Blind Woman's Bluff Part 4

Earth, USA, Washington

Washington D.C., NCIS, Ballistics Lab

March 3rd, 2195, 3:33 AM

"Spare us the technobabble, we need to nail this dirtbag. What do you have?" Asked an exceptionally frustrated Gibbs as his visage filled Abby's screen as she and Athame tapped furiously away at their workstations.

Without looking up from what she was doing, Abby grinned and said, "Oh we have a lot thanks to the people on your side of the galaxy, Gibbs. The 'bullet' grains we received were indeed microstamped with polonium 210, as well as charged with enough electrical energy to kill a horse. The problem is that there's way too much concentrated radioactivity for it to be your typical microstamping modification."

Athame picked up where Abby left off as she pulled up an image of the standard block of metal that served as 'ammunition' for most of that day and age's weaponry, alongside their estimates of what their sniper's block of ammo looked like with detailed scans of the 'bullets' they'd been sent, further highlighting the differences between them. "Our best guess is that, instead of allowing the gun's internals to do what they're supposed to do, which normally entails a sand grain sized 'shot' being cut from an ammo block before being stamped and charged with whatever mods you include to your weapon before the trigger's pulled, Jan'Gula must have let his ammo block soak in a vat of polonium before he loaded it into his Viper. It's the only explanation for the amount of radiation we've detected in our tests. Even then, we might have missed it if we hadn't been looking since, despite allowing his block to soak, the actual energy output wouldn't be enough to set off any radiological alarms, not that a lot of public buildings have such scanners to test for that kind of thing in the first place."

"It's not something you'd normally scan for, but the purpose for soaking a block in this stuff is what worries me. He's making sure that whoever gets tagged, even if it's a graze, will be down for the count, or at least severely weakened so that finishing them off will be much easier later. Either way Gibbs, you need to catch this guy." Abby finished, her earlier grin all but gone as a deeply worried frown formed in its place.

"I will Abs." Gibbs promised, both to reassure the young woman and to ensure they both understood that he wasn't going to let this guy get away with what he'd done. It helped that he'd already figured out a way to track their shooter before he got another chance to hurt anyone else, and it was all thanks to the two lab techs.

The Citadel, Kithio Ward

Enroute to a C-Sec safehouse

March 3rd, 2195, 11;01 AM

Six vehicles left the C-Sec garage in a single file line, with an armored van trailing behind an unmarked black vehicle just ahead of it. The unmarked car held Ziva, McGee, and Dax, while the van held a very irritated Gibbs, an unusually quiet Tali, and a slightly concerned Tony. With Gibbs behind the wheel of the van, and Ziva just ahead of them in the car, he had every right to be concerned since their driving wasn't exactly something he'd have wished on the ex girlfriend that had put his name on a herpes alert website out of sheer spite. To make it worse, Tony and the rest of the team had had to endure Gibbs or Ziva's idea of driving when they'd still been driving on actual roads, now that this time period's cars could fly, he almost hoped their renegade quarian would just stay home and let them get to their destination in peace. Otherwise, Tony wasn't sure he and the rest of the group would survive the experience that was Gibbs and Ziva's high speed evasion flying.

It wasn't all bad though as he glanced towards their own quarian situated between himself and Gibbs. While he kept one eye on the 'sky', a misnomer since there was no sky to speak of, and even the Presidium's sunny, cloud covered sky was a holographic copy that hid the void of space just beyond it, Tony also kept an eye on their uninvited guest as she tried to process everything they'd dropped on her lap. "Doin' alright there Admiral?" Tony asked, more in an effort to pull her back to the present since he had a feeling he knew the answer to his own question.

"Huh? Oh, yes I'm fine." She replied, unconvincingly he might have added, as Tali looked up towards him with a heavy, slightly modulated sigh. "It's just a lot to take in. As much as I want to point out the obvious, that you have only circumstantial evidence at best, I think in my heart I've already begun to accept what you've shown me."

"You'd be a fool not to Admiral." Gibbs replied, but while he was still frustrated with her presence since she was, in his mind at least, an unnecessary complication, he wasn't without sympathy to her situation. "We have him on tape tampering with the theater's security system. McGee ran through the code and found clear signs of him hacking into the building, with similar lines of code found at the hospital when he went to Ms. Watson's room."

