REQUIEM
CHAPTER TWENTY:
HOMEFIELD TRAP
November 5, 2185
0629 hours.
Command Center, Aria's Bunker, Tuhi District, Omega.
War for Omega, Siege of the Tuhi District.
Ruler of the Terminus Aria T'Loak, Lieutenant Anto Korrigan, Lieutenant Bray.
"Are we clear on that?" Aria growled, barely holding onto the war room terminal as the base once again shook, everyone grabbing hold of something nearby so they could recover from yet another of Cerberus' artillery bombardments. Petrovsky wasn't kidding; Cerberus forces, forty thousand strong, had managed to overrun most of Omega's internal defenses in just a couple of hours, with most of the mercenary forces having escaped Omega or been destroyed. Only Aria's troops were left. A desperate last stand. And even then, still no word from Derius or his Talons. No Nyreen either. Damn bitch.
Aria had spent a couple of hours wondering around the station's underground tunnels, and had eventually lost Ashe and his troops. She poked her head up when the coast was clear and retreated into the Tuhi District, which was now the only area not under Cerberus occupation. Afterlife had since fallen to Cerberus troops, Ashe setting up his headquarters inside the fallen bar, clearing the rubble left from her explosives. Takes my club, and then uses it as a HQ to spite me. Oh that smug piece of shit will die painfully...
Aria's Bunker was massive, and she had built it for situations just like this. It was the size of entire skyscraper, covering at least fourteen decks. The main deck had three sections; the forward entrance and courtyard, the Command Center, and then the rear entrance and storage compartment. The forward entrance was closed off by a large, titanium blast door, as was the rear entrance, and was closed off by a retractable bridge, which was now guarded by two rotary heavy anti-material cannons that her forces had stolen from Cerberus and were now being installed.
The rear entrance and storage bay had two old model M-29 Grizzly tanks, with four skycars and crates packed with weapons, old and new. Both of these areas were seperated by the command center, which sat in the middle. In the middle was the war room terminal; a large, circular table with a massive hologram of Omega sitting in the middle, allowing for real-time tactical coordination. Flanked by this were two more consoles. Behind her was the entrance to the bunker's armoury, which in turn then lead off into the Zeta District. Before the armoury entrance was the communications area.
Infront of her was more consoles, followed by the door leading into the Eezo Processing Plant, which was part of the mining sector; which was now crawling with adjutants and abandoned. Overall, Aria's Bunker was heavily fortified and built to withstand heavy punishment, making it the perfect HQ for her repulsion of the Cerberus invasion.
Jarral, her asari fleet 'admiral,' stood on the otherside of the console, a scar healing across her forehead from a narrow escape from her flaming flagship, which had been destroyed with the rest of Aria's fleet when Petrovsky and the Cerberus forces arrived; Jarral, as far as they knew, was the only survivor. Ahz, her salarian technician, stood next to Jarral, rapidly typing at his terminal in bringing in status reports. Anto stood to his right, eagerly awaiting Aria's orders, having relinquished command upon news she was alive. Bray stood on Jarral's left, arms crossed and watching Aria unwaveringly. Moklan stood in the spot that used to belong to Gavorn, who was now dead, and Grizz's spot was empty as well; a testament to the losses she had already sustained.
Anto nodded, "Crystal, Aria. Its risky, but it can be done. And with this bunker so heavily entrenched, this Cerberus General can do little more than bombard us. That Colonel seems alot more rash, but we haven't heard much of him so far, so that's a bonus for your troops. Its allowed me to lead several guerilla-style hit-and-runs against Cerberus emplacements across the Tuhi District. Success has been huge; Cerberus doesn't know what to do with themselves."
"An all-out assault on Afterlife won't work though," Bray informed her, "An all-out assault on...anywhere, won't work. These assholes are entrenched so well that any attack that isn't in the Tuhi District will be futile at best. The best we can do is annoy them."
"Jarral?" Aria asked, sighing at Bray's words. And he's right; I mean, Sata may be safe inside this bunker, but how long will guerilla tactics work? Petrovsky has the upper hand everywhere else; this is a tiny victory compared to the greater scale of things. The only chance of really wounding him is to kill Ashe...or to take a place of importance...
Jarral coughed, the asari shaking her dazed head, "Most of my fleet has crumbled; Cerberus really hit us hard. A handful of ships survived, and a single batarian military frigate, but I was unable to rally them; they all fled the system via FTL. Could be anywhere in the Omega Nebula by now. Without a fleet, I'm pretty much useless."
Ahz exhaled, the salarian closing his eyes, "Nothing much I can do either; with my priority access to Omega's systems cut off from Omega Control, I'm pretty much unable to do anything to hinder Cerberus' efforts. They have their own access to the station's schematics now, but luckily for us, your bunker isn't part of those schematics."
Aria nodded. Cerberus may be bombarding the Tuhi District, but they didn't know about her bunker yet, but she knew it was only a matter of time before they found it. We have to strike hard and fast, not to mention decisively, to break off their attention. The only area I can see that would be of that much importance is Afterlife...but why does Cerberus need Omega? I mean, apart from needing it for a staging area in a future war, but what else...?
Omega is a asteroid. And why build a station on it? Because its original purpose was a mining facility, and that meant Cerberus would be sitting ontop of a eezo mountain. And what would strike them harder than to grab that mountain right out from under them...?
"Then we need a new plan," Aria informed them, all eyes turning back to her as she regarded them with fury in her eyes, "I will not let Petrovsky sit on my throne one second longer then he fucking has to. Noone fucks with Aria, and I want to show that asshole why. This is where it will all end my friends, oh yes. I'm going to end this fucking charade today by attacking Petrovsky himself. I'm going to attack Afterlife."
Ahz seemed to back away for a second, while Jarral regarded with her wide eyes. Anto just looked at her, and Bray was first to object, "But Aria! That's suicide, and you damn know it! Petrovsky will have the majority of his forces protecting Afterlife! To attack him directly is totally ridiculous!"
Another explosion rocked the bunker from another Cerberus artillery piece, but they all ignored it, Aria fixing Bray with an infuriated gaze, "Are you doubting me, Bray?"
He cocked his head with annoyance, "No! But I know a stupid plan when I see it! What your asking can't be done!"
"It can be fucking done Bray!" Aria snarled at him, body aglow with blue biotics, "And I'm not leaving until it is! I will have Omega back by the end of the day, or I fucking swea-!"
"Miss T'Loak!" Ahz shouted, gaining all of their attention in a second, all eyes pearing at the salarian in the heart of the bunker's war room, "The Cerberus artillery has...stopped."
Aria looked up and everyone in the command center went silent, and just like the salarian tech said, the sound of bombardment had stalled. No artillery, air strikes or gunfire. It just...ceased. What the fuck? Did Cerberus just give up or something?
"Ahz, get me a feed with our forces outside," Aria ordered, "I want to know what the fuck is happening out there and why Cerberus would suddenly stop attacking. Petrovsky and Ashe are relentless; they wouldn't just stop an assault like this."
Ahz nodded and immediately went about setting up a comm link, while Aria, Jarral, Moklan, Anto and Bray eagerly waited. Eventually, Ahz set up the comm link and the window behind them that served as observation for the forward entrance suddenly went opaque, filling with video feed as the face of a batarian pirate appeared. She seemed confused; and there was no gunfire roaring over her.
"Aria?" the batarian asked, "Didn't think you'd be contacting me directly."
Aria shook her head, moving forward and infront of the group, "Cut the shit Sanak and just give me a sitrep. Cerberus has ceased bombardment; what the hell is going on out there?"
"Weirdest thing Aria," Sanak replied, turning away for a second to look over a barricade she hid behind, as if to verify what she saw before turning back, "Just a few minutes ago, these kodiak shuttles started arriving and flying Cerberus troops out whole squads at a time. Eventually, even the Atlases and gunships started leaving. By the time you called, every single Cerberus soldier had just...left. Almost like they'd be ordered to leave. Even the artillery went silent. No fighter coverage, just nothing. Just went silent."
Aria frowned at this, and considered what this could mean. Maybe he's evacuating his troops to escape...no, he already expressed his displeasure at having to use adjutants, and he wouldn't endanger an entire district just to root me out by releasing them, so what's his game? What the fuck is he up to? What, one day of siege and he loses his taste for it already?
Aria had a bad feeling in her gut, and she needed to quench it.
She spun to face Ahz, who was still at his comm, waiting for orders, leaving Sanak on the screen. She growled at the salarian, "Hack Cerberus comms; I don't care who's, just get me a link and find out what's going on with Cerberus on the rest of the station. I don't like this."
