I own no characters unless explicitly stated. All characters, locations, and much of this story should be considered property of Bioware unless explicity stated. Even then, assume most material written here is the property of Bioware. The Mass Effect trademarks are to be considered the property of Bioware
by Joshua Scott
The Runnings
The elevator hissed as Keith reached the C-Sec floor, it's large glass door sliding below, into the walkway, as he stepped out into the fervor of agents running by, the soft sound of ringing communicators at the desks located around the room. His eyes fell upon an approaching turian, who's face paint matched the blue uniforms associated with the security force.
"I'm going to need to check that," the turian stated, pointing at the pistol hanging from Keith's belt.
"Sure, but I should let you know, I'm with Alliance," Keith responded, detaching his sidearm from the magnetic clip and holding it out. "I should be cleared, correct?" He had dressed down into a casual jumpsuit and t-shirt, done with the armor for the day, although the shield generators on his belt would keep him away from serious harm.
"We know you're with Alliance," the officer replied, his voice reverberating from his throat as he watched his own omni-tool, "Only official military uses these elevators. Still, there's been reports of weapon modifications going around, and Executor Palin wants us all on our toes about it." He raised his eyes back to the human, "Besides, you look like you know how to really work one out, I like what you've done with it."
"Thanks, not much else other than a laser sight and reinforced grip," Keith admitted, placing the weapon back to his hip. He glanced to the side, the sounds of a salarian being accosted, wincing as he made a feeble attempt at running, before being smacked down by another officer. "Busy day?"
"We're C-Sec, we're always busy," the turian officer spoke, laughing slightly, "But yes, something seems a bit more... up in the air, I think you humans say." He gave a small shrug, "Still, you don't look like the troublesome type, and that makes my job easier."
"Thanks, I guess," the technician stated, rubbing his neck, "I've not been to this arm of the Citadel yet, you know of any good places to shop?" he asked, holding his omni-tool aloft to record an answer. "I'm running supplies for my ship, and it'd be a good thing to know where to go."
The turian eyed him over slightly, "Well, there's always Delan up in the Presidium, but his wares are more accustomed to... more comfortable lifestyles." He crossed his arms and tilted his head back, "There's Morlan downstairs, he's a twitchy guy, even for a salarian, always shouting for people to come buy his stuff. Then there's Kravin, though he's... well..." He paused for a moment, glancing back at Keith, "He's an old-fashioned turian, just saying. But for you, what with the colonist look, I'd head to Expat, the Volus near the stairwell. He's always got a good deal, an honest seller, which is somewhat rare for the volus ever since they figured out we could beat up whoever threatened them."
"Thanks," Keith stated, clicking a button along the floating orange armband and shutting it off, "I'm assuming he can have goods delivered?"
"Yeah, just give him the info and he'll take care of it," the turian replied, giving a small nod. "Anything else I can do for you?"
"No that's all from me... oh wait," Keith cut himself off, glancing around, "I'm looking for another turian, Garrus Vakarian, the crew and I were hoping he could help us with something."
"Garrus? I'm afraid I haven't seen him lately," the officer said, rubbing his neck with a contemplative look, "Maybe you could check with Officer Lang? He's patrolling the wards, and he usually keeps up on other officers locations... whether they like it or not."
"Thanks again," Keith spoke, moving towards the precinct's entrance, giving a small wave as he went. He moved to crack his gloved fingers as the door slid open and he stepped outside, the Widow's gleaming lights streaming through the large, reinforced glass windows of the ward, the beams bouncing from down the massive arm of the Citadel.
He strode up the nearest flight of stairs, noting the small team of janitors sweeping up the various pieces of a wrecked skycar nearby, and gave a low whistle as he stepped around the debris, finding the nearest human officer driving attention away from the accident. "That's a hell of a parking job."
"Yeah, I don't know what they were thinking," the officer stated as he turned to Keith, an idle hand rubbing the small beard he was growing, "If you saw the flighty salarian inside, he was the driver. I'm Officer Lang, anything I can help you with?" He gave a small nod as he noted the Alliance insignia on the technician's shirt.
"Oh that was easy," Keith noted aloud, rubbing his hands together, "I'm asking around for the location of Garrus Vakarian, another officer said you'd know where he could be?"
