"What the hell is he doing?" Aria said as she jumped down to the street. Kacey looked over towards the forcefield and saw a lone vorcha standing by the forcefield, eyeing it suspiciously.
Suddenly a mech jumped down silently, avoiding the vorcha's bullets as it launched the vorcha into the forcefield, causing the body to ignite upon contact and reducing it to ash. The mech wheeled round its sights set on Kacey and Aria as they split up and opened fire on the mech.
It was clear the machine was built to withstand punishment; it was shrugging off bullets with ease, with Kacey's concussive shots only causing it to pause in place for a few mere moments. The longer Kacey looked at the mech, the more she realised how similar they were to the LOKI mechs from several months ago. The LOKI mechs, while a pain in the ass, were simple enough to deal with and, more notably, easy to break when bullets were involved. These were upgraded; and Kacey had a feeling as to why.
"Stand still, you piece of shit!" Aria snapped; Kacey rolled her eyes.
"Can't you use your biotics to crush the damn thing?" Kacey asked.
"Let's find out." Aria smirked as she tore the arms of the mech, causing the machine to explode.
"You could've started with that." Kacey quipped.
"I could, but where's the fun in that?" Aria snickered as she approached the force field, "Poor idiot. Something tells me these force fields are going to be a problem."
Kacey scoffed, "Are we blocked?"
"Not this time." Aria smirked, "Come here."
Kacey followed Aria through the open shutters of a store before leading Kacey to the back towards a wall. Aria then put up her omni-tool as Kacey shot her a sceptical look.
"What are you doing?" Kacey asked.
"Letting you in on a little secret." Aria said slyly as the wall lifted up to reveal a hidden passage.
Kacey headed down the ladder, keeping her guard up as looked around the darkened shaft. The path clearly hadn't been used in a while as litter and dust covered the path ahead, alongside some random junk. Aria scoffed, clearly amused by Kacey's apparent paranoia, that was, until Kacey wheeled round and pointed her assault rifle into the shadows.
"Who's there?" Kacey said, "Show yourself!"
"Spirits, look who's back." A woman's voice echoed through the shaft, "Aria T'Loak."
The turian revealed herself, her face hidden under a dark hood; Aria lowered her weapon as she shot the turian, a disgusted look.
"Nyreen." Aria spat, "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Playing cat and mouse mostly." Nyreen replied, "Just trying to stay alive. If it wasn't for these tunnels…"
"My tunnels." Aria corrected, "I'm sure glad I showed them to you."
"If you hadn't, I'd be dead or locked up by now." Nyreen replied, before turning her attention to Kacey, "Are you going to lower that weapon?"
"Sure. When you give me a reason to." Kacey replied curtly. Aria scoffed as Nyreen let out a mirthless laugh.
"I see. You don't trust easily."
"Neither does Aria." Kacey retorted, "I assume you're a good friend?"
"I don't know." Nyreen replied coyly, "Are we, Aria?"
"Shepard, this is Nyreen Kandros." Aria said sharply, "Ex-turian military. We go way back. I've got a lot of questions, but they'll have to wait. Follow us, we'll get you to safety."
Nyreen scoffed, "I'll do my best."
Kacey lowered her weapon, cautiously watching Nyreen before adding, "Are you ready to put that gun to good use?"
"You have no idea how ready." Nyreen replied.
Kacey began to walk down the tunnel, keeping her guard up as she made sure that there were no more surprises coming from the shadows.
"So why are you back, Aria?" Nyreen asked, breaking the silence.
"To reclaim what's mine." Aria replied curtly.
"Left something behind I take it?" Nyreen smirked.
"Not something. Everything."
…
Kacey had been through enough to know what a bloodbath looked like; between Elysium and the Citadel, she knew the signs, bodies littered everywhere, bullet holes plastered across every inch of the battlefield, weapons discarded by their deceased owners, blood painted across the terrain. That was a bloodbath, and Kacey had seen it before time and again.
The bodies of Cerberus troops littered the area, with Aria's mercs holding position on a nearby bridge, in between cannons. Kacey could hear Aria scoff in between the sound of gunshots.
"Bray, why aren't those cannons online?" Aria asked sharply.
"Something's jamming them. Trying to identify." Bray replied.
"We'll flank the enemy, keep them off you." Aria replied as an Atlas mech descended onto the battlefield.
