The worst part of any covert operation was always the waiting. In training they'd been taught to stay in the same position for days at a time with minimal movement to prevent discovery. By comparison a timetable measured in hours was brief, but still seemed to drag on forever. The faint dripping of water pattering onto metal from a broken condenser was the only interruption to the low hum of Omega's background noise. It was all he could do to stay alert and ignore the headache that had been building behind his eyes for the past few hours.

Next to him on the gantry was Legion, the geth construct was crouched behind one of the large support beams in contrast to his own prone position. The geth's rifle was actually very similar to his own, heavy and enormously powerful it was a weapon that normally wouldn't be practical in a battlefield situation. Shepard's cybernetically enhanced strength off-set that particular downside, while the geth's mechanical nature did the same. It had explained that the average geth armature wasn't a great deal stronger than an equally sized organic, but it could exert its full strength at all times without having to consider fatigue or strain.

His turian companion had taken up position on his left. Garrus leaned back against the opposite support beam, the lighter Viper sniper rifle across his lap. The smaller weapon had a considerably higher capacity and was quicker to draw a bead, meaning it would fall to Garrus to take down anyone trying to escape. Shepard swallowed, frowning at the sour taste in his mouth and silently damning the self-righteous Council for pushing them down their current path.

"Time check," Garrus' voice whispered. "If Aria's intel is correct we've got fifteen minutes before the convoy arrives."

"Copy. Point of no return, are you sure about this, Garrus?" he asked.

"I'm sure. You need another sniper to cover this side and I'm better than Zaeed," he replied.

"That's not what I meant. This isn't a band of mercs or a high value target."

The turian's sigh carried, voice quietly determined. "Look, Shepard. We both know that we need what Aria is offering. You didn't ask me to come, I volunteered. I said I'd stick with you until the end. I meant it."

"Thanks," Shepard said. "Noticed you didn't mention Thane. Think you're better than him too?"

"Probably. Don't tell him that, wouldn't want to wound his professional pride. But I do my shooting under fire more often than he probably has," Garrus said, glancing at him with one plated brow arched. "I notice you didn't invite him either."

"Didn't feel right. He got his son back, but when we talk... he doesn't have long left and he knows it. How do I go to a man that's trying to make up for a life of killing and ask him to participate in a slaughter for a crime lord?" the spectre asked.

"Yea, kind of figured as much," Garrus agreed.

"Shepard-Commander," Legion interrupted. "We have detected six transport units moving in tandem approximately one kilometer from our position. High probability that these are target units."

He blinked at the geth. "How the hell did you see that?"

"This platform is equipped with advanced optics and tracking hardware, capable of up to sixteen times magnification while maintaining acceptable target tracking ability," it explained simply.

"Good to know. Take position, then."

Garrus simply nodded, bracing his opposite shoulder against the beam and the rifle against the other. His fingers quickly checked the magazine, scope, and safety before finally flicking it 'off' with a single digit. To his right Legion remained in much the same position, and after the short explanation a moment ago he realized the geth's rifle lacked a scope. Apparently when your 'eye' was one, a second on the gun was rather redundant.

"Looks like they're early. Point of no return reached," the turian said.

Shepard nodded. "Apparently. Legion and I will take the rear drivers first to block them in."

"Then the messy part begins," Garrus sighed. "It's going to be a bloody night, Shepard."

"I know."

He settled down into his own position and rested his cheek against the stock of the rifle. Shepard hoped it was worth it.


Aboard the Normandy the ship was quiet, even more so than normal. When docked with a large station like Omega it required less systems to remain online than when they were cruising a normal speeds. Combined with the fact that it was now well into the third watch and the place seemed virtually empty.

Tali sat in the mess, spinning the nearly empty tube of nutrient paste around, watching as it slowed before repeating the process. Sergeant Gardner had taken his leave some time ago, meaning anyone wanted from the mess had to make due on their own. Third shift wasn't typically a busy time, though, which caused Tali to jump when Samara's voice broke the silence.

"It seems I am not alone with troubled thoughts this night," the asari said. "I was not expecting to find others about that were not on duty."

Tali nodded. "Whenever humans on the ship can't sleep I always found them here, I guess it just seemed appropriate."

"I see. While my view of the void is quite breathtaking from the observation room Shepard has allowed me to occupy, I found myself restless," Samara said.

