Shepherds and Shepard – 3

Disclaimer: I don't own the Mass Effect Universe. I am just playing in the world created by Bioware and the other Mass Effect authors.

Negotiations

(Two weeks after the choices were made by Shepard and his remaining crew)

A single asari clad in red and black, with a red circlet on her brow, was facing off against three asari Eclipse mercenaries. The three mercenaries, led by a lieutenant had bared their weapons, but the asari in red had disdained to even draw her own battle rifle that hung on her left shoulder. However, her body shimmered with dark energy, a flashing blue curtain surrounding her frame, giving her an undeniable aura of menace. The three mercenaries were circling her, watching her like hunters would a trapped tigress. One of them raised her machine pistol to fire, but her opponent simply flashed her hand outwards. The biotic field lashed out at the mercenary like a tidal wave, catching her squarely on the chest, the irresistible energy tossing her backwards like a rag doll. She flew thirty feet across the room with a shrill scream, which ended abruptly as her head impacted with a sickening crack against the far wall. The Eclipse mercenary was dead before she hit the ground.

The asari in red walked around, poised on the balls of her feet always facing the lieutenant and the two mercenaries gazed at her as if hypnotised. The asari spoke to the remaining two mercenaries and her voice was soft and ruthless, "Where did you send her?"

There were no answers to the question, and the lieutenant demanded incredulously, "You think we'd betray her?! She'll hurt us in ways you can't imagine!"

"What was the name of the ship she left on?" repeated the asari justicar quietly, the power in her voice sending chills down the spines of the others.

The lieutenant tried her hand at bravado, "You can kill me, but one of us will take you down, justicar!"

No sooner had she spoken the words and raised her gun when she found herself grasped in a crushing grip by a swirling mass of dark energy which the justicar had unleashed at her. Her feet dangling in the air as the mass effect field focussed on her neck, she was contemptuously dragged towards her opponent, who then, with another wave of dark energy flung her towards a large glass window. The lieutenant flew helplessly through the glass, which shattered on impact, and landed with a painful thud on the concrete floor ten feet below. Ignoring the third mercenary, who was clearly terrified by the power unleashed by their foe, the justicar gracefully levitated herself through the same shattered window towards her fallen quarry.

It appeared most likely that the end of the episode would be the death of the lieutenant, for she had fallen ten feet, was injured and out of breath, while her opponent had not even broken a sweat. However, at this moment, there came an unexpected intervention for the wounded lieutenant. A powerful damping field hit the asari justicar, negating her biotics for the moment. Whoever the attacker was, he was not holding back. A strong biotic force emanated from the fingertips of the newcomer and flew unerringly toward the now surprised justicar. The justicar, however, had the reflexes of a cat – off balance and assaulted by a biotic force, she rolled with the force, riding the blow, and hit the ground backwards in a long break-fall technique. A flowing backroll and she was on her feet, and already drawing her assault rifle off her shoulder. However, the human who had attacked her had no intention of tangling with her. He had dragged the fallen lieutenant into a waiting skycar, and tossing her into the rear seat, had jumped in himself. The doors banged shut and ignoring the bullets rattling off the chassis, the human simply lifted off the ground and drove away.

Inside the skycar, the lieutenant got a good glimpse of her rescuer's back. He was just above middle height, with dark hair. In age, she should have put him just short of thirty. He wore a light Phantom armour that covered his torso and legs, and had a bio-amp attached to his right forearm and an omni tool attached to his left. An advanced Raikou pistol at the left hip in a holster. All his accoutrements were costly on-market items, but not too rare or custom ones. Likely an pricey mercenary, the asari decided, but not a specialist fighter. Though why he had rescued her was a mystery. Mercenaries did not work for love and kisses and she was curious about his motivations. However, the human was most uncommunicative. After dumping her in the rear seat of his car, he had not spoken. In fact, he had not even looked at her, yet the asari had the eerie feeling that he knew exactly what she was doing. There was about him an aura of cold and terrible power, which gave her the feeling that he knew precisely what he was doing. He simply continued driving, not bothering to inform the lieutenant where they were going. After about ten minutes of this tense and nerve-wracking silence, the wounded lieutenant could no longer stand it and rasped, "Who're you and where're we going?"