"Maybe he's releasing the adjutants on us?" Moklan suggested.
"You haven't had the time to get to know Petrovsky very well like I have Moklan," Aria responded with a hiss, "He would never risk such an endeavour, especially when it endangers civilians." The fucker compared me to Ashe, too. Said we were one and the same. I'm nothing like Ashe; he's a racist fucking asshole, at least I stand for racial equality. He's just a human purist scumbag that I'm going to be using as a mop when this battle is over. Then I'll let Sata piss all over his corpse.
Ahz responded a second later, "I've hacked into the comms of a dead Cerberus engineer; I'm bringing up their comms. I'll try and find out what's going on. Although, I do find it surprising that it was so easy to hack. Cerberus is usually better at encryption than this."
Indeed. It shouldn't have been that fucking easy. This whole thing stinks worse and worse as it goes. Aria just crossed her arms under her breasts, awaiting more information. She cut the comms with Sanak, with her ending sentence being 'do not contact me again until you're sure the district is secured or I'll fucking rip you open like a spent clam on a Thessian beach.' She hoped the message got through to the batarian; because Aria made good on her promises. I never bluff.
Finally, after a minute of waiting, Ahz spoke up, eyes glued to his console screen with a frown. There was a pause in his speaking, like he was still trying to grasp the information given to him. After a moment, he finally turned to Aria, a worried frown on his face, "Aria, you're not going to believe this."
"What?" Aria asked, not liking surprises. Moklan, Bray, Anto and Jarral seemed just as worried, but they always were.
Ahz gulped, glancing at the screen one more time before turning back to her, "Its not just the Tuhi District; Cerberus forces all over Omega are pulling out of their respective areas, even the ones stationed at Afterlife. Every soldier, gunship and mech is just...leaving."
Aria grinned sadistically, "Where are they going?"
"Everywhere," Ahz replied, his eyes meeting hers, "They are all heading to the nearest docks, boarding ships and leaving the station; all forty thousand. Cerberus is abandoning Omega."
Aria's smile died, but Moklan cried out in victory, fist pumping the air, "We did it! We sent those scumbags running! We've won! We taught them to never fuck with Aria!"
Bray shook his head, eyes meeting Aria's as they both realized the same thing. Jarral gave a weary, detached smile while Anto seemed about to celebrate, but only noticed the look Bray and Aria were sharing, hitting his own epiphany at the same time. Moklan stopped his celebration, facing them with confusion, as did Jarral and Ahz. Eventually, Aria turned to look outside as her base's blast doors opened to reveal an empty district littered with rubble and flames and smoke.
Petrovsky doesn't just quit like that. Aria narrowed her eyes. We didn't have an upper hand, and we were basically cornered. He had us, and we had him. It was a stalemate, and both of us knew it. But not only was the encryption between his forces weak, but he withdrew all forty thousand of his troops from the station. He had us completely outnumbered and controlled eighty-one percent of Omega; why give up? Why?
Because he hasn't.
Aria turned back to Ahz, "Scan the area around Afterlife."
Ahz frowned, "Miss T'Loak, why-"
Aria glared at the salarian, making him almost melt, "Just fucking do it. Call it a hunch."
Everyone looked at her quizzically, including Ahz, for a tense couple of seconds, before the salarian finally nodded and began typing into his terminal, processing a scan of the Afterlife Strip Club. Everyone waited for a few moments before Ahz reported back.
"A squad of Eclipse mercs have assembled outside the main club," Ahz frowned, "Funny, I thought the Eclipse had been kicked off the station by Cerberus. But they don't seem to be taking hostile action against Cerberus; and there's one life sign, human, inside the club itself."
"I knew it," Aria hissed, a cruel grin on her face, "I fucking knew it. Its a trap."
Moklan frowned at her, "How do you know that? How can any of us know that?"
Aria sighed, "You've never been exceptionally bright Moklan, so let me lay this down for you in...what's that charming human expression? 'Layman's terms?'" she chuckled, "You see, Cerberus encryption is never that easy to hack; they use sophisticated shit that rivals the SIA and STG. It isn't a walk in the park; but Ahz just waltzs in like the encryption was made by a two-year-old? No. I bet you Cerberus deliberately dropped encryption to lure us in. They wanted us to know about their retreat."
"That's pretty elaborate," Anto commented, crossing his arms, "And pretty fucking intelligent."
"That's Petrovsky for you," Aria addressed the batarian before turning back to the group, shaking her head, "But that's only the beginning. Cerberus isn't defeated; Petrovsky's pulling his troops off the station to give us a false sense of security; make us think we've won and draw us out from hiding. Thirdly, that Eclipse squad isn't really Eclipse. Its Cerberus."
Jarral frowned, "I don't get it. Why would Cerberus be dressed up in Eclipse armor, weapons and IFFs?"
Aria rubbed her temple, "To lure us in, of course. Petrovsky knows how important Afterlife is to me, and having Eclipse 'attacking' it would more than likely draw me out; he's playing on my emotions. That Eclipse squad is more than likely a Cerberus death squad; or a wet squad. Ashe is probably in command of it, and that lone human life sign in the club is Petrovsky. He always did love overseeing a plan personally."
"He's gambling alot on that plan working," Bray pointed out.
"He does that alot," Aria replied, an image of Petrovsky gazing at a chessboard; one side gold and white, the other the blue of Aria's skin tone, waiting for her king to move. She grinned evilly. Oh it would move, but not in the direction he wanted it to, "He wants to lure me out so he can surprise and take me out. With me gone, our resistance will crumble. The man is ruthless when he needs to be, that's for sure. But we'll play his little game."
Everyone frowned at her in unison, "You'll walk right into his trap?" Anto asked.
Memories flashed by. Gozu District. Mordin Solus. Commander Shepard. Omega Clinic. Plague. Quarantine. Vorcha. Blood Pack. Blue Suns.
"Who said anything about me walking into the trap?" Aria grinned. She turned to Moklan, her grin turning back into her trademark sadistic smile, "Moklan will take a team of his choosing and pose as plague victims. The Illusive Man knows the plague in the Gozu District was cured, but Petrovsky doesn't know that...or so we hope. They'll move in, take Ashe's men by surprise and distract them while I take Anto and sneak into Afterlife, where we'll kill Petrovsky and then bug out. Sound like a plan?"
"You're hoping Petrovsky doesn't know about the cured plague?" Moklan asked skeptically, "Excuse me if I feel hardly reassured."
Aria snorted, turning around to lean against the war room console again, "The aim wasn't to reassure you Moklan, only to tell you what will be happening. If you don't like it, I'll find someone else, but either way, I will spring this trap, and I will come out victorious. Now, go gather your men. Anto, come with me and let's gather our weapons from the armoury. Bray, you're in command while I'm gone. Jarral, you're second-in-command. Ahz, you're tech coordinator. Don't let me down."
Everyone nodded their assent and left to attend to their duties. Moklan gave her one more distrusting glare before turning away, heading through the left door heading into the forward entrance bay to gather his squad while Aria lead Anto into the armoury.
When the doors were closed, she immediately picked up her favourite weapon from the armoury bench; the M-11 Wraith heavy shotgun, along with a Talon heavy pistol; because she liked big, nasty guns. She took some thermal clips and put them in her pockets as well, and turned to wait for Anto to finish stocking his guns; in his hands was a Vindicator battle rifle, a predator pistol and a few thermal clips. When he was done, he turned to Aria, and inhaled, "Are you sure this'll work Aria?"
She smiled, not even meeting his gaze as she turned to leave, "You bet your ass it will, Anto. Follow my lead, and we won't fail."
Anto sighed, shaking his head as he stowed his vindicator, "Whatever you say, Aria. Lead the way."
And that she did. Today, she would wreak reckoning upon Petrovsky and his men.
{Loading...}
November 5, 2185
0744 hours.
Entrance to Afterlife, Upper Afterlife, Dyuko District, Omega.
War for Omega, Assault on Afterlife.
Ruler of the Terminus Aria T'Loak, Lieutenant Anto Korrigan.
Gunfire signalled the beginning of the attack. Aria lay ontop of a nearby skyscraper's roof, Anto on her right, also laying prone as they observed the commotion below. Dim, crimson light was ever present, and flames danced below from fires not yet smoated. Aria inhaled the smell of it; that was the fragrance of home, and it was beckoning her to remove the filth that had made itself at home in it. Aria was determined to answer its call; to purge Petrovsky, Ashe and Cerberus from her space station. All Anto could do was sniff, nose clogged from snot. She rolled her eyes at his ignorance, but let it go.
