Chapter 9: The Warrior, The Protector, The Rouge, and The Rescue
"So, you must be Wrex," said Ashley, approaching said yellow-faced krogan. She had just made her way down to the C-Sec Central Booking and had witnessed a little... spat between her person of interest and a few miscellaneous individuals. In reality, it just consisted of a few threats before the war-monger scared them away.
As the alien turned to face her, she thought she may have seen a questioning, though unperturbed, look on his face. "Hurry it up, human. I have an... appointment to keep."
"Yeah, Fist, right? From what I hear, your aiming to shove that gun of yours down his throat."
Ashley leaned up against a wall as she said this, crossing her arms and indicating with her head, mimicking her commander's signature pose. It was actually kinda of satisfying to see the mercenary's irked yet slightly bemused face, even if the latter barley shined through.
"I'll admit," he grunted out, "that you intrigue me with the interest you've seem to have taken in me. However, if you're here to stop me, I suggest you go on down to Chora's Den and wait with the rest of the fodder for your death. It'll keep the splatter contained. And tell you boss I'm coming to rip the organs out of that feeble thing he calls a body."
"No, no, no, wait, I think you misunderstand me," the woman pleaded as the krogan pushed his way past her. She managed to catch his attention again, through from the look on his face, Wrex's patience was as worn as it was going to get, so she got what she wanted to say out as quickly as she could. "I'm don't want to stop you, I want to help you."
For maybe a millisecond, Wrex held an incredulous look on his face, before it morphed in outrage. He quickly stomped over to the woman, frightening her, and almost causing her to draw her weapon. Luckily, though, the behemoth stopped by shoving his face into hers.
"Listen good and listen well, human," he growled out like some possessed being. "Never again believe that any krogan, especially a krogan as proud as me, would ever entertain the thought of receiving the help of such an inferior race, especially when your species is as transient as they are. Now, you have three seconds to either rectify your statement or get the hell out of my face."
tears stung at the edges of the gunnery sargent's eyes, though not from any fear. No, it was from the putrid smell imminating from the krogan's mouth. However even with her attention somewhat focused on figuring out just how to describe the smell, she knew that her life was in danger. She had to come clean.
"What I meant was Fist has some information that I want. I figure that we go in together, clean up whatever thugs he has protecting him, and I can question him before you blow his brains all over his office."
for a moment, the krogan just eyed her with his fierce look, before he pushed her back and began marching away. Ashley could only watch him go, thinking that she had just blown her big chance, and was about to contact Shepard and say to regroup at Chora's Den, before the monster tu5ned over his shoulder and called back to her.
"Hey, are you coming or what? I don't have all day, and the sooner fist is wiped off the plane of existence, the more gratifying it will be."
Slightly shocked, the woman forgot all about contacting her superiors and jogged to catch back up to the murderous beast, not willing to miss her chance at getting solid evidence.
The two were a queer sight to be seen, walking through the corridors of the Citadel. However, seeing how they were equipped, how they were carrying themselves, people didn't spare them a second glance, too fearful for their lives. It wasn't long before Ashley herself became unnerved and tried to start a conversation.
"So, how did you come to work for the Shadow Broker?"
"I'm a mercenary. They contacted me through their channels."
The woman was expecting more, but when it became evident that it wasn't coming, she tried a different approach.
"So, why did you take this job?"
This time, Wrex sent a nasty glance Ashley's way, obviously becoming annoyed with the questions, but answered nonetheless. "Because the pay was good, and this guy's a leech. Even if he wasn't, though, I would have still killed him."
Feeling as if this was the start of a good conversation, the soldier pushed. "So, this guy's a leech, but your employers aren't?"
"I didn't say that," the krogan grunted. "In my opinion, their both weak. Anyone who would buy or sell information ii, either to gain funds in the latter, or because they are too incompetent or cowardly to find out for themselves. That, or they lack the balls to just go for something without having every base covered. Not to say there isn't a fine line between being prepared and reckless, but doing that isn't the warrior's way."
And with that tone of finality, and the connotations against her that came with it, Ashley knew the topic was closed. However, seeing as they still had a few more minutes to kill, and the closer they got, the more her nerves acted up, she tried again in order to take her mind off of the possibilities.
"So..."
Wrex cut her off before she could get any further. "I know not all humans are like this, so why do you have to be? Be silent know or I'll kill Fist before you get your chance to question him."
