A/N - Australian / British standard English. There is a good chance of reading the following: lots of profanity, characters drinking, typos, and bad grammar at times.
Proofreading and editing suggestions provided by OhDave1. Any mistakes are still mine.
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Shepard leads his team through the Omega Four relay.
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The plan was to install the Reaper IFF and head straight through the relay. That plan was put on a brief hiatus due to Legion making a request about taking care of the geth that he had called 'heretics'. It hadn't been a particularly difficult mission once we set foot on the geth space station. What we all learned is that the geth were rather advanced. Not so advanced that an invasion of council space would mean their inevitable victory, but the geth of today had advanced far beyond the geth that had nearly wiped out the quarian race.
That was a couple of days ago. I was walking towards the AI Core as I had been warned by EDI that Tali and Legion were in the middle of an argument. I walked into the room to find Tali with her pistol aimed at Legion. I knew that I had to defuse the situation rather quickly as although I hadn't known Legion long, I didn't want the geth dead. I knew that keeping it alive might do everyone some good, that the geth could return to its own space and possibly facilitate dialogue in the future.
Keeping Legion alive might even assist the quarians in getting home.
Thankfully, although Tali was unhappy that Legion had been a little bit naughty about gaining information about the Migrant Fleet. I could almost understand Legion doing it as I knew Admiral Xen had continued Admiral Zorah's work about finding an advantage over the geth. Legion was simply trying to protect its people. We had talked more than once since I'd woken it up about the past. It was a past that I wasn't sure Tali would want to listen to.
But Tali would listen to reason, even when it came to the geth. It was a surprising attitude, but Tali had always trusted me. And when I assured both sides that I would make sure that nothing would happen to either, Tali calmed down and they agreed to an exchange of non-critical information. A fig leaf of cooperation if ever there was one.
The
Normandy
was now heading towards the Omega Nebula cluster. It would wait near the relay as the final installation of the Reaper IFF would happen. Once it was installed, it would be non-stop to the relay and the Collector homeworld.
While last preparations were being made, most of the crew was also doing their best to relax. Last messages and calls were being made to family and friends. I knew everyone had written a last will and testament. I'd sent mine to Major Anderson. I wasn't surprised that a few others approached me to send it to the Alliance as they knew that I had kept the door open to my eventual return.
"Are you expecting a betrayal?" Garrus asked as we sat back and enjoyed a drink together, "The Illusive Man isn't stupid. He knows that once we return... If we return, if we're both being honest... He knows that your time with Cerberus is over."
"It won't be a betrayal because I'll be ready for him. But I know that he'll do everything that he can to prevent losing the ship and all his people."
"He's going to be in for a bit of shock when every single one of them leaves with you."
"I've had Mordin doing all the checks possible to make sure the ship can't be tracked. What are you going to do?"
"I'll stay with you for as long as possible. But I'm guessing going back to the Alliance won't be easy?"
"I've got my supporters, but given my time with Cerberus is now public knowledge, there are those out there who want me charged with, well, whatever they can think of throwing at me."
"I guess heading back would mean giving up this ship?"
"No doubt. Hackett will do his best to protect me. He wants me back in the uniform. But if I get the inkling that all they'll do is lock me up and leave me to rot, I'll head to the Citadel and work only as a Spectre. Hackett suggested that he would give me warning if he can't hold off those in power."
"I reckon Kira would do everything in her power to protect you. The human councillor as well."
"I'm not going to make any rash decisions. All I want to do is get back in uniform and back to work."
We were hovering in the Omega Nebula cluster, Omega itself in the distance with the Omega Four relay in the opposite direction. Even in the far distance, we could see the twinkling red lights that told ships to not approach the relay. Of course, there were idiots who still tried to go through it in the belief that all sorts of treasure lay on the opposite side.
I had no plans for us to leave the ship but EDI asked to speak to me up in my cabin. That suggested it was something serious, heading upstairs and her orb eventually appeared in front of me. She explained that installing the Reaper IFF was proving even more difficult than she anticipated and that it was going to take even longer than I had planned. She suggested that it was going to take long enough that we could head to Omega on the shuttle for a few hours.
"Are you sure?" I had to ask.
"I'll admit to slight concern about this as well," she confessed, "I'm worried that as soon as it's installed it'll light up the ship like a Christmas tree."
"I would rather be on board if that happens," I countered.
"I can take care of that thanks to the countermeasures I already have in place, Shepard. The Normandy will not be in danger while I am working. And to be honest, Shepard, I believe many of the crew would prefer to spend these last few hours off the ship before going through the relay."
"Has Kelly suggested that as well?"
"No. It's merely what I can sense. There is no doubt that everyone's stress levels have increased the closer we get to the end game. A few hours relaxing on Omega will probably do your squad some good."
