Chapter 30 - Omega pt. 1 - The Attack

Amelia
November 20th, 2188

I slipped on the kevlar glove of my armor, pulling it taut over the sleeve of my undersuit before securing the outer shell around my forearm, turning to look at myself in the mirror, verifying that my new suit of armor fit, despite having never worn it. Satisfied, I began the process of removing the carapace.

"Amatra?" Garrus called, his heavy footfalls making their way up the stairs towards our bedroom, "Have you seen - oh…? What are you doing?"

"Making sure my armor fits. I fully intend to kill that blue bitch when she finally shows her face." Over the last five weeks, the fighting on Omega, something that could've been counted as a near-constant for the past year, trickled to a halt, all but a few of Aria's mercenaries leaving the station.

Garrus sighed, entering the room and closing the door behind him, moving over to the edge of the bed and sitting. "I was hoping you weren't being literal when you said that before."

"I am serious. We both know she hasn't given up. She'll be back; when she does, it'll be her endgame. I'll be there to make sure she dies trying."

"There are a lot of problems with your plan. We don't know when she'll show up, if ever. How long do you plan on staying on Omega? A week? A month?"

"However long it takes," Was my immediate and adamant answer.

"And what happens if you die?"

I scoffed, haughtily saying, "I survived the Reapers. I'm not scared of Aria."

He snapped, shooting up off the bed in a rage, shouting, "DAMMIT, AMELIA! THIS ISN'T A JOKE! IT DOESN'T MATTER THAT YOU SURVIVED TEN MILLION BULLETS BEFORE BECAUSE THERE IS ALWAYS ONE MORE BULLET AND THAT ONE MIGHT JUST BE YOUR LAST!"

I stood still, gaping from his outburst. In the five years I'd known him, he had only ever been this angry after Sidonis, and even then, he never raised his voice at me. We weren't like other couples; we didn't fight, so his outburst shocked me even more.

Garrus stood no more than a foot from me, his mandibles clamped firmly to his face and his subharmonics warbling with anger and sadness. Not knowing how to respond, I stayed silent.

Garrus spoke again a moment later, quietly, taming his fiery emotions; all the anger drained from his voice, replaced with despair. "What if that next bullet is your last? Would you make me go out to those children and tell them that their mother, who they are too young to remember, left her family to go to some shithole on the other side of the galaxy and died for no good reason?"

"My reason is no different than any of the Hierarchy soldiers there right now. Why should I be special? Why would my death be any more important than one of them?"

"Do you want me to admit I am a hypocrite? I am. For each of those soldiers, there probably is some distressed spouse at home worrying about what they will tell their kids if the worst comes to pass," Garrus closed the distance between us, grabbing my pauldrons and willing my eyes to his, "I can't lose you, Amelia. Something is happening in the galaxy, and it will probably be a lot worse than this. I need you - not just as my wife and support, but as my closest confidant." He paused, letting the point sink in for a second before pointing at the nursery through the wall, "And they need you too."

-0-

After Garrus left for the office, it took several minutes for me to recover from my shock. I stood in the middle of the bedroom perfectly still, not moving a muscle, half of my armor still clinging to my body, and the other half in a pile on the floor. I knew he was in the right.

How could I have been so careless? It wasn't like me to let anger cloud my judgment. I was usually clairvoyant when it came to emotions. What changed?

Shakily, I finished stripping off my armor, collecting the wayward pieces, and stowing it in the locker inside the closet.

Garrus
November 20th, 2188

I felt ill, unsure whether it was from the excess adrenaline flowing through my veins or my plea with Amelia. Either way, all I wanted to do was expel the contents of my stomach, something turians were physically unable to do. I felt awful for yelling at her but needed her to see sense.

"Sir?" Altia asked, paging me through the intercom from her desk.

"Yes, Altia?"

"General Victus is here to see you."

I didn't want to be disturbed, but I had a duty as Primarch, so my emotional turmoil would have to wait until later. "Send him in." And spirits let it be good news.

The former Primarch entered my office, going immediately to the sofa in the middle of the room, taking a leisurely seat. "Adrien," I greeted, trying to mask my emotions.

"Garrus," Victus replied, "Is something wrong, son?"

I gave him a humorless smile, "How did you know?"

"Are you serious? Your subharmonics are squealing like a stuck cudarae. So, what's wrong?"

It was refreshing how direct Victus was, cutting through the bloated political speak I had heard for most of the day with ease. "I had an argument with Amelia this morning…."

"Ah," Victus said, "Smart woman, she is. Did she catch you sticking your pecker where it didn't belong?"

"What? No - Spirits, no! I could never…. No, she had some foolhardy idea about going to Omega to kill Aria."