She turned to look back down at the battle below. Moklan and his squad had stuck to the plan. The 'eclipse' squad, who had been standing outside with weapons holstered and waiting at Afterlife's entrance, had been taken completely by surprise by Moklan and his men, who had posed as plague victims to make Cerberus more intent on stopping them from getting past, drawing their attention completely. Aria couldn't see Ashe, but that was probably due to the helmets all of them wore. The firefight was heated, and the gunfire echoed through Omega's skyline.
But she knew Moklan wouldn't hold for long; his team were just pirates; these were Cerberus soldiers with cybernetic upgrades and increased intelligence lead by a cunning colonel; they had to make this quick. Seeing that Moklan was now drawing Cerberus further from Afterlife, Aria shot to her feet, motioning for Anto to follow her as she biotically leapt from building to building towards Afterlife, parkour style, with Anto not far behind, using his rocket-powered jetpack. They reached Afterlife's entrance in no time.
With Ashe and his men's backs turned, Aria and Anto spun to face Afterlife's main entrance. The railing sectioning off the entrance for the lower and upper class was now gone, and as she looked up, she saw the sign had suffered no better; The A, F and T had been removed, with E hanging limply, obviously dropped halfheartedly in their rush to evacuate the station, and this angered the pirate queen even more; already, Petrovsky was making himself at home.
Anto took point, tapping the haptic interface for the entrance, with the door now replaced, and they moved inside. Aria rose her weapon in tandem and watched the main corridor come into view. The familiar walls of holographic flames and sidelined sofas was now completely gone, now replaced with a new, half-constructed corridor of gold and white and Cerberus logos; some pieces of wall were missing, cables and consoles hanging out where they were left. Angered even more now, she rushed forward to join Anto, only just restraining herself from running on ahead. The gunfire behind them grew silent, door sliding shut behind them as they advanced on the door leading into Afterlife itself.
Time to see what he had done with the place.
She hit the haptic interface this time instead of Anto, who just gave her an annoyed look, to which she ignored. She moved inside, Wraith shotgun raised, and let her eyes roam over the area; to her surprise, little had been changed...yet. The main club was all intact, with just the bars missing, the areas where they were ripped from their positions visible. Her calm, okayness with this was torn apart when she saw her couch on the ground, tossed from its pearch up above like an unwanted furniture arrangement. Oh...those fuckers! They take Afterlife, and now they toss aside my fucking couch!? Oh I'll rip you to shreds Oleg!
A voice piped up from ahead of them, but this one was not calm and cool and ever emotionless like Petrovsky's. No, this one was eerily and annoying familiar, and it made her blood boil. Smug undertones and the same racial distaste his voice had since their first meeting was still there, and radiated in the man's words, "Well, well, well. Aria, you actually showed up! Honestly, you aren't the brightest bitch, are you? I mean, do we really need to put up neon lights to let you know this was a trap?"
She spun to her left, Anto along with her, both of their weapons lowering over the form of Ashe, who stood before them, alone and covered from shoulders to toes in centurion armor, only the helmet missing, and currently pinned under one arm. His face was as smooth and manless as it always was, and his tiny hair omnipotent. His eyes did all the talking...the smug fucker. His only armament was a phalanx pistol, which was currently holstered on his right hip.
"You!" Aria snarled, moving forward a step, "Where the fuck is Petrovsky?" Maybe I was wrong...maybe the general was part of the squad outside and Ashe was the human life sign...fuck, why didn't I see this coming!
Ashe chuckled, "Come come Aria, you're allowed to share yourself with other men. Not that I want you, its just I find your infatuation with one of our generals very disturbing. Goes against my beliefs, you see. And Cerberus.'"
Aria shook her head, a large frown on her face, "My tech detected one human life sign in here. I'm guessing that was you?"
"You sound disappointed," Ashe held his arms in the air like a man showing himself off, "Don't be, I can be just as ruthless as the General, if not more ruthless. Far more, actually. You see, while he plays 'protect the civvie,' I do what's needed. He said you and I had some pretty good similiarities. I felt insulted, but I guess we are both on the same part of the moral compass. He's up north, I'm down south, you must be...south-east?" He chuckled with glee.
"You'll be 'up' someone's ass in a minute," Anto butted in, vindicator aimed at the Colonel's head, "We're going to kill you and your boss, Colonel."
"I was hoping you'd see reason," Petrovsky's voice sounded to the side, its owner quickly coming into view. He wore the Eclipse armor of a human male, helmet removed and absent from his body, with his paladin pistol hanging in his hand as he moved to stand next to Ashe, facing them with a straight face. He had a speck of purple blood on his face, showing that he had dispatched of Moklan's squad. The batarian himself was most likely dead as well. Fucking imbecile; can't even hold a delaying action.
"My reason involves both of your heads outside Afterlife. That the reason we're talking about, because I'd love to see it, sure," Aria spat, aiming her Wraith at Petrovsky, while Anto's vindicator stayed aimed at Ashe's head.
"Aria, this wasn't a trap," Petrovsky pleaded, "It-"
"Enough bullshit, Oleg!" To all of their surprise, it had been Ashe who spoke, and all heads whorled to face him. Before anything could be said, Ashe raised his omni-tool and entered a few commands into it, "I'm ending this now; no more batting the bush, its time to finish this. I'll deal with this, since you seem incapable of doing so."
"What the hell are you doing, Raymond?" Petrovsky demanded, voice lowered in a growl Aria had never heard before.
Ashe could only grin, "Watch and learn."
An inhuman screech sounded from behind the two Cerberus officers and Anto's smug grin dissolved into a sheer look of terror, both of the pirates recognizing the sound. Petrovsky shared in their horror, but in his own special way. Just as the Adjutant appeared and landed beside Ashe, Petrovsky grabbed Ashe by the collar and pulled him inches from his face, Paladin now aimed at his head, "You idiot; you let an adjutant loose!? You're endangering civilian lives, you fool!"
Ashe's smug smirk turned into a look of infuriation and he pushed Petrovsky away from him, shaking his head with disgust, pointing an accusing finger at Petrovsky as the Adjutant, who didn't even notice the two of them, charged forward to attack Aria and Anto, who were reacting far too slowly, the Cerberus husk moving with lightning speed.
"You're too idealistic Petrovsky!" Ashe spat, "Your need to keep bloody civilians safe is endangering our operation! The Illusive Man said to take Omega at all costs, and if you're incapable of doing that, then so be it, I'll take over and do it the way it should be done! The only way it can be done! So just watch Petrovsky! Watch as I do what you were incapable of doing.
No more sound came from the Cerberus commanders as the Adjutant leapt at Anto, Aria unable to summon her biotics in time. She was forced to watch as her loyal batarian lieutenant cried out in terror as the adjutant landed ontop of him. He tried to raise his vindicator to fire at the beast, but it swatted his arm aside, the force ripping it off and taking the rifle with it, Anto howling in agony, red gore staining the floor.
The adjutant's second arm impaled Anto and then, with a yank, tore his entire torso from the waist up, off his body and threw it aside, red liquid trailing it before it landed in a heap on the floor, collecting in a puddle of crimson. The Adjutant, now having finished tearing Anto apart, turned to Aria, malicious intent hidden in its purple glare.
Aria felt pure, unleashed fury build up in her body and her biotics glowed stronger than ever. Her gaze drifted from Ashe to the Adjutant, and an idea formed in her head. Cerberus says they can't control it. So...
The Adjutant charged, but she swatted its arm aside with a biotic push before matching its gaze. It didn't even hesitate as it charged forward again, maw open and hungry; it wanted something to infect, and she was going to give it that something. Without further a-do, she stopped its charge completely and wrapped it in a biotic field, picking it up off the ground as it flailed around helplessly. She turned to face Ashe, who's smug grin finally died off, never to return, and his eyes matched hers, moving from the adjutant to hers rapidly and turning to run. She smirked, and gave him no time to do such a thing.
Seeing what she was doing, Petrovsky quickly leapt out of the way and Aria, still holding the adjutant in her field, threw it at Ashe with all her might. They watched as the abomination hurled into the colonel at high speed, slamming Ashe into the ground, on his belly with the beast ontop. Ashe cried out, and tried to reach down to pull out his phalanx, but the adjutant was quick to recover and noticed the new host that lay below it.
Quicker than a predator to its prey, the adjutant sunk its widened jaw into Ashe's neck, ceasing the soldier's futile resistance. He slumped on his belly, body lifeless as the adjutant infected him, killing him in a matter of seconds. With Ashe dead and the seed for his infection planted, it stood up to face them...
