Chapter 7: Alfa & Omega

I knew that the two girls were trouble before I let them on board. If I had any idea that I would be pitted against the Cerberus again I would have shot them out the air-lock without a second thought. But I'd told them that I would help. Damn it. Being a pirate had been much easier than being an Alliance navigator.

The men holding onto me were doing two basic mistakes. One, they were focused on my torso and forgot that, if I kicked one of them between the legs, that man would fall. The second one was that they allowed me to make eye-contact with the asari. When I'd first met her I thought that she was trying to take advantage of the human girl. Some kind of seduction pheromone at work. But I see now that it goes deeper. For both of them. And I also happen to see that, though she is a bit slow on the uptakes, she isn't thick. Eye-contact would be enough for us to communicate.

She seemed to be panicking but, and the but was substantial, she also seemed vaguely too intent on the face of the Cerberus woman too be in genuine panic. She was faking. It seems that she was quick enough to know how to weaken the opposition.

But what would I gain from fighting these men? A favour from one of the most powerful organizations in the galaxy.

I winked to Liara. She raised her eyebrows a fraction. A "Yes, what did you have in mind?" reply. I rolled my head slightly to indicate the room. She shook her head "No, I can't make a barrier around them all." I looked pointedly at the weapon in her holster. She frowned for a second and the nodded slightly.

So we had a kind of a plan. She would stop the guns from firing with her mind while I took the men out. I hoped fervently that my aikido training from my college days was still in my muscles, because otherwise I'd be no match for these bulky individuals.

I tapped my foot once. She closed her eyes, concentrating. I tapped my foot a second time. The Cerberus woman frowned at us. I tapped my foot a third time and kicked the man holding onto my left arm between the legs, spinning in the same motion around and hitting the man holding onto my right arm with my left elbow. Three of the men had drawn their weapons. Nothing happened. I could see a slight shimmer around the triggers. Good thinking.

The first of the three men was knocked by his own weapon as I bent his elbow and smashed the gun into his head. The second one was winded by a strike to the diaphragm and the third kicked me painfully in the ribs, missing the diaphragm.

I took my gun from one of the men and pointed it at the Cerberus commander.

'Take it easy.' she said, raising her hand in a defensive and pacifying manner. 'We never meant to hurt you.'

'I know. Which gives me a very handy advantage.' I smiled, trying not to show her that I was dying from lack of oxygen. That much movement at once was bad for me. I haven't move much at all this last month.

Liara knocked the two men standing, down with her biotics. I noticed that she was looking very pale. Maybe too much biotic usage at once?

'You won't get out of here without my permission.' said the commander.

'I know. Let's make a deal.' I grinned broadly. I knew just how maddening that was and revelled in the reactions I got from it.

'A... deal?' she said coldly. 'What would I want from you?'

I pretended to think about it.

'This.' I pulled out a data chip from my inner pocket. 'Or rather, the information that's on the chip.'

She frowned, not seeming to understand. It took her a moment and then her eyes widened.

'What is this rubbish?' she asked annoyed.

'This is the grass-snake incident.' I said, shaking the chip tantalizingly before her.

'The... the Alliance discovery? Buried under the ground on some planet where massive energy radiation distorted their equipment with the power of a nuke while dormant?' she looked at me in disbelief.

'The ancient weapon? Assumed to have been created by the protheans? I've never heard of it before. But even if I had... why would you ever want the information?'

She looked at the data chip. She looked at the unconscious soldiers. At the old professor standing and looking mildly curious. The solution was simple. Let us go, give me my ship back and keep the billion credits worth of information.

'I could call more guards and take it from you with force.' she pointed out.

'Go ahead. And then good luck with trying to figure out the passwords. There are more than one and the encryption is in a language your medieval computers won't recognize without a reference.'

That wasn't fully a lie but not the whole truth either. I had no idea how it was encrypted. I only knew the passwords required to access the info. A blunder made by the Alliance brass.

But the way I had said it made the woman certain that I was telling the truth.

'And what do you want for this information?' she asked, still cold.

'That war ship. The third one. It's Cerberus, isn't it? Alliance styled and no useful ID codes. Am I right?'

She nodded.

'It won't follow us when we leave. I want information on all that's been going on in this base and I want safe passage out of here.'

This was exactly what she had been expecting but pretended to haggle.

'This is a high price for a tiny piece of information.' she raised one eyebrow.

'If you don't want it...' I said, putting the info back into my pocket. I could see it in her eyes, how she wanted the info. Clearly her department was under a lot of fire from the Illusive man. Old git.

'Alright, fine. Hand over the information and the passwords and I'll give you access to all the information, the exit and call off the war ship.'

While the captain was bartering with the commander, I was stuck in a hologram with a man who seemed to be around forty years of age. He had an extravagant suit, a glass of bourbon and a cigar. And his eyes were... interesting. They had a circle around the irises that shone in the dark.

'Welcome, Numine. Or Min, as you prefer to be called.' he said to me, bowing his head.

I said nothing, entranced by his eyes.

'You are wondering, I am sure, who I am and what I want.'

I nodded.

