NOVEL NEXT 42 – Leaving Omega
After the date with Liara and Tali, and getting the last ingredient he needed for the serum, Samael was ready to leave Omega. Well, he still didn't have the ingredient at hand, but it was with Aria, so it was all good. Also, the injuries he sustained while fighting Wrex and Javik were mostly healed, only a small headache still remained but that was it.
While being in Omega was a good distraction, he knew there was no way he could relax now, as the clock was ticking and the Reapers were coming to kill everyone. So, he had to go back to playing hero, or at least the coadjuvant.
After sending a message to everyone telling them they only had this day as vacation, Samael went to talk with Aria, as this most likely would be their last conversation for a long time.
Arriving at the nightclub, Samael bypassed all security and entered the Aria personal booth with no problems.
There, the Asari looked unconcerned at the door and smiled a little seeing it was Samael, '' A pity, I thought finally one of the other idiots decided to attack me and give me an advantage.''
'' Sorry for not being here to kill you.'' Samael sat beside her and said nothing, both just looking down at the dance floor.
'' It's ... calm, isn't it?'' Aria asked no one and at the same time, 2 people, '' The people down there, don't even care about anything else, they just want to dance around while their lives crumble.''
'' Who could blame them, though?'' Samael interjects at that moment, '' Some people were too cowardly to face the truth.''
'' Yes.'' Aria paused, '' Sometimes I wish I was like them, just imagining not having the same problem as I do right now... it would be amazing.''
'' But it would not be you, right?''
'' Yes... I guess I like what I turned out too much and can't let it go.''
'' Trust me, I get that.''
Samael really gets that. Even in the cycles where he decided to not do anything, he was dragged to the last war anyway, forcing him to fight once more.
No matter what he did, the outcome was the same. So, instead of continuing to run away, he embraced his role. Of course, in other cycles, he took his sweet time before joining the war effort but he did so at the end.
Aria looked at Samael with a strange gaze, '' Sometimes I feel like I'm the younger person here, even though I'm over 400 years old.''
Samael snorted, '' You're pretty ol-''
'' I recommend you don't continue that phrase.''
Samael saw Aria start to gather her biotic powers, so he stopped. '' Experience doesn't necessarily come from age. Look at Wrex for example, that Krogan lived through almost all major wars the galaxy had and still didn't change one bit.''
Aria nodded at that, '' So, how can others become like you?''
Samael sighed, '' They would've to go through what I did and I doubt anyone in the galaxy would be able to maintain their sanity. Hell, even I got a little bit broken by it all but managed to rebuild myself.''
Aria knew Samael was serious, and that made her a little sad. '' ... I hope no one else goes through it.''
'' I hope so too.''
The duo then continued watching the dancing floor for an hour or so, in silence.
Finally, one of Aria's men knocked on her 'room', '' Excuse me.''
'' Enter.''
After Aria said that, a Krogan entered the place. '' Here's the thing you asked a week ago.''
'' You can go now.'' Aria took the ingredient from the Krogan and then sent him away. She then looked at Samael, '' Here.''
Samael tapped his omni tool and transfered the money to Aria, '' Thanks.''
'' No, thank you.'' Aria confirmed the transfer and finally asked a question that would satisfy her curiosity, '' Can I ask why would you need that?''
'' It's a secret for now, but LD is making something that uses this as an ingredient.''
Aria shrugged her shoulders, '' You do you I suppose. Now what?''
Their business just ended and now Samael and Aria weren't exactly partners in crime, so the situation got a little ambiguous.
'' Now we continue our friendship into the years to come.'' Samael smiled widely at her.
Aria sighed in relief, as she didn't want to make LD her enemy for no reason. She then called a waitress and grabbed 2 drinks, one for her and one for Samael.
'' Where are you going after finishing our business here?'' Aria asked while she nursed her drink.
Samael paused. He thought about Aria and her story and knew that while the Asari was working towards her goal to be the true owner of Omega, it would take some time to reach that goal.
So, he decided to push things forward a little. He knew there might be unknown consequences thanks to his actions, but everything was already at the point of no return anyway.
Samael got serious instantly. '' What I'm about to show you is something very few people in the galaxy know.'' Samael was about to tell Aria about the Reapers.
