The elevator stopped and opened its doors, revealing only a small catwalk only a few steps long, leading to the only room on the first deck; the Captain's Cabin. Kaidan had never been here before; he had no reason to be here after all. Plus, some members of the crew told him that the first deck was off-limits on Kacey's orders alone. Whether that was true or not, he didn't know. But what he did know was that Garrus wouldn't tell him to head up here just to have a door slammed in his face. So to speak.
He tentatively took a few steps forward, wondering what he was supposed to say to the commander. Had it been anyone else, he wouldn't have bothered since he wouldn't have been in such a precarious position. Next thing the biotic knew he was outside her door.
Well, it's now or never. He thought to himself. He knocked on the door four times. Silence. Before he knocked again, he heard a voice call him from within.
"Come in."
Her voice sounded tired. So, chances are she hadn't slept at all. Kaidan didn't need to be told twice as he entered.
The room was much larger than he initially thought. The bathroom was on his left and right outside it was a desk, overlooked by several model ships of varying sizes. The left wall held an empty fish tank lit up brightly. Down only three steps were the commander's modest double sized bed and what looked to be a small seating area in the bottom right-hand corner. Overall, Kacey's room was as modest as she was, there wasn't much in the way of any hobby items or decorations aside from the model ships.
Kacey was sitting at the desk when he came in, staring at a datapad. A hot cup sat next to her on the desk, only confirming Kaidan's suspicions. She briefly looked up at him before glancing back at the datapad.
"What's up, Kaidan?" She asked, her voice lacking the energy it usually had.
"Just checking in on you." he replied calmly, "Just wanted to know if you had gotten any sleep, but it looks like you haven't had any luck."
"*yawn* You sound worse than Garrus." She replied, "Besides I've had some coffee and I would rather spend my time doing something helpful that tossing and turning in a bed."
She did have a point, however it only proved Garrus' point further. Something was going on, and she hadn't told anyone about it.
"Is it that bad?" he asked.
"Depends on who you ask." Kacey replied, moving a strand of red hair from her face, "Garrus says it's a bad thing and Liara does too, only difference being that she doesn't question it."
"I'm more inclined to think Garrus is right." Kaidan replied, "You can't fight while exhausted Kacey."
"Yeah, I know." She replied, "But I can't sleep."
"Well, if you're up to it," Kaidan said, "Maybe you could tell me how the hell you ended up in Omega."
"Fair point." Kacey replied, standing up and walking down to her small seating area, "Omega's hardly a pretty place. Pretty much crime incarnate with a sense of danger everywhere you go."
"Sounds like fun." Kaidan replied sarcastically.
"You can say that because you've never been." Kacey said, "Anyway, once we landed, we had to pay a visit to one of Omega's more…powerful figures…"
…
After traveling around the new Normandy, Kacey found herself back on the CIC, heading down to check on Joker. Once she had arrived in the cockpit, Joker's chair turned around.
"Can you believe this Commander?" Joker said gleefully, "It's my baby, better than new! It fits me like a glove! And leather seats! Military may set the hardware standard, but on a first-gen frigate they could care less if the seats breathe. Civilian sector comfort by design."
"The reproduction is not intended to be perfect Mr. Moreau." EDI said, "Seamless improvements were made."
"And there's the downside." Joker sighed, "I liked the Normandy when she was beautiful and quiet. Now she's got this thing I don't want to talk about. It's like ship cancer."
"Enjoy it, Joker." Kacey replied with smirk, "If we're stuck here, we might as well let them pamper us."
"Ah, does it breach uniform regs if I get that on a crew shirt? Because this is my favourite 'You have no choice!' choice ever."
Kaidan nearly burst out laughing.
"What?" Kacey asked smiling.
"Only you and Joker could find a way to make being blackmailed into a suicide mission fun through humour." He stopped laughing before saying, "Joker being happy over leather seats is one of things I didn't expect to find out about."
"Technically this is a civilian ship." Kacey mused, "I'm probably lucky you're still wearing pants."
"Yeah, I'll save that for the off-hour cameras." Joker replied, turning his chair around, "Have an AI watch me 24/7? Jerks."
Kacey couldn't help but laugh a small bit at that just as the Normandy arrived on Omega. Kacey quickly put her armour on as the ship docked and was the first to arrive at the airlock followed by Miranda then Jacob.