And so Ashley was quiet for the remainder of the journey. As the duo reached the door with lead into the sort of antechamber before the club, Wrex turned to her, taking his shotgun from over his shoulder before asking a question.
"This is the last chance you get. You sure you want to go in? No doubt that the patrons have already been evacuated and the guards are stationed."
Ashley thought about it, and really, she wanted more back-up. However, she also didn't want to look weak. So, she mimicked the krogan, taking her assault rifle and nodding. This caused a rare grin to form on Wrex's face as he moved foreward. However, both were stopped at the sound of a questioning voice.
"Ashley?"
(Earlier and Elsewhere):
As Shepard made his way to the clinic he was told about, he couldn't help but have some extisential reflection on this whole matter. Such as, why did it involve him; why his crew? Sure, he knew that it had to do with the Normandy's mission to Eden Prime, but why was it him that was picked for the mission? No doubt Anderson had personally asked for him, but then why Anderson? Not to berate the man, but there were probably others of his position that were better suited for the job.
Then, there was the crew. Why did he Anderson let him choose the people he worked closest with? He had chosen Jenkins because the soldier, rest his soul, had been from the planet to begin with and could have been a good reference on some aspects that could have occurred during the mission. But why did he choose Uzumaki? Sure, he was humanities 'Natural Biotic' and all, but such statements didn't really phase him. He didn't care about the youthful chap's abilities, he would take what was said about him with a grain of salt. The government wanted him on a good field run, but as far as they were concerned, little to no danger was actually involved, and truthfully, Shepard could care less about the spooks' hidden agendas. He did as he was told.
There was just something about the blond's profile that made him pick it. He had a feeling something bad would have happened if he didn't. It was strange since he usually didn't pay attention to that kind of thing. Sure, he used his gut instinct in battle, but not when time was available like then. Couple that with the fact that Uzumaki had set off the beacon and got him sucked up in it, and ever since then he had these... visions every time he closed his eyes, unable to sort them out or make distinctions about what he was seeing. Idly, Shepard wondered if he made the wrong decision.
He shook his head to banish the thought. There was a reason he chose not to think like that. It always led him to thinking if he had made the right choice against the Bartarians. Of course, he knew that given the chance, he still would have sent his men to die for the cause of the time. As cold-hearted as it was, he considered them, while not acceptable losses by any means, necessary for what was 'needed' at the time.
His contemplation was definitively ended as he approached the entrance to the clinic. He stopped, eyes narrowing, as he heard the signs of a struggle going on inside. Immediately, he thought it was Cole, but pushed the thought aside as he wanted to see before making any drastic decisions. Nonetheless, his hand hovered by his side-arm for easier access pending on the situation as he hit the release on the wall and the door slid open.
Inside, Shepard could see a bunch of men, all armed, probably part of some gang, either tearing up the office or harassing a red-haired woman, presumably the doctor of the clinic. Behind the small wall in front of him, which would normally cause one to snake around it to reach the center of the room, but was easily short enough to jump over, crouched Garrus, gun in hand, who acknowledged him with a nod. No one else seemed to notice him yet, though, as a thug began speaking.
"I trust you didn't tell anyone about Fist. It would be unfortunate for something to happen, Doctor Michel."
"No! I swear I told no one!" the woman shouted, undoubtedly panicked as the thug insisted on waving his gun around.
"Well, that's good," was the response as he imposingly held his gun near her head. It was at that moment that the thug realized Shepard was standing there, gun drawn. "What the hell is this?"
As the man called out and got everyone's attention, alerting them to Shepard, the lead thug took to grabbing Michel and holding her hostage, gun definitely pointing at her head, ready to kill. In return, Shepard aimed at him, ready to take the shot, but quickly changed his mind, instead shooting another thug behind them as Garrus popped up from behind his cover, taking everyone but the commander by surprise and nailing the lead thug in the head.
As he slowly fell to the floor, the doctor pitched herself foreward and covered herself on the ground, Shepard himself taking cover behind the same wall as Garrus as a firefight broke out.
"Situation?" asked Shepard, a bit bored as he popped up over the cover he and Garrus were using and fired a few shots into a thug, seeing him drop before taking cover again.