He did not even turn his eyes towards her. He simply rasped, "My name doesn't matter. And we're going away from your justicar."

"What the hell d'you know about justicars?" snarled the lieutenant, remembering that she no longer had her gun. Her dagger was still in her sheath, though, and her hand rested on the pommel, ready to draw it if it became necessary.

Just as she was about to draw her blade, the human turned towards her finally. His eyes were cold and pitiless, and his voice a soft and deadly whisper. "Just remember this – if you see a justicar coming at you, don't try to take on her, no matter how many idiots you've got around. Run as fast as you can in the opposite direction!"

The had reached a lonely alley and the human stopped the vehicle. "Time for you to get out," he murmured in the same deadly voice. "I trust you can make your way home from here."

---(Scene Break)---

Captain Wasea, the head of the local chapter of the Eclipse mercenaries, was not a happy asari. No, indeed, she was a very unhappy one. Sipping her drink, she stared gloomily at the month's balance sheet. She had already lost five of her Eclipse sisters to that hell-damned justicar and unless she found a way to tackle her, she would lose many more. Already, she had spent three times the amount paid by the justicar's quarry in lost operations, compensations to dead mercenaries' families and replacements for them. But she was also acutely aware that she would lose a lot more if she did not find a way to stop this justicar. It was at that moment that lieutenant Arnessa appeared in the doorway, limping and battered, but alive for all that.

Looking at the downcast face and the battered body, she snarled, "What the hell happened to you?"

"We ran into the justicar," breathed the lieutenant. "She killed Saveta, and I managed to get away."

"You left Saveta to die, you bitch?!" snarled Wasea, rising from her seat in anger.

"It's not my fault," whined Arnessa. "That justicar's too strong! She would've killed me too, but I was helped by a human!"

"You were helped by a human?!" There was clear incredulity in the captain's voice.

Pressed thus, lieutenant Arnessa related the entire sequence of events to her captain. Wasea's mind was racing. If this human was able to cope with the justicar enough to save the lieutenant, maybe he could be persuaded to take her out of the picture. That he would be pricey, she had no doubts. Anyone capable of going up against a justicar would be very expensive. But, for the moment, she was quite willing to spend a large sum of money to get rid of this menace, which, if left unattended, would devour the entire sisterhood, including herself. That was unthinkable, so she must resign herself to a monetary loss.

She growled, "Find him. Find him wherever he is!"

---(Scene Break)---

Finding the human proved a strange task. The asari assigned to searching for him in the bars, dives and hotels came up blank and Wasea's mood worsened. But the next day, lieutenant Arnessa, a part of Nassana Dantius' security detail, met the human in a very strange place. She met him in the Dantius towers, directing a group of men installing a security alarm. The lieutenant knew better than to waste time once the human had been found. A little digging around in the Dantius towers gave her some information about her unknown benefactor – the man's name was Gelan Resoir and he was a security professional, who had been contracted to organise and update electronic and mechanical security for Nassana Dantius. He had arrived there only a few days ago, but nothing else was known about him. She informed her captain about her discovery. Wasea considered – Nassana had a habit of employing the best people in their fields, and almost all of them were ones with shady backgrounds, and people on whom she had a hold. That was all to the good. If this mercenary – for that was what he most likely was – could do his job and go back to what he was doing originally, very little suspicion would attach to them. Therefore, Wasea growled, "Find out where he's living. And keep him under observation all the time!"

Captain Wasea, after some careful thought, had decided to test the human. After all, it would be quite useless to hire someone who died at the hands of the justicar, and took the money down with him. She had to be sure that he was actually capable of tackling the justicar. Therefore, she pressed a buzzer and Elnora appeared. "Now listen, Elnora – this is what I want you to do ...."

