Chapter 6: Allies To The Cause

Garrus quickly checked over his assault rifle, admiring the feel of it in his hands as he clipped it to the magnetic clamp on his back. He then checked over his sniper rifle; his pride and joy on the missions that required precision and careful timing. Any target under Garrus's sights always ended up dead, either from the headshots or the trauma from when he aimed for a different part of his enemy's body. He wished he could've used it more, but working at C-Sec has limited him to pistols and assault rifles at times. If he were still in the turian military, he'd have plenty of opportunities. But this mission, rules or no rules, would require his favorite weapon when the time is right.

Clipping his sniper rifle to his back as he did his assault rifle, he walked out of the locker room with his head up high. As he walked by, Detective Chellick spotted him.

"Garrus? What's up with the heavy firepower?"

"I'm launching a rescue mission. A quarian's life is at stake."

"Garrus, you do realize you sound a bit crazy right now, right?"

"Maybe, but this is something I have to do. I don't expect you to agree with me, but I don't care at this present moment."

"Then I won't stop you from your crazy endeavors. Just please don't cause trouble for the executor. He's already tired of your other stunts you've tried pulling during your career."

"I'll try not to piss in his mug." Garrus joked. "If anyone asks where I am, tell them I went to visit Dr. Michel down in the wards."

"Whatever you say, Garrus. Be careful. I don't want to find out one of our best agents got blown up in some crazy scene."

"Like that's ever going to happen to me." The turian smiled and walked towards the elevator that led to the wards.

Zach walked through the elevator that had taken them from the presidium to the wards, Kaidan and Ashley behind him. Walking down a corridor to a door at the end, he entered his first sight of the wards. The place was full of people commercing in a central area that stretched to doors and stairwells to other locations on the level. The view that caught his eye was that in front of him of the entire Citadel. He walked forward and rested his hands on the ledge at the end, taking in the view of the enormous space station. Kaidan and Ashley joined him to his left as he stood up a bit more.

"Big place." was all Kaidan could say. There was a moment of silence.

"That your professional opinion, sir." Ashley stated blandly.

But Zach actually had to agree. "This isn't just a station. It's a city."

"There must be millions living here, working together to support the galactic community." Kaidan continued.

"This makes Jump Zero look like a porta-john," Ashley commented. "and that's the biggest deep space station we have."

"Jump Zero is big, but this is a whole 'nother scale. Look at the ward arms! How do they keep them from falling apart?"

"The council must represent more races than I thought." Zach chimed back in, "No wonder they're careful with newcomers."

"They're probably trying to keep every race working together. It would be hard to represent all the different cultures that live here."

"Or maybe they just don't like humans." Ashley commented rather snidely. After hearing that, Zach decided to figure out later if she had problems with aliens.

"Why not? We've got oceans, beautiful women, this emotion called love. According to the old vids we have everything they want."

What Ashley said next made Zach laugh a little inside.

"If you expect to get me into a tinfoil mini-skirt and thigh-high boots, I want dinner first," which she ended with an embarrassing "Sir."

"That will be all, Chief." Kaidan commented.

And Zach agreed with him, despite the fact it was funny hearing her say that. "That would be violating the laws of fraternization, Chief. I think we'd all like to keep our jobs, right?"

"Of course' sir." Ash said, humiliated for even commenting.

"Ready to move out, sir." Kaidan stated.

Walking away from the ledge, they walked for only a short distance before he heard his name be called by some woman waving them down. Deciding to find out what was going on, he walked towards her.

"You called my name, miss?"

"I'm Emily Wong. I'm an investigative reporter working for the Citadel News Network. I'm investigating crime down here on the wards, and I thought you could help me get some information while you continue your own investigation."

"How do you even know I'm investigating at all?"

"I'm a very good investigative reporter. I know how you're still trying to take down Saren. You might run into information that could help my own investigation that I can't obtain because of how well-guarded its contents are. I'd be willing to pay you for whatever you can get me."

Zach shrugged. "Sounds like a good cause. If I find anything that could help you, I'll bring it to you as soon as I have time."

"Thank you, Commander. You won't forget it." And Emily left as soon as she was finished speaking.

"Do you really think we'll find anything that can help her?" Ashley asked annoyingly.

"It couldn't hurt to see if we can find stuff for her while we search for evidence against Saren." Besides, that would mean more action for the two of them. He was sure they'd enjoy it.