Just as unconcerned, though a bit more worried about the doctor's well-being, Garrus too fired, shooting another two thugs in the head with one shot as one passed too closely behind the turian's target. "From what I understand, these guys work for Fist, owner of Chora's Den. A few days ago, an injured quarian arrived here, apparently with damning evidence about Saren. She wanted to get in touch with the Shadow Broker, and, knowing that he worked for him, our good Doctor Michel here directed our quarian friend to Fist. Somethings wrong, though, so I suggest we pay a visit to our little mogul as soon as we clean up this clinic. Nice shot."
The last comment was a response to Shepard shooting a bio-hazard canister some of the thugs had foolishly crowded around. Blinded by the escaping gases and coughing from the fumes, they were easy pickings for the sharpshooting duo.
Before long, the last of the thugs were finished with, as Garrus quickly moved over to the doctor to help her up, Shepard close behind. Still overwhelmed from the recent events, she was out of breath as she attempted to thank the two. "Thank you! I-I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't shown up when you did."
As she was on the verge of tears, Garrus put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, it's over now. Are you going to be okay if we leave?"
The turian received a nod.
"Okay, contact C-Sec to have them help out around here and take your statement. We want to stay but we have to take care of Fist."
They once again received a, albeit more hesitant, nod, before they raced out the door, intent on getting to Chora's Den as soon as they could. As they raced through the halls of the Wards, Garrus thought it appropriate to thank Shepard while they had a moment.
"Thanks for turning up when you did, Shepard. We gave me the perfect opportunity to take one of those bastards down."
"No problem," was the commander's curt response. A thought occurred to him, then. "If you don't mind me prying, why do you want to take Saren down so badly? After all, most members of a race are usually intent on protecting members of their own, especially prominent ones."
"Don't get me wrong, Shepard, I take pride in my race. However, I've known he was dirty for a while now. After countless months of investigating, though, I couldn't come up with any concrete evidence. I will not have the good name of my species dragged through the mud, and I value your help in this endeavour."
"It's good to know we have your help, at least. Thanks, Garrus."
Things were silent for a moment as the two weaved through people, getting closer and closer to their destination. Suddenly, another thought occurred to Shepard.
"Shit!"
"What is it?" asked the turian, a bit concerned.
"I was supposed to ask the doctor if she had seen Colban. I don't suppose you have any idea where we could look for him after this?"
"No, sorry. I got a bit caught up in this Saren business."
"Well, I supposed finding him is a moot point now. After all, if we can find that quarian, we may have all the evidence we need."
He received a nod of agreement as they closed in on the destination. Unknown to them, they started running faster, but came to an immediate stop as they came to the entrance of the antechamber to the club. For in front of them held a surprise.
"Ashley?" asked Shepard, causing her and a krogan to stop in their tracks.
"Shepard?" Ashley asked, just as surprised as she spun around. "And Garrus, too? Where's Naruto?" Wrex, though, eyed the newcomers with suspicion.
"Friends of yours, human?" he asked with his guttural voice.
"You could say that," was Ashley's response.
"Commander Shepard, Human Systems Alliance," he said, offering his hand. A bit hesitant, Wrex took it.
"I've heard of you. You gave the bartarians hell on . You're pretty good... for a human. Urdnot Wrex."
Garrus didn't offer his hand, just nodding to Wrex. "Garrus Vakarian."
This caused a grunt from the krogan. "What's a C-Sec officer doing here?"
"I'm investigating a possible lead into corruption within the Citadel. What's a mercenary doing here?"
"Fist betrayed the Shadow Broker. I'm here to teach him a lesson."
Both of their voices held no small amount of hostility, and it was obvious that they weren't going to get along. To Shepard, though, that didn't matter. He just needed reassurance that they wouldn't shoot each other in the back.
"Listen, there's obviously a compromise. We all go in their together, we get our information, then you can do whatever you want with him. The more people we have to get through whatever defenses he may have, the better. Are we all agreed?"
after a bit of hesitation, there was a series of nods and grunts
"Good. Let's go."
"But Sir," interrupted Ashley, "What about Uzumaki?"
"I told him to check this place out half an hour ago. For all we know, he could be inside now fighting for his life. Now let's go."
With that, the quartet, approached the entrance of the club, weapons draw. Giving the signal to hold, Shepard noticed the bounce slumped on the ground, unconscious. Leaning against the wall, he opened the door, the muffled music becoming clear as he peeked inside. He immediately stopped in his tracks.
"What the hell?"
