ME2: Resurrection of the Lost Race
Chapter 6: Omega: What A Pisshole!

"Professor Mordin Solus?" I asked as I stepped towards the salarian.

The salarian looked up from his console and then took a step forward, running his omni-tool to scan me.

"Hmm, don't recognize you from area. Too well-armed to be refugees. No mercenary uniform. Quarantine still in effect." He went to his console. "Here for something else. Vorcha? Crew to clean them out? Unlikely. Vorcha a symptom, not a cause. The plague? Investigating possible use as bio weapon? No. Too many guns, not enough data equipment. Soldiers, not scientists. Hired guns, maybe? Looking for someone? Yes! But who? Someone important. Valuable. Someone with secrets. Someone like me. Me. Looking for me. Why? Who are you and what do you want?"

I blankly stared at the doctor for a moment before shaking my head. "Are you... okay? Do you ever pause for a breath?" That sounded ruder then I wanted it to be.

He looked at me with a little bit of insult. "Sorry. I’ll... try... to... slow... down. No, no, no, no. Can't do it. No time. Who are you?" he demanded.

"I'm Commander Shepard. This is Zaeed Massani, and Jacob Taylor. We're involved in a critical mission and need your help."

"Mission? What mission? No, no, no, no. Too busy. Clinic understaffed. Plague spreading too fast. Who sent you?" The salarian asked.

I really didn't want to say we were from Cerberus, due to their reputation. "It's a covert and privately funded human group."

"Related to plague? Doesn't affect humans. Human-centric interest. Few human groups would know me. Equipment suggests military origin. Not Alliance standard. Spectres not human. Terra Firma too unstable. Only one option." He took a breath. "Cerberus sent you. Unexpected."

"You're very well informed. How do you know Cerberus?" I asked.

"Crossed paths on occasion. Thought they only worked with humans. Why request salarian aid?"

"Not sure if you heard of them, but the Collectors are kidnapping entire human populations. We're going to find out why and stop them." I said with confidence.

"Collectors? Interesting. Plague hitting these slums is engineered. Collectors one of few groups with technology to design it. Our goals may be similar." He walked over to his computer. "But must stop plague first. Already have a cure. Need to distribute it at environmental control center. Vorcha guarding it." He took a breath. "Need to kill them."

"If I help with this plague, will you join us?"

"Yes." Mordin nodded.

Just then a loud sound echoed across the clinic.

"Umm, what the hell was that?" Jacob asked.

Mordin activated his OT. "Vorcha have shut down environmental systems. Trying to kill everyone. Need to get power back on before district suffocates!" Mordin handed me the cure. "Also, bonus in good faith. Weapon from dead Blue Suns mercs. May come in handy against vorcha." He handed me a pistol.

"Thank you, Mordin."

"One more thing. Daniel. One of my assistants. Went into vorcha territory. Looking for victims." Mordin took a breath. "Hasn't come back."

"I will keep my eye out," I nodded. "But a doctor doesn't have much chance against a vorcha horde. Why did you let him leave?"

Mordin lowered his head. "Stubborn. Told him not to go. Odds of survival low. But he's smart. Careful. Bright future. I hope."

"Do you have a clue on where I can find him?" I asked.

"No. Heard infected batarians trapped behind vorcha lines. Daniel went to help. Told him not to go. Too dangerous. Patients here needed him. Snuck out anyway." Mordin sighed. "Wanted to find him myself. Can't leave clinic. Have to look after the patients."

I looked over at Zaeed and Jacob. "Let's head for the environmental plant and keep an eye out for Daniel."

"Yes. Good. Restore power. Release cure. Will be here when you return." Mordin said as he turned to his computer.

We headed to the front of the clinic, but I stopped as I saw Bray lying on a cot. He was still unconscious, but it seemed like he was going to recover. When we got to the front, I saw the two looters from before sitting on a couple of chairs. They looked up at me and I only nodded as we headed out the second clinic entrance.

"Be ready," I said as we grabbed our weapons. "There may be more than vorcha lurking around here."

As I had predicted, when we rounded the first corner, there were at least a half dozen vorcha and a krogan standing around guarding the area to the clinic. I was guessing they didn't want anyone to reach it.

"Take them out." I ordered as I raised my pistol.

"More hostiles coming from the left, Shepard." Zaeed called out.

"And a krogan too, looks like he's from the Blood Pack." Jacob said.

"Concentrate on the krogan," I shouted. "I'll try to take down that damn vorcha with the flame thrower!"

It didn't take long for the boys to kill the krogan, but just as it seemed like the enemy force was going to lighten up, another dozen vorcha and two more krogan came storming from the stairwells and doors.

"Shepard, on your right!" Jacob called out.

I looked up to see a vorcha trying to sneak up on me. I quickly used 'throw' and hurled it into a passing krogan, knocking them both to the ground.

After a brutal fifteen minute battle, the last vorcha died screaming.

"That was one hell of a fight." Zaeed said as he raised his rifle to his shoulder.

I closed my eyes for a moment before nodding. "Yes, great work you two. These stairs lead to the environmental controls."

"Shepard, you don't look good." Jacob commented. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "I am just tired and I hurt."

"Soon as we get back to Mordin's clinic, you should probably lie down and rest for awhile." Jacob suggested.

"No," I shook my head. "The sooner I get to Garrus the better."

We took the flight of steps up and rounded a corner to the right. I was actually somewhat surprised we didn't run into hiding vorcha as we approached the next area.

"Alright, let's see if-" Just then I heard a cry and I quickly gave the 'quiet' signal.

I walked over to a door and placed my ear on it. I could hear a batarian voice on the other side. "We know you're spreading the virus. We saw the vials in the bag."

"No! These vials contain the cure. Please... you have to believe me."

Daniel.

I motioned Zaeed and Jacob to get into position. I counted with my fingers. 1... 2... 3... I opened the door and entered, aiming my pistol.

"Maybe we should cut off your fingers. That should loosen your-"

"Boss!" yelled another batarian.

The batarian that was threatening Daniel raised his gun to him as he looked at me. "Don't move! One more step and we kill your friend!"

I glared at the batarian. "Pull that trigger, four eyes, and you're breathing through a new hole in your head. Let him go, and I might let you live."

"Oh God..." Daniel cried, closing his eyes.

"You must think batarians are stupid." The batarian spat.

"You really don't want me to answer that." I growled.

"What's to stop you from killing us if we let him go?"

"The possibility of you coming out of this alive." I hissed.

The batarian looked at me for a long time before he lowered his weapon. "Alright, we will let him go. You got what you want, human. Now step aside."

"Ooooo," I winced. "I don't think so."

"Like I thought," The batarian raised his pistol at Daniel. "Kill them all!"

Jacob, Zaeed, and I shot our guns, killing the batarians instantly. I looked over to Daniel who still had his hands over his eyes.

"Daniel, it's okay;" I walked up to him. "You're safe now."

Daniel opened his eyes and gasped as he saw the dead batarians on the floor. "Oh my god! You murdered them; in cold blood!"

"They would have killed you, Daniel." I said. "And honestly, it wasn't in cold blood. They held you captive."

