They made most of their journey in silence, Shepard trying to comprehend what she had been told a while earlier by Nyreen. Was there really a chance between the Queen of Omega and herself? It was only when Aria spoke that she was brought out of her thoughts. "We're arriving at one of the eezo processing plants. It's been powered down so we'll have to pry open the door." Aria stopped and looked at the Commander expectantly. Sighing Shepard stepped forward to the door "I'll get it then" Aria just continued to debrief them, "access to the mines should be on the far side." Nyreen nodded before asking, "And the reactors are behind that?" Aria sighed, "According to the schematics yes. I ran Omega Nyreen; I didn't work on the mines myself." With that Aria pushed through the gap in the door that Shepard was holding open, making sure to push herself up against the human, meeting her gaze for a moment before continuing through. Nyreen shook her head at the Asari's flirtatious behaviour; she couldn't understand why the two women didn't just do something about their obvious attraction towards each other. Continuing on as if she had not seen the exchange, she retorts, "No you had indentured servants for that – spirits." Her comeback was halted as she came through the gap in the door only to be met with a gruesome sight. There were bodies strewn across the floor of the processing plant, blood splattered everywhere that their torches brought into view. Aria knelt down next to what seemed to be a torso, "relax, they're all Cerberus." Shepard joined her side in the darkness and shone her torch onto the remains, "They've been ripped to shreds." There was a hint of disgust in her voice. Whatever had done this definitely wasn't human. Nyreen was still standing near the gap that they had entered from, "I don't like this." The worry in the Turian's voice was clear.

The trio continued onward in the darkness, treading lightly, careful not to slip in the pools of blood that littered the ground and much of the walls. "This blood isn't old; whatever did this may still be around." Nyreen let out what could almost be a whimper at hearing Shepard's statement. As they wound their way around discarded crates they came to a small catwalk scattered with more bodies. "More dead," Shepard warned. Nyreen took in a sharp breath, "It's a blood bath. I've got a bad feeling. We shouldn't be-""Quiet!" Shepard interrupted the Turian in a whisper, "What's that sound?" Somewhere from deep within the darkness came an inhuman noise, somewhere between a whisper and a growl. Aria was stood close to Shepard's side, her arm brushing against the Commander's armor. "An Adjutant" she said simply, but there was no teasing in her tone. Nyreen's fear grew exponentially, she hated the monsters. "Oh no. The General must have locked down this place to keep it inside." The noises coming from the dark were almost constant at that point, but they seemed to be coming from all around them. They carried on through the darkness, painfully aware of each scuff or bump around them; until they finally found themselves outside of the elevator. It was powered down just as the rest of the processing plant. Nyreen scanned the walls in the vicinity of the lift with her omni-tool, finding a series of cables leading away and back into the darkness. "We should follow these, they should take us to the power source" There was a faint waver in her voice, but she moved onward ignoring the fear crawling up her spine. Aria had moved swiftly ahead, calling out from the darkness, "there's a ladder over here" Shepard just mumbled something to herself, Aria could have sworn it wasa sarcastic great. With the three of them at the top of the thankfully short ladder, they had to clamber over pipes that were hanging precariously over the floor below, fantastic. Shepard steeled herself and made her way over without complaint, though she was sure the Asari behind her could hear her small sigh of relief at reaching solid ground. Once safely on the other side they found themselves once again in complete silence.

Aria, now by Shepard's side had notice the quiet surrounding them, "The whispering is receding." Shepard nodded uselessly in the dark, "Maybe the adjutant doesn't like its odds." Nyreen however was unconvinced, "Don't kid yourself; I have seen one of those things take down a squad of soldiers."