"And while there's no DNA evidence given the fact you carry everything around in your fancy suits," Tony chimed in as he looked towards Tali in place of the 'sky' above them, "the techs scanned for more polonium both at the hospital and at the theater, and guess what they found? No way he isn't the shooter if you ask me."

"No one did DiNozzo." Countered Gibbs as he activated the vehicle's secure comms just as Ziva and the car ahead of her own turned to the left. Seamlessly merging into the sea of traffic heading in the same direction, Gibbs waited a few moments after glancing in the rearview mirror before he said, "McGee! You got my video feed yet?"

"Already in the local security network." Timothy said, the sound of his tapping at the holographic keyboard just loud enough to filter through their shared line. "Citadel Security allowed me access before we took off so I have eyes on every 'road' from here to our destination. So far there's no sign of Jan or his ExoGeni friends, but if they do appear, the scanners should be able to detect his polonium emissions now that they've been set to search for-"

"McGee! You could have just said yes." Interrupted an annoyed if quietly proud Gibbs.

"R-right boss." McGee muttered in response before directing his next question to Tali herself. "And I'm sorry but I have to ask Admiral, but how did you get here so fast? We only found out about the sniper a little over a day ago now and travel times between here and Rannoch are three days flight time, easy. Even with the relay network in place to significantly reduce the distance between two points, you shouldn't have been able to arrive at the office until the day of Ms. Lawson's event."

"Assuming anyone shows up for it." Stated Tony as Gibbs took the next turn just a little too sharply for his liking as he was thrown towards the passenger side door. If not for the seatbelt keeping him secure, he'd likely be kissing the reinforced glass. "Shutting up boss."

"To answer your question Agent McGee," Tali began as she let go of the dashboard now that she wasn't being tossed about, "I was already on my way to the Citadel for the concert when I got a message from my contacts within C-Sec that there was a shooting, and that it was suspected a quarian was involved. It didn't take long for the rest of the Admiralty Board to get back to me when I sent word back to them. Given my accomplishments on the Normandy SR-2, it was hoped I'd be able to help apprehend Jan if necessary and have him returned to the Migrant Fleet, or get him off station if he was indeed innocent and this was all a giant witch hunt over a huge misunderstanding." The desperate hopeful note in her voice didn't go unnoticed by either agent as Tony and Gibbs shot her a brief glance between them before turning their attention to the scenery that flew by on either side.

It was a plausible story, but Gibbs couldn't help but be suspicious all the same. "According to Ms. Lawson, you and Miranda had your differences in the past over another quarian she wanted to take in for questioning during the Collector incident. You were there to make sure he got back to the Fleet since he was sick from a suit breach."

"Your team at the time even went up against your former CO and her Cerberus buddies to see who'd get to your lost quarian first." Tony further added just as his eyes flicked to something in the rearview mirror.

Too focused on the conversation at hand, Tali didn't notice that Tony was no longer giving her his undivided attention. "You said it yourself though, it was in the past, and Oriana is not Miranda. Besides, Miranda and I have had time to get over what happened when we first met all those years ago. It helped that Shepard was there to keep the peace between us, despite the fact Cerberus attacked one of our ships not long before she came back. My point though, is that like Oriana, I'm not about to sit idly by if there's something I can do to help. Besides, Oriana is a friend, and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I let her come to harm, even if my loyalties are to my people first. I just hope this plan of yours works Agent Gibbs."

"Oh I have a feeling we're about to find out." Taking over the comms, Tony patched into the cavalcade's shared line. "We got a possible bogey, unmarked shuttle that's been tailing us for the last two blocks."

"I see it as well Tony." Ziva stated in that eerily calm tone she adopted anytime they were on a mission and she was utterly focused on the task at hand. "Do you think it's-" The ring of a high powered Viper sniper rifle and the screech of metal as the driver side mirror was shot off answered her unfinished question. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Show time folks!" Dax's flanged voice shouted as he nodded towards McGee who was currently huddled down behind the passenger seat of the car, just behind Ziva's seat. "You sure those lightning rods will work Tim?"

"If not, it'll be a real short trip to the ground." Replied a focused McGee as he did a scan of the shuttle that had a single person leaning out the right side. "Boss! Polonium energy readings confirmed, it's Jan!"

Another impact shook the van as the quarian in question did not hesitate to put another round into the armored chassis of the skycar. The crackle of electricity followed, but thanks to the lightning rods that the team had had welded to the van's sides, the energy was harmlessly diverted away from any of the vehicle's vital functions.

