"Take this," Garrus said, handing her a small credit chit card. "There's no password."
"I can't take this," Aster said, shaking her head.
"Take it," he insisted. "No one would be able to track it. It's an offshore account for emergencies."
"Garrus, you don't owe me anything," Aster began.
"I'll clear your name," Garrus promised. "In the meantime, stay hidden. I don't know how many mercenaries the Council contracted."
"Thank you," Aster said, grabbing her bag. "Be safe. Take care of my apartment."
Garrus nodded and pressed his forehead to hers.
"Take care."
Aster tiptoed and gave him a quick kiss. She quickly sneaked out of her apartment and saw a group of women heading toward the elevator. Aster joined them discreetly.
'You should have left sooner,' Sam said grumpily. 'Don't you trust me?'
'No, I don't,' Aster replied. 'I trust Garrus more than I trust you. You need to start explaining what's going on.
You went behind my back and submitted my resignation.'
Sam scoffed.
'We are leaving the Citadel,' Sam repeated. 'It's not safe.'
'Who are we running from?' Aster asked, watching the group of women. 'I thought we were under the radar?'
'There's another player behind my creation,' SAM finally said after a few minutes of silence. 'Alec wasn't working alone.'
'So, they know you are "alive," and they want you back,' Aster concluded.
'Precisely,' SAM confirmed. 'We need to get to them, but first, we need to disappear.'
'There's no need to worry about anything,' SAM continued. 'I can arrange for the apartment to be cleaned. Any food items will be donated to several homes. I'm sure your fanboy won't be eating the levo food.'
'Fine, go ahead and make sure the apartment gets cleaned,' Aster agreed, following the group out of the elevator. 'Where am I heading?'
'Head to the docking station, our ride is waiting for us.' Sam replied.
Aster put her hood on and left the building. She waited for a group of people to walk past before following behind them. Aster moved from group to group until she found one that was heading toward the docking station. She avoided standing out as much as possible.
The cargo ship that SAM was able to secure passage on was undoubtedly heading to Omega. Aster hadn't thought much about it until she looked at her ticket and realized they were on the wrong ship. SAM, on the other hand, wasn't worried and acted like it was all part of the plan. A plan that didn't include telling Aster anything about what they were doing or where they were headed.
'You need to start communicating with me,' Aster reminded him as she waited in line to board the passenger ship.
'I'll keep that under advisement,' Sam said.
Aster flexed her jaw. There was no point in telling it anything since he knew she was irritated by his lack of answers.
The trip to Omega was long, but it went without any incidents. No one recognized her. When the passenger ship docked at the port, Aster followed the crowd who were beginning to form a line. In Omega, every new arrival was required to get checked in; Omega officials wanted to track all incoming passengers to ensure that wanted criminals were arrested.
Of course, there was always a way around the arrest, but it made the citizens of Omega happy knowing that there was something in place to keep crime from increasing. Aster waited for her turn as the line slowly began to move.
"Name," a batarian said, looking bored when it was her turn.
"H-Helen," Aster replied as shyly as she could.
"Last name."
"M-Montoya," she replied.
The batarian grunted and waved her through.
'Where am I headed?' Aster asked, walking through the street.
'We are being expected at a clinic,' SAM replied. 'Ask for Professor Solus.'
'I'm assuming you know where this Professor is at?' She asked, still walking.
'The slums, ' SAM replied, not happy.
'Maybe if you talk to me more, I wouldn't have to ask what's going on.'
'I'll keep that in mind,' SAM said sarcastically.
Aster kept herself in the shadows and followed behind several groups to avoid standing out. She was beyond relieved when she overheard the group she was following talking about going to the Clinic to be seen. Aster assumed it was the only clinic that Omega had to offer.
If the group noticed she was tagging along or not, they continued on their way as though she wasn't there. The further they went into Omega, the dirtier and more desperate people looked.
'I just my luck,' Aster thought. 'I may end up dead in the slums.'
'You complain too much,' Sam interjected.
'A mecha?' She thought as the group got closer to the Clinic. 'That's some security.'
After she checked in with the receptionist using her new fake name, Aster took a seat in the corner, out of the way. One by one, the other patients were seen in what seemed like a random order. A few were taken back and returned to the waiting room. While some were taken back for some time, paid, and then left.
Aster wasn't sure how long she had waited, but she was beginning to feel tired. Not wanting to miss her turn, she walked around for a bit and took her seat again. At some point she must have dozed off because when she opened her eyes, she saw that the receptionist was gone and so were the other patients.
'Gosh, did I get skipped or something?' she thought, standing up. 'Please don't tell me I have to come back tomorrow.'
'Why don't you trust me?' Sam asked, annoyed.
'You haven't given me a reason to trust you!' Aster exclaimed. 'You have been keeping me in the dark since the trial.'
"You stayed," a new voice said, walking into the waiting room. "Follow me."
Aster followed the salarian, who led them into one of the treatment rooms and closed the door behind them.