"This... this is wrong! They were sick and you murdered them! Wait until Mordin hears about this!" The boy shouted as he stormed off.

"Not even a thank you?" Jacob asked.

"Sniveling brat." Zaeed grumbled. "We just saved his goddamn life."

I shrugged. "It doesn't matter." I looked at the batarians that were dead on the ground. "At least they won't hurt anyone anymore. Come on, let's move out."

We entered through another door and I ducked under cover as I saw two vorcha talking to each other. I gave Jacob the 'lift' sign and he nodded. When one of the vorcha was in the air, I used throw... forcing it to land face first into the wall, breaking it's neck. Zaeed used his concussive shot, knocking the other vorcha on the ground and then ended it's life with a bullet in the head.

"Great job you two," I nodded as we made our way down a large ramp.

When we rounded a corner; a balcony with a lower ground level came into view.

"Shepard, vorchas across the way have rocket launchers!" Jacob warned.

Just as Jacob said that, a rocket came at me. I hissed as my tech shield flickered.

"Zaeed, you got a sniper rifle with ya?"

"Yeah, got Camille right here."

I didn't even bother to ask about the name. "Take those demon bastards out!" I ordered.

If Garrus was here, I wouldn't have heard the end of it. I could just hear him say, "See, this is why you need to train with a sniper rifle."

I closed my eyes for a moment as the thought of Garrus came to mind. I was guessing he was still in surgery. I felt a little guilty being here, when my best friend was laying in the med-bay.

"Jacob, let's head for the staircase and see if we can take them head-on while Zaeed does some sniping."

Jacob nodded as we made our way to the lower level. After about ten minutes of being under fire, Zaeed took the last shot to a krogan.

"We're close to the environmental controls," Jacob said as we entered one of the lower level doors. "Let's get that cure in, then hit the fans."

Once we arrived at the main door of the environmental controls, I put my hand out to stop Zaeed and Jacob from entering.

"Be careful, we don't know how many vorcha or Blood Pack krogan there are. Keep your weapons aimed at all times."

As soon as I got the okay from Jacob and Zaeed, we entered the room. A vorcha screamed as it rushed at me. I couldn't help but step back as saliva dripped from it's mouth. "You no come here! We shut down machines, break fans! Everyone choke and die! Then Collectors make us strong!"

"What do the Collectors want?" I asked, curious if I would even get a straight answer.

The Vorcha hissed. "Collectors want plague! You work for doctor, turn on machines, put cure in air." It growled and pointed at me. "We kill you first!"

"You can sure as hell try!" I hissed back as I shot the vorcha in the head, killing it instantly.

"Attack!" Yelled another vorcha.

About a half dozen vorcha appeared with guns blazing. It didn't take us long to kill them all. When the last one fell, EDI's voice echoed through my OT.

"Shepard, I've scanned the room. The central control system is in an alcove in the center of the back wall. You can inject the cure and re-initialize the systems there."

"Thank you, EDI. Any word about Garrus?"

”His surgery is going well.”

I let out a breath of relief. “Thank you.”

I walked to the back end of the room and leaned on the console, closing my eyes for just a moment.

"Commander, you okay?" Jacob asked.

"Yeah, I'm just exhausted." I injected the cure into the alcove and pushed some buttons.

"That should do it," Jacob said as the environmental systems came online. "Cure is locked in. Once we get the fans going, we should be good."

"There are two fan controls on each side of the room you are in now." EDI reported.

"Alright then, let's go and-"

"Shepard, we got incoming!" Zaeed said. "Two vorcha snipers up on that far balcony!"

"More ground troops just entered where we came in." Jacob said.

"Let's take them out quick!" I said as I ducked behind cover. "Zaeed, snipe the vorcha that are on that balcony!"

After spending a few minutes taking out the vermin in the center of the room and on the balcony, we headed to the east side. It didn't take long to kill the vorcha and enter another small room where one of the fan controls was located.

Once the fan was turned on, I let out a sigh. "One down, one to go! Let's move."

"Shepard, we got more vorcha along with a few krogan!" Zaeed warned as he sniped a vorcha from afar.

After spending another five minutes or so fighting off flame thrower vorchas and pissed off krogans, we finally made it to the last fan. I ran my hands over the console.

"There," I said as the other fan began to start. "Both fans are up. Let's get back to-" Just then the room began to spin. I quickly tried to reach for something to hold onto, but I couldn't find anything as blackness surrounded me.


When I opened my eyes, I couldn't help but notice Mordin looking down at me.

"Ah. Shepard. You're awake."

I gently sat up from a bio-bed and placed my hand on my forehead. "What- what happened?"

"You fainted." The salarian pointed out. "Malnutrition. Dehydration." He took a deep breath. "Lack of sleep."

I looked around the room. "Where's Jacob and Zaeed?"

"Back on your ship."

"How long was I out?"

"Five hours."

"Five hours?" I gasped as I jumped off the bio-bed. "Mordin, you should have woken me up."

"Why?" The Salarian shrugged. "You need rest. I need to pack. Kill bird with two stones."

I raised a brow as Mordin tried to use a human quote. "So we got the environmental controls working?"

"Yes," Mordin nodded. "Environmental systems engaged. Airborne viral levels dropping. Patients improving. Vorcha retreated. Thank you, Shepard."

"I'm glad everything worked out. Hopefully the quarantine will be lifted and everyone can get back to their normal lives."

"Professor! How can you thank her? She butchered those batarians in cold blood!" Yelled Daniel as he walked up to us.

I shook my head. "If it wasn't for me, you would have been killed. Don't underestimate the brutalities batarians can do; I lost my family to them. Be thankful that they're not here anymore to hurt you or the ones you love."

"Shepard's right. Batarians tortured you. Would have killed you." Mordin nodded. "Right to kill them."

Daniel took a step back, looking at Mordin in disbelief. "Professor? How can you say that? You're a doctor! You believe in helping people!"

"Lots of ways to help people. Sometimes heal patients. Sometimes execute dangerous people. Either way helps." Mordin placed a hand on Daniel's shoulder. "Leaving clinic to you. Lots of work to do. Think about what I said."

Daniel shook his head and he walked out of the room. Mordin sucked in a breath. "Good kid. Bit naive. He'll learn. Should be able to handle things now that vorcha are gone."

"So you're ready to help stop the Collectors and save the galaxy?" I asked with a smile.

"Yes. Unexpected to be working with Cerberus. Many surprises. Will send personal items to your ship. Be ready in five minutes."

"Alright, I will meet you at the front." I said with a smile as I headed out of the back room feeling refreshed.

I noticed Daniel talking to Sarah up at the front desk. "I can't believe Mordin said all those things. I thought I knew him."

"You do know him, Daniel. And you know that he would protect us by any means necessary."

Daniel let out a sigh. "But it was murder."

"It wasn't murder if you were in danger, Daniel."

"Excuse me," I lifted a finger and both Sarah and Daniel turned to me. "I'm looking for a batarian that I had brought in here when I first arrived. I don't see him."

"He left a few hours ago." Sarah pointed out.