"At least we've got more than a fare meter this time." Tali muttered quietly to herself, eyes focused on the small screen on her omni-tool.

"You'll have to tell me about that one later." Tony groaned as he leaned out his side window, heavy pistol in hand as he and the two vehicles' occupants behind them began to unload on the shuttle. The ping and screech of sand sized 'bullets' hitting the ship's metallic hide was audible even at their high speeds, but their combined assault did little to slow their pursuer down. "Must be armored plated. Small arms aren't doing jack!"

"Then we get creative!" Tali shouted back over the roar of the wind passing by as she began to tap furiously at her omni-tool. Leaning back into his seat just as another round whizzed dangerously close to his face, Tony was greeted with the sight of a flash forged grenade being created in the quarian's lap before she pulled the heavy shotgun off of her back. Loading the high explosive into the chamber, she motioned for Tony to get out of the way. Not about to argue with the woman that had a grenade launcher attached to a shotgun, Tony unbuckled his seat and jumped in the back of the van. Taking his vacated seat, Tali leaned out in his place. "Keep her steady!"

"Easy for you to say!" Gibbs countered, but did his best as Tali lined up a shot. She fired just as the first of their escort went down, Jan having targeted the trailing C-Sec cruiser's rear exhaust. The grenade went over the burning wreck as it went down in a ball of fire, the projectile slamming into the shuttle's front window. It cracked the glass and tore off some of the armored plating protecting the vehicle, but it didn't slow it down as the shuttle accelerated, filling the gap where their downed aircraft had once occupied.

"Their pilot's insane!" Gapped an astonished Tali as she prepared a second grenade.

"No worse than your old friend Joker from what I hear ma'am." Dax chimed in as he kicked open the right side door of Ziva's vehicle before leaning out with his own sniper rifle. Before he could fire however, Ziva, following the lead car's lead, jerked to the right and down a narrow alleyway. If not for McGee grabbing his arm, Dax would have wound up flying out the side. As it was, he glared at the back of the woman's head. "Yeesh Ziva, give a guy a little warnin' next time!"

"Don't take it personally Dax, she tries to kill everyone equally when she's behind the wheel." McGee explained.

"You want to drive?!" Shouted an irate Ziva as she drove under a fire escape.

"Is that a rhetorica-" McGee began but was promptly interrupted when Ziva jerked the wheel to the left just as another shot whizzed by.

"Of course it was ." The former Mossad agent bit back the dark glare that would have been directed at Dax was thankfully focused on the 'street' in front of her. Her maneuvers grew more and more bold as she did her best to both dodge the incoming fire, make her behaviour unpredictable, and if possible, smear the following shuttle across the walls as the second C-Sec cruiser was summarily brought down in another withering assault from the sniper.

Unfortunately the following would be assassins did not comply with Ziva's wishes and continued to follow them. All the while the quarian hitman continued to fire at them with his irradiated and electrified bullets, doing far more damage to the van just behind Ziva than their own vehicle, not that they'd last long at this rate. And then there another problem to consider, one Dax was happy to point out. "We have to isolate these folks! At this rate, one of his shots is gonna hit someone other than us." Dax said as he pulled the trigger on his rifle, putting a round just shy of the pilot's helmeted head. While it got the shuttlecraft to back off somewhat, it didn't force them to break from them completely.

"He's right boss, and if the van takes too much damage, the lightning rods will short circuit. You'll fall out of the sky like a brick once they're gone." McGee intoned gravely, his face a very pale shade of gray as he held on as best he could while everyone around him did their best to keep themselves alive. A quick look at Tony and Oriana through another security feed told McGee that she was looking quite green in the back of the van, huddled in the far corner so as to provide as small a target as possible.

"I'm done playing games." Gibbs growled as the first of their lightning rods was shot right off the side of the van. Slamming on the 'brakes' without warning, Gibbs jerked the wheel up and slammed on the accelerator at the same time. The shuttle didn't have time to completely avoid the armored vehicle as the horrendous screech of metal on metal filled the air as the shuttle's bottom was torn and shredded. Fuel bled out from the ruptured tank as it soared past, with Jan barely holding onto the opened door of the shuttle as it smashed nose first into a parking garage just ahead of them. The impact threw the quarian from the downed vehicle, but he had just enough time to fire twice more before he hit the ground hard in a tangle of limbs while the shuttle skid to a halt on the other side of the roof, smashing through the metallic railing before coming to a precarious stop just shy of going over the edge.

