A/N: Shoutout to guest reviewer boop. Your long ass reviews are giving me life. Also, there's been another big update to the story. I've altered circumstances so that our power couple here wasn't quite as intimate at the end of Confidentiality. I may continue making more adjustments to it in the future. Trust me; narratively, it's for the best.


[ Chapter 29: The Two Liars ]


The sinking fear that had gripped Tevos's heart the moment Aria abruptly terminated their call to face a deluge of heavy gunfire had plagued her for hours.

A call sent to Shiala and her associates to inquire whether they were in a position to provide any aid was answered negatively. An approach would not only compromise their cover, but also place them in the crosshairs of both Aria's mercenaries and the gunships for being a third party universally presumed as hostile to each side. Responsibly, Tevos advised them to retreat, but upon carrying out her will Shiala's group lost all visual surveillance of the swiftly-escalating fray. For several excruciating hours, the situation on Omega eluded her entirely.

Tevos had restlessly sifted through her work for the remainder of the day, scarcely able to tend to any of it properly while frothy crests of worry and helplessness steadily deteriorated her great cliffs of composure. Just minutes before she left her office Tevos received a call, and when she saw Aria's name in the display of her omni-tool, she reacted by closing her eyes and exhaling in tremendous relief.

Aria, sounding a bit rushed and breathless, opened by stating that much had been learned from her close encounter with another of her enemy's tricks; items of information that would need to be expressly discussed at the soonest available opportunity. The councilor agreed without hesitation. Utilizing vagueness and coded words to safeguard against interception, they scheduled their next meeting to occur in two days at midnight precisely.

A few minutes had been spent reclining in her office chair, reflecting on her own relief to have heard from Aria in a timely manner. Tevos feared that if she had not, she wouldn't have slept at all that night, stricken by the anxieties of ignorance. Tevos wished health and success unto Aria with an affection she most often reserved for her dearest friends and family. With some surreal awe, Tevos realized that Aria had perhaps become closer to her than anyone else currently in her life, so suddenly, over just a little more than a month's time. Shared adversity had certainly bound them more tautly together than concordance ever could. Between them they now shared a substantially greater well of knowledge, powers, and resources, consistently pulling themselves from the edge of disaster by the anchoring weight of the other. To Tevos, it brought the sense of tightly linking arms to weather a vicious tide, where one stumbled and spun at times, but always the other of their pair remained ever-present on well-founded steps to retrieve and return them both to balance.

The next work day yielded a call from Nerava, bearing news that brought a hand partially eclipsing Tevos's face out of exasperation as she conversed with her relative. Apparently, the family had decided to make themselves a generous stockholder in Armax Arsenal, a move undoubtedly facilitated by Kylris Estulius. This time, it was far too late for Tevos to attempt dissuading Nerava, and it was ironically good that it was too late, for Tevos feared that she hadn't the patience nor the strength to caution her for the thousandth time. Instead she yielded to what she deemed a brash, miscalculated decision, and simply expressed to Nerava that she dearly hoped she knew what she was doing.

Soon after, another call came in from Shiala, representing Benezia and Medora simultaneously when stressing the need for a private conversation through which she could safely relay news originating from the matriarchs. Coincidentally, Shiala's message seemed just as urgent as Aria's, persuading Tevos into scheduling a meeting on the same day she would meet with her Omegan contact, yet at a much earlier hour set immediately after Tevos returned home so their appointments would not overlap. Fortunately, Shiala always presented herself well and would not register to the common Citadelian eye as threatening. Shiala could profess herself a house guest, and while Tevos's personal security would be on their highest guard and subject to some apprehension due to their councilor's guest not being of well-known friends or family, they would allow it, and Shiala would not be forced to prowl around the premises under the cover of night and crawl through the window like Aria had to.

It was, however, monumentally inconvenient when Tevos was contacted by Falteus that same day, vying for nothing short of a dinner date on the evening where her plans lied in wait. A hand had gravitated to her forehead whilst speaking with him as the other navigated her schedule, checking to see if the interval between her meetings with Shiala and Aria could possibly accommodate another activity. The opportunity was not to be wasted. While it might have been wiser to request moving their dinner to another night, Tevos was uncertain of whether it would translate into disinterest, even if she provided a perfectly reasonable excuse. She found the risk unfavorable, and after some quick math, found three hours to be a very adequate amount of time to afford a simple dinner date.

When that evening arrived, positively bursting with events, Tevos welcomed Shiala into her study where they immediately settled into vital discussion.

"There was... dialogue between Asari High Command and the Turian Hierarchy," Shiala opened, her hands stiffly lain upon the armrests of one of Tevos's chairs. Though she sat upon quality cushions, she may as well have been seated on an uneven bed of nails, judging by the disquiet in her posture and gestures. She glanced at the councilor, who eyed her under gentle evening-feeble light with profuse attention and an aspect resembling the first seeds of apprehension. "Apparently, the two governing entities had been engaging in talks regarding the division of Omega resources once... once occupation by proxy was established."

Tevos replied after pausing to comprehend the information, "Well, I was aware of High Command's proposal to insert a new leader in the event of Aria's death, but... why in the universe would the Hierarchy be involved?"