"Garrus... yeah, last I saw him he was headed towards the medical clinic down that-aways." Lang pointed past the wreck, towards a holographic cross. "Unforunately, we'd need to get this cleared first."
"Understandable," Keith responded, tapping a few buttons on his omni-tool, "I'm not the only one looking for him, we're just needing answers." He gestured slightly as he pulled out a small earpiece, putting it astride of his ear cuff, "Hey Shepard? It's Keith."
"Go ahead," a voice came out, though there was a clear background noise of throbs and pulses, "Sorry, it's loud in here."
"Yeah, I just spoke with an officer, they said Garrus was last seen heading towards the local clinic, maybe check there?"
"Thanks for that," Marty replied, "I've been trying to get information out of Harkin for a while, but he's been wanting something else for trade."
"Ah... I'm not gonna ask," Keith stated, giving a small shrug, "Just a heads up,"
"Right, thanks."
"Sorry about that," Keith spoke back to Lang, who was staring at him with widened eyes.
"That was Commander Shepard?" he asked, "Hey, I was on Mindoir when the Blitz happened, I saw the vids and everything, we were all pumped a local was able to do that."
"Oh... yeah," Keith said awkwardly, suddenly unsure about the conversation that could follow. "Well, I should let you get back to your business, I've got my own things to take care of."
"Right, well take care of yourself," Lang stated, giving a small salute as he turned back to the other officers.
Keith gave another small, unwitnessed shrug as he began walking towards the markets, glancing over his shoulder towards the wreck again, when he bumped into something large and resistant.
"Hey, watch where you're headed," a deep, gutteral voce responded as Keith spun towards the speaker. A large, squashed grimace with a set of claw marks running down the side of his face and blood red eyes glared at at the human, his head plates ran back to the neck of his armor, a bulging hump towering over the bulky figure. Krogan.
"Hey sorry, it's not like I mean to go running into other people," Keith stammered, holding his hands out in defense.
"Well," the krogan bemused, leaning towards the technician, "Maybe you should mean to look where you're going, less likely you'll get killed." He gave a small smile as he placed one hand on Keith's chest, giving a shove that sent the young man tripping backwards and landing on a shrill-chirping Keeper.
"Hey," the nearby officers shouted, running towards the two, "What's going on here?"
"Ah the human needs to keep better control of himself, those damn toes all pointing the same way," the krogan stated flatly, gesturing towards Keith, who was having a hard time getting stable from the flailing limbs of the insect. He gave a short laugh as he reached over and grabbed Keith's hand, hoisting him back up to his feet. "There you go," he spoke, though it seemed he had directed his remark towards the Keeper, who scrambled back to its feet, giving a rather empty look back at the pair before skittering away.
"Thanks," Keith grumbled, dusting himself off with a glare to the krogan, who had begun giving a small laugh.
"Wait a second," one of the officers suddenly spoke, his eyes raising from his omnitool, "Urdnot Wrex?"
"Yeah, whaddaya want?" the krogan responded, turning his squat head towards the speaker.
"We've got a couple of reports about you, you mind coming with us back to C-Sec?"
The krogan's eyes narrowed, as he studied the young men before him, before raising a hand, "I don't see a problem with such a thing, sure. I've always wanted to go there on vacation." He began walking with the officers, turning his head a bit to glance back at Keith, who turned away as well.
"Geez, such a nice guy," Keith huffed as he wandered past the growing crowd of onlookers, wondering what had the security force all riled up over. He glanced out of the windows as the Ascension ship floated by, blocking out the light from the Widow. He stared for a moment, before the nearby door hissed and opened to the markets.
Keith stepped to the side as a slim hooded figure pushed past him, "Excuse me," and rushed through the throngs of civilians. He blinked slightly as he tried to catch sight of the passer-by, before turning back to where he was going. "Sounded ventilated," he muttered to himself, as he stepped past a stall.
The markets were a cramped place, as sellers hawked their wares, with the various lights streaming from their small spaces, each offering a different mood for the buyer. He glanced back towards the stairwell, where a small, round figure sat, covered head to toe in an environmental suit, with lighted ports over the eyes and mouth, the giveaway huffs of breath filtering through the dangling nasal vents. The suit wiggled about as it conversed with another nearby volus. Keith smiled to himself as he moved closer, sliding through the crowds and giving a berth to a human arguing with a turian shopkeep. He eventually reached the waist-high counter, leaning forwards with a hand on the surface, "Excuse me, I'm assuming you're Expat?"
