Cruel Fate
Tela Vasir sat very still in the driver seat of her aircar, trying her best not to look stiff or fidgety. Commander Shepard sat beside her, looking through the passenger side window over the city of Nos Astra like some tourist from the sticks ogling his first view of the real world. He was pathetic in many ways; and yet her body shook, her brow sweat, and her mind raced in worry at what they were on their way to do... Of who they were on their way to find.
Of all the people that bitch information broker had to pick for her search, why did it have to be my Sekat?
She found herself quivering in her seat with worry, and forced her body to calm itself before any of the others noticed. She still had a few avenues to choose from before it was too late for Sekat, but if the Shadow Broker got his men there first, he would be dead for sure.
She stomped on the accelerator, no longer caring if she upset traffic in favor of getting to the target building. She still felt embarrassed at how badly she'd handled seeing Sekat on the OSD Shepard had found, and had to think hard on what exactly she had done so she never did it again.
...
"Vasir! I've got something here!"
"A backup disc? Let's try it on her terminal." She walked up the stairs behind the galaxies biggest celebrity as calmly as she could, wondering if she shouldn't just kill him now and get it over with. The broker hadn't asked for his death, so she stayed her hand. Besides, it wasnt worth the drama she'd have to deal with if all his friends came knocking later.
Shepard inserted the OSD, and the screen flickered to life to reveal a far too familiar salarian.
"Sekat." She whispered so quietly even she could barely hear it. Instantly her eyes flicked over to her Spectre companion to see if he'd heard. Luckily, he seemed too distracted. "It looks like she recorded a call."
Liara: "What have you got for me, Sekat?"
Sekat: "It was tricky, but you paid for the best. I can narrow it down to a cluster, maybe even a system."
Damn it Sekat! Why do you have to be so good at your job? Her hands tightened into fists and her eyes squeezed shut, but she recovered quickly.
Liara: "How soon can you have it?"
Sekat: "Shouldn't take long. Come to my office. Baria Frontiers, in the Dracon Trade Center."
Instantly Tela shot another quick glance at Shepard, trying to gauge just how much all of this was impacting him. Hopefully his love for his crew would blind him, and she could guide him away from Sekat before he had to be killed.
Sekat: "Gotta say though, T'Soni, you're making me a little nervous. How big is the trouble that could come out of this?"
Liara: Relax, Sekat, i'll see you in a few hours."
...
She shook her head to clear the memory before setting the skycar down at the Dracon Trade Center. It looked surprisingly undisturbed, and for a moment she thought perhaps she'd gotten there before the brokers men.
"The Baria Frontiers office is on the third floor, but I don't hear police chatter. We must have missed the party." She was trying her hardest to sound unaffected by it all, her nonchalant attitude being her only defense against the ever-gnawing stress.
She had only made it a few steps towards the building with the others when the third floor exploded out over the courtyard in a ball of flame. Shards of glass slammed and bounced off the ground, cutting bystanders and leaving the ground covered in a shimmering sea of tiny reflections. Her eyes widened in fear for Sekat before she could restrain herself, but was saved an explanation by Shepard doing the same thing.
"Liara's in there!"
Yet another explosion rocked the entire plaza, and the concussion hit her like a solid wall hard enough to send her flying off her feet. She landed heavily beside Shepard and his cronies, and scrambled up alongside them to stare in disbelief at the damage. The broker was getting desperate now, and she was running out of time.
"He just took out three floors to make sure she's dead! I'll grab the skycar and seal off the building from the top!" She started running back towards her gold painted vehicle, almost missing his reply.
"I'll start down here and work my way up."
No shit, Moron.
"Just leave some for me." She tried her best to keep the scathing tone in her mind from filtering through to her voice as the car door closed. Wasting no time, she threw the car into gear and flew up as fast as the thing could go, circling around the rooftop for a good place to land and setting her down.
She practically flung herself out of the car the moment it hit the ground and started sprinting for the doors that led to the stairwell. on the first flight she ran into a squad of the Broker's men, and wasn't surprised when they didn't fire.
"Tell the others to keep Shepard busy, he's moving up from the ground floor!"
"Yes ma'am!"
Tela kept running, hacking through doors that failed to respond quickly enough and searching every room. She kept hearing Shepard talking on their channel, but she answered half heartedly and quickly. She no longer cared if he grew suspicious of her, she had to find Sekat before these goons did.
After the top floor proved to be a bust, Tela decided to take a risk. Bringing up her Omni-tool, she keyed Sekat's number and prayed to the goddess he picked up.
"H-hello?"
"Sekat? It's Tela. Where are you?"
"Tela? Look, this is a really bad tim-"
"Sekat! Tell me where you are, or so help me, I will throw you from one of these damn windows when I find you!" There was a moment of silence on his end, likely due to him never having heard her threaten him before.