"Was he alright?"

"Yes, we patched him up. Told him to take it easy for a few days; but knowing batarains,they won't listen. They’re just as stubborn as turians."

I couldn't help but agree with her on that one. "Thank you."

"Commander," A male voice called from behind me. I turned to see the two human refugee's from the apartment with smiles on their faces. "Thanks for bringing us here,"

"You probably saved our lives," The female said greatfully.

"You're very welcome, I'm glad you made it here safely." I shook their hands.

Just then I heard a familiar voice coming from behind me. I turned to see Garrus Vakarian standing at the entrance of the clinic.

"Garrus?" I said in disbelief.

His armor was broken and tattered. I could tell that Chakwas had done some reconstruction on his right side where he had been hit badly. Haste was in my steps as I approached him, giving him the biggest hug I could.

"Garrus." I let out a tiny sob. "You're alive."

He wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly for a moment before letting go. "Of course, I'm not going to let a rocket to the face take me down. What if Wrex ever got wind of that? I would never hear the end of it."

I took a step back and smiled and then it faded as I carefully ran my hand over his fresh scars.

"How bad is it?" Garrus asked. "Haven't really had the chance to take a look."

I couldn't help but chuckle as I crossed my arms. "Hell, Garrus, you were always ugly. Slap some facepaint on there and no one will ever notice."

Garrus let out a huffed laugh and then winced. "Oh, don't make me laugh, damn it." He shook his head. "My face is barely holding together as it is. Although, some women find facial scars attractive. Mind you, most of those women are krogan..."

I shook my head then saw Mordin enter the main area. A lot of people got up from their chairs or cots to shake his hand and to tell him thank you for everything that he had done.

"Since you're here," I looked up at Garrus. "I got a few errands that I need to do before heading back to Normandy. I wasn't going to do them right away because I wanted to get back to you. You up to hang out on Omega? I don’t want you to overdue it."

"Of course, Shepard. Half of the reason I came back to Omega is that I need to get back into my base. I have some personal stuff that I need to collect.”

“Are you sure it’s safe?” I asked.

“Yes, EDI told me there was no activity there." He then looked at me. "Speaking of EDI... Chakwas gave me an update on everything that is going on. Cerberus, Shepard? You remember those sick experiments that they were doing?"

"I remember, Garrus." I sighed. "But I would rather not discuss this right now. Once we get back to Normandy, we'll talk about Cerberus and our mission."

"Are you sure? I'm a little worried about you." His voice was low and quiet.

I grabbed his hand and gently squeezed it. "I'm sure."

"Shepard. Ready to go." Mordin said as he took a deep breath. Then he turned and looked at Garrus. "Archangel." He offered his hand and Garrus took it. "An honor. You saved many lives. Thank you."

"Likewise, Doctor. I heard from one of my contacts that you took out a whole squad of Blue Suns. Impressive."

"Yeah, I did hear about that as well," I crossed my arms. "For a doctor, you're awfully calm about taking out a group of mercs, Mordin."

"Wasn't always a doctor. Some work with Salarian Special Tasks Group. Can handle myself." Mordin grabbed his pistol and began to examine it. "Advantage of being salarian. Turians, krogan, vorcha... all obvious threats." Mordin took a deep breath as he put his pistol away. "Never see me coming."

"Garrus and I have a few things we need to do on Omega before returning to Normandy, want to join us?"

"Of course." Mordin nodded then handed me a chit. "Schematics for medi-gel capacity unit. Can carry more if needed."

"Thanks, Mordin." I smiled as I put the chit in one of my armor pockets.

As Mordin, Garrus, and I departed the clinic, I couldn't help but have a smile on my face. For the first time since I woke up, I wasn't tired, I felt great, and I had my best friend with me. Things were slowly starting to look up.

"Shepard, we can enter the Kenzo district from here," Garrus pointed to a door.

"Yes. Should be open. Quarantine lifted due to cure." Mordin nodded.

"It won't be a long walk to my base." Garrus said.

"Garrus, did you know they were planning on attacking you from here?" Garrus looked at me oddly. "A dead Blue Suns batarian had a note on him saying that Tarak had sent him here, to the Gozu district; to see if they could attack you from a different angle."

"Wow," Garrus half laughed. "I reallllly must have pissed them off. Guess the joke was on them."

It took a good ten minutes, but we finally entered the Base of Archangel from the back entrance. Garrus took point, keeping his rifle aimed as he searched the perimeter.

"Seems to be clear," he commented as he lowered his rifle.

I looked around the room and noticed that there had been a lot of damage to the place. The kitchen was trashed; the couch was half burnt with a dead merc on it. Chairs, tables, books; they were all scattered across the floor.

"Come on, my things are up here." Garrus commented.

"I'll stay down here. Keep an eye out." Mordin said.

I nodded and then followed Garrus up the stairs. He looked at the door to the balcony and let out a sigh before turning left and entering his bedroom.

As he knelt down to grab something from underneath the bed, I couldn't help but notice a picture on his night stand. It was a group photo of Garrus, a couple of salarians, humans, a batarian, an asari, a quarian, and... I couldn't tell who the other one was because it was scribbled out... but I had guessed it was another turian.

"Garrus, who are these people?" I asked, showing him the picture.

Garrus let out a sigh as he reached for the picture and took it gently from me. "My team." Garrus sighed as he sat on the bed, looking at the picture. "There were twelve of us, including me." He pointed to each person in the picture, naming them off by their last name. "Jilaci, Atrareok, Chinak, Had'shan, Zoal'Jeeras, Povia, Butler, Tuck, Hart, Rodriguez..." the last name he said was filled with venom. "Sidonis."

"What did your merc squad do?"

"Omega; it was full of thugs kicking the helpless. I formed my team to kick back. We weren't mercenaries. At least, nobody was paying us."

"So how did you survive without getting any credits?"

"We made money by taking down slavers, pirates, or gangs that went too far."

I couldn't help but smile. "So you weren't too popular with the other gangs."

"I got three separate merc bands to work together to take me down. Chellick would be impressed and perhaps a little jealous that I didn't include him."

"So how would you take down the gangs?" I leaned back against the headboard of the bed.

"It was simple. We'd hit their shipments, disrupt their activities, get under their skin; make them angry. They'd come charging right into our well-prepared kill-zone. Crossfire and snipers, clean and surgical. They never stood a chance."

"It sounds like you were another gang."

Garrus shook his head. "Then I'm saying it wrong. We didn't shake anyone down. No civilian casualties. That was our rule. Every member of my team had lost something or someone to Omega's gangs. We weren't out to get rich; we were out to make those bastards think twice before murdering someone in the street."

I stayed silent for a moment and then looked up at Garrus as he placed the picture of his squad inside a box. "Garrus," he looked up at me. "What happened to you? You were supposed to become a Spectre. Why did you leave the Citadel? Why come here to Omega and fight for what we both know was a lost cause? Omega is always going to be Omega."

Garrus sighed. It took him a moment before looking up at me. "You."

"Me?" A chill ran down my spine.

