was? What's the point of that?"

Crazz shrugged. "It is strange."

"No...it isn't." Renar said. "We all agreed that Gadschalk sent agents after me specifically to get at you, right?" Garrus and Crazz nodded. "Well...that means he knows I'm your son. So he must know that you...won't give me over." The last few words were spoken through gritted teeth. He and Garrus had a shouting match on the shuttle over the plan itself, with Renar's main statement being that he would gladly sacrifice himself to ensure Garrus' safety. It wasn't until Garrus pointed out that Renar had to follow through in order to save Solana that he had subsided, but there was lingering discontent there.

Something not entirely welcome settled in Garrus' stomach. "He's expecting us to resist. We need a new plan."

"Will our new plan entail not resisting?" Crazz asked. "Because otherwise it seems an unnecessary change. Yours is a good plan, and whether or not Gadschalk expects it is beyond our control and not an entirely crucial component to whether or not it works."

"Right. Right." Garrus gave himself a moment to settle. Crazz was right. It was too late to go back, especially after the call. He would just have to trust in his own thoughts and instincts. He ruefully noted that it was probably a bad idea to do so.

Slowly, he turned his back on the railing and hailed a cab. No time to waste.


Garrus knew right away that they were in trouble. The factory was in a district of Omega that even he didn't recognize, which was probably intentional, but worse, it was on its own pad, a massive slab of metal flawlessly designed to leave no room on the sides. The only ways out were through the front door or off a thousand-meter drop.

The cabbie seemed nervous at the prospect of landing, spouting some gibberish about the place being haunted. Knowing what he knew about Omega safety protocols, Garrus imagined that wasn't a bad guess. Two men were waiting for them by the entrance. Small pulses of adrenaline started flooding his system, but he held off the burst. He'd need his head on straight for this.

One of the mercs opened the cab door for them, and they got out. The pair checked that they were unarmed, then motioned them inside.

"Hey," The cabbie interrupted. "Am I gettin' paid or what?"

In reply, one of the mercs pointed an assault rifle at him. He didn't raise the subject again and drove off.

Remaining wordless, the hired guns opened the door and motioned the trio inside. The interior was massive, almost appearing larger than the structure itself looked from the outside. Three levels of catwalks lined the walls above them, overlooking the somewhat cluttered ground floor, stacked with various boxes and crates. A rusty assembly line took up a sixth of the total area, but was confined to the eastern portion.

When they walked in, Garrus was entirely certain that he had seen a glint of metal in the darkness of one of the catwalks. Snipers. He'd expected them, and assuming everything had come together, they wouldn't be a problem for long.

In the center of the building were four figures. Two were pitch black, armed with shotguns. One was bright and almost insubstantial. The fourth was kneeling, blindfolded and gagged. Garrus didn't recognize Gadschalk by sight, but who else would be there, then, and looking so smug?

"Pleased you could join us." He said mockingly. Even though it was a holoprojection, he'd dressed his best - a pressed white suit with matching boots, gold hair tied into a tail behind him, and a crimson flower tucked into his front pocket. He might have looked classy if he didn't also look unashamedly evil.

He heard a low growling noise and glanced around the room. Had the bastard brought varren, too? He saw Renar looking at him warily and realized that the sound was coming from his own throat.

"Now, now." Gadschalk shook his head. "Let's not get off on the wrong foot, mm? Compared to some of the things I imagine you've endured, this particular meeting should be positively easy."

Below him, Solana's head twitched, and she began struggling in earnest, trying to shout something past the gag. Heart racing, Garrus nodded to Crazz, who stepped forward. The two mercenaries raised their weapons, and Gadschalk shook his head. "Ah, ah, ah. Weapons on the ground, if you please."

Crazz shrugged and reached into his coat, beginning to disarm. He dropped his sword, a sniper rifle, an assault rifle, a missile launcher, four pistols, two shotguns, and five grenades in a slow, meaningful sequence. With each less armament, Gadschalk's expression shifted from amused to curious.

When he was finished, Crazz left behind his coat and continued the walk forward. "One for one. Send her over." Garrus said.

"I'm afraid that wasn't the agreement." Gadschalk remarked. Garrus glanced upward, briefly. He saw the glimmer of one sniper's scope above them. He hoped it meant what he thought it did. "The second, if you please."

Contrary to his companion, Renar had only elected to bring a Scimitar, which he then discarded. Garrus' heart hammered away in his chest as he watched the second prisoner join the group across from him.

Gadschalk grinned broadly. "Now, was that so hard?" He gave a sharp nod to one of the guards, who lifted Solana up and pushed her away, toward Garrus. He caught her and immediately removed the gag.

"You're an idiot." She murmured.

"Not the time." He hissed.

"Now that our business is concluded, I-" Gadschalk began triumphantly. Renar passed behind him, just for a moment, and the hologram flickered. His smile faded. "What...was that?"

Renar and Garrus locked eyes, and the older nodded.

"Tracking beacon." Renar said casually.

