Chapter Three: The Deadly Throne

Shepard tapped on a railing as the Normandy closed in on Omega. He wasn't sure what to expect. He had heard the stories of Omega, like everyone else. A place of villainy, a floating bar in space, and where good men go to die or be turned. Oh, yes he had heard the stories but Shepard wouldn't let a few stories get in his way. He had a mission to complete and he needed the best. And according to his information that meant a few men. Men named Archangel, Zaeed, and Mordin. And based on the initial information he had. Archangel seemed like Zane.

"Could be him." He thought but the thought was banished almost immediately. Zane would just keep the name of Reaper why would he change it? And furthermore, this vigilante had a small team. While Zane could get along with people he seemed the kind to do things alone. Or at least when it came to the "vigilante" things.

"Commander we are approaching Omega." Chambers told him and he gave a calm, serene smile to her.

"Get Miranda and Jacob ready to depart the Normandy." He ordered before leaving to get his armor on.

…

"Okay, the mission is pretty simple. We're here to recruit three people. Archangel, Zaeed Massani, and Mordin Solus. First, we will hit Archangel and then Mordin followed by Zaeed." Shepard said as they walked. A Salarian approached and seemed pretty…off to them. But was quickly chased away by a large Batarian.

"Get the hell out of here Farrgut before I tell her what you have been up to." The small Salarian quickly ran away. "Damn scavs. Welcome to Omega Shepard. I have been sent to tell you to meet Aria T'Loak immediately in Afterlife." The Batarian ordered him.

"Relax I am not here to cause issues for Omega."

"Regardless of your intentions you still need to check in. Places have the tendency of exploding around you. Can anyone be blamed if they want to keep you in their sights?" The Batarian spoke then left without another word.

"He never saw Zane and Tali together then. Mountains explode around them." Shepard thought immediately of Noveria.

…

As the team made their way through Omega they picked up Zaeed who was a very straight to the point kind of man. Someone Shepard could respect. Although he was a little more extreme than Shepard would've liked. But he seemed to know what he was doing. One doesn't last as a bounty hunter without some brains and a good aim.

And Aria was…charming-ish. Having three guns pointed at you the moment you walk into a room has a certain effect. Like the kind where fight or flight instincts kick in. But he remained calm and the Asari certainly didn't disappoint. All information he could ask for was given freely though he felt she would use this against him someday. Being the "queen" of a hellhole like Omega meant she knew the power of favors.

"I'll talk to the merc recruiter then. Thanks for the help."

"We will see when the mercs realize you are not there to help them." She said as he walked down the stairs. When they were back in the "bar" section of Afterlife he got the feeling, he was being watched. But he chalked it up to the fact Aria was keeping a stern eye on him.

…

The Turian sat on his bar stool and looked at the Commander give a quick survey of the area. The man quickly turned around and studied the bar table to avoid suspicion. As he did so the man typed on his omni-tool and began to speak into it.

"This is Drinker. Commander has reached the Deadly Throne inform THOS." He spoke softly but sternly.

"Affirmative sending message out now." The link was cut and Drinker opened another channel. The sound of distant gunfire could be heard in the link.

"Go ahead." A female voice spoke. It was incredibly calm despite the fact it was in the middle of a small war zone.

"Prepare Operation Guardian Angel." The Turian said quickly looking over his shoulder. Seeing the Commander stop a young man from joining the suicide mission.

"Understood Operation Guardian Angel is to be prepared." The link was then cut and Drinker saw the Commander walking out of Afterlife. He quickly paid for his drinks and walked out the opposite end of the dark, dank, decrepit bar.

…

He walked fast and hard across the large station. He dodged the bundles of crowds and the even larger marketplace. He gave nods to his associates but he didn't have time to stay and chat. He had a message to send. He made it to a small club that was named "the Reaper's Den" on the front wall was a depiction of the giant squid-like ship that attacked the Citadel two years earlier. Which he knew was a Reaper but other believed it to be a Geth construct. But many were learning the truth.

He walked in and the loud music assaulted his ears. The bar held many different varieties of music from Quarian Blues, Turian Rock, and Asari techno, and right now it was human metal. In the center of the circular room was a stage where a band could play. Under the stage was the bar area. This place used to be a gentlemen's club but no longer. It was simply a bar or club area. And was the base of the Organization in the Citadel. The Messenger walked to the back of the room passing the large culmination of people. He was stopped by two Turian guards.

"Business?" one asked his weapon being held tightly.

