"Decontamination complete. Please try to not bring any diseases inside when you return like last time" EDI politely asks.
"Is it me or is the new decontamination procedure much faster? Also last time?' I ask.
Mordin answers "the artificial intelligence is referring to samples I had kept from the plague."
My anxiety flares. My eyes open and I feel my palms become sweating. "Plague?! What Plague? I don't want to get sick again!"
"Calm down. Chakwas vaccinated you, remember?" Shepard said.
"Right. So how is omega? I've seen videos and it looks rough" I ask the room.
Thane answers "I've had a number of dealings. It is not a welcoming place."
"It's fine when no one can see you" Kasumi said.
"We should not linger. Aria is waiting us. She will direct me to my prey" Samara said.
The door opens and the first thing you notice is the smell. Rust, stale urine, and some kind of earthy aroma. My gag reflex forces me to cough. A doom to fail attempt to evacuate the stench from my nostrils. This place is a complete wreck. Clan urdnot smelled nowhere near this revolting and they were a campground of all men. We leave the confines of the nice clean decontamination area.
Shepard turns around and faces the five of us. "Samara, *********, Mordin, and I will talk with Aria. If anyone would know anything about who you are looking for it's her since she runs the place. Mordin you can check up on your patients afterwards. Kasumi, I want you cloaked and close at all times. Thane you're my eyes in the sky.
I ask what my role is. Samara said she has a special task for my traits. Alright. Shepard almost forgot to tell us to make no mention of Garrus. His relationship with Aria is stretched as is and learning the former spectre is harboring a vigilante who on multiple occasions cost her business partners a lot of credits will piss her off.
The elcor bouncer waves is through. I wonder if I could take him. We pass through the hallway and ignore the pass out batarians and vorcha. The music is loud and has a nice beat to it. Makes me feel like dancing. I feel my energy pumping though my muscles and wants to me let out. Another time perhaps. Our group of four and an invisible one stays closeknit. Shepard leads the way to the stairs. We pass by a really old looking Krogan. He glares at me strangely. His presence feels... intriguing. I shake it off then we ascend up the marble stairs and I come face to face with the club owner.
"Ah you returned. I didn't think we meet again so soon" Aria puts down her datapad then sips from an expensive looking drink.
"It's been nearly a year" Shepard crosses his arms.
"That's not long for an asari. I see you brought a couple newbies and one of them a justiciar of all the people in the Galaxy" oh she's ticked.
"You two you're new. Remember there is only one rule on my station. No one fucks with Aria" the club owner states. Her soul feels cold when she gives her one commandment.
"That's one lonely bedroom" I comment.
"Are you offering to fill it?" She winks.
"NOPE! But he will" I kick Mordin forward and hide behind Shepard's shoulder. He gives me a disappointed look. Mordin lands on the couch. Aria smiles fondly and says hi to the salarian. Mordin stands up and returns to the squad. His head points downward. The scientist's face looks different. Is he blushing?
Samara steps forward. The guards raise their weapons. Pistols in both hands I dart between the private security, giving them the crazy eyes. An unpredictable enemy is a dangerous one. I act like I want a gunfight. The adrenaline is filling my blood with heat and power. The justiciar said "Ardat-Yakshi." Aria's collected demeanor almost perfectly hides the fear in her reaction. She waves her hand and the guards lower their weapons. I put my pistol back in their holsters. Kinda a let down.
"I heard rumors of a serial killer. Young women. I thought it would be a batarian. Didn't realize one of those were here. How long have you been tracking?" Aria asks.
"Centuries unfortunately" Samara said with guilt in her voice.
"FUCK! Are you prepared to handle this?" Aria asked.
"I shall use whatever means I must" Samara states. The commander questions me if I know what they are talking about. I whisper "did she not tell you why we are here? She didn't tell me."
"I'm sending you all the information I have on the latest victim. Get that monster off my rock" Aria's men push us out. We head downstairs, position ourselves near the bar and hear what the justiciar has to say for herself.
Samara confesses "I should have informed you of this before we arrived. There is an asari serial killer. Very powerful and dangerous. She can kill with a single touch. I have been tracking her for a very long time. She goes into hiding for decades. I assume she attempts to control her bloodlust and has failed every time."
Thane said "Withholding Intel will increase the risk of this mission catastrophe."
"She is my youngest daughter" Samara the disciplined warrior who is always in control of herself looks like she is about to cry.
The others are stunned quiet as I fake my reactions. The invisible woman breaks the silence.
"Ooof. Now there is a twist" Kasumi commented.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Shepard asks. Annoyed upon learning what he blindly walked into.
"I am ashamed for my actions, my multiple failures, and I have reasons for keeping it a secret. This is a need-to-know basis. Only asari should be in this mission however this is my best chance at finding and eliminating her" Samara explained.
"She's your daughter" Shepard shocked at notice of upcoming filicide.
"I know full well. Shepard, long ago I gave her a chance to overcome her urges, she ran away and killed possibly thousands since. I must redeem my error" she said.
Shepard rubs the back of his neck and sighs through his mouth. He's thinking about what to do. After a moment, he asks Thane how his detective skills are.
"My training extensively involved deducing events from limited information as well as experience I've accumulated throughout my career. I believe I will be quite useful" he said.
Shepard orders Mordin, Kasumi, and I to stay put for the moment while he goes to investigate the crime scene with Samara and Thane. Before he can depart, a large elderly Krogan needs to talk to me.
"Hey I know you" patriarch said.
"You do?" Shepard asks.
"Yeah I'm pretty famous among the krogan for helping clan urdnot" I casually mention.
"That was you? No, I meant when you asked for directions a while back. You were erratic and really needed to find a place. Weird crap happened afterwards. When that happens on Omega, that pisses Aria off. Especially after the bombing" patriarch said.
"What are you talking about? This is my first time on omega" I said.
"Perhaps you have twin" Kasumi joked.
"Oh God could you imagine two of me Shepard."
"Shepard?"
The former spectre's eyes are filled with horror. His jaw lowered from the nightmares he is visualizing in his head. I try to shake him out of it but it's no use.
"It's like he stared straight into a thresher maw's ass" Patriarch said.
"Hey hey hey Shepard. I was only kidding. There is only one of me that I know of. The only one fighting their evil twin in the future is you" wait should I tell them? They won't believe me and if they did, would Cerberus kill the clone? Probably best to leave it alone. That seemed to work. Shepard is slowly coming out of his paralyzed state.
"You said we met before? What was this supposed me doing?" I ask.
"Don't know. I'm sure it was you. You look weird for a human" he said.
"Oh thanks for the sweet compliment you pyjack!" I said.
"My apologies' he said.
"WHOA!" Whatever Aria did really mellowed him out. Krogan don't apologize.
"Whatever do you remember where I was going?" I ask.
"It was a long time ago and I forgot the address. You sure it wasn't you? I heard humans can spawn pairs sometimes" He asks. What is going on? Is there another me? Here? The chances of both of us in the same mass effect universe at the exact same timepoint is next to impossible and if so, why didn't he join the Normandy? What does this have to do with a bomb? We figured out this was before Shepard recruited archangel. There are a lot of universes out there. I never learned if there was a duplicate me out there somewhere. Never had any interest. There is no way this is just chance. This feels like a bad omen.
