Omega Chronicles -27- Aggressive Negotiations

The lights were dim up on the half hidden walkways overlooking one of the lower docking bays on Omega. Garrus was following the instructions that Tali was dictating to him through his earpiece, the comm channel was loud and clear.

"You're getting closer to the strange signal I've been tracking since earlier today, Garrus, you might want to slow down. Can you look around and tell me if you see anything out of the ordinary?"

The Turian stopped and popped his head slightly out of the tall metal fence that covered his view. His eyes panned the wide open space below.

"Let's see. There is a small ship docked here. No insignia of any kind. It looks like a fast little thing, designed for two, maybe four people. I don't see anyone around it. Everything looks pretty quiet."

As soon as his words had left his mouth, he heard the typical noise of a hatch opening.

"Wait. Spoke too soon, someone is coming out of the ship."

The Quarian's voice sounded more curious than worried for now. "Who is it?"

Garrus waited until the pilot was in full view. His mandibles flared. "It's a… Salarian? But he looks huge. His body is way stronger than the usual Salarian. They look flimsy and skinny. This one has bulging muscles. He's carrying a big gun to boot, and he has an air about him, like someone who's not afraid of anything… I don't like this."

Tali almost snapped her reply. "What? And what is he doing here? I think the signal was coming from his ship, or from him… is there anything else, anyone else…?"

"I hear movement, whatever it is, it's still out of my field of vision, give me a minute… it looks like he's expecting someone here…" His voice trailed off as he was waiting. When he could finally see who was on the other side of this meeting, his breath caught in his throat. It took him a couple of seconds to tell Tali. When he spoke, his urgency and concern were almost palpable. "Damn it. Collectors! I don't like this, Tali, contact Shepard immediately and tell her to get here asap."

The Engineer couldn't mask her surprise. "… Collectors? Ok. Ok. Don't do anything, wait for Shepard. I'll call her right away."

The restaurant was lovely. Well, as lovely as a place on Omega could be, really. Which wasn't much, but it was the best Jack could find, with the help of Shepard.

The biotic had finally gathered the courage to ask Liselle out, on a proper date. It's not that she was afraid to go on a date, but as reluctant as she was to admit to it, she was terrified of the disastrous outcome that a failed attempt at any sort of personal relationship might bring to her. In other words, she did not want to get her heart broken. She had already suffered from many disappointments, and she certainly had had to deal with more than a fair share of both physical and emotional pain in her relatively short life, she did not need to add a broken heart to the list. Regardless of her fears, she had decided to give this a try. Liselle had proven to be a caring, kind person, and if she wasn't reading her messages wrong, it seemed that the Asari might actually reciprocate the… interest that Jack had shown towards her.

Standing just outside the main doors to this highly recommended establishment, her hands deep in her pockets and a half nervous look on her face, the human was waiting not so patiently for Liselle to show up.

The young Asari was quickly making her way to where Jack had asked to meet up. Her long, flawless legs were softly wrapped by a short black dress, she was wearing a pair of knee high boots and the only accessory on her was a simple necklace, a black silk ribbon that held a precious stone, it looked like a milky white opal, and it shone beautifully on her light blue skin.

She was a bit nervous. When she had received Jack's invitation she had had to read it three or four times, just to make sure she was reading it right. It sounded like the young biotic had thoroughly researched how to write her this simple message to ask her out. She had thought it such an endearing and cute thing, she had positively chuckled. Be as it may, she had been flattered by it and she had been pleased by it. She had to face the fact that Jack had carved a little place inside her heart. There was something about her that fascinated Liselle and brought out her sweet, loving side. As she was about to reach her destination, she felt butterflies in her stomach, and she liked it.

She turned around a corner and a smile opened on her face.

Jack casually turned around and saw Liselle walking towards her in sexy strides. She had a hard time keeping her jaw from hitting the ground. Damn. She was gorgeous.

The Asari reached her and greeted her with a kiss on each cheek, her light perfume floating in the air for just a moment. Jack grinned almost sheepishly as she welcomed her. "Hey. Hi... Good to see you."

