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Slaves of Cerberus	By : NakedOwlMan Category: +M through R > Mass Effect Views: 138070 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: Mass Effect and all the characters in it are owned by people that are not me. I have not made a cent off this work of fiction

Chapter List
- 57
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- 59
Lelina D'Revi wasn't sleeping.

She tossed and turned on the grimy mattress, her current anxious state making her forget for the moment what various body fluids had stained these sheets before she laid down on them. It was so close now. Just a few hours from now, she would finally be free. She was so tired of running, tired of looking over her shoulder. Of stealing and killing just to put food in her mouth. And if the message she had gotten on her datapad was true... then it would all be over.

So she'd gotten a room in this fleabag Omega dive, keeping a low profile and hiding out until the appointed time. For the fifteenth time since laying down, she checked her omni-tool for the time. It was still hours to go. She should get some sleep, just in case things went bad and she needed her faculties.

But she was just too wired. Too excited and too scared. When you live the life of a fugitive Ardat-Yakshi, you can never quite relax. Lelina would have thought, with the galaxy rebuilding after the war, and with most of the asari monasteries raided for Reaper troops and decimated, the remaining Thessia government officials would have better things to worry about than tracking people like her down.

But they were still out there. Lelina knew they were. And until she met up with her contact, she would never be safe.

Just as she felt her eyelids start to droop, her fatigue from the constant chase finally getting too much for her body to bear, there was a knock on the door.

Lelina gasped. Reaching wildly for the nightstand, she nearly sent the pistol there tumbling to the floor before her fingers finally closed around the cold metal grip. For a moment, she sat with her legs to her chest on the bed, hoping that it was just some drunk who had the wrong room, or some kids playing a prank. She stared at the door, praying to the Goddess that she would not hear it again.

But after several seconds, the knock was heard again. "Go away, dammit!" she yelled out to the person on the other end of the door, trying her best to sound confident. "I'm trying to get some sleep!"

No response from the other side of the door. Just another knock.

Getting to her feet, Lelina held her pistol at the ready as she cautiously stepped towards the door. "Fine!" she yelled out. "I'm coming!" Pressing her back to the wall next to the door of the hotel room, she hit the light switch and plunged the room into blackness. Taking a deep breath, she hit the lock on the door and let it slide open, staying against the wall next to the opening to be ready for whoever entered.

In the dim light coming from the buildings outside, Lelina saw someone step into the room. She caught the vaguest silhouette of an asari fringe. As soon as the intruder stepped fully into the room, Lelina made her move. Pressing the barrel of the pistol into the back of her visitor's head, she said, "Don't move or I..."

It was somebody had set the world around her to triple-speed, as the other woman ducked away from her aim. Lelina pulled the trigger and the shot exploded inside of the small hotel room, but her target was long gone by the time the bullet left the barrel. There was a sudden, sharp blow to her wrist, and Lelina felt the gun tumble from her grip. She felt her attacker's hands on her, trying to grapple her, and she struggled against them in the dark. As skilled as her opponent was, Lelina's desperation gave her a burst of strength, and she managed to evade her attacker's grip long enough to shove them onto the ground.

Panicked, Lelina ran out into the hallway. Gasping, she stared in the direction of the lift. Too far. By the time she got to the end of the hall, her attacker would have recovered, and would be able to shoot her in the back. Turning in the other direction, Lelina winced. Two stories up, she thought grimly. But it's my only option. Just have to hope I get lucky.

Charging in the opposite direction, Lelina put her arms in front of her face and dove through the small window. She felt the glass slice into her skin, a minor concern compared to the hard pavement suddenly rushing up to meet her.

"Agh!" she cried out, as her shoulder hit the ground and she felt the bone underneath crack. She could feel blood trickling from between her lips, but the important thing was she was alive. If she could just get to her feet, she'd be able to...

She heard something from above her, looked up, and gasped. Her attacker gracefully stepped out from the frame of the shattered window, and blue light surrounded her as she descended slowly to the pavement. Lelina tried her best to stand, but every movement was agony, and she tried desperately to crawl away from the woman, who landed softly on her feet and began slowly advancing on her.