"You? You seem like the most calm person on this ship," she said in surprise.

The justicar slipped soundlessly into the seat across from the young quarian, a faint smile at the corner of her lips.

"I have had centuries to learn to control my thoughts and emotions. It does not mean I don't feel them, however. As a justicar I simply cannot allow them to influence my decisions," Samara explained.

"That makes sense," the quarian agreed. "I always forget how long asari and krogan live. Wrex at least looked like he was old with all his scars and marks. You're still beautiful."

"Thank you, child," Samara said with a laugh. "It is not often one such as myself hears a compliment. Far more typical are curses. Why are you not asleep, though? I know quarians naturally have less regular sleep cycles than humans, but I would expect you to be trying to rest."

Tali looked up in surprise, the tube she had been spinning slowly stopping now that her attention had been diverted elsewhere.

"I just... couldn't rest. I'm surprised you know that, no one else does on the Normandy, even Chakwas. We've adapted to the times kept by the rest of the galaxy."

"Did we forget so quickly? I was alive when your homeworld was still a center of culture and civilization. Unlike most of those on the Normandy I also know what quarians look like beneath the suits you've been forced to endure. It is a great tragedy, your people always possessed such a lithe grace and beauty."

She felt her face heat beneath the visor. "Of course, I'm just distracted. You've probably seen the uncovered faces of more of my people than I have."

Try as she might, the bitterness still crept into her voice. Her hands fidgeted atop of the smooth metal of the mess table, finally grasping the food tube and lightly tapping at the plastic. Samara watched her for a few long moments.

"Which is why you are here now and not asleep," the justicar stated simply. "I would assume that the geth that Commander Shepard brought aboard is to blame."

Tali sighed and leaned forward, hands resting on the side of her visor. "Yes. It is a geth. Since I was born I've heard about everything we lost at their hands. Then all the geth we fought while stopping Saren and my... my father."

"It is understandable. We cannot erase centuries of fear and anger with a few words," Samara said.

"I know, but... after he brought the geth on board Shepard and I got into a huge argument about it and I lost control. I don't even know how even, but I was angry, depressed, all in a rush. Now he's come and gone from Omega, then I see him leaving again in the dead of night without a word," she said dejectedly. "Kasumi helped me understand what humans think of our war a little better... and she was right, I'm not nearly as angry at him as I was. But what if he decides that he doesn't want me anymore after that outburst? I-I mean, on the team. He could send me back to the Flotilla."

Samara's laugh was light and melodic as before, causing the quarian to stare at her in shock, blinking away the tears that had been beginning to form at the edges of her eyes. Of all the people aboard the Normandy she had not expected the justicar to laugh at her.

"I am sorry, Tali," Samara said quickly, noticing her shock. "I am not laughing at you, it is just been so long since I have seen the problems of the young and vibrant that the situation surprised me. Even on a warship it seems the natural order of things will always continue. I am guessing your experiences with love have been limited."

"L-Love? I mean... what," the young engineer stammered.

"I have lived and loved in my life. It has been both my greatest joy and my greatest sorrow," Samara explained, her expression quickly becoming more somber. "I suspected your interest in the Commander not long after I joined the crew of this ship. Observing the both of you since then only confirmed those suspicions."

Tali found herself glancing around nervously even though she knew the mess was deserted, her hands slipping beneath the table to grasp together tightly. "I... I do care for him. But after what I said earlier..."

"Humans are a very recent development in my lifetime, but as a justicar I have experienced them at their worst. Ruthless, greedy, sadistic... my path always brings me to the darkest places any race can offer," Samara said, holding up a hand to forestall the young quarian's objection.

"Being on this vessel has given me the opportunity to see what they have the potential to be, however, and I believe Shepard is among the true paragons of their race. A man like that I do not believe would scorn you over an emotional argument. In fact I rather suspect you would have a difficult time finding a way to get rid of him if you tried. He is nothing if not determined once his mind is made up."

"He is that," she replied. A brief smile crossed her face before fading once more. "I didn't realize I was that... obvious, though. And I still don't know. I want... I know what I want. But when two quarians are together it is difficult enough, with both knowing what they're getting into. Despite what he's learned there are still things Shepard doesn't know about our history, our culture. I don't know if it's something he can ever understand."

Samara leaned back against the bulkhead, shaking her head. "Maybe you should give him the chance to try before you convince yourself otherwise. And your feelings are not completely obvious but to those that know what to look for, well..."