Walking through the door they were facing, they looked around to see a marketplace. At one vendor, a human was arguing with a turian dealer; stating he purchased something from the store the turian was denying he ever sold. In another corner, two volus were conversing about items to purchase to for some trip to their cousin's expedition to the planet his 'vision' stated he must go to so he could 'find the beings of light.' In a corner, another keeper could be seen typing on a keyboard. Zach had seen a few of them on the presidium, and Ashley got yelled at by the Virtual Intelligence for almost touching one out of curiosity. It was kind of funny to see her drop her 'tough girl' facade for one that doesn't like to be snuck up on.

Zach lifted his omni-tool. "Okay. The entrance to Chora's Den is just down those stairs through a door next to Morlan's Famous Shop. We go in, find Harkin, make the meeting short, and find Garrus. If he's reached his source for evidence, we take it to Ambassador Udina so he at least looks like an asshole with actual evidence."

"What is it about Udina that makes you hate him so much, sir?" Kaidan asked.

"He's a stuck-up, cocky politician. What more do you need from me?" Zach stated. "Let's go." However, they were interrupted by yet another person acknowledging his existence.

"Wow. You're Commander Shepard! The Hero of Eden Prime. I am so honored to meet you." Zach had actually listened to the man being amazed by his presence seconds before, but now he actually faced this man. He had incredibly light hair with a small beard to match, and the look in his eyes was that of excitement. Deciding to entertain him, he shook the man's hand.

"Nice to meet you. And you are?"

"My name is Conrad. Conrad Verner. I am so glad I'm able to meet you. They say you killed over a hundred geth on Eden Prime!"

Well, actually, it was only seventy-four geth. The rest were mutant robot zombies we now call husks. "We were too busy killing them to keep count." Zach decided to say.

"Hey, do you mind signing an autograph for me?"

Shrugging his shoulders, he grabbed the man's pad and quckly made an autograph. "Anything for a fan. Here."

"Thank you, Commander. You have no idea how happy I am. My wife is going to be impressed. Next time you're on Earth, I'll buy you a drink. Thanks again." And Conrad walked away from them, leaving Zach to turn around to face a grinning Ashley.

"What?"

"Looks like you have a fan."

"And?"

"Did you see how childish that guy was? I swear, it must've been his best day ever."

"Riggggggghhhhhhtttttt. Let's just go." Without any more distractions, they finally made it to the entrance to Chora's Den. Two turians were exiting the bar, carrying menacing looks on their faces. They stared in their direction, and their eyes flared their hatred toward them.

"That's them." Suddenly, their hands had shotguns in them. Zach pulled the Striker off of his belt, and fired two shots at the one closest to him. The shields only flickered, but did not die. Ducking behind cover alongside his companions, he figured out a plan to take out the enemies as quickly as possible.

"I'm getting sick and tired of people with strong shields."

"Maybe if you replaced your special ammunition from cryo to sledgehammer rounds." Kaidan joked. "That'll do some damage."

"Only on my shotgun, Kaidan. That thing fires too slow when I need it to save my life. Take out their shields so Ashley and I can finish them off fast."

"Whatever you say, Commander." Kaidan raised himself up and launched his overload program at the two turians as they lost their shields in a crackle of electricity. Ashley took up a position to shoot the head of one turian, but the other's shotgun knocked her back.

"Damn it! Shields down! Their shotguns are dangerously modded. I'd say sledgehammer rounds."

"See?" Kaidan continued joking. "Totally effective against shields."

"The day I give up cryo ammunition is when I can program the guns with any ammunition type I wish. And even then, I'd still use it. Sabotage their weapons, Lieutenant. I don't want to get my head shot off."

Kaidan lit up his omni-tool again and overheated the turians' weapons. Before they could reach for their pistols, however, they were finished off by two shots to the head; one body exploding into broken ice chunks. Running to examine the bodies, Kaidan came to the realization of why they were attacked. "Those were Saren's men."

"You know, he's a bit of a coward if he isn't coming to face me himself." Zach joked. "Anybody think I can best him in single combat?"

"He's a spectre, Shepard. They're the best the galaxy has to offer."

"I'm an N7 operative. Other than Maine and Stark, I'm the best humanity has to offer. And I've actually bested them in combat before. They were the toughest fights of my life, but I beat them. I doubt Saren would be any different."

