Chapter 30

Aria went down, her back sliding along the wall as she collapsed into a heap. For several seconds silence ruled as everyone tried to process what had just happened. Obviously, anyone can be taken by surprise every once in a while but Aria T'Loak, Pirate Queen of Omega? Though it was difficult to make out, even the Salarian spymaster looked surprised. No one could quite believe the evidence of their own eyes.

No one that was, aside from Vorlak, who as ever showed no reaction whatsoever. Moments after Aria had stopped moving he began his slow, unstoppable walk towards her conscientious form. Several screens displayed a close-up of his face, but as always there was no hint as to what he was thinking. Was he anticipating avenging his parents? Planning new cruelties for Omega once he had seized power? Deciding how he would draw out her death future with more torture? Any one of them was a possibility.

Behind him, the chain dragged Nalar forward by the throat again. Despite the pain it caused him he scrabbled, desperate to get up before the chain grew taut again and the process was repeated. Vorlak wasn't paying him any mind anymore, he had his eyes fixed on a grander prize.

"Nalar..." I murmured, watching him struggle. I was about to jump down to him when Melnar grabbed my arm.

"Lawson!"

He pointed down and to the right, where his spymaster still waited on the platform below. Angrily, I pulled myself out of his grip but he didn't bother to resist or argue. He didn't have to, the mission had to come first, no matter what.

"Look after him," I snapped and then, without pause, jumped.

Twenty meters below us, thirty across. A relatively simple maneuver for any biotic to pull off. I reactivated my amp (which had been switched off at Melnar's advice to protect me from the surge) and sailed across the open void and towards the platform with ease. Ahead of me, I saw my targets, two Salarian bodyguards (elite commandos no doubt), and a single older Salarian of unknown capability.

I aimed to land right on top of one of the guards. Take him down on arrival and give myself room to maneuver against the other one. But as ever the Salarians still had another trick up their sleeve. Soon as my target noticed me he activated a strong kinetic barrier that rebuffed me. Scrabbling for something to arrest my fall, I grabbed onto one of the bars at the bottom edge of the platform, hanging precariously off the edge.

Not quite the dramatic entrance I had envisioned, especially since the moment I pulled myself up I would be greeted by more firepower than my shields could handle. A couple of stray shots did ricochet past me as the Salarians tried to work out how to get an angle of attack on me. I managed to pull myself out of range by using the various bars and other handholds underneath like a monkey but it was time to go for something drastic. With a single biotic blast, I destroyed the main support, bringing the platform crashing back down to earth.

The fall was not gradual. A couple tons of steel suddenly detached from its mountings does not come down gently. Desperately I threw myself clear as fast as possible, trusting my biotics to provide a calmer descent. But the speed of the collapse had thrown me off balance. As the ground rushed toward me, my powers could do little more than soften the impact. I hit the ground and rolled with the force, coming to a stop only as I hugged the ground.

'Not a great start,' I thought to myself. 'But now that I was on the ground I could-'

I paused from the task of peeling myself off the floor, because of the weight of the glare staring down at me. Apparently, my little maneuver had caught the attention of Vorlak, who had in turn chosen to temporarily forgo his vengeance on Aria for the opportunity to turn me into paste. It's nice to be made to feel important I guess.

Vorlak pawed the ground with his front right limb for a moment but didn't hesitate for long. One moment we were eyes locked, each wondering what would happen if he were to proceed, the next I was staring at four tons of rolling flesh lumbering towards me as fast as it could.

I should have run immediately, Elcor are not very fast compared to most species, but for the first few moments, I froze like a rabbit caught in the headlights. There's something indescribably terrifying in facing down so large an enemy unexpectedly. And then when I regathered my wits I realized I had landed near the edge of the ring. If I tried to move to the side Vorlak could simply change direction and catch me all the sooner. I would have to wait until he was right on top of me then try to dart aside at the last second.

Then at the last second Vorlak pulled up, slowing to a stop just before reaching me. For a moment I saw this as even worse trouble. Dodging aside was one thing if he came in slowly, keeping me pinned against the wall it would be a different game entirely. Even with my biotics, there was no chance I could match him hand to hand. But to my surprise, Vorlak failed to press his advantage. Instead, his great head twisted left and right violently as if desperate to see something behind him.

A loop of chain flew over the top of his head and hung under his chin like an oversized necklace for a moment before pulling taut around his throat. It was only then that I saw Nalar's face sticking out above him. He must have jumped onto the Elcor's back while he was distracted and now he was using his own fetters to bring the monster down. Vorlak bucked and struggled violently but all of my focus was on the man riding on his back, stubbornly clinging on to the chain as if his life depended on it.

