A/N: Here is a little background about my Shepard: Adept / Paragon / Liara is her one & only. Also, I am treating Aria as a combination Adept / Vanguard – so she will favor biotic attacks, but will also have a pistol. Thanks for reading and I love all the feedback, so please keep it coming!
Chapter 6: Omega
"Commander," Joker called out over the comm.
"Go ahead Joker," Shepard replied from Liara's quarters.
"We are about to pass through the Omega 2 Relay and will be entering the Sahrabarik System. We should be at U-71 in about 2 hours."
"Thank you, Joker. Please notify everyone to be ready," Shepard said calmly.
Liara looked over at Shepard and could tell that Shepard's thoughts were still working out a plan for the mission. She had been quiet since the morning meeting and continued to review maps of Omega. "We will be ready," Liara offered and reached out to lightly squeeze her hand.
"We better be… I can't even think what kind of weapon Cerberus has and Omega seems like a giant trap," Shepard said distractedly. "I know that I can count on you, Liara… it's just all the unknowns. Speaking of which, do you have any information on U-71?"
"I believe so…" Liara punched a button on her terminal and a large map appeared on her screen showing the Sahrabarik System.
The computer read off an entry that Liara highlighted. "In addition to Omega, there are three planets in the Sahrabarik System: Urdak, Imorkan and Bindar. Urdak is the closest planet to the sun and U-71 is one of the more than 210 moons orbiting it."
Liara continued to scroll on her terminal and found additional data. "There is a small base there that is currently used by the Blood Pack for smuggling weapons and element zero to and from Omega. It is controlled by a krogan named Ganar Drace. Drace is from Clan Ganar, the same clan that founded the Blood Pack."
"Good to know who we are dealing with… thanks," Shepard said. "Well, we should probably head down to the shuttle bay and get ready."
Liara shook her head in agreement, while exiting out of her terminal. Shepard watched as the screen went blank and wondered how Drace would receive their party. Nothing we can do about it now, she thought. Shepard shot Liara a smile and offered her arm to the asari as they headed out together.
The shuttle bay was teaming with people hurrying to make ready for the mission. When Shepard arrived, most of the team was there to greet her, including Aria. Shepard almost did not recognize her. Aria was dressed in full armor that had obviously been custom made to fit her form perfectly and donned a Carnifex pistol that also appeared to be modified. Her armor was dark crimson with black highlights and she was very striking in it. The armor seemed to be of a light construction because it allowed Aria a full range of motion, but it also looked more durable than any light armor Shepard had seen.
Aria noticed Shepard looking her over and could not help but to make a playful comment, "Enjoying the view? You know… it pays to be on the Serrice Council board, as a silent member of course… you get all kinds of perks."
"Just make sure you're ready Aria. I would hate to see that pretty armor get scratched," Shepard said in an equally teasing tone.
Shepard and Liara made their way to the weapons locker and started donning their armor as well. Liara picked up her Tempest SMG and Paladin pistol and secured them to her armor. Shepard meanwhile equipped herself with her favorite Black Widow sniper rifle and an Avenger assault rifle. She looked over her team, Liara, Garrus, Tali, James and Aria and decided that they were ready to go.
They boarded the Kodiak shuttle that would take them to the rendezvous point on the moon below.
"We're about to land, Commander," Steve Cortez called back to Shepard. "Looks like there is a welcoming party to meet you all."
Shepard wasn't surprised to see a small group of vorcha waiting on the docking pad for them to land. One had a varrin chained next to it, looking like it was ready to attack. There was no evidence of Drace.
"Drace's number two goes by Hiss," Aria said. "He thinks it makes him sound dangerous."
The group disembarked while Aria and Shepard headed over to Hiss and his minions.
"Aria T'Loak, Commander Shepard," Hiss croaked out. He definitely earned his name, Shepard thought. "Ganar Drace inside… others here already… follow."
Hiss led the group to an entrance on the side of the base. The base itself was not much to look at, a series of warehouses with a central structure. Shepard did notice a relatively advanced communications hub on top of what appeared to be the control room.
They entered the building and could hear voices echoing through one of the warehouses ahead of them, it was also the direction that Hiss was leading them towards. The hall they were travelling was full of all sorts of debris, crates and weapon pieces. In front of them was a large double door that opened into an enormous warehouse with multiple levels, some appeared to descend miles into the moon's surface. Shepard could see a least a dozen people below. The group was made up of a mix of asari, vorcha and krogan. They went down a row of metal stairs and were greeted by a very large and battle scared krogan.
Aria was the first to speak, "Ganar Drace, I haven't seen your ugly face in a long time, but I see you still have my scar… I like the new place, it's a step up from the slag pit you had on Omega."
"Aah… Aria, a visit from you is as pleasant as a kick to the quads," Drace answered in a deep and powerful voice. "I hear you are going to take on those fools currently running Omega. The place hasn't been nearly as much fun without you and all those naked asari dancing on poles."
They both broke into wide smiles and laughed. It was obvious that the two of them had quite a history together, but the stories would have to wait.