Ziva gave a start as she lost all control of the cruiser from the first shot that had found a new home between the headlights, into the engine manifold where the electrically charged shot did the rest. While she didn't see it, the second had slammed into the underside of the armored van, also rendering it immobile as it and their own vehicle came to a screeching stop on the same parking garage roof. Dashing her head against the steering wheel, Ziva's eyes blurred and her vision doubled as flames and smoke began to pour out of the dashboard. "Ohhhh…." She groaned, too disoriented to get her limbs to work despite a distant part of her brain screaming at her to move before she was burned alive, or killed by smoke inhalation. As to the fate of the lead car, she didn't know as a mandibled face filled her vision.

"-va! -iva! Ziva!" With a shake of her head, Ziva's vision snapped to the front, and Dax's visage morphed from intense worry to one of relief as he pulled a knife before quickly cutting through her seatbelt. Once she was free, she sagged into his long, strong arms as he pulled her from the vehicle. "Welcome back Officer David."

"Ow….thanks. McGee? Gibbs? Tony? Tali?" She asked, her head a continous ache as pain rang like an insistent bell between her ears.

"Saw Gibbs moving behind the wheel, haven't seen Tony but Tali was thrown from the van so I don't know where she wound up. I was about to get McGee. Can you walk?"

"Yes." She replied before even she was sure if she could, but despite feeling like her legs were made of rubber, Ziva was able to put some distance between herself and the burning vehicle while Dax helped a limping, but still standing, McGee. That was at least one weight from her mind as she turned towards the van just as the door was kicked open. Gibbs' head of silver gray hair as he stumbled out of the wreckage, followed by a disoriented Tony as he exited the back of the van with Oriana in tow, confirmed their well being at least.

"Looks like the gang's all here at least. What about our friends down the way?" Dax asked as he plopped McGee down next to Ziva.

"I'm more worried about the lead car." Groaned McGee as he clutched at his right side, his ribs bruised while his left leg was broken. "If Jan's still alive, he could still shoot them out of the sky out of spite."

"I'm surprised we're alive." Grumbled Tony as he gestured to the wrecks on either side with his free hand.

"Well, I'm glad that we're alive." Dax said with a shrug and winced as the movement caused some pain to shoot through his body. "Not quite in one piece, but at least not in pieces."

"DiNozzo, Dax, on me! McGee, stay here with Ziva and Ms. Lawson, and get to cover." Despite having just survived a mid air collision and a crash on top of it, Gibbs led the way towards the shuttle, both to search for any survivors from the crash, and to look for their missing Admiral. Gibbs led the way, heavy pistol in hand, his gray eyes roving every possible hiding spot between the various cars and behind any of the metallic railings that partitioned parts of the garage's roof.

"Got some movement up ahead!" Dax called out once he had perched himself on a nearby semi trailer's roof before kneeling down with his rifle. Adjusting his scope, the turian muttered a curse with a shake of his head. "Too much crap between me and the shuttle to get a clear look Gibbs."

A feral scream cut off the ACIS agent before he could respond, and Gibbs threw caution to the wind as Tali and Jan tumbled out from behind the shuttle, the latter attempting to wrap his hands around his fellow quarian's throat. "You bitch! You allowed that bosh'tet to command the Fleet!"

"I saved us all!" Tali roared as she shoved Jan back so that his back hit the shuttle. "If I hadn't helped stop the geth and our people from killing each other, we wouldn't be having this conversation!"

"You still allowed her to decide the fate of the Qwib-Qwib, of my few remaining friends, my family! I wanted to save you for much later, but I guess that plan's changed!" Getting a good look at his face, Tali could scarcely believe the pure rage behind Jan's shattered visor. Even when he pulled a knife from a sheath at his waist, she couldn't force herself to move.

Gibbs wasn't so paralyzed as he fired three times, three tapping Jan'Gula nar Shellen in the chest. The first took out the last of his suit's shield energy. The next two tore through the quarian's suit itself. Jan gasped as he staggered to a stop, looked down as he hit his knees, and dropped the knife as he fell into Tali who only just managed to get her arms around him out of pure instinct than any conscious desire on her part. Gibbs watched as Tali lowered him the rest of the way to the ground, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth that was visible thanks to his half broken visor.

