Noveria. Garrus buzzed in annoyance at the very thought of the independent plutocratic world.

And not simply because of his father's less than charitable opinion. The corporate fiefdom was notorious for using their independent status to skirt Citadel Council law. It had been tolerated as it allowed for research into subjects generally forbidden by law; a boon the Citadel felt it desperately needed after its first disastrous encounter with the Humans.

While he understood the political necessity to do more than just 'maintain parity', the Technocrats and Oligarchs that swarmed to Novaria were so completely contemptuous of ethics, that even the ship's Doctor Solus referred to the planet as, "a cesspool of moral depravity."

Still, for the moment he was constrained to work within treaty limitations.

"With growing frustration, Novaria traffic control, I say again we are a Citadel Alliance ship under Specter authority, requesting docking clearance, over."

Those limitations were seeming less and less meaningful by the minute.

"Snidely, thank you Noveria traffic control; I'll be sure to pass your request on to the Specter." Jo'Kar stabbed at the comms icon, then shifted slightly to put an eye on Gartrus. "Exhausted, Novaria Development Corporation sends its warmest regards, and requests you submit your credentials for inspection prior to entering the 'Public Relations Outreach Center'."

"I'll bet they do," Garrus angrily clicked. "Take us in while I get the troops ready."

He keyed the internal comms as he felt the ship buffet slightly. "Doctor Solus, Doctor 'Tsoni, Miss Zorah, please come up to the bridge."

The ship was settling into its docking cradle when the two scientists arrived. Liara was in her general ship-wear, while Mordin was in a reinforced coat with what Garrus assumed was a low-aspect K-Barrier generator.

"Doctors," Garrus nodded, "I'm taking you two with me into the Corporate offices. I need to find out when Saren was here, what else he may have been doing, and where he might have gone. Miss Zorah," he looked at the Quarian, "I'd like to borrow your Geth."

Tali hesitated for a moment, then unclipped the box from her suit and handed it to Garrus. He smiled in thanks. "I fully expect the NDC to stonewall us at every turn, so while I'm being glad handed, I want it to data-mine the hell out of this place: every name, every dirty secret, even if it's just rounding errors in office supply procurement, I want to know."

There was a short blast of electronic static from the box in Garrus' talons.

"Is that a yes?" He quirked an eye-ridge at the surprised Quarian.

"I don't know; I don't speak-"

"Bubo said you wanted to see us, boss?"

Everyone startled at Kaiden's silent approach.

"Clarification, we requested Bubo's assistance."

There were a few seconds of confused stares until Mordin smiled. "Cyber-warfare AI, better suited for computer infiltration."

"Correct. Additionally, UTSG AI architecture is based on unfamiliar logic structures, increasing chance of successful bypassing of security protocols."

One of the nearby haptic monitors switched on, showing a stylized avian. "What are you trying to butter me up for?"

"No, this works," Garrus buzzed while glancing at Kaiden, "if your partner approves."

"Hey," the digital bird fluttered, "I am a person, not Kaiden's property; if I want to go along-"

"Then as your senior officer, Ensign, I need to approve first." Kaiden stared down the digital bird. "Which I do, with the understanding that Bubo is a UTSG citizen. Anything happens to her..." he let the threat hang.

"I'll take every reasonable precaution to safeguard Ensign Bubo."

Kaiden hesitated for a moment, then unclipped something from his belt and handed it over. The haptic monitor turned off, and a tiny hologram popped up on the hand-sized chip.

"Thank you," he nodded to both Kaiden and Tali, then held up the two AI interfaces. "all of you."

"That's all well and good," Liara shuffled nervously, "but why do you need myself and Doctor Solus along?"

"Insurance and expertise," Garrus pocketed the AIs. "I have no idea what I'm looking for, only that it's here. You two can tell me what is benign, or at least unrelated research, and what is a smoking gun of collusion. Plus if things turn ugly, then between your Biotics and Mordin's skills from the STG, we should stand a fighting chance against whatever shenanigans the Corporates try to throw at us; at least until I can get my talons on a gun."