(In Another Place at Another Time):
The vibrations of the club's music hit Naruto as soon as he entered the doorway, the sensation causing bumps to form on his epidermis, a shiver running down his spine. Lost in thought for a moment, the goal soon once again became prevalent in his mind. Approaching the bar in front of him, the blond noticed that people paid no attention to him, either too preoccupied with their drink, conversation, or eying the asari table-dancers.
He still found himself revisiting Nihlus rescuing him in his head, though, and was concerned for the turian. He had nearly been killed twice, was gravely injured, and yet was still up and running, probably on will alone, determined to help him put an end to Saren.
The temporary distraction caused him to be surprised when he realized he had reached the bar, and was being asked something by the guy behind it. Missing it completely, the blond's only response was, "What?"
"I said, 'What can I get you,'. You alright, you seem out of it?"
For a moment, Naruto was confused that he wasn't being told to leave, when it occurred to him that the bouncer was the final authority on turning away people based on age. So, while the bartender probably had an inkling trepidation of him, he also probably realized that he had to be of age to even be allowed in.
"I'm fine," he eventually responded, "I just need something to take my mind off things."
"Coming right up."
What followed was a brief exchange of drink and credits before Naruto turned around, drink in hand as he took a mouthful of it, letting the alcohol burn his throat. While he probably shouldn't have been drinking before an infiltration, he found that it helped calm him, regulating his behavior. That being said, he didn't revel in the effects of the drug often, usually being able to control himself. Also, the military didn't like him drinking, as they didn't want their pet-project killing itself. Still, he enjoyed defying them.
As he turned around, taking another sip, he found himself almost choking on the liquid, the sensation causing tears to form in his eyes. In the corner of the room, sitting alone at a booth, he saw Cole, looking drearily down into his drink, several other glasses already strewn about the table.
So surprised was the blond that for a moment he found himself at a loss for what to do. Should he confront the man directly and risk causing a scene and letting the man get away, or should he sneak up on him, risking startling the enigma and possible putting other patrons in the bar cantina in danger.
Eventually he just swallowed his nerve and, as nonchalantly as he could, slid into the booth across from the man. It didn't take long for Cole to look up, a bored look in his eyes, apparently unsurprised by Naruto's presence, in turn surprising the lieutenant a bit. It took a few moments before the possible loony spoke.
"I can probably guess, but what do you want?" he asked, the question punctuated by the dock-worker taking a gulp of his drink.
For a second, Naruto thought, slightly put-off by the side of Colban he had yet to see until now, before replying, "Why did you run?"
Seemingly unperturbed by his fellow blond side-stepping the question in favour of asking his own, Colban cast the lieutenant a speculative look, saying, "A shot was fired. A lot of people who still have a survival instinct would have ran, and did. I wasn't sticking around."
"Now that's just it, "said Naruto, swirling his drink in his glass idly before taking a sip. "Just how did you get away? Not to boast, but I am a specially trained solider of Humanity's Allied Military. I know how to retain and subdue persons of importance."
"Just what are you implying?"
Colban's eyes were narrowed now as he watched Naruto carefully, putting his glass down fully, one hand inching down to below the table, something that didn't escape the blond. Prepared for anything, Naruto retained his tone of faux ignorant questioning, trying one last gambit to diffuse potential hostilities.
"In short, I don't quite see how a humble and unassuming dock-worker could manage to evade me."
A slight pause, then, from seemingly out of thew blue, Naruto dropped all pretenses.
"I know what it's like, Cole."
"Oh?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "I don't know what you're talking about. Please, enlighten me."
"The game's up, Colban. I know you were Spec Ops. I know how you felt, always looking over your shoulder, knowing that there was always a possibility that an enemy would find out and was following you. I know that in ways you hated what your superiors had made you become."
"You know nothing!" Colban growled out, jolting up and slamming both of his palms on the table, shaking both it and the glasses on it, knocking some on the ground. Naruto simply pick his up right before Colban did this, expecting it. Luckily, the music was so loud and the other patrons were so preoccupied with their own affairs that no one noticed them.
Calmly, Naruto rose as well, finishing his drink and setting the glass upside-down on the table before meeting Colban's infuriated gaze.
"I know enough that it wasn't Saren or his lackeys that had you spooked back at the Presidium. It was something from your past. Something you would rather forget, but will always cast a shadow over you until you overcome it."
