Hello all! I must say this update is sooner than expected, I just had some free time today so I just ended up writing, and before I knew it, I had a Chapter to upload. I wanted to originally make this just one Chapter, but it would have been just a little bit too big, so I have to cut it into two, maybe others if I get carried away like I did here.

So, I decided to introduce two new characters to the Mass Effect universe, they are if my own creation, so don't go ripping them off, you dig? If you want to know more about them, flick us a PM and I'll make up a service record for you to look at.

Anywho, enjoy and don't forget to leave a review!


Mass Effect: Duty Calls

Chapter 7 - The Price for Revenge (Part 1)

"Another patrol."

"That's what... The third in an hour? Something has got them an edge."

"Fourth, Vega. And you're right, they are definitely on edge, I would be surprised if a fight broke out between a pair of them. Then at least then we could have something to keep us entertained."

Vega went silent as he looked up from the scope of the Sniper Rifle, but remaining prone along with his partner. He took in his surroundings once more, checking to see if any Blue Suns members had used their brains and scouted further than the training ground. But so far all he saw was the barren land of the moon from the slope they were camping on. They had a perfect vantage point for reconnaissance and if necessary, sniping position. "Still no sign of any behind us. Fair to say that they still don't know we are here."

"And the state the obvious award goes to Vega. Seriously, you are just lucky you're easy on the eyes otherwise I would have requested another team mate."

"Hey, come on now." Vega said, chuckling at casual flirting going in between the two. "No need to get your panties in a twist, blondie. I think it is awesome the Colonel teamed me up with hottest señorita in the Alliance, it's always nice to have a good distraction every now and then."

She couldn't help but sigh loudly in a frustrated tone "For the last time Vega, stop calling me Blondie, I have a name you know. It's Gwene."

"I know, I know." Vega said, trying to calm the situation. "Blondie is just easier to remember, I just look at that hair of yours and there it is. Unless you would rather in called you 'Blue' you know, like the colour of your eyes."

Gwene just shook her head. "When you're done describing my appearance, maybe we should get back to what the Colonel asked us to do, and find a weakness in their patrols." She turned her head away from James and looked back through the scope of her modified Black Widow "Honestly, it's no wonder you drove the Colonel crazy with your... Hello, what's going on now?"

"What is it?" James asked, as he looked through the scope of his Mantis.

"One of the leaders just came out of the training grounds and now it seems they are yelling orders. Ugh, I wish Blake would hurry up and tap their comms already." Gwene said, keeping a careful eye on the compound through her rifle.

"Yeah, as a matter of fact, he was supposed to check in thirty seconds ago." Vega said, scanning the area where Blake should have been when he reported back in.

"He probably lost track of time, as usual." Gwene said "I honestly don't know how he made it through the N7's engineer programme, he didn't know one end of an omni-tool from the other."

"Come on, he's a good guy, just a little... Well, dim I guess." James said.

"Yeah, but still, I don't want to get in trouble with the Colonel if he doesn't check in." Gwene said, still scanning the area for exploitations in the patrols ranks. "You know how the Colonel is, he likes everything to he perfect."

"Of course I do." Came a heavy australian accent from behind them "Because I don't accept failure in my unit."

James and Gwene swiftly turned to look at the owner of the the voice, there kneeling behind them was Colonel van der Wyk, their N7 superior. "Status?"

"Sir!" Gwene began "We have been scanning the patrols of the Blue Suns mercs, and it is difficult to find an opening we can exploit, they are too inconsistent. It can be one patrol one hour, and then four in the next, I haven't been able to see any patterns."

The Colonel nodded "Alright. Vega, has Blake reported in yet?"

"No sir." James replied "He missed his check in time two minutes ago, and we haven't been able to make visual contact."

The Colonel just shook his head. "I swear to god, if that boy doesn't report in, in the next thirty seconds..."

A sudden shocked gasp from Gwene ceased the Colonel's threat. "Sir. Another patrol just came back, they have Blake."

Before Vega could look down the scope of his own rifle, it had been snatched by the Colonel who was now using it to look at the compound. As Gwene had said it, a patrol was forcibly carrying and restraining the N7 engineer. "That idiot." He muttered to himself. "Vega, open up a comms with Blakes helmet, I want to hear what is going on."

"Copy that." Vega said as he activated his omni-tool and began trying to open up comms.

"Sir! We found him just inside the perimeter!

"What were you doing out there?"

"I... I was making my way to that slope to the north..."

James, Gwene and the Colonel all froze, that was the exact position they were now camping.

"I have a team about three kilometres to the south, doing recon and setting up Sniper positions. The Alliance has an artillery strike planned for the day after tomorrow at 1200 hours."

The Colonel was still looking through the rifle "That idiotic bastard, they'll never fall for it."

"An artillery strike? Obviously they don't care about all the other humans inside. I don't think I believe you."

"Please, I've told you the truth, I just don't want to die."

Vega turned to look at the Colonel "Sir, we have to do something!" He hissed.

"No Vega, we don't." The Colonel replied "With the false information he has given them, they should take him in as prisoner to see what else he knows. Then when Shepard and his team arrive, we can initiate a rescue."

"Wait, Shepard is coming?" James asked, surprised to hear his old CO and friend would be coming down to help deal with the Blue Suns.

"Quiet Vega! I can't hear what they are saying!" The Colonel hissed.

"What do we do with him now?"

"He stupidly betrayed his own squad, just to save with worthless skin. I think we should teach him a lesson."

