It took the better part of four Palaven days to travel to the Omega Nebula, due to their intentionally long route as well as their stop to discharge the mass effect core. Sadie's injuries kept her mostly bedridden, but Adrien began to realize that the medication that he had was only able to help her so much: although her wounds had stopped bleeding, her recovery had halted after the first day of their trip. She needed medical attention.
When they finally made the jump from the Pylos Nebula to the Omega Nebula, he swallowed his pride to make the inevitable call.
"You have to be kidding me. Victus?"
He nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "Good to see you too, Nyreen."
"Spirits, what are you doing here?"
"I need your help with a sensitive situation."
He watched her cover her eyes with an ungloved hand. Her talons were blunted, something he was sure that Aria imposed on her. He hoped things were going as well with them now as they were four years prior, thanks to him.
The Victus and Kandros families had been close in Adrien's youth. Although Adrien was older than Nyreen by four years, they had always gotten along well. He was the one who had placed a pistol in her hands for the first time, and in the process she was the one who had nearly gotten him shot for the first time. For four years, every time he had shore leave from basic she would be waiting at his house, regardless of the hour, practically bouncing in excitement as he regaled her with stories of training exercises and shooting krogan holograms.
"I can't wait until I'm fifteen and leaving for basic," she would say. "I'm going to be strong and fast, just like you!"
By the time her wish was granted and she joined basic, Adrien was dedicated to full duty and the pair dropped out of correspondence until four years ago.
He remembered the day clearly. He had just returned from a three-day long ground recon trip, and he was exhausted and sick of ration bars. He had finally checked his messages, and was shocked to see that ten of them were from Nyreen. Although the wording slightly differed in each message, the idea was the same: I need out. Now. So he forgot his weariness and immediately called her.
When she answered his comm wave, her eyes were wild but bright with an unstokable fire. "Adrien. Thank the Spirits you called. I need out, now."
"Out? What do you mean out?"
"Out of service. I can't do this anymore. I need to be on Omega."
"Omega? What in the name of the Spirits is so important on that shit hole?"
Her expression softened, and in her subvocals he could hear an incredible longing. "I'm in love."
You have to be kidding, he thought to himself. "You want me to somehow get you out of service because you're in love? This is insane, Nyreen."
"Please, Adrien, I'm begging you. I can't do this without you. I just need you to talk to your father to have my posting switched to one on Omega. One five minute comm wave and you'll make your old friend a very happy woman."
He let out a long sigh. "Who is the lucky man, anyways?"
She rubbed the back of her neck uncomfortably. "Not a man, per se..."
"What? A she? A hanar? An asari?"
At his last query, he watched her eyes grow misty. His subvocals reflecting his surprise, he commented, "I never knew that ladies were your preference."
"Not normally. She's an exception."
"What's her name?"
"Aria T'Loak."
His subvocals quickly changed to express disapproval. "Are you insane, Nyreen?"
"I love her, Adrien! She loves me, too!"
The impressive naivety of young love. He wondered if Nyreen knew that Aria was queen of the underworld, a dull light atop a pile of scum, a woman who in her 800 or so years has killed more people - both just and unjust - than every soldier on Nyreen's ship combined and multiplied by one hundred. "Fine," he acquiesced with a grumble. "I'll send the request for a transfer to Omega for you. No promises. You owe me for this."
"Thank you, Adrien, thank you! I owe you my life!"
He had sent the request through, and although his father initially declined it, he had called him and enthusiastically explained how he thought that it would be the best for Nyreen. His father reluctantly accepted, and three months later, Nyreen was based in the Omega Nebula. She proceeded to somehow convince her Ship Master that the station itself was the place where she could do the most good, and she and Aria were finally reunited.
The woman before him and the woman from his memories could not be more different: in her youth she had been bright, intelligent, innocent, and hopeful; now she was cautious, weary, and worn. Although he knew she hadn't forgotten her debt to him, he hoped that she hadn't lost her almost angelic moral compass.
"What kind of situation?"
"It's a long story, one I'd prefer to not retell over unsecure channels. Can you meet me at the docking bay?"
She leaned back in her seat and rubbed her mouth, an old nervous habit he recognized immediately. "I have a life here, Adrien; I can't just drop everything because you strolled in the door."
"You know I wouldn't ask you if it wasn't of the utmost importance."
"Are you alone?"
He let out a short sigh. "No. I have someone else with me. She's gravely injured and needs medical help and protection."
Nyreen continued to rub her mouth. "Fine. Dock in bay F, send me a wave when you're a quarter hour out so I can meet you there. This better be good." She unceremoniously closed the connection, and Victus leaned back in his chair to rub his eyes.
Sadie's weak voice drifted up from the bed. "How long until we dock?"
"Two hours."
"I'm stirring up a lot of shit, aren't I?"
He smiled wearily. "You are. But you're worth it."
Although the corners of her lips turned up to return his smile, her eyes were hauntingly bleak.
"Adrien, why the hell are you rubbing yourself all over me?"
