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From the moment she set foot in Nos Astra, Kate knew she hated Illium. It was nothing more than Omega wrapped in pretty lights and wealth. At least on Omega, a person knew to watch their step by the dark, gritty atmosphere. Nothing about the outward appearance of Illium screamed danger to the unwary eye, and that's what got people into trouble.
But, like Omega, Illium was a necessary stop for the Normandy and her crew. Kate gave Joker and his crew a few days of well-deserved shore leave while she and her squad took care of an urgent matter for Miranda and sought out the next two recruits on the dossier.
Kate was having to play nice with her second-in-command. Zaeed had used the art of seduction (and a bit of reasoning) to convince Kate she had to apologize for the knife-throwing incident. She still maintained that if Miranda wasn't such a stubborn know-it-all, there wouldn't have been a knife-throwing incident in the first place.
"Thank you, Shepard," Miranda said.
"Save your thanks, Lawson," Kate said, waving her hand dismissively as they and Garrus stepped onto the elevator in the transport terminal two hours later. "I didn't do this for you. I did it for Oriana. Your sister shouldn't have to suffer just because your father's a narcissistic control freak." She paused before she added quietly, "I am sorry about Niket though. I've never had to kill a friend before and I hope to God I never do."
As much as she wanted to continue hating the woman, Kate was having a hard time of it just now, seeing how much Miranda cared for her sister and the great lengths to which she'd go to protect the teenager. And really, the Illusive Man may have footed the bill, but Miranda had done all the work on the Lazarus Project. Not to mention, she'd twice had a hand in saving Kate from both the Collectors and the Shadow Broker.
The elevator stopped at the floor for the docking bay and the trio stepped out.
Kate decided to bite the bullet and extend an olive branch. She turned to Miranda. "Garrus and I are going to meet with Liara to see if she has any leads on the Assassin and the Justicar. Want to come?"
Miranda grimaced. "Thanks for the offer but I think I'll pass. Dr. T'Soni and I aren't on the best terms. I think I'm going to do a bit of shopping and then head back to the ship. Message me if there's anything you need."
"Can't say I didn't try," Kate muttered to Garrus. Before they went to meet Liara, Kate sent a quick message to Zaeed:
Z, you can stop pacing and grinding your teeth now. I was nice to Little Miss Perfect. Ask Garrus if you don't believe me. Meet us at Liara's office in five minutes so we can go get Krios.
Kate was intrigued by Thane Krios. He carried out his task with an air of elegance not usually found in such a profession. Her introduction to the assassin had included an unexpected and unwelcome reunion with an old "acquaintance," Nassana Dantius. When Kate and Garrus had first met Dantius more than two years ago, she had tricked the commander into murdering one of the then-diplomat's own sisters, just to avoid "political embarrassment". Now the bitch had been so paranoid that one of her other sisters was out to kill her that she'd had nearly all of her employees gunned down in cold blood as they fled in terror, just so the building would be clear.
In the end it hadn't helped her. The assassin had slipped in anyway. And he'd managed to save a few traumatized workers in his ascent to the penthouse.
From: Cmdr. K. Shepard
To: Adm. S. Hackett
Subject: Thanks
I'm starting to feel more like my old self again since I got my dog tags from Liara.
I'm sorry about our last conversation. I'm still not sorry for hitting Kaidan, he deserved it, but I am sorry I took out my anger on you.
Katie
From: Adm. S. Hackett
To: Cmdr. K. Shepard
Subject: Justified
I did as you so vehemently suggested and asked Cmdr. Alenko about the incident. He declined to put the conversation in his report. I asked him to write it out off the record. After reading it, I had to resist the urge to break the data pad over his thick skull.
Dad
A quiet drink at Eternity before retrieving Samara was interrupted by a beep on Kate's omni-tool.
"That fucking sonofabitch!" she muttered moments later.
Zaeed raised an eyebrow. "You need to expand your vocabulary, kitten."
She shot him a dirty look and tossed her omni-tool across the table so he could see the message she'd just received from Kaidan.
"That fucking sonofabitch!" Zaeed growled as he read.
"Sounds like there's an echo in here," Kate said with a smirk. She typed a quick response to Kaidan:
From: Cmdr. K. Shepard
To: Staff Cmdr. K. Alenko
Subject: re: Horizon
Go to hell.
Kate stood up, a defiant sparkle in her blue-gray eyes. "Alright, let's go get the Justicar."
"You never fail to amaze me, Shepard," Liara said. "Justicars rarely work with others, let alone aliens."
Garrus laughed. "You know how she is, Liara. She has that innate ability to get almost anybody to follow her."
"'Almost' being the operative word," Kate said.
"Sorry Kate," Garrus said quietly. "I'm sure he'll come around."
Kate shrugged. "I don't think I care anymore. He's moved on and so have I."
"What is going on?" Liara asked. "Who are you talking about?"
Garrus looked at Kate and she nodded slightly. He told Liara everything that had happened on Horizon. The asari grimaced at Kate punching Kaidan in the face.
"I wanted to kill the bastard," Garrus growled.
"Garrus!" Liara admonished.
Kate chuckled. "He wasn't the only one. Zaeed was there too. You have any idea how hard it is to keep both of them in check?"
Garrus rolled his eyes at her before turning Liara. "By the way, you owe Joker and me some credits Doc."
Liara looked thoroughly confused. "I do? For what?"
"Remember that bet we made about two and half years ago? Time to pay up."
"What?" Her eyes widened in realization. "Oh Goddess, I completely forgot about that."
Kate narrowed her eyes at Garrus. "You and Joker bet against Kaidan and me staying together?"
"Of course not! Alenko was the one who started the pool in the first place. But it wasn't about the two of you. It was about you and Massani and how long it would take you two idiots to come to your senses."
"So, how did you and Joker come to win the pot?"
Garrus chuckled. "We won by default. Liara said never."
Liara looked at Kate. "So does that mean..."
Kate grinned. "I told you I had moved on."