...only to meet the barrel of Aria's wraith. She fired once and its entire head was shorn clean off its body, black blood succeeding its removal. The adjutant fell backwards and ontop of Ashe's body, who had now begun its rapid transformation into a new adjutant creature.
She sighed, wiping the black fluid from her face and turning to see Petrovsky standing next to her, paladin uselessly hanging at his side. He watched the rapidly transforming Ashe at a distance, eyes always emotionless; he seemed to be waying a million different situations at once and in that moment, Aria lost the will to kill him. Instead, she lowered her weapon and nodded her head at Ashe's body, which was now half-way mutated, turning back to him when she had, "What are you going to do Petrovsky? How much does the lives of your men mean to you?"
Petrovsky shot her an appreciative gaze and nodded back, stepping back and raising his pistol as he did, aiming directly at Ashe's head, "They are paramount," was his only words as he then pulled the trigger, a nice big hole introducing itself in the side of Ashe's head, stopping the transformation and killing the quasi-adjutant instantly. With smoke trailing from the barrel, he holstered the weapon and turned back to Aria, who only looked at him blankly, the rage slowly dying from her eyes.
"This wasn't a trap Aria," Petrovsky slowly spoke up, gaining Aria's attention. She was ready to call him out on his bullshit, and then remembered Ashe's corpse. She listened, still too pissed off over the death of Anto to not do so. Even Bray...even Bray wasn't as loyal as this bastard. Anto, you poor motherfucker. I won't...I won't forget you...fuck that sounds sappy! Before her thoughts could continue their cussing march, Petrovsky finished, "I wanted to meet with you. I wanted to broker a deal and end this conflict once and for all. I admit, I did deliberately lower the encryption so you'd know about the evacuation, but the actual evacuation itself is a different story. I have one final proposal, one you can't afford to ignore."
Aria narrowed her eyes at him; she had never fully liked the man, and now she would never trust the man; but he almost always made good on his word, even if the first time he had lead her into a trap. But Petrovsky was a logical man; he didn't do things if there was no material gain in them. This man was determined and hard as nails. She'd listen.
"What?" She spat, wanting this conversation over with. She wanted to kill Petrovsky, and let him live, all at the same time.
He cleared his throat and clasped his hands behind her back, his unconquerable personality falling back into place as his unfazed gaze met hers once more, "Aria, I evacuated my troops because I'm giving you the final terms of surrender. Give up now, or its over for Omega."
Aria raised an eyebrow, "What? What the fuck do you mean? You need Omega."
"The Illusive Man is running a new project," Petrovsky told her, "Project: Titan. We'll build our own space station, Aria, simple as that. We don't need Omega anymore; so if we destroy it, we lose nothing, but if you give it up, we gain more."
"And why the fuck would I do that?" Aria asked, raising her shotgun to aim at his face, her rage breaking free once more, "Give me one good reason why I should 'give up,' you fucking piece of-"
He didn't give her a chance to finish, "Because as of now, the entire First Fleet of Cerberus has now trained their guns on Omega. Every nuclear missile, MAC, GARDIAN, pulse laser, ballistic missile, MOAB and rail gun has now trained their weapons on Omega are ready to fire on my command. In just one order, I can reduce this space station to nothing but floating asteroids and space dust. I don't bluff, Aria."
Aria was at a lost for words, "But...no, you wouldn't! You wouldn't fucking dare!" She realized she was getting desperate, but knew there was one thing he could never do, "But there are people on this station, general! Civilians! What happened to your moral code!?"
Petrovsky's gaze looked saddened, but he was determined not to show it, "A...necessary sacrifice. War has made me realize that you can't always get what you want. My moral code is to protect the innocent for as long as is reasonably possible. After that, and you must choose between operational necessity and civilian casuality, than you must act. If I must level Omega, I will Aria. This is your last chance; surrender now, or I will send that order."
Aria's thoughts were a war of emotions. She thought of all the people she cared about; Nyreen, Sata, hell...she even cared for her pirates, if only a little. But the worst loss would be Omega itself; the station she had ruled and become a part of. She couldn't watch it be destroyed by Cerberus. Not by Petrovsky. If she had to sacrifice her rule so it may continue, then so be it. But she would not watch her life be reduced to bits of rock and cosmic dust!
But what would be the point? Wouldn't Petrovsky just kill her after she surrendered anyway? She knew she would; she couldn't bare to watch Omega destroyed, but she wasn't about to die either. She met Petrovsky's gaze once more, and asked the painful question yet.
"If I...surrender Omega to you..." the words were like ashes in her mouth, and she felt the Wraith go limp in her hands, "...Me, my daughter Sata, and all those under me must be given free passage to leave Omega. I want your solemn promise on this Petrovsky; you have me by the throat, why had salt to injury? Let me and my forces go, and Omega is yours."
Petrovsky, to her surprise, nodded, "Very well, Aria. I will give you and your troops a total of ten hours to leave Omega. Trust me Aria, you made the right choice. The people of Omega will know that you saved them from destruction."
Aria nodded solemnly and turned away, stalking towards the door in long strides. She ignored Anto's mangled corpse and Ashe's infected one; all she could see was the exit. But she knew this wasn't the end; Omega hadn't seen the last of her, and before she left, she stopped, and whorled on the spot, calling out Petrovsky's name before he disappeared. He turned and faced her.
"Yes?" Petrovsky asked.
"This isn't over," Aria hissed, "One day, I'll be back. I'll bring the fury of the Terminus down on you, snatch Omega from your hands and make you regret the day you fucked with Aria. Omega only has one rule, and you just violated it. Omega has a long memory, and it will remember for as long as you live on it. I'll be back, and you'd better be fucking ready."
She didn't even wait for Petrovsky's response before storming out of Afterlife and moving down the corridor, pure fury in her eyes.
Oh yes, you'd bet she'd fucking return.
One day.
{Loading...}
November 4, 2185
1623 hours.
Crew's Quarters, Normandy-Class Stealth Frigate Normandy SR-2, Docked with the Rayya.
Mechanic Peta'Yala vas Normandy.
Peta sat in his bunk, laying on the lower bed as the ship's cook, Rupert Gardner, slept up above. The man's snores were haggard and overall annoying, so Peta had tuned out the sound by turning off his auditory emulators. The quarian just lay there, blankly staring at the wall infront of him, marvelling over the day's events.
All was going well; Peta had convinced Shepard to let him join the crew, as the Broker was sure he would, and now he was a mechanic on the most advanced stealth frigate in the galaxy. And as much as Peta knew he should be concentrating on finding ways to kill Shepard, he couldn't ignore the marvel that was the Normandy! This ship was amazing! Now all Tali's stories of the human vessel made sense; she had been right.
He had seen it all; the Combat Information Center, the Debriefing Room, the Tech Lab, the Armoury, the Gunnery Station, the Medical Bay, the Mess Hall, the Drive Core and Engineering, and the Shuttle Bay; it was all top of its class! And most of all...there was just so much room and space to do stuff in! Just lying in this bunk felt...wrong.
Back on the Huzzi, and the numerous other Migrant Fleet vessels he had served on, everywhere was cramped for maximum use of resources; everyone slept together, beds stacked up next to each other, and even the corridors felt claustrophobic; everywhere was small. But on the Normandy...there was just so much space. So much that it almost made Peta feel out of place. How does Tali deal with it all?
Not like she'll have to soon. Not after you've murdered her husband to be.
Peta tossed those thoughts aside, unwilling to let them corrupt his mind set. I'm on the path; there's no turning back now. I must fullfill what I came here to do. I'm not leaving until Shepard is dead and Tali is mine. She will be mine. I just need to get Shepard alone and keep him oblivious enough so I can take him by surprise and kill him. It'll be piecemeal. Now, just to get him alone...
Shepard and Tali hadn't returned to the ship for half an hour, and it was starting to grate on his nerves. The longer Tali spent with the man, the more corrupted she became and more certain her complete infatuation with the man was assured. He needed to strike quickly. And from the looks Reegar was shooting him, he needed to do it quickly before suspicion rose too high. It would have to be while they were still docked with the Rayya.
He thought of all the ways he could get him alone, and the only place he could think of was in the Captain's Cabin on deck one. But he would have to make sure he was absolutely alone, not to mention he'd have to devise an excuse for actually approaching him; he couldn't just waltz into the cabin or that damned VI would inform him.