The leader of the mercs stepped closer to Blake, and without any warning, gripped the edge's of his breather helmet and forcibly ripped it from off of Blakes head and threw it behind him. Gwene had to turned her head away from the scope as the vacuum of space sucked all the air from Blake's lungs, quickly and painfully suffocating him to death. His body fell to the ground in a slump and several of the mercs seemed to be laughing, they were completely sadistic.

"I can't believe they just did that." Gwene gasped, completely shocked at what she had avoided seeing, but still able to hear all that had went on.

"What did they do?" James asked, not able to see what had happened.

"They tore his helmet off and left him to suffocate." The Colonel said, anger present in his tone, he hated to lose good men, but they still had a job to do.

"Shit! So what do we do now?" James asked, usually he would have shared a plan if this were Shepard, but him and Colonel van der Wyk were two completely different people.

"Send three patrols south and capture the others that this one was with, kill if you have to." Some of the mercs nodded and nearly half the numbers outside began making their way south, further away from the N7's. "And the rest of you, get rid of this filthy human body before it starts to stink up the place."

The Colonel watched as the Patrols went south. "Blake, you smart bastard. Those idiotic mercs actually believed him, they're sending three teams on a wild good chase. Gwene. I think now might be a good time for you to slip onto that base and take care of those AA guns."

Gwene was a little hesitant to go after witnessing one of her comrades murdered in cold blood, fearing that might happened to her. "Sir?"

"You're one of the best Infiltrator's in the N7. Vega and I wouldn't even be able to get close enough." The Colonel said, trying to provide some comfort and give a nice morale boost. "If anyone can do it, you can. Besides, Vega and I will be covering you from up here."

Gwene knelt up from her Black Widow and nodded "Yes sir, I'll have it done in no time." She pulled her M-77 Paladin from her magnetic holster and attached a suppressor to the barrel. "Wish me luck."

"Good luck, Blondie." James said as she left the recon camp. He picked up the Mantis that had just been dropped beside him from the Colonel and used it to watch Gwene's progress. "So, sir. How did you know it would be Shepard bringing a team down to reinforce us?"

The Colonel went prone and filled the vacant spot that Gwene had been using. "Just before I came up here to join you, a encrypted message came to the Mako and said him and his team would be here at 1700."

"That's two hours from now, sir." James said, looking at his omni-tool for confirmation of the time.

"Yes, and that is why we need to bring those AA guns offline, they are flying in, in one of those Kodiak's." The Colonel said "It wouldn't be good for the resume if you got the galaxies hero shot down before he even made it to the battlefield, would it?"

James couldn't help but grin, maybe him and Shepard weren't so different. He didn't say anymore as he used his rifle to watch Gwene's progress, with her light frame, she would be difficult to spot, not to mention the fact she could disappear under a tactical cloak whenever she wanted. It didn't take her long to reach the outer perimeter of the compound.

"I'm in position." Gwene said over the comms. "What can you tell me about their movements."

James carefully scanned the area, spotting Gwene hiding behind a jutting rock, the patrols weren't even concentrated on looking North, just south where they thought they should have been. "Alright, none of them are even looking in your direction, you should be able to make it to the first AA gun without detection, but move quickly and quietly."

"The only way I know how to move, Vega." Gwene replied over the comms. "Just watch and tell me if any of them decide to use their brains." She peaked out from behind the rock, when she saw it was clear, she swiftly made her way from the rock and managed to reach the first AA gun without issue. She then began to work on disabling the first AA gun, some muttered curses came across the radio, but in no time, a triumphant sigh could be heard "First AA gun down, three to go."

"Alright, a patrol just broke off and is headed to the eastern gun. Slip through the compound and take care of the western gun." The Colonel said, who also like Vega was scanning the area and keeping an eye on Gwene.

"On my way out." Gwene said, pulling the Paladin from her hip and quickly making her way through the compound, ducking in and out of cover when able.

"You weren't kidding when you said she was the best Infiltrator in the business." James said "I haven't seen anyone move as stealthily as she can."

"Then it is a good thing I decided to bring her along." The Colonel said "We're both soldiers, we'd stand out like sore thumbs."

James couldn't help but chuckle "I hear that."

"If you two are both done talking." Gwene's said over the radio "How am I looking?"

James quickly spotted Gwene hiding behind a set of stolen crates, the AA gun was in clear sight. "You're all clear, just don't take so long this time."

Gwene moved from behind her hiding spot and swiftly closed the distance between her and the AA gun. She couldn't help but scoff over the radio at Vega's quip. "Well, I'd love to see you slice into a maintenance panel and sabotage the firing matrix, making the damned things explode when they fire."

"Are you kidding?" James said, grinning that he had gotten a rise out of her "I could do that in my sleep, Blondie."

"You're just lucky I don't have my rifle, Vega." Gwene said in a frustrated tone as she finished her sabotage of the second AA gun.

James couldn't help but laugh lightly "Yeah, I guess you're right." It was a threat of Gwene's that shut Vega up, and with good reason, Gwene was an expert Sniper, never having missed a shot throughout her entire Alliance career.

"Alright, if you two are done bickering." The Colonel said, both of them ceasing at once. "Gwene, you can either go sabotage the southern gun or eastern gun, both are protected by guards."

"Alright. Do you have a clear line of sight to both guns?" Gwene asked over the radio.

