Chapter 3:
Omega looked exactly how it was pictured on the net. Already, we'd been told to report to Aria, the leader here, and we'd found Zaeed. Recruited him and all of that. He was on the ship, now.
And we were at the base for the gangs who were hunting Archangel. It took a bit, but I had Miranda change the mechs to attack them on sight. It would make things easier for us and Archangel. Before that, though, I'd knocked out the repair guy for the gunship. And then, looked it over, finding the problem areas. If they wanted to use this against us, I would make sure it wasn't for long. Neither Jacob nor Miranda had seemed surprised about my actions, and that only added to the fear that I hadn't been that great, morally, before I'd died.
We started running across the bridge, shooting at the mercenaries in front of us while Archangel fired at them from above.
Once they were all taken care of, I holstered my gun and walked up the stairs into the room Archangel had holed themselves in. They turned, looking over at us, as I waved for my companions to lower their weapons. After firing off one more shot, Archangel walked toward us, sitting on the arm of the couch. Taking off his helmet.
I blinked. "Garrus."
The turian who'd helped during the fight against Saren.
"Shepard." His tone was cold. "I thought you were dead."
"I got better." A tilt of my head. "What are you doing here?"
Cerberus hadn't been able to track him. What had brought him here?
"Just keeping my skills sharp. A little target practice. Been better, but," His voice grew a touch warmer. "it sure is good to see a friendly face. Killing mercs is hard work. Especially on my own."
"Right. So, what now?" I raised an eyebrow. "I suppose we could fight our way back through."
He shook his head. "They'll slaughter us if we try to get out that way."
"So we just sit here and wait for them to take us out?" Miranda asked, annoyed.
"It's not all that bad." He moved away. "This place has held them off so far. And with the three of you..." He paused, looking back at us. "I suggest we hold this location, wait for a crack in their defenses, and take our chances. It's not a perfect plan, but it's a plan."
I mulled that over, watching over the edge of the wall as the mercenaries started preparing for another wave to cross the bridge.
"With all four of us, we should be able to hold them off." With a nod, I looked back at him. "Let's do it."
Mechs dropped down, mercs in yellow joining them.
"I'll stay up here. I can do a lot of damage from this vantage point. You..." A glance at me. "you can do what you do best." A pause. "Just like old times, Shepard."
We moved to our positions- I had Miranda and Jacob go to the lower level, while I stayed up by the top of the stairs. The mechs turned on the mercenaries after a couple minutes, killing two waves of them before they were taken out.
Just as before, while we were crossing the bridge, I felt no remorse or moral dilemma at killing these people. Headshots all around for them. They dropped like flies. Honestly, I think I was dispatching more than all three of them combined, but I wouldn't say it out loud.
Eventually, the heavy mech was thrown into the mix and, just like its predecessors, it turned on them. It helped take out the next few waves before it, too, was taken out. But it was more than enough help.
A few minutes later, I walked back into the room Garrus was in, noting the other two following after me. He turned to me, nodding.
"You're kicking ass, Shepard. They barely touched me. And we got Jaroth in the process." His tone hardened. "I've been hunting that little bastard for months."
I raised an eyebrow. "What now?"
We couldn't feasibly stay here, holding this position, forever. We'd run out of ammunition before too long.
"Let's see what they're up to." He moved back to the wall. "They've reinforced the other side... heavily. But they're not coming across-"
"We're so stupid." I groaned. "Where is the basement entrance?"
The mercenaries had mentioned potentially sending a team down through there.
He frowned, glancing back at me. "It's under the stairs."
"You two, stay here." I ordered. "I'll be back."
Without waiting for any responses, I took off down the stairs, the door closing behind me just as a group of mercs rounded the corner. I quickly dealt with them, before pushing on ahead.
I ran around, shutting the shutter doors. Getting shot a few times, but I didn't let it slow me down. I wasn't actively bleeding out, so I figured I wasn't dying. Just as the last one closed, he radioed me, telling me to come back, because they were starting their attack again.
Racing back, I came up behind the group, wondering idly how they'd gotten past me to begin with, and fired off a few headshots. Bodies hit the floor, from me and the others. The giant one- a krogan, if I remembered correctly- turned to me, scowling. He ran at me, and I waited until the last second, before gathering the blue energy- biotics- to me and hurling him across the room. As he ran at me again, I raised my pistol and fired once. The bullet entered the forehead and went out through the back of the head. He slumped to the ground, dead, as well.
I climbed the stairs, he and I nodding to each other.
"Thanks, Shepard. They hardly got through to me." His mandibles moved, his voice a bit lighter. "And we took out Garm and his Blood Pack. This day just gets better and better. He was one tough son of a bitch."
I grinned, gesturing toward the bridge. "Shall we? There's only one group left."
"Tarak's got the toughest group, but nothing we haven't faced before. Besides, he won't be expecting us to meet him head-on-"
Ah. The appearance of the gunship. I called out where the problem spots where, for everyone to focus on. It kept swinging out of view, while mercs swarmed us from the bridge.