Peta opened his omni-tool and observed the virus he had installed it. All he had to do was find a terminal outside the cabin and install it, and the VI would be blocked out of the cabin long enough for him to do what needed to be done, not to mention erase the VI's memory of him having ever been up there. The plan was foolproof, now he just needed an excuse.
He shut down the omni-tool, but before he could continue thinking, the door opened and a dark-skinned human stepped inside, wearing casual clothes. Just as he entered, he turned to see Peta looking at him and smiled warmly, walking over and sitting on the bed opposite him, holding out his hand for a handshake, "You must be Peta'Yala, the ship's new mechanic."
Great, he wants small talk. I hope he makes this quick. Peta put on a smile, even though the human couldn't see it, and reached out his own three-fingered hand, clasping it around the human's and shaking it, "Indeed I am."
"I'm Second Lieutenant Jacob Taylor," the man greeted, shaking his hand back before retracting it, "I'm the Chief Armourer. If its weapons you need, you come to me, Staff Commander Alenko or Major General Reegar. But of course, being a mechanic, you don't care about that boring stuff, so why don't I just cut to the details?" Jacob's warm smile immediately disappeared, and he leaned forward, face serious, "I'm keeping an eye on you."
Peta's eyes widened for a second before narrowing, to avoid arousing further suspicion, "Why? What have I done wrong?"
Jacob chuckled, "I'm not buying it, Peta. Reegar told me of your obsession with...our chief engineer. I'm warning you; lay a hand on her, or even come close to her, and if she doesn't kill you, we will."
Peta snorted, shaking his head, "Is this how all humans greet new crew? No wonder the Council doesn't like you."
Jacob shook his head, "You think yourself a smartass? Please, it doesn't suit you Peta. I consider Tali a good friend, and I'd like to think the feeling is mutual. We will not tolerate you harassing her, and I doubt your need to join our crew is out of a feeling of 'wanting to stop the Reapers.' Noone buys it Peta, and certainly not Tali. So watch what you say and do; because we will be."
Peta waved a dismissive hand, "Maybe I should report you for harassment; I've done nothing to deserve this treatment."
"You're right, you haven't," Jacob stated, standing up and pointing an accusing finger at his mask, "But if you try anything, you'll soon deserve all of it. Watch yourself, Peta. Because I'm not the only one watching; Reegar will be watching your every step on this ship, even if Shepard won't. You're not fooling any of us," Jacob then stood up and made to leave. Before his hand hit the haptic interface however, he stopped and turned to him, look still serious, "Remember what I said Peta. You'll be better off for it."
And with that, Jacob Taylor was gone. Peta slumped in his bed, turning away from the closed doors and facing the wall blankly once more. Great, so not only was Reegar trailing him, but so was the entire crew; he'd have to do this carefully. However, they all seemed to be focused on protecting Tali from him, which meant they wouldn't be watching him when around Shepard, which was a good thing...he guessed.
He closed his eyes, aiming to get some sleep. He'd need the strength to face this challenge soon, and he planned to execute his plan tomorrow. He didn't know if he'd be able to do it; everything weighed against him, and his morals were a confused mess. But he had to do it; in the name of his love and lust for Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, he had to do it.
It would be worth it, he assured himself.
{Loading...}
November 4, 2185
1623 hours.
Trading Deck, Liveship Rayya, Migrant Fleet, Enoch System, Rosetta Nebula.
Chief Engineer Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, Admiral Shala'Raan vas Tonbay.
The trading deck was a cluster of activity as always; men and women of all trades moving about and bartering for items they needed with items they didn't need; it was how the quarian marketing system worked for them. Tali laughed lightly as children ran past as well, wearing tiny little suits as their parents chased after them, trying to keep them under order. All the while, Tali just followed Shala as the old admiral lead them through the deck towards her private stock.
It had been ten minutes since Tali and Marcus had broken it to Shala and told her that they planned on getting married. Shala had been, unsurprisingly, shocked by the news; for them to be together was one thing, but she didn't think it had been serious enough to warrant marriage. To their own shock, the admiral hadn't broken down in tears, but had instead asked Marcus to leave, saying she would fill him in on quarian bonding practises later, but first, she had to show Tali something. And now here they both were; moving through the trading deck, heading for Shala's private cargo.
Tali had only frowned; what was so important and secretive that Shala had told Marcus to leave just to show Tali in private? She'd be lying if she said that hadn't peaked her interest; so she had gone along with it, and Shala was all too eager to take her along.
Finally, the two quarians arrived at the end of the deck, reaching what looked to be quite a large crate, stamped with the ExoGeni logo. They stopped and Tali had gone to remove the latch, but Shala held out a hand stopping her dead in her tracks.
"Close your eyes and turn around," Shala told her in a motherly tone, her voice seeming to be on the verge of tears.
"Auntie Raan?" Tali asked, confused, "What is it-"
"A surprise," Shala hurriedly finished, "Now, close your eyes and turn around. Please."
Tali sighed, nodding her consent as she turned around, closing her eyes as she did. She stood there, listening as she heard the sounds of padded feet behind her before the sound of the crate's latch being tossed aside could be heard. She stood up on her toes in anticipation, and she heard Shala laugh at the youthful action. She bit her lower lip, her curiosity threatening to burst forth.
She felt a light tap on her shoulder, followed by Shala's voice, "Open your eyes now child. Turn around."
Tali did as instructed and immediately turned around, eyes widening and jaw falling to the bottom of her helmet at what she saw. Shala held infront of her a suit of pure purple, and it looked alot like her suit, but she noticed that even the black undersuit was purple was well. Tali gasped at the sight of it, and noticed that there was also a care unit on left breast for breastfeeding.
"Is that-?" Tali asked in excitement.
"Yes Tali," Shala sobbed, "Its a wedding suit. Meru and I...we made it together. We weaved it so you could...so you could use it when you finally got married. I want you to wear it. Its what she would have wanted."
Tali didn't know what to do; she just stood there, looking at it. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen, and she so desperately wanted to lose herself in the comfortable looking fabric. But all she could think of was the person who made; a mother who couldn't be there for her anymore. But even in death, the woman seemed to be shaping Tali's life, and she loved her all the more for it. Without a second thought, she leapt forward and embraced Shala, arms hugging tight around her aunt...now her adoptive mother.
The admiral was taken aback by the sudden gesture but accepted the hug nonetheless, chuckling lightly through choked out sobs, memories of her promise to Meru still ringing in her mind, echoing through her eardrums. Promise me Shala that Tali will wear this on her wedding day. In case...in case I'm not there for her when she finally does. I want her to be happy...do it for me Shala. Do it for Tali.
She kept her promise.
Before she knew it, the embrace was over and Tali pulled away, taking the suit out of Shala's arms. The admiral willingly let her do this, watching as the quarian engineer placed the suit against her, watching as it seemed to match her slim form perfectly. She jumped up and down with excitement, the idea of getting married for too much for her to comprehend fully. It was just too much for her.
Everything was finally going right for her for once, and it made Tali feel fantastic, "I wish...I wish mother was here for...for..."
"Its okay Tali," Shala smiled weakly, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder, and giving it a gentle squeeze, "I'm sure, that no matter where she is, she's looking down on you, and is smiling. I'm sure she'd also approve of Marcus."
Tali laughed lightly, hugging the suit closer to her with more fervor, an awkward silence passing between the two of them, drowning out the sound of the many other quarians moving about in the background. Eventually, Shala broke the silence with a light cough.
"So do you have a date for when you're getting married?" Shala asked, curious as to how much time she would have to prepare for it. This was a wedding between two of the galaxy's heroes, one of them a quarian, and she wanted it to be perfect.
Tali nodded slowly, still unable to take her eyes off the suit that she was so eagerly hugging to her body, "I'll have to talk with Marcus, but he seems to want it pretty soon so...I think we should do it in three days."
Shala's eyes widened, "Three days? You do want it soon, but I'll see what I can do. Might even get Gerrel to pull in. Where do you want to hold it?"
Tali shook her head erratically, "No! I mean...Auntie, you don't have to do th-"
"Yes, I do," Shala forcefully, but warmly, cut her off, "You're my niece, and the only thing I'll get to a daughter. You're-" a sniff escaped her nose, "You're also all I have left. I want this to be special and perfect for you. Now, where do you plan to hold it?"
Tali sighed, "Marcus wants it to be on the Rayya, and I agree. I plan to hold it in the Arena, and I think he agrees. What do you think?"
"It sounds perfect," Shala chuckled, "Apart from the trading deck, its the largest place on this liveship. I'll make some calls with Gerrel and see what I can arrange and what resources I can round up. Now, I'll take the suit and clean it up, and then you can have it back in time for the wedding day. From what I've heard, human weddings state that it is bad luck for a husband to see his wife before being married, which means you won't see him until then; plenty of time to put on the suit in a clean room, don't you think?"