'I am the Illusive man. Leader, if you will, of Cerberus. We are a pro-human organization and we do everything in our power to extend the power of humanity to all the borders of the galaxy and strengthen it.'

I nodded. Everyone did this. Not for human benefit, obviously, but every government had such an organization.

'And with the amount of people working for me, sometimes I allow things to slip past the net.' he looked sad for a moment. 'I am sorry to say that my people were behind what had happened on your colony.'

I knew it.

'You...' I tried to come up with a good insult. 'You evil man! How could just let a colony be devoured like that! Did ever even think about the damage your actions will have on the people, their lives and their work? Oh, wait! They are all dead! They are all, fucking, dead! And it's because of you!'

I continued in much the same way for a minute or so. Then I realized that there was no way for me to actually hurt him, seeing how he was a hologram and so I shut up to listen to his excuses.

'Not a day has gone by without me regretting what happened on the colony. All reports I received told me that the tests were purely lab-restricted and that no test-subjects were full-grown yet. Had I known that they were thresher maws I would have stopped this work at once. I am well aware of the risks of dealing with such creatures. And I can assure you that the agent in question will be punished appropriately by Alliance law.'

I could smell the lies through the hologram. The only truthful part had been when he said that he knew how dangerous they were and that the agent responsible would be punished. He seemed to relish that idea.

'Right. You must think that I am really stupid, don't you? Coming in here and acting as if I can change anything. But here's the thing; you have no power over me. I have no doubt in my mind that when I leave this room, the guards will be down and I'll be on my way back to the Khan. I will find you. And I will make you regret that you ever showed your face to me.'

He was silent for a moment, considering.

'Do you know who is out to kill you this very moment? Who attacked the Khan? Who Garrus had been hiding you from?'

I blinked. Not Cerberus then. And I couldn't see any traces of lie in the man. Was he a good liar or was he telling the truth?

'Who?' I asked grudgingly.

'Mr Toboe. The man on the Alliance board. The "right hand" of the ambassador.'

This surprised me more than anything. He had looked like a nice enough person. If I had to guess at any one person who would have wanted me dead I would have chosen Udina.

'Mr... Toboe?'

'Yes. He is frightened of what the Cerberus might accomplish. He wants to remove all influence we might or might not possess. And that means our test-subjects.'

I let that comment slide.

'I don't get it. What does he think I am?'

'You did a test on intelligence in the hospital and very unfortunately for you, you topped even the brightest asari minds. We know for a fact that this is your natural intelligence and are eager to help you with expanding your horizons, should you ask for our help. But mr Toboe thinks that we have somehow manipulated your brain. That we are, in fact, controlling you. And, to be fair, that is a likely scenario. There are too many unknowns about you, Numine.' he breathed in the smoke from his cigar.

'That... is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.' I shook my head. 'He thinks that you are controlling me? Then why not just put a spy on me for a few weeks to make sure?'

'The fact that you received help from the C-Sec and Cerberus almost instantly convinced the Alliance of your allegiance towards us. And they deem you a massive security threat. Aside from knowing things they'd rather you didn't, you also posses the highest measured intelligence in the galaxy as we know it.'

I raised my hand before he could continue, letting that piece of information get to my head.

'Huh. Ah... What do you mean by Cerberus helping me? When did that happen?'

'We sent an agent to trail you wherever you went. But your friend Garrus happens to be her match in covert operations. We knew that you were well hidden when, in spite of our best efforts, even we could not find you. Aside from that, doctor Weglar is a Cerberus employee. One of the few who publicly supports us.'

'That woman...' I frowned, trying to remember. I'd been afraid that she would find me. Had she really been trying to protect me or was he lying?

'Yes.' nodded the Illusive man. 'And now you are here. And -...'

'What do you mean by I know things they'd rather I didn't know?' I interrupted again. I had to give it to him, he took my tantrum in stride.

'Ah. If I knew, then there would be no reason for the Alliance not wanting you to know them.' he smiled at that convoluted logic. But he was right on that part.

I had to sit down on the floor and think. Really think.

'It seems as if captain Carter has been granted safe passage out of this facility.' said the Illusive man, amused.

'See you.' I said, as the door opened and Liara and the captain stepped in.

'We have to hurry.' said the stern woman. 'Not all our agents are to be trusted.' but she kept her composure.

'What happened?' I asked in a whisper as we were led out of the facility.

'You owe really big.' replied the captain simply.

Liara shook her head in a confused sort of way.

'I don't understand it.' she replied. 'It had something to do about information.'

'Speaking of which...' said the captain, pressing a few buttons on his omni tool. 'You have access to my Cerberus data base. Take as much as the omni tool can carry. I'm deleting it afterwards.'

'Cerberus... how did you get this?'

'A fair exchange.' he growled.

I started taking out bits of information that I thought were relevant to what I wanted. I had to compress the information to ridiculous sizes in order for the bits to fit. The unpacking would take days.

We were hurried to our shuttle and within a hectic minute or two we were on the Khan.

'Take us out of here.' said the captain to no one in particular as we entered the ship's cockpit.

'Aye, aye sir.' replied the pilot readily. 'Where to?'