"Lelina D'Revi," said the older asari, her tone cold and impersonal. "My name is Samara. I am a justicar, and I have come for you."

"No," Lelina said, dragging her broken body along the ground away from her. "It's not fair, dammit. I was so close."

Crouching down next to her, Samara stared at her gravely. "Close to what? You risked much coming here, Lelina. What are you doing on Omega?"

"Please, just..." Lelina coughed, blood from her internal injuries gushing out from her mouth. "Get me to a medic, please. I'll tell you anything you want, I swear. I don't want to die here..."

Samara frowned. "You will tell me what I want to know, Lelina, and then we will see about dealing with your injuries."

"Unh... my... my back pocket," Lelina stammered, feeling herself starting to get light-headed from the pain. "It's all there. Just please..."

Reaching around Lelina's broken body, Samara retrieved the datapad shoved into her back pocket. Staring at it, Samara squinted. "'Come to Omega,'" she read. "'Someone will meet you there who will help you find a safe place. A home for unfairly judged Ardat-Yakshi like yourself. Meet us in the abandoned hospital in Gozu District at 20:00 hours, and you'll never have to run again'" Closing down the message, Samara went back to staring coldly at Lelina. "Not much detail. Why would you trust an anonymous message like this?"

"Like you would fucking know what it's like," Lelina spat at her. "To be running your entire life, treated like a monster by your own people. And if it isn't you people wanting to bring us to... ha... 'justice,' it's the Reapers trying to turn us into mindless slaves. I knew it was probably bullshit, but I didn't care. I was just tired of the chase. Tired of running. It was the only thing left that gave me hope."

Samara looked at the datapad again, then back at Lelina. "Very well. Thank you for the information." Standing back up, Samara reached into her hip holster and pulled out a pistol. "But now, Lelina, I'm afraid your time is at an end."

"What? You said you'd help me!" Lelina protested. "That you would take me to a doctor!"

"What I said, Lelina, is that I would deal with your injuries," Samara said calmly. "And once I've carried out your sentence, you will no longer feel any pain. A pity, really. If you had given yourself up before this chase had begun, allowed me to take you into custody, you could have lived the rest of your life in peace at a monastery. But you fled, and have taken a life. Several lives, actually. And as a result, I'm afraid I cannot allow you to live."

Lelina said nothing, knowing that no words would save her. A justicar's duties were absolute. They could not be reasoned with, bribed, or charmed. Closing her eyes, she took one last breath and waited for the bullet.

Samara squeezed the trigger, and Lelina jumped. Her head hit the pavement as she went limp on the ground. Samara stared down at the body for several seconds, waiting for any sign of movement, before holstering her weapon.

"You know, you could have let me know the fight was going to end up out here," said a woman's voice from behind the justicar. "You know how hard it is to run in these heels?"

Samara turned, smiling lightly at the dark-haired human with the hovering camera following behind her. "My apologies, Miss Allers. Unfortunately, fugitive Ardat-Yakshis can sometimes be... unpredictable."

"No need to apologize," Diana Allers said, directing her camera to get a shot of Lelina's crumpled body. "This whole story's going to be a big hit with our viewers. One of the first inside looks into the day-to-day life of a justicar. I mean, the asari have done shows about you ladies before, but they've all been fictionalized accounts. This is the first chance anyone will get to see a living, breathing justicar in action! My producers are going to flip when they see the first dailies!"

"It is good that you are finding my work a interesting subject," Samara said. "I must admit that I was... uncomfortable when you first approached me."

Allers arched an eyebrow. "So, hey, I've been meaning to ask about that. Now, I've never been the type to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I'm gonna be honest: my request to film you and your work as a justicar was a total Hail Mary pass." Seeing the confused look on Samara's face, Allers laughed. "A long shot, in other words. Nobody was more surprised than me when you actually said yes. So I gotta ask... why'd you agree to this?"

Samara turned slightly away from Allers, staring into the distance. "The war with the Reapers... many of my sisters participated in the conflict. And many of them perished in the battles that followed. We once numbered in the hundreds. Now, I worry that those of us remaining can be counted on two hands. The Thessian government desperately wants to attract new members to the cause. There has even been talk of allowing other races to commit themselves to the Code if they choose. But efforts so far have been mostly fruitless."