---(Scene Break)---

Gelan Resoir had watched the asari follow him. He had no doubts what was happening. The eclipse mercenaries would watch him and try to find out as much about him as possible. He was not worried. Handling that justicar needed some careful planning, and execution, and these Eclipse mercenaries might just provide that opportunity. He was still engaged in his own thoughts and had walked into a dark stretch of the roads on his way home when his internal alarms triggered. Three humans were standing in the shadow of a doorway in the narrowest part of the road. Unobtrusively bending down to adjust a shoelace, Resoir triggered the night vision in his helmet using his omni tool and was careful to observe them. He scanned for weapons and two of them had shotguns, and the third a pistol, the first two in shoulder holsters and the pistol in a hip holster. Then, he saw the men's faces, and instantly recognized them - not the faces themselves, but the type. He had seen it a hundred times, all over the galaxy. It was the cold, curiously dull face of the professional killer, whose gun was for hire. These were killers and not junkies or thugs, out for money. So, so – someone was taking a serious interest in him. He considered his options. He could easily escape, but that would mean he would never find out why they were after him. If he shot them down from where he was, he would still not learn their identities or purposes. No – there was only one way to do it.

He continued walking toward them. Thirty yards from them, the two with shotguns drew them from their holsters and aimed them at him. Resoir had to give them that they knew what they were doing. The first had aimed at the centre of his body and slightly left and the other slightly right. There was no way he would be able to dodge the shot now. Just as they would have fired, Resoir sent a pulse from his omni-tool that would momentarily sabotage their weapons' heat detectors by causing them to falsely flag the temperature of the chamber as being higher than acceptable. He heard the dry click of the shotguns as the safety mechanism of the shotguns went into action, simply preventing them from firing. The third was drawing his pistol, mouthing obscenities, when he felt an irresistible biotic force propel him backwards into the wall behind. He hit the solid obstacle with a resounding crash and lay stunned on the ground, unable to move. In the meantime, their enemy had moved with a fluid grace, so atypical for a human. Almost magically, a pistol had appeared in the hand of Resoir and he squeezed out two shots in swift succession. The two men with the shotguns crumpled soundlessly, dead before they had hit the ground. Both men had been shot through their heads, a neat hold in on their foreheads and a far from neat one at the back.. Resoir then stepped forward, raised the fallen man with the pistol into the air with his biotics and smashed him once more into the wall with tremendous force. He, then, stepped forward towards the fallen man and his voice was a soft deadly whisper. "Who sent you?"

"Don't know," shrieked the assassin.

Two deceptively long strides and the boot smashed into the pistol man's midriff. He was thrown backwards and landed heavily, the breath driven out of him. Resoir waited for a few seconds until the assassin had regained his breath and murmured, "My patience wanes. Who sent you?"

"Hell, I told ya the truth," whined the assassin. "We got paid by money order. We was given your holo and told to kill ya."

Resoir considered the fallen man for a long moment, and squeezed off another shot. The assassin shuddered convulsively and lay still. Resoir remarked to the corpse, "You should have thought carefully before accepting hit contracts!"

---(Scene Break)---

The next day, lieutenant Arnessa, spoke to Resoir in the Dantius towers, "Mr. Resoir, can you please meet me in the Eternity? It will be ... to your advantage to hear me."

Resoir stared at her coldly for a long moment. Finally, he spoke, "Today evening after work."

Lieutenant Arnessa was already seated in the assigned place when the human turned up. The lieutenant had made use of the two hours time she had had since the proposed meeting. She hailed him as he arrived and he joined her at the table. Briskly, she spoke, "My captain wants a word with you. She's got an offer for you."

The human closed his eyes in annoyance. "First you had something to say that'd interest me. Now it's your captain. Will it be your captain's captain next? How far down the hierarchy are you, anyway?"