'Away from here. Somewhere on the Verge, away from planets. I need to think. And shut down all wireless communications, transmitters and sensors. Blind us completely.'

The pilot frowned but complied.

'You two, come with me.'

Now I was scared. What had he exchanged for our departure exactly? What did he want from us now? I shuddered, imagining being a slave and working in some batarian mine.

We entered the captain's quarters, which were very comfortable with a lot of cushioning. The captain gestured towards the table around which stood four chairs.

We all sat down and then the staring game started. I looked curiously at both the captain and Liara, trying to figure out what they had done. Liara was looking about the room in a rather calm way. The captain was glaring at me and Liara.

'I like your decorations.' said Liara, pointing towards a few wooden, craved statues.

He looked around to see what she was talking about.

'Ah yes. That particular one has quite a story to tell. And so do you. What, exactly, is going on? And before you say that I have no right to know, keep in mind-...' we entered FTL, making his pause for a second '... that I can throw you out of the ship at any moment with no regrets.'

I nodded. I was ready with the full story.

'I was planning on telling everything to Liara, but seeing how we wouldn't have managed without your assistance, you should know as well.'

'Well?'

I took a deep breath.

'I will start from the beginning, so bear with me.' the captain nodded impatiently and I continued. 'When I first woke up in the hospital on the Citadel I thought that things seemed odd. The doctors were acting in a strange way. And I only now found out that the only reason I am still alive is because my doctor was employed by Cerberus. If the Alliance had had a hand in my medicating I don't think...' I had to stop there and gather my thoughts. 'A C-Sec officer told me that I was in danger. That someone was holding a grudge against me surviving Akuze. And at first it seemed as though whoever was responsible for Akuze was after me. And when my father told me about how he had... left me and mother I decided to leave home, ending up with Garrus, the C-Sec officer. I spent about a week in a safe house with no Alliance ships wanting to take me on as an engineer, eating sushi and noodles. Then, on my way to the ship where Liara and I met I was attacked by Alliance soldiers. Or, I think that I was attacked by them. I don't really know what happened.' I looked at the two of them. They didn't seem to understand the problem. 'I wanted to find out who was responsible for Akuze. But more than that, I wanted to find out who wanted me dead.'

'And?' asked the captain.

'It is one of the Alliance board members. Mr Toboe.'

The captain surprised us both by laughing loudly. He did this for a very long time. Clearly he and Toboe had a past.

'He's on the board?' asked the captain between sobs of laughter.

'Yes...' I nodded, not being able to resist smiling.

Liara looked very confused, as if she had missed something.

'Oh dear me.' sighed the captain as the laughter died down. 'If that idiot is on the board then my mother was right. Humanity is going down the drain with all this politics.'

'You know him?' I prompted.

'Sure do. He was the one who sent me to the Purgatory.' the captain nodded.

Liara gasped.

'What? What is the Purgatory? A mental institution?'

The captain blinked at me.

'Do I look like I need that?' he asked.

'Ah...' I didn't answer. I couldn't be sure.

'Never mind. No, it's a high-security prison. The meanest sons of bitches live there, all under one roof. And the Warden is the meanest of them all.'

'Wait. You were in a prison?' I asked, worry accidentally slipping into my voice.

'Well, that's what you get for...' he frowned at me. 'Fine. I'll tell you the story.'

Liara and I sat up to listen closely.

'Seven years ago I got my ship, Khan. Not this one, my ship was grand and powerful and faster than any Alliance make ship. And I used that advantage for pirating purposes.' he rolled his eyes as Liara gasped again.

'You were a pirate?' she said in an outrage.

'Not were. Am.' corrected the man as if he thought that would improve anything.

'And... you work for the Alliance?' I had to spell this out, it sounded too amazing to be kept quiet.

'Just listen.' he rolled his eyes, head and hands. 'I did well from the pirating, robbing batarian colonies, bits of Omega. I even married a powerful matriarch. Too much drinking on Omega does that to you. But one day, two years back, my base of operations was hit by a group of Alliance marines led by some crazy woman. Shepard was her name.'

It was my turn to laugh. This was too unbelievable. What were the odds that this man was one of the pirates Shepard had told me that she had captured when she had worked with my father. The only reason I believed the man was because he couldn't have know that Jean had told me about this.

'What? Women can be called Shepard if it's a surname.' grumbled the captain, misunderstanding my reaction.

'That's not it. Shepard is Jean. The one marine who survived Akuze.'

Both Liara and the captain sat very still, pondering this interesting piece of information.

'That hag refuses to die.' said the captain finally. 'At any rate, I was brought before the Alliance and they gave me seven years. That was overruled by Toboe. He wanted to send me away to the Purgatory. And they did. Worst year of my life. But then the ambassador got wind of the case and bought me out. I wasn't that particularly valuable it seems.' he shrugged. 'And then I applied for a job on a ship, hopping that it would be my old Khan. It wasn't. It was a tiny thing, with only a main gun and no boosters, no shredders, no callers, no widows, nothing. A puny thing. So I decided that maybe... Alliance wasn't the job for me. I decided to return to my pirating ways. But for that I needed information. And the easiest way to get information is by doing mistakes. So I became a navigator, constantly taking us to weird places until one day I got a piece of news that would ruin my captains career if I let it slip to the brass. Well, he thundered about and shouted at me, but there was nothing he could do. The man resigned and I got his ship. That was six months ago. I was called in before the board again because one did not inherit ships. And that was when I used the ace up my sleeve. I told them that I would round up all the pirating gangs in Citadel space if they just gave me a ship and crew. They believed me as I had tricked them twice already. And it was a matter of good haggling after that.'

