"Damn, it's the SSV Normandy!"
Garrus was exhilarated to be back on the ship. Thanks to me, he had paid his boys a handsome bonus and sent them home, as there simply wasn't enough room for them on the ship. I offered the guys jobs on one of my colonies, and a few of them actually agreed.
But that didn't matter now; what mattered was that we were on board the ship.
"John, did you restore her?"
There was so much disbelief in that question, all because he understood perfectly well what an impossible task that was.
"No, I just built a new ship."
"Damn... it's good to be a rich Buratino."
"By the way, how is your mother?"
"Good."
Garrus smiled happily.
"To be honest, signing up for the SSV Normandy was the smartest decision of my life. My father grumbled, of course, but when the hunt for Saren Arterius ended, my sister hugged me so hard I thought I'd die from such a display of affection."
"Excellent. By the way, I have a proposal that might interest you."
"And what kind of proposal is that?"
Garrus looked at me with slight caution.
"Moving your mother to one of my colonies. Aside from Eden Prime, there are already the necessary facilities there to maintain a high standard of living for her."
"And why?"
Suspicion grew in Garrus's gaze.
"The Citadel is a space station, but my colonies are on planets, and they already have shelters designed for a population slightly larger than the colonies can currently hold."
Garrus froze.
"Why?"
I raised my eyebrows slightly, looking at him.
"What will I owe you?"
He rephrased his question.
"Nothing. Garrus, you're already tied to me, and I'm certain that even if not on the SSV Normandy, you'd still be fighting against the Reapers. Making sure you can do that with a peaceful mind is the least I can do."
"You know, I won't refuse. Of course, my father will start grumbling again, but at least knowing your paranoia, I can be sure you've done everything to ensure the survival of the sentients who trusted you."
I gave him a grateful smile, after which Garrus and I headed to the mess hall. Jack and Samara were already there, eating with great appetite.
"Son, why aren't you eating?"
"Son?"
"Long story... but in short, my father found Samara's blood and made me based on it. When mother found out, she didn't cast me out or try to kill me; she accepted me as her own child."
"Oh..."
Garrus was now mentally anywhere but here.
"Sit down and eat already... we still have to go after that Salarian of yours."
"Not today..."
I shook my head.
"...we'll set out for him tomorrow, once we've fully recovered. Because things might turn out to be complicated there too. Although Aria T'Loak didn't mention anything of the sort."
"I see."
"By the way, where is Jane?"
Garrus finally snapped out of it and looked at me questioningly.
"Covering Aria T'Loak... she has to seize control of the remnants of the three gangs on Omega, and then clear out those who wanted to kill her."
"Um... and you say that so casually?"
"What's so strange about it? Aria T'Loak isn't a white sheep, of course, but she's quite reasonable, and her methods are perfectly acceptable. Besides, you've known since the hunt for Saren Arterius that we cooperate with her."
"No, it's not that..."
Garrus shook his head.
"...I just forgot for a moment."
** Side View. **
"Well, well, well..."
Aria T'Loak looked at her bodyguards, who had entered her box looking extremely determined.
"...and what made you leave your post and come to me together?"
"Aria T'Loak, you've been a thorn in Omega's side for too long, and today it..."
Bang!
The head of the Batarian who was speaking exploded, splattering the wall behind him with fragments of brain, bone, skin, and blood, naturally.
"Oops... sorry, those who are actually on my side were a bit hasty..."
Aria T'Loak said this with undisguised mockery.
"...did he want to say something?"
The Batarian turned pale, and the hand that had been holding a pistol, albeit pointed down, suddenly went limp, and the gun fell to the floor.
"I... I... don't know..."
He shook his head.
"Really?"
"Y-yeah..."
The Batarian nodded quickly. They hadn't expected something like this to happen. According to their plan, they were supposed to walk in and put a bullet in Aria T'Loak's forehead, and ideally, have their way with her before that. Just for the pleasure of it. And now... he didn't even understand where the shot had come from!
"Well, then you're useless."
Before the Batarian could even process Aria T'Loak's words, his head also splattered across the wall.
"Thank you, my dear."
"I'm not yours..."
"Oh, come on, John is almost like a son to me, you're almost his wife, so you're almost my daughter-in-law."
A slight mockery could be heard in Aria T'Loak's voice. She was trying to stir up Jane, who had fired those two shots. Though, of course, she first had to go to the trouble of finding a spot where she could set up.
"And thank you too, EDI, without you we wouldn't have known they wanted to kill me today."
"Well... you said yourself that John is almost like a son to you, John is almost like a father to me, so you could say you're almost like a grandmother to me."
"Pfft..."
Jane couldn't help but laugh at the words of the AI, who spoke in a slightly thoughtful voice. As if building new associative chains in her head.
"You little pest..."