Slowly edging further along the platform Shepard's left foot met thin air, her heart stopped momentarily as the rest of her body began to follow her foot over the edge. It was a split second before a hand encased in blue light, grabbed her gruffly at the neck of her armor; pulling her safely away from the edge. "How about we just use this ladder?" came a sarcastic voice from beside her ear. Blushing furiously, thankful for the dark hiding the glow at her cheeks she shone her light downward seeing the steep drop and the ladder just to her right. Aria smirked in the darkness, her face close to the human's ear she could feel the heat radiating from her face and could imagine that redness blossoming that she had grown so fond of. Using the darkness as cover, she leant forward an extra inch, brushing her lips over the soft skin lightly. Shepard froze as the Asari's scent filled the air around her, smooth lips were being drawn faintly over her cheek; but they were gone as soon as they had arrived. Aria moved past her, moving down the ladder with ease, a smirk still plastered on her face from when she had heard the woman's quiet intake of breath. Her cheek had been warmer than she had expected, the warmth still lingering on her lips as she reached the ground below. Turning away from the ladder to give the other women space to descend, she makes her way over to a console that was glowing faintly in the dark. Pressing the button in front of her, the plant began to power up gradually; the room they had found themselves in was showered in light from above. Aria turned on her heel to face Shepard, the woman's face still held the remnants of its soft glow, which doubled in intensity when the Asari raised her brow flirtingly at the Commander. Aria's lip curled up in the corner slightly, but it soon fell when she took in the sight around her. With the power on, the extent of the damage around them was plain to see. "When this is over, there'll be a lot of repairs to make" Aria sighed. Nyreen caught up with Aria, the earlier threat of adjutants temporarily forgotten as she was anxious to make sure the people of Omega were not overlooked. "I hope you'll focus on the areas that people inhabit first." Aria rolled her eyes at the woman, "You are relentless." Nyreen smiled at her, "Well that's one thing that we have in common." The earlier jealousy threatened to creep into Shepard's mind, but she brushed it away, Nyreen had made it clear that her feelings for Aria had long passed; and had even suggested that she should go after Aria herself. Shepard stepped up to the two and winked at Nyreen, "That's not the only thing you two have in common" as she looked them both up and down appreciatively; Aria wasn't the only one who could tease. With that she moved away from the pair and towards the exit. Nyreen just laughed at the stunned look on the Asari's face, well played Shepard.

Suddenly without warning, the window next to them smashed open, a foul creature bursting through it. "Spirits!" Nyreen froze in shock before being dragged into cover by Aria. Shepard, who had been ahead of the pair; found herself face to face with the Adjutant, "Unload on it" she ordered as she rolled out of the way of the blast it had sent hurtling towards her. On her knee she began to fire shot after shot into the things glowing head. Shooting from behind her cover Aria tried to distract the adjutant from its attack on the Commander. "Nyreen, wake up!" Aria yelled at the Turian beside her who was still frozen in fear. Shaking herself out of her stupor she stood to see the human directly in front of the adjutant, kneeling to steady her shots that she fired continuously. Aria threw out her biotic flare, causing the creature to stumble into the wall. Shepard took her chance, charging biotically into the adjutant she shoved her shotgun into its mouth and fired a further four shots into it; finally with a piercing screech the adjutant fell. Panting, Shepard stepped away from the mess and threw a crooked grin in Aria's direction; her armor covered in blue slime. Aria smirked at Shepard, that woman had no fear. Well besides heights. It was then that she remembered Nyreen, turning to look at her she saw the Turian still standing frozen, rifle held up; but not shots had been fired. "I hate those things." Nyreen slowly put her rifle away, shaking her head once more. Aria walked away from her, "Hate should make you deadlier. That looked like fear to me." Upon reaching Shepard she reached a hand towards the woman's face, and softly wiped away the blue blood on her brow. "You need a bath," was all the Asari said before walking out of the room, leaving the two women to catch up.

With the power back on it was easy to find their way back to the elevator door, but their progress was halted by another Adjutant dropping from above. "Another one!" Nyreen yelled as they ducked for cover. This time the Turian was ready, and fear didn't stop her from firing ferociously towards the attacking beast. With the combined force of their fire and powers, it didn't take long for the three of them to take down the one Adjutant. Reaching the elevator without any further interruptions, Shepard pressed the call button. From behind her she heard Aria's voice, "Shepard look alive, more Adjutants!" Twisting around quickly, she found that they were faced with three more of the dangerous Cerberus creations. "One each, let's make this quick before they get us cornered!" Picking the one closest to her, Shepard begins to fire round after round into the soft blue of the creatures back. Luckily, she had managed to catch this one unaware. Charging full force into its back she fires again into the back of the creature's head, only to be met with thick plating. Grunting in annoyance, she lets off a nova, exploding her shields outwards, sending the adjutant crashing face first into a wall nearby. Jogging over to it, she nudges it over with her foot, shooting it once more in the stomach for luck. Facing the other elevator again she looks over to where the other two had been minutes ago. Aria had cornered hers and was slowly crushing it with her biotics, but Nyreen was nowhere to be seen. A small cry from her left was all she needed. Charging again she hit the Adjutant just as it was mid-leap, throwing it off balance and away from the Turian. Picking herself up Nyreen joined the Commander in finishing it off with a shower of bullets. With all three creatures dead they stopped and listened for any signs of more. When they were met with silence Shepard suggested that now would be a good time to get on the elevator. Opening up the doors the three stepped inside, Nyreen leaning against the wall while Shepard looked down at the filthy state her armor was in.