"Why yes, *ksst*," the ventilated voice of the volus spoke up, as the blinking eyepieces turned towards the operator, "I'm glad that my name and reputation *ksst* has been getting around. *ksst* Always nice to see a new face." He shifted himself to the counter, waving a hand over the screen, "Something I can get for you?"
"Wait a second, *ksst*" the other volus spoke up, peering up towards the young man. "I think I know you..."
"I'm sorry?" Keith asked in an unknowing manner, glancing down at the smaller volus.
"Yes, yes, those markings, er, tatoo *ksst*" it spoke again, pointing excitedly at Keith's lightning bolt markings on his chest which were peeking over the neck of his shirt, huffing another breath as he bounced on his feet, "Keith Sunderland, *ksst*. You don't recognize me?"
Keith raised an eyebrow as he studied the volus's suit, his eyes falling to the small lightning bolt markings next to the suit's breather. "Oh... Bo Nairn!" he exclaimed, smiling as he leaned back onto his elbow, turning more towards his old comrade, "How've you been doing lately? I haven't seen you since back home."
"Oh, *ksst*, I've been doing fine," Bo replied, his hands gripping together, to help calm himself down, "I'm visiting from Elysium, me and Riela just wanted a small break from the colony."
"So you head to the citadel?" Keith responded, laughing slightly, nodding his head back towards the throngs of shoppers.
"Oh, we're stopping here before we head to our real destination. *ksst* I heard Expat sold a few things that she might like," he nodded towards the vendor, "Just as a small gift, *ksst.*"
"Hey, I'm glad to hear you two are still doing great," he smiled as he turned back to Expat, holding out his omnitool to send a list to the volus's computer. "Sorry sir."
"Oh no worries, *ksst* anything to keep spirits up around here," Expat stated, "It pleases me to help any colonists *ksst* coming through here. I assume the Normandy is a new human charter vessel?" he asked, watching the details flicker onto his nearby vid-screen.
"No, it's a new Alliance ship," Keith corrected him, "We're not really headed to any concrete place yet."
"Sounds interesting, a new ship?" Bo asked, "*ksst* You must be doing well for yourself." He peered up at the human, the glowing eye pieces giving off a warm glow as he held onto the counter, still bouncing slightly from the surprise reunion.
"Yeah, I mean, guess who I'm serving with?" Keith replied, giving Bo a smug look.
"Hmm *ksst*, well there's lots of other Alliance members that happened by..." Bo mused, glancing off to the side to think up a good name.
"There's only one of note though. I'm working with Commander Shepard."
"Oh, really? *ksst" Bo straightened up, considerably noticeable with his short stature, "I've heard a few things about her lately, *ksst* something to do with the Citadel."
"Yeah we've been..." Keith trailed off as he thought for a moment, a smile playing on his lips as he narrowed his eyes to the volus, "I'm guessing you want a story to write?"
"I'm always looking for new material *ksst*," Bo admitted, nodding up at the human, "Do you have something to tell?"
"Not really, but if things go alright, maybe I can talk her into telling you a bit." Keith shrugged, "Heck, I'm sure there's lots of people who'd love to get Shepard's story."
"Oh, *ksst* I'd appreciate that greatly," Bo stated, hissing with excitement, once more bouncing on his toes, or as well as his environment suit would allow him.
"Well men, *ksst*" Expat interrupted, "I've both of your orders ready. Mr. Sunderland, your order is being prepped to ship, *ksst* we'll have it to your vessel within the hour." He blinked, turning to the side as he fished through a few crates that a small robot had pushed towards him, "As for you, Bo Nairn, *ksst* I have what you requested."
"Oh thank you, *ksst*," Bo responded, taking hold of the small package Expat placed onto the counter, "I wanted to give these to her personally."
"Aw, how sweet, what did you get the girl?" Keith asked, eyeing the package.
"Just some candy shipped from Illium, I know it's one of her favorites, *ksst* and she's just been good to me." Bo's eye lights blanked out for a moment as he held the package to his chest. He nodded to Keith, "Well, I should get going, and leave you to your business. *ksst* Oh but, Keith? Please do write or call, the gang has missed you, *ksst*"
"I will Bo," Keith stated, giving a small salute as he stood up straight, "And you take care of yourself, and the girl. Fei would be pissed if anything happened to her."
