Twelve hours later, Garrus and Shepard stepped through the airlock and onto Omega. One of the advantages of living on a small colony world was knowing nearly everyone in the settlement, so getting someone to check up on the other kids for a few days hadn't been a problem. Getting a fast transport to Omega would have been another problem, but as luck would have it the SSV Liebnitz had been passing through Horizon system at the time. Captain Jason Prangley had been more than willing to loan a long-range fightercraft to two of the people who'd saved his life during the Reaper War, and Shepard had been hard-pressed to talk him out of calling for an assault carrier, invading Omega, and having Marines search every square inch of it until they found Ash. Anything that overt would probably lead to the slavers tossing their suddenly red-hot prisoner out of an airlock. If this could be done, it would have to be done quietly.

And quickly. Already they were on borrowed time, gambling that the slavers had gotten Ashley off Omega as quickly as possible. That gave them a manageable number of departing ships to trace, but that was only good until the first vessel made planetfall and transshipped its cargo to another. The potential connections only exploded out from there, much faster than they could hope to move. They had, at best, another hundred hours before their daughter could be anywhere in the Galaxy.

Which did absolutely nothing to improve Garrus' mood when a massively built human stepped in front of them and held up his hand. Shepard looked at him with a glare that could melt lead.

"You're in my way." Her voice was cold as space. "In ten seconds you won't be. Up to you how gently I do it." The man rocked back a bit- this was definitely not how the famous Commander Shepard was supposed to talk- but recovered quickly enough to beat his deadline.

"Commander Shepard. Aria wants to see you."

Shepard's lips twisted in what Garrus would never, ever call a smile. "Glad to hear it. It'll save everyone a lot of trouble."

Afterlife was every bit as dark and loud as Garrus remembered, long blue tunnel leading into a densely packed main room full of dancers and drinkers. Even the few minutes it took to shove their way through the crowd and over to Aria's dais made Garrus' skin crawl, unable to see anything but a clock ticking down to zero.

"Well, well." Aria's voice was smug as always as they walked over to her table, arms stretched out over the back of her couch with elaborate indifference. "Twenty years, Shepard. You don't call, you don't write, and now you just walk into my little kingdom. I'm guessing you want something."

Shepard nodded, shortly, and sat down in a seat opposite her. "I'm looking for a gang based out of Omega. Humans and turians, maybe other species too. Colors are a black leather jacket with a red stripe. Know them?"

"I do." Aria's lips pursed slightly. "On the other hand, they're good customers who pay their protection money on the first of the month. After whatever this is, you're going to go back to being a good little housewife on Horizon. Fortunately, I've just got a little job I need-"

It was a testament to Afterlife's soundtrack and general sleaze index that the noise of a pistol being fired didn't bring the place to a grinding halt. It did send Aria's guards into motion towards Shepard, but they just weren't up to the standards old Grizz had set- Garrus was out of his seat and covering them with a shotgun before they could take their third step. Shepard didn't move, eyes focused on Aria and the smoking hole in her couch upholstery, six inches to the left of her head.

"Listen up, you blueberry bitch!" Garrus had never heard Shepard use that tone before, and it scared him on a level usually reserved for Reapers. "My oldest daughter was abducted by that gang twelve hours ago from an apartment here. I don't have time to make nice, jump through hoops, or do fetch and carry." Shepard leaned forward, teeth bared. "You will tell me the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, or so help me God I will burn this place to the ground, kill all of your men, and leave you giving five-credit blow jobs to a krogan just to pay your oxygen tax."

Garrus had never seen Aria T'Loak actually flustered before, much less with her hands in the air. He would have taken more time to appreciate it, but he was busy making sure the guards didn't get any foolish ideas about being able to outrun buckshot. But give her credit- by the time Aria spoke, her voice was under perfect control.

"Red Knives gang. Mostly Citadel based, but they've got a bag-and-tag operation here. Only transport they've sent in the last day went to the Citadel. Guarantee your girl was on it, they don't like to hold onto merchandise." Aria lowered her hands, slowly, and Shepard flipped the pistol back into her holster.

"Merchandise. I like that. Can't say I think much of your business sense, Aria."

The asari smirked. "Oh, there's the Head Girl Scout back again with the boring speeches. I kinda liked your Dark Passenger there more."

Shepard stood. "Don't worry. If your information doesn't pan out, you'll get to see her again. Up close and personal." Aria looked at both of them, eyes narrow.

"I'm not stupid, Shepard. And if I want to commit suicide, i'll do it the old fashioned way with a gun. Not by Spectre. Now for the love of the Goddess Eternal, get off my station and don't ever come back. You've got that look that means things are about to go boom and I'd rather they weren't here."

"Boss?" One of the guards in front of Garrus craned his neck a bit. "Boss, you don't want us to rough them up?"

Aria laughed, completely without humor. "Oh, I'd love you to. But none of you would do much more than give them a workout. Know when you're out of your league, Nassus. Now show them to the exit."

Walking back towards the spacedocks, Garrus caught a familiar face in the crowd. And another next to it, one that made him stop dead. No. There was no possible way-

"Miranda." There was no hint of surprise in Shepard's voice, but there hadn't been a hint of much besides rage there for a while now. "And Jack. How'd you get here?"

"And since when can you be in the same room without trying to tear the whole station apart?" Jack grinned at that, sneaking a look over at her taller partner.

"Don't get any ideas, Garrus. The cheerleader and I just have a little cease-fire going, since somebody mentioned there was a Code Black on." Her gaze snapped around again, catching Garrus dead-center. "I know she ain't my kid. But she kinda is. And that means if anyone fucks with her, well, I've just got to fuck back."

"Charming as ever." Miranda shook her head. "But basically accurate. We heard there was an emergency-"

"And how was that, exactly?" Shepard's voice was tight. This was new. She didn't like new. Not in the middle of an op like this.

Jack laughed. "Come on, Shep. You may be retired, but seriously? You really think you can jet from Smallville over to Omega and not set off a few people's alarm bells? It's all knowing what to look for." She looked down for a moment. "Hell, if I'd taken some leave and played guardian angel for Ash like I wanted, maybe-"

"Stop." That was her command voice again. "You're here to help?" Both of the other women nodded. "Then no ifs, maybes, buts, or anything else. We are getting Ashley back, and we can sort out recriminations, responsibilities, and collateral damage afterwards." Normally Garrus would have taken that as a laugh line, but he was still getting used to this new Shepard. Her head turned as precisely as a gun turret, tracking on Miranda. "You have transport?"

"Um. Yes." Miranda coughed slightly. "We-"

"By which you mean you, cheerleader."

"- own a four-place courier. Fast, long ranged, and with only two in it you could practically set up housekeeping there. Not that I'd do such a thing, of course…" Miranda trailed off, but Shepard didn't even seem to notice. She chopped her hand down.

"Good. Then mount up. We've already seen Aria, and it seems we have an appointment on the Citadel."