'Wait. Even if they bought you out of that high security place, wouldn't they just have made you serve the seven years in an Alliance prison?' I pointed out.

'Ah. I got off on a technicality when the state agreed to one hearing.' he shrugged.

This man was a huge fraud. Nothing about him was real. I knew that I should be frightened, but all I felt was respect. He had managed to wriggle out of really difficult situations in his time. This was someone who knew how to get the authorities off balance, that's for sure.

'Wow.' I said, impressed.

'But are you honouring your promise? Are you rounding up the pirates?' asked Liara in a firm voice.

'That's how I got my ship damaged. Yes, I'm taking out all the trash. I was planning to return to my old ways, but the security is too heavy and... I quite like hunting pirates.' he shrugged.

I spoke before Liara could.

'Your intentions might not be good, but you actions are.'

Liara thought for a seconds and then nodded.

'Your turn.' said the captain, turning to Liara.

'Wha..?' she asked, confused.

'Your story. We had Min's and mine. Now what's your story? Or you can't join our club.'

I rubbed my eyes. He might be a good con man but he was lousy at jokes.

'You are the embodiment of bad jokes.' I said to him.

'Really? Good. I was afraid it might be cancer.' he said calmly.

I closed my eyes and prayed for patience as Liara sniggered.

'What story is it that you would like to hear?' she asked.

'I've met your father.' said the captain calmly. 'I'm on her hit list. And what is her girl doing with a social outcast such as Min?'

I glared at him but Liara jumped in surprise.

'You... how do you know who my father is?' she stammered, scared and excited by the prospect of finding out who it could be. I hadn't realized that she didn't know her father.

'You look a lot like her.' he shrugged. 'And I saw your picture when I was sneaking in to rob her apartment. I don't know why that picture got stuck in my mind, and I didn't remember until a while ago actually. But I am sure that it was you.'

She looked at him, open-mouthed for a long while and I patted her gently on the back, doing my best to give her comfort from my vantage point.

'I can't believe this.' she whispered. 'But where is she? Who is she?'

'She's a... Don't remember her name. I wasn't that attentive about whom I robbed. But she is on the Millenium Unia board. I think that that's the asari equivalent of our Alliance.' Liara nodded. 'Yes well, five years ago she was the Colrua representative, doing some odd jobs for the board. I was on Ilium as well, doing some odd jobs to raise funds for a really big raid on a batarian pirate gang. And I got a tip that there was a more effective way to get creds. I would sneak into the hotel disguised as a maid. Man maid, stop sniggering. And then I would take as much credits I could manage from the credits they have to pre-pay into the mini bars. I got fifteen thousand credits that night and a... farewell gift during which I saw your picture.'

I frowned into space, trying to imagine it.

'Alright, it sounds worse when I say it like that. It wasn't weird or anything. It was just there, on a shelf. And I couldn't help looking.'

Liara shook her head. She seemed to be trying to decide whether to laugh or cry.

'What does this mean?' she asked me in a whisper.

'What?'

'I... does that mean...' she sighed. 'Here is my story, I guess.'

The captain and I exchanged glances. I tried to make mine annoyed, he looked very excited.

'My mother is a powerful matriarch who's words weigh heavily with any asari board and with the Council itself. Amongst my people being the offspring of two asari is a... taboo. Being a "pureblood", though no one will dare say that to another asari for it is a grave insult, is frowned upon and people generally treat you like a second class citizen. So my mother never told anyone about my father. She told me, and a few odd facts about her, but that was it. She wanted me to follow in her footsteps, to become a great leader and diplomat, which is one of the reasons for me leaving. And I cannot help but wonder; did my father leave me for the same reasons my mother keeps it a secret or because she was embarrassed by such a union?'

I understood how Liara must feel.

'If she kept a picture of you...' I said softly, 'then she was thinking of what's best for you when she left. I don't think that she was embarrassed.'

She nodded and giggled in a hysteric sort of way.

'Trust me. This one wasn't the type of person to be embarrassed.' assured her the captain, looking almost sympathetic.

'Should I visit her? You said that she was on Illium?'

The captain nodded.

'On the Nessus Astra port. But I think that she lives somewhere on Nos Astra.'

'Min?' she looked at me for an answer to her first question.

I had to think. I really had to think about this. It all depended on what Liara wanted out of the meeting to begin with, really.

'What do you want from her, though?' I asked. 'Do you want to unite your family? Do you simply want to pass a comment that hints at you knowing the truth?'

Liara thought for a moment.

'I see the problem.' she said eventually. 'If this is acknowledged then my mother's reputation will suffer greatly. And if I ask my father not to acknowledge this publicly then it will seem as if I am the one who is embarrassed.'