The justicar shrugged and Tali gave a nervous laugh, finally nodding. "Thank you, Samara. I think Kasumi tried to tell me much the same thing, it's just been... hard. It felt like everything came crashing down at once. Every time I try to think of something, some other doubt or fear screams in the back of my mind. Even now I keep seeing the geth in my head and that same anger returning."

"Hmm... when you tried to sleep do you experience nightmares, feel on edge?" Samara asked.

"Yes. I dozed off for a little while but I almost cracked my head on the pod when I woke. As soon as I did it was gone, but I just had a lingering feeling of uneasiness. So now I'm here," she said with a sigh. "What about you? I just realized you're up late too. I guess I'm being self absorbed."

"My thoughts were troubled as well, I couldn't find the serenity necessary to properly meditate. There is an... issue, one of great importance and of a personal nature that I need to discuss with the Commander, but even then I should be able to maintain my peace of mind," the asari said, looking thoughtful. "I am beginning it is more than a restless body and uneasy mind, however."

"What do you mean?" Tali asked.

It was odd, she had to admit. Samara had always seemed completely unflappable, even in the heat of combat her features remained unstrained, her voice level and calm. While her manner might often had seemed cold, Tali could always tell that there was a depth in her eyes that was more than simply duty and her Code.

Samara laced her fingers together, elbows resting on the table top. "Have you seen Garrus since we returned from the last mission?"

"I haven't talked to him, much. After we had the meeting about the geth he didn't exactly stay to chat. And after the argument with Shepard I just sort of buried my head in engineering. I did see him down in the cargo bay, though. I think he was sparring with some of the rest of the crew. I'm pretty sure I at least saw Jack and Grunt."

"Typical response. Turians will bear any burden stoically, in my experience, but they also will not hesitate if there is an outlet available for frustration. How did Shepard seem after the mission?" she asked.

"Fine. I mean, he's always fine. Almost always, I mean," Tali corrected herself quickly, remembering Illium, the spectre slurring his words and the usual guise of determination and good humor gone as he leaned heavily against her.

She leaned forward, watching the justicar carefully. "What are you suggesting?"

"A simple observation. Even as one of the younger members of Shepard's team you have seen and done more than most sentients have ever dreamed or feared, and you blame your reaction to the geth for your unease. But I believe we might still be suffering the after effects of our time aboard the Reaper," Samara said.

Tali felt as if ice had just been poured into her suit, chilling every inch of her skin and seeping into her bones. "You mean that we're experience Indoctrination? We were barely on that thing for an hour!"

"Very true, but we saw how quickly it warped and twisted the minds of the Cerberus science team, how it had lured probably dozens of ships over the centuries to its dying form," the asari explained. "I do not think we are in any danger of falling under the Reaper's sway, child. But I think our minds and bodies may have been more fatigued by the experience than we realized."

"It explains a great deal... I mean, I can't just accept a geth but I was so angry at Shepard for even trying to talk about it. I should have more self-control than that," she agreed after a moment of consideration.

"Do not blame yourself either way, but it does explain a great deal."

"Oh keelah, what about Shepard?" Tali muttered.

Samara's expression betrayed little concern. "He is a strong-willed man. It's even possible he's felt the effects less severely thanks to his experiences with the Prothean beacons during your earlier travels."

The quarian shook her head. "I don't know. When I said almost always fine, we always knew there was more than he let on. And there have been a few occasions when he... lost control. You saw what happened on Tuchanka."

"You are afraid that he will do something he regrets?" Samara asked.

"Possibly. If something sets him off. He's different since Cerberus brought him back, even if he tries to pretend nothing has changed. And I did a little digging when I came on board. Miranda noted in some of the logs she sent to the Illusive Man that he was occasionally having trouble controlling his temper. I can see it in his eyes sometimes," she said, drumming her fingers on the table anxiously before looking over to the small computer terminal near the medbay entrance.

"EDI, where is Shepard?"

The AI's interface immediately sprang to life. "The Commander did not specify his current mission or destination. I can only confirm that he is on Omega, somewhere in the vicinity of level sixty eight to seventy three. Interference prevents a more detailed location reading."

"He didn't say anything when he came back on board? Garrus went with him," Tali questioned the AI.