Garrus and team made their way through reception, with the Elanus Risk Control Services team giving them what Garrus assumed was the Corporate line about 'extraterritoriality' and 'limited Council authority'. He fought down a dark chuckle at the thought of what he intended to unleash.

They were finally escorted to the office of Director Anoleis, a jittery Salarian that seemed more concerned by Liara than with either Garrus or Mordin.

"Good evening Specter Vakarian. Can we make this quick? There are no small number of matters of great urgency I must attend to, which your visit is interrupting."

"As a matter of fact, yes," Garrus kept his tone even. "I need to speak with a member of Binary Helix's staff, preferably senior staff, as this involves a matter of possible violations of Citadel trade treaties. It would be better to address them directly, rather than implicate the Novaria Development Corporation as a whole."

Anoleis froze in place for a moment as he sized Garrus up. "The NDC has no direct control over the actions of participating corporate bodies; we merely manage the administration of planetary governance and physical infrastructure."

Garrus shrugged. "That won't really matter to the Vollus on the Council's 'Ways and Means Committee'. To them, it's all 'Noveria Clan', unless I can focus their attention on a specific group or individual."

The Salarian's horns vibrated nervously for a moment, before he turned to his desk terminal. "Binary Helix doesn't keep offices here at the Public Relations Outreach Center, except for a single Corporate Interface Office. Everything else is at their Peak 15 facility, which is currently inaccessible due to the weather."

Garrus bit back the urge to challenge Anoleis. "Then I suppose I'll speak to whomever manages their Corporate Interface Office."

The Salarian stared at him for a moment. "And? Do you expect me to make the appointment? I have more important things to do than drop everything and act as your secretary."

"And I have more important things to do than wait on some middle manager to schedule an appointment. The sooner I talk to someone at BH, the sooner I leave." Garrus then settled into an easy parade rest.

Anoleis shivered before stabbing an icon on his terminal. "Par 'Sini, message Mister Vargerius; tell him he has a priority customer service appointment. No excuses from him."

He glared up at Garrus. "You can use one of the public terminals in the atrium to find your way."

Garrus smiled and nodded, then turned and left with Liara and Mordin in tow.

"Goddess, what an unpleasant person."

"Understandable; corporate subculture not conducive to healthy socialized individuals. More concerned with open distress at your presence."

Garrus nodded absently as he walked to one of the public terminals in the entrance office. He pointedly ignored the flustered Asari Secretary whispering to someone on her comms.

As he sat in the semi-enclosed terminal, he gave Mordin a sideways look. The Salarian gave a surreptitious tap of his Omni-tool, and the Secretary's desk terminal sparked. She yelped and darted into Anoleis' office.

"Bubo, Geth, full map of all offices; we'll enter there," Garrus said in a hushed voice.

The terminal screen lit up with the image of the docking complex and attached offices. His Omni-tool pinged before the terminal blinked off.

Garrus stood up as he heard Par 'Sini coming back. "Is all of the equipment here this," he gestured in frustration at the terminal emitting blue smoke.

"I'm very sorry sir, if you'll just give me a moment-"

"Don't bother," Garrus waved her off. "Just point me towards Vargarius' office, and I'll find my own way."

"Other side of the Atrium, elevator on your left. They share a floor with Synthetic Insights."

The three stalked out. Once they were halfway across the atrium, Geth pinged a message to Garrus' Omni-tool: increased comm traffic from Anoleis' office to ERSC, none to Binary Helix.

"Wow," he buzzed, "they didn't waste any time setting a trap."

Liara's step faltered. "And we're simply going to walk into it?"

Mordin nodded as they arrived at the elevator. "Enemy believes they have advantage, or desperate since plan is so transparent. Will not expect prepared response."

"What prepared response," she squeaked nervously. "We have nothing!"