Kaidan laughed. "I can't help but admire your confidence, sir." And so the trio walked into the bar to find Harkin. Walking around the bartender's circular booth and those watching the asari dancers, they saw Harkin. However, a red krogan was busy talking to another krogan in front of him. And judging from the shotgun on the back of his magnetic belt, it could only mean trouble if they got involved.

"Back off, Wrex." The bouncer said. "Fist told us to take you down if you showed up."

"What are you waiting for? I'm standing right here." From what Zach saw, Wrex held as much confidence (if not more) as Zach that they would win the battles they were waging. "This is Fist's only chance. I suggest he take it."

"He's not coming out, Wrex. End of story!"

Wrex brought his reptilian head closer to the other krogan with a menacing grin. "This story is just beginning." Turning around to walk away, he saw the three of them. "Out of my way, humans. I have no quarrel with you." And the krogan walked away from them.

"What was that all about?" Kaidan asked.

"Who knows." Ashley answered. "Let's just try not to be caught in the middle."

"There's Harkin." Zach pointed at the drunken, middle-aged man sitting conviently next to where Wrex was standing. He was already drinking another glass of alcohol that Zach couldn't put his finger on. Then again, he never really drank any real alcohol unless the occasion was appropriate. Usually he drank a glass of Voltage, a kind of synthetic alcohol that was to simulate the effects of alcohol such as dizzyness and a hangover without the negative side effects to his liver and brain. He forgot the name of the company that created it, but he did know they perfected a dextro-based formula to help suffering turian alcoholics in Citadel space. Also, he couldn't help but feel the drink had a strange 'bubbly' feeling to it.

"Alliance." the drunk man in front of them said. "I could've been in the Alliance. Instead I had to join the goddamn Citadel Security. Now I'm on leave with no pay because I wanted to enjoy a drink or two on duty."

"Harkin, right?" Zach's voice was stern. "I heard you can help me find someone. I'm looking for a C-Sec officer; a turian named Garrus."

"Garrus?! You must be Anderson's men. Still trying to take down Saren, I see. Sure, I know where Garrus is, but you gotta tell me something: did the captain let you in on his big secret?"

Zach became confused for a second. "Do you know something about the captain?"

"The captain used to be a spectre. Betcha he never told you that. But he messed it up. Screwed up his mission so bad they kicked him out. Of course, he blames Saren."

Is he telling the truth? Zach thought to himself. Anderson never mentioned it to me. Although, Harkin is drunk. He probably doesn't know what he's talking about. Deciding to set the matter aside, he continued what he was here for. "Just tell me where Garrus is."

"Garrus was seen snooping outside Dr. Michel's office. You'll probably catch him there."

Good. Now I'll take my leave of you, you drunk bastard. "I'm out of here."

"Good. Go. Let me drink in peace." the drunkard said as he hiccuped and gulped another glass down. Walking out, Zach's companions did just what he expected.

"Why didn't the captain tell us he used to be a spectre?" Ash said accusingly.

"Maybe it's not true." Kaidan suspected. "Harkin's an ass. I bet he's just messing with our heads."

"Maybe. I'd like to hear what the captain has to say about it, though."

"One problem at a time, Williams." Zach interrupted. "Let's go see a doctor."

Garrus watched from his vantage point as he saw five heavily armed men enter Dr. Michel's office. Thankfully, they had not spotted him as they entered. Following silent behind them, he kept his body as low to the ground as his knees would let him. Already he could see the men surrounding the doctor, and he heard her scream in shock at the realization of the thugs surrounding her.

"Let's make this easy, doctor." A voice Garrus could only pin down as the leader spoke.

"Who are you?!" Garrus heard the doctor say; a touch of fear in her voice.

"You haven't told anyone about your little guest you sent our way, did you?" He spoke again. Garrus could see from his vantage point that her eyes filled with the realization that these were Fist's men. Garrus quietly unclipped his pistol off his belt, waiting for a chance to stand up and place a bullet in each of their heads.

"I didn't tell anyone, I swear!" The woman's screams hid the sound of a door opening behind Garrus. And since whoever was behind him hadn't attacked him yet, he could only guess it was Shepard. Hugging himself closer to the wall, he waited seconds more for the perfect opportunity to strike.