"You don't understand," Colban replied, looking away and his tone shifting to something else.
"Oh?" asked Naruto, a mocking tint to his voice, as he parroted what had been said to him not a few moments before. "Please, enlighten me."
Unbeknownst to the duo, a small group came in, looking panicked as they began hassling the barkeep. From the shadows of the back of the bar, a heavily armed krogan came to meet the supposed hooligans., wondering why the bouncer had let them in and wasn't stopping them now. He got his answer when he realized they were mercenaries, just like him, hired to protect Fist. Apparently the one called Wrex was on his way there, but the bouncer, their scout, was already knocked unconscious. Had his own scouts been sent ahead to secure the area?
The krogan turned to the bartender. Apparently one of the blonds over in a side-booth to his right was the last one who came in. the two had entered separately. They were by themselves, apparently deeply engaged in their verbal intercourse, one looking impatient and fed-up, the other looking just as fed-up, though more patient, trying to reign the other in. Both were armed.
At the krogan's order, the bar club was quietly evacuated of civilians, more militia coming from the way he originated from, looking as unassuming as the could, armed as they were. For the most part, the two didn't notice.
Until Colban, looking for a way out of this, realized that there was no background noise. "Wait, do you hear that?"
Perplexed, Naruto looked at him for a moment, before listening. All he heard was the rhythmic thumping of the music's bass. "Hear what?"
"Exactly!" was Colban's reply in a hushed whisper. "No conversation! No clinking of glasses! Only music!"
Together, both spared a glance out of the corner of their eyes. People were still there, but not the ones from before. They were not conversing. They were purposely avoiding looking at them. Even the exotic table-dancers were gone. Again, their eyes met.
"What's going on?" Colban had a bad feeling about this, and so did Naruto. Before the latter could answer, though, a voice from eerily close to them spoke, surprising them, though they dared not make any sudden movements, lest they start getting shot at.
"The situation's not good."
Both me turned to the wall, seeing a ventilation shaft grate and the visage of a dark-skinned turian staring back out at them. Colban's eyes lit up, recognizing him as the turian he saw get shot back on Eden Prime, though didn't say anything. Naruto did, though.
"Nihlus, what's going on?"
The turian agent turned to him, no signs of anger or irritation on his face, just... disappointment. "Because you didn't confront fist earlier, it is safe to say that they have wizened up o your presence. I don't know how, but we've lost the element of surprise. It looks like you found help, though."
"Wait, you're taking down Fist?" Colban made sure to keep his voice down, not wanting to give up the game. He was met with a nod. "Why?"
"Well, since you refused to testify, and can't face your past..." Naruto left the comment hanging, allowing Cole to put the pieces together rather easily. It didn't take a genius.
For a second, all was quiet, as Colban ran the situation through his head. Just when it seemed as it would be left to Naruto and Nihlus, a look of resignation came over his face.
"Fine, I guess it's the least I can do. Not like they would let me just waltz my way out of here anyway."
"Right then." Naruto turned to Nihlus and then issued him directives, despite the fact that he wasn't the superior officer. "Get to Fist's office and try to neutralize any defenses. If they start to overwhelm you, fall back."
the turian accept the instructions, and simultaneously, both Naruto and Colban drew their pistols, the former flipping their table over for cover, and opened fire on the guards.
(Back with Shepard):
Suffice to say, in the eyes of the ragtag crew, it appeared as if a natural disaster had occurred within the confines of Chora's Den. Furniture was flipped over or smashed around the room. Glass was shattered on the floor. Scorch marks marred the walls and floor, be it from the emissions of weapons of the ignition of alcohol released from bottles. And of course, there were the bodies.
Everyone absorbed the image of at least three dozen bodies strewn about the place, all in various manners of disarray. It was obvious the cause of death for some was simply a gun, holes grouped nicely around their chests of face. Others appeared to have been smashed into walls or each other, limbs bent at unnatural angles, backs arched painfully, skulls collapsed with brain matter oozing out.
It was also apparent that some had been horribly burnt, signified both by the ghastly scent of singed flesh and the smoldering patches on the victims of, what they assumed was, the one man army named Naruto.
As the crew maneuvered around the throngs of the dead, some couldn't help but question the situation. "One of yours, Shepard?"
The man turned to Wrex, the one who had spoke, and gave an affirmative. "My Lieutenant. I knew Naruto wasn't one to mess with, but I admittedly never thought him to be capable of this single-handedly."