"We have surprise and initiative," Garrus stepped between Liara and the door as they arrived at the top, "and that's all we need."

He rested a talon on the AI Box for Geth. He could see several armed shapes through the smokey glass as they arrived at the top.

Before the doors opened, he tapped Geth. As the doors slid aside, the trio of Turians were clutching their helmets, while horrific screeching noises leaked out. As Mordin strode up, one tried to raise their weapon. The Salarian flowed around the arm and stabbed something up into the armpit joint of the hardsuit, and the Turian dropped to the ground. The other two were just as swiftly dispatched.

Liara gaped at Mordin. "What kind of Doctor are you again?"

"PhD, not MD," Mordin absently said as he stripped the guards of their equipment. "Am certified as a Combat Medic, and Emergency Medical Technician." He turned and passed a pistol to Liara, and an assault rifle to Garrus. "More than adequate for trauma and triage aboard Nierra."

The three searched the ground floor, but only found one general access terminal in a break area. As they headed up the stairs, they saw another three ERCS goons: the three that had met them at the docks.

Garrus was about to open fire, when Liara thrust out her hand. A Singularity appeared in the middle of the soldiers for hire, and they began flailing helplessly.

Garrus shot the gun out of each soldier's talons before the Singularity collapsed.

The leader of the team swore and clutched her bleeding talon to her chest. "Titans damn you! Grah, if you think you're gonna get away with this-"

Garrus was gobsmacked. "If I think... you're the ones that attacked a Council Specter. What exactly did you think the outcome would be?!"

He didn't bother with the glowering Turian, and went directly for the offices. Once inside, he plugged both AI in.

"Think you might like this," Bubo chirped as a list of internal communications from Anoleis' office to all ERCS personnel came up. "Orders to 'incapacitate', and then secure your credentials so they could board the Nierra."

"Well, if he wants to meet the crew that badly... Can you patch me through to Jo'Kar?"

A text line opened, just as Geth opened a video file, showing Saren and a very severe looking Asari talking to Anoleis.

"Make no mistakes Anoleis, if we are disturbed then I will deal with you personally."

"I understand, Saren; no need to be curt. If anyone comes after you looking for Binary Helix or Peak 15, they will be dealt with."

The timestamp on the message was five days prior.

Garrus clicked sullenly; the chances of Saren still being at Peak 15 were miniscule, but it was proof that NDC had conspired with Saren. He began his message to Jo'Kar:

NDC conspiring with Saren. Send Jane and the Gang, tell them to come in heavy. ERCS are armed, consider hostile.

Once he got an affirmative, he stepped back and headed out to Mordin and Liara. The three guards were now slumped against a wall.

"Saren was here a week ago, and left orders with Anoleis to kill anyone snooping around. I've sicked the rest of the ship's Troops on ERCS, so once Bubo and Geth are-"

"Done," Bubo chirped cheerfully from her chip. "We got all of NDC's financial records, a decent amount of research data, a list of everything Saren had personally requested be delivered to Peak 15, and Hecatoncheires found something really good!"

"I'm sorry, Heckin-what-abus?"

"Bubo insisted we needed a particular designation," the Geth Box said. "'The Hundred Handed Titan'... appealed to us."

Garrus flexed his talons in frustration before taking a calming breath. "We'll talk about you naming yourself after a Titan later. What was this, 'really good' find of yours?"

"A second, more comprehensive research site in the Hoc system of the Sentry Omega Mass Relay Cluster."

Garrus flexed his frill appreciatively. "Sounds like we know where we're heading after this."

He glanced around the dark office area. "Doctors, if you feel up to it, go ahead and use the office over there to look over the intel for a couple of minutes; no need to head back out into the shooting gallery yet. I'll keep overwatch."

Mordin and Lirara came out ten minutes later.

"Very...interesting supplies shipped to and from Peak 15. Fungicide export expected, megafauna containment and bulk nutrient stock imports unexpected."