Kacey kept her aim steady as she opened fire on the Cerberus soldiers, giving them no quarter. After all, she had little interest in letting those husks go; gunning them down was a mercy no matter what happened next. Nobody should ever have to be turned into that.
The Atlas mech proved to be an ever growing annoyance; she circled around, hitting it with concussive shots at every opportunity. Aria, meanwhile, opted to use her biotics to tear away at the mech's defences. Nyreen was efficient; Kacey expected as much but the turian knew how to navigate a battlefield and pick her targets. Kacey had to admit; Nyreen's skills were impressive.
"Aria, there's a Cerberus engineer hacking the cann–"
"Fixed it." Kacey said as the body of a Cerberus engineer hit the ground.
"Thanks." Bray said, "Shit, they cannons need to be armed manually!"
"On it!" Kacey said as she darted towards the cannons.
Kacey found the control panel for the cannons and began to arm them as Aria and Nyreen held the line, covering her. By the time Kacey was finished, the bridge to Aria's hideout was extended, allowing the group to cross as the cannons ripped through the Cerberus army. Kacey didn't bother to look back as she bolted towards the blast doors.
"Nice guns." Nyreen called.
"They keep the general's forces at bay for a while." Aria smirked as they entered the building, "We're in. Lock it down!"
"Aria, I know this place is built like a fortress, but is it safe now that the general is clued in?" Nyreen asked, her voice laced with concern. Kacey had to admit that Nyreen had a point; it would be easy for Petrovsky to overwhelm their position.
"Yeah. I feel like a sitting duck here." Kacey agreed.
"I have no intention of sitting around and you both should know I assume nothing." Aria said firmly, "And on that front…Nyreen, you left Omega fairly angry with me. I wasn't aware you'd returned. Explain yourself."
"The truth is I never left." Nyreen replied plainly, completely unintimidated by Aria, "In fact I went to great lengths to keep it from you."
"I'm not easily duped. Well done." Aria replied, her voice eerily calm, "But why?"
"I just…" Nyreen sighed, "couldn't leave. Considering all this, I wish I had."
Kacey noted how Nyreen was deflecting and being dismissive; almost as if she was trying to end the conversation as soon as possible.
"Well, you always said I'd be the death of you." Aria smirked.
"Nyreen has military training. She could be useful." Kacey said.
Aria scoffed, a coy smile on her face, "You're so quick to trust, huh, Shepard?"
Kacey snorted, "Who said anything about trust?"
"See, Nyreen has never approved of Omega's—what did you call it? 'Moral bankruptcy'. Are you willing to help defend it now?"
"You'll find me very willing to liberate this station." Nyreen replied sharply.
"Your combat skills seem a little rusty, but you're still a good shot." Aria mused, "See my duty officer."
Nyreen nodded, before heading further into the base. Aria narrowed her eyes as Nyreen walked out of earshot, adding to Bray, "Bray, keep an eye on her."
Kacey wasn't interested in Aria's drama; whatever history Aria had with Nyreen didn't matter right now. Kacey had bigger issues to worry about, and getting out of this mess she had gotten herself into. Once Bray had left, Aria turned to face the scarlet haired commander.
"All right, Shepard, we need to move fast." Aria said, "I'm itching for revenge."
"You better control yourself." Kacey replied sharply, crossing her arms, "I'm not here so you can fulfil your little revenge fantasy."
"There's no point trying to change me, Shepard." Aria said with a snicker, "Many have tried, all have failed. So don't waste your breath. Once up and running this bunker will provide recon and secret access to much of the station. I'd appreciate it if you would quickly eyeball operations, see that things are setting up smoothly."
Kacey rolled her eyes, "And what will you be doing?"
"Checking in on my forces." Aria curtly answered, "I need to know how many survived the assault before I can plan the attack. It won't take long."
"If you say so." Kacey mused as Aria walked off.
…
Kacey wandered around the bunker, observing Aria's forces as they scuttled from one place to the next, all in an effort to keep on top of things. Aria had certainly given them much to do, and little time to do it.
Thankfully, very few people acknowledged Kacey as she made her way to the command post, being far too busy for idle chit chat. Kacey had to admit that she was at least grateful nobody wanted a conversation; she wasn't interested in any at the moment.
Aria was where her concerns lied; the asari always warranted caution, but now it seemed like she thought Kacey would just do as asked, no question. And the way Aria looked at her in the field was making her uncomfortable; that last thing she needed was to go back to that.