Her head sank. I frowned. She had covered the problem pretty well. Now for a solution. I thought hard but my galaxy-class brain refused to offer me any kind of advice.

'Brain.' I tried.

'Yes?'

'She is my friend. Ah... girlfriend. Help me!'

There was a silence in my head.

'You have to think.' it hinted.

I thought again. Images went around and round. Words and ideas. Phrases that I might be able to use to pacify people. But maybe manipulation was the wrong approach. Maybe I should try with honesty. Did it matter whether Benezia had to abdicate? Yes it did. Damn. Was abdicated the right word? Didn't matter. So would it then make sense if Liara met her "father"? In one way, yes. Another, no. Maybe she should wait. Until she was ready to face the consequences. There was no round-about way of doing this as far as I could tell.

'Maybe I should... wait.' said Liara musingly. 'I can't just rush off to Ilium anyways.'

'I think so too.'

'Good. Now that we have that established; let's get back to the important bits.' the captain looked at us shrewdly. 'The information I gave away was useless to me. But this means that I am now fired. Which means that you owe me. A lot.'
I nodded. I knew that he would name a price.

'So here is what I want. You will come with me to Omega.'

I blinked. That's all?

'Is that it?'

'For now.' he nodded.

That wasn't exactly what I had in mind. This was, in fact, a lot better.

'What business do you have on Omega?' asked Liara, also taken aback.

'Oh a little of this, a little of that. But mainly, it's about not getting arrested again.' he shrugged. He wasn't lying but there was more to it.

'And you need us because..?'

'I'm sure that two young ladies such as yourselves will have a use on a place like Omega.' he shrugged, barely concealing a grin.

I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt because there was no arguing it, I owed him. And also because the alternative was likely to get thrown off the ship and into the drearily empty vacuum of space, which doesn't much appeal to me.

'Alright.' I nodded slowly as pieces of the conversation started to slip away. 'But then answer this; why did you tell us about your pirating days? What makes you think that we won't report you to Alliance? Or the Council. Why this immediate trust?'

He chuckled.

'Because the Alliance is already hunting me. The same second that data chip was handed over to Cerberus they red flagged me. But to get to me on Omega would mean entering the Terminus systems. For that they are likely to send a Spectre after me. Or they would, had been important enough.' he shrugged.

'But why did you tell us?'

'Because you are going to be helping me with a goal of mine.' he hinted.

'And the crew? Aren't they Alliance?' said Liara, worried.

'Yes. But they have been with me through some very heavy fire. I don't expect much trouble from them.'

I stared.

'You seriously think that their loyalty to you is greater than what they have to their families and Alliance?'

'Not at all. They will never have to choose. When their service period is over I will drop them off at some Alliance port, with their pay and all.' said the captain soothingly.

'But they will be convicted for piracy!' exclaimed Liara.

'No they won't. The Alliance isn't stupid.' said the captain dismissively.

'I don't know. They sure are good at acting that way.' I said in mock-disappointment.

'True.'

This all made perfect sense to me and Liara seemed to be appeased as well.

'Alright. My turn.' he said again, looking at us sheepishly. 'What kind of relationship do you two have, exactly?'

I looked very hard at the table, doing my best not to blush. It was all well to talk about this with Liara, who was after all... my partner. I think. Was she? What were we to each other exactly. Curiosity made me look up at her. She was looking back at me and her eyes were the reflection of my thoughts.

The captain looked curiously from me to Liara.

'Because I can't figure it out.' he said eventually, as no answer was forthcoming. I couldn't figure out what we were either. 'You look at each other as if you are afraid of each other. But then you speak and it sounds as if you just found home. And then you touch and I can't even look because it feels as if every touch is something that should be done in private.' he shook his head, frowning. 'So are you... related? Or are you married? Or... are you indebted or something?'

I thought about this. Maybe that was it. Indebted. I owed Liara something. And she owed me. But I had decided long ago that she did not owe me anything.

'We are very good friends.' said Liara calmly. 'And I trust Min implicitly.'

The captain laughed.

'Not married then.' he chuckled. 'Well, I won't bother you again with foolish questions. Get settled on the crew deck. You're going to be staying here for a while.'

As Liara and I went down to the mess we heard a buzzing sound of voices coming from everywhere. Everyone, aside from the pilot, were discussing something.

'Hey, Min!' said Elisabeth, motioning for us to sit with her and Martin. 'So what happened?' she asked, worry colouring her voice.

'Well... there was a...' I wondered how much I should tell the crew. 'How much does the captain tell you about what he does?'

'Nothing. Ever.' she said, her eyes wide. 'And if you try to pull that on me, I swear I'll kung-fu kick you into talking.' she warned in a friendly tone of voice.

'Interesting.' I smiled. 'I'll tell you what happened on the planet.' Elisabeth nodded and Martin moved in closer to listen.

I did tell them. I told them that there was a Cerberus base hidden under the surface of the planet and that we were captured for a very brief period of time and then released when the captain broke free and Liara stopped the men from shooting. Liara, unconsciously, sat up proudly at this.

'Wow.' said Elisabeth. 'That is wild. And now the Cerberus are after us. Lucky thing that the other Alliance ship helped us.'