"After the Normandy was destroyed, everything changed. There was too much politicking at the Citadel. Nobody was willing to take risks. I wanted to make a difference, but I couldn't do that with C-Sec and the Council giving me hurdles to jump over. Omega was filled with criminals nobody else could touch, and there was no red tape to slow me down. It was a perfect fit. After what you taught me, Shepard... I knew I was doing the right thing. I packed up my bags, didn't tell anyone where I was going... and I left." Garrus took a deep breath. "People here needed someone to believe in. Someone to stand up to the local thugs. Aria T'Lok wasn't doing that... and no one dared to go up against her. Not that I blame them, she can be quite ruthless."

"How'd you end up with a squad?" I asked.

Garrus shrugged. "Not too different from how you formed your squad to fight Saren, actually. You prove that you can get things done, and people join up." Garrus lowered his head. "And now they're all dead..."

I sat up and placed my hand on Garrus' arm. "Tell me about them."

Garrus looked at me. "Shepard, I don't think you want to know everything that-"

"Of course I do," I smiled as I leaned forward and grabbed the box Garrus had on the bed and lifted it up. I saw the picture and grabbed it. "I want to know each one of these people."

Garrus let out a sigh as he grabbed the picture. He pointed to the Asari that was on the far left side of the picture. "That's Salana Jilaci. She was a powerful biotic and a great adept." Then Garrus picked up a pad. "A few months ago, I wanted everyone from my team to send a 'What If' letter to their family, in case something happened. Salana has a sister and when we get back to the Normandy, I will mail this letter to her."

Garrus then pointed to the human that was standing next to Salana with his arm wrapped around her shoulder. "That's Edward Tuck; a great strategist expert. He used to work for the Alliance until he quit due to... big surprise... red tape." Garrus then chuckled. "His mother sent all of us care packages."

"Care packages?" I lifted a brow.

"Yeah," He nodded. "She sent us candies, comics, music. Made some really good dextro bread for Zoal and I.” Garrus pointed to another human standing next to Tuck; his hands were crossed and he wasn't smiling. "That's Xander Povia; the oldest of the group. He knew Ashley's grandfather."

"What?" My eyes widened.

"Yeah, fought with him during the FC war. After the war, he quit the Alliance and joined the Blue Suns. I remember the day he joined my team." Garrus said as he looked up from the picture. "The Blue Suns had blamed the old man for ratting on them. They were just about ready to kill him, when I showed up. After I took out the Suns, I approached him and asked if he wanted to join my cause." Garrus looked back down at the picture. "He had no family before us. I remember the day before he was killed. He shook my hand and said... 'Thank you for letting me be a part of this family, Vakarian. I finally know what it's like to fight for something that has meaning.' He was like a father to me,” Garrus said. "And really understood me; unlike my own father."

Garrus pointed to one of the salarians that was in the picture. "That is Asot Strareok. He was an explosive expert. I'm pretty sure he'd spent time with the STG, but he never really confirmed it. He was the first one that joined my cause."

"Mordin was part of the STG... maybe he knew him." I jumped off the bed and looked over the small balcony from Garrus' room. I saw Mordin sitting on one of the chairs, which managed to survive the carnage, reading some data on his OT.  "Hey Mordin, did you by chance know a..." I looked at Garrus, forgetting the Salarian's name.

"Asot Strareok."

"Asot Strareok. Garrus believed he was part of the Salarian STG."

"Hmm. No. Name doesn't come to mind." Mordin said as he looked up at me. “Suggest looking at STG database. Need clearance.” Mordin took a breath. “Will see what I can find.”

“Thanks.” I looked at Mordin for a moment. "Are you alright down there?"

"Yes. Yes." He waved a hand.

I shrugged as I headed back to the bed and sat down next to Garrus. "What about the other salarian?"

"That's Ilan Chinak." Garrus said. "He was a science tech and a decent field medic. He lost his brother here on Omega. The only family he has left now is back on Sur'Kesh. This, is Zoal'Jeeras nar Zepan." Garrus said as he pointed to the quarian in the picture. "He went on Pilgrimage with his close friend. I never got his friend's name though. Zoal was always protective and didn't want anything to come back and hurt his friend."

"Smart move." I nodded.

"Yes," Garrus agreed. "I am going to assume that the letter he wrote will have his friends name on it. I will make sure the one thing he left for his friend is sent to him." Garrus pointed to the human that was standing beside him in the picture. "This was our youngest in the group; Benjamin Hart. Not sure if he told me the full story of why he was on Omega, but I guess something happened between him and his father. I knew how he felt, so I never really pushed the subject."

"How old was he?"

"20; and damn was he a great weapons tech. He could tell you what mod went well with what weapon. You'd have liked him. Xander took the kid under his wing since he had no family to begin with." Garrus pointed to the next human. "Lias Rodriguez. He had a daughter, Kimberly, who was taken from him back on Earth. She was compatible with the L2 implant."

My eyes widened. "Just like Kaidan."

"Yeah, but from what Lias told me, the government never gave his daughter the choice to decide if she wanted to or not. He heard about what I was doing and so he joined up. He needed to make some credits to pay the Shadow Broker for the intel he needed to find Kimberly. He told me that if I was to ever find her, to give him the letter he wrote."

"We'll find her, Garrus." I said as I put my hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah," He let out a sigh. "And this is Martin Butler. The comedian of the group and my closest friend. He told me that he was saving up to send his wife to medical school. She's a great nurse; but can't afford to stay on the Citadel." Garrus looked up at me. "I’m going to try to get a hold of Chloe Michel and see if she has room for someone." Garrus looked down at the picture. "Got a few extra things that Martin wanted to give his family; will have to get stuff organized and then send it to them."

I leaned over his shoulder and pointed to the batarian. "Are you telling me you had a batarian in your squad?"

Garrus chuckled. "Yeah, and before you go condemning me to hell for teaming up with a batarian, hear me out..."

I couldn't help but cross my arms and make a teasing glare. "Go on..."

"Slarn Had'shan. He was one of my tech experts. He could hack any system ever built." Garrus looked at me. "Not the friendliest guy, though. He always stayed away from the others; with the exception of Salana. They seemed to get along quite well."

"And he didn't betray you at all? That's kinda...shocking."

"No," Garrus shook his head. "That was Lantar Sidonis."

"The one who is scribbled out of the picture?"

Garrus placed the picture back in the box and got up. "Don't want to talk about that son of a bitch, Shepard. Sorry."

"Something happened." I stood up and walked over to the upset turian. "You can talk to me, Garrus."

Garrus looked at me and sighed. "It was my own damn fault, Shepard." He said. "That turian bastard betrayed me. He drew me away just before the mecs attacked my squad, then he disappeared. Everyone except me is dead because of him. Salana, Asot, Ilan, Slarn, Zoal, Xander, Edward, Ben, Lias, Martin... they're all dead because I didn't see it coming."

"I don't understand. What happened, exactly?"

"Sidonis asked for my help on a job. When I got to the meeting point, nobody was there. By the time I got back here, the mercs had killed everyone except for Martin and Salana, and they didn't last long."

