Aria T'Loak was having one of the worst days of her life. Her associate had died, when his getaway car had crashed and burned, leaving her in the awkward position of dealing with the law directly. They had managed to trace the idiot to her and she had spent the last three hours interrogating her about the theft. If the turian had just done his bloody job, she wouldn't have had to go through the dreadful ordeal. In the end, things seemed to resolve themselves though, bribes were paid, favors were given and everyone was happy, everyone except Aria that is.

The task had been beyond simple, steal the information and bring it to Omega. Now everything had gone to shit, the item in question had disappeared and not a single one of her contacts had any leads. With a sigh the queen of Omega leaned back in her chair and took another sip from her glass. The cool liquid however did little to quell the fir e in her heart. If one of her enemy's got hold of such sensitive data, she might as well dig her own grave and pull the trigger herself.

She lay in her bed, wrapped tightly under the covers, wishing a certain someone was snuggled close next to her. It had been a full day since she had last spoken with the asari scientist, but not a moment past where Shepard didn't think about the blue girl.

Ariadne didn't believe in love, not anymore, not after everything that had happened. But she felt drawn to Liara, unable to resist the innocence of the girl. She felt this undeniable urge to corrupt her, to take her places she couldn't even imagine. The bashful youthfulness was so alluring, so endearing.

And yet Shepard knew that she couldn't go through with it, she couldn't make the girl be like her, for that would be a cruelty no living being deserved.

She let her mind wander; she allowed herself this one fantasy, of the two of them living together, far away from any and all conflict. A beach perhaps. ..

But such musings needed to stay just that, a fantasy, because even if Shepard gave in to her desires, no person could ever love a complete and total fuck up like her.

The Adel Hotel was an establishment in one of the wealthiest parts of town; it had taken a lot of thievery to come up with the money to buy appropriate clothes. Ariadne knew that she wouldn't even make it through the doors of the building in her previously disheveled state. So she had taken it upon herself to buy a white blouse and a cheap black skirt, as camouflage to fit in with the upper class of society. The new articles of clothing felt rough and foreign against her skin and the straps of the bag, which dug in to her skin only added to her discomfort.

With unconfident steps she slowly approached the hotel and prayed to whatever god, that watched out for murdering orphan girls, for help. As she entered and headed towards the elevator, she realized that she could pass through the busy lobby unnoticed and she let a sigh of relief escape her lips. The number written on the side of the key she'd found in the envelope gave her the appropriate room number. With a quick look up and down the corridor, to make sure no one was there, she drew her M-6 Carnifax and cautiously opened the door of the room. It was a luxurious suite, obviously meant for dignitaries or celebrities. Or criminals she added silently. The elegance and cleanliness of the place gave her an unwelcome feeling in her stomach, it made her feel incredibly insignificant, living like a dog in the street.

With a more discerning glance she noticed an envelope, similar to the one she'd stolen, lying on a large circular table, which stood in the middle of the room and simultaneously doubled as a bar.

A wave of nervousness washed over her. What if this whole situation had been pointless, the theft of the bag, the mysterious note? Shepard shrugged it off and quickly tore it open to reveal another letter and what looked like a passenger ticket for a spaceship.

Once you have the information, bring it to me personally. You'll find your tickets inside. Your payment awaits you.

-Aria

PAYMENT! The word made Ariadne feel giddy inside. With a glance at her ticket she noticed the name of her next destination and a chill went up her spine: Omega.

Liara had felt awkward after her realization that she was attracted to the commander, she'd never felt that way about another person. She hadn't really given it much thought, seeing as she'd spent most of her life either studying or at some ancient ruin, doing research. Liara felt conflicting emotions rise up inside her, on the one hand she had to find out if the commander even was into girls and on the other hand she didn't know who to ask about such an intimate topic. She wasn't even sure if she was ready to voice her attraction towards her savior, she even didn't know how the crew would react or if they'd immediately tell Shepard, that the young asari girl was crushing on her. Just as she was about to try and move on and get some work done, the quarian engineer passed by where she was sitting. Before Liara could stop herself, the words had already left her mouth.

"Tali, do you have a minute?"

"Sure, what can I do for you?"

"Um… Well I was wondering what you could tell me about the commander. Do you know anything about her history or what she might like?" Immediately a blush crept across Liara's face. There was no going back now.

"What do you mean, by that?" Tali was rather confused, as to why the asari was asking about Shepard.

"Well… Godess this is so embaressing… Do you know what kind of… preferences she might have?"

If Liara could only see the blush that now colored Tali's face, as realization dawned on her.

"Ah, I see. Well, all I know is what Garrus told me, and well, you're in luck Liara. As for her history, I heard that she grew up with a bunch of criminals on Omega, but that's just some farfetched story. If you want the truth you'll have to ask her. Now I really must get going." Tali blurted out as quickly as possible, she did not feel like having this conversation.

"Thank's Tali. Would you mind keeping this to yourself?" The asari asked shyly.

The engineer just nodded with her head before turning and walking away with quick strides.

Aria's day was about to take a turn for the better. Little did she know that the young girl that was creeping towards her would grow to be her greatest ally.

As Ariadne tiptoed towards the woman who called herself queen of Omega she thought about the events of the last couple of days. The exhilaration of space flight, her arrival on what could quite possibly be even more wretched than the place she born in and her search for Aria. Now she would find out if the journey had been worth it.

One of Aria's guards noticed a young human female approaching and alerted his superior. Within seconds he was given the order to send her away.

"Get out of here girl."

"I'm here to see Aria." Shepard said with all the authority she could muster.