"Garrus did not specify any mission details either and the commander did not request his presence. He joined Shepard in the airlock, 'tagging along' I believe is the common phrase," EDI answered.

"That's not what I asked, EDI," she accused. "You're telling me he didn't mention anything while on the ship regarding his current mission?"

There was a brief pause. "Commander Shepard did not leave any instructions to inform the crew of the nature of the mission or its parameters."

"I doubt he left anything specifically making them a secret either. I'll go wake Miranda up if I have to, EDI. What do you know?" Tali demanded.

"We are merely concerned for Shepard's well-being, EDI. It would be best if we could locate him quickly should a crisis arise," Samara said, supporting the quarian.

Tali wasn't sure if the AI's emotional response programming was detailed enough to express resignation or exasperation but she was almost certain that she heard something approximating a sigh when the hologram pulsed once more and EDI spoke.

"The Commander received an encrypted data packet from a shell-account that I traced back to Aria T'lok. In addition he did speak to Legion who also accompanied him when he left the Normandy. Reviewing the data provided it appears to be a travel route and personnel information for an organization that I have not yet identified."

She blinked. "Legion?"

"Legion is the name given to the geth terminal that was recovered from the derelict Reaper upon its reactivation," EDI explained.

"He took the geth with him?"

"Correct. I believe he felt that the geth's synthetic nature would be an asset for the mission," the AI said.

At this Samara leaned forward, head tilted slightly as she spoke. "How would this 'Legion's nature as a geth be of benefit on Omega."

"I do not know, justicar. Before departing on the mission the Commander had a short discussion with Legion regarding the nature of geth sapience and whether they experienced guilt over organics that they or the heretics have killed. The geth indicated that they do not possess this trait to their knowledge, rather that they understand that negative consequences of such actions, and the Commander appeared to consider this the desired answer before requesting Legion's assistance."

"I don't like the sound of this," Tali said, frowning.

"While I have confidence in Shepard's judgment, I find myself thinking the same thing," the asari agreed.

"Then I guess there's only one thing to do. I'll meet you at the airlock, I need to grab my gear," she said, standing and quickly heading towards the elevator.

She didn't know what Shepard was doing for Aria, but if he hadn't even asked Garrus to come then it wasn't something pleasant. Normally she might have waited but if he had been feeling the effects of their time on the Reaper as she had then there was always the chance something could break through his well-honed control. Tali wouldn't let an argument and a dead monstrosities influence push him into something he'd regret, even if it meant having to deal with a damned geth.


"Wait for them to stop fully. As soon as I take my shot, Legion, you take the driver in the rear," Shepard ordered, finger resting lightly on the trigger of his rifle.

"Affirmative, Shepard-Commander."

The first aircar pulled almost to the end of the access tunnel before settling to the ground, the rest of the vehicles in the convoy following, three more luxury aircars and a pair of larger cargo cars in the middle of the pack. Around him the world still seemed to be waiting, the low hum of the aircar's engines almost soothing. He dropped the crosshairs over the driver of the lead car and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly as his finger tightened on the trigger.

Silence ended with the report of Shepard's heavy rifle, the almost immediate second shot from the geth's gun making it sound like thunder rolling through Omega's dank corridors. Through the scope he saw the windscreen of the aircar crack like a spiderweb and a splash of crimson obscure any further view.

He had to admire the reaction time of the guards. Most criminals, even well-paid ones, were bullies that panicked at the first sign of resistance. These apparently were professionals. Doors sprung open immediately and guns appeared from beneath coats and from inside the cars as men took cover behind their vehicles, scanning above them for their attackers. There was considerable distance between dangerous amateur and true professional. But there was even more between a professional and the kind of people that made up Shepard's team.

No words were said. Legion didn't seem to be the talkative type, but he and Garrus' usual banter was also absent as they went about their work. The slightly less emphatic crack of the turian's rifle produced a steady beat next to him, sending one of the guards that tried to run for the door of the warehouse spinning to the ground. A few more shots and the criminals had finally identified the direction of fire, spraying fire towards them from pistols and submachine guns that occasionally sparked around them.

One man reached into the rear of the aircar and produced an proper battle rifle while two of his fellows tried to provide covering fire. The precision and greater range of a weapon like that could actually pose a threat to their position. Then the man's feet left the ground and the rifle fell from his hands when a powerful round ripped through his barriers like they didn't exist.