"From what Matriarch Medora told Matriarch Benezia—who informed me—the Primarchs were interested in using Omega as an appreciable foothold in the Terminus Systems, if we ever entered true war with those territories," Shiala continued, gravely. "Their motives were highly militaristic, which came as no surprise. Whereas High Command was interested in this colonial-style cultural influence; the idea of gradually domesticating Terminus territories to reflect the culture of Council space. This wasn't surprising either. Both were different solutions to the same problem. I'd name them our culprits if Matriarch Medora had not revealed that the talks failed just weeks prior to the first attacks on Aria T'Loak and her administration, due to the issue being highly divisive among the governments. Those involved in the talks were nearly split down the middle in terms of support versus opposition. But it is vastly coincidental that they were engaging in hypothetical discourse which essentially became reality immediately after their plans were abandoned. Medora fears that someone is acting independently. She doesn't know about the Hierarchy, but High Command has not yet even removed every agent from Omega. Aria T'Loak discovered a handful, but there are others. Some have been there for hundreds of years, their records destroyed utterly to conceal every trace. But this has also increased the difficulty in monitoring and communicating with them. Others have vanished, gone rogue... High Command will not likely admit it, but their Omega agents are largely in disarray out of their own efforts to hide them."

The councilor inhaled slowly, lifting a hand to rest against her lips and chin. While Shiala patiently awaited her response, Tevos deeply pondered the situation. "So the two governments parted ways on the matter... leaving High Command to themselves, to begin their own operation, upon which they began to vote for its activation. It was a point of great contention amongst them. This was likely the reason why their original plans failed in the first place. Or did they have a disagreement with the Primarchs irreconcilable enough to destroy their alliance? Regardless..." She trailed off to think again. "Medora believes someone is acting now, in defiance of the rest. But if such was so, wouldn't they have tried to identify and rein in the dissident rather than allowing them to override their will? If that was the case I'd have expected them to join myself and Aria in our investigative efforts."

"It's possible that the matriarchs involved in this want to centralize responsibility instead of diffusing it amongst them, so that High Command may claim official innocence and point fingers at rogue actions if all this came to light."

"Then why vote? To provide a cover, to appease those in opposition?"

Shiala blinked her thoughtful green eyes, finding herself unable to suppose anything further. "I... I'm afraid I have no more information. Matriarch Medora is completely invested in finding out more, however, as she is equally as puzzled. For all we know, High Command is completely innocent thus far and the Hierarchy is the one to be blamed. If that's the case, we lack the relations to inquire, even secretly. It becomes a matter of turian intelligence, no longer asari."

A finger tapped itself against the white line dividing Tevos's bottom lip. "I might be able to broach the topic with Estulius," she mused aloud. "He would have the means of finding out. Although, it would be no easy feat to convince him to seek out and share sensitive turian intelligence with me, especially given my repeated history of denying him access to certain asari secrets. I would have to bestow him some clearance, to show my intent and the necessity of his aid. I'm not sure I'm willing to do that, but if it means bringing us closer to visibility of this faction, I may have no other choice."

"I'm sure Matriarch Medora and her associates would understand, if it indeed meant attaining the knowledge she has been unable to secure."

"A problem yet stands, however," said Tevos. "I don't know if Estulius finds my position on the ordeal agreeable. He's expressed his disdain toward the idea of allocating any amount of resources to the preservation of Omegan leaders. He found it universally immoral and wasteful. He'd probably be disinclined to render aid, unless I made a particularly compelling case..."

While the councilor grew pensive again, Shiala afforded her as much silence as her superior required. Tevos's thoughts were racing, cross-referencing every bit of evidence she could recall in a quest to assign an ounce of reason or sense to the situation. One central point, removed from the webs of possibility, gleamed luridly and outshone all other facets of her speculation: Omega had become a brilliant exotic jewel, prized and coveted by many for its troves of new wealth, for its strategic cosmic locus, and for the seductive notion of being the one to depose its legendary conqueror. All parties mentioned to Tevos were guilty of desiring Omega, at the very least. While this conclusion didn't lead the councilor to any clear resolution, it did lead her to a mindset she hadn't adopted before. Perhaps they had been searching for their foe in slightly erroneous places, all along.

"Have you brought with you Medora's evidence of the meeting?" Tevos inquired to her agent.

"I did," answered Shiala. "I... Forgive me for not being able to transfer it to you. Matriarchs Medora and Benezia both went to great lengths and complicated processes to provide me an untraceable audio download. With the danger of my communications possibly being watched..."

"Yes," Tevos agreed. "It would be wiser not to risk it."

Resourcefully, Tevos circumvented the security issue by tasking a clerical VI to transcribe the audio and convert it to a text document. When ready, Shiala played the audio file within the safety of Tevos's study. There first came shuffling and a murmur of voices preceding the talks, during which Shiala stole a quick moment to inform Tevos that she would announce the name of every new speaker, once their voice joined the discussion. After roughly thirty seconds the murmur died down at the behest of a matriarch, and the two listened to the conference in its entirely. Its contents were precisely as Shiala had reported. The discourse of dozen or so matriarchs from High Command—whom Tevos privately and permanently struck from her good graces—reciprocated by approximately the same number of Primarchs and turian officers of high military rank. When they spoke, their proposals had chilled Tevos to the bone. Terms such as removal inadequately impersonating the reality of assassination, attempts to stipulate distributions of military presence and new ownership of massive Omega-based businesses... The only consolation Tevos found was in the words of disdain arising from those who disagreed with the bold stratagem.

Previous to that day, Tevos had grown extremely close to exonerating High Command and turning her gaze away from them. At present she was no longer certain that readmitting her government into her trust was a wise course of action. As Shiala had said, the fact that their talks had ceased immediately prior to the first attack upon Aria's administration was vastly coincidental and indicative of some sort of connection. As she watched lines of pacifying blue run by the VI's hologram interface, taking second-hand record of the audio file, fragments of both conjecture and fact swirled about the councilor's mind, floating and rotating and attempting to fit against other wayward components with compatible conformations. Before the audio file had played to its end, Tevos had in mind a rather vivid idea of what was truly occurring.

