VOICE OF OMEGA RADIO! THE TRIUMPHANT RETURN!

Greetings and salutations, my friends and lovers! It's been a while, but now the waiting's over! It's time once again for

VOICE OF OMEGA RADIO

Now permanently coming to you from radio channel HHZ3.4.555.2091.KIL on the extranet! That's right, we've managed to get our own station, thanks to you and your donations! It's obvious you guys want to KEEP THE VOICE OF OMEGA ALIVE, and so we're bringing you all the news you'll NEVER heard from the Big O! I'm Job Larson and this is Three-Eyes Goro -

Howdy.

Big shout out to KILLRADIO for hosting us, by the way. KILLRADIO, for all your underground broadcasting needs! Affordable prices and guaranteed black-killer encryption! Visit KILLRADIO.VIV TODAY.

So what's on the docket for today, Goro? It's been a while.

Yes, yes it has. I was enjoying the vacation. Anyways, it doesn't look like there's much. Omega's been unusually quiet lately. I mean, Eclipse is still doing their thing, Aria is keeping things under control, the Blood Pack have been sighted in the sewers and the bounty board is still packed with bounties, but other than the usual, Omega's been really quiet.

See, that's what concerns me. When Omega's quiet, that's when you know something big's going to happen.

I suppose. There has been a lot of talk about the recent terrorist action on Sur'Kesh, though, and the salarian population around here has skyrocketed in the past few weeks. Whether they're refugees, criminals on the run, or vigilantes looking for some payback, no one can say. Sources indicate that over 5,000 new salarians have moved in since Sur'Kesh - enough that they've taken over a small section of the Juri Arcology and started their own little area. Locals are calling it 'Little Mannovai' for right now.

And how are our new neighbors holding up?

Surprisingly well. A lot of these salarians came armed, and I wouldn't be surprised if most of them have military training - they're guarding their own, for the most part, and it sounds like they're paying some of the local gangs for protection services in the form of snipers and muscle. So if you plan on leaning on some salarians for some credits, folks, stay out of Little Mannovai. These guys came prepared, and they don't seem like they're going to be easily pushed around.

I wouldn't be surprised if a few STG plants are in there as well.

You're not the only one saying that, too. All in all, people are giving Little Mannovai a wide berth. Aside from that, the news for this season seems pretty light. The fifth annual Bloody Goat Convention is behind held in Marinar Arcology, so all you Abattoir fans can go worship your favorite serial killer--

I'm always surprised how much of a draw that is.

People are weird, Job. Anyways, there's that, and it seems like the Bone Collectors and the Harlequins are fighting over territory again, so stay away from St. Jivsten. As far as news goes, there's really not much on the radar.

Maybe not ON the radar, but there's plenty UNDER it. When we come back from break, we're going to discuss the recent terrorist actions against the salarians - including the so-called 'issues' on some of their colonies - plus we'll talk to well-known conspiracy theorist Mar Volto, then talk about one of Omega's least-known tourist hotspots, the Haunted Deck. All this and more, after this signal realignment break! Remember, we're run by donations, so keep those credits coming in! All the news you've never heard is coming to you free of charge, so please give something back!

AAAAND we're back! Alright, folks, let's get to the topic of today. Terrorism.

Quiet! If you say that loud enough, the Alliance'll come and arrest you!

Hahah - but seriously, though, Terrorism. It's kind of a big word right now. Here we are, a civilization of numerous alien species living in relative unity among the stars after defeating a bunch of floating space squids from beyond time... and we're still blowing each other up. Or releasing ungodly nanoswarms on each other. Or poisoning our waterholes. All in the name of politics. What happened, man?

Beats me. I used to be an analyst for the Propaganda Department on Bahak, and I still don't understand half the shit we did in the name of government and peace.

