Chapter 2: The Calm Before the Storm

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Garrus made his way up the steps to the VIP floor of Afterlife. He could feel his skin prickling from the heat of the glares each and every Cerberus grunt had trained on him. They might as well have their rifles extended and pointed at his chest. As he left the stairs, he could see a pair of guards itching to pace towards him and get in his way, but a command must have been issued over the radio, because they adjusted their stance to attention as he passed by. Nicolas was sitting back on his couch, Jensen, the Cerberus operative and Nicolas' official right hand beside him, a datapad in hand. He seemed to be idly scrolling through it, but Garrus knew better, having seen the video that Lissana Trondius had given him, almost at the cost of her life. He hoped she'd made it out of Omega, that her face hadn't been broadcast by the grunts he'd killed. Now, he had to break the secret to Nicolas, but it needed to be done covertly, and he knew Nicolas was being continuously monitored. Hal had prepared a low-range file transfer before leaving, to be done from Garrus' omnitool to Nicolas' translator, but he'd need to get close, almost too close for the transfer to go unnoticed.

Garrus gave Nicolas a smile and a nod before turning to Jensen with an icy stare, "I need to talk to the Overseer in private."

"Nonsense, Garrus!" Nicolas exclaimed, perhaps aware that he needed to keep suspicions off him. "Come, sit. We're all friends here."

Garrus could work with that. He sat down at his side and motioned for a waitress to come over. The Turian went into an amicable conversation with the Overseer, talking about nothing and anything: the latest drug bust, the housing projects and the good old times. Even Shepard's name came up, and they lamented her incarceration. Their talk had gone on for more than an hour, and Jensen remained in his place, mostly silent unless Nicolas pushed him to answer a question or comment, stealing sideways glances at the two that Garrus made a point of not returning. In the end, Garrus excused himself to go dance, getting up slightly clumsily from having taken several drinks.

Nicolas made to get up but Garrus gestured at him with open palms, "No, please, stay there. I'll be back before you know it. No one will want to dance with a mess like me anyway."

Nicolas laughed heartily, "I seriously doubt that, Big Bird. Hey, go have some fun," with that, he extended a hand, that Garrus clasped. Nicolas squinted for a second as his translator came to life, then regained control of his facial expression. He turned to Jensen as Garrus left for the club's lower level, "Get me a metabolic pill. We still have work to do."

Jensen punched a command into his datapad and soon, a waitress showed up with the cure for drunkenness. Nicolas downed it with a glass of water and pinched the bridge of his nose, leaning forward to hide the frown he couldn't help from having as Hal and Garrus' message played in his ear. The metabolic pill, having gone through his bloodstream and broken down the alcohol and aldehyde molecules, now gave him a rush of energy. He let go of his nose and exhaled a long sigh before going over the administrative tasks of the day, accepting more military hardware enter Omega, under the pretext that the Reaper's return could happen at any moment. He insisted that the number of Cerberus operatives remain constant, though from what he'd just heard, he knew that mandate was unlikely to be followed. He tried to not let his face betray the feeling of impotence at suddenly not being sure of anything he knew about the people who were supposed to be working for him, of knowing he was yet again being used. As the remaining tasks dwindled, he paused and turned to look at Jensen, who was typing the last of his commands onto his datapad.

"How high are you on the Cerberus ladder, Jensen?"

Jensen snorted and smiled proudly, "As high as it gets, Overseer. Having humanity first has gotten me really far."

"Yes, but how high, exactly?" Nicolas pried, a silent hatred for the man bubbling in him.

"I am the head operative here in Omega. I report directly to the Illusive Man," Jensen turned towards him, a defiant look in his eyes.

"So you're like his right hand?"

"You could say that," Jensen said before turning his attention back to his datapad. Nicolas thought of Miranda Lawson, whom had also been, and probably still was, one of the Illusive Man's right hands. He took solace in that thought, telling himself that the man beside him believed a lie, as he himself had up until that moment.

"But you work for me, right?" Nicolas squinted at Jensen, who responded at first with only a short chuckle.

Jensen laughed heartily, "Yes and no," he said after shaking his head for a moment. "Someday, the Reapers will come. When that happens, the Illusive Man plans for us to manage the war effort together, using Omega's population and Cerberus' forces to their highest potential. Right now, the task of getting Omega's population in order and willing to take its stand against the Reapers is yours, and I am meant to help you. I might not wholeheartedly agree with your decision to include all races in the remaking of Omega, but the Illusive Man trusts your experience in cross-species cooperation, and by extension, so do I."