Garrus glanced at Mordin. "Any clue as to what kind of 'megafauna'?"

Doctor Solus shook his head. "Similar to containment protocols for holding Klixen, but not identical. Only know that whatever it is, it's bigger than a varren, carnivorous, and highly aggressive."

Garrus clicked in contemplation, then glanced at Liara.

"Mother was here." The Maiden's voice was hollow. "She came with him, and left with him as well. She's apparently been visiting off and on for six months." She looked Garrus in the eyes. "This last time, she came with a full Huntress detail; she left without them."

Garrus wished he knew how to help the distraught Maiden. His own family life had, by comparison, been idyllic.

He was about to try to say something when he heard something. He cocked his head slightly as a rumbling sound started coming from the elevator shaft. "It sounds like Jane and Wrex are in the Atrium. Let's join them, shall we?"

The elevator doors opened on the ground floor to complete bedlam. Half the atrium was on fire, while ERCS personnel fell back in disarray towards the garage; right next to the elevator.

Liara threw up a dome Barrier while Garrus and Mordin stalked forward, methodically sniping every guard in their way. It took less than a minute to clear the floor.

"Jane, you didn't see a really annoying Salarian anywhere, did you?"

The Spartan looked around at the carnage, then lifted one of her boots and looked at the sole of her foot. "Can't say I have."

"He's probably hiding in his office then," Garrus nodded to the other side of the Atrium. "I know it's not strictly part of the mission at talon, but he is directly responsible for violations of Citadel Treaties with the Noveria Autonomous Region Agreement." He handed Bubo back to Kaiden and Hecatoncheires back to Tali, then shouldered his borrowed rifle and headed back through the Administrator's offices.

The security doors were not rated to withstand an alien Gravity Hammer swung by an equally alien super soldier in powered armor, and the glass shrapnel sent the last two ERCS guards scurrying to cover.

-Boom-Boom-

Though not fast enough. The team rushed into the main office as Anoleis was frantically typing at his terminal.

"Almost, almaAHH!" -WHAM-

Theris Pulled him over his desk and into a straight armed clothes line.

He ignored the incoherent moaning from the ruined Salarian as he went behind the desk. He saw several messages queued up for deletion, one only minutes old; all to Saren.

He looked back where Theris had Anoleis propped against a wall. "Well, that's the last nail in your coffin. I'm half inclined to just shoot you here and be done with it, but I don't want to disappoint the Old Man by denying him the chance to nail you to the wall."

He looked up at Tali. "Hecatoncheires, can you-"

"All files have been transferred to secure servers aboard the Nierra."

Tali looked down at the box on her chest. "Hecka-what?"

Ash started laughing. "The Hundred Armed Titan; I love it!"

Garrus pinched his mandibles in annoyance. "Of course you would. Alright everyone, we're heading back to the Nierra. Saren went to some place called Peak 15, and apparently you can't get there from here; at least, not in this weather."

...

Jane wasn't sure she liked Garrus' solution to the weather issue.

It turned out that the NDC garage had a spare MACO, so now they were traveling to Peak 15 in a short convoy. Thankfully Peebee was driving conservatively...

-BOOM-

Well, as conservatively as the automated defenses along the road allowed.

"Are we there yet?"

Peebee turned and glared at Wrex. "Do you want to walk the rest of the way?!"

"Cliff, CLIFF, CLIFF!" Jane clutched the 'Jesus Handles' on her harness as the Maiden huffed and lurched the truck back on track.

"I swear, you're worse than a Volus. Besides," the MACO rocked to a stop, "we're here."

Jane, Wrex, Kaiden and Ash all piled out, while Garrus, Tali, Theris and Liara were climbing out of the second MACO. Even in the full suit seals against the cold weather, Jane could see Liara and Tali were both absolutely done with the MACO.

Everyone stacked on the personnel door next to the garage door, with the Spartans and Wrex on point.