"*ksst* Oh, don't I know," Bo replied, before he turned and waddled away, giving a small wave over his shoulder.
"Thank you sir," Keith spoke to Expat, smiling with a small bow, "I'll be sure to refer my friends here."
"Oh, please do, *ksst* I'm sure this Commander Shepard would enjoy my wares as well." The shopkeeper smiled as Keith turned away, heading down the stairs to the lower floor's markets. He took a quick stock of the area, less people, though apparently the mood was more shifty. A small grimace formed on his face before a salarian waved towards him.
"You're wanting Morlan's, yes?" the salarian shouted towards him, smiling with his green teeth bared.
"Uh..." Keith started to speak, surprised at the barking alien.
"Morlan has many things, indeed," the salarian continued, waving towards the listings displayed on the holographic screens beside him. He quickly tapped a button, making a visual representation of his goods pop up as the selection periodically scrolled downwards. "See something you like, you want to buy?"
"Um, sorry, I was just passing through," Keith stated, before his eye caught the brief image of a visor display. "Hang on, what model is that?"
"Ariake Visionary," Morlan spat out, turning to view the floating model with a wide grin, "Special military-grade visor helps keep track of nearby people." He rummaged about under his counter, before popping back up and holding out the visor they were speaking of. "Human kind makes good tech, here, you should try."
"Er, sure if that's alriiiiaugh!" Keith yelped as Morlan slapped the visor to his face. The visor glowed orange before small white lines converged over the various things his eyes could look at, identifying various bits and pieces that were around him. He turned around, noting a few locals had weapons located on their hips, which were quickly identified with make and model. "This thing is pretty awesome," Keith said softly, turning to glance to the other side.
"Compatible and ready to link up to Omni tool," Morlan continued speaking, "Can record, sync with extranet, play games, watch movies, like this one," he suddenly prodded a small button on the side of the visor, the display changing on the inside to a holovid of two asari beginning to lose clothing.
"Geez," Keith stammered, yanking the visor from his head, the small device powering down from the sensors noting it had been pulled. "This is... it's pretty nice, how much is it?"
"Is only three thousand credits," Morlan stated proudly, "Comes with rebate and warranty, and Morlan's shop card."
"Ah... well that is still a bit expensive," Keith stated, rubbing his chin as he stared down at the visor. He glanced back up to the shopkeeper, "Twenty five hundred?"
"Yes, wait, what?" Morlan stuttered, blinking rapidly as his brain fired over the question. "No, Morlan answered too quickly, it's still-"
"Ah, you said yes. A good shopkeeper doesn't go back on his word," Keith pointed out, giving a small grin.
"Oh... but... you..." Morlan wrung his hands together, running the costs over in his head. After a moment, he sighed, "Customer is right, Morlan should be worth his words."
"Thank you, you can credit it to this account, the Alliance appreciates your assistance," Keith stated, holding out his omni-tool to transmit the account numbers.
"Oh, yes," Morlan perked up again, as his fingers tapdanced over his computer's screen, "And maybe I can have more Alliance customers, always happy to help."
"I'll be sure to pass your name around," Keith stated, rolling his eyes while Morlan was distracted. He turned around slightly, noting the large crowds of people converging back towards the stairs. "Say, is there a shortcut back to C-Sec?"
"Why yes, human, there is alleyway, right there," Morlan fired back, pointing off towards the corner of the market place, "Can avoid many buyers upstairs, and always quick way back to Morlan's. Would you like a bag for that?"
"No, thank you, I've got it," Keith responded, giving a small nod as he turned towards the alleyway, noting the small sign nearby, and arrow directing towards Chora's Den. A small, exasperated sigh escaped his lips as he wandered past the entry way to the club, his ear picking up the rapid beat of what he assumed was the music, as he turned down through the dim red lights leading began running his fingers over the sides of his new visor, the small omnitool sensors reading what form of operating system it ran, and gave a soft chuckle. "Geez, that salarian can sure grab your attention," he muttered to himself, as a figure stepped out in front of him.