As she made her way over to Aria, she could hear the crime boss speak sternly to a salarian at her side, becoming more angry by the second.
"Ahz, how are we looking?" Aria asked firmly.
The salarian took a quick glance at his screen before replying, "All systems operational. Full Omega schematics coming online now."
"Let's take a look." Aria chimed as she gestured for Kacey to follow her to the holographic interface. Aria thought for a moment before addressing Kacey, "I see. Shepard, those force fields we saw? The general has them set up everywhere."
"Looks like he's controlling access across the station." Kacey mused.
"What are these dark areas?" Aria asked with a hint of concern in her voice.
"Many sections of Omega is powered down." Ahz explained, "I'm betting power is being siphoned to run those force fields."
"Find the source. Priority One." Aria ordered.
"And we'll need a full tactical assessment of all Cerberus positions." Kacey added.
Ahz nodded as he moved to another terminal, leaving Kacey with Aria. The asari shot her a stern look before addressing the Commander.
"Shepard, we have work to do." She said, her voice firm but calm, "Our losses were significant. We can't field an army large enough to face down Cerberus."
Then we'll need to find allies." Kacey scoffed, "Tch, story of my life."
"We've confirmed that there's a nerve gang that's still active, the Talons, who are resisting the occupation." Aria continued, "Not my first choice but they're all we've got."
Kacey sighed, "Then it's time to play diplomat."
"And if the current leader won't join us, the next one will." Aria said. Kacey couldn't help but roll her eyes in response. It didn't take long for Bray to reappear, looking sheepish as he approached.
"Sorry to interrupt…"
"What is it?" Aria snapped.
"I turned away for a second to offload supplies." Bray said sheepishly, "When I looked back…"
"You lost her?"
"Well, I…"
As Aria sharply turned away, Kacey stepped between Aria and Bray, trying to ease the tension as she said, "We're locked down. She's got to be here somewhere."
"This bunker has secret access points to other parts of the station." Aria explained, "Unfortunately, Nyreen knows them. Damn it, Bray. If I wasn't short on manpower…"
"Let's just focus on getting the Talons on board." Kacey said firmly.
"Agreed." Aria replied, "Let's go."
…
Kacey walked down the tunnel, keeping an eye on Aria as she headed down the tunnel; she was becoming increasingly concerned about Aria and was beginning to think that this was a bad idea. Garrus had every right to be worried about her; she knew it. But she also knew that she could take care of herself, no matter what happens.
"So, what's your history with this gang?" Kacey asked, trying to break the tension.
"Some mutually beneficial dealings and some occasional violence." Aria replied nonchalantly, "The Talons weren't even a blip on our radar until the plague of 2185. Your little war against the other gangs left a vacuum."
"Not my intention." Kacey replied.
"Their leader, Derius, took advantage of the situation and carved the Talons a bigger piece of the local drug trade." Aria said as she led Kacey outside and towards a ladder.
"Are we enlisting them because they're good or because we need numbers?" Kacey asked, already having an idea on what Aria's response would be.
"They're cannon fodder." Aria replied sharply, climbing the ladder, "We're using them because they're the only game in town."
Kacey scoffed, "You're going to let them know that?"
"Relax, Shepard." Aria responded, "This is how it works on Omega. Just let me do the talking, and—"
"Commander!" Ahz called through the comms, "Cerberus forces are scrambling! Looks like an attack on the Talons! Judging from the comm chatter, their priority target is in the area. Could be the Talon leader."
"Looks like we fight our way through Cerberus to get to them." Aria said.
"Let's go!" Kacey said, pulling herself up the ladder and bolting down the hall.
As they moved through the hall, Kacey kept her guard up, looking out for any sign of Cerberus forces as Ahz tried to patch them into the Cerberus comms. Aria, meanwhile, seemed to have become distracted as she gazed over at the crates near Kacey.
"That's odd." Aria mused, "Why would they leave crates of Red Sand lying around like this?"
"Maybe they had something more important going on." Kacey replied bluntly.
"Not Derius." Aria said sharply, ""Profit is the only thing that matters to him. Anything else can burn."