I frowned. Other Alliance ship? Had they assumed that the ship which was boarding Khan was Cerberus? And not the other way around? Good. This would simplify every coming encounter with Alliance. If we ever had any.

'So what happens next?' asked Martin. I'd forgotten the accent and had to smile as I heard him talk. I didn't know why, but it was a beautiful accent to me.

'We are going to Omega.' I shrugged. I felt Liara frown in alarm but she said nothing. 'Cerberus can be anywhere after all.'

The engineers just nodded.

'And what happens to you two?' asked Martin.

'We are coming along. Liara needs to have a look at the data we found on the protheans in peace and the captain'd probably like to have me in the engineering for a while longer anyways.'

'Good. It will be nice with some mature company.' sighed Elisabeth.

'And what am I? A potted plant?'

'No. A potted plant knows when to keep its mouth shut.'

'See? Do you see what I have to endure daily?' said Martin, throwing his hands up in mock-exasperation.

There was something very odd about these two, but I couldn't be certain what it was. I looked at their hands. No rings. So they were not married. They must be brother and sister. Funny how they sounded and looked nothing alike.

Elisabeth looked down on her omni tool.

'The engines are back online. It looks like we're off to Omega.' said Martin, who's omni tool had told him much the same thing that Elisabeth's had.

We all went down to the engine deck, Liara tagging along behind me. She was already back to her study of the prothean data. My mind drifted back to Akuze. And found nothing. All I could see in my mind was the cunning face of the Illusive man. Complete with his cigar and bourbon. I couldn't deny that he was charming. And mysterious. Very mysterious. And so exotic and dangerous. And very, very soon, he would be all those things post-mortem.

Omega is an asteroid. It was dubbed Omega long ago because of its destructive effect on any ship that happened to get trapped in the debris that was orbiting it. Later, it was colonized for defensive purposes and eventually developed its own, and very successful, underworld market. From there things started to go horribly wrong. Unless you belonged to the underworld of course. The Blue Suns, Eclipse, Blood Pack, Silver Wings, Crimson Blade and Flame Path were only some of the many gangs that had, if not a headquarter, then at least a base of operation on Omega. And if you pack so many feral hounds in one cage, there is no doubt about what will follow. Anything that gets in the way is ground to dust.

But then, a krogan bounty hunter made a name for himself by killing Arich Kelend, the Salarian who had, at the time, been in charge of the Crimson Blade.

The krogan made many loyal and powerful followers. At first his gang was much like any other gang, lots of guns, drugs and shooting. But then, little by little, every other gang began to deffer to his.

The reason for the accumulated power was a group of asari who had joined the krogan. Asari being powerful and intelligent are always welcome additions, but this group also happened to be very clever. Very cunning. Very ambitious.

In less than a century the krogan's gang was the authority on Omega. Nothing moved on the asteroid without his permission. Aside from his right-hand man. Or woman. An asari. An ambitious hag. She took the power by defeating the krogan and letting him live in shame under her rule. She dubbed herself Omega.

'We are here, captain. But... maybe its a bad idea to return here. I mean... she's not your greatest fan.' said the pilot as the asteroid was in clear view on the screens.

'Ah, don't fret. She still has a soft spot for me, if I don't miss my guess.' waved the captain carelessly.

'Yeah, but that spot is covered by a lot of biotics and aided by hundreds of mercs.' shivered the pilot.

'I can handle her.' grinned the captain.

Earlier, he had pocketed something. Another data chip, perhaps. Maybe he intended to do the same thing he'd done on Akuze? It had worked once. My idea. I tried not to smile but it was really hard.

'So why are we on Omega? Will you tell us?' asked Liara as we left the Khan and walked down the docks to the reception area.

'I am here to visit... a friend of mine.'

'Why?'

'Because I need information. Something that I won't find by messing with Alliance intelligence.'

'Like what?'

'Khan. My old ship.'

He walked in a secure stride, as if this was his home, rather than a humongous dumpster. As soon as we turned left to exit the docks however, a batarian stopped us. I gasped. I'd never seen a batarian before and I hadn't expected one to look so... a lot like a bulldog, actually. I wonder if anyone has ever done that comparison before? I tried to make my gasp surprised rather than horrified.

'Ocean.' said the batarian. I frowned. Ocean? Was my omni tool working properly. But then I realized that he had been talking to the captain. And the captain had nodded. He had a nickname?

'Moklan, my good friend-...' began the captain.

'Stow it. She wants you dead. I assume that, since you dare show your ugly mug here, you must have something of interest but no value. Ten seconds to convince me not kill you.' the batarian said this all in a careless and deadly voice. He wasn't kidding.

'I've got this.' said the captain. To my surprise, he was grinning.

Moklan looked at him in disbelief.

'And what exactly is this?' he asked.

'Let me through and you'll see.'

The batarian rubbed his eyes. The top two.

'That's not how this works, human.'

'Yes it is. And now I know for a fact that you haven't cracked my encryption yet. Or else you would have shot me the second you saw this thing.'

The batarian opened his mouth to say something but the captain brushed past him as if there was nothing in his way.