"It's about time, Fist told me that you would be expedient with..." a young female voice spoke up, before suddenly falling silent. Keith glanced up and locked eyes through the facial plate of an environment suit, a round glowing light where the mouth would have been without the helmet. The glass visor barely let any light to the facial features, only the eyes somewhat glowed from under the hood and mask. He took a quick glance downwards, noting the back-bending knees and three-digit hands.
"I'm sorry?" Keith responded after a moment, his hands still working against his purchase, though his eyes stared at the young girl. "Were you waiting on me, explicitly?"
"Oh," the ventilated voice spoke up again, the light on the mask flickering with her syllables. "I just assumed... I'm sorry, I'll..." She ducked her head and wandered back to the dark corner where she had been lingering before, "Never mind."
Keith took a moment to mull the situation over, before moving to the crate that she had moved around, perhaps to gain some barrier between herself and the awkward situation. "Er, miss, do you need help with something?"
"No, thank you, I'm just meeting with someone, that's all," she stated. She glanced down to the side, adding quietly, "You certainly don't look like the Shadow Broker."
The operator stood back, placing his free hand on his hip, "Well I'm afraid I don't know the gentleman, or whoever." He gave a laugh, which came to a halt as he realized the girl certainly wasn't reciprocating in the sentiment. "Well, I'm guessing I should leave you to it, sorry miss." He gave a nod as he turned on his heel, retaking his path through the alley. 'Well, that was an odd situation,' he pondered as he turned his visor over in his hands once more, noting the inside screen blinked the words, "Omnitool Sync complete!" A pair of salarians in exosuits shoved past him as he slipped on the visor, glancing back at the two before muttering, "Jerks."
The visor blinked again before a grid of light gleamed across his peripheral. Numbers flashed up, a small map appeared in the corner, pinging that no directional input was found, and a pair of target trackers appeared over the alley's current occupants. He blinked slightly as he noted the salarians exo-suits were highlighted with a thin red frame, a small bit of data readings flickered up as the visor tracked his eye movement towards the pair. His brow crinkled as he gazed over the readings, which declared that the exo-suits had more shielding than the norm for Citadel workers, "Could be new... hell with the skycar traffic the way it is nowadays," Keith muttered to himself, turning in time as a hooded turian brushed past him.
"Excuse me," the white-painted face growled to him, before the stranger turned back down the alley, plodding down the staircase. Keith watched as the turian strode forward, slowly, as if he were hunting for something, before his gaze fell onto the girl skulking in the small corner, then gave a small gesture for her to move closer. The visor plate of the girl's suit did nothing to hide the confused reaction as she glanced both ways in the alley as well, as if looking for others headed her way, before she stood up and walked towards the beckoning turian, while Keith took the moment to move behind a collection of discarded cargo crates.
"Do you have the data? Did you bring it?" the turian hurriedly whispered, causing the young woman to stop in her tracks, her hands tightening at her sides as he slowly approached her, closing the distance as if secrets were to be spoken.
"Where's the Shadow Broker? Where's Fist?" she quizzed back, the speaker on her suit doing little to mask her sudden unease with the sudden apprehension.
"They'll be here, where's the evidence?" he snapped, raising a hand and running his fingers along her hood, before running a hand down her side.
"No way," she quickly responded, slapping the turians hand aside and taking a step back, "The deal's off." A moment of hesitation followed, as the turian gave off a small look of disappointment, before glancing over towards the salarian pair behind the young woman. As the salarians straightened up from their huddled positions and began moving towards her, Keith's visor highlighted the items they had pulled from the crates laying about, their small frames flashing red as if he had no clue the danger that was coming.
"Gun!" Keith suddenly cried out, gaining the attention of the aliens down the small flight of stairs, as his hand whipped towards his own sidearm, his mind racing as he attempted to hinder the hostiles' intentions. The salarian pair turned, startled from the human's shout, and raised their sights to train on the technician and opened fire, their projectiles pinging off of Keith's shields. The young girl, seizing the moment, ran a hand down the side of her belt, fluidly unclipping a small grenade disc and tossing it at the feet of the suited gunmen, sprinting before a small concussive burst flung the pair off their feet.
"Hey, get over here!" Keith shouted towards the female, as a burst of gunfire whizzed by his head. He quickly crouched down and took aim towards the angered turian, driving him behind cover as well as the suited girl bound up the stairs and lept across Keith's makeshift cover.
"Fist that- ah," she exclaimed as a clatter sounded, some left behind tools falling about her, shot off the crate she leaned against, "That damn man told me he could find me a safe place."