Liselle looked radiant, to say the least. "Good to see you too… Shall we?"

"Sure…"

Once inside and sat at their table, there was just a second of awkward silence. The Asari broke it happily. "Your invitation caught me a bit unprepared, to be honest."

Jack squirmed visibly. The Maiden noticed and was quick to explain. "That doesn't mean I did not like it… In fact I'm glad you sent it, and I'm glad to be here with you tonight." She smiled sweetly, just to underline that her feelings were genuine.

The biotic looked quite relieved. "I'm sorry if it wasn't perfect, or appropriate, or correct… It's my first fucking time..." She stopped abruptly and stared at Liselle, her eyes widened. "Shit! I promised myself I wouldn't swear tonight." Another pause, she looked bewildered now. "Fuck. I said 'shit'... I didn't mean…" She threw her hands up in defeat, a sour expression on her stunning face. "I give up. I give the fuck up. This is me, take it or leave it." She let her closed fist fall on the table, making the cutlery tinkle.

Liselle's hand was fast to cross the table and she enveloped the human's fist in a tender gesture, squeezing her hand lightly to get her attention. As soon as Jack was looking into her eyes, she gave her a lop sided grin. "Hey… I know. I like you the way you are, so please don't try to change anything, ok?"

The biotic was stunned for a moment, not really allowing herself to believe those kind words. It all sounded too good to be true, the shadow of a doubt flew across her dark, warm eyes as she studied Liselle's face for a long moment. Then she seemed to remember who was the person sitting at the table with her and she relaxed, letting out a long sigh. "Sorry. I guess I should give you more credit. But it's so fucking difficult."

Liselle didn't stop smiling as she reached for the padd that was displaying the menu. "Take your time. I'm in no hurry whatsoever."

"Right. There."

Aria's voice was low and husky as her hand covered Shepard's, guiding her to where she wanted her to be, her skin delighting in the warm sensation of her lover's touch caressing her naked body. She pressed lightly, waiting…

The Commander was holding her breath in a state of excitement, her lips slightly open, her eyes focused, every sense alert. Then she felt it.

"She kicked!" Her voice was jubilant and a huge smile curled her lips.

The Queen of Omega couldn't help a small grin as she witnessed the joy on her bondmate's face. Shepard was looking at her as her head was level with the Asari's bump. Aria lazily caressed her hair with her other hand. She grabbed the back of her neck to let her know she wanted the human to climb back up. The Commander obliged and stretched out by her blue slender body, an arm circling around her just under her breasts, their legs entwining naturally, they shared a long, soft kiss.

The Asari commented with a mock tone of reprimand. "-Your- daughter kept me up all night like that."

Shepard smirked. "I see." Her lips glided along her lover's neck, slowly. "And how can I make it up to you, then?"

Aria replied in an almost threatening breath. "Oh, don't worry. As soon as she is born, you will have many, -many- chances to make it up to me. In fact, I expect you to make it up to me for many years to come, Commander."

The sudden loud beeping of an omnitool broke the spell. Shepard turned over to pick up the call. "This better be good, Tali."

The young Quarian was quick to explain the situation as both Aria and the Commander were listening intently. She wasn't finished yet as the human was lacing up her boots and getting ready to run out of the doors. Before she got going, she looked at Aria with a mild concern on her face as she lowered herself to give her a quick kiss. "I'll take care of this and be back as soon as I can."

Aria grabbed her wrist and stared at her. "Beware. The Collectors are a strange, unpredictable lot, and they always carry powerful weapons. Don't underestimate them."

Shepard winked. "I never do. That's why I'm still alive."

Their glasses clinked cheerfully and Liselle proposed a toast. "To first dates."

Jack accepted it with a smile and a nod. "Fuck yeah."

They sipped their drinks. A waiter came around to gather their now empty dishes and let them know what desserts were available tonight. They thanked him and told him to come back in a minute, so they could have time to think about their choice.