Aria activated the elevator and they began their ascent towards the mines. "What's eating you, Nyreen?" Nyreen pushed herself away from the wall at hearing the Asari's words, "Just processing. It's clear the general sealed that area to keep the adjutants in." Shepard scoffed, "yeah along with some unlucky soldiers, sounds like a great guy." Nyreen nodded, "Yes but the creatures killed them. They didn't turn them into more adjutants." The Turian shook her head slightly, "I can't shake it, something's off." Aria sighed and looked over to her old friend, "You're just spooked." Nyreen glared in her direction, "There's a rhythm to this place Aria. To Cerberus. If you'd stuck it out here then maybe you'd feel it too." They fell into silence after that, Nyreen ashamed of the fear she had shown earlier, and Aria contemplating Nyreen's words. As the elevator neared their destination, the grating and thumping of machinery came into earshot. "You can hear the drills. Damn it, they shouldn't be straining like that." Stepping out of the elevator the found themselves in a huge open cavern of a mine, the platform that they were on was high above the ground and Shepard gulped once more at the thought. Why can't we go somewhere that doesn't involve running around miles above the ground?

Walking along a catwalk, Shepard made sure to stick to the middle of the path away from the view of below. Then out of nowhere there was a loud rumbling followed by a crash, and the whole platform wobbled precariously. Somewhere above, a large piece of the cavern had broken away and fallen near the mine platform. Shepard grabbed the railing with both hands, which unfortunately brought her face to face with the long drop below. Aria made her way to the woman's side, grabbed her wrist and pulled her along the catwalk until they reach a wide platform. Letting go of the human Aria just rolled her eyes, "At that rate I would have died of old age before getting to take Omega back." But there was a hint of affection in the Asari's eyes; Nyreen could tell she was trying hard to cover it with sarcasm. Shepard just muttered a soft thank you before they continued to their destination. Amongst the crates and mining material, several Cerberus soldiers appeared; obviously they had been expected. Unfortunately for Cerberus, with the three of them being biotics, none of the soldiers stood chance on the high walkways. Shepard strode onwards as the air was filled with the screams of Cerberus soldiers falling the long way to their deaths. Aria pointed an elegant finger, "We can use that maintenance elevator across the way." Nodding the three of them headed towards the far corner, casually throwing any remaining Cerberus over the railing.

Before they could reach the elevator there was a small explosion ahead of them, blocking off access. Aria shook her head, "The bastards are running this place too hot, will burn out in a month." Shepard almost snickered at the Asari's almost maternal attitude towards Omega but decided it would be unwise. "Focus, we need to find an alternative route." And of course that alternative route would take them directly into the path of more Cerberus soldiers. This time in a small enclosed corridor, Cerberus still did not have the upper hand; they picked them off one by one as they were funnelled towards them. Shepard almost felt sorry for them, they didn't stand a chance. As they made their way upwards towards the elevator they could hear Cerberus falling back, "They're here for the Reactor, fall back! Fall back! Defend the Elevator!" The three of them headed straight towards the elevator, having all the Cerberus troops in one place would make them easy to take out. With Aria's massively powerful flare the soldiers were defeated in moments. "They are making this too easy" came the Asari's voice from Shepard's side. Shepard nodded, "Let's just get to that reactor before they find some sense."