"Well I don't know, that corner seemed alright until they got here," Keith joked, having ducked back down with her as the salarians had regained their footing and began firing wildly at the human. "But seriously, you could have asked for my help, I'm not that scary, am I?" He gave another short laugh as he hopped back up, clicking his left forefinger and thumb together, before lobbing a small mass of incendiary blob at the closest salarian, which burst and spread a small curtain of flames over the area the exo-suited alien had taken a stand at.
"Yes well, I've just begun my pilgrimage, so I've not had much contact with other aliens," the girl admitted, as she reached behind to the back of her belt and pulled a hidden pistol out, unclicking the frame and taking a quick glance over the crate.
"Wait, pilgrimage? What the-" Keith cut off as a grenade burst, sending debris raining onto the shields flickering over his head. He grimaced as he lifted his gun barely over the cover, firing blindly at the hostiles before pulling his arm back down, "How is it you've not had contact with other aliens before?"
"What do you mean? she replied, ducking as the sound of increased gunfire rang through the alley, "Quarians don't really have much time with other cultures until their Pilgrimage."
"Hang on," Keith stated, distracted by the flying bits of molten metal, glancing over and ducking back down, "Man, I swear more guys just showed up, there's a krogan too." He huffed as he took stock of his pistol, the mass core hissing as the temperatures in the weapon dropped, "What exactly did you do to get these guys after you?"
"I just found some data regarding Eden Prime, I just wanted to get this information to someone who could keep me safe," she blurted out, as she pulled a small disc out and pinched the flatter sides, tossing it overhead towards the aggressors. "I didn't think this would get me killed on the Citadel."
"Eden Prime?" Keith pondered aloud, the loud crackling sounds of the overload disc disrupting his thoughts, "Hang on, I was just there, during the attack." He turned back to the quarian as he tapped the side of his visor, "And I know we could use some info like that. Hang on," he added, smiling as he tapped the side of his head, "Shepard, come in, it's Keith. Listen, I'm in a rough spot and could use some help."
"-kzzt- Roger, Keith, but we're a bit busy too, we've just about managed to hunt down a lead, but she's being held hostage," Marty's voice rang over the communication device, the sound of gunfire caught up in the transmission.
"Well damn," he replied, blindfiring over the crate again, as the booming sound of a shotgun drove him back down, "If you can make it, I'm stuck in an alleyway with a... what were you again?" he asked embarrassingly to the young girl as he returned fire.
"I'm a quarian," she barked back, leaning forward in hopes that her voice would be heard by the transmitter, "My name is Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, and I have data from the geth about the attack on Eden Prime," she added loudly.
"Yeah... you get all that?" Keith winced, the girl having just yelled into his ear in order to be heard over the gunfire.
"Wait, you're in an alley?" Marty's voice rang through again, "You wouldn't happen to be in the alley near Chora's Den, would you?"
"Um, yes, we are in that alley, if you coul-"
"Oh you've got to be... hold your fire boys!" Marty interrupted. Almost immediately a silence fell upon the small area, aside from smoldering marks on the wall and the softly beeping alarms in the area. "Keith, is that you behind those crates?" she yelled, though not over the comm.
Keith blinked slightly as he lifted himself to peek over the crates, and took stock of the two dead salarians laying near the stairs leading towards his cover. Further on he noticed the red-headed commander peeking around a nearby wall indentation. "Uh... yeah, it's me," he called back.
"Stand down guys," Marty declared to her flank, before striding out of cover and hooking her shotgun back to her belt. She glanced back over her shoulder, as a pair of armed aliens followed her. "I thought they might have been busy with somebody, unfortunately Wrex here just assumed hostiles and opened, they returned fire, so on and so forth."
"Wait... him?" Keith exclaimed, waving his gun lazily in the direction of the red-eyed krogan, recognizing the armor and scars on the side of the brute's face.
"Ah, Shepard..." Wrex cut in, recognizing the young Alliance technician, strode forward with a shotgun cradled in his hands, "I didn't think you'd be associated with someone like this. This boy's a bit puny as far as I can tell."
"Certainly kept you busy," Keith fired back, turning to the side to offer the quarian a hand, "I thought krogan were supposed to be great warriors."