Arnessa chose to ignore that observation, insulting as its implication was. "It's just a short drive from here. I promise you – it'll be very profitable for you," she pleaded.

The human cursed inwardly and lieutenant Arnessa panicked for a moment. If she returned without the man in tow, things would go badly for her. Wasea was on the edge these days and she did not tolerate much in the way of failure or insubordination. Finally, he looked at the time on his omni tool. "I can spare you an hour, no more!"

"Ample", returned the relieved asari. "Let us go."

---(Scene Break)---

When lieutenant Arnessa appeared with the human, Captain Wasea welcomed him in her office, which Resoir noticed was extremely well furnished. A large room, with a beautiful carpet of asari make on the floor. A number of pictures and trophies on the walls – Resoir presumed that they were there to exhibit the good captain's various conquests. There were a few chairs scattered around the room, and the captain sat behind her central desk. A very strong safe was built into the far wall. Two asari – commandos in training, Resoir guessed – were on guard outside the room.

The captain rose to welcome her visitor. She had a few refreshments brought in, and she cut to the chase, "Thanks for saving one of our sisters, Resoir. Why did you risk fighting a justicar for us?"

He stared icily for a long moment at the captain, and finally spoke, "I recognised the Eclipse uniform on your lieutenant and I had seen your lieutenant in Nassana's towers earlier that day. Since Nassana employs the Eclipse for her guards, I wanted to make sure that Nassana's security was not endangered. Justicar or no justicar, I could not let my employer's guards get killed since it might have some serious repercussions for Nassana."

"Anyway, you have excellent skills," complimented captain Wasea. "How did you come by them?"

"My skills were acquired by hard work over ten years," returned the human coldly.

Wasea pondered, wondering how to pitch her offer, when the human cut in in his characteristic cold voice, "I think being frank is the best way. I know what you are and you know what I am. We both have unusual occupations. We both operate for credits. And when it comes to practical details, we are both professionals at our jobs. You have been making enquiries about me and observing me. It was only to be expected since your lieutenant's engagement with that justicar and my involvement thereon. I had already read up about your group since I am running the security for Nassana, and your people are actually guarding her. So, your errand girl turning up today was no surprise to me. The question is – what do you want from me?"

Wasea and Arnessa exchanged a significant glance. Wasea began, "That justicar has already killed five of our sisters. The situation is intolerable."

"I am aware of that," returned the human quietly.

Seeing the two gaze in apprehension at him, he sighed, "I know the justicar is after someone you smuggled off this world. I don't know who she is and since it does not concern me or my employer, I don't want to know."

Captain Wasea eyed him with some caution. Then, with a gesture of resignation, she queried bluntly, "You should have guessed why we asked you here. We want to get rid of this justicar."

"Giving her the information she wants would be the best way of securing that," returned the human with a disdainful smile.

"But it would also be very bad for my business. People we help to safety are those who don't want their whereabouts known. I would never again be trusted. No – there is only one solution. Stop the justicar."

"You have an army of these mercenaries," replied Resoir. "Why approach me?"

"Because my soldiers are not equipped to deal with a justicar. I cannot send them all – this is Ilium and if I cause a huge rampage by sending an army, I would turn every single cop on me. I need the justicar removed and removed without fuss. That is where you come in."

Resoir almost chuckled, "I am running a very profitable job for Nassana Dantius. Why on earth would I risk myself going after a justicar?"

"You work for credits," returned Captain Wasea softly. "We offer you a lot."

Resoir looked askance at the duo. He said simply, "Make your offer."

"A fifty thousand credits." replied Wasea.

"A quarter of a million," returned Resoir, without inflection.

"Impossible!" rose Arnessa in outrage, but Resoir had already risen to his feet. "In that case, mesdames, I will wish you both a very good evening."

"Wait," said Wasea. "A hundred thousand credits." Resoir had simply looked on, as if in thought. Finally, he said, "Very well, but there are conditions."

"Name them."

"First, who knows about your decision to employ me?"