"Also a targeting schematic." Bob put in.

Garrus looked up again. Zero scopes pointed at them from above. Apparently Gadschalk's guards weren't overly bright, because one of the pair didn't resist, as confused as he was, when Renar handed him a small device. "Hold that for me, please."

A soft hum around them slowly turned into a dull roar. Gadschalk glared at Garrus. "Scheiße." He muttered.

The mercs took that as an order to start shooting, but everyone was already in motion. Garrus grabbed Solana and dove behind a shipping crate, Renar put up his strongest barrier and followed suit in the opposite direction, and Bob went from 0 to 30 in about a second shortly before vanishing.

A massive, white-hot explosion ripped through the side of the warehouse, putting a hole clean through it and anything in the path of the ordinance that was now pummeling that section. It stopped after the first shot, leaving everyone with a clear view of the Normandy, floating majestically alongside the factory.

"Did we hit them?" He heard Shepard ask over the comms.

On that same end of the conversation, he heard Lokkan growl some sort of muffled recrimination. "Of course we 'it! I's nae like th' building ken move."

"What about the anti-air turrets we saw on LADAR?" Kaidain asked.

A new voice crackled to life on the same frequency, a woman speaking in hushed tones. "I took care of them. Be careful, Garrus, one of the snipers got away."

"Thanks, Kasumi." Garrus said.

The thief chuckled. "No problem. I think they were waiting here for a while. Set up a lounge at the top of the factory...you wouldn't believe how many credits they had stored on their personal computers."

Solana glanced around one side of the shipping container, and then back when she saw the holes in the side of the building. She shook her head. "You're apparently tactically stupid."

"Is that better or worse than 'idiot'?' Garrus asked.

"I'll let you decide."

Garrus opened his omni-tool to check on his squad's vitals. "Renar, Crazz, check in."

"Check." Crazz said from right next to him, causing both turians to jump.

"Ch- oh hell." Renar said. "We're not alone."

Garrus drew his sniper rifle and spun around his cover, expecting to find a small squad of mercs ready to engage. What he didn't expect was to see dozens of them emerging from the shipping containers all around them, including his own. More than half of them had missile launchers, and made immediately for the breach.

"I'm disappointed in you, Admiral Vakarian." Gadschalk's voice said. "I expect better from my opponents."

"When I get out of here, I'm coming for you!" Garrus shouted in reply. "I know your face!"

Gadschalk scoffed. "This is a hologram. Why would I show you my real features? Gute nacht." The hologram in question faded, leaving metal footsteps and the clicking sounds of readied weapons to fill the void of sound.

"Commander," Crazz muttered next to him. "Enemy has ordinance. A great deal of it. I suggest you disengage."

"Oh, come on." He heard Joker reply. "How bad could - oh shit."

Garrus caught sight of the Normandy pulling up, but someone quick on the trigger had already fired. He brought up his rifle, took aim, and loosed a bullet. The missile detonated barely meters away from its origin, and blew away the mercenary that fired it. "Right, yeah, we're moving." The Normandy pulled up sharply, parking itself over the roof of the building.

"Crazz, get Renar and move to cover!" Garrus shouted. The agent backflipped over the shipping crate and hit the ground running, leading the way with his sword, which Garrus hadn't even realized he'd retrieved until then. Anyone stupid enough not to duck was shredded with ease. He caught sight of Renar toward the other side of the factory, alternately switching between boxes and blowing away mercs who got too close with biotics.

He felt his assault rifle being detached from its holster, and saw that Solana was busy arming herself. She managed to grab a few thermal clips from his supply, too. "Think you can handle that thing?" He asked.

A mercenary who'd managed to slip into a flanking position dove around the side of the crate that Garrus wasn't covering, only to be shot to pieces by sustained fire. "I didn't forget years of training, especially not at ranges this close." She muttered. "This is still your fault."

"Yeah, I know." Garrus sighed.

"This is going directly in a report to father." She warned.

That sounds about right. Garrus thought, but bit back the actual comment. He took off the head of another mercenary. Crazz had found Renar, and was now engaging the enemy force with both of his pistols. Renar had the sword, and while he didn't have training, it wasn't hard to cut down line-breakers one at a time. If they could just hold out, they might be able to eliminate the whole group.

Garrus saw the flash of a scope in the walkway above and across from him and knew that wasn't an option with a hostile sniper around. He raised his rifle and prepared a bead on his foe, but hesitated. It was something he didn't do often, but something was familiar...

The sniper fired, and Garrus flinched. The trail the round left gave a clear view as to the impact point, and a missile-carrying mercenary who'd been about to level Garrus' cover fell with a hole in his head. The sniper clicked on his omni-tool and waved, then faded from view.

"Kasumi..." He muttered into the comm.

"I saw." She replied. "Who is that?"

"No idea." He replied honestly. "But don't kill them yet. Shepard, can you drop a shuttle by the main entrance? We could use a hasty exit."

It was Tali who responded. "Not a good idea. They have reinforcements trying to break their way in from there."