"Traitor…." Jan cursed her with his last breath before he twitched and breathed no more, his eyes unseeing as they peered into the void far above.

Gibbs slowly lowered his gun before kneeling down next to Tali as she ran her three fingered hand over the half of Jan's face that was exposed to the air. "May you be as free as the dust in the solar wind, Jan'Gula nar Shellen. Keelah se'lai."

She didn't look up when Gibbs put a hand on her shoulder, he didn't need her to look up. He simply stood by her side as he gently squeezed her shoulder, conveying more with the action than he could have done with words alone. Without looking behind him, he addressed the rest of his team as Ziva, Dax, and Tony approached and stopped a short distance away. "Backup on the way?"

"Yeah boss. Lead car's coming back around. Looks like the area's secure." The sound of a bullet slamming into the deck by DiNozzo's feet right behind the roar of another shuttle engine had him and the rest of the team ducking behind the nearest available cover.

"No I don't think so!" Gibbs yelled back as he and Tali met the other's gaze, having ducked behind the same car. Without a word needing to be shared, they popped up on the side of the vehicle, his heavy pistol and her shotgun roaring in thunderous unison despite the fact they soon found that the new ExoGeni shuttle was just as armored as the last. Glancing to the far side of the garage rooftop, Gibbs saw McGee and Oriana ducking behind what was left of the armored van just as the shuttle doors opened. Four men in heavy armor, wielding an assortment of heavy weaponry, rappelled down in rapid order while the shuttle hovered in the air, providing an enormous tactical advantage as two forward facing chain guns began to warm up.

"Focus fire on the shuttle!" Ziva shouted to Dax who had already taken aim at the vehicle with his rifle.

"Way ahead of ya darlin'!" Dax emphasized the point as he fired round after round into the front of the shuttle, taking out the man behind the gun controls with the first two while shattering the glass with the next two. If not for a timely jerk from the pilot, the turian would have vented the man's skull instead of merely hitting his headrest.

Keeping the four man kill squad pinned down, Gibbs and Tali did what they could to slow them down. "Go for the eyes, Chatika!" Before the former marine could ask what she was doing, Tali flash forged her combat drone, a purple sphere of hard light, that immediately took off, sparking with bolts of pale orange lightning. The first man that got too close was given a nasty surprise as hundreds of volts of electricity surged through his body before jumping to the next man in line. The damage was somewhat reduced, but his shields and his physical well being was still damaged significantly while the first assassin was simply dropped on the spot, convulsing like a fish out of water.

The roar of a shotgun across the way shattered Tali's drone before it could deliver another powerful jolt. "So much for that plan!" Tony shouted as he ducked beside her and Gibbs. "Got any other tricks, Admiral?!"

"Fresh out! It's your turn!" Tali retorted as she jerked her head towards the sound of another approaching vehicle. "Keelah." Despair filled her voice as the door of the new vehicle opened, and another set of guns was leveled on the rooftop.

The expected barrage never came. Instead, a ball of biotic energy slammed into the open shuttle, finding the pilot behind the controls. He was hit with such force that his seat harness, and the pilot, were flung out the passenger side door. What was left of his upper half, which was smeared across the door that'd been blasted off its track, fell to the roof right beside one of his allies who jerked his head up just in time to receive a storm of bullets from the biotic's gunhand.

Jumping from the car, Miranda Lawson landed in a crouch, her eyes ablaze with righteous fury as she stalked towards the closest of the ExoGeni squad. Oriana, seeing her sister, gave a cheer as the accompanying C-Sec officers landed the car in front of Gibbs and his team, providing them with cover as Miranda went to town on the survivors.

"Shouldn't we help her?" Ziva asked as she watched Miranda advance on the ExoGeni kill team. Dax followed her line of sight in time to see the ex-Cerberus officer dismantle the remaining two highly trained opponents with her biotics alone, a truly terrifying expression etched on her face the entire time.

Dax took one look at the grisly scene that quickly unfolded, looked at Miranda as she glowed dark blue from head to toe in a truly riveting, terrifying display of biotic potential, and promptly said, "Naaahhhh, she's got this."

Once it was over and they were able to slump into the nearest hard surface that would support them. Tali took one look at Miranda as she ran to Oriana's side and said, "It's about time you got here Miri."