"Humans and asari have a very weak sense of smell," he explained as he rubbed his arm across her chest. "Turians have a good sense of smell; not excellent, but we can distinguish the scent of different species. Krogans and batarians, however, have an excellent sense of smell: not only can they distinguish different species and genders, they can even smell fear and arousal. To a krogan or a batarian - which Omega is littered with - your unique human scent will immediately draw attention, so I'm trying to cover it up with my scent so they don't notice you as easily."
In spite of the fact that nervousness had been trained out of Sadie, the thought of either the thousand-pound krogan or four-eyed batarian catching her sent a shiver of fear through her body.
As Adrien took the helm to ease them into dock, she stood slowly to stretch her weary limbs. Each movement sent a jolt of painful protest through her limbs and she took a series of deep breaths to swallow the pain. She hoped their trip would be short, for she didn't think she could walk for long.
The shuttle gave a sharp lurch and threw her off her feet and back onto the bed, forcing a cry of pain out of her lips. As soon as the shuttle steadied and halted Adrien ran back to check on her, running his hands over her body to make sure his poor landing didn't further any of her injuries.
"I'm fine," she hissed. "This fucking broken ankle isn't doing me any favours, though."
"We haven't gotten this far to be defeated by a leg, I'll carry your cloaked self if I have to."
"That'll look great, you walking around with your arms bent in front of you like a butler who forgot his fucking tray."
"We'll...figure it out as we go. You ready?"
"As I'll ever be."
He grabbed her arm with both hands to help her up, steadying her when she briefly swayed on the spot, and she wrapped her arm around his waist to support herself before planting a kiss on his cheek. Briefly resting his head atop hers, he closed his eyes and breathed her in to collect himself before typing the tactical cloak program into her omni-tool. "Let's do this," he said.
He walked slowly to allow her to keep up as he stepped out of the shuttle onto the docking bay. The reek of desolation and despair assaulted his senses, and his nose curled up in displeasure. He heard Sadie whisper "fucking gross" behind him.
Although he expected Nyreen, to his intense displeasure their welcoming committee was a krogan and a salarian at the end of the dock. The krogan was clearly a mercenary, clad in heavy armour and toting a shotgun while the salarian was slight and fidgety, carrying what he assumed was a weapons bag but what he hoped was a medical bag.
Victus stopped well out of their range, so he had to shout to ensure that he was heard. "Who are you?"
"We're taking you to Aria," the krogan called back.
"And why would I want to go to Aria?"
The krogan tightened his grip on his shotgun. "If Aria wants you to see her, it's wise for you to listen."
Adrien rolled his eyes. Clearly, Aria's ego had only grown. "I'm not going anywhere until I see the woman I came here to see, and that's not Aria."
To his dismay, the krogan began to approach him. "If you want to live much longer, boy, I'd recommend that you come with us."
Adrien rested his hand on his pistol in the holster at his hip. He wasn't foolish enough to come onto Omega empty-handed, regardless of Nyreen's promises. "I'm staying right here until I'm damn well ready."
The krogan raised his weapon. "You'll be staying there for the rest of your short life unless you fucking move."
Adrien responded by raising his own weapon. "Are you threatening me?"
"Damn straight I am."
"Stand down Rond. You too, Victus."
The queen herself had arrived, sauntering in like she owned the place. Frankly, Aria did own the place.
Sadie had to cover her mouth to hide her gasp as she watched the situation unfurl before her. Three new species of aliens that she had never seen before - that humanity had never seen before - were interacting like it was perfectly normal. To see four species coexist was jarring. The one who drew her eye the most was Aria: although she was dressed in civilian clothes that clung to her curvy blue form, she didn't require the armour to intimidate. Blue electricity was balled in the palm of her hands, and although Sadie knew little of the biotics that Adrien had spoken of, Aria made her fear them. She let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding when both Adrien and the krogan lowered their weapons and Aria lowered her hands.
The krogan, however, wasn't entirely appeased. He stepped towards Adrien so that his face was only inches away, but the turian did not waver. "You reek," the krogan spat, "Worse than Omega. Don't overextend your welcome."
"I said stand down, Rond." Aria didn't need to raise her voice to intimidate the bulky krogan, who curled his lip before taking a hesitant step away from Adrien. He eventually turned and retreated out of earshot to where the salarian still stood.
"Where's Nyreen?" Victus asked.
"Waiting for us at the safe house. I wanted to make sure you didn't bring anything..." Her eyes momentarily flickered to where Sadie stood, cloaked, before darting back to Adrien. "...Unexpected. Nyreen said you wouldn't be alone."
"That is between Nyreen and myself."
"Her business is my business."
"Quite the nosy girlfriend, aren't you?"
Aria scowled. "Do as I say or get the fuck off my rock."
"This is between Nyreen and I," he repeated.
"Do you see Jaedon over there?" she pointed to the waiting salarian. "In that bag he has both the medical supplies that can help you, and the medical supplies that can grant you a slow and painful death. It's your choice."
Adrien's agonized eyes flickered between Aria and Jaedon. "Who did you bring with you, Adrien?"
"A human."
