Chapter 4: Shepard Triumphant.
In the year 2187 when the Reaper war was over the Terminus systems became more chaotic than ever. But the crime lord Aria T'Loak quickly usurped power from devastated rival criminal elements for herself, making her organization the most dominate and in control of several systems in the Terminus systems.
In the ten years since her complete control of the Terminus systems under world only one has every challenged her. A former member of Commander Hazel Shepard's crew the human biotic only known as "Jack" battled the crime lord for power on Omega. Their fight ended in a draw with Aria requesting Jack to become her second in command. Jack excepted her offer and became the most feared force in the Terminus systems.
They have a fragile alliance with Aria disapproving of her blood thirsty nature and her need of combat and destruction.
Aria's penthouse...
"How many times do I have to tell you Jack that..."
"You wanted that elcor to pay, I got the him to pay!" Jack interrupted
"You broke his legs and destroyed his store!" Aria snapped
"Yeah...but he payed."
Aria exhaled heavily "You know that we have to pay for his damages."
"No we don't blue, you just need to stop being so old school and kick some ass!" Jack shouted
Aria slammed her fist into the table in front of her. "I've been running this organization since before your grand father was an itch in your great grand fathers pants!" Aria shouted
"And who was it that got you to make me partner?" Jack asked sarcastically.
Aria rolled her eyes. She hated dealing with Jack. She was violent, crazy and most of all a danger to her organization. But she was powerful and inspired fear into those that would dare plot against her. Their fight nearly killed them both and Aria realizing Jack's power needed her and if she was to disappear it would seem as if Aria killed her out of fear.
"You turn a very nice shade of purple when you get made you know that?" Jack said teasing Aria.
"I'm going to kill you...one day." Aria sighed.
Jack smirked. "You can certainly try blue."
"And stop calling me blue!" Aria snapped.
"Aria, Jack!" a batarian shouted running into Aria's house.
"What do you want Anto?" Jack questioned.
"Another one of our shipments have gone missing and I've got a message for Aria!" Anto said
"What is it?" Aria asked
Anto flashed his omni tool and it played a holo message from Commander Shepard.
"Aria you're rule on Omega is over and I challenge you to a dual at the docks tomorrow." And with that the message ended.
Aria and Jack let out a burst of laughter.
"I thought I was the crazy one!" Jack said
"I guess you aren't!" Aria giggled.
"Yeah...Shep is gonna kill you!" Jack said continued to laugh.
Aria paused. "What did you say?"
"I said Shepard is going to K-I-L-L you!" Jack teased.
"Shepard is an old fool!" Aria scoffed. " Her fight with the pirates and smugglers is one thing..."
"But she is still going to off you tomorrow!" Jack interrupted.
Aria opened her mouth to speak but before she could she looked out of her window and saw a flash of light from the building across from hers. An explosion blasted through her apartment. Aria and Jack where dazed but their biotic barriers protected them from the blast.
"OK now I'm mad!" Jack yelled.
"I'm going to kill that bitch!" Aria mumbled.
"Riiight...she's still gonna kick your blue ass." Jack sneered.
Aria rolled her eyes and stormed out of the wreckage of her apartment.
"Shepard are you sure you want to do this?" Kolyat said with concern in his voice.
"Your father had that same look when he was worried about some thing." Shepard replied.
"I'm serious you could die out there!" he shouted.
"But I wont."
"Don't worry so much kid." Garrus said entering Shepard's quarters.
"Garrus is every thing set up?" Shepard questioned.
"Yes but they'll only work for about ten minutes." Garrus replied
"That means that this will be close." Shepard said confidently.
"Are you two even sure she'll except?" Kolyat asked.
"I've humiliated her by attacking her at her home." Shepard said
"People make mistakes when they are mad." Garrus said. "And Aria has an ego she'll come at Shepard sloppy."
"Alright, so whats the plan?" Kolyat asked.
Shepard replied "You and Garrus will keep Aria's men honest."
"So we let you fight and take any one who interferes?"
"That's the plan kid." Garrus said.
"So we let Shepard take all the risk?" Kolyat shouted. "Let me fight Aria and you can..."
"NO absolutely not!" Shepard interrupted. "I promised Thane I'd watch out for you and I've done a shit job of it, but you turned out just fine!"
"Aria would skin you alive and if you did win, you wouldn't be the same and that's what I...Thane would not have wanted." Shepard said.
Kolyat thought back to his fathers last days, back when he was still in the academy training. He told him how proud of him he was and that he was sorry that he was absent most of his life. Then he remembered Shepard's promise to watch out for him and the last embrace they shared before Thane's body fell cold.
"I am your arm Shepard." Kolyat sighed looking away from Shepard.
"Thank you." Shepard whispered.