"Sorry, we got held up in traffic." Miranda called out over her sister's shoulder. She was left puzzled when Ziva burst into tired, relieved laughter.

The Citadel, Zakara Ward

C-Sec Office, Officer Bullpen

March 3rd, 2195, 11:52 AM Local Time

Having all but collapsed into their borrowed desks, McGee, Ziva, and Tony breathed a collective sigh of relief as Gibbs finished the day's paperwork in silence. Glancing towards Tali, Oriana, and Miranda, Ziva couldn't help but smile at the happy reunion. "It makes you feel warm inside."

"What does?" Asked an exhausted Tony as he yawned into his left fist before wincing in pain, one hand going to his bruised side. "Yeah...gonna be feeling that in the morning."

Ignoring her partner's complaint, an ice pack pressed against her temple, Ziva nodded towards the threesome a short stone's throw away. "Seeing families reunited, even if they are not of the same blood, or even the same species. A sentence I never thought I'd say out loud before our little time jump."

"That a fact Officer David?" Gibbs asked without looking up from his desk.

"It is." Ziva softly replied as she looked towards Dax. "What will you do now?"

"Me? You mean now that my secret's out or now that this mess is over with?"

"A bit of both." McGee chimed in, just as curious to hear what the turian had to say as Ziva was as he gingerly stretched out his injured leg.

Dax shrugged and folded his taloned fingers behind his head, his mandibled face uplifted in a small little smile. "Honestly, I'm half tempted to go back to Washington with you folks, provided you'll have me along for the ride, Agent Gibbs."

Gibbs, once he looked up from his computer terminal, chuckled warmly at the proposal before giving Dax an approving smile. "You sure you can handle taking orders from me, Agent Dax?"

Hearing the rank dropped in front of his name, Dax could only just contain his joy as he replied, "Meh I'll get used to it. You can't be worse than my old SO. Good guy, real hardass though."

"I'll be sure to tell Garrus you said that, Dax." Straightening in his seat, Dax chuckled sheepishly as Tali walked past with a soft chuckle escaping her suit's speakers before she stopped in front of Gibbs' desk, spreading her hands on its surface. For a moment, neither said anything as they stared into the other's eyes before Tali broke the silence between them. "And thank you, Agent Gibbs, for all that you've done, saving my life included when you didn't have to. Few people would have done so, not for a quarian at least. Never in a million years would I have believed one of my own could do what Jan'Gula nar Shellen did."

"You've had criminals before yet you-" A sharp glare from Gibbs shut Tony up on the spot, his teeth clicking together audibly from how fast he closed his mouth.

Standing to his feet, Gibbs held out his hand to the quarian, a look of understanding and respect etched onto his face. "Keelah se'lai, Tali."

"As Commander Shepard would say to a fellow marine, semper fidelis, Leroy." Tali replied with a grave, but grateful nod of her head before she grasped the offered limb. Little else needed to be said between them as they parted in mutual respect of the other. Gibbs and his team watched her, Miranda, who paused long enough to nod her thanks to them as well, and Oriana, walk out of the office, side by side, as different as they came, yet equals in the other's eyes.

Only after they'd left did McGee ask, "So, are we going to the show tomorrow night?"

"Oriana was kind enough to provide us with tickets. I plan on going." Declared Ziva as she set her icepack aside, turning her eyes to Dax. "And yourself, Agent Dax?"

"Yeah sure, I got nothin' else goin' for me right now Officer David." Crossing his arms over his chest, Dax leaned back in his chair with a contented sigh. "Ah….could go for a couple of cold, dextro friendly beers after a job well done though."

"Agent Gibbs?" All of them glanced towards the C-Sec officer who stood over a second floor railing. "Director Shepard is waiting."

Getting up from his desk, Gibbs took the stairs to the upper floor two at a time, but not before calling down to the turian specialist, "Pull any of that cowboy crap again like you did today Dax, I'll shoot you myself."

McGee waited just long enough for Gibbs to disappear into the office above them before saying, "That's just his way of saying he cares."

Dax simply shrugged, his grin unwavering. "I figured as much."

Gibbs meanwhile entered a darkened comms room that had several technicians working away at the various stations situated against every wall. One took one look at him, nodded his head, and tapped in a series of commands into the terminal in front of him before the central monitor showed two near identical faces on either side. Director Eliza Shepard he recognized immediately, but the much more powerfully built woman on the right he'd never seen in person before, but he knew who she was regardless. "Agent Gibbs, I'd like to introduce my sister, 'Commander' Elizabeth Shepard, three times savior of our galaxy, and a retired Council Spectre."