'Come on, girls.' he called.

We both hurried forward. I felt really annoyed. Form Akuze, to Citadel to Ragdov to Akuze and now I am on Omega, following a suicidal captain. This, whatever this was, was definitely not worth it. A ship is a ship. What did it matter? He already has one. Greedy bastard. I wanted to voice all of this, but then we brushed past a lot more security and heavily armed men. All of them were glaring at us.

'Hey! Hey, you human ass! Get over here or I'll-...' but the voice was lost in the sounds of Omega and the captain hadn't even bothered looking back.

We reached a club from where I could hear music playing. "Afterlife" stood written in blood-red letters above the entrance doors.

The captain sniffed heavily, much like as if he was home. I tried to hold my breath as much as possible because of the smell of the man standing next to me, trying to get into the club.

Liara and I followed the captain up to the doors and... we were stopped by a very bulky batarian.

'Get lost, Ocean. She's not going to see you. Its better, in fact, if she does not find out that you've been here. She has a truck-load of bullets with your name on every one of them. If you go in, you won't-...'

'Cut the crap.' said the captain calmly. 'Just let me in and let her tell me how many bullets she's got for me.'

I saw a fleeting look of worry cross the batarian's face. But then it was gone.

'Fine, have it your way Carter. But she's not happy with you.' he shrugged and opened the doors.

As we started walking again, through the entry hall to the club, I decided to stop and make sense of this.

'What are the chances of us getting killed?' I asked of the captain.

'Oh, you know.' he shrugged.

'I need to know what is going on. I really don't want to die in a club.' I persisted.

'A fifty-fifty chance, I think.' he gave in.

'But that is... very poor.' I mumbled. 'For a ship?'

'Not just a ship. The ship.' he corrected as if there was some significance behind the difference.

'Fine, the ship. I still don't fancy getting shot for it.'

'Oh you won't. She'll only kill me. You will be her playthings.' he waved dismissively as we entered the club. There were dozens of people dancing, talking, shouting, fighting and murmuring in corners. There were equally many pole dancers. I jumped as one of them lowered herself down to me and said something that made my face go red from embarrassment.

We walked up a short stair, passed a grumpy guard person who instantly raised his weapon. The captain ignored that, completely at ease with himself and surrounded by a dozen armed batarians and turians.

'Kill him before he starts talking!' shouted a female voice from behind the guards.

'I've got what you want!' said the captain quickly, holding up the data chip over the heads of the guards.

They all looked about to see what she would order them to do. The one standing next to me seemed to be eager for something to shoot. I tried to figure out how to stand in order for all my vital organs to survive. It took me less than a second to realize that I would have to be outside this circle of guns to live.

'Stand down.' said the female voice in a pained kind of way. 'But if you are bullshitting me I will make your last moments a misery.'

The speaker was an asari. She was lounging on a couch, but she was anything but casual. Her face was hard and cold. Her eyes were burning with hatred and her forearms were shivering slightly so that her hands wouldn't clench into fists.

I looked in horror as the captain casually sat down very close to her. But she didn't do or say anything. Not even when he put an arm around her.

'Its been a while.' he said softly.

I tried to read the asari's expressions but they were a blur. Hatred mixed with annoyance and... something else that I couldn't identify.

'Leave us.' she commanded.

All the guards looked sceptical as they turned to go back to their posts.

'You too.' she nodded at me and Liara.

'They stay.' said the captain, taking her left hand in his.

She shut her eyes and I could almost hear how she mentally counted to ten. When she opened them there was nothing but ice in them.

'What is it?' she nodded towards the data chip. Her tone of voice was at odds with her appearance.

She sounded cold and her eyes confirmed it, but she was also doing nothing to remove captain's arm from around her.

'You know that I feel bad.' sighed the captain. 'But there was nothing I could do. The Alliance had me cornered and you know I'm not the kind of guy to die for my cause.'

'Lest it be the right cause.' she added. 'You came here knowing how I would receive you. For what?'

'Before I tell you, just hear me out. I don't want to fight with you.' soothed the captain. It was odd to see this. It was almost as if... Hadn't he said that hew as married to a matriarch? Was this her? I couldn't believe it. She hated his guts.

'I didn't fail to screw you over and lose the cash-...'

'You know...' interrupted the asari irritably. '... if this had been about ten million creds, I would accept that you didn't mean to lose it. But when its about seven billion credits... apologies and intentions mean little.'

'I know, Aria. Which is why I'm here.' he sounded serious and the asari, Aria looked at him intently. 'I need you to tell me where my ship is.'

She laughed a cold and menacing laugh that made me sure that we weren't going to live through this. But the captain was still holding her hand and she seemed to be mollified in some strange way by that.

'You came here to tell me that you have something I want in return for your ship? That is stupid even for you, Ocean.' she shook her head.

'That's not it. That's not it at all. You see, I never lost the money.'

She was silent for a moment. I tried to understand what was going on.

Aria had entrusted the captain with money. He had lost them and was arrested by Alliance. But the Alliance didn't find the money. Interesting. And now he was trying to get back into Aria's good books.

'What do you mean – you haven't lost the money?' she asked in a kind of deadly-calm voice.