"No one except me and lieutenant Arnessa here," returned Wasea.

"Good – it is to remain that way. No one shall know. Half the agreed sum will be paid in advance, and the rest after the job."

Captain Wasea nodded, and the human continued, "Finally, all planning and execution will be mine. I will divulge details to no one. Once I have exited the door, none of your people know me or have seen me. If ever I catch any of you interfering with my plans, I will quit and go home, leaving you to take whatever consequences that may ensue."

Captain Wasea nodded once more, but added, "Very well. But there is one condition. We need that justicar removed fast!"

"That is understood," returned Resoir, rising to his feet.

As Resoir rose to his feet, he saw Captain Wasea make an entry of the transaction in a data pad and put it her her safe.

---(Scene Break)---

Ambassador Udina had a strange guest. His guest was a young woman, perhaps in her late twenties, with dark hair and eyes, and a regal bearing. For once, in his own office, Ambassador Udina looked out of control. The woman was utterly domineering and ruthless, while perfectly suave. "I tell you, Ambassador, that it is most important that you leave Shepard alone. In particular, it is vital that nothing be done to hinder Shepard in his present quest."

"Why? You cannot deny that Shepard is antagonistic towards humanity's rise. He's completely xenophilic these days. Packing his crew with non-humans, running round with asari, turians and quarians, ..."

"Mr. Udina, we're perfectly aware of Shepard's sympathies," the woman cut him off in mid rant. "However, he's an icon, humanity's best symbol at the moment. More importantly, he's the best in his job. We must use him, not destroy him!"

"He'll never work for you," returned the ambassador snidely.

"That we shall see. We have ways of securing his cooperation," returned the dark haired woman serenely. "In the meantime, I speak for our mutual benefactor – his orders were perfectly clear. Shepard is to be accorded every help within reason!"

The ambassador's eyes burnt angrily, but he made no answer, and the woman continued, "For starters, you can talk Freisle out of his attempts to shunt out Lt. Commander Kaidan Alenko from Shepard's crew."

The ambassador's anger burst out of the bonds within which he held it in check. He snarled, "What the hell's Shepard doing that's more important than our prestige here with the other species?! He's just been sent to chase phantoms by the Council!"

"The importance of his present quest is something that is beyond your petty mind's comprehension," hissed the woman angrily. "Shepard's the only one in the galaxy who could possibly chase down his present quarry. Besides, if we were to destroy all the brightest ones because their sympathies are not the same as our own, we'd be left only with idiots like you!"

She tapped her finger warningly on the desk and continued in the same pitiless voice, "You've already done a lot of damage by letting Saracino paint Shepard's victory as a loss for humanity! Your office was supposed to release the true statement of the events surrounding Sovereign's victory, but you stood back and let him run down Shepard. Ambassador, let me make this perfectly clear. Your personal feuds with Shepard have no place here."

"If you're so concerned about Saracino, why not demand that he stop? Your boss has enough influence with him!"

"Charles Saracino is doing precisely what is expected of him, while you're not. His actions are not for debate here. Let me make this perfectly clear, Ambassador. Shepard is absolutely irreplaceable. His skills and stature among humans and non-humans are worth more than anything else at the current instance. If there are any more ... attempts to sabotage Shepard's mission from your office, we will be forced to take a dim view of your utility to both us and humanity!"

Ambassador Udina shuddered almost involuntarily. Grudgingly he bit out, "Very well, I'll do what I can."

"We shall count on it, Ambassador," smiled the woman. But her smile resembled that of a hungry crocodile that has just spotted lunch after a week.

Later that day, a statement had been released from Ambassador Udina's office detailing the events of Sovereign's destruction and Shepard's part. It absolved Shepard of all blame in the deaths of the humans who had fought to save the Council. It also rubbished Charles Saracino's claims about the cowardice of the Council fleet.

---(Author's Notes)---

Some manipulations from all sides. Coming up next. More manipulations, and Samara!