Finding themselves yet again on a long walkway high about ground, they could see the elevator ahead of them. Taking a few steps forward they were met with a loud grating noise and the whole structure wobbled. Shepard's eyes widened as part of the walkway broke off, leaving them with only a thin beam to walk over. "Well isn't this just great." This time Shepard did hear a small laugh from behind her, but it was more teasing than cruel. Fuelled by the need to not seem weak again in front of the Asari, Shepard marched onward, silently praying that she wouldn't fall. Nyreen's voice called out as she was hallway across the beam, "Careful, this whole place is falling apart. Gee, thanks Nyreen. From behind her, Aria elbowed the Turian in the ribs, giving her a reproachful look before joining Shepard elegantly on the other side of the beam. Shepard muttered under her breath, "Show off." She watched as the Asari walked across the beam without a pause, her balance perfect. Shaking her head to herself, Shepard turned and called the elevator down to them. As the elevator opened, Nyreen joined their side, "Strange, we're not being attacked anymore." Aria stepped into the lift nodding, "Yeah, be ready for anything." Heading upwards towards the reactor, Shepard couldn't help but notice how easy that had been. That's never a good sign.

Aria however looked very pleased. Nyreen noticed this and couldn't help but ask, "Why are you grinning Aria?" Aria's expression didn't change, "We're almost there. When the force fields come down this war finally begins." Nyreen couldn't help the jibe, "For some of us the war started months go." Aria's grin widened as she spoke down to the Turian, "That wasn't war babe. That was just a warm-up." Just after she had finished speaking, the doors to the reactor opened. There was a red haze in the distance where the reactor stood. The three jogged forward into the suspiciously empty room, "There should be more resistance, this doesn't feel right" Shepard stated. As they met in the middle of the room, a large force field came up, encircling them. From behind them a hologram of Petrovsky opened up, "I commend you. Your plan of attack was impeccable." Shepard shook her head and turned to Aria, "Looks like we were expected." Nyreen looked between them and the barriers and corrected the Commander, "More like lured." Petrovsky smiled, "I knew the reactor would be the hard target. I gave you no other choice but this route." Shepard was getting sick of his man's smug attitude, "Why don't you do this in person, Petrovsky? Get your own hands dirty?" The General shook his head in front of them, almost sadly; "I take no pleasure in any of this Commander. You're the ones trying to start a war for the glory of Aria. But now it's over." Aria glowed blue with rage, "this isn't over until your next of kin can't identify you." From the safety of his office in Afterlife, Petrovsky was not scared; "I love your bravado, but have the sense to know when you're beaten." Aria turned around, looking for a way out, a weakness in the General's plan. The general continued, "You've been neutralized, and I can leave you here to rot. You might as well give up." Aria looked back to him, fury evident in her regal features, and she strode towards the force field. Worry washed over the Commander, "Aria, what are you thinking?" Aria didn't turn away from the force field, her fists clenched and encased in blue; "I'm not going out like this." Her biotics gleaming around her arms, she shoved her hands into the force field. "Shepard took a step forward, "Aria no!" but instead of the incineration she expected to occur, Aria held out against the force field, her strength immense, tearing apart the red barrier.

Petrovsky looked worried; Shepard had awe written across her face. "What is she trying to do?" The General sounded nervous, "Damn it Aria, you're forcing my hand. Fine, we will do it your way." The holo disappeared without another word. Aria paid him no attention, her biotics flaring wildly as she continued to work on the force field. It was then that dozens of rampart mechs began to stride through the opposite side of the red barrier, "Nyreen, Mechs!" It was up to the two of them to destroy the oncoming attackers; Aria could not lose focus for even a second. Heading towards cover the two women began to work together, combining their powers, focusing on one mech at a time. The mechs didn't stop coming, soon they were forced to retreat to Aria's side, Nyreen pulling up a barrier over the Queen of Omega, shielding her from the raining bullets. Aria was beginning to tire, forcing up her remaining strength she yelled, "Shepard, I can't hold this much longer! Go!" It was then that she pulled open a large rip in the force field, Shepard sprinted and rolled through the hole, before turning back to help Aria through. But Aria just held her gaze before letting go, "Aria!" The mechs were growing in number, and Aria had weakened herself considerably. Nyreen helped Aria to her feet, "Spirits Aria, how did you know you could do that?" Her attention on the mechs now she replied, "I didn't."