The three of us were downstairs, when I heard a voice call out. "Archangel!" Followed by the sound of the guns on the ship firing. "You think you can screw with the Blue Suns!"
I used biotics to jump to the top level, then to move Garrus out of harm's way. Before gathering it to me and throwing it at the ship. At the exposed part, thanks to our shooting. It exploded in a fantastic fashion, but I wasn't paying any attention to it.
"Joker, tell Chakwas to have the med bay prepped for us. Garrus is severely injured."
"Garrus?" He was dumbfounded. "Uh. Roger that. Right away."
"Come on." I motioned for Jacob to hurry up.
Together, we picked the turian up, walking him to the sky car and heading back to our docking bay.
...
I'd just gotten done with my meeting- the Illusive Man wanted updates whenever we did anything, it seemed- when Jacob walked in. It had been a few hours- I'd put off talking to the Illusive- Fuck it. His name was now Tim. I'd put off talking to Tim for a bit.
I waited for him to speak.
He leaned against the table, frowning. Somber. "We've done what we could for Garrus, but he took a bad hit." I nodded slowly. "The doc's corrected with surgical procedures and some cybernetics. Best we can tell, he'll have full functionality, but..."
The door opened, and none other than Garrus himself walked in.
"Shepard."
"Tough son of a bitch. Didn't think he'd be up yet."
The turian approached me, shaking his head. "Nobody would give me a mirror. How bad is it?"
I chuckled, and something I couldn't quite catch flitted across his face. "You look great. I doubt anyone would notice."
It was his turn to laugh. "Don't make me laugh, damn it. My face is barely holding it together as it is." His mandibles moved, his tone more lighthearted. Teasing. "Ah, probably for the best. Some women find facial scars attractive. Mind you, most of those women are krogan..."
I couldn't hold in the snort.
Jacob glanced between us, before giving me a salute and leaving.
The moment the door shut, Garrus sighed. "Frankly, I'm more worried about you. Cerberus, Shepard?" He sounded disappointed, and I didn't like it. "You remember those sick experiments they were doing? Even for you..."
Even for me, this was a bad choice, he meant. Damn. I'd really been a terrible person... The pieces of how I'd been- my personality- were coming together, and I didn't like the picture they created.
"At least you're here." I managed a small smile, trying to pretend I wasn't having an existential crisis. "It may be hell, but..."
Another laugh. "You realize that has me walking into hell, too." A shake of his head. "Just like old times."
My smile became more genuine at his words, his demeanor.
"I'm fit for duty whenever you need me, Shepard. I'll settle in and see what I can do at the forward batteries." He turned toward the door.
"Ah, before you go. Would I be asking too much for you to call me Alessia? I'd prefer first name over last."
That same, strange look crossed his face, but he nodded. "Yeah. I can do that."
"Also, we're going to head out to get Mordin in a couple hours." I informed him. "If you want to go, just let me know."
"I'll be ready." A nod, and he was gone.
...
For some reason, Miranda, Jacob, and Garrus were surprised that I wanted all three of them- Zaeed was doing another bounty- to be on the team. Turns out, old me only wanted teams of three wherever she went. Something that I couldn't possibly have known, and it made me feel like I was walking on eggshells again. A few more slips like this, and it would be obvious something was wrong.
We stood in front of the entrance to the quarantine area, the guard telling us we could go through when we were ready, but that it would be locked behind us.
"You take me to the nicest places." Garrus shook his head, amused. "But I'm ready."
I raised an eyebrow. "You mean, you're ready to stay behind."
He frowned. "What?"
"I didn't stutter. You're not coming with us. I'm sorry to have made you come all the way here, but you're not coming."
"Alessia-"
"Again. I didn't stutter." Turning to the humans, I motioned for them to follow me. "Let's go."
Garrus stood there, watching as we went through the door.
...
Immediately upon entering, we came upon a batarian man who needed medical aid. I used some medigel on him, promising we'd get someone out to him as soon as possible.
When we'd reached the clinic, I'd told Mordin about it, and he'd sent someone. Then, he gave us the mission to disperse the cure through the air circulation system. Which went off with only minimal hitches. We'd also found the salarian's assistant and got him peacefully released so he could get back to the clinic.
After returning to Mordin, he agreed to join us and left for the ship ahead of us. Before we could leave the quarantine area, we had to be disinfected and all that, so we didn't bring the virus out into the rest of Omega, even though there was a cure. Which I was fine with.
Garrus was waiting for us on the other side of the door, fiddling with a datapad.
"Be glad you didn't come." I said by way of greeting. "It was a mess in there, before the cure. I still wonder, though, how many will actually live." I mumbled the last part.
"Where to now, Com- Alessia?" Jacob stumbled over my name.
I opened my mouth, but the turian spoke before I could.