"Rules of Engagement?" Jane glanced back at Garrus.

"Free-Fire; assume everything is hostile."

The squad stalked through the empty garage. There were signs of struggles: gouges and chemical burns on the concrete, and projectile impact marks on the floor.

And the walls, and the ceiling.

Liara clutched the Tempest SMG Theris had loaned her. "What was it Doctor Solus had said?"

"...bigger than a varren, carnivorous, and highly aggressive," Hecatonchires played back Mordin's earlier assessment.

"Thank you for the reminder," Garrus grumbled under his breath as they made their way into one of the public office areas. Several of the window panes were broken, and the floor of the lobby was covered in snow and ruined furniture.

Wrex froze in place, and everyone followed suit. "I smell something. It's... familiar, but I can't place it."

-clang-bong-bong-bong-

Everyone pointed their weapons to the mezzanine overlooking the lobby.

"Spartans, Wrex, sweep and clear. Everyone else, Volus up."

At Garrus' order, the four largest members stalked up to the mezzanine, while Liara and Theris created a reinforced biotic bubble around themselves, Tali and Garrus.

-CLANG-HiIsS-

"Gahh!"-BLAM-

The four heavys opened fire as massive greenish four legged arthropods began bursting out of the floor, while swarms of cat-sized green bugs crawled everywhere.

The two teams poured fire into the various insectile horrors. Garrus was thankful that he largely only had to deal with the smaller ones, since he also had the two non-combatants with him.

"SPIDERS!" -BLAM-BZZZZZZT-

Though he was beginning to question the wisdom of bringing Liara and Tali along.

After one mad minute, the atrium and mezzanine were silent again, save for ragged breathing and Wrex's heavy footsteps.

"It can't be," the scarred Battlemaster knelt beside one of the more intact large arthropods, "nobody is that stupid!"

"Wrex?"

The Krogan looked down at Garrus. "My father had a prized possession: the body of his first kill in battle, during the Rachni War."

"Well," Liara gingerly toed one of the other corpses, "they certainly match Doctor Solus' description."

Jane sidled up to Wrex. "Care to share with the rest of us, Big Guy?"

Garrus and the rest made their way up to the Spartans. "You've read that much at least, right Jane? A couple of thousand years ago, the Asari and Salarians opened a Prime Relay without knowing where it led, leading to the Rachni Wars..."

Wrex growled as he kicked the Rachni corpse off the balcony. "Then the Salarians uplifted my people to fight their war, which we won, which led to the Krogan Rebellions-"

Garrus buzzed sullenly while looking at the Spartans. "Which led to contacting my people to fight the Krogans, which led to the Genophage, which is why Citizen Desolas Arterius had a blank check to invade Shanxi when your people opened the Shanzi-Theta Relay-"

"Mu!"

"Uh, Liara?" Everyone stared at the Maiden.

"The Rachni Wars began when Asair explorers went through the Mu Relay!"

Kaiden tucked his Doru under his arm. "Wasn't that the one the Ferros science ship went through? You said it was lost."

"Yes," Liara nodded excitedly, "it was knocked out of its original position by a Supernova roughly four thousand years ago, but my ancestors found it and opened it! Every ship involved in that expedition was lost when the Rachni invaded."

"And all the Krogan ships that went through to end the Rachni War were lost during the Rebellions," Wrex rumbled while looking at the dead Rachni. "You think they found it?"

"No," Liara opened a file on her Omni-Tool, "I think they're looking for it. Here," she began organizing various incidents, "Saren has been trying to search for something of a Prothean origin, based on his attacks from Eden Prime until now. Doctor Solus said the fungal creature on Ferros might have had a genetic memory, which Saren apparently tried to retrieve using an Asari Meld-"

Garrus nodded, "But that was a bust, since the fungus killed the Asari. Now he's looking for alternative sources of information. But the Rachni?"