"Hmm, think I get it now," Allers said. "Do my show, give the galaxy a look at the kinds of things you do as a justicar. Maybe some folks out there will see what it's like and decide it's something they want to try."

"That is the hope, yes," Samara said. "I have to admit, I am not fully convinced it is a worthwhile pursuit, but I'm willing to do my part."

Allers pulled out her notes, jotting something down. "Well, I think it's going well so far." Glancing around the scene, Allers spotted the datapad in Samara's hand. "What's that? You find that on her?"

"Yes, I..." Samara said, before something lit up in her eyes. "That's it. That is where I remember that address from."

"You got a lead on something?" Allers asked.

Bringing up the datapad, Samara showed it to Allers. "Someone sent Lelina this message," she told the reporter. "Telling her that if she came to Omega, she could find a safe sanctuary for Ardat-Yakshis."

Allers scoffed. "An obvious scam. Thought dirtbags like that went extinct when the relays came back up. But what were you saying? Something about the address?"

Samara pointed to the datapad. "That extranet address there," she said. "I received a message from that exact same address several days ago. A tip that Lelina would be on Omega, the exact date she would be here, and the hotel she was staying at."

"So somebody set her up," Allers reasoned. "Put her here specifically for you to find. Think it's some sort of... I dunno... Ardat-Yakshi snitch or something?"

"I am not sure," Samara said. "But this time and meeting place. I believe it might be worthwhile for me to keep Lelina's appointment with this individual."

Allers gave this idea a frown. "Probably a trap, I'm sure you know."

"Probably," Samara agreed. "But if this individual has information on the whereabouts of other Ardat-Yakshi, I am honor-bound to retrieve this information."

"Okay, so, we go to the appointment," Allers said. "But we've still got a couple hours. Let me do a segment here. You don't mind, right?"

Samara let out a light sigh, but shook her head. "I do not mind, no."

Allers positioned Samara in front of the Ardat-Yakshi corpse, than stood next to her with microphone in hand. Smiling into the camera, she started her spiel. "A run-down hotel, a dangerous chase, and a fatal end for her quarry. It may seem like an exciting adventure to some, but it's all in a day's work for an asari justicar. Even on Omega, where the once crime-infested station is slowly showing signs of civilization, corruption lurks around every corner. And Samara, a long-time justicar and veteran of the Reaper War, knows that the only answer to corruption is..."

* * *

"Want me to eat your snatch, baby?" the scrawny-looking asari prostitute said raspily to the dark-skinned human woman, smiling at her with red-sand tinted teeth. "Come on, honey, I'll lick that clit so good!"

"So very tempting, but I'll pass for today," the woman sarcastically replied. She checked the time on her omni-tool again as she paced around one of the sleazier slums of Omega. "Goddamn it, where the hell is he?"

She was surrounded by the sounds of prostitutes yelling come-ons to anyone who looked like they had more than ten credits to their name, black-market traders promising high-quality goods while selling low-quality junk, and drug dealers offering a blissful escape from the dire surroundings. For all the talk of how Aria was taking more of an active role in Omega, it appears her reach didn't quite extend to the entire station just yet.

Patrolling the general area, keeping an eye out for her contact, she adjusted the black leather vest she wore over a purple tube top. God, she felt ridiculous in this outfit. But if a bare midriff, barely-covered tits, and low-riding pants were more likely to get this guy to show her the goods, she was ready to do whatever it took.

Finally, she spotted him. Trying to look casual but failing miserably. She didn't wave to him, simply casually strolled over and leaned in to whisper to the bare-faced turian. "Hey, there," she quietly said, "You know a good place for a girl to get a beer around here?"

She saw him glance down at her half-naked body and chuckled to herself internally. The guy's got a human fetish, good, she thought. Should make this deal go down a lot smoother. "I... I know a place three blocks away," he said, repeating their agreed-upon code phrase. "It's not the cheapest, but it's the best you'll find anywhere on Omega."

"Well, that sounds like just what I'm in the market for," she responded. "How about you take me there right now?"