"Yes. Your best bet would be to eliminate the southern one first, then it would make your approach to the eastern one easier." The Colonel said "But with the mercs all looking south, you might be hard pressed. It's up to you."

The radio went silent for a few moment as Gwene was busy thinking, shortly she replied "I do love a good challenge. I'll deal with the southern gun first."

"Alright, but if you get caught then we are gonna have to save your ass, so try not to get spotted." James said over the comms.

"Yeah, then you'll have nothing to stare at when my back is turned." Gwene replied over the comms.

"Uhh... What are you talking..." James began, but was cut off by Gwene over the comms again.

"Oh don't be like that, I've caught you staring at my ass every time I turn around, Vega." Gwene said, but her voice wasn't angry or annoyed, if anything it was quite humoured. She knew Vega could be a shameless flirt, and so could she.

James thanked his lucky stars that he had a breather helmet on as he could feel his face heat up and turn red. "You have two guards headed towards your position." He said, trying to get his mind off of things. He watched as she disappeared under her tactical cloak, and then they couldn't see her any longer.

"I don't mind it so much, Vega." She replied over the comms "As I said, you are lucky you're easy on the eyes."

James was lost for words, with his peripheral vision he noticed the Colonel shake his his head in what appeared to be slight annoyance.

"Alright. I'm just behind the crate about twenty two meters to the guns right, you spot me?" Gwene's voice came back over the comms.

"I got you." The Colonel replied, having found the crate she mentioned. "You are clear for the moment, you will only have thirty second to sabotage the gun and get back out of sight."

"Copy that. Going under cloak again, wish me luck." Gwene said, once again disappearing.

The next thirty seconds would be trying, with some of the guards attention facing the south, James and the Colonel couldn't help but hold their breaths, waiting for any sign of good or bad news. They had already lost one man already, and to lose one of the best Infiltrator's in the Alliance wouldn't exactly go down as a successful mission.

"Dammit!"

Both of their hearts stopped when they heard Gwene's voice over the comms. "What is it?" James quickly asked.

"The system for this gun is different than the other two." Gwene said in an annoyed voice. "I'll have to shut this one down completely, and that will arouse suspicion if they try to use them."

"Can you hack it so it will respond to our commands?" The Colonek asked.

"Yes, but I'll need more time." Gwene replied.

"Alright, do it." The Colonel said "But if any guards backtrack, just shut it down and get out of there."

"Copy that, hacking now." Gwene said.

For the next minute, James and the Colonel watched each of the guards movements carefully, none of them seemed to make any movements toward the AA gun.

"Another twenty seconds and this gun will be ours." Gwene's voice came over the comms.

However, before either of them could reply, they noticed two guards break off from the rest and walk slowly towards the southern AA gun, exactly where Gwene was hacking. "You have two guards headed your way, disable that damned gun and get out of there." The Colonel quickly said.

"Just ten more seconds." Gwene replied in a quiet voice, as if trying not to be heard by them "I can do this."

Ten seconds seemed to be taking longer than ten seconds should, the two guards were mere feet from Gwene now, if they looked around the other side of the gun, they would spot her. Both James and the Colonel were sweating profusely, would she be spotted?

"Hack complete." She whispered "Moving on." James and the Colonel both breathed heavy sighs of relief at hearing she had managed to complete the hack. The heard a snigger over the comms "It's nice to see you two so concerned about my safety."

"Yeah, yeah. Just don't take so long next time." James said in a still relieved tone.

"I'm sorry, next time I'll make sure to do my best." She replied in a heavily sarcastic tone. Her approached to the eastern AA gun was relatively easy, there were more crates littering the area so it made hiding a lot easier. However it didn't eliminate the problem of the two guards standing beneath the gun.

"Think you can draw them away?" James asked.

"I got my eye on something. Going under cloak, watch my back." Gwene said, as she disappeared before their very eyes. Several feet from where she had been, a large crate managed to fall off another and smash on the ground, spilling its contents over the moons surface. The two guards saw the crate fall and went over to investigate, weapons at the ready. Just as they arrived at the scene, Gwene emerged from her tactical cloak and was already working on the AA gun, she made the 'OK' symbol with her hand, knowing the two would spot it. She managed to finish her sabotage just as the guard began clearing up the mess she had made. "All guns dealt with, making my way back to your position now."

"Copy that, good job down there. Drinks are on me when we get back to Rio." The Colonel said, happy that the sabotage had been a success. "We'll need to toast our fallen comrade, the only way we soldiers know how."

"Hear hear." James replied, agreeing to his CO's words.

"Seconded." Came Gwene's reply over the comms.


-S-


Shepard sat in the co-pilots seat as Cortez carefully flew them along the moons surface, their plan was to approach the training grounds from the North and rendezvous with the N7 team scouting it out. Seeing that Cortez had everything under control, Shepard stood from the seat and went back to address his team. Everyone had been inspecting their weapons the whole time, Shepard had already given his a thorough inspection before leaving the Normandy, they sat in their magnetic holsters on Shepard's brands new N7 armour.

"Alright everyone, you all know the briefing." Shepard said, looking over his team of Garrus, Ashley, Tali, Liara and Zaeed who utterly insisted on joining them with this mission. "We are meeting with the N7 recon team and we will hear their report. Any questions?"

"What do we know about the leaders of the Blue Suns?" Ashley asked.

"Darner Vosque and Vido Santiago." Liara said, before Shepard could answer. "Vosque took over the leadership of the Blue Suns over a year ago, not much has changed with them except the resurface of Vido Santiago. He had been playing it safe by making others his scapegoat."