"No, that tracks," Wrex leaned back against a pillar. "Our own histories of the Rachni showed that Hives could pass down information from Queens through the Eggs. If a nest was discovered that had been laid by a Queen that hadn't fought us, they were docile; but if the Queen had fought us before laying the eggs, then the hatchlings were instantly hostile."

Jane finished cleaning bits of bug off of her rifle. "So they're breeding Rachni here, and we think Saren is after some genetic memory of where the Mu Relay might be?"

Garrus huffed. "It's the best theory we have so far." He shouldered his rifle and headed for the door. "Let's get to the bottom of this, and see if this theory holds up."

...

'The Bottom' turned out to be more accurate than anyone had anticipated. After reactivating the various facility systems, and a combined effort by Bubo and Hecatonchires to datamine the computer system dry, they made their way down to the Hot-Labs where Binary Helix had apparently hatched a Rachni Queen.

They also had the full record of their disastrous attempts to breed Rachni as marketable Bio Weapons. There were no survivors in any of the levels except for roving swarms of Rachni Drones and Warriors.

"Saren's been pretty thorough about covering his tracks," Ashley commented as she finished Omni-processing an ERCS hardsuit for her HY/MARS. "What do we expect to find down here except one big ass corpse?"

Garrus swept his rifle back and forth once they started moving again. "Anything: any detail, any clue as to what in the Titans Damned Hell Saren is looking for beyond the Mu Relay."

They entered the main Containment Chamber. "He can't be perfect all the time; he's gotta, slip up..."

Everyone stopped and stared at the creature in containment. It was as big as the MACO, writhing against its restraints.

"RELEASE, ME!"

Everyone flinched and trained weapons on the various Asari corpses lying about.

"Goddess, these are the Huntress' my... Benezia brought with her!"

"RELEASE, ME!"

-SCREEONEECH-

Jane and Garrus both shifted their aim back and forth between the talking corpses, and the screeching Rachni.

"Is this you," Garrus inched closer to the containment unit. "Are you speaking to us through..."

"YES, WE SING THROUGH THESE REMAINS."

Tali backed up against Wrex. "Could she, perhaps, sing through just one of them?"

All but one corpse slumped, while the least decayed corpse shambled to its feet.

Kaiden leveled his Doru on the Zombie. "Don't know if this is any better."

"Your thoughts are quiet, devoid of color, we must sing through those who came before."

Garrus lowered the barrel of his gun and backed up, as the Zombie shuffled to the front of the squad. "Yeah, the ones who came before. How did you survive them?"

"Their minds were twisted; the Sour Yellow Note drowned out their thoughts. We hid our presence behind the imagining of our destruction."

Theris glanced nervously around the room. "You tricked them into thinking they had killed you?"

"Yes! It was a strong color in their thoughts; very easy to sing into their consciousness."

Garrus pinched his mandibles for a moment. "Was this before, or after you told them how to find the Mu Relay?" He looked around the room. "Saren tends to throw a tantrum if he doesn't get his way, and this place looks fine, aside from the dead Asari."

The Queen shivered in her restraints. "Pain, suffering; they brought my children close enough to sing to peace, only to slaughter them before me!"

Jane grimaced and put her rifle away. "So that's a yes." She walked over to the containment cell and leaned against it. "Tell us where he went, so we can end him."

The Queen shifted in her cage, then her Zombie shuddered. "We cannot say this, it must be sung to the mind, and your mind cannot hear our song."

"But mine can," Liara stepped forward. "Please, let me undo the atrocity committed by my mother."

Garrus was reaching for Liara, when her back arched and she hovered in the air. The Queen glowed for a moment, then Liara settled back onto the ground.

"It is done," Liara and the corpse spoke as one, before Liara stumbled into Garrus' arms. "What will you do now? Shall our song be silenced, once and for all, as so many have tried before?"

Wrex chuffed a laugh as he stumped forward. "That's a no brainer," he said as he slammed his fist onto a nearby control.