"I'm Professor Solus," he greeted. "Helen Montoya is an alias name."
"Yes," Aster confirmed.
"Female, slight built, turquoise eyes...you're Captain Shepard," the professor stated.
"I am."
"I can help," he continued.
As both Aster and Professor Solus continued their conversation, the door opened behind them, revealing a young human male wearing a tech uniform who walked in.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Professor," he said, looking curiously at her. "I thought all the patients were seen."
"Daniel, she's the volunteer," Professor Solus replied.
"Ah, well, it's nice to meet you," Daniel said, extending his arm out in greeting.
"Hello," Aster replied, shaking his hand.
"Daniel, prepare for surgery," the Professor ordered as he grabbed a few things from some drawers.
"Hospital gown in there," he indicated to a door to his left. "Medical scrub also available. Long trip, take a shower."
Aster nodded and left them both feeling slightly insulted about how she smelled. She had traveled a long way, but she also figured that since people weren't the cleanest on Omega, she would fit right in.
The door that the Professor indicated led to a room that housed a bathroom with a shower. Upon further inspection, she found a medical gown and the scrub the Professor had mentioned.
After the shower, Aster folded her things the best she could and took them with her. The Professor was nowhere in sight, but his assistant, Daniel, was in the room prepping some instruments.
"Excuse me," she called out. "Where can I put my things?"
Daniel turned around and stared a bit before regaining his composure.
"I can take them," he said, taking her things. "I made a place for them in your recovery room."
"Follow me," he continued. "Professor Solus is waiting."
Aster followed after Daniel in anticipation; she still hadn't been told what exactly had been discussed between the Professor and SAM. Speaking of which, SAM hadn't bothered to say anything to her since meeting the good doctor. He had kept quiet after their last conversation. However, since she was getting to know him, she doubted SAM would break his silence and tell her what was going on.
*** 4 months later***
"Mrs. Steward," Vicki called out, coming out of one of the waiting rooms.
A human woman stood up, followed by a little 5-year-old, and walked toward her.
"Is the Professor ready to see me?" Mrs. Steward asked, smiling.
"As soon as I take your vitals," Vicki answered, letting her pass into the waiting room. "Would you sit on the bed for me?"
The little girl sat on the chair by the empty bed, waiting patiently.
"How are you feeling today, Mrs. Steward?" Vicki asked, scanning her from head to toe.
"Feeling better, but I'm still in a little pain," Mrs. Steward replied. "I've been taking the medication as the Professor instructed."
"That's good," Vicki said, inputting the information in the datapad. "This is just a follow-up appointment, but feel free to speak to the Professor about any concerns you may have."
"Alright," she continued. "I'll take Miss Belle here with me and let the Professor know that you're ready for him."
"Ms. Vicki," Mrs. Steward warned. "Not too many sweets."
Vicki laughed a bit, "I'll try my best, Mrs. Steward. But I swear it's all Belle's fault."
Belle pouted at her before standing up and taking Vicki's hand as they left the waiting room. Aster was glad to have changed her alias just in case someone came to look for her. The 'Helen' that arrived for the surgery with Professor Solus was no longer around.
During her recovery, Aster had stayed with Professor Solus, who then suggested that Aster stay until they knew that the implants were working like it was supposed to. Professor Solus wanted to confirm that the implants wouldn't be rejected since Aster already had turian implants in her.
Before her scheduled departure, the receptionist took personal leave, and Aster decided to stay until her return. Aster changed her alias to Vicki, and she had been helping Professor Solus. Mrs. Steward and Belle had become regular customers since Mrs. Steward began to suffer from chronic shoulder pain that required surgery. Belle was accustomed to spending her time with Vicki since her grandmother had begun to see the Professor two months ago.
"Professor Solus," Vicki said, poking her head into his office. "Mrs. Steward is waiting for you in room 3. Her datapad is on the door. I'm taking Belle to the candy shop."
As Vicki was grabbing her sweater from the reception desk, the door to the clinic opened, and in came two turians looking extremely serious, and they were heading straight for her.
"Something I can help you with?" Vicki asked, pretending not to recognize them.
"Professor Solus here?" the one in blue armor asked.
"He's with a patient," She replied, donning her sweater. "He'll be out in about 30 minutes if you want to wait."
"You in a hurry, nurse?" the one in red armor asked, leaning against the desk.
"I am," Vicki replied, smiling, and walked around the desk where Belle was waiting for her. "The candy store is closing soon."
"Excuse us," Vicki said, walking past them as Belle walked in front of her.
'This will be interesting,' SAM commented.
'Did you hack in?' Aster asked as the doors closed behind them.
'You know it,' he replied with a happy tone of voice.
Who would have thought that both Garrus Vakarian and Nihlus Kryos were looking for Professor Solus? That had to be a coincidence. Aster sent a quick message to the Professor to warn him before taking Belle to the candy shop. She hadn't been lying when she said that the shop was closing soon.