"Aria T'Loak has left the station. But to be honest..."
A slight bewilderment could be heard in Jane's voice.
"...the whole thing looked a bit moronic."
"Hm?"
"Well... all that talking before the fight..."
"And why not?"
I looked at Jane with a degree of confusion.
"Imagine you're a very powerful Biotic, you've been betrayed, and you're completely confident you can kill the traitors not just because you're a Biotic, but because you're backed by a professional squad. At the same time, you did quite a lot for the traitors, even if they didn't appreciate it."
"I still don't get it."
"You don't have to understand Aria T'Loak's motives; just tell me, does talking in that situation cost you anything? You have reconnaissance info, cover, and you yourself are a lethal killing machine. So?"
"No, I'm not in danger, but it's still moronic."
"More like old-age quirks."
I allowed a corner of my mouth to twitch into a smirk.
"Now imagine yourself from the other side. You're ambitious, but you've worked for a flighty criminal for a number of years. You feel she didn't appreciate you, and you might even be right. And then at some point, you became part of a conspiracy against this criminal."
"But the plan went south."
Jane tilted her head questioningly.
"It did, but like I said, you're ambitious. You have a squad of sentients loyal to you, as well as weapons designed against Biotics. And the former boss is alone... and even if she takes out most of the squad, you know her well enough. She'll want to deal with you last, but there are many of you, and as a result, you'll stay alive and she'll die."
"Are you saying they were asserting themselves at the expense of the deposed—as they thought—Queen of Omega?"
"Exactly."
"But that's moronic!"
"Agreed, but I won't judge others for their idiocy when my own actions can sometimes lack logic. Each of us can do something that seems strange, illogical, and idiotic to others; even we ourselves might consider the act so later, but at the moment of doing it, it usually seems like the most logical thing to us."
"Well..."
Jane looked thoughtfully.
"...I guess you're right."
Giving me a quick, mocking look, she nodded like a woman wise with life experience.
"And what is that supposed to mean?"
I raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"It means that when I agreed to our strange relationship, it really did seem very logical and right, and now..."
She didn't finish the sentence and just gave a mocking snort. However, we both understood that if something didn't suit her, she would have ended the relationship long ago.
"Well, it seemed very appropriate to them to chat and show off their toughness in front of a supposedly dead enemy. Only if the traitors who died became total morons because they couldn't back up their right to behave that way, then Aria T'Loak can be considered an eccentric old lady."
"I see. When are you heading out for Solus?"
"In twelve hours."
Before answering, I glanced briefly at my Omni-tool, checking the time.
"I see, so we have a little time?"
Jane theatrically licked her lips.
"To find out which of us just likes to talk and who can back up their words with action?"
"Do you have a specific proposal?"
I knew Jane perfectly well, and she knew my attitude toward debauchery in a quasi-combat environment. No, if Aria T'Loak were still on the station and ruling here, I wouldn't object, but after her departure... Jane was clearly up to something, but I couldn't figure out exactly what.
"O-o-o-h... yes. I have an extremely tempting proposal. You see, not long ago I discovered an old tabletop game, D&D. The rules are very complex, so I wanted to suggest we read them together and try to figure it out. And maybe later... play a few games, though games there, if I understood correctly, can go on for years."
I just smirked. I knew about the world of D&D games from my past life. Not that I was a fan, but a friend dragged me in and I participated a couple of times. And even though the rules were forgotten, I remembered something—specifically, that I fled D&D when a game didn't end after four hours and the master, chuckling, said his session was designed for at least eight. After that, I didn't play those games anymore. Not the tabletop ones. I finished a couple of computer D&D games with great pleasure.
"Well, why not... especially since if we can't stop the Reapers and have to hide, we'll need to kill time somehow. And from what I've heard of D&D, time just disappears there..."
Jane smiled contentedly, and we sat down to read the rulebook.
** Some time later. **
"John, there is chaos on the station."
I just smirked at EDI's words.
"That was clear from the start. Aria T'Loak eliminated the traitors and the main contenders for power, and as a result, all the underlings decided there was no one more worthy than them to take her place. So tell me instead, can you lead us through this chaos?"
"Without a fight? Definitely not."
EDI's voice was categorical.
"Too many variables, and you organics can be so unpredictable. For example, right now I'm watching through the cameras as a Krogan kills a Batarian who wanted to kill some Turian woman, even though before that he was killing both Turians and Batarians and everyone else alongside him. And you can't even blame it on age; the girl isn't a child."
"Love at first sight?"
"Maybe, but such things aren't predictable."
EDI's avatar shook its head.
"So I'm certain you'll have to do a bit of shooting a couple of times."
"Then we'll shoot."
I nodded resolutely, after which my team and I headed for the ship's exit.
"Be careful."
Jane saw us off at the airlock, and we just nodded at her words. Though there were those who gave a slightly mocking snort—that was Jack's reaction. She clearly wanted to say something but managed to hold her sharp tongue. And that was very good. She was showing great positive progress in terms of behavior. After all, destroying the facility and striking everyone involved had a very beneficial effect on her.
"Left the ship... Group, move out."