"Very political." Nicolas concluded good-naturedly, starting to get up from the couch, "I guess we're done for the day?"

"Yes, but I before you go," Jensen extended a hand at Nicolas, who regarded the operative with a cocked eyebrow, "I wanted to suggest that we visit one of the reinsertion centres sometime. It'd be good for the population to see you, and you'd get to see firsthand how things are going."

Baker snickered, "That'd be great. Let me get back to you later about when I'd like to go. I'm going to look for Garrus downstairs."

It didn't take long to find the Turian. Most of the patrons at Afterlife didn't sport facial tattoos like Garrus' king blues. He was standing at a corner of the floor, looking over the crowd. Nicolas chuckled as he saw him staring, scanning over the people for someone he could dance with.

"You'll never get someone to dance with you, gawking like that, Big Bird. Come with me," Baker half-yelled, tilting his chin towards the dance floor, Garrus following close behind. They started to dance, looking over each other's shoulders at the rest of the club's patrons. Nicolas spoke up, nowhere near loud enough for anyone to hear, only their translators were linked, thanks to Hal's programming. "Jensen suggested I go see the reinsertion centres."

Garrus took a sip of the drink he was holding, then spoke with the glass in front of him, "That's good. It's the perfect place to embed you into Cerberus."

"What do you mean?"

"I can get a non-human to attack you," Garrus muttered, meeting the gaze of a Turian woman a couple of patrons away. "You can play the human supremacist, get suspicions off you."

"Maybe get them to open up about what they're really up to."

Garrus nodded, clapping Baker on the shoulder as he walked around him, "Exactly. We can take it from there. I can tell you more through Hal. Go see him sometime soon."

"I will!" He called out after Garrus before chuckling to himself as the Turian started dancing with the woman.

"How's the ship I got you?" Nicolas called out as he squeezed through the entrance to the AI's warehouse that he hadn't bothered to open all the way. The screech of power tools could be heard from a good distance, giving Baker a sense of pride, for once he could help Hal, giving his friend something to spend his time on.

"Once I'm done with it," five LOKI mechs talked in unison, working independently on different parts of a dismantled ship, sparks flying in every direction, making the warehouse's floor a sea of bouncing sparks. "It'll be the most advanced unmanned vessel this side of the Perseus Veil."

Nicolas wasn't sure if Hal was joking until one of the mechs put its power tool on the floor and turned to walk towards him, emulating the organic gesture of clapping dust off its hands, emitting a tinny chuckle, "I'm installing radiation shields and redundant systems, since I won't need anything related to life-support. I'll be ready to go soon. What brings you here? You didn't text me or anything."

"Things are moving on the Cerberus front," Nicolas started.

The LOKI mech nodded with an ahh, and walked back to what it was doing to the ship's skeleton, "Yes, the video that Garrus got a hold of. So?"

"Well, it's clear that Cerberus has outstayed its welcome, but we can't kick them out by ourselves. I figured that if I can fool them into thinking I've become a human supremacist, I can leak good information to a resistance, helmed by Garrus."

"I like it. Your translator link will come in handy. I'll be more able to help when I get back. What'll the plan be once you succeed? I have ideas, if you need them."

"Shoot," Baker said, resting his hands on his hips.

"Your idea is making a more just society on Omega, and I find that admirable, but the Reapers are coming, and when they do, these people will have to do their part — which likely won't be here. Demographics show that the vast majority of the population is proficient in ship mechanics and VI programming. These areas will be especially necessary in evacuation efforts as the Reapers appear at more and more densely populated systems. Where I can help, is in repurposing Cerberus-occupied spaces into evacuation measures. We know that when the Reapers come to Omega, we won't be able to hold it, so let's make sure that we can leave it before they're able to stop us form leaving."

Baker nodded, "Sounds like a plan, if we succeed."

"When we succeed, Nicolas. Have a little faith, when have I ever been wrong?"

Nicolas hadn't seen Garrus since that afternoon in Afterlife, so he wasn't surprised, if not a little disappointed that the Turian hadn't made an appearance on the morning of his visit to the Reinsertion Program. He wasn't sure of what to expect until he'd left the transport vehicle with Jensen at his side and saw the crowd gathered outside the building, surrounding the platform where Cerberus grunts were setting up the equipment for him to give a speech of peaceful times and a bright future for Omega. He spied Turians, Salarians, Batarians, Asari, Quarians, Vorcha and a few odd Volus on what looked like stilts, but interestingly, no humans. If this was Garrus' work, which it likely was, he was in for a strong reception.