"That's Vido alright." Zaeed said, the anger in his tone enough to cut glass. "Put someone else's face out there, and when trouble comes your way, slip into the god damned shadows."

"Yes, that's right." Liara said. "Which makes all this more confusing, why leave the shadows?"

"You know him best." Shepard said looking to Zaeed "Thoughts?"

"He usually comes out of hiding if there is a big profit to he made." Zaeed said.

"I don't know." Garrus said. "What worth would there be in attacking war ships flying by the system, and Earth is right there, they had to know this wouldn't end well with the Alliance hub well within reach."

"What, they going to try take over Earth next?" Ashley couldn't help but say. "If the Reapers couldn't hold onto it, what chance would they have?"

"Landing zone just ahead." Cortez said from the cockpit.

"Alright, breathers on everyone." Shepard said, grabbing his own helmet and securing it on his own head. He watched as everyone except Tali grabbed a nearby helmet or breathing apparatus and secured it, Cortez had sealed off the cockpit.

The shuttle came to a slow stopped and with a soft thud, had landed on the moons surface, the outer door slowly opened, exposing them to the tough terrain. Shepard was the first to exit, having taken his Wraith Shotgun from the holster, it had always been a precaution to have a weapon ready when stepping out of the shuttle. He spotted a nearby Mako and slowly began to make his way toward it, the rest of his team following close behind. The canopy slowly opened, Shepard and his team stopped and immediately six weapons were pointed at the one exiting the Mako. "Loco? That you?"

Shepard immediately lowered his weapon at hearing his given nickname. "James?"

"Hey, alright!" James said as he leapt down onto the ground. He approached Shepard's team, even with his breather on, the biggest grin was present. "Didn't think you'd be out in the field again so quickly, Commander." He said as he took Shepard's hand.

"I'm as surprised as you are, James." Shepard said with an equally surprised grin as he shook James' hand "And it's Admiral now."

"No way!" James yelled in surprise. "You're shittin' me, seriously?"

"You sound so surprised Vega, he did save the galaxy after all." Garrus quipped.

"Yeah, I mean I knew you'd get promoted, but Admiral? You'd have done Admiral Hackett proud." James said, referring to Hackett's legendary rise from enlisted officer to Admiral after the First Contact war.

"He's not the only one who is proud." Ashley couldn't help but say.

"Alright, enough with the talk." Zaeed said in an annoyed tone "We got work to do, yeah?"

Shepard nodded "Yes, James take us to your CO."

"Yeah, hold on." James said, activating his comms "Colonel, sir. Shepard and his team are here."

In moments, another had exited the Mako and approached Shepard and his team, his N7 armour almost directly matching Shepard's own. "John Shepard. As I live and breath."

"Bryson!" Shepard said, walking toward him with his hand out. "Good to see you, old friend."

Bryson took Shepard's hand and firmly shook it. "Been a while, Shepard."

"Four years." Shepard said, a very big smile on his face "I believe you drank me under the table last time."

"Good times." Bryson couldn't help but chuckle "Anyway, this isn't a time for a catchup, we have work to do."

Shepard nodded "Agreed. Bring us up to speed."

"Very well, here is the situation." Bryson said, playing with his omni-tool and projecting a layout of the compound. "The mercs have taken the three underground training facilities, we haven't been able to get eyes inside, but from what we can see from the outside, they are heavily fortified and prepared to repel any attack."

Shepard and his team gathered around the holographic battlefield and carefully looked it over. "What about those AA guns, can we bring them offline?"

"Taken care of." Bryson answered. "Another of my team already took care of them, with successful results might I add. They won't be a problem."

Shepard's eyes were flicking over the hologram, looking for what might be a good assault tactic. "They have the high ground, so we can't make a frontal assault, we'd be slaughtered before we even made it up the hill."

"I've got one of my team up on that big slope here." Bryson pointed to a large mound north of the compound, it gave a clear line of sight. "They can provide covering fire if need be."

"One won't be enough, we could use another, two guns are better than one." Shepard said, he looked up to his team, his eyes immediately falling to Garrus. "As I'll be leading the assault, I'd best send the second best shot to join them." Bryson cleared his throat loudly. "Sorry, third best. Garrus, how do you feel about providing Sniper watch and covering fire?"

"It will be just like my Archangel days." Garrus replied "And Shepard, when we get back to the Normandy, you and I are going to have a nice talk about this being third best shot business."

"Of course Garrus." Shepard said, rolling his eyes with a smile. "Bryson, tell your Sniper they have another coming to join them."

"No need, she heard it all." Bryson said, taping his helmet with his available hand. He turned his attention to Garrus at this point "You must be a good shot if he is sending you up to join Gwene, she is deadly accurate and might just be as good as myself. Not a single shot missed in her entire career."

"That's the nicest thing you might have ever said to me, sir." Came a females voice over the comms.

"That was Gwene, just don't get on her bad side." James warned "Blondie has a nice temper."

"I swear to god Vega!" Gwene yelled over the comms.

Tali couldn't help but laugh "I think we found someone who doesn't like your nicknames."

Shepard couldn't help but chuckle lightly "Alright, Garrus, head on up and join Gwene. We'll give you two the signal to open fire, and be sure to take plenty of thermal clips with you."

"Copy that, Shepard." Garrus said, leaving the group and beginning his ascent up the hill.

"Skipper, I think I have an idea." Ashley said suddenly.