"Are you sure it was a betrayal?" I lifted a brow. "Maybe they took Sidonis out first."

Garrus shook his head. "No. I've put out feelers with some old contacts. He booked transport off Omega just before the attack. He also cleared out his private accounts before he left."

"Damn." I sighed.

"That bastard sold us out and ran."

"Do you know where he is now?" I asked.

"No," Garrus sighed as he leaned against a wall. "His trail vanished after he left Omega." Garrus then turned and looked at me. "I lost my whole team, except for Sidonis. I'm going to find him, Shepard... and correct that."

"Come on," I said as I patted him on the arm. "Let's get the hell out of here."

Garrus nodded as he went to the bed and picked up the box and another bag of some sort before heading out of the bedroom. He looked across the room to the place where he had been shot by the gunship.

"Please don't go in there," I whispered.

Garrus turned to me and could see the fear in my eyes. "Was it that bad?" All I could do was nod. I didn't want him to see his own blood pool on the floor. Hell, I didn't want to see it either. "Alright, let's get out of here."


About a half hour later, we found ourselves standing just outside of Afterlife.

"Afterlife." Mordin took a breath. "Home to Doppler-shifted deep asari blue."

I blinked at Mordin. "You mean Aria?"

Mordin nodded. "Yes. Strong. Tough. Energetic. Likely elcor father."

Garrus and I looked at Mordin and said at the same time. "Elcor?"

"Yes. High gravity adapted in all right places."

I stood there for a moment and shook my head. “You know what," I said as I entered Afterlife. "I don't even want to know."

"Me neither." Garrus said as he followed me in.

As we approached the stairs that would lead us up to where Aria was at, a turian raised a hand, stopping us. "Aria has work for you, if you're interested."

"I'm just about to go talk to her. I will go see what she wants."

"Actually, she wants to keep this low. Are you still interested?"

"I'm somewhat busy, but what does she want?" I asked with a raised brow.

"Aria's gotten word that some Blood Pack mercs plan to kill an old acquaintance of hers. A krogan named Patriarch."

"Hmm. Heard of him. Tells great war stories." Mordin commented.

"Yeah, that's him." The turian nodded. "Aria would like you to keep that from happening."

"What is Aria's interest in protecting him?" I asked.

"Patriarch was one of the deadliest enemies back in the old days. Now she keeps what's left of him around as a trophy. As long as he lives, he's a perfect example of what happens when you go up against Aria."

"But why ask me? Aria's usual muscle not up for the job?" I shrugged.

"Because Aria said so. What other reason do you need?"

I crossed my arms. "If she wants my help, she'd better tell me why. I have other things to do."

The turian sighed. "Fine. Whatever gets you to take the job. If it gets out that Aria's protecting Patriarch... well, that can look like a weakness. And some people might want to exploit that. You're not on her payroll, so you helping Patriarch just seems like a random act of kindness."

"Fine," I said as I shook my head. "I'll look into it. Where can I find him?"

"He's downstairs, likely surrounded by his 'fans'. Get him into hiding until the mercs move on. Come back here when it's done, and you'll get your due."

I was half tempted to go right to Aria, but thought it was best to just get this whole Patriarch thing over with before speaking to her.

"Come on; let's head down to the lower level. We need to head down there anyways to get to the lower markets."

"Right, but where are we going to hide the Patriarch, Shepard?" Garrus asked. "I could bring him back to my old place... but the Blood Pack knows where that's at now."

"Hide in stripper's locker room." Mordin said. "Blood Pack won't look there."

"Hmm, that might actually work." I nodded. "Come on, let’s go find him."

As we walked to the lower area of Afterlife, I listened to some of the news that was broadcasting on Omega.

"The firm, Consortium, is going ahead with its plans to sue the Citadel Council to remove the unfair limits on the Intergalactic Slave Trade. A firma spokesman had this to say. 'Slavery is an extricable part of the Batarian Cass System. By limiting the slave trade, the Council is limiting our cultural rights.' The Council is scheduled to hear arguments over the next few weeks."

"Seriously?" I asked as we hit the bottom area of Afterlife. "Their 'cultural rights'?"

"Shepard," Garrus said. "You're making that face."

"What face?" Mordin asked as he leaned to look at me. "Hmm. Eyes slit. Fists flexing. Muscles tightening in jaw. Angry."

"I'll tell you about her opinion on batarians later, Mordin." Garrus said as he put his hand on my shoulder. "Anderson is on that council, remember? He's not going to let the batarians get away with slavery in Council Space."

I took a deep breath and nodded. "Sometimes, I wish this hate for them would just go away. But it doesn't..."

"It can never fully go away, Shepard." Garrus said. "Look, there is a batarian bartender right over there. We can take a few minutes to have a quick drink and then we can find Patriarch. Don't think the Blood Pack will take their chances on shooting up Afterlife anyways."

"Drinking on Omega. Could be problematic." Mordin commented.

"Probably," Garrus shrugged. "But when do we ever make good choices?" Garrus laughed looking at me.

I took a deep breath. "Alright, let's get a quick drink... then find Patriarch." I walked over to the batarian bartender and nodded. "Would like to have a human scotch."

"Same for me, but make it turian. Has been a hell of a day." Garrus commented.

"Salarian Ginger. Hold Ice." Mordin said as we sat on our stools.

The batarian poured our drinks and we carefully lifted our glasses.

“To a plague-free Omega.” We clunk glasses and we took our shot.

I honestly couldn't remember what happened after that. The last think I remembered was the batarian bartender walking away, and then nothing. I opened my eyes to see Garrus, Mordin, and a human male I didn't recognize, staring down at me.

“What... what happened? I... How much did I drink?” I placed my hand over my forehead. “I feel horrible.”

Garrus and Mordin helped me up. “I’m sorry, Shepard. I should have known.” Garrus sighed.

“Interesting reaction. Effects of toxicity. Curious. Bears further study. Later.” I heard Mordin comment.

“One drink.” The human let out a sigh. “That’s all it takes. That racist batarian bastard. Looks like you broke the second rule of Omega: Don’t order a drink at Afterlife if you’re a human.”

I blinked for a moment, trying to get my bearings. “Humans aren't welcome at Afterlife?” I was so confused.

“It’s just that one batarian bartender. He’s got a stick up his ass about a bunch of batarians that died a while back. No one does a thing about it, though. Humans ain't exactly held in high regard around here.” sighed the man. “Name’s Henner by the way.”

I shook his hand. “Shepard. So this batarian tried to poison me?” I looked at Garrus. “See, this is why I hate batarians.”

Henner snorted. “Tried is the word. As far as I know, you’re the first human to survive it.”

“Probably because of my implants.” I moaned. The room was still somewhat spinning.

“Yeah, me and my buddy, Jake, went there to celebrate our new shipping business. He got real drunk, and an hour later... he was puking blood.” Henner lowered his head. “He was a great friend.”

“I think I’ll go give that batarian a taste of his own medicine.” I growled. “When the room stops spinning.”

“He won’t be expecting you, that’s for sure.” Henner laughed. “Go give that batarian bastard what he deserves.”