The turian nodded. Waving a taloned hand, he beckoned her to follow him. "I'm Delston. So, you're Fargat's... man?"

She smirked at him. "That's right. Call me Irinna." She leaned in close to Delston as the two walked through the slums of Omega. "So, you've got the stuff here?"

"Yeah, just as promised," Delston said. "Gotta be careful with this deal, though. Things on Omega ain't as easy as they used to be. Ever since the war, Aria's been working a lot harder at keeping the peace around here. And that means not doing deals like these under her nose."

"Well, if you don't tell her, I won't," she said with a smile and a coquettish blink of the eyes. "What kind of numbers we talking here? Five? Ten?"

Delston let out a low, raspy chuckle. "How about thirty crates?" he asked her with a measure of pride in his voice. "That enough for Fargat's needs?"

"Thirty, wow!" she responded. "How did he manage to..."

She had glanced to her side for just a second, and by the time she looked back she was already walking headlong into a man in a thick, dark robe. The two of them collided softly, and she let out a startled cry and jolted back in surprise.

"A thousand apologies, ma'am," said the man in the robe, his face hidden in the shadows of a thick hood. The trademark rasp in his voice, however, made it obvious that the man ensconced in the thick garment was a drell. She watched him bow slightly before turning away from her.

"What exactly is up with these robed guys?" she asked Delston. "Seen quite a few of them around since I got here."

Delston rolled his eyes, as he beckoned her to continue following him. "Some religious group. Servants of Arashu or something like that. Down here thinking they can make a difference, clothe the hungry and feed the naked or something silly like that. Tell you what, Aria wouldn't have put up with that goody-goody shit back in the old days. She thinks they're harmless, but I dunno. Something about them just creeps me out."

She shrugged it off. It was a distraction, and right about now she needed to be focused. After a further walk, Delston finally beckoned her into an alleyway. Glancing around to make sure no one was watching, the turian input a code into a keypad. A light blinked green, and the door next to the pad slid open.

"Watch your step," Delston cautioned her, as he hit the lightswitch by the door and the room was illuminated. The large warehouse they had stepped inside was mostly empty, save for a large stack of crates in the center of the floor. Mentally, she counted the stacks and came up with thirty, just as Delston had said.

Walking up to one of the crates, Delston popped it open. Looking inside, she whistled through her teeth. "Damn, Delston. You're a man of your word after all. Fargat's going to be damn impressed with these weapons."

"Top of the line stuff for sure," Delston said, puffing up his chest with pride. "Been sitting on this stuff for three years, just waiting for the right buyer."

"Three years, really?" she said, picking up one of the assault rifles in the crates and inspecting it carefully. "You've had this stuff since before the Reaper War ended? Surprised you didn't try to sell it to the Alliance or somebody else. Hell, maybe even see if the Reapers wanted a taste."

Delston shook his head. "Stuff was too hot, wanted to make sure the heat was off before I tried to move it."

"Hmm. You telling me somebody is going to come looking for this stuff?" she said, turning to Delston with a frown as she tossed the rifle in her hand back into the crate. "Fargat doesn't exactly want any complications here. If he's going to catch heat from somebody..."

"No, no, don't worry about it," Delston said. "Everything's all cooled down. I doubt they even remember this stuff was ever stolen, much less would know where to come looking for it."

"Well, that's for me and Fargat to determine," she responded coldly. "So who exactly is 'they,' Delston? Who is Fargat pissing off by buying these guns?"

Delston was starting to look nervous, seeing the deal of a lifetime go up in smoke right in front of him. "It's... okay, here's the deal. I used to work on Noveria, okay. Back during the war, Cerberus landed there, and everybody was focused on kicking them off the planet. While they were all busy fighting, I managed to steal a supply ship with these crates on it and get away before they even knew it was gone. In all the confusion, I bet they probably thought the ship got blown up or something."

"Right. And yet you still sat on this stuff for three years."

"Just to be safe. I mean, after the relays went down, there wasn't much I could do with it here on Omega anyway. And once they got brought back up, I figured... what's the harm in sitting on them for a little while longer? Just see if anybody from Noveria Internal Affairs or anybody else comes sniffing around. But I haven't heard a peep out of anybody coming to look for these weapons. They're completely safe, trust me."