The dock was cold that next day. Shepard was standing alone, thinking to her self that if she was to die here that it would be a good death and that no matter what happened that she would die on her feet and not in bed. Aria had arrived, Jack was at her side along with over a dozen cameras and armed guards.
"Turning you're funeral into an event I see." Shepard scoffed
"I'm going to show the galaxy what happens when some one fucks with ME!" Aria snorted.
Shepard ignored her. "Hows life been Jack?"
Jack chuckled. "I can't complain."
"So after this fight you how about you join me?" Shepard asked.
Jack smiled "No promises."
"Shepard!" Aria yelled
"Alright lets get started."
Aria's biotics flared. She lifted Shepard off her feet and sent her flying across the dock. Aria charged after her and slammed her into a wall. Aria was strangling her when Shepard responded with a kick to her abdomen. Shepard fell to her knees and gasped for air. Aria ran after her and kicked her in the face and slammed her face into a wall, breaking her helmets visor.
Aria went to slam Shepard's face again but Shepard countered with an elbow hitting Aria's eye. Aria backed up when Shepard ran up to her and landed a right cross into Aria's jaw and hit her again in the throat.
"You can give up if..."
Shepard was interrupted by an explosion that sent her flying and shattered her helmet. Aria had thrown a high explosive grenade when Shepard kicked her away.
"I didn't think of you as the talkative type." Aria said with a crooked smile on her face.
Shepard felt her feet leave the ground as she was slammed into a storage container and then into a railing. "Stupid." Shepard thought. "Gloating like I'd won." She continued. Shepard felt her ribs moving out of place with each breath beneath her armor. She felt blood trickle down the side of her face.
"You talk tough but I'm no weekend slaver or pirate." Aria said grabbing the back of Shepard's head forcing her to look into the camera above her head.
"You see that, every one in the galaxy is going to see you die...that I Aria T'Loak killed the first human spectre."
"You think so?" Shepard whispered spinning around and grabbing Aria's arm and falling backwards to the lower level of the dock. Shepard landed on top of another storage container while Aria fell to the floor below.
Shepard typed on her omni tool and then the dock flashed with green light and then a barrier surrounds the two women.
"What is this Shepard?" Aria questioned picking her self up.
"This is a damping field that I had set up, you have no biotics as long as it stands!" Shepard shouted jumping down from the container.
"You set me up!" Aria shouted.
Shepard wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and charged the asari. Aria connected with a kick to the side of her head, knocking Shepard down. "You don't get it, I don't need biotics to kill you!" Aria shouted strangling Shepard. "This station is mine!" the crime lord screeched.
Shepard omni tool flared and then a fiery explosion enveloped the two of them. Shepard picked her self up. Shepard had explosives set around the site. Every thing was going to plan.
"You are not fighting fair Shepard!" Aria said weakly, barely able to stand and burn wounds covering her body.
"You don't get it Aria, this dock is an operating table and I'm the surgeon." Shepard said limping over to the burned asari with her pistol drawn, shooting Aria's shoulder. "I prepared...you walked blind into a trap."
Aria's legs buckled and she fell to her knees with Shepard standing before her, her pistol at her head. "From now on Omega is no longer a safe haven for thieves, killers, and other criminals!" Shepard proclaimed.
"From now on my power is the only power!" She Shouted before she squeezed the trigger.
Shepard stood triumphantly over her enemy. But this victory meant nothing to her, this was only the beginning of what needed to be done.
"Damn Shepard you know how to party!" some one shouted.
Shepard recognized the voice...it was Jack. "Have you considered the offer I made you?"
"Sure why not, I don't want to end up like match stick over there."
"Good to know." Shepard said snidely.
"With blue dead that makes me...you in charge of Omega." Jack said.
"And you're ok with that?" Shepard questioned.
"I don't want to rule Omega as long as I get to do some fighting and a steady stream of credits, I'm good."
"The crew?" Shepard wondered.
"With what every one just saw, they'll join up or go away." Jack said. "But nobody's gonna fuck with you Shep."
"Good to know."
A month later...
"Shepard we've taken Fathar!" Kolyat shouted running up the stairs to meet Shepard on the balcony over looking the After Life club.
"Damn Haze that's the last system in the cluster!" Jack shouted.
"And you did it with a fleet of pirates and mercenaries." Garrus said sounding impressed.
"I bet this station has never been this quiet." Jack .
"Yeah there hasn't a shoot out in weeks." Kolyat said.
"We've done a lot but we can't stop with this cluster!" Shepard said.
"Whats next commander?" Garrus asked
"Would you believe me if I told you the rest of the Terminus?"
End.
AN/ I like how this chapter turned out and I know putting Jack as Aria's second is a little much to believe but I hope it came off as believable enough. Shepard's fight with Aria was fun to write and the idea to have the fight streaming over the extra net was something I couldn't pass up.
Please review.