"Alright Ash, lets hear it." Shepard said.

"Well, with the AA guns down, why not hit them on two fronts, an air strike and ground assault." Ashley began "Cortez proves air cover while the rest of us hit them from the ground with that Mako."

Shepard couldn't see any flaw in the plan Ashley had put before them. "I like it. Bryson, thoughts?" He looked to Bryson to see if he approved.

"Yes, I think that could work. We have our Snipers draw their attention to begin with, then we have your pilot hit them hard, then our ground assault moves in to finish the job." Bryson said "Then comes the hard part, we split into three teams and hit those three bunkers simultaneously."

"Alright, we have our plan of attack." Shepard said. "We'll move out when Garrus is in position, I'll have a word with Cortez. What about you two?" He nodded to Bryson and James."

"We'll handle the Mako. Vega, you're on the gun." Bryson said, looking to the Lieutenant-Commander.

"Aye, sir." James said, giving a quick salute that he understood his orders.

"Alright. Everyone load up and check your weapons, when we hear from Garrus, we show those Blue Suns just what happens when you piss off the Alliance." Shepard said.

"Hold up!" Zaeed quickly yelled before anyone could move "If anyone spots Vido, you leave that fucking prick to me."

"We know Zaeed." Shepard said. He noticed his look when he realised he was speaking more towards Bryson and James. "Most of us do. Liara, go speak to Cortez about our air support."

"Right away." Liara said, making her way back to the shuttle.

Shepard turned his attention to Bryson, James understood half the story already as Shepard had graced him with the story of his mission against the Collectors. "Vido Santiago." He said, as he activated his omni-tool and began playing the vid that was shown to him by the Asari councillor. "He is the leader of the Blue suns, shown here in this vid. Zaeed here has been hunting him down for the last 20 years, after what he did to him."

"What did he do exactly?" Bryson asked, but not Shepard, Zaeed.

"He betrayed me than shot me in my fucking eye. I intend to return the favour." Zaeed said simply, but his gruff tone made it sound worse than intended.

"And how exactly did he betray you?" Bryson asked, he was beginning to adopt his serious attitude, and both James and Shepard knew what that meant, trouble.

"He took everything we worked to build, and then some." Zaeed replied. "And I'm not the type of person to be fucked with."

Bryson didn't say anything else, he just continued to stare at Zaeed, as if trying to get a read on him. "Shepard, you sure do make some interesting friends."

"He was a big help beyond the Omega 4 relay." Shepard said "I trust him."

"Alright, that's good enough for me." Bryson said. He was about to make another comment, but Liara had returned and interrupted.

"Steve understands what he needs to do, Shepard." Liara said "He'll be in the air when you give the word."

Shepard nodded "Good. Now, I think it's time for some introductions. If we're all going to be working together, we deserve to know whose asses we'll be saving."

"Liara T'Soni." Liara said, stepping forward and holding her hand out before Shepard could introduce anyone.

"Bryson van der Wyk." Bryson said, respectfully taking her hand and shaking it.

Tali had taken the same initiative as Liara and stepped forward. "Tali'Zorah vas Normandy." She announced proudly as she too held out her hand.

"A pleasure, Tali." Bryson said,'taking her hand and shaking it.

"Ashley Williams." Ashley said, now moving over to stand beside Shepard "Soon to be, Shepard."

"Mrs. Shepard?" Bryson said, unable to hide the surprise in his voice. "How on earth did he role you into that?"

"He had his ways, none of which I think are allowed in polite conversation." Ashley joked, gathering a slight chuckle from Shepard.

"Hold on." Liara said "You and Shepard, are getting married?"

"Oh, I guess in all the excitement we never actually told anyone." Ashley said, realising what she had done.

"Surprise."'Shepard said simply.

"Wow, that's... I'm so happy for the two of you." Liara said, moving over to Ashley and giving her a celebratory hug.

Tali also rushed over to give Ashley a hug with Liara "Ash! That's amazing! Congratulations!"

Ashley was overwhelmed by the sudden embrace's from both Liara and Tali, but she returned them all the same "Alright guys, we can celebrate after we finish our mission."

"Of course, now I suppose Shepard will be taking extra care of you." Liara said as she stepped back from Ashley.

"As if he didn't do that enough already." Tali said, stepping back as well. "Ever since they got back together, he practically took her on every mission they went on, talk about favouritism."

"Come on guys." Shepard said, hoping to dismiss the friendly bantering. Truth was, Tali was right, but he just wanted to keep a closer eye on her. "Lets focus, Garrus should almost have rendezvoused with... with..."

"Gwene." Bryson helpfully interjected.

"Yeah. So lets get everything ready." Shepard said in a final tone.

Liara and Tali complied, but they couldn't help but throw teasing looks at both Shepard and Ashley as they began to check their weapons.

"Great, now they're never going to shut up about that." Ashley said in an annoyed tone.

"Pull rank, threaten to kick them off the Normandy." Shepard said, introducing the empty threat to Ashley.

"I would, but don't forget Liara has some serious information on us, and she would never let us live it down." Ashley said.

"It's times like these I really wish Liara hadn't become the Shadow Broker." Shepard said quietly while bowing and shaking his head.

"Don't worry, Skipper. Besides, we need to focus on the here and now, lets get this done and go home." Ashley said with a smile.

Even though Shepard couldn't see the smile, he could tell she was, just by the way she had spoken. "And which 'home' is that?"

