Chapter 12: Aria's Judgment
POV: Marc Wayne
Marc barely had time to wash the tunnel filth from his skin before Aria's summons arrived. Her information network had already catalogued the warehouse explosion, Eclipse's mobilization, and the curious fact that the "regenerating human" had emerged from the chaos intact while leaving a trail of very angry mercenaries in his wake.
The return to Afterlife felt different this time. Where Marc's first visit had been about survival and uncertain alliances, this felt like a professional debriefing between established partners. The crowds still parted for him, but now it was with recognition rather than curiosity. Word had spread through Omega's information networks: the human worked for Aria now, which made him simultaneously valuable and dangerous.
The Patriarch watched Marc's approach with that knowing smile, raising a glass of expensive liquor in what might have been a toast or a farewell gesture. When their eyes met, the ancient Krogan mouthed words that chilled Marc's blood: "The wheel turns faster now."
Aria occupied her throne with the same predatory grace, but her attention felt sharper, more focused. The casual assessment of their first meeting had been replaced by the intensity of someone evaluating a tool's performance under stress.
"Show me," she said without preamble.
Marc activated his omni-tool, projecting the recordings he'd captured in the Eclipse facility. The holographic display filled the space between them with images that shouldn't exist: Seeker drones floating in stasis pods, Dr. Ree's notes on "unprecedented adaptive biology," Eclipse mercenaries treating their cargo like the most dangerous material in the galaxy.
Aria watched in complete silence, her expression revealing nothing while her mind processed implications that most beings couldn't even comprehend. When the final recording ended—Marc's shaky footage of the pods' destruction—she leaned back in her throne and spoke words that made Marc's carefully constructed cover story crumble.
"Collector tech. On my station. Years before they should be active."
The precise phrasing hit Marc like a physical blow. She hadn't said "years before anyone expected them" or "years before they were reported in this region." She'd said years before they should be active, which implied knowledge of a timeline that included future events.
"How does she know when Collectors become active?" Marc thought, his enhanced mind racing through possibilities. "Is she another transmigrant? Does she have her own System? Or is she something else entirely?"
Aria caught his reaction with the precision of someone who'd spent centuries reading micro-expressions and body language. Her smile was sharp as a vibro-blade and twice as dangerous.
"Did you think you were the only one who sees patterns, Marcus Wayne? The only one who knows things they shouldn't?"
The question hung in the air between them like a confession and a challenge combined. Marc felt his carefully maintained anonymity dissolving under the weight of Aria's knowing stare, but before he could formulate a response, the Patriarch chose that moment to speak from his corner.
"Two who see, meeting on the wheel. The cycle spins differently this time."
Aria silenced him with a look that could have flash-frozen plasma, but she didn't contradict his words. Marc's mind worked frantically to process the implications—if Aria had foreknowledge, if she understood the true scope of the threats facing the galaxy, then his mission had just become infinitely more complex.
"She knows," Marc realized with growing certainty. "She knows about the Reapers, about the coming extinction, about all of it. But how? And what does she plan to do with that knowledge?"
Aria allowed the silence to stretch until it became almost unbearable, then pivoted with the smooth precision of someone who'd made her decision.
"You destroyed something dangerous without knowing what it was," she said, her tone carrying calculation rather than accusation. "Acceptable. But you also announced your presence to Eclipse and whoever supplied them that cargo. Less acceptable."
She stood from her throne, descending the steps until she was close enough that Marc could smell the ozone scent that clung to powerful biotics.
"Still," she continued, "you chose to eliminate the threat rather than profit from it. Interesting."
"She's testing me," Marc realized. "This whole conversation is an evaluation of my priorities and decision-making under pressure."
"The Collectors—" Marc began, then caught himself before his speech curse could activate.
"Don't exist yet," Aria finished smoothly. "According to official intelligence, they're a myth. Spacer stories about disappearing ships and impossible technology. But you recognized them immediately, destroyed them without hesitation, and now you're sitting here pretending you don't know exactly what you prevented."
The accuracy of her assessment was terrifying. Marc felt like an open book being read by someone with intimate knowledge of the author's intentions.
"I have a revised proposition," Aria continued. "You continue handling my biological problems, but now the stakes are higher and the resources are better. Real equipment, access to my secured data networks, and most importantly, assistance understanding your own capabilities."
She gestured to the space around them—the club's obvious prosperity, the armed guards, the technological infrastructure that represented power on a galactic scale.
"Whatever Cerberus did to you, it's not finished. Your adaptation continues, and I have resources that can help you control it, understand it, guide it in useful directions."