There's no other reason other than to warm her as soon as possible, as while she considered herself the boss of the station, the situation wasn't that simple. 2 other people had the same power as her and they all were in a stalemate regarding who owned everything.
Again, the Asari would eventually rule over Omega, and Samael would just speed up the process and help here and there as he did with Wrex.
'' Oh? Now I'm curious.'' Aria looked intrigued as in the week Samael spent with her, he never looked so serious.
Samael then passed the file he had on the Reapers to Aria, '' We already told the Council about it and now we have proof of their existence. The whole galaxy will be in Chaos when this news is made public.''
The mask of a strong person faltered a little as Aria continued reading. When she finished reading, she looked concerned. A lot concerned.
She was about to ask if it was true, but she held back, as Samael wasn't the type to lie. Besides, the data he had on those Reapers are too real to be faked.
Aria asked, fearing the response,''... How much time do we have?''
'' No more than 8 years.''
Aria sat down on her chair, sighing and feeling powerless. Her whole life, everything she did to arrive where she was today, felt meaningless when she received that news. '' Fuck...''
'' But, don't worry. We will start preparations now, to face them. LD and hopefully the whole galaxy, I mean.''
Aria still wasn't convinced but she put her mask back on, '' Why show me those news anyway?''
Samael looked mysterious, ''It would be made public in a few months at max. And because I think Omega is a great asset. From now on, LD will help you be the real owner of the space station, with no strings attached. You only need to help in the upcoming war in a few years.''
Aria had nothing much to say. The whole day was a mess to her, and while she didn't like to be linked with others, the no-strings-attached part was attractive enough.
'' No strings attached?''
'' None.''
The Asari had no reason not to accept the help. If what he said was true, the whole galaxy would have to be involved for them to even have a small chance of winning. Even Omega.
Aria reached a conclusion. '' Pleasure doing business with you.''
Both shook hands and Samael said, '' Likewise. Of course, we will revise everything regarding taking over Omega, but that's it for now. We will keep in touch. And congratulations on being Omega's true owner from now on.''
Aria smiled biterly, '' Thanks, but with the news you gave me, I don't have the energy to be happy right now. See you later, Samael.''
'' See you later, Aria.''
Samael then left Aria's strip club and went to his hotel room. There, he sent a message to Tevos.
'' We have the proof of the Reapers existence.''
He sent that message and less than 10 seconds later, Tevos called in a holographic call.
Samael ansered, '' Hello.''
'' Hi. Is that true? You have proof now?'' Tevos clearly looked like she didn't want to believe what Samael was saying because if he did, things in the galaxy would get complicated. A lot more complicated.
'' Yes. We will be going to Citadel in a day and I would like to have an emergency meeting with the Council. Can you arrange that for me?''
Tevos sighed but soon nodded, '' I can. Also, don't forget your part of the bargain. Send someone who can fully unlock the Beacon we have in Thessia.''
'' I didn't forget about it, don't worry... Also, Concelour, you look nice.'' Samael said a compliment to Tevos, as he knew she liked that. Of course, their 'relationship' was a transaction, with both sides given something while taking something in return, but it doesn't hurt to be nice to each other.
Tevos smiled at Samael, '' See you soon, boy.''
The call then ended and Samael was left alone in his room. EDI and RR drones were taken to the ship already so he had no one to talk to, and RR for some reason was looking at him weirdly in Android form, so he was avoiding her for now.
Speaking of the ship... it's time to name it.
Normally, I would go through a cliche route and call it Normandy but... this is my real last life. Everything I do here has consequences I can't see the outcome, so... let's be serious.
But... what is a good name, that represents me and my journey?
Nameless? Unammed? Spearhead?
No, none sounds good. Besides, I have to think about the future Quarians who might join the crew, besides Tali. They would have a surname with the ship's name, so it got to be good.
So, if I mix everything about my journey, the cycles, the deaths, and how I was reborn...
... Phoenix. A bird that is considered immortal, as every time it dies, it returns from its ashes.... Fitting.
Ok, Phoenix it is.
Samael snickered thinking about Tali. ' She will be called Tali' Zorah Vas Phoenix... Never mind, she's still cute.'
After that, Samael stealthily passed the still-drugged Illusive Man to the SSV Phoneix from his small ship and prepared to depart to the Citadel once again.