"Have you gone to the Council yet?" He asked, and I shook my head. "They might reinstate your Spectre status, if you talk to them."
"I was debating it." I thought for a few minutes, before nodding. "Yeah. I think that's where we'll go next."
Miranda didn't look happy, but I didn't care. I wanted those resources.
"And it's probably best you two don't join me on the Citadel for that." They both opened their mouths, but I held up a hand. "I'm not arguing this with you. You're Cerberus. I doubt the Council will appreciate seeing you."
"Shepard-" Miranda started.
I narrowed my eyes at her. "Did. I. Stutter?"
Her expression tightened, her jaw clenching, but she shook her head. "No, Commander. You were quite clear."
"Good." I gestured ahead. "Now, let's get back to the ship."
...
I went back up to my room after getting back, flopping onto the bed with a sigh. It was harder than I'd thought it would be, keeping up the appearance of knowing what the fuck was going on. At least I'd been able to piece a lot together by reading and researching.
"Alessia, Garrus would like to speak to you." EDI said, startling me from my thoughts.
"Okay?" I frowned.
He could just talk to me over the rad-
The door opened, and he walked in. Oh. He wanted an in-person visit. I sat up, watching as he walked toward me.
"Nice room you've got here." He said, looking around.
"Yeah." I nodded. "It's nice and all, but... it's big. I mean, there's a whole sitting area and everything." I moved to said sitting area, motioning for him to sit, as well. "But you didn't come up here to talk about my quarters."
He sat on the other side of the u-shaped couch, seeming to struggle with what to say.
"Why don't you start with what's on your mind?"
That strange expression flashed across his face again. He started by stating how he'd seen weapons he'd never heard of before after going to Omega.
"And now Cerberus rebuilds the Normandy with a few upgrades to boot. I wish we'd joined up with them sooner." He joked.
I frowned. "I'm not working for them. I'm working with them. There's a difference."
Everything I'd looked up about Cerberus... and none of it was good.
"Relax, Alessia." He leaned back. "Just a figure of speech." A sigh. "I can't exactly doubt your judgment. Not after I got my own squad killed."
I pursed my lips, before getting up and walking to the little minifridge extension on the wall separating the seating area from the rest of the room. Pulling out two bottles- one human-friendly, the other turian-friendly- I set one before both of our seats, before grabbing a couple glasses.
"Here." I handed him one. "Just in case it's easier to talk with a drink. Or several." I smiled a little.
We poured ourselves drinks and clinked our glasses, before both taking sips. He seemed to relax, his shoulders drooping a bit.
After a few minutes, he spoke up. "You saw Omega- it was full of thugs kicking the helpless. I formed my team to kick back. We weren't mercenaries. At least, nobody was paying us." Another sip. "We made money by taking down slavers, pirates, or gangs that went too far."
"I bet that didn't make you any friends with gang members." A small smirk.
"I got three separate merc bands to work together to take me down. My manager at C-Sec would be impressed." He leaned forward. "It was simple. We'd hit their shipments, disrupt activities. Get under their skin. Make them angry. They'd come charging right into our well-prepared kill-zone. Crossfire and snipers, clean and surgical. They never stood a chance."
I nodded, pouring myself another glass. Waiting for him to speak again.
"I went back to C-Sec after the Normandy was destroyed, but with all the rebuilding at the Citadel, there was too much chaos for me to really help." He said eventually, shaking his head. "Omega was filled with criminals nobody else could touch, and there was no red tape to slow me down. It was a perfect fit. People there needed someone to believe in. Someone to stand up to the local thugs."
"Tell me about your people." My voice was soft.
"There were twelve of us, including me. Former military operatives, C-Sec agents, the usual. Had a salarian explosives expert. Pretty sure he'd spent time in the Special Tasks Group." Mordin had also been with them, so I knew what he was talking about. "My tech expert was a batarian, believe it or not. Not the friendliest guy, but he could hack any system ever built."
I drank a little more, watching him as he gathered his thoughts, pouring himself another glass.
"It was my own damn fault." A sigh. He sounded so defeated. "One of my people betrayed me. A turian named Sidonis. He drew me away just before the mercs attacked my squad, then he disappeared." His hands curled into fists, his voice coming out in a growl. "Everyone except me is dead because of him. And because I didn't see it coming." A shake of his head. "Sidonis asked for my help on a job. When I got to the meeting point, nobody was there. By the time I got back to our hideout, the mercs had killed all but two of my squad. And they didn't last long. He booked transport off Omega just before the attack. He also cleared out his private accounts before he left. He sold me out and ran. His trail vanished after he left Omega, but I'll keep hunting. I lost my whole team, except for Sidonis. One day I'll find him... and correct that." He knocked back the last half of his drink, getting to his feet. "Thanks. For this."
"Of course." I stood, walking him to the door. "I'm here, if you need to talk."
Again, that expression. I wish I knew what it was, but it was always gone too soon. He nodded and walked out.