In some form or manner, an unknown percentage of local Council Space governance was consorting with, supplying, or even comprising the new Omegan faction that opposed Aria. It was the solution to Council race concerns. While gaining influence or control over distant Terminus realms would bolster security and even the economy back home in Council territories, a direct invasion would never gain the support of the public. It would be too costly, too disruptive, too unpalatable a campaign. A transparent takeover would crumble before the first ship even left its bay. But a deposition and infiltration through proxy... That was an entirely different game altogether.

It would begin with Omega. With its leader deposed and replaced by a puppet, who then welcomed legions of foreign agents and hand-picked moguls of pervasive businesses onto the station, the entire culture of Omega itself could be subverted in just a few industrious decades. It would become a military outpost, a reformed fortress carving deep fissures in Terminus Space alliances and trade. The effect would domino, creeping across those regions until they were tamed, then they would go onto squeezing shut around the Attican Traverse until the entire galaxy was made uniformly Citadelian. A crusade to end all other crusades.

Or, it could result in all-out war if Omega's robust, surly denizens decided to fight back once the designs underway became obvious.

This must have been the reason why the talks eventually failed, at least officially. There was too much risk involved. There was too much at stake, too much uncertainty. Apparently, that had not been enough to dissuade certain individuals from continuing on with or without consensus. But why? Were they acting on ill-conceived ideals or delusions that this was the right decision? But such couldn't be the case, not when Tevos recalled in mind the treatment of Aria and her officers. Mutilation, humiliation, public demonstration... These signs were not indicative of military or special force activity. These were acts of bitter personal vengeance.

This conclusion made Tevos grimly wonder if their modes of operation even mattered to whoever was supporting them, so long as they won the war.

Shiala's recording came to an end. The councilor's VI finished transcription, saved the file, and deactivated. Upon meeting her agent's eyes Tevos saw that Shiala was about to comment, but was denied the chance when Tevos's omni-tool chimed with a message from a contact categorized as high-priority. She opened the message, answering her reflex to do so without delay.

It was from Aria, she found to her mild surprise. She wasn't expecting her until much later into the night, and duly wondered what she required of her at present.

Open your window, the message read.

Tevos's eyes widened almost imperceptibly. She might have panicked had she not spent years conditioning herself not to when confronted by a problematic situation, and instead calmly informed Shiala that she needed to make an important call, claiming it to be work-related and confidential. Shiala nodded in respectful understanding, minding the councilor's advisement to stay seated for just a few minutes while she stepped out into her front room to hold her call. Once Tevos had ensured that the door to her study had been securely closed, shutting out as much sound as possible, she started down the hallway at a hasty, brisk pace while sending a call to Aria. As soon as she picked up on the other end, Tevos almost hissed to her, "I thought we agreed on midnight. You're not supposed to be here yet."

"I need to talk to you," Aria replied, her voice a whisper. "You have about thirty seconds before one of your guards comes back around this way."

By the time Tevos reached her kitchen a shallow frown had disfigured her lips. Sure enough, outlined by her window frame perched a familiar shadow on the outer ledge, impatiently awaiting admittance. After venturing further into the blue darkness, Tevos pressed her fingers to the latch, unlocked it by identification of her touch, and opened the window. Aria climbed through with practiced ease with her helmet tucked beneath one arm, C-Sec-issue boots clapping down onto the cold tiled floor a bit too loudly for Tevos's preference. And the very moment the window had been closed and locked again, Aria set down her helmet on the counter top and began speaking at a casual, unmitigated volume.

Tevos hushed her before her first sentence could take comprehensible form and partially placed her hand over her mouth for lack of a better method for ensuring her silence in so short a time. Aria's brow drew downward in consternation and she pushed the hand away from her face, taking offense at the gesture while keeping her fingers wrapped around the councilor's wrist so she couldn't utilize it again.

"Be quiet," Tevos stiffly berated her. "You're not supposed to be here yet!" She stole a glance over one shoulder, praying that Shiala had not heard anything that would give her cause to investigate the source of the disturbance. Tevos hadn't a care about Aria's reason for arriving so unexpectedly early. The only thing occupying her mind at present was a considerably more pressing issue. If in the event Aria and Shiala encountered one another, the secrecy that lent Shiala's unit its effectiveness would be voided, and Tevos's best agents on Omega would be rendered obsolete for their circumstances. Such a scenario was unacceptable. She would strive to protect her furtive unit at all costs, if only for Aria's sake, even if she would never know what force had essentially kept her alive at one point. "No, no, no," Tevos hollowly uttered, lightly twisting her arm free of Aria's grip and lifting both hands to hover near her armored shoulders, preparing to grasp her and direct her back toward the window. By now, the C-Sec guard Aria mentioned should have came and gone. "You can't stay here right now, Aria." Her voice was leaden with urgency.

"And why not?" Aria demanded, standing firm against the attempt to push her back through the kitchen window again, and potentially into the well-manicured line of shrubbery a floor below. Tevos didn't seem to mind where Aria might end up, so long as it was outside her apartment. "I told you; I need to talk to you now. This can't wait any longer. I've learned things that would even make your High Command cohorts pale—"

"This is a horrible time for you to be here," Tevos vaguely explained after cutting her off. "I... I have a correspondent on hold, one whose information is vital to our interests..."

"Then keep talking to them!" Aria said, her voice rising again and instilling great anxiety within Tevos. "If it's vital to our interests then include me, Councilor. Put them on speaker." She seized Tevos's hands again, removing their insistent pressure from her body, but Tevos only tried retrieving them once more, determinedly resisting her grip. Their clashing interests resulted in a brief struggle.