The biotic was surprised at how smoothly this was going, all things considered. The things to be considered being that she was absolutely new at this dating thing, that she had no idea what she was doing or what she was -supposed- to do, and that dating an Asari had been the least expected thing in her life. She congratulated herself for making it this far without any insanely cringe-worthy faux-pas along the way. She was about to open her mouth to continue their lovely conversation when her omnitool started beeping insistently. It was Shepard.

"Shit. Liselle, I'm sorry, I have to take this."

The Maiden gracefully nodded. "No problem. Go right ahead."

"Hey Shepard. Aren't you just the fucking champion of bad timing."

There was an urgency in the Commander's voice that made Jack worry. "Hey to you too, lovey-dove. Sorry to interrupt your evening, but I have the bad feeling your help will be sorely needed. I'm sure you know I wouldn't dream of spoiling your date if it weren't of vital importance."

Shepard had been the only one that Jack had talked to about her plans to take Liselle out, in fact she had been the one to advise her on the restaurant, -and- to give her a basic list of do's and don't's to help her out. The biotic knew she was telling the truth about the gravity of the situation, whatever situation that might be.

"Tell me where you are, Shepard. I'll be there as quickly as possible."

The call ended and she received the necessary details. She looked at them and she looked at Liselle, who was waiting patiently for an explanation. "I have to go. Duty calls. Fucking duty."

The young Asari didn't deem it enough. "What is it?"

Jack sighed. "Shepard is going to get me into a heap of fucking trouble, that's what it is. Must be Tuesday." Her grin severely undermined her sharp, almost annoyed tone. Liselle knew that the human -loved- her line of work, and the more the trouble, the happier she was.

"Anything I can help with?" The Maiden really wasn't looking forward to cutting this lovely evening short.

The biotic thought for a moment, her eyes searching the Asari's face. She knew Liselle would be perfectly at ease in any dangerous scenario. "Sure, why not. I think the Commander will be happy for any additional help. She better fucking be."

They left a credit chit on the table to pay for the dinner and quickly made their way out.

Shepard walked stealthily into the big docking bay from one of the hidden side entrances. By now she knew most of the station like the back of her hand and she had actually made a point to learn about every path less travelled. Aria of course had been the best source of help, showing the human some of the tunnels and passages that weren't even to be found in any of the few existing blueprints of Omega.

She swiftly took cover behind some tall metal crates and tried to listen to the exchange between the small group of Collectors and the Salarian. Garrus was right, he -was- big.

Between him and the mysterious aliens, lying on the floor, was a large, oblong metal container, that the Commander immediately realised had to be the focus of this deal. It seemed as if there was a misunderstanding regarding the payment, both parties sounded very unhappy with how things were developing.

Suddenly, someone new appeared on the scene. An Asari was slowly walking out of the small ship, her steps sure, her posture tall. She was wearing a very anonymous light armour, her eyes scanned the details of the room and then she gave her full attention to the aliens. Her voice would have been sweet, pleasant even, regardless of its rather high pitch, had it not been for an underlying brusqueness.

"What seems to be the problem, Tazzik?"

The huge Salarian turned to reply. "It looks like they have second thoughts about the value of the body, Doctor T'Soni."

Her eyes squinted immediately in a very displeased expression as she took the last steps down the short ladder and came into full view. She stared at the Collector that seemed to be in charge of the small group before she spoke again. "If you are unsure about the fairness of our deal, we can quite simply put our cargo back in our ship and be on our way."

The alien replied in a strange sounding voice, as if it was a strain to communicate in this fashion. "We need it. We want it. We cannot go back without it."

The Asari crossed her arms. "Then pay up, take it, and go. You should know better than to try and play these little games when the Shadow Broker is involved."

Shepard's ears pricked up. She still had no idea about what the cargo was, but if the Shadow Broker was behind this, she was pretty sure it was something special indeed. She opened their usual shielded comm line to Garrus, who was still observing the scene from the walkways under the ceiling of the large docking bay. Her voice was no more than a whisper. "Vakarian, I want you to lock your aim on the big Salarian fellow. Do not let him out of your sights, no matter what happens."