Tali nodded, "Agreed. Besides, I don't want this to be completely quarian. I want some parts of his culture involved as well. So, are you going to tell him how quarian ceremonies work, or should I?"
"I think I should," Shala replied, holding her hands up to forestall any objections, "I've been through the process before when I married Byp, so I have the experience. It would be better to have me explain it to him. And...I just want you to know how happy I am for you child. Few people find such a perfect match."
Tali smiled, "Thank you auntie. That means alot," and with that, she stepped forward, wrapping her quarian aunt in a tight hug, both of them just relishing in the moment, tears streaming down Shala's face. They both just stood there, embraced. This day had been a long time coming for Tali.
And in three days, the wait would be no more.
{Loading...}
November 4, 2185
1625 hours.
Docking Cradle 17, Liveship Rayya, Migrant Fleet, Enoch System, Rosetta Nebula.
Commander Marcus Lee Shepard, Justicar Samara.
"Shepard?"
For half an hour, Marcus had just stood there, waiting for his fiancee and Shala to return. He wasn't impatient, mind you, he was just strongly curious as to what could take so long; but Shala had insisted that he not come, and that the present was for Tali's eyes only, and he had stayed, his only regret being that he did not at least inquire into what it was. But he would wait, for hours if necessary. N7 training had turned him into a soldier capable of standing in formation for half a day if necessary, so it didn't bother him in the slightest.
Samara's voice was smooth was silk and calm as the night wind, so hearing it at a distance would have been close to impossible in the noisy confines of a quarian vessel like the Rayya. Luckily for him though, the voice was only a meter away, so he picked it up easily. He spun on the spot, turning to face the asari justicar as she approached, smiling warmly at her.
"Samara," Marcus greeted, inclining his head in a bow like fashion, "You want something?"
The asari merely nodded, coming to a stop at his side, hands clasped behind her back, "I find the need to speak with you about our new crew member."
Marcus found himself inhaling, exhaling and standing straighter all at once upon hearing those last two words, posture stiffening, one word rolling off his lips, "Peta."
Samara nodded again, "I, and many of the crew, have objections to Peta's position on the ship."
Marcus quirked an eyebrow at that, "You and the entire quarian Flotilla. From what Gerrel, Koris and Xen have told me over conference call is that the entire fleet seems to think he had something to do with the attack, simply because he wasn't at the evacuation dock."
Samara frowned, "You do not believe these rumors?"
"No more than I believe unicorns exist," Marcus waved a dismissive hand, "He's a harmless mechanic. How could he be the instigator of a Cerberus and Shadow Broker invasion in his own fleet? The kid's desperate, but that desperate? No, I don't think so. Its simply absurd to believe that he could have been the mastermind of this, not him."
Samara shook her head, "The villain is usually hiding in the shadows of those you least suspect. I have reason to believe that Peta is untrustworthy, and that his access to the ship should be restricted until his sense of loyalty is ascertained."
"So you want me to imprison him? Throw him in the brig?" Marcus asked, crossing his arms over his armoured chest, "I don't treat my crew like that Samara."
"He is not your crew," Samara pointed out, voice getting more stern, "He is a unknown entity, and undefinable quantity. He cannot be trusted, and should not be trusted, especially by you. He should be restricted with his access; and EDI should watch him at all times, being the omnipresent being that she is. Letting him onboard was a mistake; letting him roam the ship freely is a bigger mistake."
Marcus sighed heavily, "I'd be lying if I said I don't have my own suspicions, Samara."
"Then why not act?" the justicar asked, twisting to face him fully, "Why continue to allow him to endanger the crew and not act?"
"Because I'm not known for acting on such things without proven facts," Marcus responded.
"The Council stated the same thing about Saren Arterius, Shepard," Samara replied, shaking her head and looking at the ground, "Their unwillingness to act almost cost the galaxy. If not for you, they would have wiped us out. Do not make the same mistake. Stop this threat at the source before he can cause any harm."
Marcus looked at her with anger, "Don't ever compare me to the fucking Council. Those scumbags are an actual threat I can recognize. One is a three-person political superpower who, at the flick of a finger, can have the galaxy's three deadliest fleets, political powers and the entire Special Tactics and Recon division after me. The other is a mechanic with no combat experience, on a ship full of elite operatives, and just happens to be obsessed with my fiancee. Know the difference, Samara. A threat is a threat, but Peta is Peta. He is of no threat to the Normandy, or to me."
"It is not the Normandy crew's lives I fear for Shepard," Samara lamented, fixing her gaze with his, her words gaining his attention, "Its yours. He has shown he'll do anything to get what he wants Shepard, and right now, what he wants most is the person you love. How far do you think he's willing to go to get that prize?"
Marcus shook his head, standing straighter than ever before and facing the asari completely, "He's a mechanic. He's no threat."
"At first glance, the geth were nothing but a small foe," Samara replied, "Then you encountered Sovereign and the Reapers. Then the Collectors. Sometimes, the tiniest of foes can become your greatest adversary. Neatralize the threat before it has time to grow Shepard; never underestimate your foe, you of all people should understand this."
"I'll take it under advisement Samara," Marcus replied harshly, snapping his eyes away from the justicar.
"That is all I can ask," Samara replied, bowing before turning to leave, her last words echoing through his eardrums, "Remember, act before it is too late."
Marcus wanted to ignore her words, but he couldn't. What if she was right? Did Peta have ulterior motives to being on the Normandy? What if his lust for Tali really did drive him to do a stupid thing as to attack him? Could he take that risk?
No, Peta is just a mechanic.
He's harmless.
But nothing's ever harmless.
{Loading...}
November 4, 2185
1636 hours.
AI Core, Normandy-Class Stealth Frigate Normandy SR-2, Docked with the Rayya.
Chief Engineer Tali'Zorah vas Normandy, Legion.
Legion stood stonewall still as Tali worked on its lower leg joints, her omni-tool illuminating the spot she kneeled at in a orange glow as she typed and worked frantically. The geth had approached her over the comms for assistance in a repair on a malfunctioning servo in its left leg, which Tali was more than willing to help with.
But even as she worked, all she could think about was her upcoming marriage; she had run it through with Shepard, and he had agreed on the date. So on November 7, 2185, she was going to get married to Commander Marcus Shepard, most wanted man in the galaxy. She had almost slapped herself for thinking of such things; she was doing it out of love, not out of a need to be popular. And that suit...it was beautiful, and Tali could only wonder what she'd look like in it.
As far as she knew, he was still on the Rayya with Shala, the quarian elder explaining quarian wedding practises to him. In retrospect, human and quarian ceremonies weren't all that different from each other, but there was noticable differences. There was the usual setting about inviting people to be an audience, then there was the vows, and of course, the kissing of the bride (although, for some reason, in human culture, it was 'you may now kiss the bride' but of course, Tali was okay with that aspect of it, and it was a trivial difference anyway).
The changes came with how the ceremony itself ran. The groom was naturally the person to enter first, but when he did, he walked in with three people. Leading the way was the most influential and guiding person in their lives. Walking with them was a close friend, or brother, or in human cases, the best man, and following behind them was the most supportive person. The mother and father of both partners would replace the priest in human ceremony. But because Shepard's father was dead, and both of Tali's parents dead, the ceremony had to be changed abit.
Shala now stood as Tali's mother, but with Byp dead, that left the position open, and Gerrel willingly stepped in. Shepard would have his mother, Hannah, but with his father dead, Anderson would be taking the role of the father.
Tali didn't know who Shepard would pick, but she knew who she had. Shala would lead the way, Kasumi would walk alongside Tali, and behind her would be Wrex. Tali was positive Marcus would choose Garrus for best man, but she wasn't about to make assumptions. Of course, Legion couldn't attend, but itself and EDI would be able to observe through the Rayya's surveillance cameras, to which they could easily hack without being detected.
Once standing on the podium together, the mother would open with the procession (Shala and Hannah), followed by the commitment of vows, which was initiated by the fathers (Anderson and Gerrel). Then, the people who walked with the couple (Garrus and Kasumi) would provide bonding gifts, to which she had a dilemma. But in the end, Tali knew she wanted to mimic human ceremony as best as possible, and decided to change it so it was the unveiling of the rings, just in human weddings.
Once all that was done, the supportive ones (whoever Shepard chose and Wrex) would remove their faceplates (in Shepard's case, nothing would happen) and give access to each other's faces. Once this was done, the quarian version of the 'rings' occured.