"Message for THOS." He said the other Turian scanned him with the omni-tool and let him through.

"Great to see you again Messenger." The Turian said when the door opened. The small man walked into the dark hallway that leads to the office of the Harbinger himself. Messenger put down the hood he wore and took a deep breath. He knocked on the door and a muffled voice let him in.

When he walked in there were two people in his immediate sight. The Queen of humans was a holographic image and the Bishop of the Citadel was there in person.

"Bishop, when I said I wanted to get my point across I, didn't mean to start a riot! How do you expect you, me or our people to recruit others when we burn entire districts?!" A voice shouted at the Bishop of the Citadel. The voice came from a chair that was turned away from them. The Bishop stood straight and the Queen smirked.

"I understand Sir I will make changes as needed." The Bishop said with conviction.

"Good, I'm sure it was a miscommunication. Don't let it happen again. And Queen, start getting more of our boys into the Alliance. We will need the Alliance more than ever here soon." The voice took a small breath before the cracking of fingers could be heard. "Now I have things to attend to you are dismissed. Messenger enter further." The Bishop left and the Queen faded.

"Sir." The Messenger said with a hint of terror. He wasn't afraid of the Harbinger far from it. He just held so much respect for the man that to be in his presence was an honor. And slightly terrifying. In retrospect, maybe he was afraid of the Harbinger he was afraid of disappointing him.

"Report Messenger." The chair turned and he now faced to shadow with the Harbinger. The light from the window behind the Harbinger cast such a shadow that only the outline of his head could be seen and the small outline his mouth could be made. His eyes looked colorless due to the lack of light and his hair, and even skin color was impossible to tell.

"Sir, Drinker has made contact. The Commander has seen the Deadly Throne." A smile could be made out on the Harbinger. He rubbed his forehead with a small sigh as the smile faded.

"Excellent, recap of previous locations." He ordered and the Messenger stood a little straighter about to speak.

"Yes, Harbinger. Commander was reported by the Warden and Samurai Squad. He was also reported by the Junker. No contact by the Greeter, Dreamer, or Captain." The Harbinger placed a hand on his chin when his omni-tool went off. The light was so feint The Harbinger's features remained hidden.

"Damn it, I have a meeting to attend. Have Greeter prepared just in case. The Commander will have to come here at some point. Have Sleeper and Mechanic keep tabs on their respective targets. I want to be notified of any changes or predicted movements. Dismissed." The Messenger bowed his head in respect before leaving as the Harbinger turned his chair around with a small chuckle that sounded almost mischievous.

…

Shepard ducked and jumped over every obstacle as the mercs opened fire at a lone building across a short, thin, very open bridge. A few shots managed to hit him causing almost all his shields to disappear.

"Damn, that was a close one." He cursed once he made it to safety and let his shields regenerate. He had to wonder how it was Archangel could keep these many mercs off him at once. Shepard had learned that Archangel's team was dead now and had been dealt with some time ago. But still to hold out for longer than an hour let alone several days was amazing.

"Commander that Cathka guy is over there ready whenever you are." Zaeed reminded him. He gave a nod and ran to the Batarian who was working on a gunship.

"Cathka?"

"Sergeant Cathka to you." He spat.

"Uh huh. Well, I was told to talk to you in regards to my mission." The Batarian looked him and his team over. Shepard, Miranda, Grunt, and Zaeed must've been quite the sight.

"Hm… mission? Sure, if that's what you want to call it. I call it Suicide but that is your purpose anyway. Look when the signal is given you jump over that barricade and charge the base." The Batarian lit up a cigarette before taking a quick smoke.

"Right…just head right into the hail of bullets. Got anything better?" The Batarian glared at him with all four eyes.

"Not for low-life freelancers like you. I don't care how well equipped you are…" He was cut off by an incoming transmission.

"Almost broken through. Send them in now!" A voice ordered.

"Finally. I got to get this puppy up and running now go and earn your creds." As the sergeant turned Shepard saw a sparking tool and thought about using it. To make this merc learn the price of his deeds. But he stayed his hand. Shepard wasn't a murderer and he wouldn't murder another murderer no matter how much he wanted to.

"Understood…Cathka." He spat before making his way to the barricade. The full assault was soon underway. Grenade launchers, rifles, and grenades were thrown, shot and used against the lone Turian. The skilled sniper ran from cover, aimed, and killed an assailant while on the move.

"Damn impressive." Zaeed mentioned.

"Let's bring this up a notch. Shall we?" Shepard said popping a few knuckles before grabbing a merc and throwing him off the bridge.