Now on the other side of the barrier, Shepard knew she had to get to the reactor before the Mechs numbers grew too large. Sprinting forward, unable to forget the look on Aria's face as she had let the force field close, what had been written on the Asari's face? It was a look she hadn't seen before from the woman. Cerberus troops were waiting for her, but she kept on sprinting; "I don't have time for this!" Her body glowed blue as she sent the Cerberus flying over the rails, she didn't pause for a moment, thinking of Aria stuck in the circle; exhausted from her use of power. Hold on Aria. There was a voice over her comms, Nyreen. "Shepard there's no let up, the mechs just keep coming." Shepard pushed on harder, her lungs screaming, "Stay alive over there." Finally she reached the reactor, and went straight for the console. Her fingers worked furiously, hacking the machine. It was then that the General's holo popped up again. "You can't do this Commander. There's more at stake then you know. That reactor powers life support system for dozens of wards across the station. Shut it down and thousands of people perish." Shepard ignored him, "You hearing this Aria?" There was gunfire over the comms, then the Asari's voice, 'Yes, and I don't care, shut it down!" Nyreen interrupted Shepard before she could answer, "Shepard don't! Try rerouting power away from the force fields!" Shepard sighed and worked harder at the console, "Damn it. Hold tight down there." More gunfire sounded over the comms, Aria wasn't happy with the decision, "Are you crazy? We are almost spent! Nyreen watch your flank!" Guilt was burning inside Shepard; she couldn't bring herself to kill thousands of people with a push of a button. Her thoughts flashed back to half a year ago where she had killed a whole Batarian system to prevent an earlier Reaper invasion. She couldn't do it again, even if it meant putting Aria in danger for a few more minutes. Somewhere behind her he General was goading her, Aria continued to yell through the earpiece, "Shepard, Nyreen's down, I am stabilizing her. You can't reroute power in time. Hit the fucking overload. Now!" Shepard didn't stop what she was doing, she was almost there. The General's voice sounded again, "This shouldn't be that hard, maybe something inside is holding you back. Maybe deep down you are starting to think the galaxy might be better off without her…She's never going to learn, she'll never change. Even if you win, Omega loses." Shepard yelled in frustration, "Enough! She doesn't have to change."

With a final press of a button, the console ahead turned blue, the force fields were coming down. Without stopping to hear what the General had to say she sprinted back to Aria. The mechs were surrounded them, she charged forward and expelled all her strength out in a biotic explosion, decimating the remaining mechs. Her chest heaving with exertion, she reached a hand out to the Asari, "You okay?" Aria ignored the offered hand and pulled herself up on her own, "Despite your best efforts to kill me." Shepard's eyes darkened with anger, how could she even think such a thing. "I never would have thought you'd jeopardise the mission like that" Aria continued to tear into the Commander. Nyreen, seeing the hurt in Shepard's eyes stopped the Asari before she could say another word; "Quiet Aria, it worked. Shepard saved us without sacrificing innocent lives. I applaud her." Rolling her eyes at the pair, "When are you going to learn, there are no innocents on Omega?" Taking a breath to calm herself down, she turned to Nyreen; "You fought bravely against those mechs in there Nyreen. Very impressive" The Turian raised a brow in suspicion, "But?" Aria released her frustrations out on the woman, "Why can't you bring that same grit when adjutants attack? It's pathetic. You tense up at the mere mention of those abominations." In truth Aria was scared. Scared of how close they could have come to failing the mission, scared of these feelings she had for the Commander. The Queen of Omega didn't deal well with the fear, and was as a result, being overly harsh to the women in front of her; distracting herself from any other thoughts. Continuing she added, "What's going to happen when we run into more of those things, huh?" Shepard stepped forward, "She'll find out what she's really made of. Let's move on." Aria stared deep into the Commander's eyes and was sure she could make out a glimpse of hurt. "Gladly. The war is starting, I don't mean to miss it." Turning on her heel towards the door, the Asari couldn't help but feel guilty at being the cause of hurt in the woman's eyes. She couldn't help but remember hearing the woman yelling at Petrovsky, telling him that in her eyes, the Asari didn't need to change. Of course the human wasn't trying to get her killed, but that made room for another possibility that she wasn't quite ready to face. "She never was very big on 'thank-you's" Nyreen shrugged, giving the human a sympathetic look before they both joined the Asari in the elevator.