Everyone lurched and started yelling, until the restraints on the Queen retracted and the cell opened.

Garrus stared at Wrex. "What, why?"

Wrex sagged, as if the years of his life were a weight on his shoulders. "My people are going extinct because of what the Council did to us during the Rebellions. The Quarians were left to die out in the stars due to the Morning War. The Humans are fighting for their survival against two completely different groups of religious fanatics. And now Saren and this Nazara thing seem intent on wiping out all life."

He turned and began stumping back out of the room. "There's enough death in the galaxy without us adding to it."

He paused and squared his shoulders. "We have what Saren came here for, and helped save another of his victims. Let's take our win and get the hell out of here."

...

Miranda A-153 nodded to the on-duty 'escort' for Aria. She was let through without so much as a glance, despite the now chronic 'roving' blind spot on Jack Harper's security monitoring. She didn't worry about the guard talking about her visit; not with her own regular visits to the barracks.

Her dignity was a small price to pay for near unrestricted movement around Omega.

The door slid shut behind her, cutting off the light from the corridor outside.

"Are you sober," Miri asked the darkened room.

A shape shifted in the back of the room. "And why would our dark lord and master's chief whore care if I am?"

Miri snorted. "Because the 'Chief Whore' has a proposition for Jack's 'Favorite Pet'."

There was a short flare of light as Aria's biotics lit up. "Let's pretend for a moment that I won't just kill you to inconvenience him. What are you offering?"

"Exile."

Aria's eyes glowed faintly as she squinted at the Spartan. "You're offering me the one thing I don't want?"

"I'm offering you a way off this station; I'm offering you a chance to build your support out from under Jack's scrutiny, so you can come back and kick his sorry ass back into UTSG space."

Aria's eyes dimmed slightly. "Go on."

Miri internally sighed in relief. "You've met Jack's newest partner; the one who came in just before UTSG space locked down?"

"You mean your father, Hank?" Aria watched for any reaction. When nothing happened, she leaned back against the wall. "Yes. What about him?"

"I want you to kidnap the girl he brought with him, and get her to the Citadel."

"What, you don't want to smuggle her back into Human space, or smother her in her sleep?"

Miri scoffed. "I don't give a shit about Hank's latest test-tube baby, and they both have too much reach in UTSG space. I do intend to make it look like that's where you've gone, what with the Citadel Fleet massing near Relay 314; but only to throw them off their game."

Aria leaned forward, her eyes flashing with interest. "So if it's not familial revenge, then what's your game?"

Miri sat on a table near the door. "Same as I'm offering you: freedom." She huffed and leaned on her elbows. "I've compromised too much, sacrificed too much. I keep trading one master for another, and that stops now."

She fixed Aria with a fierce gaze. "I intend to set Jack, Hank, and the rest of Cerberus up to fall, but I need them looking anywhere but here to do it."

"So you're going to have them chasing me?"

"Yes," Miri nodded. "Jack can't afford to lose you, because then he loses control of Omega. He has to spend resources to keep your rabble in line. Hank on the other hand will demand Oriana be found, and that will put a strain on Jack's resources and support. I'm both of those, so he'll give me more latitude to act, which I can use to tear his little empire down. After that, it's just a matter of finding something I lost, and cutting ties with the Shadow Broker."

She levered herself up off the table. "We only have a few days to make this happen, so I need your answer now."

"If it means sticking it to that smug sonofabitch, sure. Make your arrangements."

Miri tossed an OSD at Aria. "These are the duty rosters and patrol routes for tonight. Names in green are the least attentive guards, names in red are guards I would consider it a personal favor if you would kill on your way out."

Aria gave a wicked laugh. "You're my kind of ruthless bitch. I'm glad we didn't meet before this, or I'd have had to kill you."

Miri shrugged as she got ready to leave. "We're both still young. Just be ready to hit the ground running once you're away. Barring anything crazy like the Collectors swarming the station, we can begin setting up Jack's fall before the year is out."