"Let go of me!"

"No! Not until you stop trying to throw me out the window and tell me what the fuck you're really hiding from me—!"

"If you ever curse at me like that again, I swear, Aria—"

Suddenly, while causing Tevos great confusion, Aria released her wrists. The moment she had, Aria's right hand darted downward to her belt where she wrapped her fingers around a holstered firearm and drew it in one smooth motion. For a short instant Tevos considered the abhorrent idea that Aria intended to pull the weapon on her, but when the firearm was aimed past her and not at her, Tevos's concerns mutated into a different breed of alarm. She whirled around at once, peering through the darkness to find none other than Shiala standing at the edge of the hallway, with her pistol austerely leveled at Aria after biotically retrieving it from the countertop. Her expression was focused and immutable, like stone.

Initially all parties stood in frozen silence, assessing the hauntingly familiar situation. The silence didn't last long.

"Step away from her, T'Loak," said Shiala, her voice dire and commanding. Even past the dearth of light and the C-Sec armor which replaced her more salient attire, Aria's features were unmistakable. Though recognition was not reciprocated, to Shiala's understanding Aria was supposedly an ally of Tevos's. But after slipping into her home and seizing the councilor as she had—against her will—Aria's actions gave Shiala cause to ponder whether that same alliance was still intact. And if it was not...

"Stop!" Tevos extended an arm out in front of Aria, trying to simultaneously ease her into lowering her weapon while communicating to Shiala that Aria was indeed not their enemy. "Both of you! Put those guns down!"

"Who the hell is she!?" Aria demanded as a thin veneer of biotics began to ghost along her C-Sec shell. "And why is she here!?" She cast an intense expression at the councilor, her eyes painfully inquisitive and bright. As of that moment, neither she or Shiala had yet lowered their firearms.

Tevos only stepped further in front of Aria, eclipsing her before orienting herself in Shiala's direction to address her. "Shiala," she began while coming to terms with her failure to extend the longevity of her special unit, "everything's all right. This... This is an arrangement Aria and I have made, for safe and secure communications." She paused to evaluate the face of her agent. It was staid, but comprehensive of her words. "I promise you there's no danger here. We only had a... minor conflict because I was attempting to keep Aria unaware of you."

"Be that as it may, Madam Councilor, no one should ever touch you like that," Shiala said, sending scorn through a glare directed at Aria. "She has no right to threaten you. No right at all."

"She wasn't threatening me," Tevos assured her. She didn't lie. In ironic actuality, Aria had only been defending herself from being ejected from the building in an admittedly ungraceful manner. If anyone had occupied the part of aggressor, it was Tevos. "Please, both of you, put those guns down."

While Tevos had successfully convinced Shiala to lower her weapon, Aria was not quite persuaded as of yet. Both kept their biotic barriers warily intact.

"You still haven't answered me," Aria bitterly said. "Who the hell is she and why is she here?"

She neglected to answer Aria's query. Alternatively, Tevos issued a final advisement to her agent. "Shiala, I mean no offense by this, but... I think it'd be best if you took your leave now."

Her objections to leaving the councilor alone with Aria were blatantly present in her expression. It was the identical reservation she had once exhibited years prior, on one Thessian day when Aria was a major threat. But she obeyed her councilor. And so Shiala left, casting a final suspicious glance over her shoulder as she passed through the front door, which Aria had never before. Tevos sent word to her security, informing them of Shiala's departure and requesting that they arrange for her a protected escort.

She found Aria glowering at her when she finally faced her again. Tevos braced herself. Her dishonesty had met its end. She watched Aria slap her firearm onto the counter and fit her hands on her hips, broiling with disdain. Tevos began cautiously, "I know I owe you an explanation—"

"Damn right you do," Aria coldly agreed, taking an accusatory step toward her. "Who the hell was that? Another bedfellow I don't know about? Does she keep you warm until I come around? Or was it one of your spies and I interrupted a briefing where you pass on all the intel I give you, so she can run it back to High Command? Which is it, Tevos? Why does she know about our arrangement? Why have you been lying to me all this time after wasting your breath stressing the need for honesty? What else are you hiding?" She simmered with rage. "People like you are all the same. This is the last time I'll make this mistake." Aria disengaged herself from Tevos, unwilling to continue exchanging a gaze with a potential traitor. It seemed to Tevos that Aria would prefer that she never look upon her again. It was an agonizing experience, despite the councilor's innocence. The instant yielded more pain than any other incident that had occurred between them in memory.

But Tevos was not unkind or unsympathetic enough to presume that Aria's trust in her had not developed into any sort of attachment or sense of sanctuary. Aria had been just as deeply hurt as Tevos was by her anger. If she had not cared, if she had not feared, Aria would not have appeared as fraught with burgeoning distress as she did now. The situation needed to be remedied before irreparable damage was inflicted.

"I kept Shiala and my other special agents secret for your benefit," came Tevos's resolute response. She attempted to step back into Aria's line of sight, vying for a chance to explain herself. "And they are not associated with High Command. I know I should've told you, Aria. I know that might have been wiser, or it might have kept our relations running more smoothly, but... I couldn't. If you became aware of them their flexibility and camouflage on Omega could have been compromised! You might have inadvertently accommodated them in a way that exposed them to your enemy, and they could've been hindered, eliminated, or even tortured for information as a result, just like my Spectre! And I will not have that happen again. I will not feed the ammunition stocks of my foes." She reached out for Aria, intending to take her arm and pull her back into facing her. Aria sharply tore herself away from her grasp, highly adverse to being touched. Even after being denied, Tevos pressed her by saying more. "Their unit was meant to substitute my Spectres! A unit comprised of individuals without prominent profiles, who could perform tasks and reconnaissance without the constant danger of being sought out and shadowed! They were meant to protect you, Aria. And they did."