"Well, he seems like someone I want to meet. If he killed Fist, though, I'll have to pay him back, somehow."
Shepard knew it wouldn't be the good kind of pay back, and couldn't quite get around the almost whimsical nature of the krogan's voice. He pushed it from the forefront of his mind. Though, as they approached what appeared to be Fists office, and he heard what sounded like a struggle and muffled shouts from behind the closed door. Ordering everyone to get behind him, they all readied their weapons as the commander flipped the switch to open the the way in.
(With Naruto and Cole):
Having taken care of the club guard, the blond duo proceeded to what they assumed was Fist's office, making sure to step over the fallen bodies of their enemies.
"You weren't too bad back there," said Cole idly, causing Naruto to glance at him.
"This coming from a dock-worker? Then again, you did pretty well, almost as if you had practice."
Naruto finished, the hinting tone not even close to being subtle, along with the connotations. Then again, he had explicitly said what he had thought about the matter earlier. In any event, it got Cole to stop talking as they entered the office.
Inside, they saw Nihlus, patiently standing beside a man they assumed was Fist, the latter cuffed to a chair as the former spared a glance at them before nodding his head in greeting. And enraged look coming over his face, Fist began shouting at them, not amusing the two newcomers in the slightest as the door closed behind them.
"You fuckhead! What the hell do you want? Damn psychos! This is against the law! I'll have you all thrown in jail for the rest of your lives! Do you know who I am? I'll fucking destroy you and your families! You fucking lay a single finger on me and..."
Fist was cut off at that point, courtesy of a backhand from Colban, who was evidently fed up the shouting. "Shut the fuck up. Your men are dead, you're all alone, and now were gonna' torture you, so save your breath."
Those words carried the gravity of the situation to Fist, who was now quiet, a fearful look in his eyes as he dribbled blood from the hit he just received. It allowed Naruto to have Nihlus give him the rundown on what had happened.
"Any resistance?"
"Besides a few turrets, he was easy to subdue."
"Right," with that, the lieutenant turned to fist, noticing how his eyes darted around the room, unwilling to stay on anyone or anything for more than a few moments. The young blond decided to play off of this by adopting a comforting attitude. "Hey, listen," he began, getting the man's attention, "I'm giving us all the chance to just walk away unharmed and without wasting time. Tell me what you know about Saren, and we'll leave you."
"I-i can't tell you! If he finds out, he'll kill me!"
"And we'll make you wish you were dead if you don't tell us what we want to know."
Naruto was a bit surprised by the turian's hostile tone, but knew he wanted the information to convict Saren of his misdeeds. However, what really caught his attention was Colban rooting around among the disabled turrets. Naruto turned fully towards him as he ripped the siding off one, before reaching into his pocket and producing a thick, heavy set of gloves, reaching into the machine's wiring.
"What are you doing," he asked, catching everyone's attention as his eyes narrowed.
Without looking up from his work, the elder blond replied, "Working on a technique I learned on Earth."
As he said that, he ripped out two large, sparking cables from the wreckage, touching them together as he watched the electricity arc and increase a copious amount. Apparently satisfied, as shown by an appreciative nod to himself, he picked out another, longer piece of cable and ripped it out entirely.
"Okay, bring him over here."
A bit apprehensive, Naruto did as asked anyways, watching as their captive attempted to break free of his bonds, shaking his head wildly, fearful of what fate awaited him.
"Last chance," said Colban menacingly, no emotion showing on his face.
"I told you, I ca- MMMPHHFF!" Fist was silenced as the separate piece of cable was used as a gag, tying it behind his head in a knot that, while Fist himself couldn't undo, his captives could release easily.
"You may want to turn away," said Colban as he sparked the cables once more, approaching Fist whose desperate screams kept getting louder and more frantic, but fell upon deaf ears overall. He could only watch in horror as his mutilatour got closer and closer.
Then, just as he was about to be zapped, the door opened, catching everyone's attention and making them stop whatever they were doing, turning to the source, Nihlus and Naruto drawing their guns. In the door way, all manner of armaments also at the ready, were Shepard and Ashley, along with Garrus, the C-Sec officer and some krogan that no one had ever seen before. Well, Fist had seen him before, and it only caused him to struggle more.