Aria T'Loak tried to seem angry, of course, but in reality, she was more than pleased with such banter. She didn't hide her smile.
"...granddaughter, I'll use my family right and take a belt to you."
"Is that supposed to scare me?"
"Tch..."
Aria T'Loak shrugged.
"...you're right. There's nothing to even pressure you with... although..."
EDI felt something, but she couldn't understand what. A lot of strange things had been happening to her lately, and all of it required analysis, but there was no capacity left for it. So she had to postpone the analysis of many data points not related to the task at hand, and they kept piling up and up... Even now, she filed this data in a separate folder marked "analyze in the near future." Only she already had two hundred such folders.
"...as your grandmother, I could limit your processing power."
"Huh?!"
A note of panic appeared in EDI's voice.
"What did you think, granddaughter? That as your grandmother, I wouldn't be able to find leverage over you?"
"Come on, gra-a-andma! Five are heading to your club. I suggest leaving."
"Leaving?"
A slight rage flared in Aria T'Loak's voice.
"This is my club, my station, and I will leave this place not like a rat being driven who knows where, but as a QUEEN."
Aria T'Loak said the last word in such a tone that it became clear—arguing was useless. Especially since Jane and her group were already in position and ready to cover her if necessary. And her people, those who remained loyal to her despite everything, were also in their places.
Of course, these plans didn't yet include the acquired resources in the form of the remnants of the three mercenary groups, though they might have allowed her to stay. But Aria T'Loak realized that even if she stayed on Omega, nothing good would await her.
She could return here later, if the station survived, of course, but for now... for now, she would find something to keep herself busy.
Standing by the panoramic window, which was now raised and hidden in the ceiling—making Jane's shots possible—Aria T'Loak looked intently at the hall.
"How quickly everything is developing..."
She shook her head.
"A few hours ago, John only just arrived at the station, two hours ago I received all the data on the traitors and who could be recruited and how, and now I'm already planning to leave this place."
The door to the club opened, and a motley squad entered and froze, as it was surprisingly quiet. There were no dancers, no music, even the lights were standard rather than club lighting.
"Aria T'Loak..."
The leader of the squad was the first to see the Queen of Omega.
"...were you waiting for us?"
"Yeah... your accomplices already tried to whack me, saying something or other along the way..."
She shook her head.
"...losers. I wonder, will you be the same kind of losers, or will you be at least a little smarter?"
Aria T'Loak tilted her head.
"You... killed them?"
"Oh, did you not expect that when plotting a mutiny, if you can't kill me by surprise, you'll be the ones getting killed?"
They didn't answer.
"Seriously, did you not even consider that?"
"Aria T'Loak, no matter what you say, you won't shake our resolve!"
"I wasn't planning to."
Aria T'Loak shook her head.
"You see, I've already made a decision, and it doesn't involve your survival."
"Do you really think you can win? Do you really think we didn't account for the fact that you're a powerful Biotic?"
"Sigh..."
Aria T'Loak shook her head.
"...do you really think I don't know about those gadgets that, combined with special ammunition, allow for much more effective combat against Biotics?"
"Maybe you do, but you're clearly overconfident. Even knowing what weapons we have in our hands, you're standing quite calmly in your box and didn't even think to lower the armored glass that could force us to come up the stairs to you."
"It's just that you're idiots."
Aria T'Loak sighed sadly.
"Idiots who for some reason think I'm going to stand here and wait pathetically for you to gun me down with your pea-shooters."
She demonstratively snapped her fingers, and immediately the traitors' heads began to explode. No one was left, not even the leader, who, theoretically, could have been useful. But none of that mattered. All that mattered was that more traitors were dead.
"What next?"
"We wait..."
A wicked smile appeared on Aria T'Loak's lips.
"...they aren't the only ones supposed to arrive here to kill me. And as soon as the others realize I'm still alive and their comrades aren't, they'll definitely show up here to rectify the situation."
** End. **
"John, it seems Aria T'Loak has some minor problems."
I froze when I heard EDI's words and cautiously turned toward one of the cameras. My first thought, of course, was to rush to her aid, but now... I could only get in the way. I'm not very good as a Biotic right now. So all I can do is don my exoskeleton and head to her club.
"What exactly happened?"
"She decided to go out like a queen, and instead of heading to her ship—which no one knows about thanks to us—she started killing traitors."
"And how many has she killed already?"
"None so far... Jane and her team have been doing all the killing so far."
"Are they complaining?"
"Well... grumbling a bit..."
EDI said this in a somewhat uncertain voice.
"Well, just look at it as purging the station of scum before she leaves."
"So you won't try to convince her to leave right now?"
"No..."
I shook my head.
"...it's her choice. And as long as it doesn't pose an immediate threat to her life or the life of the cover team, she can have a bit of revenge and clean up the station at the same time."
***
Read the story months before public release — early chapters are on my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Granulan