'I mean that they are still on the Khan. My Khan. Your money. We would both benefit if you told me where it is right now. I know that your intelligence is second best only to the Salarian task force. Can't you see how we would both win?'

'And why would I not simply keep the Khan for myself? I have been itching to get it back for a while now.' she said, raising one eyebrow.

'Because you would never do something like that to me.' said the captain simply, letting go of her hand and casually relaxing on the couch. Then he spotted me and Liara. 'Stupid me!' he slapped his forehead. 'Sit down, sit down. Have a drink.'

'Who are they, Ocean?' asked Aria, looking in an almost-but-not-quite curious way at me and Liara.

'I'll tell you in a second. First, the data chip.' he held up the black chip.

'Yes?'

'This chip unlocks all my private caches on Omega, Ilium, Citadel, Migrant Fleet, Tellus and gives you access to Cerberus data that I recently got my hands on.' he handed it to her without any bargaining.

'And you give this to me just like that?' asked Aria. Even she was surprised.

'Darling, whether you like it or not, I still have my ring. And I'll bet that you kept yours. There are no secrets in this family.' he shrugged.

I could feel Liara's amazement because it was in synch with my own. I'd guessed that they were married but having it confirmed made it so... unreal.

She was silent for a moment. Her eyes weren't cold any more but they were hard. Impossible to read. And her body told me nothing either. She seemed at ease. And, if I had known her better, I would have realized that this meant that she was experiencing one of her rare soft moments.

'Now I remember why I didn't have someone assassinate you in Purgatory.' she mused. 'So if I tell you where the ship is, you will hand over the money? Just like that?'

'Even if I don't, with this chip you'll be able to get them on your own.' nodded the captain.

I couldn't watch, the moment seemed so private somehow. As if both of them were telling embarrassing secrets about themselves. The captain was casual and cool while Aria was a hard rock but under the guises was something more and I thought that I understood why they had gotten married. I was wrong, of course. But I couldn't know that.

'What is your name?' asked Aria, addressing Liara.

'I am Liara T'Soni.' replied Liara formally. 'And this is Numine Shin'ichi.'

Aria's reaction to my name made me and Liara start. She looked around at the captain with wide-eyed amazement and all the guises were gone. Pure incredulity and nothing else was written across her features.

'What?' I asked, confused. No one replied.

'Ocean? Does this mean what I think it does?' asked Aria in a controlled voice.

He nodded, very smug indeed.

'This is the Key?'

He nodded again.

I frowned. The Key? What could that mean? I thought through all I had heard so far. It still didn't make sense.

'I think that I'd better explain.' said the captain, sitting forward and looking at me. 'A century or so ago Aria's men found a black box that was doing extreme things to their software. They managed to shut it down, but to access it there is a kind of puzzle that needs solving. So Aria here designed her own test to find someone to solve the puzzle.' he thought for a moment. 'You know, if you hadn't run off with Liara then you would have been here by now. Eaten by a vorcha.'

I stared at him.

'It's a joke.' he hinted.

'Ah. Funny.' then the penny dropped. 'So the test I did in the hospital was conducted by your men and not the Alliance?' I addressed Aria.

'I hire goons from Alliance, Council and Spectres time and time again.' she shrugged. 'Allegiance means nothing when you speak of such matters.'

'Anyway, the first, twentieth and last puzzles were designed to check whether you had the brains to figure it out. A few managed to do both, many more managed to do at least one. I managed to do all three, but my total score was nine, so...' he shrugged. 'But you got full score. I think that you could do this. If you want to pay me back, here's where to start.'

I nodded. If he was certain that I could, then I would try and try my best.

'But why not just put the puzzle into the test?' asked Liara.

'Two reasons;' said Aria simply. 'One, if someone did manage to solve it then not only I would know the answer but also millions of other people. I can't take that risk. And also because the real puzzle is much, much bigger.'

Liara nodded, satisfied. There would be no shooting at us after all.

'So what did the black box do?' I asked.

'From what we can tell, it uses biotics to control electronics.' replied Aria. 'I don't know the details, but it seems as if it is a prothean device. Though this is much more advanced technology than even the mass relays.'

I nodded. I could feel Liara's curiosity. I knew what she was thinking.

'Alright.' I nodded. 'I will do this. If I can.'

'There is little doubt that you can.' said Aria dismissively. 'Alright, Ocean, you won. I'm giving you my info about the Khan and I expect the money back as soon as the ship is under your command. You are free to come and go as you like, but remember, next time I will not halt before pulling the trigger.'

The captain nodded.

'Well, you know where everything is and I dare say that you know how to bypass my security. So have fun with the black box.' said Aria getting up. 'Now I am a busy person, so if you would clear off.' she gestured towards the staircase.

The captain bent low and it looked as if he was about to kiss her. But he never came that far. She lifted him off her with her biotics.

'Don't push it, human.' said the batarian, Moklan, from behind me.

'Ah, now we can't have that.' said the captain as he was released to the floor. 'Its a bad idea to let children watch us fight.' he winked at Moklan.

Moklan glowered.

'Come on girls. I'm hungry and the crew are restless.'