The two lines on a quarian's forehead wasn't just a tattoo; it was symbolic. Both lines were representative of their parents. To add a third line down the center is to represent their spouse. They would be provided ink, and Marcus would draw a line down the center of her forehead, while she did the same to him. It would look slightly silly, but she didn't really think he'd care. And, of course, eventually came the 'you may kiss the bride' and the ceremony was over, followed by the typical after party, which would be held in the same place.
A shiver ran down her spine at the very thought of this going through; it was actually happening. She didn't know whether to break down into tears of joy, or jump up and down in excitement, embrace Marcus and make love to him. In the end, all she could do to sop up her time was to fix this geth. Which had an annoying tendency to try and talk with her, something she still wasn't quite used to.
"Creator Tali'Zorah," Legion spoke up, "We have a enquiry."
"Can it wait?" Tali asked harshly, trying to calm her tone as she desperately tried to weld the armor chasising around the geth's leg together while talking, but it didn't seem like it was going to work.
A whir of motors above her sounded, followed by the geth's calculated response, "We deemed it necessary to ask this question while the Creator is still present."
Tali sighed, checking the readouts on her omni-tool one more time before going back to work, "Fine. What is it...Legion?" Still can't believe we named a geth. Keelah, I'm still having a hard time not shooting it. If the Fleet found out I was working alongside a geth...I'd be exiled for sure. The ancestors must be rolling in their graves.
Again, a whir of motors, followed by yet another timed response, its synthetic tone reverbrating through her skull like an echo, "We have built consensus and calculated the chances of defeating the Old Machines. In a calculated scenario, we have determined that there is a 9.96 percent chance of victory for organic forces. The Old Machines have never been defeated in previous cycles, but Shepard-Commander believes we can win. We do not understand these illogical thoughts."
Tali looked up at the geth with a quizzical frown, and tried to keep the irritation out of her tone. Thanks for ruining my mood, "Its not all about the mathematics, Legion. Sometimes you have to believe you can win. In the end, what truly wins wars? Its not how many tanks, guns, ships or troops the other side has, but rather, the skill of the men and women in that army. The loyalty to their commanders, the hope, faith and belief they conjure. What's the point of fighting if you can't believe you can win? Instead, you fight for love and for your people; you fight for those you care about, so they can live in safety and haven. That's why we fight Legion; for a better tomorrow."
"Hope is irrelevant," Legion replied, "Firepower is a successive certainty in warfare. We have reviewed human history; the Japanese believed they could defeat the United States in the Second World War, but in the end, were put down by two successive nuclear strikes, ending their resistance completely. They had hope and belief, but they were defeated anyway."
Tali shook her head, sighing, "Have you done the same research on the Krogan Rebellions? The krogan completely outclassed the salarians and asari in firepower, and even when the turians turned up, they still completely outclassed everyone. Their fleet decimated everyone else's and their ground troops were unstoppable. But it was their belief that they could win that won out. If we can adapt the same line of thinking here, we can defeat the Reapers."
"We do not understand this concept," Legion replied montonely, and Tali almost felt like groaning, but the geth continued to surprise her, "Organics are strange. We shall archive this new information for later use in our attempts to understand organics."
Tali just shook her head, but she couldn't deny the small smile on her face. Maybe there was hope for the geth yet...not to mention that if Marcus was successful in peace talks...Rannoch. To think, I could be in the lifetime that my people get our homeworld back. Amazing. And with the geth as their allies, defeating the Reapers seemed all the more possible. Now we just need to change the mindset of ninety percent of the quarian race...
"Tali'Zorah," EDI's voice spoke up, her blue pawn hologram appearing on the console behind the quarian, "Kal'Reegar is approaching the AI Core with the intention of talking to you. Do you want me to tell him to leave a message?"
Tali's smile grew in preparation with talking to her brother, the quarian deactivating her omni-tool as she stood up and faced EDI. Out of the two AIs, Tali had grown to trust EDI the most, especially after saving the Normandy and Joker from the Collector abduction just before the final assault. It had proven the AI's loyalty. While Legion had helped on the Collector Base, it was still a geth. She had yet to fully trust it, and even that may never happen.
She shook her head, motioning to the locked door, "No, let him in EDI. Besides, I'm basically finished here," she turned back to Legion as EDI's hologram evaporated and the red haptic interface on the door turned green, "Is it fixed, Legion?"
"It is operating at one hundred percent effiency, Creator Zorah," Legion surmized, nodding its head in a almost organic manner, having adopted many organic gestures, like handshakes and facial gestures (hence the flaps on its optics) from the crew in its time aboard the vessel, "We thank you for the correction in our leg motoring systems. It will increase our effiency in combat, should the need further arise. We will now temporarily upload into the consensus for an exchange of data while you converse with Creator Reegar." And with that, a beep was heard, followed by the geth's optics facing the ground, body going inert.
Before she could question the gesture, the door opened and she turned to face Kal, who now stood inside the AI Core, hands clasped behind his back as the door closed behind him, locked. Curious, what did Reegar want to talk about that required a locked door?
"Ma'am," Kal spoke, "I need to speak you."
Tali sighed, almost giggling, "I told you Kal, please call me Tali. Besides, you're of a higher rank."
"When it comes to skill and the people you serve with, my rank means little," Kal replied, but still noticed Tali's posture; hands on her hips and sighed, "But I'll continue working on that...ma'am." He smiled behind his mask, adding the last bit just to tease her.
She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms under her breasts, curious as to what he wanted to talk about, "What's this about Kal? Why did you lock the door?"
The man's smile dropped and eyes narrowed, tone becoming less playful and more serious, as he usually was, "Ma'am, I needed to talk to you and the door is locked to stop unwanted ears from hearing what I have to say to you. This is important, and could deal with ship security and crew safety. I brought it to you, because your justicar has already tried warning Shepard himself, but I knew that his unionmate would be able to get through to him."
Tali arched an eyebrow and leaned back, "Why? What's this about?"
"Its about Peta'Yala ma'am," Kal emphasized, "Me, and the majority of the crew, believes he's a threat to the Normandy crew, most notably, you and the Commander."
Tali snorted, almost breaking into a laugh. But when she saw that Kal's expression and posture hadn't changed behind the suit, her smile disappeared, realizing he was serious, "I know marines are meant to be paranoid Kal, I should know; I'm a marine myself and I've learnt to live on paranoia. But I also know how to deconstruct a threat, and how to calculate if its worth defending against. Right now, I can tell you, he's harmless. Peta is a non-combatant; he doesn't have the training that the people of the Normandy have. I know he's obsessed with me, but that doesn't make him considerably more dangerous, it just makes him a loony."
Kal nodded, "Aware of that, ma'am, but this isn't just any crazed, infatuated young mechanic; this is Peta'Yala. We're talking about the kid who betrayed the Flotilla to Cerberus and the Shadow Broker just so he could have you, and didn't get exiled for it. Keelah, he didn't even get put on trial because the Admirals and the Conclave didn't suspect him."
Tali's eyes narrowed and turned into a low growl, "You know that's just a rumor, Kal. There's no proof that Peta was involved."
"The proof is staring us in the face Tali," Kal growled back, using her actual name for emphasis, "Where was he during the evacuation? Hiding. Why? Because he says he didn't feel the need to 'evacuate' and had full 'confidence' in our marines. Please Tali. Gerrel even told me that he'd never heard such a load of bullshit before. I've learnt to tell when a person's lying Tali; its a skill I built when dealing with people on pilgrimage. And Peta is the biggest sack of lying scum there is. What he doesn't have combat skills, he makes up for in sheer espionage," Kal stepped closer and placed a hand on her shoulder, "You cannot underestimate him, Tali. He will try everything to get his hands on you; and we both know the person that has to be out of the picture for him to succeed."
Tali contemplated his words for a few seconds before chuckling, pushing Kal away, "Are you serious? Peta wouldn't stand a chance against Marcus! He's a decorated N7 Special Forces operative, an Alliance Navy marine commander, a Council Spectre, and the Hero of the Citadel! He destroyed a Reaper for Keelah's sake! He would turn Peta into a pulp without a second thought, and he knows that! He wouldn't dare attack him!"
"You think Peta would be dumb enough to attack Shepard upfront? I know he's not tactically bright Tali, but give the kid some credit," Kal snorted, "He'll take the subtle approach; first he'll appear innocent and willing. Once on the crew, he'll integrate with the crew, gain their trust, draw off suspicion. Then he'll strike. Hard and fast, when Shepard isn't even suspecting. Your husband won't see it coming Tali; you have to warn him."