"Got it. Locked and loaded."

Jack's voice came through on the same line. "Hey Shepard, don't you fucking dare start the fun without us. We're just outside the main doors."

"We?" The Commander didn't sound too happy.

Liselle interjected in the conversation, her own earpiece synced on the same scrambled channel since their adventures against Saren and the Geth. "Yes, 'we'. Did you really think I would miss out on all this excitement, Shepard?"

Somehow the human was not -that- surprised. "All right then. Welcome to the party. Listen up. They have a sort of metal container. I want it. Don't mess it up." She keyed in a simple overriding command on her omnitool and the huge doors started whirring open. All eyes in the room turned to see Jack and Liselle strolling in, their arms enveloped in biotic swirls, ready for action.

The Asari agent for the Shadow Broker threw up a barrier and reached for her SMG, Tazzik pointed his huge grenade launcher towards the oncoming threat, the Collectors brought out some strange looking rifles and ran for cover.

Garrus took his shot. Tazzik's head blew up. His body fell limp on the floor. The Turian commented aloud. "That's what happens when you don't wear protection. Always wear protection, kids. It's the safe thing to do."

Jack replied as she was launching a biotic attack that destroyed the crates behind which the aliens were squatting. "Yes, Grandpa."

Shepard jumped out of cover and started firing mercilessly against them. Her faithful Carnifex was dropping them like flies.

The unknown Asari, realising that she'd never stand a chance, ran back into the ship as quickly as she could, she closed the hatch behind her and started the engines. The Commander nigh yelled in her comm. "Vakarian! Blow those engines out! Stop her! Liselle! Choke the engines with a Stasis field! Now! I want her alive!"

It was over in the blink of an eye. As the last Collector fell, Jack ran to where Liselle was standing, to give her a hand at stalling the engines, Garrus pulled the trigger once, then twice, and as the ship crashed to a stop the silence in the huge docking bay was deafening.

The Commander walked briskly to the small ship, she used her omnitool to unlock the hatch and they carefully made their way inside. They approached the pilot seat and noticed that the Asari had hit her head against the controls and was now unconscious.

Shepard exhaled the breath she had been holding. "Good. I love it when things go smoothly. Tie her up, wake her, and bring her out. I want to see what's in this precious container."

She made her way out of the ship and approached the metal object that was still lying unperturbed. There was a small rectangular glass panel on the top side of it. The Commander stood next to it and looked inside. It took her all of two seconds to recognise the only recognisable thing in there, an Alliance armour. A very familiar one. She gasped and instinctively took a step back.

The voice of their Asari captive got her attention from behind her. She was walking out of the ship, accompanied by Jack and Liselle, who were keeping an alert eye on her. "Surprised, Shepard? Yes, it's Ashley Williams. Or what is left of her. The first human Spectre. How the mighty fall. And before you ask, yes of course I know who you are. I am an agent for the Shadow Broker after all, information is my livelihood."

The Commander turned to face her, a million questions dancing in her dark eyes. She settled for the ones that felt more important. "How did you get her body? Why were you selling it to the Collectors?"

A deceivingly sweet smile opened on the face of the Asari. "How we got it is of no matter to you. Just know that it wasn't the Shadow Broker who destroyed her little Alliance frigate. And we were selling it to the Collectors because they were paying more than enough."

Shepard understood right away that she wouldn't squeeze anything less vague than that from her. She decided to bring Aria up to date regarding the situation. She took a few steps in order to have some privacy as she made the call. She kept it audio only.

The Queen's voice sounded interested. "Developments?" Short and to the point, as was her habit.

"A few. And quite unforeseen, I have to say. We have recovered Williams' body, and we have a… guest. A Shadow Broker agent, an Asari. I believe her associate, who is now dead, addressed her as 'Doctor T'Soni'."