"That was smart, doc. Now if Garrus comes around, you stay smart. Keep your mouth shut or we'll-" The man stopped talking as he saw the man in white armor. He grabbed the doctor and used her as a shield. "Who are you!"

"Let her go!" The commanding voice of Shepard could be heard behind Garrus trying to contain the situation. As the two men pointed their pistols out at each other, Garrus swirved out of his hiding spot, aimed his pistol at the leader's head, and pulled the trigger.

The human crumpled to the floor, dead as the bullet had impacted his head.

With the other four surprised and confused, it gave Shepard and his team the perfect opportunity to finish them off. They took aim at a small tank right behind them, shooting shots off of their guns to cause the tank to rupture and explode. It tore through the thugs' shields, leaving them vulnerable to weapons' fire. Every single one fell. Garrus felt accomplished over his victory.

Zach saw the move the turian pulled to be a bit reckless.

"Perfect timing, Shepard. Gave me a clear shot at that bastard." Garrus spoke to him.

"What were you thinking?" Zach scolded. "You could've hit the hostage!"

"There wasn't time to think! I just reacted! I didn't mean to-" Garrus faced the doctor. "Dr. Michel, are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm all right." She spoke, her voice a little calmer than it was before. "Thanks to you. All of you."

"Why were those men threatening you? Who do they work for?" Zach asked.

"They worked for Fist. They wanted to shut me up; keep me from telling Garrus about the quarian."

Quarian. Which race were they again? Zach was having trouble remembering which species the quarians were (likely the result of never meeting one before) so he continued asking questions. "What quarian?"

Dr. Michel started fumbling with her hands. "About an hour ago, a quarian came by my office. She'd been shot by an assassin who was murdered by the Butcher of Torfan."

"Stark? What's he gotten himself into now?" Zach let slip past his tongue.

"Friend of yours?" Garrus asked.

"We trained together years ago. I was there on Torfan when he let vengeance control him to slaughter hundreds of batarians. The Alliance only state it as one hundred casualties, but I saw how he murdered over three hundred batarians in a matter of minutes. And it's all thanks to that knife of his, forged by the batarians themselves; his trophy for what happened on Mindoir. His parents and sister were murdered, and he and his twin brother, Robert, joined the Alliance. Stark is the worst kind of tragedy that could exist." But my tragedy could come close second. Zach kept back.

"Well, she told me Stark saved her life and left the body to rot in some sort of alleyway." Dr. Michel continued. "Whatever the assassin was hunting her down for she wouldn't say. I could tell she was scared; probably on the run. She did, however, state she had a secret she needed to get rid of, and that she also needed to get some intel to the Alliance."

"What intel?"

"An encrypted OSD entrusted to her by who she believed was the Hero of Elysium. Maybe if you find her, you could take it off of her hands as well."

"Where is she now?"

"I put her in contact with Fist. He's an agent for the Shadow Broker."

"Not anymore." Garrus interrupted. "Now he works for Saren. And the Shadow Broker isn't too happy about it."

"Fist betrayed the Shadow Broker? That's stupid, even for him! Saren must've made him quite the offer."

"That quarian must have something Saren wants. Something worth crossing the Shadow Broker to get."

It has to be the evidence we need. We have to find her."She must something that proves he's a traitor." Zach stated. "Did the quarian say anything about Saren or the geth?"

"She did. She told me she got her secret from a geth unit she disabled in the Armstrong Cluster." Dr. Michel finished.

"That quarian must be able to prove Saren's a traitor." Garrus stated. "There's no way the council can ignore this!"

"Time we payed Fist a visit."

"This is your show, Shepard, but I want to bring Saren down as much as you do. I'm coming with you!"

"You're a turian. Why do you want to bring him down?"

"I couldn't find the proof in my investigation, but I really knew what was going on! Saren is a traitor to the council, and a disgrace to my people!"

Garrus's confidence both pleased and worried Shepard. On one hand, Garrus seemed to be the 'at-any-costs' kind of guy, which was something Zach never wanted to be. On the other hand, Zach is willing to bring in allies to the cause, and Garrus had skills. "Welcome aboard, Garrus." he agreed, deciding to see if he could show Garrus his way of fighting a battle and drill it in his head.

"You know we aren't the only ones going after Fist. The Shadow Broker hired a krogan bounty hunter named Wrex to take him out."

"Yeah. We saw him at the bar." Ashley chimed in.