After spending a few minutes collecting myself, I walked back into the lower area of Afterlife. I had guessed Mordin and Garrus carried me while I was passed out. I saw the batarian cleaning the counter, and I approached him with a glare.

The Batarian looked at me and then tilted his head. “Do I know you?” I said nothing as I folded my arms. “No, no. You humans all look the same. Here. Have a drink. On the house.”

I watched as the batarian bartender poured a drink and slid it onto the table next to me. I watched him for a few moments and then crossed my arms. “What do you think these people will do when they find out you’re poisoning your customers?”

“Poisoning what, now?” Asked a turian who was having a drink next to us.

“This has nothing to do with you, Ogrinn!”

“Who’s next? Turians? You don’t like them, either, right?” I leaned in.

The turian stood from his chair. “Answer the damn question, Forvan.”

“Look it was nothing personal, I...”

Before the batarian had the chance to defend himself, Garrus pulled out his pistol and shot the batarian in the head. I blinked for a moment and then turned and stared at Garrus.

“Nice shot,” Ogrinn said as he picked up his drink and poured it out onto the counter. “Bastard got what he deserved.” He nodded to us then walked away.

I was still staring at Garrus when he put his pistol away. “What?” He asked.

“Garrus, you just shot that batarian in the head.”

“I just found you,” Garrus let out a sigh. “I’m not going to lose you again.”

I couldn't help but smile at Garrus’ comment. “I love you too, Garbear.” I teased.

“Shepard,” Mordin pointed out. “Just saw vorcha exit back alley. Making move on Patriarch soon.”

“Then we best hurry.” I nodded then looked over to a human waiter who was just staring at us. It was most likely due to the fact that we just killed his co-worker. “Excuse me, we’re looking for Patriarch.” The human gulped and pointed to a room that was on the far left side of Afterlife. “Thank you.”

When we entered the room, I noticed a krogan pacing back and forth talking to a turian and salarian.

“Don’t act like you know. Just plan for the funeral normally.” The krogan said. I was guessing it was Patriarch. “During the service, someone will want to set up a meeting. He’s in on it with whoever killed your family. You tear off a few of his fingers, you’ll find out who did this to you.”

“Umm, excuse me... Patriarch?”

The krogan turned and looked at me. “Don’t think I know you, human.”

“Name’s Shepard.” I nodded. “Someone has hired the Blood Pack to kill you. I’ve been asked to move you to safety.”

“Of course,” The krogan sighed. “Aria wouldn't want me hurt. It would make her look bad.” The krogan turned his head and then looked back at me.

“Can you tell me a little bit about Aria?”

The krogan began to pace. “A few centuries ago, Omega was my rock. When Aria arrived, she had nothing but the clothes on her back. I thought she was another dancer. Huh! She killed half my men and convinced the rest that she could run this place better than I did. She came for me here in this bar. We tore this place apart. She crushed one of my hearts, shattered half the bones in my body.” He sighed. “Then left me alive.”

“You said she only had the clothes on her back. Do you know what happened to her?”

“She never mentioned her life before Omega. In fact, I don’t think Aria is her given name.”

“What made her decide to leave you alive?” I asked.

The krogan shook his head. “She doesn't destroy what she can use. She said I could have all my old comforts if I served as her adviser. I knew how things worked. I knew who to lean on, who to smack down, who to smile at. And everyone who respected me saw me beaten, broken. They knew that as strong as I’d been... she was stronger.”

“Why do they call you Patriarch?” I asked.

“It’s like an asari matriarch, only male. It was Aria’s little joke. After she took me down, she let me live. Kept me around as an adviser.” He sighed. “And a trophy.”

“Do you know why the Blood Pack might be after you?”

“I can think of some reasons. I know things. Old secrets. Old grudges. A few floors you can dig up to find bodies underneath. I can tell you lots of stories. Someone who wanted to weaken Aria might come after me. ”

“Fascinating.” Mordin said. “Stories. Mystery. Murder. One of humans favorites. Nancy Drew.”

“Who’s Nancy Drew?” Garrus asked.

“I’ll tell you later,” I commented as I looked back at Patriarch. “I found a pad that had said the Blood Pack, Blue Suns, and the Eclipse was going after Aria once they got things settled with Archangel.”

“Archangel,” The krogan smiled. “Now that’s a story!”

“Oh this should be good.” Garrus commented.

“Mysterious. Dangerous. Deadly. Humans called him the Dark Knight of Omega. He took on thousands of mercs.”

“Did you hear that, Shepard? Thousands.” Garrus smirked.

“Uh-huh.” I said with a doubtful tune.

Patriarch raised his hands. “He was a legend here.” Then he sighed. “Too bad he died, would’ve liked to meet him.”

“He probably would like to have met you too, Patriarch.” Garrus nodded.

“We need to get you to safety.” I took a step aside. “We’ll hide you in the-”

“Hmph.” The Krogan grumbled. “Perhaps Aria’s reputation is no longer my concern. Perhaps I will stay, and see who thinks me important enough to kill.”

“Shepard, perhaps we should let him fight this.” Garrus commented. “If he does die, at least it gives him the honor of fighting in battle.”

I thought for a moment. “Here is an idea;” I smirked. “Let us handle the assassins for you.”

The old warlord looked at me. “Why? So your name grows while I remain an old man who lets others fight his battle?”

“No,” I pointed. “You remain a powerful warlord with forces at his command. Not just Aria’s trophy.”

Patriarch looked at me with hopeful eyes. “You could... you could be my krantt. Fighting for my honor. If you would do this for me, I would be grateful. I might even be a krogan again.”

“Then it’s settled.” I turned to Garrus. “Stay with the Patriarch, in case they sneak passed. Look... intimidating.”

“Shepard, I just got a rocket to the face, remember. I’m as intimidating as I can get.”

I patted Garrus on the arm and then walked out with Mordin.

“You said you saw a vorcha enter this way?” I asked pointing to the far back door of Afterlife.

“Yes.” Mordin nodded. “Curious though. Why helping Patriarch?”

“Because I just got poisoned, Mordin. And the best friends to have are the most powerful. Patriarch is a story teller and very important to Aria. The best way to get a reputation in a place like this, is by what we’re doing.”

“Interesting.” Mordin suggested as we entered through the door. “Aria great ally to have. Must warn you. Advise extreme caution. Unpredictable when it comes to her. Trust me.”

I was curious as to what the relationship between Aria and Mordin was, but that had to be for another time. Just as we turned the corner, we bumped into three krogan and two vorcha. I noticed right away they were with the Blood Pack.

“Out of our way, human!” ordered a krogan as he threatened me with his shotgun.

“Awww, boys...” I said with some cheer. “Just who I was looking for.”

“You were looking for us?” one of the krogan asked.

“Patriarch sent us. Said to do whatever it takes.”

“You’re Patriarch’s krantt?” The krogan laughed. “A salarian and a human? I don’t think so.”

Just then Mordin pulled out his pistol and shot the krogan right between his eyes. I quickly drew mine out and fired as well, causing the other krogan and two vorcha to fall to the ground.