"Peta is not that brilliant," Tali replied, pacing the room, "You and I both saw what he was like in school, primary and college. Keelah, remember that bully, Vrox'Deea, I think his name was? Remember how he used to push and shove Peta around back in Senior Grade? Also remember when he charged through a school assembly, with a boot knife, trying to stab said bully from at least five teacher lines away? He even shouted! Shouted! Shepard would see Peta coming from a mile away!"
"Peta has changed, you know that. We all have," Kal replied, "You can't exactly say your engineering skills were as top notch then as they are now. You can't say your shotgun and weapons skills were as good then. Or your leadership skills. Keelah, you didn't even plan to be a marine! But you became one anyway! Peta has changed; he's not the shy kid we remember. He's...he's a monster who's willing to sacrifice his own people to get what he wants. To get you."
"You seem to forget that I can handle myself," Tali pouted.
"I know," the quarian marine replied grimly, "A YMIR mech has rockets and a heavy machine gun Tali, not to forget strong kinetic barriers. But how much do they matter when jump on its back? It can't use them, and it has no melee abilities. Completely helpless. Shepard may be able to deal with Peta when he's in his sights, but he won't do that; he'll stab Shepard in the back if left alone with him."
Tali shook her head, turning to leave, but stopped as she turned to face him one more time, a smile behind her mask, "Oh, but you forget one thing Kal..."
He only looked at her, posture shrunken.
"...he's never alone. He's got me."
And then Tali was gone. Kal knew there was only one thing he could do.
He would lock onto Peta like a Hellfire missile. And if he even made one suspicious move, he would fire and take him down.
With lethal force, if necessary.
{Loading...}
November 4, 2185
1858 hours.
XO's Quarters, Normandy-Class Stealth Frigate Normandy SR-2, Docked with the Rayya.
First Lieutenant Miranda Lawson.
Miranda sighed as she finally finished typing the last part of her fanfiction, and uploaded it. Noone knew it, but she had an extreme liking for the sight, and had posted several...erotic fanfictions onto the sight, mostly centering around the all time favourite video game phenomenon called Mass Effect, which had, to her annoyance, and eerily familiar story to how the events of the Eden Prime War went, except, instead of Commander Shepard, it had a character called John-117, who fought an army of super beings called the Forerunners, while fighting in a multiracial squad of aliens that included a Jiralhanae named Tartarus, a Sangheili named Thel'Vadam, a Unggoy named Talsi Orah, and a Kig-Yar named Rigidhshsh. It was a ridiculous game...but Miranda liked it.
She quite looked forward to the sequel; Mass Effect 2: Reaper ODSTs.
The terminal shut down, with Miranda leaning backwards and closing her eyes, a breath of air escaping her lips. She sighed happily, thinking of her life free from Cerberus. Well, at least now I have time for those fanfictions. The Illusive Man used to have me up at night doing reports; now I can kick back and relax. Thank you Shepard. Now I could certainly do with a hot shower...then I'll send a message to Ori and see how she's doing.
Thoughts of her sister sent butterflies through her stomach; she remembered having to kill Niket, her best friend, but Shepard had helped her through that. And she had felt something for him once, but just like her relationship with Jacob, that had fizzled out quickly, especially when she learnt of his feelings for Tali. A lucky girl. Besides, can't let up on my ice queen routine. People might think I'm nice. Don't want to give Jack any ideas.
Just as she got out of her seat and headed for the shower cubicle in her cabin, she heard a knock on the door and turned to it, frowning. Finally, with a exhale of breath, she returned to her seat and yelled out for the person to come in...
...and was met by a datapad flying into her face and falling into her lap, a familiar blue asari in a white, armoured labcoat coming to stand by her desk, innocent eyes filled with a fire, "XO Lawson," Liara finally greeted; after assaulting her with a datapad, that is.
Miranda looked at her incredulously, "What was that? Is that how you greet everyone on the way into their home?"
Liara seemed to blush for a second, but quickly shrugged it off, pointing at the datapad, "I think you humans have a saying. I've struck gold," again, she motioned to the datapad, which Miranda finally addressed. Looking down, she picked it up and gave it a long look. Once she had read the information, she tossed it back on her desk and met Liara's eyes, her own eyes widened in surprise. As if worried people could hear them, she leaned forward, voice a whisper.
"You finally did it?" Miranda asked, "You found the Broker?"
Liara let a cruel smirk grace her supple lips, "Well, not quite. But I've narrowed down the information, done some correlation, and sent it to my agent on Illium, a salarian by the name of Sekat. He used to be an agent for the Broker, but he defected and I bumped into him later on, and he was more than willing to help. He didn't explain why, but he was very eager. I sent the information, he cross-referenced and bingo...he's found the Broker."
Miranda grinned, "Why haven't you told the Commander?"
Liara shook her head, "Because I haven't got the information; Sekat doesn't want to risk transferring the information over an unsecured channel; believes that the Shadow Broker might intercept it or trace it. He's set up a meeting in the Baria Frontiers Office in Nos Astra, and wants me to meet him there. I haven't brought this to Shepard because I didn't want to bother him; not with preparations for the wedding and everything."
"So why bring this to me?" Miranda asked, brow raised, "Why not just go? I'm sure Shepard would understand."
Liara sighed, bracing her arms against Miranda's desk, "Because Sekat, and me, are worried that the Broker might already know about our knowledge and might send forces to stop us. Sekat is just one merc, and I'm just one biotic. I brought this to you because you're second-in-command after Shepard. I need a squad to bring with me, as a 'praetorian' guard of sorts."
Miranda leaned back and contemplated this for a second, scanning Liara's gaze. The asari was determined and her gaze brokered no argument, and Miranda saw the necessity of this; Shepard and Tali would enjoy their marriage longer knowing the Shadow Broker was no longer a threat. Everyone would sleep alot better. And it at least allowed them to concentrate fully on uniting the galaxy in time for the Reapers' arrival.
She leaned back forward and nodded, "Very well. I'll assemble a squad; I was thinking of bringing myself, along with Grunt and Thane, how does that sound?"
Liara nodded, "Excellent; allows for some extra biotics, a little brute force, and some agility as well. I'm sure Shepard won't mind. I will inform him, but we must act quickly before the Broker acts."
Miranda nodded, standing up and nodding, "Then let's do this. I'll send a message to Grunt and Thane telling them to meet us in the Shuttle Bay. We'll take the new kodiak that Illium docks gave us; don't need to take the Normandy's. Hopefully this'll be done with no need for force. I'll go gather our weapons from the armoury and meet you there."
Liara nodded and quickly left the room, without even a goodbye. Miranda rolled her eyes and turned back to the shower cubicle. She yurned for the feel of hot water on her skin, but it seems it would have to wait.
Work always came first for Miranda Lawson.
"We should never have underestimated Peta. Keelah, we were so stupid. We should have listened!"
- Tali'Shepard pav Rannoch.
"But it worked out in the end, didn't it? He didn't win."
- Marcus Shepard.
A/N:
This is officially the end to the Omega Arc, apart from a possible section with Aria later on. But as of now, the War for Omega is over; Aria lost, and Cerberus controls Omega now. You won't see that space station now until the events of Holocaust.
Also, the Shadow Broker Arc is drawing to a close. What? You thought this story would go for longer? Requiem only has a planned 32 chapters, with a prologue and epilogue! That's longer than Enigma, I know, but that technically had more content than Requiem. You have to remember that this story is only cleaning up the events between Mass Effect 2 and 3: How Cerberus took Omega and how they became so powerful, how Liara became the Shadow Broker, how the Bahak incident came to be, and how the Normandy came to split up and Shepard ended up under house arrest. That is essentially Requiem's only purpose; hence the substantial lack of 2251 chapters.
Yes, the events I'm depicting are substantially different from the Lair of the Shadow Broker DLC. But I wanted to depict it my own, original way. I know killing off Vasir early seemed pretty uncalled for, but in my eyes, she wasn't the main antagonist; the Broker was, and I felt that the 'Brokers' deserved more attention as villains than Vasir does, for that sole reason. And you're all probably wondering; who is this quarian broker and why is she so against the idea of killing Tali and Shepard?
Some think its Xen.
I'm not going to say it isn't, but I can pretty much gurantee that heading somewhere along those lines. Xen is an Admiral, which should give you some indication.
Have fun guessing who it is! But I'll tell you this; the quarian broker isn't a new character, he/she has been depicted before. Try and guess the gender and what character you might think they are. I look forward to reading your tryouts!