However, before she could answer, the comms opened up and Garrus reported in. "I'm in position, Shepard. Ready when you are."

"Alright. We'll move out now, keep an eye on what they're doing until we give the signal." Shepard said to Garrus.

"Copy that Shepard." Garrus replied, and the comms were shut off.

"Alright people, everything is in place. Lets move out." Shepard said in a commanding voice. "Cortez, when I give Garrus the signal, get airborne and provide covering fire."

"Copy that, sir." Came Cortez'z reply over the comms.


-S-


The hike up the slope was nothing for Garrus, as apart of his training in the Turian military, 10 mile hikes were the only form of relaxation a soldier in training could look forward to. As his former drill instructor said "Turians are born tough, made tough and are tough, so why the hell am I dealing with a bunch of sorry for nothings, who should still be getting milk from their mothers?" It was the drill instructors way of helping the troops with the mettle of combat. He soon reached the highest point of the hill, and began looking for the sniper he was to meet with and provide cover fire for Shepard and others, he spotted her in a prone position closer towards the downward slope and silently made his way over to her.

"Garrus Vakarian." He announced "Here to help provide cover and support."

In a fluid motion, the sniper turned on her side, whipped her pistol from her hip and had it pointing directly at Garrus' head. When she was able to get a clear look at who had joined her, she placed her pistol back on her hip. "Sorry about that, you just snuck up behind me and gave me a bit of a fright." She stood up from her prone position and dusted her armour off, the N7 emblem becoming clear to Garrus. "Lieutenant Gweneth Longoria, at your service, Garrus Vakarian." She said politely, holding out her hand for Garrus.

"A pleasure, Lieutenant." Garrus said, taking her hand and firmly shaking it. "So, what can you tell me about our position."

Gwene turned back to her rifle and went prone once more, Garrus pulled his own Widow from his magnetic holster and joined Gwene in a prone position. "We are approximately 50 meters above their position, and over 600 meters away. With the low gravity of the moon, we can just put them in the middle of our cross hairs and fire without much problem." She said "But with my baby here, it wouldn't matter, I haven't missed a shot with her yet, and I don't ever intend to." She softly patted her Black Widow.

"Yes, your Colonel said you haven't missed a shot in your entire career." Garrus said "I'm not sure if he was exaggerating or not, but it can't hurt to hear from the source."

"He wasn't joking." Gwene said proudly. "100% accuracy. The day I miss will be the day I retire."

"Well then, lets hope it comes later rather than sooner." Garrus said in a polite manner. "Oh, I should report to Shepard." He activated his comms to Shepard and spoke. "I'm in position, Shepard. Ready when you are."

"Alright. We'll move out now, keep an eye on what they're doing until we give the signal."

"Copy that Shepard." Garrus replied, then he shut off the comms. He turned his attention back to Gwene "So, that's a Black Widow with what looks like a Thermal Scope and a High Velocity barrel."

"Not to mention spare thermal clips." Gwene said, smiling at the praise her baby was receiving.

Garrus was surprised, all the weapons he had come across could only handle up to two modifications at one time, and hers had three. "How did you manage that?"

"Well, I sort of tampered with it a bit. I'm a bit of a gun jock you see, I can take them apart and put them back together, better than ever if need be." Gwene said. "When I did it with my baby here, I sort of... Made some illegal modifications to it. If the Alliance knew I did this, I'd be booted out of the military quicker than a Krogan chasing a fertile female."

Garrus couldn't help but laugh at Gwene's last comment, the ironic thing is that Tuchanka was now full of fertile make and female Krogan's. "Well, my lips are sealed. Just make sure you do your 'baby' proud." She was rapidly becoming a new favourite of Garrus'.

"Oh, I will." Gwene said with a grin. "Those blue sun bastards won't know what hit them. I just hope you can keep up." She said, challenging the turian marksman.

Garrus couldn't help but chuckle "You don't know what you have gotten yourself into. You ever heard of someone called 'Archangel'?" He couldn't help but ask.

"Boy, have I. That lone gunsman, taking on the Blue Suns, Eclipse and Blood Pack all at once?" Gwene said, almost in awe "Omega could have used more like him, it's a real pity he died, I heard he was a good sniper."

Garrus couldn't help but grin beneath his helmet, hearing her praise the hero she didn't realise was lying right beside made it all the better. "I heard he was the best. Holding out for a whole day before Commander Shepard came in and helped defend his position."

"It's a shame he couldn't have saved Archangel, I would have loved to have bought him a drink." Gwene said.

Garrus' cheeky grin was becoming bigger "Oh, didn't you know? He did survive and served on the Normandy during the Collector mission."

"Really?" Gwene asked, now looking at Garrus as if he had just told her she won the lottery.

"Really." Garrus said, now trying to keep from laughing." A fine Turian if ever I saw one."

"Wait, so you're telling me you actually met Archangel?" Gwene was now giving her full attention to Garrus. "What was he like? What was his weapon of choice?"

"His weapons of choice, well, I know he liked to use a Mattock Assault Rifle." Garrus said, wondering if maybe she noticed it on his magnetic holster. "And as for his Sniper rifle, he stuck with the M-92 Mantis for a while, but when he laid hands on the M-98 Widow, there was never another rifle like it."

"Wow, that's..." Gwene began, but she soon began to realise that the weapons Garrus had described, that he now carried, were the same as Archangel's. "Wait a minute, are you... Archangel?"

"Guilty as charged." Garrus said, finally unable to contain himself.