"Threat eliminated," Legion stated.

Another of their targets in what was likely an expensive business suit attempted to ram the first disabled aircar out of his way to escape. A foolish mistake, considering what had happened to the first driver, and he made out no better. The aircar turned swiftly to the right and slammed into the metal and concrete wall when Shepard's next shot ripped through the armored windshield.

The flurry of weapons fire barely lasted more than a few minutes, the last burst of return fire silenced when Garrus' shot took the man in the head as he attempted to flee, firing wildly behind him. Spent, smoldering heat sinks littered the metal gantry around them and most of the cars below smoked and sparked from numerous holes. Each car had been armored and their targets had been wearing kinetic barriers, but no real armor. Enough to stop a pistol or maybe even a glancing round from an assault rifle, while their own heavy rifles had barely noticed their existence.

Shepard stood and flicked the safety on his rifle, looking at his two companions and then gesturing towards the scene below. "Let's go finish the job."

He drew his pistol and gripped the metal ladder leading to the level below, sliding down to the base while Garrus covered him from above before following suit. Legion apparently didn't seen any reason to wait, leaping down the the good twenty feet from their elevated position and landing in a crouch. They crossed the distance to the warehouse landing area slowly.

The scene only looked worse up close, the dirty gray metal that made up the floor was slick with blood and the smell of it filled the air. Their targets were slumped where they'd fallen over car doors or laid out on the ground staring lifelessly ahead. One gave a weak groan and clutched at a chest wound that was seeping blood from between his clenched fingers.

One shot rang out from his pistol and the man's hand fell away. Aria had been very specific in her instructions and the condition of their deal. No survivors to come back and cause trouble, spread rumors, or report back to the rest of their organization. She wanted the message to be clear: fuck with Aria T'Lok and you'd simply just cease to exist one day.

"Shepard-Commander, confirm execution of disabled organics. Our data suggested this was not accepted practice among human military operations," Legion said.

It said something about what you were doing when the supposedly remorseless synthetic killer was effectively asking if you were doing the 'right thing'. He looked to the geth and shook his head sadly.

"That's just what we say. What we do is rarely so honorable."

The geth's optics whirred faintly, watching him, before it mimed a nod. "Understood. We will terminate any surviving hostiles."

They checked the luxury aircars, a few more shots ringing out, but all in all they had been ruthlessly efficient in their slaughter. Garrus had entered the warehouse to confirm there wasn't anyone inside, returning a few minutes later.

"Only equipment, Shepard. Looks like this was their last stop, probably setting up a new distribution center," the turian said, jerking a thumb over his shoulder towards the warehouse.

"You'd think I'd feel better about killing red sand dealers," he snorted.

Garrus shrugged. "Hard to feel proud about a slaughter. They never stood a chance."

"Shepard-Commander. We have detected movement within one of the cargo vehicles," the geth said, grabbing his attention. It gestured towards the last of the aircars with its large box-like rear compartment.

He circled around to the rear of the car and raised his weapon, motioning Legion towards the door while Garrus took up a position just to his left. The geth looked at him and he nodded in confirmation, his finger resting on the trigger of the pistol.


"The Commander is still not responding to attempts to contact him via his omni-tool or the internal communication system in his armor," EDI informed them.

"Understood, find out anything you can about his whereabouts," Tali said.

She and Samara were standing at one of Omega's major intersections that lead towards the market district, the lower residences, or Afterlife depending on the path taken. Grunt stood just behind, glaring ominously at anyone that approached. When she'd returned to the lower deck to retrieve her gear the krogan had apparently noticed and decided that his presence was also required.

"We should simply look for the largest conflict. Shepard will be involved, I'm certain," Grunt said.

"There are a dozen conflicts going on here at any given moment," Samara replied. "If you are in search of a fight I doubt you will have to look far, but I do not believe it will help us find Shepard. You will likely be bored, Grunt."

"Hrmph, maybe. But my battlemaster had already left. Other members of my krantt were leaving armed. It would not have been fitting for me to remain behind," the krogan explained.

"Wait! I hacked Garrus' omni-tool a long time ago... I bet he never fixed the backdoor I installed," Tali said suddenly.

Samara arched a brow. "Why would you hack his omni-tool?"

"I don't remember, I was probably just doing it to mess with him," she replied with a shrug.