Zaeed pulled out his rifle and killed three distracted mercs. The team just kept the pressure up. Grunt ran forward with a frightening roar as bullets just bounced off him. He charged through two mercs and grabbed a Turian before slamming his face into the wall. He kept the grin on his face and just continued the laugh that could put a chill down most people's spine.

"Keep on moving forward!" Shepard ordered as he led the charge. The team laid waste to any that got in their way. Merc after merc fell to the hail of bullets. Many of them were young which Shepard pitied to an extent.

Miranda put a human into a pull field and held him at bay until she let go of a massive warp. The explosion causing the air around it to shimmer in a biotic blue effect for several minutes. Finally, the team made it to the last door if any mercs were still in the compound then they hid well.

The door opened and the Normandy team breached it as quickly as possible. Only one person was in the room. A Turian clad in blue heavy armor who wore an iconic Turian helmet.

"Archangel?" Shepard questioned. His response was a single finger up in the air. The universal sign for "one moment" the vigilante scoped down the rifle. Each breath a calculated risk of missing the target. When finally, he pulled the trigger, it was no surprise the tell-tail sound of *thud* was heard shortly after.

The Turian rose slowly breathing heavily. He was tired there was no telling how long he had been fighting. He used his rifle as a cane of sorts to support him. As he walked to a nearby crate and sat on it. The Turian was silent the whole way and reached up towards his helmet and took it off.

"Shepard…fancy meeting you here." Garrus said with him smiling. He looked tired, his eyes ready to fall so he may know sleep, his breathing was heavy and showed no sign of letting up.

"Garrus! I didn't know you were Archangel?" Shepard said arms wide. Garrus laughed a short bit just as his waning energy began to show.

"Yea well…it's just Garrus to you. The civilians began calling me Archangel as a thank you. But like I said just Garrus if you don't mind." He smirked at the Commander.

"How did you manage to piss off every major player on Omega Garrus?" Shepard asked with a grin.

"Wasn't easy I really had to work at it. And I remember a few things Zane would do on the Citadel. Kill a few important people, leave threatening messages, kill a few more important people. Wash, rinse, repeat." Garrus laughed.

"Have you heard from Zane at all?" Shepard asked the Illusive Man gave him very little on Zane.

…

"What about Zane?" He asked the calm man in a chair drinking and smoking.

"He has…disappeared we can't find him. If he is alive then he is doing a much better job at covering his tracks. The only mention of anyone matching your friend's description is a man that meets with Councilor Anderson every-so-often."

This surprised Shepard, why would he be meeting with Anderson? Was it even him? And furthermore, why had he gone off the radar? It could be possible the Reaper was still alive and well. And maybe he had been doing that almost exclusively and the Illusive Man just didn't know. But Shepard found that unlikely but not impossible.

"Alright I get it; they are not available."

…

"I have heard nothing. But I will say that the last time I saw him he was working on something big. So big he put being the Reaper on the back-burner. Whatever he was up to he considered it very important. Important enough to end what he had been doing for almost the past four years." Garrus said and to anyone who knew Zane this was a shock.

He took his duty as the Reaper very seriously. If he hadn't joined Shepard, chances were Zane would still be fighting criminals while the Normandy saved the galaxy. It literally took the end of the galaxy to get him off the Citadel! That was how much Zane became enveloped into being the Reaper.

"Damn…that can't be good."

"Tell me about it."

"Not to rush you Commander but we are still surrounded." Miranda reminded them.

"Right, Garrus, you think we can make it out of here?" He asked as they walked to the balcony it was quiet and they saw the bodies of every freelancer still behind the barricade.

"Damn…well there are less of them but there are just too many. I say we stay here and let them come to us. We hold them off long enough and we can whittle them down to a much preferable size." Garrus said loosening up his joints for the coming battle.

"Understood…get ready team we have company incoming." Shepard ordered then a wave of Eclipse mechs came down the bridge. Garrus was quick to destroy two of the metal soldiers. "Fire!" Shepard ordered and began to open fire at the incoming wave of mechs. And one by one did they fall. But one by one did they return. For every mech destroyed another would replace it.

"Damn how many of these guys are there?" Zaeed asked taking another burst of fire to destroy a mech.

"Eclipse has been steadily building their supply since I have been here fighting them." Garrus said before taking off the head of a mech which resulted in an explosion that knocked two off the bridge.

With the last mech down the organic enemies hopped the barricade. They had very heavy shields and would make it to the base at the rate they charged it.