“See, Shepard...” Mordin said as he put his pistol away. “Never see me coming.”

I couldn't help but laugh. “Good work, Mordin. They’re much easier to take down when they don’t have their shields up.”

When we got back to the room where Garrus and Patriarch was at, I couldn't help but notice the old krogan telling one of his war stories.

“... and just before I thought it was all over, the volus threw up his biotics and forced one of my guards into an asari stripper.” The krogan laughed.

“Shepard,” Garrus said with a little chuckle. “You’re back. That was somewhat quick... did you take care of the problem?”

I nodded. “They’re dead.”

“You killed them all?” Patriarch laughed. “And now everyone knows that the Patriarch is not to be crossed! Thanks to you, Aria may think of me as more than a trophy. A real adviser, maybe. Or even a threat.”

“You’re welcome, Patriarch. Take care of yourself.”

“Huh,” The krogan shrugged. “For the first time, I like that name. But Shepard, be careful with Aria. She will approve of what you've done, I think, but not of you altering the balance of Omega. I think it reminds her too much of herself.”

“Thank you, I’ll try to remember that.”

As we departed the room, I looked over to Mordin and Garrus. “Let’s head to the markets and then circle our way back to Afterlife. As soon as we give Aria this intel, we can get the hell off this rock.”

“You can get to the markets from the back entrance, Shepard.” Garrus pointed out.

It didn't take us too long before we entered a long corridor that would lead us to the lower level of the markets. Mordin let out a sigh as we saw at least a few dozen vorcha lying around like they were homeless.

“Vorcha adaptation interesting. Not just biological, social as well. Urban area adapting to them in return. Large concentration.”

“Mordin. They’re vorcha. They’re just a step higher on the intelligent chain from the varren.” Garrus said.

“Yes. But still dangerous. Hope they’re controlled. If they attack, as happened near my clinic, casualties likely.”

Speaking of vorcha, when we entered the markets a few minutes later, one of them hissed at me.

“Human. Tell Captain Gavorn we not kill anyone today!"

I lifted a brow. "I don't know a Captain Gavorn. Why would I tell him anything?"

The vorcha hissed again. "Not trust you! Tell Gavorn we know his tricks! We not kill anyone today!"

I crossed my arms. "And what do you mean by 'Not killing anyone today'? What are you hiding?"

The vorcha then spat, saliva dripping down his face. I admit, I took a step back. "GO AWAY! Talk too much! Gavorn's thugs get no more! WE LEAVE!"

"Good talking to you." I said with a wave.

"ARGH! No more talk! We know Gavorn's tricks. WE LEAVE!"

The vorcha walked away growling along with three others and then I looked at Garrus. "Are you sure they are above varren?"

Garrus shrugged. "Pyjacks maybe?"

I shook my head as we made our way over to what appeared to be a salvage part kiosk. I saw a quarian working behind the counter and I raise a finger.

"Excuse me."

The quarian turned to me and then stopped what he was working on. "Hello," He didn't sound too thrilled. "Welcome to Zoal-Kenn's Salvage and Repair. Might I interest you in some salvage tech?"

"Yes, I'm looking for some T6-FBA Couplings. Do you by chance have one?"

The quarian nodded. "Yes, but I can't guarantee how well it will work. It might need a little bit of TLC, as you humans call it." He bent down from under his counter and grabbed it. "That will be 9,000 credits."

"9,000 credits?" I gasped. "Why so much?"

"Harrot's forcing me to sell high."

"Who's Harrot?"

"He's an elcor that has a store in the upper market."

I looked at him for a moment. "You seem awfully young to be running a store on Omega. What brought you here, if I may ask?"

"My pilgrimage." The quarian sighed. "I came here with my best friend to see if we can make a little bit of profit. We were both great salvage techs. But our money was stolen within a few days."

I looked around. "You're friend isn’t' here?"

The quarian lowered his head. "I told him it was too dangerous to go after the ones that stole our money. I knew he joined up with an Omega gang. On occasion he would stop by to see if I was okay. But... I haven't seen or heard from him in over two months."

Garrus took a step forward. "Your friend, what was his name?"

The quarian looked up at Garrus. "Zoal'Jeeras Nar Zepan."

I sucked in a breath; knowing that was the quarian in Garrus' squad. I grabbed Mordin by the arm. "Mordin, I need to pick up a few things. Let's go to the upper market."

I looked at Garrus for a moment before dragging Mordin away.

“Everything alright?” Mordin asked.

“Yeah, we just need to leave Garrus alone with the quarian for a little bit.”

We made our way up the small flight of stairs and onto another large section of the marketplace. I noticed an AMP store right away, and then there was a store called Zaralos on my right.

As I walked up to the Zaralos kiosk to see if there is anything that I couldn't live without, I noticed a batarian staring at me. I tried to ignore it, really I did, but after about two minutes I turned to him

"Is there something I can help you with?" I asked.

"You... you're Commander Shepard!"

"Yeah, I get that a lot."

"But... aren't you supposed to be... dead?"

I let out a sigh. "That's what I've been told. But let's keep this whole 'I'm alive' thing on a need to know basis. Okay?"

The batarian scratched his head. "But... okay."

"Excellent," I nodded. "Now, what kind of stuff do you sell here? I'm looking to upgrade some weapons and armor."

"I have something of everything. A lot of merchandise comes through this station, and I try to snatch up the best of it. What are you looking for?"

"Something to upgrade pistols." I pulled out my gun. "Or maybe a new pistol.”

The batarian thought for a moment. "Hmm, these might help;" He handed me a cyro pistol mod. "Probably not the latest version, but it's cheap."

"Hmm, better that what I have now." I nodded. "What else do you-" I noticed Mordin tilting his head back and forth over a magazine he had picked up. "Mordin, what are you doing?"

"Studying hanar mating rituals." Mordin showed me the front cover of Fornax, an adult alien magazine.

"Dear Lord, Mordin! Put that thing away! No one wants to see a hanar going at it with... whatever the hell that is."

"Sexual pleasure not embarrassing. Brings confidence. Love. Understanding."

Mordin ran his OT over the kiosk to purchase the magazine and I couldn't help but shake my head. Then I turned back to the batarian. "I'll take the cyro mod and a sniper mod if you have one."

As I grabbed my merchandise I noticed Mordin was still browsing through his dirty magazine. Just then I saw Garrus approach us; a sad look on his face.

"How did it go?" I asked him.

"As good as it could have been. I gave Kenn Joal's credit chit and the letter he wrote. I told him to go to Illium, see if he can get some work there. Hopefully he’ll take my advice.”

"Agreed." I nodded as I placed my hand on his shoulder. "Does it feel like a little bit of weight has been lifted off your shoulders?"

Garrus nodded. "Yeah, but just a little. I think that-" Garrus stopped talking and looked at Mordin. "Doctor, what the hell are you reading?"

"Fornax. Studying hanar sexuality. Rituals. Positions. Also reading jokes."

Garrus and I both stared at Mordin for a moment before I nudged Garrus in the shoulder. "Come on;" I said as we exited out of the markets. "Let's deliver this data pad to Aria and tell her that Patriarch is safe. Then we can get out of this pisshole."