It was probably when she was trying to feed him false information about some human custom Shepard had brought up, after all they had had so much fun teasing her on the original Normandy. She chewed her lower lip absent mindedly while she worked. Finally her omni-tool beeped in success and Garrus' surprised voice came on the line.

"Tali? What the hell?"

"Where are you?" she demanded.

"We had a job to do, and I'm pretty sure I disabled my incoming contacts," the turian growled.

"You did, I just un-disabled them. Now where are you, we need to find Shepard."

There was a brief pause on the other end of the line and Tali frowned. What were they doing? Finally Garrus answered.

"Shepard made a deal with Aria to secure us a dry dock and things went a little sideways. I think he's on his way to confront Aria. Look I know you're not real happy with him at the moment with the whole geth thing, but now is not a good time, Tali."

She sighed in exasperation. "That's what this is about. I was talking to Samara and we think that we've all been on edge because the dead Reaper was trying to indoctrinate us."

"Well, that would explain why I spent an hour obliterating that one training dummy in the hold," Garrus responded dryly.

"Exactly, which is why we need to talk to Shepard. If something happens to set him off he might not be quite as in control as usual," Tali said and then spoke more quietly. "You know, like the Tartarus incident."

"Well... crap. You need to get to Afterlife. Now," the turian said.

Tartarus had been a small colonial base occupied by pirates that had turned it into their own private little house of horrors, with the colonist as the stars. When Garrus and Tali had accompanied him they had seen a true range of depravity and the boasting and threats of the pirates' 'captain' had been the final straw. It had been the only time they'd really seen the Commander snap during the entire hunt for Saren and it had resulted in a whirlwind of violence. Mentioning it was the best way she'd had to tell Garrus just how concerned she was about the possibility.

They were already moving when Tali continued her questioning. "What happened?"

"Look I don't have time to go over it even if I wanted to. Aria hired us for a job, we did it. Now I'm flying back to the Normandy with a cargo transport full of very frightened humans and Shepard is on his way to Afterlife," Garrus explained wearily.

"You let him go alone?" she hissed.

"Of course not! Legion is with him," the turian snapped back. "If you're close maybe you can beat him there."

Tali terminated the call and increased her pace, Samara and Grunt falling in behind her. The asari gave her a questioning look.

"Are we to assume there will be trouble?"

"I don't know. Garrus was evasive about what exactly happened but it sounds like it wasn't good," Tali said. "If Shepard confronts Aria I think it could get pretty bad."

"Now that would be a fight," Grunt rumbled.

She fixed the krogan with a glare. "One I'd prefer to avoid."

Afterlife loomed above them, the beating heart of Omega. There was even still a short line of people trying to get in despite the late hour, long past the club's peak time. The elcor bouncer watched them brush past but didn't protest. She remembered Shepard saying something about 'look like you belong somewhere and no one will question you'. Apparently it hadn't been bad advice.

Inside the music still played, though the crowd was thinner and quieter than she'd heard previously. Tali raised herself up on the tips of her toes, scanning the room while her two companions did the same. Maybe they had actually beaten Shepard to the club.

The sound of shattering glass yanked all of their attention towards the raised offices that overlooked the dance floor. A batarian landed with a heavy thump that elicited a squeal of surprise from one of the dancing girls. The man tried to weakly push himself up before giving up and slumping forward unconsciousness. She and Samara exchanged a brief look before drawing their weapons and heading for the stairs.

Tali stopped when they reached the top, crouching low against the wall at the sound of raised voices ahead. Grunt looked ready to charge forward but Samara held up a hand to halt him. She carefully looked around the corner. Shepard was standing across from Aria with his pistol at his side, parallel with his leg, four of her guards stood at the entrance to the room with weapons raised.

"We had a deal, Shepard. You knew what you were getting into," the asari said.

"Bullshit! You sent me to take out a drug operation. It was a damn slaughter, but I could have lived with that," he shot back, jabbing a finger at Aria, other arm still held rigidly at his side. "But you didn't bother to mention that they were using slave labor!"

Aria waved a hand dismissively, tone casual. "So what? You act like it's a new concept. You think it gives you the right to throw my men out of windows and threaten me?"

She noticed movement out of the corner of her eye and saw that the geth... Legion, it had apparently been named, was standing just behind Shepard with its heavy rifle in hand. The quarian bit her lip and forced away the sudden urge to bring up her shotgun to target the machine, instead forcing her attention back to the confrontation between the human and the asari. No matter what her feelings towards the geth were she couldn't let them endanger Shepard.