"I take it you're the one that called in a favor to your former SO." Gibbs stated, silently impressed by the ranks and accolades he knew was attached to her name, even as he already figured as much as he crossed his arms across his chest as he positioned himself in front of the large, floor to ceiling monitor.

"Which inevitably filtered down to Tali who of course talked to the Fleet stationed above their homeworld. Yeah, I'm the reason why you likely had a headache in the first place, Agent Gibbs." Elizabeth admitted with an unapologetic shrug of her shoulders. "I do appreciate you looking out for her though. When my own contacts told me a former….acquaintance of mine from ExoGeni was assassinated a month ago, a representative scumbag by the name of Ethan Jeong, I started my own distant investigation and found Jan'Gula nar Shellen working for them. I sent what I'd found to Anderson not days before Jan made his move on Oriana, so the order would have likely come regardless for ACIS to handle this one. I gotta say though Agent Gibbs, I've hunted down rogue Spectres, twice, fought mercenary groups across the racial spectrum, and had a hand in stopping the Reapers as you well know, but not once did I have to fight a quarian. I was utterly surprised by the realization one could fall as far as he did, but knowing Tali as well as I do, I knew she'd never believe it either until she saw for herself what you ended up uncovering."

"You could have just asked us Commander instead of going to your old SO." Gibbs countered even as he agreed with her reasoning.

"I'm also surprised Liz, you're normally so straightforward." The Director sarcastically stated as she leaned forward.

Gray eyes met emerald as the retired Council Spectre responded, staring unerringly into her sister's face, "Politics were always more your speed Lizzie, not mine."

"Oh I'm aware, trust me. You normally just bludgeon your way through everything."

"I'm a marine, retired, officially at least, but some habits die hard."

"Like not talking to mom?" Gibbs mentally sighed and was about to break up the brewing argument between the two, but Eliza lowered her head about the same time Elizabeth looked away from her side of the screen. "I'm sorry, that was uncalled for. But Liz, despite your well meaning if heavy handed interference, I'm just glad we were able to put this to bed before anyone else was lost." What she left unsaid yet was heard by both the Commander and Gibbs was that Eliza was glad they'd caught the hitman before he could truly hurt her, let alone kill anyone else. "Besides," Eliza began as she crossed her arms across her stomach, "the only people that get to make your life Hell is mom, my nieces, your bondmate, and me."

What shame and guilt that had begun to fill Elizabeth's green eyes faded away just as quickly. "Good to know you have your priorities right at least 'little' sis."

"By two minutes." Grumbled an annoyed Director.

"Still counts." The 'elder' Shepard countered, a hint of amusement filtering into her voice. "I should go." With one last nod towards Gibbs, Elizabeth's side of the screen went blank.

"I hate it when she does that." With a shake of her head, the Director turned her full attention to Gibbs. "Be glad you were an only child."

"I had three ex wives, I can relate Director."

"I bet. But let me repeat what Liz has already stated. Thank you, Jethro." With a nod of his head, Gibbs walked out of the comms room just as the Director's side of the screen went blank.

The Citadel, the Kithoi Ward

The Taralos Amphitheater

March 4th, 2195, 6;59 PM local time

ExoGeni was finished, their corporation had breathed its last after the failed, and very public, assassination attempt on Oriana Lawson. The Sirta Foundation had gained the exclusive rights to rebuild every colony from Earth to the Verge, and they'd do a far better job of things than their former competitor, but that was a distant concern for the full house that had arrived to support their fellow sapient beings in their time of need. It was definitely a distant concern to one Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs and his team, which now included Cabal biotic, Daxio Maximus of the Turian Hierarchy as they sat in the front row of the giant amphitheater. Apparently having friends in this day and age paid off.

Gibbs though couldn't help but notice that Wendy's grand piano, which was situated at the left end of the stage, was empty. It was no surprise, but he was curious to know why Oriana had decided to leave it there. Before he could ponder it further, the dark haired woman took the stage alongside the troupe's lead singer. A nod passed between them before Oriana tapped at the mic before her, and upon some unspoken signal, was illuminated by an overhead stage light just as the rest of the theater went dark. The hush that fell over the crowd was palpable, but after surviving nearly being killed on multiple occasions in a single week, Oriana appeared the picture of calm before the storm.