Victus leaned forward from his relaxed position, now leaning forward, resting his arm across his legs. "I see where you're coming from, and I agree with you, but I can also see where she is coming from. T'Loak tried to have you killed. She is avenging her mate. It's a base instinct to want to attack them back."

"She isn't turian, Adrien."

"Humans are not all that different from us. Also, have you ever noticed that Amelia fits into every group seamlessly? She changes herself to better meld with the people she is around. I don't know if that is natural or a defense mechanism from her childhood's abrupt end. Either way, she's been on Palaven long enough to absorb at least some of our culture. She wants to show she'd give up everything to protect you."

"She changes to fit in?" The pit in my stomach dropped even lower, making me feel empty, "Does that mean her feelings aren't real?"

"No. Two emotions cannot be faked, hate and love. I've seen how she looks at you, and she loves you."

Some of the dread I had been feeling took its boot off my neck, "Thanks. Now, what can I do for you?"

"After the conflict with Aria concludes, I am going to retire."

"Oh? May I ask why?"

"It's time. I'm an old man. I just turned ninety-six last week."

"You'll be bored within a week," I stated, extracting a mirthful laugh from the old General.

"Probably, but I'll find something to pass the time," He stood, making his way over to the office's exit. "Garrus, I want you to know that I am proud of you, of what you've accomplished since becoming Primarch. I can't think of a better candidate than you."

"Thank you, Adrien. That means a lot."

Amelia
November 20th, 2188

I sat perched on the edge of the sofa in the living room, unrelaxed, waiting for Garrus to walk in the door. I'd thought a lot after our fight earlier that morning and had a pervasive feeling of nausea in my stomach the entire day.

The door slid open, and Garrus walked into the living room, calling out for me before he saw me. I pursed my lips and got up, walking towards him and standing at arm's length. We looked at each other, remaining silent as we gleaned for information from each other's eyes. "I'm sorry," I finally said, breaking the cool silence that descended over the room.

"I am, too," Garrus replied, pulling me into a tight hug. "I let my anger get away from me. That was wrong -"

"No," I interrupted, resting my hand lightly over his heart, "You said exactly what I needed to hear. I didn't consider the consequences."

Garrus lowered his forehead down to mine, "Thank you. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You never left my side. I'll never leave yours. I love you, Amatus." I buried my head into the crook of his arm.

"I love you, too, Amatra. I know how much you gave up for this to work, so thank you."

"It was worth it."

Nyreen
December 1st, 2188

"General Kandros," my omnitool sprung to life, interrupting the situation report being given by several of my subordinates. Commander Victrillin's face appeared above my arm, the old, grizzled turian looking even more grim than usual. The Hierarchy Commander's dark brown plates were taut in a frown.

"Yes?"

"T'Loak's forces are in the system. Our fleet has engaged with them, but there are hundreds of ships.

"How many?" I tried to keep my voice calm, but I could feel the panic edge into it.

"At least one hundred transport ships and a dozen frigates and converted freighters. The destroyers will deal with the frigates, but most transports will make it through." In the background, she saw the glowing projectile of a railgun fly past the observation window towards the incoming ships.

"Spirits…," I whispered, "Have you told Palaven?"

"Yes. The Primarch told us that reinforcements are at least three days out. For now, we have your men and the two-thousand Hierarchy soldiers."

"Thank you, Commander. Can you come to Talon headquarters? I have a plan, but it must go flawlessly to work." With the man's nod, I ended the call.

-0-

Fifteen minutes later, I stood around a holomap with Commander Victrillin and several of our respective lieutenants. The table flickered to life with an image of Omega floating in between them. "Omega has twenty-seven docking ports," I said, spreading my hands in front of the hologram, making it zoom in and highlight the ports, "The plan is to use explosives to disable twenty-four of them. We leave three operational and use our combined manpower and your navy to defend them."

Victrillin thought for a moment, "I like it."

"I assume Aria will know of some secret port that I don't, so be aware, they'll still land eventually."

-0-

One dock got hit too fast, my crew carrying the explosives were killed while trying to detonate, and Aria's mercenaries poured out onto the docks. Chaos ensued as the rabble of hundreds of disparate mercenary groups, pirate bands, slavers, and traffickers allied to take back their station as I tried to excise the rot from within.

A bullet whizzed over my head near where I crouched behind cover, putting a pockmark in the wall behind me. Standing up, I returned fire, mowing through two unarmored, unshielded pirates sprinting across the established no-man's land.

"Sir!" I turned to the sound as one of the Talons ran up and took cover next to me, "Aria's men have landed and have been spotted all over the station! Victrillin wants you to come back to headquarters to make a plan!"

I nodded, turning to my lieutenant behind another piece of cover, "Tarenus! You're in command!"