The offer was seductive and terrifying in equal measure. More power, but more obligation. Better resources, but deeper entanglement. Marc realized he was being offered a position in Omega's power structure that most beings would kill for.
"In exchange?" he asked.
"You keep my station clean of things like this," Aria said, gesturing to the recordings. "And you answer honestly when I ask direct questions about what you know is coming."
The implicit threat was clear—Aria suspected the truth about his foreknowledge, and she was offering him a choice between partnership and more aggressive interrogation.
Marc considered his options. He could refuse, maintain his independence, and probably face the kind of pressure that would make the Eclipse facility look like a minor inconvenience. He could accept partial terms and try to negotiate, though Aria didn't seem inclined toward compromise. Or he could embrace the alliance and hope that having a powerful ally who understood the true scope of galactic threats would be worth the loss of freedom.
"I need allies," Marc decided. "And she's offering resources I can't get anywhere else. The timeline is already fractured—maybe working with someone who has her own agenda is better than working alone."
"I accept," Marc said. "With the understanding that some questions have answers that are dangerous to speak aloud."
Aria's smile was genuine for the first time in their acquaintance. "Acceptable. I didn't survive five centuries by being careless with dangerous information."
She returned to her throne, settling back with the satisfaction of someone who'd successfully negotiated a complex agreement.
"Your first priority under our new arrangement: find out who supplied Eclipse with Collector technology. Someone is playing games with forces they don't understand, and I want to know who."
[QUEST COMPLETED: ECLIPSE'S CARGO]
[REWARDS: +800 XP, 10,000 CREDITS, ENHANCED ARIA FAVOR]
[REPUTATION SHIFT: ARIA T'LOAK - TOLERATED TOOL → VALUED ASSET]
[NEW QUEST CHAIN: "THE FRACTURES"]
[OBJECTIVE: INVESTIGATE TIMELINE ANOMALIES]
[PASSIVE BENEFIT UPGRADED: "ARIA'S PROTECTION"]
The advancement felt more significant than simple numerical progression. Marc was being offered access to Omega's intelligence networks, technological resources, and political protection. It was the kind of opportunity that could accelerate his development exponentially.
But it came with the weight of Aria's expectation and the growing certainty that his secrets were becoming impossible to maintain.
As Marc prepared to leave, Aria added one final comment that confirmed his suspicions about her true nature: "The Collectors coming early means the timeline is already fractured. Someone changed something fundamental, and the effects are cascading through galactic events. Possibly you. Possibly someone else. Possibly something that was always meant to happen."
She paused, her dark eyes reflecting centuries of accumulated wisdom and carefully guarded knowledge.
"We'll see."
Marc left the meeting with more questions than answers, his mind reeling from the implications of Aria's casual reference to timeline mechanics. Anto waited outside Afterlife with the patient expression of someone who'd learned not to ask too many direct questions about his partner's increasingly complex obligations.
"How did it go?" the Turian asked as they walked through Omega's neon-lit corridors.
"She either knows I'm from the future or thinks I'm insane," Marc replied, his exhaustion making him careless with his words. "And I'm not sure which is worse."
Anto stopped walking. "You're from the what now?"
Marc realized his filter had completely broken down. The weight of maintaining impossible secrets, the stress of constant deception, and the growing complexity of his situation had finally overwhelmed his ability to maintain careful ambiguity.
"Maybe it's time to trust someone," he thought. "Anto has risked his life for me multiple times. If I'm going to have allies in this insane situation, I need to start somewhere."
"Long story," Marc said, looking around to ensure they weren't being monitored. "Buy you a drink and I'll tell you a version that sounds less crazy?"
As they walked toward their rebuilt bar, Marc's System displayed a notification that crystallized his growing dread:
[TIMELINE COHERENCE: 94.7% (↓ FROM 99.1%)]
[WARNING: CONTINUED DEVIATIONS MAY CAUSE CASCADING CHANGES]
[ANALYSIS: USER ACTIONS CREATING SIGNIFICANT TIMELINE VARIANCE]
The numbers were precise, clinical, and terrifying. Every choice he made, every intervention he attempted, was pushing the galaxy further from the timeline he remembered. He'd prevented Collector scouting early, but he had no idea what consequences that action would have on the larger pattern of galactic events.
"Am I saving the galaxy or dooming it?" Marc wondered as Omega's artificial night settled around them. "And how will I know the difference until it's too late?"
The weight of knowledge without the ability to explain it was crushing him. But perhaps, with Aria as an ally and Anto as a confidant, he might finally have the support necessary to navigate the impossible choices ahead.
The game was changing, and Marc was no longer sure he understood the rules.
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