"They were god-damned kids! The oldest one was barely fourteen!" Shepard snarled. "Your man was lucky I only threw him out the window instead of burning this place to the ground!"

"Careful, Shepard. I don't take kindly to threats and I'm not some wide-eyed maiden you can scare," Aria responded, her fingertips flaring faintly blue with biotic energy. All of the ease had left her voice, showing the steel in the velvet glove. "I have the experience and manpower to make sure you and your synthetic 'friend' never leave Omega. Think you can return from the dead a second time?"

At this Tali had decided it was time to intervene, the situation could only deteriorate further from there and as much confidence as she had in Shepard's self-control and combat abilities she couldn't just stand there while Aria threatened to kill him. She activated the round-cycler on her shotgun manually, the high-pitched whine slicing through the air. It was an old trick that Wrex had taught her. In addition to making the first shot almost twice as powerful it also had excellent applications for intimidation purposes he'd said. Next her she heard Grunt's weapon make the same sound.

"I believe I object to that," Tali said as she stepped around the corner, leveling her weapon at one of the guards who swallowed with visible nervousness at the sight of the shotgun's wide mouth pointing in his direction.

Shepard's head snapped towards her in surprise. "What?"

"Who in the hell?" Aria demanded, trying to look between the guards.

"Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, and that is my captain you are threatening," she replied. "This is usually the last mistake most people make."

The asari's response was rather surprising, a faint chuckle turning into a full laugh. Her guards continued to look nervous, shifting their attention between Shepard and geth and the trio of newcomers. Aria shook her head.

"You really are trouble, Shepard. Now what, hmm? Seems we have equal numbers of people with guns and a very heated disagreement."

"The same numbers? If you don't count Grunt as two, sure. But somethings tells me the rest of yours don't include a justicar or the woman that helped send Saren Arterius straight to hell," Shepard pointed out and she noticed that the interruption had at least broken his head long charge into rage, the faint smirk on his face a more familiar sight.

"And if I just let you walk out of here after causing all this chaos I look weak," Aria countered.

Grunt chortled. "Better than looking dead but it's all the same to me. I wouldn't mind seeing the woman that was able to beat a battlemaster in action."

"You sent me on a mission that could have gotten a truck load of children killed, Aria. I'm just going to assume that you weren't stupid enough to have actually known about it for sure," Shepard said icily. "Because deal or not, we wouldn't be having this discussion at all if I thought otherwise."

"I'm a bitch, Shepard, but not a complete monster. The slaves were off-world kids that the new cartel probably lured to Omega with the promise of journeying to a new colony," the asari replied.

He slowly holstered the pistol at his hip and crossed his arms over his chest. "Good. Then why don't you tell your men to lower their weapons. If someone asks what happened tonight then you tell them that Commander Shepard had a bad night and isn't fond of people digging for details. Or we can find out just how good you are after all these years of running Omega."

Tali kept her own weapon at the ready, as did her two companions. She continued to glance at the geth that stood unmoving in the same position, its single optic occasionally shifting between Shepard and Aria. Seconds crept by as spectre and the queen of Omega studied each other. She could feel his muscles tensing for the moment when everything went to hell. Finally Aria held up a hand and waved the guards down.

"Fine. Do you always leave such an impression with the people you work with, Shepard?"

"One way or the other, I do," he replied. "I did your dirty work, Aria. You'll find the results all over the lower level in the docking area of the warehouse. Are you going to hold up your end of the bargain or did we just make a big mess for nothing?"

"I don't expect you'd lie to me, so I'll take your word for it. I'll keep our deal, just watch your step, Shepard. Next time you might not have the upper hand," the asari said.

"Don't worry, whatever you may think I'm doing this to save everyone's collective asses, yours included. I'm going to return to my ship... I think I've had enough of Omega for tonight."

Aria gave an unpleasant smirk. "You'll have the access codes for the dry dock by the time you return. Now if you don't mind I need to repair my office before it gets busy again and people wonder what happened."

They slowly lowered their own weapons as the situation seemed to quickly diffuse, backing down the stairs, followed immediately by Shepard and the geth. Nothing was said as they walked through Afterlife or even when they exited. Finally when they were well away from the club and heading towards the Normandy Shepard spoke up.