That's what's always bothered me, by the way. Terrorism is always done to raise a point, as violently as possible. People getting hurt or killed so you can get your five minutes of talk on the radio, or so you can grab half a second of media time from something online. And people are always saying "we're going to open your eyes to the truuuuuth." Man, you're not opening a damn thing. You're blinding us. You're blinding us with hate and rhetoric, and frankly, it's pissing people off. I know we're not living in a damn utopia right now - keep in mind, some of us are on Omega, for chrissake - but it's a damn sight better than it was two years ago.

But we're not here so Mr. Larson can get on a soapbox and discuss his unique brand of anarcho-anti-politicism. We're here so Mr. Larson can discuss WHY terrorism seems to be everywhere these days - particularly if you're a salarian. In case you've been living under a rock, the salarians have been having a rough time of things lately. Not only was Sur'Kesh bombed by a terrorist group that has nanoswarms at their disposal, but Heresarat lost about 85% of its water capacity after "an accident," provided you spell accident S-A-B-O-T-A-G-E. Then there are the disappearances of various Mannovai Motors cargo ships, the riots on the Citadel AND Illium, the increasing visibility of STG agents, and so on, and so on... things are looking grim for the union, folks.

Grim indeed.

Mmm. Now, I know that there's a group taking responsibility for all this - which will go unnamed, as this is a pirate broadcast and I don't want this broadcast being associated with them due to some half-wit smartbot picking up keywords, so look it up on your own - but aside from their initial broadcast, they've been extremely quiet. I mean, you guys remember that broadcast, right? Right after the Tragedy of Entish?

It's kind of hard to forget. Let's see that again, shall we?




The hijack that stopped a goddamned planet.

Seriously, why don't WE have broadcast pylons that strong?

Because we're not salarians with - if you believe the hype - ex-STG ties. Right now, the conspiracy nets are still going nuts over the attack, even a month later. Everybody's linking these guys with the STG, to Cerberus, to the Dakashi, to even Occulus. People want answers - there was a damned attack on Sur'Kesh, and boom, nothing. Even the Linron administration has been scarily quiet about all this. It's like they just... disappeared.

Isn't that always the way? Make your point, then disappear?

You'd think so, but that's usually because they've gone to ground, hiding from... whatever's been seeking them. But not in this case. I've been watching the news regular-like, right? Not one word about these guys anywhere. Not a peep. Normally governments are talking about how they're making progress, you know, keeping the public appeased and quiet - but not here. Odd, isn't it? I'm beginning to think long and hard about this - that maybe there's more to this than just a rogue group of salarian extremists. I mean, we've seen this kind of stuff before from various organizations, and it's no secret that the salarians love black bag methods - no offense, you guys, but you really do.

Uh, what are you saying, Job?

I think there's more going on here than just a bunch of political extremists moving to grab power. I think that's just a cover. We've known for a while that the union's had problems. I don't think this is a case about salarian government at all. I think it's just the opposite - this is about everyone else. Call it a hunch, but if you keep an eye peeled to the news in the next few months, you'll start seeing the union starting to get more and more insular, using this attack as an excuse to regroup politically and start pulling inward. I mean, hell, we already know a lot of salarian colonies are closing, or being restricted to salarian-only access. Give it a couple of weeks, and the union's going to make it so that it takes a TON of red tape just to get anywhere NEAR Mannovai, Sur'Kesh, or... the other one I always forget about.

Jaeto.

Yeah, that one. Trust me. The union's going to be even more paranoid than ever from now on - I don't doubt a lot of people's vacations are going to get canceled. Just be on your guard, folks.

Okay, time to retune the antennae! What do YOU think is going on, folks? The lines are open! We'll be back after this!

Hey frogs. Get the fuck off Omega, go to cartegena or something holy fuck


probably hunting for vorcha

Yes. Like I keep saying, this is about the dissolution of our entire system. Everything that held it together is just...rotting away.