"Miranda!" he called out, before turning his head in the direction of the platform. I followed his gaze for a moment. Clearly, some sort of emergency breaks had cut in after I had jumped because the platform was still intact, hanging just a few inches off the ground. Disappointingly it looked like all three Salarians were largely unhurt, with the two guards currently focused on helping their master climb down from the wreckage. I could see an exit not far away, leading back into the station interior.

I turned back towards Nalar, who was still struggling to maintain his grip as Vorlak became ever more desperate in his efforts to dislodge him.

"Go!" he roared before Vorlak turned away and began charging around the ring like a maniac. I hope he caught my nod of acknowledgment before he was carried away.

The Salarians were quick to notice my approach as I closed in on them at speed. Pushing their master behind them, they unloaded everything they had, bullets and explosives homing in on me as I charged through. But their expressions swiftly changed when they saw me running through the smoke, my barrier holding its integrity despite the effort it was costing me to keep it so. They piled on more firepower, their eyes widening in fear as they saw that I could tank all of it and still push through for more. With a snarled curse they threw down smoke grenades to cover their escape and fled, pushing their master in front of them.

But they were facing Miranda Lawson on maximum attack, with all the gifts that had been granted to her. My eyes were carefully engineered so that the smoke couldn't deceive me. I had been given the training to stay cool under fire and the biotic power and the tools necessary to survive. Even if my barrier failed I knew that the hardened weave of my uniform could take the brunt of it so I let it fail, and directed my remaining power into pushing myself forward; increasing my speed. I surged forward, drawing a thin, well-concealed blade that was hidden in the fabric of my outfit.

The first target never knew of my approach until it arrived, driving my knife into his heart with such force that it knocked us both to the ground. The second Salarian caught the sound and turned, his eyes scanning the smoke for signs of movement. Once recovered from the body of my first victim, the knife was just as easily thrown into the throat of the second. Instantly he dropped his weapon, clutching his neck with both hands but it was hopeless. Green blood spilled freely from the gaps between his fingers and moments later he collapsed.

Only the primary target now remained, fleeing with reckless abandon now that his allies had fallen. Pausing for just a moment to regather my energy I watched his flight with some amusement before attempting a Charge. Biotic power propelled me toward him so fast that I overtook him completely. For a single moment we tangled, as I tried to drag him with me but he slipped away and I flew past, bouncing off the far wall before coming to rest.

Taking a moment to steady myself, I became aware that I was holding something in my hand that had torn free during my attempt to grab him. Looking down I saw that it was a scrap of cloth, the hood ripped from his cloak. When I looked up I saw a nightmare. Melnar's master, the supposed leader of the League of One was a monster.

The back of his skull was just gone. His hood and cloak had concealed his true condition well but now it was exposed for all to see. Out of the back of his head erupted a complex tangle of whirring gears, pistons, and a seemingly endless nest of cables and wires. I wouldn't have said he was a Husk, however. No matter how much you hated them you had to admit that Reaper tech tended to look considerably more sophisticated than the mess sticking out of the back of the spymaster's head. It looked as if the whole thing had been cobbled together, piece by piece over god knows how many years.

After our collision, he stumbled around slightly, seeming dazed by the impact. His eyes were pale and cloudy, without the deceptive shadow of the hood to mask his true nature. As I approached him he seemed to refocus, vicious, bitter, hate awakening behind his eyes. He hesitated for a moment, his eyes flickering toward me, then toward the door, and then up towards the Salarians gathered on the upper ridge (who had stopped firing for now at least). Then with a slight smile at the corner of his lips, he knelt down in front of me and offered up his hands in surrender.

I could see his plan in an instant. The League had been rattled by this revelation. Seeing his true self, the real lengths he had gone to in order to prolong his life had shaken them but so long as he was alive, some of them would fall back into the same patterns they had followed all their lives. And there was no prison in the galaxy that the League of One could not extract him from. All he had to do was stay alive long enough to regain control. No doubt the losses to his power base would be massive but given time he would rebuild. How many lives might be saved if I did the galaxy the favour of removing this creature? Shepard and Garrus would be appalled, whereas Aria-

Had just marched up behind the spymaster and ripped several critical-looking cables out of his skull. For a brief moment, he went rigid and small sparks erupted from his implant. Then he went limp and lay still on the ground. As his eyes glazed over I could sense that he wouldn't be getting up again. For a moment I hoped it was over, but then I saw the other Salarians gathered above us.

They were standing in a circle around us on one of the upper platforms. Higher up than I had been as I watched the fight unfold. I'm not quite sure when they arrived on the scene. They could have been watching from the beginning or maybe they only rushed out to see what all of the commotion was about. Either way it was clear that they were not happy. One or two of them even trained their sniper rifles on her, the red beams sighting on her chest as they took aim.