She furrowed her brow. "I actually believe you, Delston. I don't think anyone from Noveria is going to come looking for you. And you want to know why?" She pointed back at the crate. "Because these weapons are faulty."

"What?" Delston exclaimed, rushing past her and bending down into the crate. "That's impossible. I inspected them all by hand. Every last one of them, I made sure they were..."

Behind him, Delston heard the click of a pistol being activated. "Little lesson about Noveria Internal Affairs, Delston," she said. "One: we're very, very patient. Two: Nothing slips by us, especially not a supply ship full of weapons. And three: if we're doing our jobs right, you'll never hear a peep from us until it's too late." She paused, then added. "Peep."

"You... you're..."

"Gianna Parasini," she said. "Noveria Internal Affairs, in case you hadn't guessed. So how about you drop that pistol on your hip to the ground and put your hands up?"

"You can't do anything to me," Delston said, even as he complied with Gianna's orders. "We're not on Noveria. You've got no jurisdiction over me."

Gianna smirked. "Aren't you clever? You're right, Delston. Here on Omega, I can't do a thing to you. Which is why you're going to follow me to my ship, and we're going on a one-way trip right back home."

"Are you crazy?" Delston nervously exclaimed. "I'm not going back there! They'll... they'll..."

"They'll put you in jail, Delston," Gianna said. "Probably for a long, long time. Which considering you ripped those weapons off while the people of Noveria were fighting for their goddamn lives, is a whole lot better than you deserve. Or the other option is, I leave you in this warehouse, shoot the lock so you stay right here with your precious stolen guns, and send an anonymous tip to Aria, letting her know about a stupid turian trying to make a giant arms deal right under her nose. Aria may have gone a bit soft, but I'm sure she'd be perfectly happy to show a big-time smuggler like you the outside of an airlock. So, Delston... what's it gonna be?"

The defeated turian sighed. "Alright, alright. I'll come quietly."

"I knew you'd see the light," Gianna said. Turning on her omni-tool, she sent a message to her offices, letting them know the location of the weapons and requesting they send a team to pick them up. The location Delston picked to hide them in was fairly secure, even considering the surrounding area, and honestly Internal Affairs was a lot more concerned with apprehending the thief than locating the actual weapons themselves.

As Gianna ushered Delston out the door and locked it behind her, she suddenly felt an odd sensation. Looking out of the alleyway, she saw a robed figure standing there. Whether it was the same one as before or one of his fellow "servants," Gianna wasn't sure. She kept her weapon hidden behind Delston as she exited, staring at the robed man and waiting to see if he said anything.

But he said nothing, simply standing and watching. Gianna glanced away for a split second, checking the door again to make sure it was locked, and when she looked back for the robed man again, he was gone.

* * *

"What do you have to report?" Bray said, crossing his arms and staring down at the three seated figures.

Aria stared with palpable disinterest from behind her desk, as the three men she had chosen as the administrators of the "new Omega" gave their tedious reports. Preitor Gavorn was first, giving a report of some unruly vorcha that he had dispersed down in Zeta District. The turian was tedious, needlessly brutal, and most likely on the take, but when it came to keeping the more unpredictable elements of Omega in line, Aria knew he was the best.

Goddess, how had it come to this? How had she gone from ruling from the VIP lounge of Afterlife, to having an actual office? With a fucking desk? Shepard and her horrible, lily-white influence, that's what it was. After she had retaken Omega from Cerberus, Aria had promised that she would restore order, make the common people trust in her rule. Which, if she intended to keep her promise, meant that her administration over this giant hunk of rock would have to consist of more than just, "Let everybody do what the fuck they want, unless it threatens my control over the station. Then start killing until the threat no longer exists."

So, here she was. Aria T'Loak, the Queen of Omega, listening to middle-managers report on the progress of her attempts to actually bring peace to Omega, rather than just terrifying it into submission.