Jensen had his hand to his ear as they made their way to the building, whispering orders to whoever was listening. Baker walked alongside him, with a fully armoured Centurion bringing up the rear. As Cerberus guards split the crowd, a Quarian came forward to meet them.

"Overseer Baker, Mr. Jensen, I am Mendax, manager of the Gozu reinsertion facility. Thank you so much for coming. The people will be ecstatic to see you here," the Quarian gestured for Baker to walk ahead of him, and in doing so, touched Baker on the shoulder. His translator buzzed for a moment before going back to normal. "Please, follow me."

The crowd grew deathly quiet as they walked by, thousands of eyes burning holes in the back of Nicolas' head. The walk around the reinsertion facility felt sterile. People of all races stopped whatever they were doing to smile and wave at Baker as he walked by with his entourage. Mendax pointed at queues that led to tables manned by Turians and humans where people were notified of their designated areas of living and suggested occupational solutions and corridors that lead to housing blocks set up by both Cerberus forces and local volunteers. Everything looked like what he'd seen on the news feeds, but that was to be expected. The facility was controlled by Cerberus, but the outside was where Garrus was supposed to exert his influence.

He quickly realised that Mendax had been talking for a while and he had barely paid attention, the Quarian had made a joke and was laughing to himself before nudging Nicolas with an elbow, looking for agreement. He felt Jensen's eyes on him and realised this was the perfect moment to show aversion to the non-human. Baker recoiled from Mendax, bumping into Jensen, reacting to the Quarian's unheard joke with a snide uh-huh, then he brushed his sleeve where the alien had touched him. Baker's translator buzzed as a staticky voice filtered through its normal functioning, "Nice one."

The tour ended at the entrance of the building, where the crowd had gathered around the empty stage. There, Baker gave Mendax a quick handshake and thanked him for showing them around, making a point to look distracted, avoiding eye contact with the Quarian. Once they'd turned towards the exit and made their way to the stage, he leaned in towards Jensen and muttered, "Weird fucker," as he wiped his hand on his pants. Jensen gave him a look of satisfaction and agreed.

More people had gathered around the stage, making for a small sea of citizens of all species. Cerberus troops stood around its edge, hands on their rifles, their gazes scanning over the people in front of them. Their armour made it appear as if they towered over them all, even the taller Turians that had gathered. As he stepped onto the podium, a stream of text appeared in front of him, visible only to those on the stage. Baker raised his hands and the murmur of the crowd died down. He spoke up, smiling as smugly as he could, "My people of Omega, it's with great pride that I can call my visit to the reinsertion centre concluded. I have been in talks with the people who are vital to this operation, true champions of what will be the New Omega, free from crime and poverty—"

"Free from non-humans, too!" Someone shouted from the back of the crowd.

Keep cool for now, Nicolas heard through his translator. He frowned while keeping his smile on, "Our reinsertion programme is founded on the cooperation of Omega's resident species. We work in close collaboration with Turians, Quarians, Salarians—"

"Fuck Batarians, right?" Came another shout.

His heart was racing but he kept himself from reacting. The raspy command to hold came through his translator once more. He continued, "and with your help, we'll be able to give over two thousand homeless individuals a roof over their heads every week."

With that, he raised his hands, as if he were expecting applause. The crowd murmured unhappily, then: "You mean jettisoned?"

The people gathered nodded in agreement, the Cerberus troops took a step back, ready to raise their rifles. Nicolas put his hands down, ready to speak once more when a brick flew through the air. He caught it with his prosthetic hand and squeezed until it turned to dust, the servos in his palm screeching in protest. His translator crackled again, It was Mendax.

Baker opened a comms channel and pointed at the Quarian in the crowd, "It was him. Bring him here."

One of the Cerberus guards shouldered their way into the shouting crowd as the rest of the guards pushed the rest of the people back. Hands shot up in obscene gestures, insults floated over the rumble of the riled crowd. Soon, the guard came back to the stage, Mendax's in tow. Nicolas used his prosthetic to grab him under the mouthpiece and pulled him up, Mendax holding onto his wrist to keep him from pulling his mask off. He addressed the crowd, his grip on Mendax's mask keeping the Quarian still, "I've worked day and night for you fucking ingrates, and what do I get?"

He punched Mendax in the stomach. The Quarian twitched, unable to protect himself, trying to keep his mask on. The crowd stilled as Nicolas spoke up again, "I will continue to cleanse Omega. All those who don't like it can stay put. My people will find you and take the necessary measures."

He switched his grip on Mendax's face mask. His translator came to life one last time, less staticky, unmistakably Turian, throw him back into the crowd. We'll take care of him.