We entered Afterlife a few minutes later and headed to the turian who had given me the job on Patriarch.

"I've done what Aria has asked. Patriarch is safe."

"Aria knows you took on the Blood Pack assassins yourself. She wants to speak to you; don't keep her waiting."

I let out a sigh as I took the stairs up to Aria. I couldn't help but notice the look on her face when I approached the top step. She wasn't happy.

"Aria," I nodded.

"Word has it that Patriarch's krantt took out the men sent here to kill him. Funny, I didn't know he had a krantt."

I crossed my arms. "He has more influence than you thought."

Aria smirked. "I see. Well; maybe I should watch my back, then." Aria offered me a seat on the couch. "It's not what I asked...but you got the job done."

"It sounds like you and Patriarch have a history. Mind sharing?" I asked.

"Our history is Omega's history, Shepard. Long, bloody, and always winning in my favor. The details... are complicated."

“If you have time, I would like to hear about it.” I leaned in my chair.

Aria looked at me for a moment. “When I arrived, Omega was lawless. A land of... opportunity. I built alliances, and destroy the fools who don't get in line. Which was most of them." Aria stood and looked out over Afterlife. "But Patriarch, he was something different. A powerful friend."

"Friend? I thought you were always rivals. At least that is what I got from hearing Patriarch's side." I said.

"We were allies for a hundred years. I suppose he decided that was long enough." She looked at me. "It wasn't a surprise when he turned. He controlled the muscle. My people contributed more subtle action; espionage, politics, assassination. Fortunately for me, his men had become accustomed to certain... benefits of working with asari."

"Wow, that's kind of dirty." I shook my head.

"I know;" Aria smirked. "Krogan nature made it easy for us to take advantage. Patriarch's men abandoned him in droves. In the end, we fought face-to-face on this very spot." She let out a sigh as she looked down at her feet; then she sat back down on the couch. "The toughest fight of my life. But of course, I won."

"So why call him Patriarch? Doesn't sound like something an asari would come up with." I leaned back on the couch.

She smirked. "I found it humorous. He wanted power, and we pretended he had it with a word that doesn't exist for my people. I eventually found a certain respect for the title; and the man."

"Respect?" I shook my head. "Come on, Aria. You kept him around as a trophy."

She nodded. "I did. A trophy and an example. Whenever someone thought about taking me on, I pointed them to Patriarch. Dignity is one of the few commodities not available on Omega." Then she looked at Mordin. "Speaking of taking people on, I heard there was quite a commotion at your clinic, Mordin. Glad to see you're alright."

"Yes. Shepard helped. Plague gone. Vorcha gone. Been a good day."

"Indeed it has." Then the asari turned to Garrus. "Archangel; glad to see you made it out in one piece... more or less."

Garrus chuckled and shook his head. "Glad to see you too, Aria. Although I heard you might have had a little bit of competition; if Shepard didn't come alone and ruin the fun."

She smiled at me. "I know."

"You know? How?" I asked.

"Shepard, please..." She snorted. "Remember who you're talking too." She then leaned forward. "Thank you. Looks like I'll have to do a little cleaning in my organization."

"You're welcome." I stood up. "I need to get to the Citadel; if I come back this way; I'll stop by."

Just as I was about to walk down the first step, Aria stood. "Shepard;" I turned. "I... want to also thank you for saving one of my top lieutenant's life. I'm sure he wouldn't have made it out alive if it not for you."

I lifted a brow. "What are you talking about?"

Just then I heard a deep voice. "Hello Shepard."

I turned to see Bray coming up the flight of stairs.

"Ah. Batarian plague victim." Mordin said as he scanned Bray. "Plague eradicated. Bones mended. In healthy condition."

"Wait, you're one of Aria's men?"

"Yes." The batarian nodded. "You saved my life, Shepard. Thank you."

I let out a sigh. "I could say the same thing. You took quite a beating when that krogan charged you."

"And thanks to Doctor Solus, I'm much better." Bray turned to Mordin and bowed his head. "Thank you."

"But I don't understand," I turned to Aria. "Why would you send one of your top lieutenant's to the quarantine zone; knowing he most likely would die?"

"I didn't." Aria said as she walked over to me. "Bray had a friend in there and wanted to find him."

"So that is how you knew about the gangs trying to take you on; Bray had read the pad we found."

Aria only smirked as she sat down on her couch. "You've done a lot for me, Shepard. Let me return the favor. Bray will send you the coordinates to a cache on an uncharted world. You want it, it's yours."

"We can use any help we can get." I nodded. "Thank you, it's much appreciated."

"Whatever you find is yours to deal with." Aria noted.

"I'll escort you to your ship, Shepard." Bray said. "It's the least I can do."

I nodded as Bray led us out of Afterlife and to the docking area. I turned to look at Mordin and Garrus. "Meet me in the briefing room in twenty minutes."

Mordin and Garrus nodded as they boarded Normandy. I then looked at Bray. "What's your agenda?"

He looked at me oddly. "My agenda?"

"I have never in my life met a batarain who has not only been kind and decent to me, but saved my life. What are you after?"

Bray laughed. "I get this odd feeling you don't really care for my kind. But let me assure you, Shepard. The feeling is mutual."

"You don't like humans because...?"

"You really want to know?"

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't."

Bray took a step forward so he was staring out a window. "It's a feeling you want to get rid of, but you can't. Hate flows through you like a disease. I despise humans; every last one of them."

"Why?" I took a step forward. "Because of what happened on the Citadel two years ago?" I had to admit, humanity took a giant leap that day.

"No, for what happened 10 years ago." Bray sighed. "I used to live on a colony not far from Citadel space. One night I went to check on the crops, due to a rumor that pyjacks had invaded neighboring farms. After about ten minutes of checking, I heard a loud bang; and then screaming. I ran as fast as I could back to my home, but I was too late. Human pirates had already killed my wife and eldest daughter. I managed to shoot one of the pirates, but the other five got away. I wanted to go after them, but my youngest was lying in her blood calling my name." Bray pulled out a piece of jewelry that was hiding around his neck. "She died in my arms."

The piece of jewelry was a locket. He opened it up and ran his thumb across the top. He then sighed and put the locket back into hiding. "Everything that I had ever loved was taken from me that day. So I swore to myself that I would kill every human I ever encountered. Aria found me three years later when I had killed one of her men. I thought she would kill me, but she insisted that I join her here on Omega."

I stood there dumbfounded. I honestly had no clue what to say.

Bray looked at me. "I know; it's not what you expected to hear."

"No," I admitted. "Not at all."

"Why do you hate batarians so much, Shepard?"

I stayed silent for a moment. "Short version; I was raped and lost my family to batarian raiders when I was 15."

Bray shook his head as he let out a sigh. "So we are 'in the same boat' as you humans would say. Perhaps in time we both can get rid of this hate."

I sighed. "Yeah, maybe one day."

Bray offered his hand to me. I looked at him for a moment before I shook it.

"May you walk with peace, Shepard."

I watched as the batarian walked away from me.

"Same to you."