But, before leaving, there were still a few hours to go, since he gave an entire day of vacation. So, Samael made a few arrangements, took off the Stheatl upgrade he had installed in his small ship, and decided to let it stay at Omega, under Aria.
While top-notch compared to other ships in the galaxy right now, its true strength was in the Sthealth system, and Samael already took that. So, it would be a nice gift to Aria.
After making sure everything was in order with that, Samael returned to his hotel room. But, as soon as he entered, he froze.
He felt something wrong as he saw RR in her Android form waiting for him there.
Samael could see the tension in the air and tried to door, but for some reason, it was closed, ' Fuck!'
With no other choice, he faced RR, '' Hmmm, hello RR. Is there anything going on?''
Samael tried to maintain his calm as he reached the fridge to grab a drink.
'' Why is that?'' Samael could see RR was naked already, so he knew she wanted something from him. But, for some reason, he was apprehensive.
'' You see, I felt real bad when you disconnected me from your omni tool. Real bad.'' RR said while getting closer to Samael, who finally understood.
RR was going to 'punish' him for what he did days ago.
'' It was necessary! I swear!'' While he was sure the 'punishment' would be enjoyable, he still tried to think of an escape route just in case.
'' I know, but... I'm still mad. You already promised to not do it again, but punishment is a must, don't you think?'' RR got in bed and motioned to Samael to get closer.
Sighing, the man accepted his fate, '' What do you have in mind?''
'' For now, until the vacation ends, you are mine to do what I please. Oh, and EDI will also watch.'' Just then, EDI in her drone form appeared in front of Samael.
The man hesitated, as EDI and Joker have been a couple in almost all his past cycles. But, it's not like he had a choice at the moment, and this is not considered cheating if they were still not together, right?... Right? Besides it was just watching anyway.
'' ... Ok.'' Samael knew he had been defeated so he just accepted it.
'' Good, now get naked! I'll enjoy this as much as you.''
Samael thought while getting undressed.
' What did I create?'
But anyone could see the man was more than 'happy' with the situation.
--
WITH TEVOS
' Things just got a lot more complicated.' Tevos sighed after the call with Samael ended. She knew LD had the proof of those Reapers existence, meaning they were really real. And they were coming for them now.
That alone was enough to send others into a frenzy, but Tevos was as calm as she could, given the situation. But, she was afraid of what the other Councilors would do.
People react differently when faced with reality and from the years she worked together with the other 2, they would most likely fail quite badly at maintaining their calm.
' Maybe that is a good thing...?'
The situation was something she never felt before, a danger so big that it threatened the entire Galaxy's existence. So, even she was unsure how to proceed.
' ... For now, I'll do my part and call an emergency meeting. Also, I'll help LD as best as I can.'
Tevos knew from the little she interacted with LD and Samael, that the company was preparing for the Reapers arrival, meaning they must have some sort of a plan to stop the threat. With her power as a Councilor, she would help too.
Tapping a few things in her omni tool, Tevos sent a message to all Specters acting on the galaxy right now, '' Come to the Citadel as fast as you can. Code Red.''
As mentioned before, the Specters are the Council's special forces, having the authority to do anything necessary to achieve the success of the mission. They only respond to the Council, so calling them out of the blue was big.
But it was necessary. They must know about the Reapers existence too!
Tevos sent that message and returned to her duties as a Councilor. Even in the face of the Reapers, work didn't stop for the Asari.
--
IN A FAR CORNER OF THE GALAXY
Saren, a Turian Specter, just received a message from Tevos, the Asari Concelour. It said Code Red but he knew it was most likely nothing big.
' Probably someone bothered her again and she wants us to act.'
Regardless, he had to go there as the message was sent to all Spectres.
And whether he liked it or not, he had a duty to follow.
For now, that is.
Looking at the big machine in front of him, the Turian said, '' I have to go now, but we will continue the conversation later.''
The machine stood at 2170 meters/2,17 KM tall, with just its presence making others fear it. It also had a massive 'eye', and huge land pods that looked like tentacles. It looked imposing and invincible.
The machine looked down at the Spectre but said nothing back. Its 'eye' glowed red for a few seconds, indicating it understood.
The Turian then left in a hurry, as even though he and the machine 'worked' together to reach their respective goals, he still didn't like it.
Soon, the Spectre left the unknown planet near the Perseus Veil, going to the Citadel.
