Omega

Location: Milky Way / Omega Nebula / Sahrabarik

Description
Built in the mined-out husk of a metallic asteroid, Omega has been a haven for criminals, terrorists, and malcontents for thousands of years. At times the station has lain idle and abandoned for centuries, only to be reactivated by a new group of outlaws seeking a fresh start. The space station's original elegant design has given way to haphazard expansion by scrabbling factions of every species. There is no central government or unifying authority on Omega, and nobody can recall a time there ever was one.


 * Population: 7.8 million
 * Orbital Distance: 2.43 AU
 * Orbital Period: 6.9 Earth Years
 * Total Length: 44.7 Km

Codex Entry
Originally an asteroid rich in element zero, Omega was briefly mined by the Protheans, who eventually abandoned it due to its thick, impenetrable crust. Thousands of years later, nature did what even the Protheans could not: a collision with another asteroid broke Omega in half, exposing its trove of element zero for easy mining.

A rush ensued as corporations and private individuals tried to strike it rich on Omega, and thieves and outlaws followed in their wake. As space became tight, construction of processing facilities extended vertically from the asteroid, creating Omega's jellyfish-like silhouette. To prevent future collisions, the station is ringed with enormous mass effect field generators that redirect incoming debris.

Today, Omega is a major hub of narcotics, weapons, and eezo trafficking without even a pretense of civilian government or military control. Only mercenary groups have been able to instill a limited order; the most ruthless is an asari syndicate run by the notorious Aria T'Loak.

History
Omega is described as "the Terminus Systems' dark, twisted counterpart to the Citadel." It is a huge mining station built from the remains of a massive, irregularly shaped asteroid with twisting streets populated with homes, shops and warehouses. Omega's inhabitants are usually lawless. Territory is controlled by the strongest faction in that area and frequently changes hands, often after brutal violence. The station's current "de facto" ruler is Aria T'Loak. As of 2185, Omega has a population of 7.8 million people, composed of various different species. The station's major export is element zero.

The heavy-metal-rich core of the original asteroid was mined until the asteroid was almost completely hollow, providing the initial resources used to construct Omega's buildings and facilities. Over the years, these have been expanded until they completely cover every exposed inch of its surface, making Omega a bizarre mishmash of architecture and technology. The station is home to dozens of species, including batarians, vorcha, and Lystheni salarians, as well as many other species not welcome in Citadel space.

While humans refer to it as Omega, the asari name for it translates as "the heart of evil", the salarian name as "the place of secrets", the turian name as "the world without law", and the krogan name it as the "land of opportunity", clearly reflecting their cultural attitudes towards the society within Omega.

Mass Effect: Ascension
A large part of the story in Mass Effect: Ascension takes place on Omega. Cerberus controls a large warehouse and smuggling operation here, lead by Pel, a Cerberus operative. Pel finally betrays Cerberus, leading to the deaths of all of his team, and there has been no word about the warehouse since.

Mass Effect: Redemption
In Mass Effect: Redemption, Liara hitches a ride to Omega on a batarian freighter in order to meet an informant with news of the then-missing Commander Shepard.

Mass Effect 2
In 2185, Commander Shepard travels to Omega to recruit Mordin Solus, Garrus Vakarian, and Zaeed Massani. At the time, a plague is ravaging Omega's populace, killing dozens of people from various races but mysteriously sparing humans. Elsewhere, a vigilante called "Archangel" has been cornered at his base by Omega's three dominant mercenary factions, the Blue Suns, Eclipse, and Blood Pack.

Shepard meets with Mordin Solus, a salarian scientist and former STG operative who runs a clinic in one of Omega's slums. The plague is revealed to have been caused by the vorcha, who aligned with the Collectors in order to take over the station. Using a cure for the plague developed by Mordin, Shepard stops the outbreak and foils the vorcha scheme.

Shepard later signs on with the Blue Suns as a freelancer in order to help the besieged Archangel. After taking a Blue Suns advance force by surprise and discovering Archangel is actually Garrus Vakarian, Shepard and Garrus fight off the last waves of the merc attack and escape. News reports after the fact indicate that the merc groups covered up their defeat, and claim that Archangel had been killed. During the course of the mission, Shepard also learns that the three merc groups planned to try and topple Aria's regime after getting rid of Archangel. Shepard passes this information on to Aria.

Mass Effect: Retribution
In 2186, Paul Grayson lives on Omega and works for Aria T'Loak as an enforcer under the alias "Paul Johnson". Grayson gradually gains Aria's trust through the efforts of her daughter, Liselle, who has become Grayson's lover. Grayson, Liselle, and more of Aria's enforcers ambush a group of turians belonging to the growing Talons mercenary group and take red sand which the Talons had been smuggling on the side.

Later, after being implanted with Reaper technology, Grayson returns to Omega to meet with Kahlee Sanders, which ends up being a trap ultimately set up by the Illusive Man and permitted by Aria, who thinks Grayson killed Liselle and wants revenge. Grayson is wounded in the attack but manages to escape Omega.

Trivia

 * Omega (&Omega;) is the 24th and last letter of the Greek alphabet.
 * According to the Collector's Edition Concept art book, the team based the design on a mushroom cloud.
 * According to Mass Effect: Incursion, in 2183 there were 853,245 humans living on Omega.
 * Omega's overall atmosphere and style is inspired by the film Blade Runner. Similarities include electrical interference in signs, flames atop buildings, and poor environmental conditions.