"Grunt get downstairs let nothing through!" Shepard ordered and the Krogan immediately ran for the stairs. Shepard looked back and saw a massive mech begin its march. It was a YMIR mech and was prepared to open fire at the small team in the base. Except it quickly began to knock its own people off the bridge.

"I take it that was you Shepard?" Garrus asked as he shot an escaping merc.

"No, it wasn't. I couldn't hack it." He said confused and Garrus gave a similar confused look.

"Then who…?" The base shook from an explosion that seemed to come underground. Garrus leaped from his cover and opened a hologram image of the base. At the lower level, it blinked red. "Damn…well, I guess they had to use their brains at some point. They breached the lower access tunnels. I have some traps but not nearly enough to hold them for long."

"We can take care of it I'll take one of my men and you have two."

"You sure Shepard? I don't know how many are down there."

"Come on Garrus have you no faith? Miranda and Zaeed stay with Garrus. Grunt with me." He ordered and made his way down the stairs and to the breach.

…

Garrus prepared for battle again as they charged. He had ordered the humans to stay on the high ground and pick off the mercs. The female could destroy armor and shields and wasn't a half bad shot with her pistol. And the male was good with almost anything.

"Shepard they are beginning the assault not many for now but that will change as they get annoyed." He cut the link and began opening fire at the mercs. They fell by the squad but still, they came at the base. They were now on the Blood Pack's forces and there would be no stopping them from breaching the base.

"Female, look down towards the main room keep them in there." He ordered he had forgotten the woman's name and right now being polite wasn't on his agenda. He aimed, took a breath and shot a Krogan dead in the head. The mech that had turned was beginning to go down. But it did its job well. Until two Vorcha climbed onto its back and began to open fire at its head. The idiots not realizing they initiated a self-destruct sequence. The explosion killing two squads of Vorcha and three Krogan.

"Damn Garrus…these guys just keep coming." Shepard cursed and Garrus had to agree with his old friend.

"Yep really pissed them off my old sergeant would be so proud." Garrus laughed before killing another Vorcha followed by a Varren.

"How are the lower levels coming?" Garrus asked Shepard as a bullet screamed passed his head.

"Two doors down. On the third."

"Understood, the faster the better Commander."

"I'm on it." Garrus had to duck when a hail of bullets was aimed right at him.

"Well, that's not good." He said and made his way to new cover. The male aimed and shot a Vorcha and then used a concussive round to knock down another Vorcha. The bullets just kept pinging off his cover as he moved and the whole time a similar thought popped into his head.

"How did Zane manage this for a year never mind four?" It was a fair question but then again the Citadel was leagues different than Omega.

"Garrus got the last door. I'm on my way back."

"Understood Shepard see you when you get here." He said followed by shooting a Krogan three times in the head until it finally died. "Spirits I hate fighting Krogan."

"I love the challenge personally." The male said which brought a smile to Garrus' weary face.

"Turian, we got a problem." The female said which got his attention. He quickly ran to the opposite side of the room and looked own. A door was pried open by the raw strength of a Krogan and out came Garm himself.

"Oh crap. Alright, focus fire on Garm!" he ordered.

"Which one is Garm?" The female asked. Garrus couldn't help but curse inwardly.

"The only Krogan smart enough to give orders!" He said as he shot a Vorcha by the Battlemaster. In retaliation, a large warp was thrown at him. The cover crumbled but was otherwise fine. Shepard showed up and shot another Vorcha followed by his Krogan friend breaking the spine of a Varren over his knee.

Garm charged up the stairs ignoring the torrent of bullets hitting him. His barriers were gone and the armor was almost destroyed. But still, he charged. The regeneration of the Krogan's cells sustaining him to continue the fight. The giant Krogan knocked down the male and threw the female and had his sights focused on Garrus. The Turian kept firing but to no avail.

"You are mine Archangel…and will soon be dead." The Krogan charged Garrus and the Turian ducked under the mammoth's arms and placed a grenade on him.

"See you later Garm!" He yelled and jumped over to cover just as a hail of orange blood covered the room. When he looked there was no more Garm. Garrus rose slowly his knees, arms, legs, shoulders, brain everything begged for rest.

"Alright, just the Blue Suns left I think we take our chances now." Shepard recommended. And Garrus had to agree.

"I think so to. They have the largest group but nothing we haven't faced before. I say we…" He was cut off by a hail of bullets and rockets hitting the base. "Well, that was quick." Garrus got to work immediately and ran to a window just as the gunship showed up.