Drace continued, "So you're going to need a lift to Omega… well I have three shuttles ready for you and your team. Rhetia A'Tia of Eclipse has her shuttle and about a dozen of her people ready to go. I can spare Hiss and some of my men. Doesn't look like you need any weapons," he said as he looked over the well armed team.
"Before you leave, I understand that you have a celebrity with you… I want to meet the mighty Commander Shepard," Drace said.
Shepard stepped forward, bracing herself for whatever the krogan was going to do or say. Drace approached the human and embraced her in the krogan form of a bear hug. "I am going to be a father because of you!" Drace said and put Shepard down. "You are a true friend to my clan, Shepard."
Shepard was taken by surprise and flushed slightly, "Congratulations… glad I could help!" she choked out. "You should've seen Kalros take out the Reaper! It was an amazing sight. As for the genophage, it's been too long and the krogan deserved better."
"I hate to break this love fest up, but Omega is waiting," Aria said enthusiastically. "Eclipse looks like they are ready to go and I certainly am eager to destroy Cerberus and get Omega back."
Drace turned to face Aria, "So we have a deal then, Aria," he said in very business-like tone.
"Yes, you will reclaim your territory and warehouses in Kenzo district and partial control of Kima district… and I will collect my usual fee," Aria replied.
"Agreed… good hunting," Drace said.
The team headed to the shuttles that were docked in the warehouse. Eclipse troops had been standing by their shuttle and were waiting for everyone to settle in. The Blood Pack troops, composed mostly of vorcha and krogan boarded two of the remaining shuttles. This left one shuttle for Aria and the Normandy crew. Shepard nodded her thanks to Drace and they headed for their shuttle and on to Omega.
Aria could see Omega growing closer in the distance and her excitement was noticeable to everyone around her. Their shuttle, along with the Eclipse one would dock at the mining entrance that Aria had marked in one of the lower districts of Omega. If the shuttles were flagged by Omega Control, they would appear to be smugglers looking for element zero (eezo). Most likely though, shuttles as small as theirs would go unnoticed. Meanwhile, the Blood Pack teams would land on other docking areas in the upper district and would meet up with the troops that were already in place. They would all work toward retaking Omega Control and eliminating any Cerberus resistance that they would come across.
As they suspected, Omega Control barely paid any attention to the shuttles and they were able to dock without incident. Aria had been correct about the state of the mining tunnel. The facility had been abandoned and rotting for so long, that it was not even given a proper name and only went by District E-16. They disembarked and met up with Rhetia A'Tia and the Eclipse troops. Since the facility had been compromised and did not have an atmosphere, they were all wearing their helmets. Even through their air filters, they could all smell and taste the strong stench of the mine and the partially processed, deteriorating element zero.
"Commander Shepard, Aria… I am Rhetia A'Tia," an asari wearing standard yellow and black Eclipse armor said as she approached the duo. "It is good to meet you both. We understand what we need to do and my team is eager to get moving."
"I think we all are," Aria answered. She drew her pistol and equipped it with incendiary ammo. "Once we get to the interior of the mine, we should have Omega's atmosphere back. Follow me!"
Aria took the lead and quickly, but cautiously started navigating the wreckage and decay of the mine.
Shepard looked over at her team, they too had their weapons drawn and sufficiently equipped. She also could tell that Liara's biotic barrier was active, as was her own. She gripped her assault rifle and followed Aria in. It was quiet and dead, there was no evidence that any living thing had been here in years. Still, something made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.
Tali did a sweep of the mine with her Omni-tool, "I'm not picking anything up down here, Commander… but something just isn't right," the quarian said uneasily. To help ease her nerves, Tali released a defensive drone to help monitor the area.
"Agreed, stay sharp everyone," Shepard said. "Let's go."
They had been steadily hiking for over an hour and were moving at a good pace. There was still no sign of Cerberus… or anything living for that matter. There had been a few times when the ground had given out beneath them or debris from the walls fell, but so far the group had been incident free.
Static crackled through their communicators and Hiss's voice cried out. "They're everywhere… We not able to stop them… Never seen before…" A large explosion was heard and then the comm chatter was quiet.
They had all heard the cryptic message. Radio silence was supposed to be maintained until they had met up at the rendezvous point in Gozu district. Obviously, something had gone wrong.
"That did not sound good," Garrus chimed in.
Aria tried to raise Hiss on the comm line, but had no luck getting through. "Damn it… Keep moving everyone." Aria looked as frustrated as the rest felt. They continued on until they saw what looked like an eezo processing complex. It too looked abandoned, but it did seem to have some kind of power feeding it.
One of the Eclipse mercs took point from Aria. She raised her weapon, readied her biotics and went to open the door leading to the interior of the building. When the door opened, a blast sent her reeling backwards. Everyone pointed their weapons at the door, waiting for troops to follow through, but there was nothing. A'Tia went to check on the merc; luckily she was only shaken and suffered a few scrapes and bruises, but nothing serious.
The Eclipse team swept in to look for any other bombs. When they entered, they found red-orange blood sprayed all over and pools of congealing blood from the remains of what looked like batarian miners. "Commander, you better get in here and see this," one of the mercs called out. They continued the bomb sweep and quickly found and disarmed two others that had also been placed around exits.