"Give me one good reason to believe you," Aria caustically sneered, her jaw held tightly as she spoke. "How do I know that all this time you haven't been feeding High Command everything I tell you? Everywhere I turn I lose more lieutenants and officers, my gunships are sabotaged, and my most sensitive operations are compromised! Someone's leaking information to them! Someone on my high-clearance channels, someone with access to my movements, my plans, my resources, Councilor! Who's left, Tevos!? Who's left to fit that profile!?" Finally, Aria faced her again, but her expression offered no familiar concord.

Tevos fell silent for a moment, enduring the glower. There was nothing she could say to prove her claim. Not to shrewd, paranoid Aria, who yielded to nothing save for tangible evidence and fact. Fortunately, she possessed precisely what was required. Without delay Tevos activated her omni-tool and entered several passwords to access her encrypted files.

"Look, Aria," she told her. She held out the projected screen for Aria to see, displaying the correspondences Shiala had sent during and after locating Eruam Anikot. Aria peered at the messages with a glare still chiseled into her face. "The most important operation I tasked this unit with was finding your former lieutenant, Eruam Anikot. They spent days gathering information, breaking into bank databases and even Omega Control on one occasion, just to locate him for you. They were tireless. And they found him—look here, at the timestamp. Do you notice that it's almost identical to the time when your networks found him? Do you realize that we found him for you?"

"Let me see that," Aria said, adjusting Tevos's arm so that the text presented at an optimal angle for legibility. She spent ample time reading every character available to her, evaluating the legitimacy of the correspondences.

While she read, Tevos continued, "And do you remember when I called you? When I warned you about those two inbound gunships? I would not have been able to if that unit hadn't been monitoring the situation from afar. You might owe your life to them."

When Aria had finished, permitting Tevos to lower and deactivate her omni-tool, she stood motionless and made no sound save for a slow exhalation of air. She had grown pensive, a welcomed departure from her previous seething disposition. It was relief. It was the closest Aria would permit herself to indulge in relief, at the very least. Tevos hazarded an approach. She lifted her hands, cautiously laying them on her arms and remaining there until Aria met her gaze. It was at that time, due to their proximity, when Tevos was able to see through the darkness the minor wounds still marring Aria's face. Small cuts, a bruise on her cheek, evidence of a lip that had once profusely bled. While Tevos had been informed that Aria had escaped from her engagement with the enemy alive, she had never mentioned at what costs, or what degree of battle had been required to do so. Only now did Tevos see the answer to those questions.

"I thought we trusted each other," she quietly lamented. Seeing Aria so quickly accuse her of betrayal had been devastating. It was true, she had deserved at least a small portion of disparagement, but not to the extent Aria had delivered. Was their trust so diaphanous and vulnerable to adversity that it burned away at the slightest flicker of doubt? Did everything they had been through together truly amount to that little?

"I did trust you," Aria stated. "That's why I'm angry."

"Aria." Tevos's voice drastically decreased in volume, but her severity held fast. "I live... in constant suspicion that you've been dishonest with me. I know you have been in the past. It was unavoidable." Her words seemed to set something within Aria alight. Familiarity, immediate understanding. "But I... I have recently forced myself to trust you now, against my instincts, for the sake of our alliance alone. We can't do this if we're constantly at each other's throats over every little issue that surfaces. It would be unsustainable. So I need you to let this go. I need you to compare this to everything you've construed or hid from me, everything I've had no choice but to excuse you for. I need to know that you still trust me enough to continue exchanging information. If you can't do that... there isn't a purpose for doing this anymore. We've come to a point where everything hinges on what we discover and decide now, on just a few more nights after this one." She peered at her with great purpose, her mind bursting with secrets she yearned to spill for Aria's benefit. "You can't afford to lie to me about this."

Aria pondered her response, demonstrating the discipline necessary to maintain unwavering eye contact even as she made what was possibly one of the most important decisions of her life. It could govern her very survival. When she replied to Tevos at that intimate distance, she spoke deliberately, "I've invested a lot in you, Councilor. More than I hope you ever come to realize." And she paused long enough to privately expound before concluding, softly and perhaps a bit reluctantly in the face of truth, "I never wanted to trust you. I don't trust, rely, or depend on anyone. But if that's what it takes, I'm capable of anything."

Tevos found herself able to breathe again, and able to release Aria. Rueful, grateful affection billowed in her chest. Aria had grown frigid after her admission, withdrawing into herself in compensation for revealing something so very compromising of her position, but she was not unresponsive when Tevos bade her to follow when she started in the direction of the hallway. Leaving her helmet and firearm behind, Aria pursued her on silent steps until they passed into her bedroom. A weak light was switched on for their convenience, under which Aria began removing the armor sections cloistering her body. For a time they exchanged no more words, made rigidly uncomfortable by their altercation. Tevos stepped out for a few minutes to tend to her own appearance in preparation for yet another engagement before the night's end, and when she returned at last—completely suitable for appearing before the most refined company—she brought with her the white shirt Aria traditionally preferred, freshly removed from a clothes dryer; its intended journey from that appliance to the councilor's drawer, and to Aria's hands, expedited by delivering it directly to its recipient.

Its material was still warm when Aria pulled it on, warmer than her skin, and soothingly so. While sitting beside her at the edge of her bed, Tevos reached out to unfold the hem about her lower waist where it had curled back on itself, straightening the creases and allowing her hands to linger there even after appeasing her inclination for neatness. Her hands slid forward, fingers eroding their own new creases as they proceeded to wrap about Aria's waist, hoping that the well-intended touch would dissolve their unease and congeal contentment in its stead. In reciprocation she felt Aria fondling the material of her dress, wandering thoughtfully and inadvertently dispensing hints that alluded to her devotion to their coupling.