The trio promptly left the ship, now in an enviorment that smelled as bad as it looked; something was rotting here, and Kacey didn't want to know about it. As they walked down the hall leading into the main part of Omega, they were approached by a scuffed up looking salarian.
"Ah! Welcome to Omega!" he said trying to come off as charming, "You're new here, aren't you? I can always tell. Allow me to—"
He was interrupted by the arrival of a batarian, which caused him to stutter and shake. Kacey was always a bit wary of batarians but never outright hostile. This particular one seemed to have a reputation given the salarian's reaction.
"Oh…hello, Moklan!" the salarian said, "I was just—"
"Leave, Fargut. Now" Moklan replied firmly.
"Of course, Moklan!" Fargut saluted, "Whatever she wants!"
Moklan took a step forward, prompting Fargut to flee immediately. Kacey looked at Moklan with scepticism.
"Blasted scavengers." Moklan said, facing Kacey, "Welcome to Omega…Shepard."
Kacey crossed her arms, "You know who I am?"
"Of course." Moklan replied, "We had you tagged the moment you entered the Terminus Systems. You're not as subtle as you think."
"I have scarlet red hair and aqua blue armour." Kacey said, "I'm hardly subtle at the best of times."
"Fair point." Moklan replied, "Aria wants to know what brings a dead Spectre to Omega. I suggest you go to Afterlife and present yourself."
"Cut the attitude. I'm not here to cause problems for Omega."
"Things explode around you, Shepard," Moklan replied, "You can't blame Aria for keeping an eye on you. Afterlife. Now."
Moklan left just as EDI chimed in with information.
"I'm receiving quarantine warnings about the slums where Doctor Mordin Solus runs the clinic." EDI said, "Expect resistance at the transport station. I have also accessed messages between mercenary groups regarding plans to deal with Archangel. There's a recruiting station at Afterlife that may have information on him."
"Thanks, EDI." Kacey replied.
After exiting the hall, Kacey, Miranda and Jacob found themselves in a big open area, with Afterlife towering in front of them. Wasting no time, Kacey led the Cerberus agents into the club, walking through the entrance hall until the reached the club itself.
The club was colourful, bright and loud. Bright magenta hues lit the room as loud EDM music blared from the speakers. Asari pole dancers entertained guests while many others were either dancing themselves or drinking at the bar. Kacey wandered about until she caught the sight of an armed guard, who gestured for to go upstairs. She headed up and on her right were more guards, mostly batarians, and one asari, looking over the balcony. She walked up the steps towards the asari but was stopped once she reached the top.
"That's close enough." The asari said firmly.
The guards raised their guns at the trio of humans, with only Jacob and Miranda raising theirs. Kacey knew better than to raise her own, especially with two pistols at her head. The asari moved her head to one side, prompting one of the guards to lower their gun and pull out their omni-tool. The rest eventually lowered their weapons and returned to their stations.
"Stand still." The batarian said, scanning her.
Kacey rolled her eyes, "If you're looking for weapons, you're not doing a very good job."
She showed her pistol before putting it away. The asari tilted her head to towards Kacey.
"Can't be too careful with dead Spectres." She replied plainly, "That could be anyone wearing your face."
"Aria, right?" Kacey asked to which the asari nodded, "I was told you're the person to talk to if I had any questions."
"They're clean." The batarain said stepping away from Kacey.
Aria turned around to face the commander who walked towards her.
"Depends on the questions." Aria replied.
"You run Omega?" Kacey asked.
Aria gave a mirthless laugh before shooting Kacey a devious grin. She turned and raised her arms replying, "I am Omega."
She turned to face Kacey again, "But you need more. Everyone needs more something. And they all come to me. I'm the boss, CEO, Queen if you're feeling dramatic. It doesn't matter. Omega has no titled ruler and only one rule."
Aria sat down on her sofa.
"Don't fuck with Aria." She smirked.
"I like it. Easy to remember and simple enough." Kacey replied.
"If you forget, will remind you." Aria said, glancing at her guards.
"And then I toss your sorry ass out the nearest airlock." The batarain said.
Kacey nodded as Aria gestured for Kacey to sit down. The scarlet haired commander sat down as Aria turned to face her.
"So, what can I do for you?" Aria said.