Shepard's team entered the building and started to scan the remains to try and make sense of what happened. "They appear to have been shredded," Liara said uneasily. "Look at the large gashes in the walls and on the door. There are also spots of black, oily liquid all over… my Omni-tool is not able to discern what it came from. Shepard, do you think this could be something influenced by the Reapers?"
"I don't know, Liara… and I don't like it," Shepard replied while looking over the scene.
"There is an elevator that will take us out of here and then we should be able to make our way to the Gozo district," Aria offered. "Assuming that it's still working that is..."
Aria cautiously continued through the building until she arrived at a large elevator that was obviously made to transport trucks of eezo up to other areas of Omega. The elevator looked sturdy and according to Tali was operational and empty. They would all be able to get up, but it would take two trips.
Aria, Rhetia and half of the Eclipse mercs started to board the elevator when a high pitched squeal came out from behind Shepard and her squad. Before they could react, two pale, well muscled creatures with red eyes and long, pointy rows of teeth flung themselves at them. The creatures had bluish tech lines running through their bodies resembling a husk and their hands had been modified into sharp talons. They almost look like vorcha, only with Reaper tech, Shepard thought. The creatures had cut one of the Eclipse mercs in half, but in doing so allowed the others to open fire.
Without thinking, Shepard pushed Liara into the elevator with Aria, "Go, we'll take care of these! Just make sure you send the car back for us."
She then focused her biotics on the nearest creature and released a singularity field on it. Not allowing the creature time to break free, an Eclipse merc sent a warp field into the singularity, causing it to explode. The creature was stunned and appeared to be bleeding the same black fluid they saw earlier, but it was still capable of fighting.
James, Garrus and Tali were working on immobilizing the second creature. Garrus was aiming concussive shots, while James was tossing frag grenades at it. Shepard also caught sight of Chiktikka vas Paus, Tali's combat drone firing at the creature while Tali unloaded her shotgun into it.
Shepard and the remaining Eclipse mercs continued their combination of biotic assaults and firing their weapons to finally bring the thing down. When both creatures had been killed, they saw that a total of three mercs had been killed by the things. Shepard was inwardly relieved that her squad had not taken any injuries.
"What the hell were those things?" Garrus said to no one in particular. "They look like something out of a vorcha's nightmare."
"I don't know, but I have a feeling that they won't be the last we see of them," Shepard replied. "We should get going and meet up with the rest of the team."
"Shepard," it was Liara on the comm line and she sounded scared. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, we are on our way up," Shepard said as reassuringly as she could. "We lost three of Rhetia's people to those things."
"We had to keep moving. There are more of the creatures up here too," Liara said breathlessly. "We were able to disable them, but we are nowhere near the elevator. Aria has lead us to a warehouse… there are also Cerberus troops and they do not look right either."
"Hang on, Liara… we are on our way." Shepard directed the conversation back to her team, "Watch out everyone, there are more of them waiting. We will also have Cerberus to deal with."
When they stepped out of the elevator, they were ready to fight. All weapons were drawn and were trained on anything that moved. They found three wounded creatures and quickly dispersed of them and then focused on the four that were charging towards them. Again, they all worked as a team using a combination of biotics and conventional weapons to bring them down and were able to advance past the elevator.
They had arrived at an area of Omega comprised mostly of slums and warehouses. Shepard could see weapons fire in the distance and thought that looked to be the most promising direction.
"Liara, we made to the warehouses… do you know which one you are in?" Shepard asked.
"The one surrounded by Cerberus," Aria shot back.
Cerberus had not yet noticed the other group advancing on them. Shepard quickly scanned over the area, looking for a way to take them by surprise. "Garrus, I think it's time for target practice," she said with a grin and pointed to ladder leading up to the rooftops. Garrus took her meaning instantly and began climbing. "Tali go with Garrus and be ready with your drone. You there," Shepard pointed at a young looking asari that was holding a sniper rifle, "Do you know how to use that?"
"Absolutely and the name is Shaya," the girl eagerly replied back.
"Shaya, head up there with Garrus and follow his lead," she said, the girl was almost at the top by time she got her last word out.
"James and the rest of you, with me," Shepard said while climbing up to the top of another roof.
They all took their positions and were able to get a clear line of sight at the Cerberus troops below. There appeared to be about sixty of them, half were focused on shooting into one warehouse and the other half looked like they were crouched around another. Shepard signaled to take out the ones shooting first.
She spoke into her comm channel, "We are in position, stay put." Shepard then looked through the scope of her rifle and aimed for the head of a Cerberus troop. Even with his helmet on, Shepard knew her rifle was powerful enough to take him out with a single shot and squeezed the trigger. The others followed suit.
They had cut down the Cerberus troops quickly and now Shepard focused on the other troops. When she looked through her scope, her heart sank and her blood went cold… they were planting explosives around the warehouse. Liara, Aria and the rest would be trapped inside. She screamed into the comm, "Liara, get out of…"
There was a large explosion and the warehouse was blown to pieces. Giant fireballs exploded from the windows and the roof fell into itself.
There was no answer from either Liara or Aria…