Ah, Omega. The haven of many criminals, gangs, and other despots.
The reason Bellum found himself here once more... Well, Liv had to get started somewhere, even after he dealt with things here, there were still needs. Like getting credits. Also Mordin simply wanted to check in on the clinic. Bellum had saved his assistant, but he wanted to be sure the Vorcha weren't being a pest.
So Bellum barged in, battle axe on his back, and him shifting in his armor after having made a few adjustments. That shield generator would come in handy.
But his entrance? With Liv?
Well it gathered eyes. Specifically a few Vorcha that took one look at Bellum, then screamed bloody murder and ran.
"Hmph." Was Bellum's only response.
Bernard and Bellum had been traveling together for a few weeks at that point. Miranda hadn't stopped expressing her doubts about Bellum's involvement with the mission, but after Horizon and a few smaller missions, Bellum had more than proven his worth. Bernard assumed that Miranda was more worried that Bellum wouldn't follow Miranda's orders as self-appointed XO.
Bernard told Miranda, "He follows my orders just fine. That's what's important."
She and Bellum sparred in close quarters combat a few times, him being the only one brave enough, crazy enough to do so. She had to hand it to Cerberus; the cybernetics they put in her made her punches hit harder and her skin tougher. Even though Bellum was holding back, Bernard could tell that even one of his subdued punches could have sent someone to Dr. Chakwas's office immediately. When one of his punches connected, she hardly flinched.
Strangely enough, she felt like she understood Bellum a lot more when they fought each other. It was as if combat was his first language. If he'd stick around the commander, there'd be plenty in store for him.
The most devastating part of Horizon was certainly having lost some colonists to the Collectors, but her breakup with Kaidan was a close second. Other than Joker, Garrus, and Dr. Chakwas, nobody else she knew before her "death" truly had her back. The new Council gave her the cold shoulder. Udina looked as if Bernard's return was more of an inconvenience than anything. Anderson was friendly, but he and the rest of the Alliance had to shoulder the responsibility of keeping Council space safe after the Battle of the Citadel. The moment the Normandy landed at the Citadel with Cerberus markings, the Alliance wanted nothing to do with Bernard.
She hoped that Kaidan, the man she gave everything to, would understand her perspective. Not much shook the commander, but she had butterflies in her stomach whenever she thought about how she'd explain herself, how she would reaffirm her love for him. Was she naive for thinking they could pick up right where they left off?
Strangely enough, she felt the most welcomed by aliens instead of humans since she came back. Most of them, aside from Garrus, had only heard about her from second- and thirdhand accounts, and she more or less lived up to everyone's expectations after just a few missions. They followed her orders without question, including the anomaly Bellum.
Omega was entirely new turf for the commander, so she considered the squad that would set foot on the grimy station with her. Garrus was someone she trusted since the Saren expedition, and it helped that he spent so much time there after her purported death. Since Bellum pulled Garrus out of the fire, it made sense to bring him along as well.
Her brow furrowed behind her single-eye visor as she saw the strange creatures running away from them. "What were those things?"
EDI chimed in through her helmet, "Those are vorcha, a primitive, but somewhat prominent race in the Terminus Systems. Though they don't often live past 20 years, they reproduce and regenerate cells quickly. Much of the galaxy perceives them as a pestilence."
"Fight enough of those things and you'd say the same thing, Commander," Garrus commented. "A lot of them are part of the Blood Pack here. Surprised Valkyrie left any of them alive when he saved me."