True, this approach did have its perks. When the people of Omega felt safer, they were more likely to stick their heads out of their front doors and come out to spend credits. Which meant less of the Omega businesses were coming up short when it came time for their weekly "tributes to Aria." The Patriarch was giving his report now, letting Aria know how the tax collections were going, and how many businesses he had had to visit personally to "convince" them to cough up their credits.

With the added influence the aged krogan had received after Shepard and his teammates had served as his "krannt," Aria had to do her best to keep the suddenly mildly dangerous krogan happy. That, or kill him, but Aria was trying her best to minimize the number of murders under her kinder, gentler new administration. Not eliminate, of course. Just minimize. And the Patriarch was krogan through and through, so sending him out to intimidate deadbeats was right up his alley. Not that he wasn't still a danger, but for now, he was playing ball.

Finally, there was Garka. He had started as one of her brainless bodyguards, but after Aria had retaken Omega, she had discovered in the unassuming batarian a good ear for the comings and goings of the station. Gavorn and Patriarch were good at less subtle means of control, intimidation and violence when necessary. But when plots against Aria were whispered in the darkness, and not bellowed by mindless thugs, Garka seemed to always know about it, and deal with it in a way that minimized the mess. She had no idea who he had working for him, and part of her knew that this made the batarian almost as dangerous as Patriarch, but his services to her had been invaluable in Aria'a new administration.

So, yes... Aria had to admit that it was a better way to run things. But Goddess, did it have to be this boring?

At least she had Bray. Her right-hand ever since she had retaken Omega, he was quite good at taking notes, cutting to the chase on every one of her lieutenants' long-winded ramblings. The batarian had bristled at first at the idea of them "softening" their approach, but after a few years he had taken to the task like a varren to a bowl of pyjak intestines. So she didn't feel too bad about letting him handle all of the smaller, less-urgent matters in the administration of Omega, while consulting with her on the more important concerns and carrying out her orders.

As Garka continued to speak, Aria suddenly heard a beeping sound coming from the terminal built into her desk. As she opened her bleary eyes, and saw who was calling, she immediately snapped up straight in her desk. "Meeting's over," she interrupted Garka. "Everyone out, right now!"

The four men, surprised at seeing Aria's sudden vehemence, quickly rose to their feet and stepped out of the arched entryway that led into Aria's office. Once they were out of sight, Aria triggered the screen.

"Hello, Aria," said the familiar voice of the red-haired human on the screen. "Good to see you again."

"Commander Shepard," Aria said. "Or should I even call you that anymore? From what I hear, you might no longer carry a rank in your Alliance military anymore."

"No, Commander is fine. After so many years, I've almost started to feel like that's my real first name," Shepard said with a smirk.

"You've got a lot of nerve, you know that?" Aria said. "After all that time you spent fighting Cerberus? The time we defeated them on my very station? And then you turn around and join their ranks, and call me like nothing has changed? Tell me, Shepard, exactly why I shouldn't call up every last mercenary group on this station and offer them a million dollar bounty on your head?"

Shepard paused, and then leaned forward and grinned into the camera. "Because, Aria... the plan worked."

Aria let out a triumphant laugh. "Shepard, you magnificent bitch! I never would have thought it possible! So, you really did it? You finally finished the job you should have finished three years ago?"

"I've got a present for you, Aria," Shepard said, reaching down at her feet. "Figured you might like a paperweight for that new desk of yours."

And Aria cackled as she saw what Shepard laid down on the railing of the Normandy CIC: the pale, severed head of Oleg Petrovsky. "You shouldn't have, Shepard," she said with a wicked grin. "Tell me, Shepard... did you make him suffer? Did you make that Cerberus bastard beg for death?"

"Oh, he suffered, alright," Shepard said. "He learned the hard way what a mistake it was, his whole plan to revive Cerberus and try to retake Omega."

"It actually worked," Aria marveled. "I'll admit it, Shepard. When you came to me with this plan, told me you were going to fake defecting to Cerberus to find and kill Petrovsky, I really didn't think it would work. But you pulled it off. Hell, if you hadn't already told me what you had in mind, I might have actually been convinced you really did switch sides."

"You kidding? I know if I ever did something stupid like that, you'd never let me live to regret it," Shepard said. "But... Aria, I'm afraid I've got some bad news."