Aria's expression rapidly changed from anger to curiosity, and once again her eyes roamed to where Sadie stood. Aria knew that the human was wearing a tactical cloak from the telltale distortions of the air and shimmer when the light hit her quite right. She had a hard time distinguishing details, but she estimated that the creature was around the size of an asari, perhaps slightly smaller.
This spiked her curiosity unlike anything else. She would be the first asari to actually see this new galactic intruder.
"Why the fuck do you have a human?"
"It's a long story. One I'd prefer to recollect in a more secure area."
"And it's been injured?"
Sadie was disgusted by Aria's tone: she made her sound like an animal. "She has been injured," Victus countered.
Aria licked her lips hungrily. "Rond and Jaedon will accompany us to my safe house. From there, Rond will stand guard and Jaedon will attempt to treat her. You better have a fucking good explanation, Victus." Adrien let out a long sigh of acquiescence. "Keep her close to you, we need to cover her scent."
Sadie didn't require further instruction; she reached to grasp Adrien's hand and followed him through the winding streets of Omega.
The safe house was tucked deep into an alley shrouded by darkness. Although several sleazily-dressed asari roamed the area, Victus had the distinct impression that they were under Aria's employment. One of them winked at him, and he turned away in disgust.
The door was innocuous, black and covered in graffiti in all dialects, and it lead them through a windowless hallway to a dinghy lift. He could feel Sadie's grip on his hand tighten as her breathing became a desperate pant, and he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.
"We almost there, Aria?" he asked.
"So impatient," she cooed, stepping onto the elevator. Sadie tucked herself into a corner behind him as Aria input a code into the keypad and the floor rumbled beneath them before the lift jerked into action, carrying them to the tenth floor.
Another windowless corridor, another graffiti-covered door, another keypad for Aria to input a code. The door slid open with a hiss to reveal a penthouse-style apartment: large, lavish, and empty except for the turian woman Sadie recognized from the vid call sprawled on a plush couch with a datapad in her taloned hand. The walls were a rich mahogany and the accents were gold, giving the immediate impression of wealth.
The woman rose gracefully and approached the group, dropping the datapad on the wooden coffee table. She spared a brief kiss for Aria before standing with her hands on her hips before Adrien. "Well?" she asked. "What's this fuss about, Adrien?"
Aria nodded at the krogan, who closed the door behind them to stand guard outside. Jaedon took a seat at the nearby loveseat and opened his medical bag, rifling through to pull out various pieces of equipment and syringes.
Adrien approached Sadie, fumbling for her arm before shutting down the tactical cloak.
"Spirits!" Nyreen shouted, at the same time that Aria cried, "Goddess!"
With a distinct growl, Nyreen demanded, "What the hell is going on, Victus?"
"You lied," Aria hissed, "She's just a quarian out of her suit."
"I'm not a quarian!" Sadie snapped. "I'm a human! Now can I please fucking sit down, my ankle is killing me!"
Adrien grabbed her arm and lead her to the couch, placing her gently into a lying down position before taking a seat next to her on the floor. Jaedon flew to work immediately, scanning her with his omni-tool.
"How can we know she's not a quarian?" Nyreen inquired. In response, Adrien held up one of Sadie's hands and said, "Five fingers, not three."
Aria and Nyreen approached her tentatively, maintaining their distance while examining her. She was breathing heavily from exertion, her black bruises and red wounds contrasting with her alabaster skin.
"She's so frail," Nyreen whispered, leaning closer. "Do they normally have those black and red spots?"
Holding tight to Sadie's hand for support, Adrien launched into the tale of Sadie's capture, incarceration, torture, and subsequent escape. Aria and Nyreen were wordless, collapsing into a chair together as they listened with rapt attentiveness.
Jaedon stood and returned his supplies to his bag. "I need a larger space to operate. May I take her to the guest bedroom?"
"Of course," Nyreen responded with a surprising amount of tenderness in her subvocals. Adrien scooped her up in his arms and followed Jaedon, laying her down on the bed and resting his forehead against hers briefly before returning to the main room.
"What will you do now?" Nyreen asked in hushed tones.
He rested his palm against his eyes, and was surprised when he heard a clunk as Aria dropped a glass of water for him on the table. He drank it greedily before answering. "I don't know," he confessed. "Anywhere is safer than on the Izvestia, but I'm short on options. I could send her back to Earth, but she's at risk of being tracked down by her own people. I can't take her anywhere else in galactic space because she'll be unsafe and I wouldn't be surprised if Silvus hunts for her."
"You really care about her, don't you?"
Without hesitation, he responded, "Yes."
Aria stood and headed to the kitchen. "Let me grab us some food."
Adrien leaned forward in his chair and rested his head in his hands. He felt Nyreen's warm grip on his shoulder. "We'll figure something out."
"When we were younger and I helped you get onto Omega, I thought you were insane. Now, I can understand how you were willing to drop everything to be with her. My priorities were once my duties to the hierarchy, but now all I care about is making sure she's safe, regardless of the cost."
Nyreen rested her forehead against his. "We'll find a way to keep her safe. We have to."