Gwene's surprised look turned into a grin "Alright, 'Archangel' lets say I don't believe you, how can you prove to me you're the real deal."

"Why not say if I get more kills than you." Garrus replied, feeling a more challenging rivalry coming on.

"You're on." Gwene said. "But in all seriousness, I've got this in the bag, my rifle has more shots than the standard Widow."

"True. But if you really know how to make it dance, you don't need the extra's." Garrus said. "Though there was a time where I wouldn't have minded the extra shots. I seriously asked Shepard if he could requisition the Black Widow for me, but he came back and told me it would cost too much. Then he goes and gets himself the Wraith which is practically the same price."

"You're telling me." Gwene agreed "My former CO said the exact same thing to me, so you know what I did? I spent five years salary buying my baby here, as well as the modification for it, and there isn't a single regret in doing so. Well, except I don't have a retirement fund any longer."

"Garrus. Gwene. Look sharp, we are in position, and are waiting for your first shot." Came Shepard's voice over the comms.

"Copy that, just give us a minute to line up our shots." Garrus replied. "Well, looks like its time to prove my worth, my reputation as Archangel is on the line."

"Alright." Gwene said, looking down the scope of her rifle, looking for the right target. "So who do you think should be our first victim?"

Garrus also looked down his scope, now scanning the mercenaries to see who would make a bigger impact. "Well, how about that one walking past the group there. They see him fall, then they raise the alarm and the panic begins."

"Nice thinking." Gwene said in an agreeable tone "Moving target, who gets to do the honours?"

"Ladies first." Garrus offered.

"Alright, but don't forget our little wager." Gwene said, bringing the crosshairs to rest on the mercs head as the walked. Her finger wrapped around the trigger "And let the games begin." She squeezed the trigger tightly, the heavy Sniper rifle recoiling heavily from the shot, but she bought it under control and readied her next shot.

Garrus watched as the merc they had both targeted was sent flying back by the heavy shot going directly through his skull, he landed in a heap just near the small band if mercs, and as Garrus said, they raised the alarm and began scanning the area for who had just shot their fellow mercenary. "Headshot, very nice."

"That's one, Archangel." Gwene said, finding a new target and squeezing the trigger again, the heavy sniper rifle firing once more. "And that's two." She said as another merc fell to the ground, the shot nearly taking their head clean off.

Garrus wrapped his own finger around the trigger, he found an easy target and squeezed, the rifle firing, and the merc dropping dead before they even hit the ground with a gaping hole in their chest. He ejected the thermal clip and found a new target, repeating the same process and another merc dropping with a gaping hole in their head. "Two down, and so much more to go. These are the days I'm really going to miss when I get old."

"Not bad, but lets see you try and top this." Gwene said. She carefully aimed at a new merc who was in cover, like most of them now were. She found the right angle and squeezed the trigger, letting loose another powerful shot.

Garrus watched as the shot impacted heavily with the thin barricade the merc was hiding behind. "So, where do you think you'll be retiring to?" He asked as he ejected the spent thermal clip.

"Don't know, we'll see when I actually retire." Gwene said with a smirk. The shot had gone clean through the barricade and had killed the merc behind it, that much becoming clear when their body slumped to the ground. She ejected her thermal clip and looked to Garrus for approval.

"Alright, I think it's time I stopped showing off." Garrus said. He found a new target, a merc sniper that had managed to spot them and was carefully taking aim, Garrus could have made the shot easier but he really wanted to show up this human that wouldn't believe he was Archangel. He squeezed the trigger and Garrus' own bullet let fly, straight down the scope of the merc sniper and through their eye, killing them instantly with the headshot.


-S-


With the first shot from Gwene raining down upon the unknowing merc, it was now time for the air support to loosen them up some more. "Cortez." Shepard said over the comms "Bring down the fire."

"Copy that, sir. On my way." Came Cortez's reply.

After a few more deadly shots from the two Snipers, the mercs had began firing at the hillside where the sniper fire came from, and as soon as that had happened, more sniper fire rained down upon the mercs, many dropping as a result. The bunker doors began to open as reinforcements poured out to aid their allies. The sniper fire began to die down when more shots were kitting the hills where they camped. Moments later, the Kodiak flew over top of Shepard's team and began letting loose on the mercs, firing its main guns and causing an uproar. The four AA guns then came to life and began targeting the shuttle.

Shepard became a little worried when he saw them come to life. "Are you sure the AA guns are taken care of?" Shepard asked Bryson as the ground team were already moving in.

"Of course." Bryson replied from inside the Mako. "Just sit back and enjoy the fireworks."

Shepard wasn't sure what he meant by that, but he watched all the same. Just as they were about to fire, for almost no reason, three of them exploded, and the other shut down and was unresponsive. As an extra precaution, Cortez fired at and destroyed the final AA gun. "Sabotage?" He asked Bryson again.

"Gwene tampered with the firing matrix's, so when they fired, they just exploded instead of firing." Bryson put simply.

"Smart. Now, I think it's time we entered that fight. Liara, get a singularity in the middle of the larger groups." Shepard then ordered "Tali, get a defence drone amongst them, and Ashley get some grenades in there. Zaeed, pick off any that try getting too wise."