Aria felt her good mood suddenly get clouded. "What is it, Shepard?" she asked.

"It... I found some messages on Oleg's omni-tool," Shepard said. "I was wrong, Aria. I thought he was the man at the top of this whole 'new Cerberus' thing. But it goes even higher. There's somebody above even Oleg, and I've got a feeling that their goal to retake Omega doesn't stop with him."

"Those bastards don't give up, do they?" Aria said. "What do you need from me, Shepard?"

Shepard looked uncomfortable. "I have some information for you. There are people in your new government there with ties to Cerberus."

"That's ridiculous, Shepard," Aria said. "I hardly have any humans in my organization. And those that are don't rank highly enough to pose much of a threat."

"Who said they were human?" Shepard said. "Cerberus has lots of credits now, Aria. Don't know where they got them from, but they've got enough cash to even bribe a batarian to help them out." She leaned in closer to the camera. "You can't trust anyone, Aria. Look, is there a shuttle bay where I can land and we can meet in private? Somewhere on Omega where nobody will know I'm coming in?"

Aria nodded. "An old shuttle bay on the lower decks, still a little damaged from when we retook Omega. Not in use, none of the cameras work. I'll send you the coordinates."

Shepard smiled. "Sounds perfect. I'm very close, come meet me there in an hour. And come alone. I'm still not sure which of your people you can trust."

"I'm on my way," Aria said, deactivating the video screen and cursing. Goddamn Cerberus. It wasn't enough they tried to steal this station from her once. They had to try it again?

Standing up, Aria dashed around her desk and stepped out of the open archway of her office entrance.

"Aria, wait," said a voice from behind her. She turned to see Bray standing in the corner, in the darkness and out of sight. "You shouldn't go alone."

"You were eavesdropping on me?" Aria snarled at him. "I've had better men than you sent out an airlock for a lot less, you know."

Bray paid the threat no mind. After a few years of serving as Aria's second-in-command, he was used to being threatened with death on a daily basis by now. "I know Shepard is an old friend. I know that without her, we wouldn't be standing on this station. But something about this just doesn't seem right. Since when does Shepard ask you to meet her alone, in some abandoned shuttle bay with no surveillance? Why can't she just come to see you here?"

"The whole galaxy thinks she's a defector to Cerberus, Bray," Aria brusquely explained. "She can't just stroll onto Omega like nothing's changed. Those people would tear her to shreds if they saw her, and even I wouldn't be able to stop them."

"Just let me come with you, okay?" Bray said. "I'll stay out of sight, Shepard will never even know I'm there. I just don't feel comfortable with you going down there without anyone watching your back."

Aria scoffed. "Why, Bray, I didn't know you cared," she sarcastically said. But the batarian had a point. As much as she trusted Shepard after all the things the human Spectre had done for her in the past, Bray was right. Being told to come somewhere alone... it was the classic setup. Not that Shepard would ever do something like that, but...

"Okay, fine," she finally said to Bray, trying her best to sound annoyed at the batarian's caution. "If it'll make you feel better, keep behind me. We'll take the back passage, shouldn't be bothered by anyone there."

"Yes, ma'am," Bray said, and he waited for Aria to get a few steps ahead of him before moving to follow.

* * *

Gavorn caught sight of Aria and Bray leaving. "Where is she going?" he asked the two other lieutenants next to him.

The Patriarch narrowed his eyes. "Something to do with that call she got. Wonder if it has something to do with Shepard. Aria's been acting strange ever since they put that speech on the news."

"Eh, what do we care?" Garka said gruffly. "Guess that means we're done for the day. Let's go up to the private lounge and hit the bar, what do you say?"

"Mmm, there was a bottle of ryncol I've had my eye on for a while," Patriarch said, turning and heading towards the lounge.

Gavorn gave a slight shrug. "Suppose I could use a drink," he said, heading off after Patriarch.

Once they were a good distance away, Garka activated his omnitool. "TARGET ON THE MOVE," he typed. "PLAN IS A GO." Sending the message, he turned and headed off after Gavorn and Patriarch.
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Slaves of Cerberus