"Im on the fourth floor in the editing room! Please, Tela, what's going-"
The communication closed as she once more began sprinting, using her biotics to float down the stairwell floors until she reached the fourth. She kicked in the door to find a darkly lit hallway with headers over each office. Smoke filled the area, and the sprinklers were still on overdrive trying to wash out the fires now raging below. She ignored all of it, passing door after door until she found one named 'Editorial Room'.
She burst inside, scanning the room with her gun to find Sekat standing against the wall as if trying to blend into it.
"Tela! Thank goodness you're here! I dont know what this is all about but we need to leave, now!" He watched her as she passed by without so much as a glance, making sure the room had no one else inside or around. When she was satisfied they were alone, she walked right up to him and kissed him as thoroughly as she could. His eyes shot wide, but he seemed more relaxed when they backed away.
"Not that I didn't enjoy it but, why-"
"You have no idea, do you?" She interrupted him yet again, but this was something he was used to after a year of being with her. "All this is because of you. There are armed squads outside looking for you, because of that." She pointed at the OSD he held tightly in one hand, assuming it to be the information for the asari broker. "You just had to be efficient, didn't you? Just one time, you couldn't have messed up and not gotten the info someone wanted?"
He looked beyond confused at first, but a slow expression of understanding spread over his reptilian features as he took a few steps closer to her.
"It was you! You're why Liara was so flighty about this damn data! Dammit, i knew this was a bad idea! She doesn't pay me enough for-"
"Hey! Open up!" A muffled voice from just outside made her whirl around with her gun ready, but the door was locked.
It's too late. Her mind went numb as she realized just how much she cared for this lizard of hers. The way he cackled when they watched videos with people hurting themselves in amusing ways, or the way he smelled when they simply sat snuggled together in her apartment.
Ignoring the man shouting outside, she gently caressed his cheek with one armored hand, already missing the way his soft skin felt against hers as her face scrunched up in pain. Her mind threw up a hundred different reasons why she should just walk away, or take him to safety and forget about Liara entirely. Each time, however, she was reminded why she worked with the Shadow Broker. Her whole life had been dedicated to maintaining the peace through any means necessary, and no matter how much she loved this man, he was just one man.
It's either him, or countless others because I can't get the info I need to stop the tragedies that are bound to happen. I am a Spectre. Sworn to be the first and last line of defense for the entire galaxy...
"I love you, Sekat." She tried to form a smile through the pain of realization; the agony of knowing what she hadto do. She eased him into a hug, which he seemed too confused to reciprocate, and pulled the trigger into his chest.
The gunshot covered the noise of the door opening behind her, and a Shadow Broker mercenary stormed in with gun raised. He kept it trained on her until he realized the body leaving a streak of blood against the far wall was his target. He didnt even get a chance to speak before Tela turned and shot him as well.
The room went still around her, but she kept the gun exactly where it had been pointed. Staring blankly at the body of the merc, it seemed as though time had stopped. Fires seemed to flicker in slow motion, and her breathing filled all her senses until she could hear and think of nothing else but her heartbeat.
Slowly lowering her gun to one side, Tela felt a single tear roll down her cheek. It was all she could spare, but it quickly disappeared amongst the water from the sprinklers.
The sound of boots outside the room alerted her to Shepard's crew finally arriving, and they entered to find to her crouched over Sekat's body. Palming the OSD so they wouldn't see her, she stood up and faced them.
"Damn it. If i'd been a few seconds faster I could've stopped them."
Shepard lowered his weapon and moved to look at Sekat's body more closely.
"Is this Sekat?"
"Must have been." She said woodenly, body slack and eyes half lidded. She felt no urge to continue the charade, but knew the broker would stop his services if he suspected she wasn't doing her utmost to keep him hidden.
"No sign of that data Liara talked about. Looks like a dead end."
"Speaking of which, did you find your friends body?" Tela had some modicum of respect for how professional the brokers forces were, which is why she was shocked from her stupor when Liara entered the room.
"You mean this body?"
At the sound of her voice, Tela felt every fiber of her being begin turning to a hate so white hot that her very pores felt as though they should be steaming. This was the woman who had caused it all. Ruined her life in the span of a single day and forced her to choose between the love of her life, and the oath she swore as a Spectre. If nothing else came of this day, she would see this woman burn.
"...Once she had my location, she signalled the brokers forces to bomb the building and take me out. She found Sekat, took his data, and killed him. I'm guessing she still has the disc on her."
She paid only slight attention to their bickering until Liara drew closer, and her anger flared to new heights when this wannabe broker dared to think she knew what happened between them. She no longer cared whether or not the woman was right or wrong, however. All she cared about now was hurting her. Badly.
Even if Liara survived this encounter, Tela knew that from this point on, nothing short of her complete and total annihilation would suffice.
"Good guess. Not that you'll ever see what's on it... you pure-blood bitch!"