"Someone want to explain to me what just happened?"

"I believe the term among your people is we 'provided backup'," Samara said.

"Very funny, how exactly did you come to arrive with such impeccable timing at zero four hundred hours in the morning?" he asked.

"I hacked Garrus' omni-tool and he told us where you were headed," Tali supplied. "After... earlier I ended up talking to Samara and we realized that maybe the team that entered the derelict Reaper was suffering from the after effects."

Shepard stopped, glancing between herself and the justicar. "Wait, what?"

"Have you felt agitated, Commander? Fatigue, pain, irrational anger?" Samara asked.

"No. I mean, nothing irrational. I have a headache... but what Aria did, what could have happened..." he trailed off.

"And your response was to charge into Aria's den without backup and what, try to kill her?" Tali accused, grinding her teeth in frustration. "You're lucky they didn't start shooting before we even got there! Does that sound rational to you?"

"Shepard-Commander was not without support, Creator-Tali'Zorah. We calculated a seventy-eight percent chance that the immediate guards would have been neutralized without significant difficulty, leaving only the asari leader-warrior as the unknown variable," Legion corrected her.

Her head whipped around to focus on the geth as if it had slapped her. It was addressing her? Talking to her like it was part of a normal conversation. "W-What did you call me?"

Its optic focused on her and the strange flaps surrounding it flicked open and closed. "We addressed Creator-Tali'Zorah. Crew of Normandy."

"Creator?"

"Correct. The quarian people created geth. Therefor they are the Creators. Is this not logical?" it asked.

"I... just... do not talk to me, geth. I'll deal with you later. For now we need to get back to the Normandy before anything else goes wrong," she sighed, shaking her head and not looking at the quizzical synthetic.

"Ah, Grunt, why don't you take Legion back to the Normandy double-time. We'll catch up," Shepard suggested.

"Hrmph. Come, machine," the krogan said and immediately began to jog.

The geth watched her for a moment longer before following, effortlessly matching its speed to that of the krogan. It didn't take long for the pair to disappear from sight in the dim lighting of Omega, leaving herself, Shepard, and Samara to continue at a more sedate pace.

"Thanks," Shepard said after a few moments, rubbing his neck. "I guess I was heading towards a mess. It just seemed... right at the time. How did you figure out something wasn't quite right?"

Samara gave a faint smile. "A conversation with Tali'Zorah made me realize that even in such emotionally charged circumstances some reactions were not quite reasonable. I expect the effects will decrease, Garrus seemed fairly unperturbed after working out his frustrations in the cargo hold."

"Yea, turians certainly don't mess around when it comes to stress relief," he said.

"Very true. They always seem to find an outlet, one way or the other. You might want to consider trying the same, Commander," the justicar suggested.

"I'll... uh, think about it. Why don't we just get back to the Normandy and see if tomorrow is a little better. Today hasn't exactly been the best," Shepard sighed, his eyes meeting hers for a moment before looking away.

The rest of their walk was in relative silence, reaching the Normandy and waiting for the airlock to cycle. Samara bid them both goodnight before departing, leaving them both standing in the elevator. Shepard cleared his throat when they reached the engineering deck.

"Look, Tali. About what we said earlier... I didn't mean..."

She cut him off with a shake of her head. "No. It wasn't just the Reaper's influence earlier. I was... angry, frustrated. But I spoke to a few people and they helped me see something of what you were trying to say."

"It's something at least. I just don't want you to feel like I'm choosing to work with Legion at the expensive of my friendship... with my relationship with you," he said firmly.

"That will take... time, I still don't trust it."

"He, it, whatever, wants to help us, Tali. Legion gave me more information about the geth in a few minutes than I've learned since we were hunting Saren. What will it take to help you see that this isn't a trick?"

She shook her head once more. "You don't understand, Shepard. It's more than distrust."

"I'm trying, Tali. I really am. Help me understand so I can make this work," he said earnestly.

Tali smiled sadly and reached up to let her fingers lightly touch the side of his face. The doors opened with a faint swish behind her. She backed out slowly.

"I don't think you can. Goodnight, Shepard."

The lift doors closed on Shepard's confused, unhappy expression. She headed to engineering and found herself sitting there, staring at the drive core, the hum of the machinery the only sound in the room. Maybe tomorrow would be better. It had to be.