With his prosthetic, he punched Mendax's faceplate, making a crack in the shape of a spiderweb spread through from the centre. The crowd gave a disgusted murmur as he lowered him to the Quarian's feet touched the stage. Baker lifted his foot to the Quarian's sternum to avoid breaking his ribs as he kicked him off the stage, letting him fall on the crowd. The Quarian disappeared as the people surrounded and swallowed him, keeping him away from Cerberus' prying hands.

The crowd began to fall back as the Cerberus grunts raised their rifles, ready to shoot anyone who made for the stage. Baker scanned the crowd, hoping to be able to catch a glimpse of Mendax being pulled away. He knew that the last punch he'd given the Quarian would communicate a degree of ruthlessness to Jensen, making for a convincing turn of character. The Cerberus operative put a hand on his shoulder, and Baker spat on the stage before turning to smile at his companion, shaking his head and laughing, "Damn savages!"

"There's some good ones among them, sir. It's just a matter of figuring out which ones," Jensen spoke placatingly.

"We're gonna have to concentrate on that, filtering them out. Omega won't survive if half the population is nothing but delinquents," Nicolas said, feeling sick at his own words as they climbed into a car.

"Give me a few days, and I'll have something set up in the reinsertion centres."

"Good man. We'll make a paradise out of Omega yet, Jensen."

Hal's ship shuddered as it slowed down to non-relativistic speeds. The blue-shifted curtain ahead of his shuttle faded and materialised as the Dholen solar system, several light days away. The red giant at its centre was considerably larger and darker than his databanks remembered, reminding the AI of a Salarian doctor raising his hand to his chin and muttering, concerning. As they exited FLT, they instantaneously turned off the ship's scanning equipment, engines, and communication suites, turning the shuttle into a drifting piece of debris to any outside observers. The distance at which Hal exited FTL made them feel certain that Geth forces wouldn't notice them, and so they began the slow process of turning the shuttle's hull vibrations into stored electrical energy, using a spherical electromagnet bolted internally to the hull.

The hours went by as Hal went about his preparations, standing his LOKI mech at the shuttle's singular viewport, putting the telescope he had fabricated into place and finally putting his cognitive functions on standby to let the ship store its internal momentum into batteries. Days later, Hal powered back up, and making minuscule adjustments to the LOKI mech's position, started to survey the Dholen system in the distance. The telescope took in hours' worth of electromagnetic waves, which the LOKI reconstructed into high-definition imagery, that HAL pondered over as they came in.

Interesting, they thought to themselves as they scanned the exterior surface of the ageing star. It had indeed been ageing at speeds that were entire orders of magnitude faster than any normal star should. They could also discern the Geth's efforts at keeping the star from dying. Immense space stations were in close orbit to the star's raging surface, syphoning helium and excess heat from the star's mantle to keep the fusion reaction going on just outside its core from pushing its mass outward. Hal supposed the Geth's efforts must have been colossal to construct said machines, and they reasoned that the system's planets housed too many platforms and Geth constructs to move. The reason for Dholen's rapid ageing was still a mystery, and Hal scanned the starry backdrop of the system, looking for any kind of clue, should Dholen's predicament be caused by an external influence. It wasn't long before they found something, a distortion of light amongst the stars, uncannily similar to the gravitational lensing that occurred in the vicinity of a black hole.

Hal powered the ship's system's back up and entered FTL travel in the direction of the distortion. They had to return to relativistic speeds soon, as there was no way of determining whether they'd travelled beyond the source of the distortion when in FTL. Dropping into sub-light speeds, they saw the distortion had shifted direction slightly, I'm getting closer. It only took a couple more jumps to arrive at the source of the distortion. Coming down to mere thousands of kilometres per hour, Hal's sensors were active for a few milliseconds, during which his Lidar scanners found a dark mass of several million tonnes floating in the cold, dark interstellar space. More than the mass, the Lidar detected a distortion in its readings surrounding the mass, a telltale sign of intense Mass Effect fields occurring in the area. Activating his directional thrusters to turn the shuttle around, and then the main thrusters to match the shuttle's movement to that of the dark mass, Hal began the process of bleeding the ship's internal momentum. Once again, the LOKI mech stood at the viewport with the telescope, taking in light for several days, as this mystery subject was considerably darker than the star.

Finally, Hal was able to go over the compiled image, and had they possessed a head of hair, they would have stood on end. A Reaper, much larger than Sovereign, was floating in deep space, its tentacles pointed at Dholen, several lightyears away.