The three woman set to follow Shepard's orders, Liara's singularity caught some unsuspecting mercs in the weightless dark energy field, they were quickly killed by some accurate shots from Liara's carniflex. Tali's combat drone hovered throughout the battlefield, flushing mercs from out of cover, where they were then picked off by Tali's shotgun or their snipers providing cover fire. Ashley's inferno grenades cut through some of the smaller groups of mercs, and the rest fell victim to her timely shots from her Vindicator. Zaeed was picking off the easier targets with a weapon Shepard never expected to see used again, Jessie, he had managed to revive his formally retired Assault Rifle, but it seems he bought her out if it to finally fulfil the revenge boiling up inside of Zaeed.

It was now Shepard's turn to deal some damage, he spotted some mercs close by who were now turning their weapons towards Shepard's team. He flared up his biotics, keeping his line of sight directly on the merc in front of him, he took a leap forward, but instead of biotically charging at the merc like he was supposed so, he ended up leaping forward a few feet, the surprise at this failed biotic charge caused him to lose his balance and fall onto the ground. Ashley had spotted Shepard's failed attempt at a charge and swiftly leapt over to him and disposed of the mercs with quick bursts from her Vindicator. "What happened?" She swiftly asked, unloading another burst on a wise merc trying to get a pot shot on Shepard.

"I don't know." Shepard replied, he was just as confused as she was, his biotic charge had never failed him yet. He saw a duo begin to take aim at Shepard, he flared up his biotics again and thrust out his left hand, hoping to send a shockwave, and throwing the two mercs from the ground. Again his biotics did nothing and they died down, something wasn't right, he wasn't able to use his biotic abilities. "What the hell is going on!" He couldn't help but yell out of frustration.

Ashley swiftly took care of the mercs bearing down on Shepard and herself. "I don't know, but for now stop trying to use them and shoot something!"

Shepard couldn't help but agree, he pulled his M7 Lancer from his back and quickly set to work. He was very glad he had come across this old rifle in the iridium vaults back on the Citadel, it was still as strong as ever and didn't need thermal clips, but still overheated from too much use. He unleashed a barrage of bullets upon mercs that got too close, but even now with weapons, Shepard felt that something was off, even his aim was questionable.

Cortez was still providing some air support, pushing some stragglers towards the main group that were currently being picked apart by Shepard's ground assault and the Snipers. James opened fire with the Mako canon, catching several of the now outgunned mercs in the fierce explosion. Realising they were outgunned, the mercs called a retreat. "RETREAT!" Yelled out one of the leaders "BACK INTO THE BUNKERS!" At once, the surviving mercs ran to the nearest bunker and sealed themselves inside, the easy part was now over.

When the last merc had made it inside the bunker, Shepard holstered his lancer and began to look around, he wasn't sure of the total number killed, but if he had to guess, they had already taken down a large portion, and now they were split into three.

"Alright." Shepard began "They have retreated underground, so now here is where we split up." He reached up to his helmet and activated the comms "Garrus, Gwene. Get down here, we need you."

"On our way, Shepard." Came Garrus' reply.

"Alright, so we know what we have to do here." Shepard began again. "We enter the bunker, and deal with the remainder of the Blue Suns. We spare any that surrender and kill any that attack, got it?" Everyone present nodded in agreement. "Good, as for Vido. Capture if possible, only kill if you have no other choice. Vosque, either way." He turned his attention to Zaeed. "Have any problems with that?"

"So long as I get to put a bullet in that bastards face, I don't care." Zaeed said coldly.

Shepard nodded, Bryson and James had emerged from out of the Mako and had joined Shepard and his team. "Okay. Now Ashley, James and when Garrus arrives, I want you three on that bunker over there." He pointed to the furtherest bunker on the compound. Both Ashley and James nodded in understanding. "Good. Bryson, Liara and Tali, you take the bunker right here." Shepard pointed to the bunker that were all standing beside. All three nodded and moved into position. "And that leave Zaeed, Gwene and myself to deal with the final bunker."

Zaeed gave a short and stiff nod in understanding. "Alright Shepard, but I don't want Vido escaping this time, understand?" He warned "If he get slips away again, you'll be taking his place, we already missed out on him once because of your fucking soft heart."

"Don't you dare..." Ashley said in a very dangerous tone that Shepard had never heard before, it almost made him cringe.

"Or what sweetheart." Zaeed said in his gruff tone, he was clearly challenging Ashley to finish her sentence.

"Enough! Both of you!" Shepard said sharply, standing between the two. "Zaeed. If Vido is here, he isn't going to escape this time, I promise you that, alright?"

"Fine." Zaeed said. "But I meant what I said earlier."

Shepard just dismissed it. "Don't worry, I have a plan. Cortez?"

"Sir?" Came his reply over the comms.

"If anyone but us, or Alliance personnel leave the bunkers, shoot to kill." Shepard said to Cortez.

"Copy that. They won't know what hit them."

Shepard looked to Zaeed "See? I have all my basis covered."

A minute later, Garrus and Gwene had regrouped with the rest if the team. "Sorry we're late. Some of us decided to take the scenic route." Garrus said.

"Hey, I'm not the one that wanted to pick all the pretty flowers along the way." Gwene said, both challenging and defending against Garrus' supposed joke.

Everyone chuckled lightly at the banter between the two, even the corners of Zaeed's mouth twitched slightly. "Alright everyone, lets focus." Shepard said, bringing an end to the light laughter. "We all know what we must do, so let's get this done and go home."

"What? No speech this time, loco?" James asked.

"No speech, just some words." Shepard said "There is nothing more dangerous than an enemy pinned against the wall, just do what must be done and we'll see you on the other side."