The world of Mass Effect has a seedy underbelly, which is often utilised by both the notorious
and reputable to their own ends. Much of this illicit activity is conducted from the Terminus
systems, though that is not to say that Citadel space is empty of such actions. Ask anyone
where to go in the Terminus to conduct business and they’ll often suggest starting at the
end. At Omega. Hi, all, Ric here and today we’re looking
into the origins and function of the infamous Station with no ruler and only one rule.
This station is located within the rose-coloured Omega Nebula in the Terminus Systems. Terminus
means end-of-the-line, the termination of a journey and is the galactic north most edge
of the Milky Way, a suitable location for a base named Omega.
This nebula seems to be inspired by the real M17 Messier object of the same name that was
discovered in 1745 by Philippe Loys de Cheseaux, however estimates put the real Omega Nebula
at only around 6,000 lightyears from Earth, not across the entire galaxy, so some artistic
licence has been taken or this Nebula is not supposed to be the same one, which is fine,
there’s a lot of them out there. Within the blanket of this 11 lightyear Nebula
lies the solar system Sahrabarik. Between the inner planet Urdak and the middle of Imorkan
lies an asteroid belt, rich in resources and it is on one of these larger rocks that the
Omega station is found. Within this area of space, there orbits two
mass relays, one of which is the infamous death-trap, the Omega 4, relay. After exploring
countless systems across the Milky way, the Omega 4 relay was the end of the line with
many brave or foolhardy scouts travelling through its massless corridor only to never
return. It could be that for this reason, the system came to be known as Omega, the
end. Of course, throughout the events of the game
we learn that this is because the relay terminates at the centre of the galaxy where the gravitational
forces and tightly packed debris create navigational hazards that can take the unprepared by surprise.
On top of that, it is the location of the Collector Base which destroys or captures
any surviving vessel. They make use of the Omega 4 relay with a specialised IFF that
triggers the relay to become more accurate and safely drop them in a stable zone. Ships
without this addition face poor odds of hitting this small safety margin.
The Station Omega, was an element zero rich asteroid that had been pegged as a mine by
the Protheans for its rare mineral sometime between 68-50,000 years before the events
of the first game. However, it proved to be too much of an effort to reach the deeper
deposits and the site was abandoned for easier targets.
Millennia later, in the time of the current citadel races, others came to the same conclusion
when they discovered it. However, the asteroid was cracked open by the impact of another
rock and suddenly interested parties descended on the now easily accessible Eezo veins. Being
so far from Citadel space, opportunistic thieves and the like also joined the gold rush to
mine its wealth. The Station grew from there in towers that expanded from the natural rock
face as space became a premium. Mass Effect field generators and emitters
were constructed around the circumference of the rock to deflect any further collisions
that could jeopardize the mining. This gave Omega its distinctive shape and a total length
of 44.7 kilometres. Because the station was constructed by multiple factions and parties,
no single unified government emerged and to this day it lacks one. This continues the
trend that Omega is a haven for those of ill-intent and the lawless land draws all sorts of nefarious
individuals, even though the mines are still active.
Internally, the sprawling corridors and open areas are divided up into districts in a grim
reflection of the Citadels’ Wards. These include Zeta, Carrd, Doru, Fumi, Gozu, Kenzo,
Kima and Tuhi. In 2185, 7.8 million people live on Omega, and not all are criminals.
There are those who are genuinely there to mine on behalf of some private company or
such. Order is imposed by those with power in Omega
and this means that it is usually the organised Mercenary bands that gain control of the station.
Currently, it is the Pirate Queen, Aria T’Loak who holds the greatest influence in Omega,
who has retained her ruthless hold on the station for over 200 years since she dethroned
the former crime lord, “Patriarch”, a name she later gave the defeated Krogan to
insult him as the word has no equivalent nor meaning in Asari.
Aria T’Loak came to the station an exotic dancer at Afterlife, a club until she killed
the owner and took over. From there she affiliated herself with Patriarch until she overthrew
him too and has ruled from there ever since, except for a brief time in 2186 where the
organization, Cerberus invades and commandeers Omega under the overview of General Oleg Petrovsky.
This was done to secure element zero supplies of Cerberus operations and use is as a staging
ground for further actions in the Terminus. With the help of Commander Shepard, Aria T’Loak
returns to Omega and resumes control of the station, meeting up with the Talon Mercenary
Group which placed an emphasis on protecting the citizens of Omega. Together they were
able to oust the Cerberus forces and the Talons were made into a de-facto security force allied
to T’Loak. The” lawless” nature of Omega means that
many a petty crime is witnessed in its streets, while scams, deals and illicit trade flow
through its docks. This darker corner of the galaxy is also a home for those that are lost,
or seeking to disappear as many have learned that asking questions is dangerous and while
there is a scaffolding of a system in place, it is run by individuals who have little oversight.
Of course there are those on Omega who are not simply out to get you, there are many
civilians who live in its expansive residential districts and seek to earn a living however
they can, but often they too are drawn into its nefarious web.
This leads to a large population of poor and destitute who scrounge for what little they
can to eke out a living. These horrid living conditions were exacerbated in 2185 by a plague
that was introduced to the residential districts by Vorcha under the direction of the Collectors.
This plague was combatted and contained by the Mercenary squads who were burning the
bodies of the dead to try to keep it from spreading. With a lack of medical facilities,
the only option was to quarantine the afflicted districts while Mordin Solus, a morally flexible
Salarian was one of the few trying to create a cure.
Around this time, the station also had a problem with a Vigilante named Archangel who had begun
to target and disrupt criminal affairs on the station. As this is the majority of business
on Omega, his efforts were no small nuisance to the local Mercenary groups who put aside
their differences to tackle the threat. A hazy atmosphere permeates the open spaces
of Omega likely a by-product of the mines and reactors as well as the myriad of different
cultures which lends to the grimy ambience. The architecture can change from one level
to the next from the standard pre-fabricated styles common from Citadel races to heavy
industrialised zones. The station itself houses all the means to
support a colony including water treatment plants, environmental systems though it seems
that the majority of its food is imported by trade. There are numerous stores and businesses
that flourish on Omega and the docks are always busy with traffic. It has a centralised power
system although independent generators are commonly used. Most of this power comes from
several reactors buried deep within the mines which support the environmental systems and
mass effect fields. After Petrovsky’s invasion, he installed
greater defences on Omega, bolstering its capabilities and re-routed much of Omega’s
operations to the Afterlife club, converting it into a command centre of sorts.
The Station, unlike the Citadel is completely a product of the current cycle of races, one
outside of the Reapers plan and as such, in many ways, a safer place to be than the Citadel.
This is why it became such a priority for Cerberus, influenced as it was by Reaper minds
as it was an outlier to their carefully cultivated extinction.
As long as there are laws and societies, there will always be places like Omega, just on
the fringes of civilization where the lawless can prosper over the less fortunate. Then
again, that happens within the confines of civilised space, it’s just Omega is more
open about it. Thanks for watching this episode of Mass Effect
lore, these videos may be few and far between, but it serves a nice break from the norm to
keep me sane. See you all next time, thanks again and goodbye.