We all froze in place. I wasn't really sure if either of us had enough left in the tank to create a barrier that could shield us if the shooting started again. Then one of the Salarian barked an order at the rest of the group. They all turned and looked at him, but none moved. He repeated the order, louder and more emphatically than before. I watched the laser sights dart about very slightly as we waited for a decision to be made. Then one of them lowered their weapon, turned, and walked out of the back door. One by one the others followed until soon only the officer giving the orders remained. He stared down at us for a moment longer and then with a shake of the head walked away too.

As soon as they had left I turned around and looked around for Nalar. I found him sat on the floor, next to the corpse of his former master. That Vorlak was finally dead should have been a moment of triumph but curiously I found the only emotion I could work up was a great relief that the Batarian had survived. He was hurt badly. As I drew close I could see that he'd been beaten even worse than I had feared and already I could see more bruising beginning to colour his skin around his neck where the collar had almost choked him. I whispered my thanks to him as I helped him get up and helped him to the infirmary.

Later, inevitably, I was summed to Afterlife. Aria wanted to speak to me about all the events that had unfolded since I was taken. I filled her in on the relevant details quickly and concisely.

"...and that's when you swept in and finished him off. You know the rest."

"Well, that's certainly quite a tale. What about this Salarian that helped you?"

"Melnar? What about him?"

"He may have helped you escape the League but up until a few days ago, he was still one of them. There's a question as to the information he could provide us with given the right incentive. There's also the question of retribution."

"Aria..." I sighed.

"I think you have bigger problems to deal with than hunting down the League. Right now you have a war to win. Besides the League aren't amateurs, if there's any intel Melnar has that hasn't already been rendered obsolete it soon will be."

"Maybe you're right. One of their officers did send me an encrypted message stating that they would be ceasing hostilities and leaving the station. I imagine it will be some time before they become a problem again. As for the war, the events of the past few days have been a real win for us."

"A win? How's that?"

"Few people on this station know the truth of what really happened in that arena. To the rest of Omega, I went in to face Vorlak in one on one combat, and now not only is he dead but so is the Salarian leader and their group is in full retreat."

"So essentially you come out looking like the hero in all of this. So long as we all keep our mouths shut."

"Which you all will because it helps the war effort. The delegates were scared by the attacks and now more than ever they are looking to me for leadership. You probably saw them lining up outside the club waiting to pledge their allegiance to me."

'And so Aria wins again,' I thought to myself. Somehow that always seemed to be the way it ended up, even when the odds were against her. Was that thanks to luck, skill, or something more, I wondered.

"Incidentally I've already booked the ship you'll be leaving my station on. You depart as soon as your friend is sufficiently well recovered that he can travel."

"We had a deal Aria."

"And I keep my promises," she replied, before taking a datapad from one of her subordinates and offering it to me.

"You did everything I asked of you so here's your reward. This contains all the details you'll need about your father's secret lab complex on Noveria. He built it with Cerberus' help, to work on some of their more clandestine projects. According to my agent on the Board of Directors it remained active even after they stopped working together."

"How did you get this?"

"The League found out about the facility a long time ago. It didn't exist when I was working with them of course but I had a... friend there who sent me a data cache shortly before she died. This was one of the files included."

"You-," I said before breaking off, realizing that Aria was unlikely to give me any more detail about her past life.

"It looks like there are some formidable defenses around this place. I might need some help in taking it."

"That wasn't part of our arrangement," Aria pointed out.

"Agreed. But I'd prefer it if you would drop us off at the Citadel instead. I think I may be able to get the help I need from there."

"No problem, I'll have to head back there myself soon to coordinate my fleet with the Council."

"Understood," I said and turned to leave.

"Oh, one more thing Lawson."

I turned back.

"What is it now Aria?" I asked warily.

"It's about the Salarian's spymaster."

"Did you learn anything more after you took him away?"

"Not much. He was a mess top to bottom, we don't even think the face is originally his. My experts tell me it may have been artificially grown tissue. I'm sure they would have spent decades pouring over everything that made him tick if I hadn't ordered the body destroyed."

"Oh."

"Only thing left is this," she said, pulling something shiny out of her inside pocket. It seemed to be some kind of medal or medallion, rendered in gold.

"The design matches the other League of One medallions that have been recovered in the past."

"It's a fake," I said instantly. "It has to be."

"Probably," she replied, tossing the item onto the couch.

"But this isn't really what I wanted to discuss with you about him."

"Then what is?"

"You hesitated."

"What? Aria, come on-"

"I just call it like I see it, Lawson. You could have ended him before I got there. We both saw what he was and what he was up to. It should have been a clean kill. Unless you're starting to go soft? Regretting a few of your past actions maybe?"

"No," I replied calmly. "But I'm starting to regret the fact that I don't regret them. What does that say about me?"

"If you're looking for therapy you came to the wrong person. But I will say this much: you're not me. Ruthless as you are, you're still not nearly nasty enough to run Omega. You'd last about a month in my position, two tops."

And that was it. Aria had said her piece and was already turning her attention to the next task. I was dismissed.