"I had a speech all planned out that would have focused on why were were here, raising money for the Sirta Foundation who'd help rebuild a few colonies, but the last few days have reminded me of something that I had nearly forgotten." Oriana folded her hands above her stomach as she leaned forward ever so slightly, and while it was brief, Gibbs locked eyes with the violinist before her gaze moved elsewhere, stopping when she saw her sister and Tali sitting not so far from him and the team. "Nine years ago, we all had our lives turned upside down in a single, tragic moment. None of us knew what the future held any longer as the galaxy burned around us. Yet when things were at their worst, when that terrible darkness threatened to consume everything in its path, a light appeared on the horizon. A clear dawn broke from behind that dark veil, and we rallied behind that light when before we had been divided by petty, insignificant differences and age old grudges that should have been let go, long ago. These last few harrowing days have reminded me that we must still strive for that same unity we shared as we press ever onward into a much brighter future."

Looking towards Wendy's conspicuously vacant spot behind the grand piano, Oriana sighed but despite the moisture that gathered in her eyes, she pressed forward. "Wendy Watson's piano will remain empty for this evening's show while she recovers at Huerta Memorial. It's...also a reminder of those that cannot be here with us now, that gave everything they had so that we might live on. We've all lost someone near and dear to us, we all have our scars, but as I look upon you all, I see that their sacrifices were not in vain. We stood united against the single greatest threat our galaxy has ever faced, and we did not break. While we can name those largely responsible for our still being here, we still did our part, no matter how small our role might have been. Now I ask that we keep going forward as we reach The End of An Era, and step into a new one, hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder, together."

It was some time, and a round of deafening, thunderous applause later, that Gibbs met Oriana's eye once more before the theater began to empty out once the evening's show was completed. Getting up from his seat just as Tony quietly mused how Jan had gathered so much information without anyone seemingly being the wiser for it, Gibbs raised an eyebrow when he saw someone had sent him a message that hadn't tripped the audible alarm on his omni-tool. Opening the message, he tensed as his eyes snapped to the nearest security camera.

"What is it?" Ziva asked, before her own gaze flicked to the message on his arm.

There is no shadow I can't reach, Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. For a man out of his time, you've done exceedingly well in mine. Give my thanks to Director Shepard for assigning you the case, even if the order came from a much higher authority than her own.

The Shadow Broker.

"Shadows like to talk apparently." Was all Gibbs would say on the matter as he closed out the article detailing an apartment fire that was being ruled as an accident, killing a single, as of yet unidentified human male. Whoever he'd been, he wouldn't be putting anymore innocent lives at risk, that much was clear. It was a mystery, but one he was willing to let go. Besides, looking up at the stage, Gibbs relaxed and started to walk up the center aisle, assured that here at least, they had come out ahead.

End Notes: Well that happened. Hehe, but seriously folks, that last speech from Oriana, with that song playing in the background as the opening song of the evening, got me a little choked up. For everyone who has played the entire Mass Effect trilogy from start to finish, you know exactly what I'm talking about, and why it did since your teammates, even the DLC ones, are not just characters in a roster. They are people, living, breathing, people, and you cannot help but feel as if you've said goodbye to your loved ones as they walk off into the sunset either by their own choice, or because the war takes them from you. Every loss is a blow to the chest, every tear shed is a cut to the heart, and every victory, no matter how small, is a triumph. And while the ending might have fallen far short of the mark, the story leading up to that moment is what truly makes Mass Effect the single most treasured RPG shooter franchise to ever grace our lives.

That long winded rant aside lol, I recently came across a snippet of a Season 11 episode from NCIS where the woman who plays Admiral Raan from the Migrant Fleet pops up on a ship with Ziva. I was surprised, to say the least, to hear her very familiar voice, let alone to see her face for that matter lol, but it just reinforces the idea that I've begun to establish for the rest of you folks. Someone has already gotten close with their review on FF, but I'd rather no one post spoilers if you can avoid it. At any rate, no I don't think McGee and the Director will be in an intimate relationship, although the idea's tempting I'll admit. I might change my mind on that later, we'll see. At any rate, see ya folks, and this is just the beginning.

Look for Artifice, the next 'case' for this, in the near future. See ya!