Too many people had turned on Aria. She would not have handled another, not gracefully. As Aria lightly touched her now, in her vague gestures Tevos could feel her monumental need, her insatiable desire to retain the most powerful ally she had made. She was firm, faintly obsessive, as if her primary instinct was to never let Tevos out of her sight or reach again. A sense of inseparability was communicated to Tevos. They had sewn themselves together over the last several weeks, and their misunderstanding had broken seams that Aria immediately endeavored to restitch. Aria would not be losing the councilor this far into the war, not to circumstance, not to betrayal, and not to negligence. Tevos felt as though her heart were filled with molten lead.

When Aria voiced a question, there was a remarkably noticeable amount of sentimentality in her tone, "Where are you going?"

"I have somewhere I need to be."

"Where?" Aria persisted.

"I'm going to dinner with Falteus, if you must know the specifics."

Aria withdrew from her enough for their eyes to meet. "Not while I have a thousand things to discuss with you. We need to talk now."

"Aria, I can't just cancel on him. I'm not an unreliable person and I'm not about to falsely advertise myself as one. I've a thousand things to tell you as well, but I think it can wait a few hours until the time we originally agreed upon."

"I don't think you understand." She sounded adamant.

Tevos sighed with some weariness. She was due to leave soon, within just fifteen minutes lest she arrive late. Her solution was a compromise. Tevos reached for Aria's hand, wrapping her fingers around her wrist as she felt Aria doing the same, understanding her intent without needing any words, although Tevos voiced it anyway. "Then meld with me."

Aria agreed. As they had on multiple past occasions they settled into one another, wading through murky remnants of recent emotional distress to establish a purely informative connection. Under ordinary conditions Tevos might have lingered a while in those tiers near the surface where their frayed nerves quivered and squirmed apprehensively, hoping to help Aria mend them somewhat, but she moved on. Pressed for time, the instant they had created the mental platform for their exchange, their incorporeal forum was flooded by collisions of concepts and thoughts translated into language on the fly.

"High Command and the Turian Hierarchy—"

"Your Spectre, Neora, at the helm of the ambush—"

"—just days prior to the assassination of Olat Dar'nerah—"

"—augmented by geth or geth-like technology—"

"—intended to result in the complete assimilation of Terminus powers—"

"—another pair of gloves and a patient in a hospital ward being deliberately hidden from me—"

Overwhelmed by the cacophony and its contents, they ripped away from another mentally and physically. Aria remained seated but Tevos leapt to her feet as the new information solidified and integrated with memory. Resent erupted on Aria's features in reaction to the plot against her beloved station, failed or not. Meanwhile Tevos had lifted her hands to her temples, shocked and horrified at the images of her Spectre striding toward her while framed by terrible screens of smoke and flame, flickering by her mind's eye in nightmarish flashes. But more than anything else, she had been most disturbed by the word geth and all its dreadful implications.

"Oh my Goddess, Aria," she breathed, beside herself with fearful awe. "Geth? Are you sure?"

Aria gave a grim nod, folding her hands in her lap and interlacing her fingers. "I have a few engineers who knew what to look for. Either it's geth, or someone's replicated their technology with nothing less than ninety-nine percent accuracy of the real thing."

"Oh Goddess," Tevos quietly repeated, her hands falling from her face, but one remained resting over her mouth for a time. "If there are geth that have traveled beyond the Perseus Veil... Then this truly has become a matter of galactic security. I'm sorry, Aria, but I can't keep this intelligence away from the rest of the Council. They need to know at least that much, that there are geth currently in the broader Terminus Systems. If they're there on their own volition, in several decades they could spread into the Attican Traverse, then Council space... I just can't keep this from them."

"Hold on," Aria stopped her when she saw the glow of Tevos's omni-tool. "We don't know for a fact that any of the geth on Omega are actually intact platforms. The Spectre was still half organic. For all we know, only parts have made it into the heart of the Terminus Systems."

"Yes, but they're active. From what we learned from the quarians during the Geth War, geth central processors grow exponentially more sophisticated when they're in close proximity. A mere animal can achieve phenomenal intelligence just by being in a group comprised of five or so individuals. To control Neora there must have been some sort of processor implanted in her, and if there's more than one of her kind on Omega... I shudder to think of what that could bode. I need to inform them, regardless of the finer details of the situation."

"Wait until we've talked at length," Aria urged when the omni-tool reappeared on her arm.

Puzzled, Tevos stilled her hand. "How could I do that? News of this magnitude—"

"Because I wouldn't trust your fellow councilors right now," she replied, her words thrusting Tevos into nonplussed silence.

Tevos stared at her, unsettled and concerned. Eyeing her warily, and even with a bit of insult fringing her voice, she inquired, "And what exactly are you implying?"

Aria lifted her chin, communicating that she was about to say something that the councilor profoundly did not want to hear. "I have cause to keep an eye on them."

"So... you're implying that the Council has something to do with this?" Tevos didn't know whether to feel unjustly accused or amused.

"Not the Council. A councilor."

Again Tevos hesitated to respond. The notion was so exceedingly absurd, but at the same time so very disturbing, that a short, nervous breath of laughter escaped her lips. "That is entirely ridiculous, Aria. The other members of the Council don't even know what's been transpiring on Omega aside from your strange war. They've been hounding me for information, which I've consistently denied them, but they've given me no indication whatsoever that they're even remotely aware of the nature of your enemy, let alone possible motivations. They're actively requesting inclusion since they lack it, aside from basic peripheral information. I'm sure their own home governments are monitoring the more visible affairs but they've never been able to get close enough to determine anything substantial..." She was beginning to ramble. She caught herself doing so, quickly shutting her mouth when she had before growing pensive. Aria was watching her closely, mirthlessly.