Garrus took another look around. His back was facing that entrance, and there was no cover between him and the door. If they didn't move, he and Solana would be dead meat. In point of fact, they were dead meat. He'd led them into a deathtrap. But then, he'd known that. Instantly, he felt guilty, but not because of the possibility of them dying, rather because he had made Shepard promise to come back to him, and what was he doing? Then he felt guilty for feeling guilty in that specific manner.

But the horde was thinning. If they could just clear a path to the Normandy before the entrance was breached...

He kept firing, going back to the Citadel, where he had been in a situation much like this. The keepers were, frankly, a more deadly adversary, and they had been as numerous. If it was possible to beat them with six, the four of them could prevail. Another mercenary fell to sniper fire that wasn't his, and he relented. Five.

He reached behind him and tapped Solana on the back. Then he dove forward to a different set of cover. The crate wasn't closer to Crazz and Renar, but it was on the same side of the factory. She followed, providing suppressive fire, but she wasn't in the habit of conserving ammo. He estimated that one full thermal clip was already gone.

He threw a disc-like object at the main entrance, followed by several more. He could only hope that the mines would distract any intruders long enough for him to get to a more advantageous position. He caught a glimpse of a ladder leading up to the rafters directly behind his two allies, and briefly wondered why they hadn't taken the high ground. They've got close-range weaponry, he realized. They're waiting for me.

Solana in tow, he made a break for their cover, letting off judicious cover fire (as much as a sniper rifle can put out, anyway) as he went. Several times, he noted that a mercenary fell even when he had missed, and knew that the other sniper above them must have been concentrating fire wherever he was. That in mind, he deliberately placed a round in the dead center of the rest of the missile-bearing group, who had the sense to dive for cover earlier...away from him. But they weren't safe from someone with a height advantage - from his vantage point, the sniper could draw a bead on anyone on the lower floor on a whim, with the exception of where Garrus and Solana had recently been hidden. But given the amount of corpses lined up around that side, he doubted that looked like a decent proposition for anyone else.

He slid away his rifle and hit the ladder already climbing. It was aged, but it held his weight. He knew everyone else was lighter than him, unless Crazz' implants included tungsten spinal reinforcement, and so didn't worry about their ability to keep up. After they reached the top of this first incline, it was all stairs to the top of the factory. They would be horrifically exposed, but they would have two snipers covering them every step of the way.

They ascended in sequence - Solana first, who disengaged and hid as well as she could behind Garrus, who was glad she had the sense to keep out of the way in this position, especially given she was the only combatant without shields. Renar went next, placing himself firmly as a second living shield for his aunt. His eyes flickered over the battlefield, and whenever a missile carried got off a lucky shot, he pushed it away with biotics. Not far, but enough for it to crash into a nearby wall instead of the platform they were on. But given his labored breathing, Garrus wasn't sure how much longer he could keep it up.

"Swap weapons." He said to the turians behind him. "Crazz, take the missiles." Bob had recently finished his climb, and seemed more than happy to take up the job. Garrus led the way up, stopping on every story to empty a clip into the force below. He heard a massive explosion coming from the front of the factory, and knew they were running out of time. Crazz and Renar were right behind him, both staying in front as one shield. Garrus was impressed and also more than a little disturbed at how well they operated together. He'd seen decade-service assault crews with less unit cohesion.

"Joker, stay on top of the factory. Send a shuttle to evacuate us from the rooftop." He said.

"Roger that, stay frosty." He had no idea what that meant, but fully intended to follow through on what he hoped was a suggestion to keep ready. Unless that was an implication that soon they would be cold as corpses. In which case, screw Joker.

Expended shells bounced off metal near Garrus' head, and he looked down towards their visitors. A group of stragglers has made it to the bottom of their escape route, and were taking turns climbing the ladder and shooting at them. Renar dropped a grenade right atop them, and they floated leisurely directly into everyone's sights. Bob dispatched them with a swift burst from both of his pistols, and the quartet finally arrived at the very top level surrounding the factory. Garrus could see the roof exit barely twenty meters away, across some admittedly rickety steel footing.

Under the last ladder they would have to climb that day (hopefully) was the sniper, who hadn't made an exit and was still firing shot after shot downward, and Kasumi, who looked quite at ease, but slightly bemused, as though she was still trying to decide whether or not she should fight the man she was standing next to. And it was a turian, Garrus realized. Had someone from the fleets caught wind of this and sent help?

It wasn't until all of them were clustered together around their objective that Garrus saw why he hadn't taken his shot earlier. He knew that exact plating, and the sloppy but effective way that rifle was being held. The last time he had seen either, in fact, was on the oversized rock he had his boots dug into at that moment.

"They won't stop for long." Sidonis said. "There's too many. Tell me you have a fucking evac ready."


[Author's Note: I'm not back, per se, but I decided that nine months was far too long for you guys to have to wait on another chapter. Pretty much inexcusably so, really. That said, enjoy two old faces, a new evil one, and one of my customary cliffhangers.]