"Shit thought I took it out." Garrus said and Shepard was heard cursing at himself. "No matter we'll take it out again." Then a bullet hit his shields, pinging them off. Garrus quickly turned and sniped the first person he saw. He quickly ran and switched to an assault rifle holding the trigger down to spray the first Blue Sun he met. A human tried to ambush him but Garrus was quick to spin around the surprise attack and kill the confused merc. A shielded Turian then attacked from the window. Garrus dodged the merc's weapon and jumped to grab the top window sill. He kicked the merc back before cutting the top end of the rope. The merc screamed in vain as he fell to his death.

Garrus looked back and saw his team watching his flank as Shepard tried to take out the gunship. His rocket launcher seemingly making small dents but nothing the gunner should worry about. Garrus tried to help while he could but between the gunship and the large squads charging them, it was hard.

"You'll get yours Archangel!" The gunner said before leaving. The mercs seemed to start retreating as well.

"Did we just do it?" Shepard asked a little apprehensive. After a few minutes, they didn't come back. Garrus gave an exhausted laugh.

"Guess they ran out of men or resources." The two began to leave when more windows shattered and dozens of Blue Suns showed up.

"Did you really think we would let you get away?! After all, you have done?! You're dead Archangel you hear me? Dead!" The gunship returned and lit up the entire floor. Followed by enough rockets for the building to begin collapsing.

"We have to get out of here!" The female yelled warping two mercs.

"Secret exit come on!" Garrus led the way into another room as the building collapsed all around them. The Krogan pried open doors as they ran. And the team jumped over rubble and debris. "That door!" He yelled pointing to it. It was a lone door and seemingly camouflaged. The Krogan shattered it with a ramming charge. The team ran out and tried to catch their breath as the building gave way to dust and dirt.

Garrus looked back with a tear in his eye. His dead comrades were still in there and now they would be buried there. When he turned, Blue Suns surrounded them and the gunship stared at them. Guns spinning up and ready to kill. Garrus had no cover and even less ammo. Shepard began to raise his hands in surrender and Garrus followed suit.

"This is the end for you all." The guns spun faster as Garrus closed his eyes he was ready for the end.

He was snapped from his moment of death when an explosion was heard close to them. The Gunship began to smoke and began to favor a wing. Another shot hit its other wing. The shots were precise and methodical they were disabling shots. The gunship began to escape by getting close to a building not far from them. Garrus' eyes went wide when he saw a Turian female jump from the building and hold onto the cockpit of the gunship. The shimmering of an omni-blade could be seen and she sliced open the cockpit before stabbing the gunner.

"Mine now bitches! And the Harbinger sends his regards!" She taunted as she lit the entirety of the Blue Suns apart. Men died by the squad but there were still many of them. Garrus and the team quickly found ammo and cover and helped while they still could. But they were redundant after a few minutes. Soon another squad appeared and began to shoot at the Blue Suns.

"Requiin squad destroy them!" A Turian was voice was heard. Garrus was surprised by the name of the squad. Requiin were ancient warriors during Palaven's bronze age they ruled most of Palaven for nearly a millennium. The Requiin were responsible for how Turians are today. Training at the age of fifteen, thinking of the whole and not the individual, even some basic laws date back to the Requiin Age as it was called.

"They are retreating Sir. Mission complete." Another voice said. The team quietly got up weary. The battle drained them almost completely. A squad of two male Turians, a Krogan, and a Batarian greeted them. A large Turian that wore red face paint of Palaven's smallest continent greeted them.

"Archangel, Commander Shepard. Requiin squad of the Organization. I am Aximus Lukus Knight to Rook Timia who you saw take the Gunship. She will be taking the ship back to our base. I am simply telling you good luck in your mission. The Harbinger looks forward to seeing how you progress."

"How much does your Harbinger know?"

"THOS hasn't said much to us but I can only assume he knows much about your mission. The Organization has known much about the Collectors but we are small right now. Most of our bases are mere skeleton crews. We just don't have the manpower to help in a meaningful way other than like now. All we can do is make your job easier by taking the trash out early."

"Understood, thank you Aximus." Shepard said as he turned Garrus followed him.

"Oh, and another thing Archangel, if you do leave with Commander Shepard know that Omega is in safe hands." After that, the squad moved out without another word.

"So Garrus you staying here?"

"And miss all the fun? Not on your life Shepard…Wait that came out wrong given recent events." Shepard laughed which Garrus soon followed and made their way through the battlefield.