"This was why I needed to talk to you," she said.

Tevos straddled the barrier between fear and offense taken at what must have been another one of Aria's outrageous and wild suspicions. Indignity weakly flailed in her heart at the notion of the Council—on which she had proudly served for decades—being in any way responsible for Aria's troubles. It was ludicrous. Tevos almost wanted to denounce Aria's assertion right then and there even without counter evidence, and thus on sheer hubris alone. But she willed herself to remain inexpressive, staring at Aria blankly, until looking to her wrist to check the time. Tevos decided it an opportune moment to leave.

It might have been irresponsible of her to flee the unsavory possibilities brimming over the edges of Aria's conscience, but Tevos rationalized her actions by prizing her own loyalty to schedules and order; a source of reassuring stability that provided her life with some degree of overlying sense. And so she drifted away from Aria and toward her tentatively-named date with Falteus, only approaching her current house guest to inform her that she would return in approximately two hours, or three at the very most. In the meantime Aria was to make herself at home (within reason, she added). Tevos then leaned in to address the leering crime lord once more, hesitating a moment, and pressed her lips against her cheek briefly, like a pacifying apology, and as if she were unable to devise any superior parting words. She preferred the tacit finality of the gesture, obligating its recipient to silence.

Without looking back Tevos departed, escaping Aria's company and the reach of her information.


:::


Tevos was restless by the time she and Falteus were seated. Stating that she had been glad to see him, and that she had been looking forward to this arrangement, had been a disingenuous distortion of truth. And stating that she possessed a normal appetite this time was an even greater lie.

In bleak actuality, Tevos felt so out of sorts that she doubted she would be able to eat regularly for days, and certainly not in the company of anyone who reminded her of her worries and troubles. When she listlessly scoured the menu for something to order, everything seemed grotesque to her palate. She could not even enjoy the fine ambiance of the restaurant, finding the lights much too bright and some of the more vivid hues radiating from the plant arrangements intrusive and garish. For the vast majority of her time spent sitting across from her date, Tevos's mind overflowed with the anticipation of returning to Aria to hear her dreadful speculations later in the night.

Noticing her reticence, Falteus endeavored to make conversation after discreetly pausing to adjust the collar of his formal attire. As usual he appeared effortlessly handsome and dignified, exuding confidence and intelligence. Irissa had been correct. He was a nice catch, as she so diligently phrased. It was only a pity that Tevos didn't much care—never maliciously, but in simple, unfortunate honesty.

"I recently spoke with Nerava again," he said. "She and her spouse are due to leave the Citadel soon, so we took an afternoon to peruse the local diversions."

"How are they?" Tevos inquired, feigning interest before sipping from her water glass. Unbeknownst to Falteus, she was busy rifling through her recollections of past deliberations with the Council, analyzing what had been said over the last month or so regarding Omega, and which opinions had belonged to whom. It was a vain, fruitless effort. Their conversational contributions were not necessarily indicative of their true feelings about the issue. Each time, without fail, Tevos had ultimately remained in control of the Omega situation solely due to the fact that their treaties were primarily asari ones, and therefore involved asari intelligence. The rest of Council could only justify an appeal for greater involvement if the troubles started affecting their races, or more centrally, the Citadel. And since the drug issue was not one that originated on Omega, but from batarian territories, their appeal had no reliable foundation. It did not matter, what had been said whenever they convened. From their powerless positions they could have said anything in the universe and it would not have altered nor diminished Tevos's plans, or jointly, Omega's fate.

"They're well," Falteus answered the question Tevos couldn't remember asking in the first place. "Very well, as a matter of fact. She told me of your family's new relation with Armax, and I can understand how you might feel some apprehension, but it seems as though they're quite pleased with their decision..."

He went on, and Tevos mechanically nodded on measured occasion despite her mind continuing to wander elsewhere. She began to think of Aria, and what a shame it had been to welcome her into her home earlier that evening with hostility. After a day spent overwhelmed by concern for Aria's well-being Tevos had craved her company, a tangible reassurance that Aria had survived the grim report Shiala had sent the councilor minutes before the ambush. It felt miraculous that Tevos had been able to warn Aria at all in so small a time frame.

She had wanted to receive her with the same affection exchanged the last time they were together, testing those waters that had grown richer and darker with red wines and paradoxically clearer; wanting to know how they would treat another now that Aria knew what Tevos thought of her, and now that Tevos knew that Aria wished to share with her leisures and frivolities she could only reserve for those of whom she was fondest.

But the situation had been set. Tevos would return home, find Aria awaiting her, and they would launch straight into strategical discourse. Possibly evading one another, still shaken by what could have been if Tevos had actually betrayed her. She didn't blame Aria. It was a daunting notion—frightful and abject. But they would settle everything. They always did. Even in the most unfavorable circumstances, and even despite themselves, they had always found a way to obtain whatever their collusion desired.

Tevos abhorred what Aria had insinuated about the Council, but if she was remotely correct, Tevos knew that she would not hesitate to lead a charge against them and defend both Aria and Omega from the avaricious hand of colonialism. And her stance wasn't solely founded on her attachment to Aria. The idea of tampering with and provoking the Terminus Systems was awful policy as far as she and the majority of Council space were concerned.

Tevos quietly took the time to say aloud, "Oh, really?" in response to something Falteus said, and something she hadn't comprehended in the slightest.

