Chapter 24: Aria's Test
Aria's summons came with unusual formality—written invitation, specific time, formal dress code. I knew immediately this wasn't routine business. The Queen of Omega wanted to measure me against something, and that meant danger.
I found her in the private conference room, but I wasn't alone. The Patriarch sat in the corner, ancient eyes studying me with unsettling intensity. Whatever this was about, it required a witness.
"Marcus," Aria said without preamble. "Eclipse is rebuilding their Collector tech operation. New location, escaped researchers from the warehouse you destroyed. I want it eliminated completely."
"Eliminate. Not capture, not sabotage. Kill mission."
"Define eliminated," I said carefully.
Aria's smile was sharp as a blade. "No survivors among the leadership. The researchers, the project heads, anyone with knowledge of Collector biotechnology. Dead."
I felt the familiar twist of my speech curse as I tried to explain why killing Collector tech experts was strategically stupid. Instead, I asked, "What's the intelligence picture?"
"Seventeen researchers, eight security personnel, minimal defenses. They think they're hidden in the old mining complex on Level 8." Aria leaned forward. "Simple extermination job. The kind of work I need to know you can handle."
The Patriarch's eyes never left my face. He knew something. They both did.
"And Marcus?" Aria added. "I want to know how you recognized Collector technology weeks before anyone else. Time to share your secrets, or at least some of them."
"This is it. The test. Do I kill in cold blood, or do I think beyond orders?"
"Understood," I said. "When do you want it done?"
"Tonight. Take whatever support you need."
I assembled my team in the lower levels—Anto with his rifle, Kreek with a pack of his smartest vorcha, and enough firepower to level a city block. The mining complex was a labyrinth of tunnels and abandoned equipment, perfect for a research facility that needed to stay hidden.
[TACTICAL ASSESSMENT: 17 RESEARCHERS, 8 SECURITY PERSONNEL]
[RECOMMENDED APPROACH: STEALTH INSERTION, SYSTEMATIC ELIMINATION]
[WARNING: CIVILIAN CASUALTIES LIKELY]
The security team died first. Professional killers deserved professional deaths, and my enhanced abilities made it almost trivial. Turian Marksmanship guided my shots with mechanical precision while enhanced reflexes let me move through their defensive positions like smoke.
When we reached the laboratory section, everything changed.
Scientists cowered behind overturned tables, hands raised, terrified voices begging for mercy. They weren't soldiers or mercenaries. They were researchers who'd made the mistake of working with dangerous technology.
Anto shifted beside me, rifle trained on the nearest scientist. "Aria's orders were clear."
I stared at the frightened faces—humans, salarians, an asari who couldn't be older than fifty. My speech curse twisted as I tried to explain why we needed them alive, why Collector technology was an existential threat that required understanding, not just destruction.
"Can't explain. Can't warn them. Can only choose."
"Stand down," I told Anto.
"Boss?"
"Stand down. We're taking prisoners."
I moved through the lab, zip-tying researchers while Kreek's pack secured the computer systems. The scientists stared at me with desperate gratitude, not understanding that I was disobeying direct orders from the most dangerous person on Omega.
"Why?" the asari researcher whispered.
"Because dead scientists don't answer questions," I said, hoping it sounded more convincing than it felt.
The data we recovered was extensive—Collector tech schematics, bioweapon research, and most importantly, information about their mysterious benefactor. Someone was supplying Eclipse with Collector technology, trying to establish a black market biotech trade right under Aria's nose.
Returning to Aria expecting punishment, I instead found her smiling—the first genuine smile I'd ever seen from her.
"You're not a tool, you're a thinker. Good. Tools break. Thinkers adapt."
The Patriarch chuckled from his corner. "Told you the boy was different."
"This was a test. Of thinking, not killing."
"The captured scientists," Aria continued, "properly motivated by my persuasion techniques, have provided valuable intelligence. Someone is trying to weaponize Collector technology on my station." Her expression hardened. "Find out who."
The Patriarch leaned forward, ancient voice carrying disturbing certainty. "The pattern frays faster now. Events accelerate. You feel it too, yes, boy?"
I nodded, and Aria caught the exchange.
"She knows. Not everything, but she knows I see patterns others miss."
[QUEST COMPLETED: ARIA'S TEST]
[EXPERIENCE GAINED: +500 XP - 3000/3500 TO LEVEL 7]
[REPUTATION SHIFT: ARIA T'LOAK - TRUSTED SPECIALIST → INNER CIRCLE]
[ACCESS GRANTED: ARIA'S PRIVATE INTELLIGENCE NETWORK]
[LEADERSHIP SKILL: NOVICE → APPRENTICE (32%)]
[NEW QUEST: THE COLLECTOR TECH SUPPLIER]
That night, Aria granted me access to resources I'd never dreamed of—intelligence networks spanning three systems, financial databases tracking illegal credits, and communication intercepts from major criminal organizations. The kind of information that turned survivors into power players.
But as I left the meeting, the Patriarch cornered me in the corridor.
"She knows you see the future, in whatever broken way you see it. She doesn't know how, but she knows. And she's decided you're useful enough to keep anyway." His ancient eyes held warnings I couldn't fully parse. "Don't betray that trust. She's killed for less."
I understood what he wasn't saying. I'd crossed a threshold tonight. I was no longer just another survivor on Omega—I was part of Aria's inner circle, with all the power and danger that position entailed.
Walking through Omega's corridors, I felt the weight of new responsibility. The Queen of Omega trusted me enough to grant access to her most valuable resources. In return, she expected results.
The problem was, I wasn't sure I could give her the results she wanted while keeping my secrets intact. Every day, the timeline accelerated further from what I remembered. Every choice created new ripples that made the future harder to predict.
But for tonight, at least, I had power. Real power, backed by the most dangerous woman in the Terminus Systems. Tomorrow I'd figure out how to use it to save everyone I could.
The Collectors were still coming. The timeline was still fragmenting. But I was no longer facing the darkness alone.
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