"A krogan could come in handy." Zach decided, knowing from what he heard about krogan that they were good fighters."

"We can find Wrex at the C-Sec Acadamy." Garrus continued.

"What's he doing there?" Kaidan asked.

"He was accused of making threats in Fist's bar. We brought Wrex in for a little talk. If you hurry, we can catch him there."

"Then let's move out." And the four of them left the clinic for the stairwell to the elevator that led to the C-Sec acadamy.

Wrex stood in front of a human C-Sec officer with a stern look on his face. The krogan found it funny how the small man thought he had all of the power over him. Surrounding him were three other officers with rifles. Wrex could see one guard's fear through his red eyes, and he found it entertaining.

"Witnesses saw you making threats in Fist's bar." The human in front of him spoke. "Stay away from him."

"I don't take orders from you." Wrex barked.

"Do you want me to arrest you?"

"I want you to try." He looked over the officer's shoulder to see a human in heavy white combat armor smirking at your conversation. He then realized it was the human he passed by in the bar. Behind him stood the other two humans who traveled with him, and a turian C-Sec agent with a visor over his left eye. Deciding he was done with C-Sec pestering him, he walked away; the officers deciding to tell him to leave anyway. When he reached the human, he stared with observing eyes. "Do I know you?"

"My name's Shepard." The human spoke to Wrex with the voice of a leader. "I'm going after Fist, and I heard you were doing the same. Thought'd you'd want to tag along."

"Shepard. Commander Shepard. I've heard a lot about you." He brought his face close to Shepard's face. "We're both warriors, Shepard. Out of respect I'll give you a fair warning: I'm going to kill Fist."

"Fist knows you're coming." The turian spoke to him. "You'll have a better chance if we all worked together." And strangely, Wrex found that turian's comment was a good idea.

"My people have a saying: seek the enemy of my enemy, and you'll find a friend." Shepard extended his hand out to Wrex, and he shook it respectfully.

"Good to have you on the team, Wrex."

"Let's go. I' hate to keep Fist waiting."

Shepard turned to his human companions. "Williams, Alenko, head back to the ship. This mission will just be Wrex, Garrus, and I."

"Aye, aye, sir." One companion, a dark-haired male obeyed. He headed towards the elevator, but the other human, a female by the looks of it, opened her mouth.

"With all due respect, sir, I don't think you be bringing aliens into our investigation at all."

"It's not your call to make, Williams." Shepard spoke to the human woman. "I've seen you and Kaidan in action. I'd like to see what Wrex and Garrus can really do. Besides, a team of three is as much as I take with me out on a mission. Go back to the ship and wait for us to return. That's an order."

The woman begrudgingly brought her hand up to her head in the form of a salute. "Yes, sir." Joining the other human in the elevator, they left as it took them up to the docking bay.

"That woman's got quite a mouth." Wrex joked.

"Maybe, but she follows my command, so if I tell her to go, she goes. So what can the two of you do?"

"I'm a biotic and a krogan." Wrex bluntly stated. "I think that explains itself."

"Another biotic. Well, I guess we could always use a spare." Shepard joked himself.

"I'm the best sniper on the Citadel, and I have some experience in the field of decryption and electronics." The turian spoke.

"You don't want to be in your enemy's face shooting him at short range with a shotgun?" Wrex asked.

"Why would I when I could get crushed to death by the krogan's skull I'm trying to shoot up close." The turian joked.

"Ha. You've got a quad, turian, even if your fighting methods are more suited for a pyjak." Wrex laughed his low laugh. "What about yourself, Shepard? What can you do?"

"I can handle almost every weapon in the galaxy. Add to that, some computer skills, and I can hack open any door or terminal. They're useful skills I got on Earth when I was growing up."

"Well, we'll see who wins." Wrex stated.

"Win what?"

"Who's the better killer." He laughed.

"Get ready to crown me king, then." the turian yelled, laughing as he walked back to the C-Sec elevator that led back down to the wards. Wrex stared at Shepard; a grin forming on his face.

"Twenty credits goes to the winner?"

"You're on!"

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, that's the end of this chapter. Next time, I'll cover Fist's death, Tali's rescue, the walk to the human embassy, and the evidence revealed.

Also, if you have any guesses on what "Voltage" is based off of, go ahead and PM me or mention it in a review. I'm sure any gamer should get the reference if they ever get thirsty while playing games such as Mass Effect.