Kacey continued to push forward, ignoring Aria as the Talons' gang tags became more prominent. Crawling around in air shafts was not something that Kacey wanted to do and she had every desire to get out as soon as possible. Kacey eventually reached the end of the shaft, but found it locked down tight with the power out. Kacey scouted the area for the power switch, finding it on a terminal on the far side of the shaft.
Once the door opened, allowing Kacey and Aria to leave the shaft, Kacey could see an outpost being swarmed by Cerberus shuttles, with bullets flying around.
"That tower is the Talon outpost we're heading for." Aria said.
"Looks like the Talons are giving as good as they get." Kacey replied as she slid down the ladder.
It didn't take long for the pair to encounter Cerberus troops engaging the Talons; with them having the jump on the Cerberus troops, Kacey and Aria opened fire on the Cerberus troops, moving from room to room while taking down every Cerberus soldier and mech with ruthless proficiency.
Even as Cerberus tried to box them in, it did little to stop them; Aria simply blasted them away with her biotics while Kacey threw a grenade, shooting it mid-flight for maximum effect. Kacey dived out of the way of flying grenades before returning fire on the centurions that threw them, hitting them with pin-point accuracy.
Once Ahz had finally patched them into the Cerberus comms, Kacey could hear one of them ordering the rest to seal the area; Kacey managed to throw a grenade into the room before they sealed the door, leading to an explosion rocking the room behind the door. Kacey darted towards the door, bypassing it with ease. As Kacey and Aria entered, they saw a combat engineer holding a Talon merc at gunpoint as the merc was on their knees, clearly beaten to a pulp.
"Answer now!" The combat engineer snapped, "Last chance, Talon! Answer or…"
The group of Cerberus soldiers pointed their guns at the pair, with the combat engineer wrapping their arm around the merc while another assault trooper pressed the barrel of the rifle into the other merc's head.
"Back off!" The combat engineer shouted.
"I don't think so." Kacey said, keeping her rifle trained on the engineer.
The engineer simply turned and shot the merc in the leg before pointing the pistol right in front of the visor. Before Kacey could react, a bullet flew across the air, hitting the engineer in the head. Before long, another Talon appeared, swiftly dispatching the Cerberus group with a mix of biotics and bullets. As the Talon turned, Kacey could see that the person in question was Nyreen; not that Kacey was too surprised. She had the sense that Nyreen was holding something back during their first encounter and now it was starting to make sense.
Nyreen took one glance at the pair before turning her attention to the mercs behind her, "Take care of the wounded, and scavenge what you can. I want us out of here ASAP."
"You heard the boss. Move it!" The merc replied, before helping their partner up and walking away.
"Well, looks like we found the Talon leader." Kacey smirked while Aria looked at her with fury on her face. The asari crime boss walked towards Nyreen, not losing her confidence as she approached the turian.
"My, my, Nyreen, aren't you full of surprises." Aria said calmly.
"Aria. The deception was necessary." Nyreen replied, looking over the corpse of a Cerberus trooper, "I needed to figure out what your plans were. The people of Omega depend on us. I couldn't risk compromising our operation."
"Not exactly standard procedures for a street gang." Kacey added.
"When Cerberus invaded, the Talons were a mess." Nyreen explained, "I brought…new direction. The general's been hunting us ever since. Right now, he's attacking one of our outposts. That's where I need to be."
Nyreen moved over to the nearby terminal, ignoring Aria's glare as another Talon merc approached Nyreen, "We're done here, boss."
"Right." Nyreen said before turning her attention to Kacey and Aria, "Aria, Commander Shepard; whatever you're here for, the answer's no. kindly escort yourselves off Talon territory."
"Let us help." Kacey replied, her voice full of determination, "We can talk about it after we reach your outpost."
"That's a generous offer." Nyreen replied, before looking over at Aria, sceptical, "Aria, does the Commander also speak for you?"
"Not the way I would have put it, but that's the idea." Aria growled.
"All right then." Nyreen said, leading them towards the door, "Come with me."
"You've improved your biotics since I last saw you." Aria said as they got onto the elevator.
"You noticed the biotic grenades?" Nyreen smirked.
"You always did like blowing things up, given half the chance." Aria replied, smirking before adding, "Much like a certain scarlet-haired commander that I know."
Kacey scoffed as they left the elevator, coming face to face with an army of mechs in a large room. As the three of them dived into cover, more Cerberus troops began to flood the area with the sole intention of taking them down. Little did they know that Kacey had no intention of backing down.