A message arrived at her omni-tool, and she was almost grateful for a momentary distraction, even if it regarded dull legal work. But it was from Aria, heavily encrypted with an orderly body, whose apparent importance seemed to magnetically draw her attention against her wishes. Quietly she informed Falteus that she had received an important message from the Embassies, and excused herself from her minimal role in their conversation to unlock and read it.

.

TO: CLR. TEVOS N'VANI
FROM: ARIA T'LOAK
SUBJECT: MORE INFORMATION
ATTACHMENT: 01-SN

My people have been hard at work on your Spectre. Just a half hour ago they managed to crack the security on her hardsuit's computer. It wasn't remotely what we usually see from the Citadel, which is probably why our enemy wasn't able to completely wipe everything before sending her out again. They must have been betting that we wouldn't be able to crack it either. Here is the intelligence they discovered. You would do well to read this at your earliest convenience.

1. The last district Neora was active in was Gozu. Lower Gozu. Her most recent files are about Kiava Vathesa, where she explicitly confirms that Vathesa is a sleeper agent from Asari High Command. She provides authorization codes, documents, and even a seven-second audio recording as her body of evidence. This makes me believe that Vathesa deliberately revealed this to her to implant a false sense of security in the Spectre. She might've presumed that since they were from the same extended government, they were allies.

2. The hardsuit has record of her vitals moments before her death. Elevated and irregular heart rate, low blood oxygen levels, and high internal temperature. Because death occurred very close to the timestamp on Neora's items of evidence, I think it's likely that Vathesa poisoned her. I think that's why Vathesa shut herself down before I got my hands on them, since Spectre Neora was a key component of their operations.

3. Check the attachment. High-res photos of the gloves we recovered from the eezo refinement plant. Ask your military man about them. They have a few hallmark design features that correlate with something he might recognize.

.

She took the advice and opened the attachment, displaying a pair of black gloves with similar green nodules as the ones they saw previously, albeit less pronounced and nearly flush with the material they protruded from. It was obviously a more recent model or prototype.

Tevos's eyes slowly lifted to retake Falteus within her gaze, who was content to browse the menu some more while awaiting the councilor's return to their conversation.

Do you know something? she intensely wondered in silence. What had Aria recognized? What did Aria expect Falteus to say if confronted by the gloves, and more importantly, was his reaction destined to be one of guilt?

"Excuse me, Falteus," she said, drawing his eyes upward.

"Yes, Councilor? Are you well? You appear somewhat..." He trailed off to properly assign a word for the purpose emanating from Tevos's stare, "...on edge."

"I would... like to show you something," said Tevos, leaning forward a tad and reorienting her omni-tool screen in his direction, displaying the photo Aria had sent her. "Would you happen to recognize this?"

He peered at the photo for a few seconds, brow plates drawing lower in focus. They rose again before long, expressing confounded surprise. "Why, that's... that's an experimental Armax prototype!" Falteus spoke intensely, but quietly to preserve their privacy. "Kylris shows me them on occasion, asking for my opinion. It is, I confess, generally against protocol since they're developmental secrets, but he carries a lot of clout in the company and we keep it all confidential... But these are unreleased. These aren't public. I... I have to ask, Councilor, wherever did you get this? From Kylris? Was it leaked?"

Tevos rapidly calculated. If Falteus were involved, he would have denied recognizing the gloves. He would have guarded that knowledge until the bitter end, for staid self-preservation. But he didn't. He hadn't anything to hide. No, Falteus was not the villain here, absolved by his earnest reaction alone.

"Nerava," she lied on compulsion. "She was... attempting to allay my concerns regarding their investment, by presenting to me an impressive development. I wanted to confirm with you that it was truly Armax, not from distrusting her, but from hoping that she hadn't been sent anything false from the board, who of course, might not be entirely welcoming toward someone whose family ties have caused their stock prices to fluctuate over the last month or two. I realize this must be in breach of a number of non-disclosure agreements, but please, Falteus, I would request that you do not inform Estulius that Nerava possessed this image or sent it to me. I can assure you that no harm will come of it. It hasn't been passed on to anyone else, and if Estulius finds out it may injure the new relationship between our families."

"I understand, Councilor Tevos. I would not do that to you, and I have utmost confidence in your discretion."

Their date commenced without a semblance of relaxation. Tevos ate very sparingly and continued to talk little as her mind turned and turned, spinning into near-nausea as conclusions began to congeal.

They ended early, escaping the uneasy climate they had engendered between them, leaving Tevos to hurry home and Falteus to wonder what went wrong.

During the skycar ride, Tevos sat in the dimness of the back row of seats, mood darkening with every passing minute and mutating into what she could only describe as vengeful contempt.

He had beguiled them all. He had so elegantly slipped into the Council's fold, assumed his power, and proceeded to abuse it. He had prepared for the day when Tevos would find out, and he had skillfully safeguarded against it. He had done so with charming smiles, reeling her own family into his scheme so their money could help enable it, so Tevos would be affiliated with it; tied to his warfaring vessel so she would be forever and inescapably connected to the conspiracy whether it succeeded or sunk.

Her family had been weaponized against her. Her Council had been tainted by subterfuge. Her people's livelihood had been threatened by the shadow of war with the Terminus Systems, once they reached that point of singularity when Omega had been overrun by foreign spies and military, when the coup was inevitably publicized by its own scale and inspired Terminus powers to violently defend themselves at all costs. And he had hurt Aria, aspired to kill her, and lied directly to Tevos's face all while doing it.

As Tevos approached her home, her rage bloomed like a poisonous flower, cold and lethal.