There was a long silence on the line. Then Aria spoke, and her voice had dropped an octave. "Shit. I don't need this kind of a mess on my station. What about the Collectors?"

"All dead. They did not go down without a fight, to their credit."

Another short silence before her reply. "I'm sure you understand how I cannot and do not want to come and take care of this personally. The last thing I need is a Shadow Broker agent taking a good look at me… in my current state. The longer I can keep it hidden, the better."

"Of course. Just let me know if you want her dead."

"No. Let her go. We've probably already pissed the Broker off enough as it is. He, she, whatever they are, they can be quite the powerful enemy. T'Soni's business here is done, she had an opportunity and missed it, she has no reason to complicate things any further. If she's smart, she'll say thank you and be on her way. If she tries to play dirty, then yes, by all means, put a bullet between her eyes."

"Understood."

Shepard walked back to where Jack and Liselle were standing, she motioned to them to undo their prisoner's shackles. "Looks like it's your lucky day, Doctor. The Queen must be in an exceptionally good mood to let you go without so much of a scratch."

The Asari's eyes betrayed a hint of suspicion as she massaged her wrists for a moment. "My ship is busted, thanks to you."

The Commander grinned. "There is any number of transports coming and going from Omega at all given times. Pick one, get on it, and disappear. I'm sure you can afford to pay for it."

Doctor T'Soni stared at her. "Well, getting out of here with my life is more than I expected, given the unfortunate turn of events, so I guess I will make do. I won't forget this act of generosity." She started for the docking bay doors.

The human called after her. "Oh, Doctor?"

"Yes, Commander?" Her voice was strangely tired, but surprisingly kind.

"Stay out of trouble."

Shepard's remark was not as sarcastic as it could have been. She looked on as the agent walked away.

Standing in front of the metal container, Aria and Shepard were trying to come up with what to do with it.

"I am -not- giving her to the Alliance." The Commander's tone was as final as it could be.

"Fine. Then what? I certainly don't want this thing in my private room. It just doesn't go with the décor." Aria's arm moved in a wide, encompassing gesture to make her point. "And there's a cadaver inside. Talk about poor taste."

The human stared at the glass panel, the Asari's ironic comments were not lost on her. She smirked before she replied. "This thing is no coffin, Aria. Take a look. It was designed to keep whatever is inside in, at least, a deep freeze."

"Whatever for." The Queen started pacing as she tried to figure out their next move.

Shepard's eyes noticed a blinking light coming from the Asari's omnitool, that had been thrown carelessly on the floor next to her nightstand. "You got a message. Want me to check it?"

Aria's reply was indifferent at best, it betrayed the concentration she was putting into every possible variable, every possible outcome of this weird development. "Do what you want."

The Commander picked up the omnitool and couldn't believe her eyes. It was from Miranda Lawson. As she walked back to where her bondmate was, she read it out loud. "You have to listen to this. It's uncanny."

Dear Queen of Omega,

News travels fast. I know you have Williams' body. Cerberus was… let's say the second highest bidder for it. Of course the minute it went missing the Shadow Broker thought we'd be involved and contacted us about it… it is such a small galaxy in the end. We're still very much interested in it. Maybe we can make you interested in it too, or better yet, interested in how to get rid of it without too much fanfare. We are of course willing to pay the same amount that we had offered to the Broker. You know how to find me.

Miranda Lawson

A deep crease formed on the Asari's brow as she listened.

Shepard put down the omnitool and walked behind Aria, her arms circled around her and she hugged her, not too tightly, careful not to put any pressure on her belly. Her voice was soft and low against the Asari's ear. "So… what do you want to do, my Queen?"

Aria was lost in thought for a long moment, her electric eyes not leaving the unwanted relic. Then she turned around in the human's embrace, her hands came up to her lover's face and she met her in a slow, deep kiss. As she broke it, she whispered on Shepard's lips. "Let her have it. I've wasted enough time on it already."

The Commander grinned and replied, before resuming the kiss. "As you wish."