Two others. Aegohr and Jaëto. Along with Mannovai they're the three sisters. Sur'Kesh is the mother, I suppose. And you're wrong here, completely. I'm not saying others might not take advantage but this is very much about salarians. If there's any consolidating or withdrawal it won't be anything to do with distrusting aliens. What they distrust is one another. Their own nephews and brothers and sons, or in the case of those who just can't accept the old leadership anymore, their mothers. If the Union tries to look like it's regrouping politically, then I can see that. But it's an illusion. Unless you're saying they care more about keeping the appearance of unity where outsiders are concerned than they do anything else. Because if they did, that... that might mean I had hope for some sort of actual resolution. Like, they could make the fantasy reality.

At the moment they just want to tear things down.

Occulus? Wasn't that the emergent AI we had, or was it written with just one C? Anyways, what's your take on the Volanti being responsible?

Aaaaand we have a caller! Caller, what's your question?


Sadly, we don't know much about Occulus - or Oculus, or whatever it was - only that it was a short-lived intelligence agency associated with the STG. I personally believe it was a training division of the STG, or possibly a field division. Either way, it flared up for a bit before the Reapers came in, then POOF.

Now, as for the Volanti, I'm sure they have their fingers in this pie somewhere. I'm going to guess this is part of a Volanti plot to destabilize interest in the salarian economy and refocus it elsewhere - perhaps on the krogan, since the krogan seem to be making a lot of headway in the universe these days, even if it is mostly in the military sense. It's more than likely that the Volanti set this whooooole thing up just to keep us guessing about the terrorists while they move something behind the scenes. Hell, for all we know, they're trying to start another war - gotta keep those profits going, of course! Okay, next caller!

What do you think the likelihood is of this Sur'kesh disaster being sponsored or carried out by one or more of the big-time salarian bloodlines? The ones that might want Linron out of the way, possibly without actually enacting any real change to the political system of the Union? Any rumors or evidence to support that possibility that's come your way that you might like to share?

Come on, let's hear your honest opinion. Is that a possibility, here? We gotta look at this from all angles, after all.

It's possible, but if I know salarian politics, things are rarely that straight-forward. No, there's some undercurrent to this - what it is, I don't know, but I can tell you Linron is ancillary to whatever this group wants, and I'll be a three-legged varren if this turns out to have anything to do with gender rights in the union. Like I said, this is a smokescreen. If someone REALLY had a problem with Linron, they would've assassinated her, quick and quiet. No, this was loud for a reason. Somebody WANTS us to think that this is a standard terrorist act. Someone WANTS us to pay attention.

Thoughtfully: I have my own reasons to believe that something odd is happening within the Union. Indulgent: I do not know where you're getting your information from, but you've mentioned the situation on the colonies, which anyone can see is sabotage.

With evident caution: Have you heard anything specifically relating to the colony of Farish Vey?

Clarification: Not the general state of things I could learn elsewhere, but the sort of information only you can provide. Rumours. Anything unusual.

Wish I could, but my sources out in those parts are dry to nonexistant. I only hear what I hear from the extranet, and as you know, only a FOOL believes every thing he hears on the extranet. Still, if any enterprising folk out there want to go on the record and help shed some light on the situation, please do! We here at VOOR promise to respect your anonymity if required, and we're damned good at evading the law ourselves. So if you want to give us the real scoop on what's going on, send me a private message and I will do what I can to get your word out!

Any word on what that thing they hauled out of the mines was? New developments, word on who those black-armored turians with the SHIVA drones were? Anything?

All I know is that anybody who looks too deeply in it doesn't stick around Omega for long. I think this is one of those cases where ignorance is bliss.

... although, I WILL say that it was REAL hard getting fresh meat on Omega for couple of days afterwards.

Okay, we're going to go on a break for now, but when we return, we'll interview Mar Volto and talk a bit more about Omega - and Sur'Kesh! Back in a bit, keep the chat lines open, folks!

There are still Abattoir fans around?

Anything in the plural sense is too many.