"Well, maybe he can take a fall, or a hit," Wrex continued, ignoring the young man, "He's certainly not dead, maybe you trained him well?" he asked Shepard, giving a gutteral chuckle.
"He was on the ground with us at Eden Prime, Wrex," Marty chimed in, giving a warm look back to the technician, "He's survived a great deal, so far. Who's your friend, Keith?" she asked, gesturing towards the new face.
"Oh, right, this is... um, Tali?" he started, unable to recall a full name in the middle of a firefight.
"Fist set me up," the quarian started, kicking one of the dead salarians in the leg, "I knew I couldn't trust him."
"You're okay now," Shepard spoke up, moving closer to study the quarian, "Were you hurt during the fight?" she asked, scanning her up and down, before glancing at Keith.
"What's that look for? I can cover someone when the bullets start flying," Keith snapped, narrowing his eyes at the commander.
"I know how to look after myself, not that I don't appreciate the help," the girl cut him off, her voice softening as she turned back to Shepard, "Who are you?"
"Commander Shepard, I'm with the Alliance," Marty responded, smiling as she relaxed in her posture, "I'm looking for evidence that Saren's a traitor, we need proof he was related to the attack on Eden Prime."
"Oh, then I have a chance to repay you for saving my life," Tali'Zorah declared warmly, slipping her pistol back into its hidden holster.
"I'm not sure blindly trading fire is considered saving another's life," Keith joked softly, though the commander cracked a smile. He glanced around as he noted the bodies, the visor scanning the salarians for their lifesigns as his eyes darted about. "Hey Shepard? We got into a fight with these two and a turian, you guys didn't happen to-"
"Reeargh!" the sudden scream ripped through the alley as the hooded turian sprang from a collapsed pile of cargo, bearing a long, serrated knife as he leapt from behind the young man and quarian. Right as his knife began to descend, a shot rang out, his head kicked back, and he fell forwards, landing in a splayed position in front of the gathered four. A moment of calm passed, before Wrex unceremoniously sighted the dead body and unloaded a round through the back of the dead alien. "Got him."
"Garrus, are you going to keep taking shots like that?" Shepard called out, turning with a hand on her hip as she glared up at the perched, blue armor clad turian. He calmly cleared his rifle's chamber as he stood up and hopped down to the group.
"Well, as long as I keep landing shots like that... yes!" he admitted smugly, giving a spread jawed smile as he nodded at Keith and Tali. "Sorry about that, but I'm certain the two of you aren't harmed."
"Thanks Garrus," Shepard stated flatly, rolling her eyes with a small smile, "Keith, you know our assistant in tracking down the lead."
"Right, thanks for that close shave," Keith admitted, giving Garrus a small salute.
"Well Keith, Tali," Garrus started, nodding at the pair, "That gunfire is sure to attract more C-Sec patrolmen, and what with our various states of being a disgraced commander, out of uniform Alliance crewman, a young woman of a race that's not considered a resident in council space at all, a C-Sec operative who was told to leave the case alone, and a known, aggressive mercenary who was warned only minutes before attacking and killing the same gangster that runs a great deal of business around here, and all of us standing around a good three dead bodies with far more smoldering back in a popular bar... I suggest we head back to your human embassy so we can turn over the lady's evidence, whatever that may be."
"Punctual," Wrex quipped, holstering his own firearm with a shake of his head.
"It... it is safer there, right?" Tali asked meekly, as she hovered closer to Keith, giving a backwards glance as Shepard turned to lead them back to the Presidium.
"It should be," Keith answered, stepping over a corpse to take stride with the quarian, "I mean, I don't figure the politicians are ones to spontaneously pull a gun on you. At least, I hope not."
"You'd be surprised," a cool comment slipped from Garrus, who gave a small chuckle as they strode out of the alleyway.
Goodness, I should really get with my timing on these things. Sorry again guys, a bunch of jazz went down and I got busy/distracted. Still want to write for this, it's kinda fun. Plus, gets me back in the groove.
Just a bit more with the Citadel, and then back out to space, where I'll probably be far more comfortable writing up new stuffs and such. I enjoyed the small bit with Keith's buddy Bo, a good hint at what his past may have been like.
In any case, I'm already underway on the next chapter, and I sincerely apologize to anyone who expected a regularly updating schedule from me, and I'm looking forward to where this story is headed.
