Mass Effect: Invasion 3

Mass Effect: Invasion 3 is the third issue of the 4-issue Mass Effect: Invasion comic series published by Dark Horse Comics.

Release Information

 * Publication date: December 21, 2011
 * Tagline: Omega under siege!
 * Writer: Mac Walters, John Jackson Miller
 * Artist: Omar Francia
 * Colorist: Michael Atiyeh
 * Cover Artist: Massimo Carnevale / Paul Renaud

Publisher's Summary
''The Omega space station has fallen and Aria, Omega's pirate queen, is on the run from an enemy greater than anything she's ever faced before. Learning that the battle is merely the first skirmish in a war that will reshape the galaxy, Aria must retake Omega and lead a new charge to save her empire!''

Story
Colonel Ashe leads a squad of Cerberus operatives through Omega to secure landing bays for troop transports. They encounter Blue Suns, Eclipse, and Blood Pack mercenaries battling it out in the streets. Ashe questions a nearby batarian who explains that without Aria to maintain the peace, all of Omega's factions are vying for control of the station. When asked if anyone heard Ashe's announcement, the batarian says that everyone thinks Cerberus is there to clean up the Reaper mess since no one understands why Cerberus would want Omega. Ashe's squad moves on to the landing bays. Ashe notes that the Illusive Man had anticipated only a narrow window for Cerberus to act before Omega's inhabitants organized a resistance, and this gang conflict has given them a little more time. Furthermore, Aria is the only person who could lead such a resistance, and Ashe is confident she won't be coming back.

On the Elbrus, still stationed near Avernus Station, Aria groggily awakens in a restraining device. General Petrovsky, who had been reading a copy of the book "War and Peace", greets her and apologizes for the restraints, saying that they were necessary because Aria kept trying to escape and the design is intended to disorient her. Petrovsky tells her that she has been out long enough for the Adjutants to be mopped up both at Avernus Station and Omega. He explains that center of the galaxy is one of its safest places, and controlling it and protecting humanity necessitates controlling Omega. Aria realizes the Adjutants getting loose wasn't a mistake, that their rampage across Avernus Station and Omega was part of the Illusive Man's plan all along. Their discussion is interrupted and the general is called to the ship's bridge to receive a message from the Illusive Man. Before he goes, Petrovsky orders a mental inhibitor be used on Aria to prevent her from using any biotic powers that don't require her hands.

The Illusive Man informs General Petrovsky that capturing Omega was a contingency plan activated after Aria was distracted by the sudden Adjutant threat. Since the source of the Adjutants has been reclaimed, Petrovsky is needed back on Omega to head Cerberus' operation. Petrovsky expresses regrets at the loss of so many loyal Cerberus members and says there has not yet been word about how the Adjutants escaped. When the Illusive Man asserts that the general has doubts about what happened, Petrovsky denies it. He pointedly remarks, however, that he found Aria's suggestion that the disaster was a sham to allow Cerberus to conquer Omega ridiculous, since the Illusive Man would "never endanger so many of our people just for the sake of a diversion..." The Illusive Man responds, "Time and Patience, Oleg", echoing part of a passage of "War and Peace" that the general had been reading to Aria earlier. He tells Petrovsky to transfer Aria to a research station before reaching the mass relay and ends the transmission.

Petrovsky is then called into a corridor by a Cerberus operative. He finds a freed Aria holding the disarmed operative and standing in front of several other incapacitated operatives lying on the floor. She hits the general with a biotic attack and sends him reeling. While Aria flings two crewmen into the air, he grabs a pistol and takes aim, but she counters with kicks to his torso and head. As she grips him by the neck, she says "That's the end of my patience, Petrovsky - and your time."

Gang fighting continues on Omega. Anto complains to a turian that all he wanted to do was get the gangs to listen to him like they did to Aria, but the cease-fire he called for was ignored. The turian points out that Anto isn't Aria. The batarian reluctantly admits that they do need Aria after all. Colonel Ashe appears with more Cerberus troops who open fire on the battling gangs. Anto and the mercenaries retreat to Afterlife, and Ashe orders a team sent after them. An operative informs Ashe that the Elbrus has returned and General Petrovsky wishes to speak with him. Taking a handset, Ashe tells Petrovsky that he is already securing their first sector in Omega and there was no need for the general to come. Petrovsky reminds Ashe that he is command of Cerberus' forces there and confirms that he will arrive shortly to "storm the fortress - just like Anticlus at Troy."

After he cuts the transmission, Aria praises the general for being so willing to follow others' directions. Petrovsky retorts that he is only cooperating because Aria threatened to space the Elbrus' troop compartment and he doesn't want any more people to die needlessly. Aria points out that he isn't concerned about the deaths of her people on Omega. They argue further as the Elbrus docks with Omega and Aria leads Petrovsky at gunpoint through the boarding ramp. As Aria prepares to kill Petrovsky, the doors open to reveal Colonel Ashe and several Cerberus soldiers waiting. Petrovsky knocks Aria out of the way of incoming fire, giving her the chance to escape. The general scolds Ashe for nearly killing him too and asks if Ashe even understood the reference to Anticlus in his message, which meant that the Elbrus had been compromised and he couldn't talk. Ashe dismisses the accusation. The message was the reason why Ashe had a team ready, he couldn't forget Petrovsky's constant historical speeches and recognized his code. Petrovsky orders Ashe to deploy all Cerberus forces on Omega to hunt down Aria T'Loak and secure the station once and for all.

Anto watches the exchange on a monitor and turns to face a room full of mercenaries. He tells them that Cerberus will take over Omega if they don't stop fighting amongst themselves. A krogan responds that Anto can't run a revolution; the only person the mercenaries would willingly follow is Aria, and Cerberus knows that. At that, Aria makes her presence known and announces a "little job" she wants everyone in on. She says that if Cerberus wants Omega, "they'll have to take it over our dead bodies!"