I wanted to go first, but back when we were on the ship, mother gave me a lecture for charging ahead. And overall she was right; a squad leader charging ahead is a lousy idea. And when not just the lives of the squad members but the possible survival of the galaxy—or rather certain species for whom he is organizing a refuge—depend on that leader...
In short, it's a terrible idea. And I had to agree that Samara would go first; after all, she is the most experienced of us and can react to danger. Next would be two LOKI Mechs under Tali's control; EDI, of course, wanted to take direct control of them but admitted that once they were far enough from the SSV Normandy, it would be slightly less effective than what Tali was doing. Yes, she might not act optimally, but the signal is impossible to jam, whereas if she were controlling the robots, she could be jammed. Though she was, of course, ready to seize control at any moment. Tali followed, with me right beside her, and Chifuyu Orimura, Rebecca Lee, and Jack brought up the rear.
And as soon as we left the hangar, someone tried to fire on us. They "tried" for the simple reason that no one had time to understand anything before EDI took control of the LOKI Mechs and quickly gunned down the opponents.
"EDI?"
"What?"
"How about a warning?"
Reproach could be heard in mother's voice; in fact, we all felt it.
"What for? If there were even a five percent chance I couldn't handle it, I would have warned you, but it's just..."
The LOKI Mechs shook their heads in sync.
"...meat. Though calling them meat is an insult to meat. So I just dealt with them and that's it. We can move on."
I didn't want to argue or lecture outside the ship, and besides, even if she didn't report it, if the probability of failure wasn't even five percent, then there was practically no danger.
"Moving on, and EDI..."
"Understood, won't do it again."
A slight weariness could be heard in the AI's voice. No, obviously she wasn't tired; she was imitating it to show her attitude toward my words.
"EDI, just so you understand..."
We had already resumed our movement, and I was watching our surroundings closely, which didn't stop me from speaking quietly to our AI over the internal comms.
"...I don't doubt your capabilities. And I realize you can calculate a great deal, and if you said there was an enemy but you'd handle it yourself, we wouldn't stop you."
Damn, I thought I didn't want to lecture, but here I am doing it.
"It's just that understanding the situation is important for us too. You can consult Dr. Chakwas about psychology. But to put it briefly, situations like that make people very nervous. And accumulating stress can lead to a breakdown or just unpredictable actions."
"I... didn't think of that."
Now guilt sounded in EDI's voice.
"It's fine. Just don't let it happen in the future, and everything will be okay."
"Yes, sir!"
She answered briskly, while we moved through Omega's deserted rooms toward the residential blocks, in one of which—though on a different level—Mordin Solus had set up.
"Enemy in three hundred meters, five people. I'm handling it."
I just nodded understandingly, after which we continued our way and didn't even slow down when the LOKI Mechs again opened fire on opponents we didn't even have time to notice.
"And how does she spot them?"
"Hacked the station's surveillance system."
EDI answered Jack's question in a slightly cheerful voice.
"Well, 'hacked' is a strong word; Aria T'Loak gave me the key to it, and then I broke what I didn't have access to initially. Of course, I can't control the whole station—not a task for my current capacity—but I can track a path based on direct and indirect data."
"And do you know what the frog is doing right now?"
Judging by her voice, Jack asked the question out of pure curiosity rather than spite.
"There are no cameras in his clinic, but based on indirect data, he is providing aid to patients who come to him. Also based on indirect data, I can say he prioritizes civilians."
"I see... And what can you tell us about him personally?"
"Personalities like that are very hard to analyze."
EDI gave a theatrical sigh. The LOKI Mechs, following her command, opened fire on an enemy, while we, meanwhile, didn't even slow down.
"He is a genius, and if today he considers our actions right, he will help us with all his might, but if tomorrow his analysis shows that our elimination would be more beneficial, he will try to eliminate us."
"And what are his chances of that?"
"Well... for Mordin Solus, I'd say thirty percent. After all, his lab is under full surveillance and every spot in it can be viewed from at least three angles. So making something in there will be problematic. Though he is a genius... he might come up with something special."
We continued moving and soon found ourselves at a staircase leading to another level.
"The staircase isn't monitored; the cameras were destroyed at the very beginning of the unrest. During the unrest, over five hundred people tried to hide here and only two hundred of them left. So be careful."
EDI's words made us tense up, but there was no other way anyway, so focusing on our actions, we entered the staircase, and immediately the armor's analyzers picked up substances characteristic of places where large-scale battles had occurred. You could say the armor picked up the smell of blood lingering in the air.
"Quiet so far..."
Samara walked forward slowly, a powerful pistol in her hand, while a barrier technique was prepared on the other, needing only a mental effort to activate.
Step by step... Slowly... Cautiously...
However, as it turned out, all these precautions were in vain. Simply because we didn't encounter any enemies on the stairs and we descended to the required level completely freely.
"How's the situation here?"
"Tense."
EDI answered very quickly.
"Small gangs are fighting each other, civilians are hiding in their apartments, but even that doesn't guarantee their survival. In short, everything is not very good. To put it bluntly."
"I see."
There was nothing more to say, and we just continued our way to Mordin Solus's clinic.
***
Read the story months before public release — early chapters are on my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Granulan