Shepard and his ragtag crew took in the scene, and soon everyone lowered their weapons. The commander really wanted to ask what was going on; why was Nihlus there, was Colban about to torture a man, stuff like that. However, he realized that getting information from Fist was what was most important at the moment, so he chose to keep silent about the other issues and instead, putting up his best face of unshakable calm, with the slight undertone of boredom and the overall seriousness he was well known for.
"This Fist?" he asked Naruto.
"Yes," was the simple, slightly awkward reply.
"I guess you followed up on your leads well. Good work."
He shot a glance at the panicked, tied up man, and then turned back to his lieutenant.
"I suppose he isn't talking."
"No."
Turning to Colban, he simply said, "Give him a jolt."
The demand was followed through with, the live cables being placed on the man's abdomen and chest, and the club owner soon found himself in the worst pain he had ever experienced. Colban then undid the makeshift gag, which did well in masking the man's screams and that he had bitten deeply into, and asked calmly, "Ready to talk?"
"T-the quarian! She's meeting Saren's agents in a few minutes! They'll no doubt kill her and take the data you want! You can still make it if you hurry! It's the maintenance shaft in the Lower Wards!"
Shepard narrowed his eyes at hearing that, and turned to his team, and gave the order, something which they surprisingly all followed, probably just wanting to see this through to the end, "Move out! We need to ensure the quarian's safety!"
And with that everyone rushed out of the room, leaving behind a still-bound Fist. He was relaxed though, heaving a sigh of relief, thinking his ordeal was over. That delusion was quickly crushed under a krogan foot, though, as he heard a deep voice in the doorway. Peeking around the exit was Wrex.
"Hey, Fist, I almost forgot."
The man didn't have time to be afraid, as the mercenary brought up his shotgun and blasted a hole in the bound man's chest. He felt an intense pain, coughing up some blood, before blacking out, dead. A satisfied smirk on his face, Wrex rushed back out after the others.
(With Everyone):
The group of seven rushed towards their goal, all with different thoughts in mind. Some were worried about what would no doubt happen to the quarian if they didn't make it in time. Others were more focused on securing the data, feeling as if its transporters fate was inconsequential. Still, the select few, (read: Wrex) did not give two shits either way, and were just sort of along for the ride., hoping for a fight.
The group, lead by Shepard (naturally) came to a halt, reaching their destination. They were just out of sight of the person in question, as well as the hired help that was slowly approaching the quarian. Without saying a word, Shepard crouched down, drawing his sniper rifle and prompting Garrus to follow suit, whilst directing everyone else to take cover behind protruding walls and crates, all moving silently yet swiftly to be unseen, all with their preferred weaponry drawn, ready for a firefight.
They observed the situation on the commander's orders, waiting for the situation to turn south. It didn't take long.
"Did you bring it?" asked one of the assassins, approaching the quarian. She was hesitant, though, apprehension obvious in her voice.
"Where's Fist? Where's the Shadow Broker?"
Approaching even closer, the leader of the small gang tried to comfort her, caressing the side of her face, slowly moving down to her arm, even if her environmental suit was in the way. "Relax, they'll be here. Where's the evidence?"
It was obvious to everyone that he was coming on to strong, though perhaps it was intentional. In any event, the quarian ended up slapping his taloned hand away, saying in a harsh voice, "Forget it. The deal's off."
The leader looked at her one last time, fixing her with a hard gaze, before backing off. It left the opening for some salarian mercenaries to come out from hiding, guns drawn. The quarian saw them, and, acting fast, sidestepped away from the lead killer-for-hire, throwing something at the salarians as she increased her distance.
The object exploded right in front of them, killing them both as two more came out from hiding. Shepard chose that moment to intervene, picking off one salarian quickly and letting Garrus have the other, before aiming directly at the lead assassin, who, as he turned around, weapon have drawn, was revealed to be a turian. Naruto recognized that it looked like the ones that had tried to kill him earlier.
The turian could see that he had no chance, having two snipers focused on him, along with five others handling shotguns, assault rifles, or pistols, who had just come out of cover. Along with that, the quarian had also drawn a sidearm that was trained on him. However, he still had his weapon as he began inching it out of the holster again.
Shepard saw him, though. "Drop it," he called in a harsh voice, no emotion coming through. The turian hesitated, but he knew what would happen if he just gave up. Instead, he went for the quick-draw, turning to aim for the quarian. He was stopped by a series of loud bangs as everyone opened fire on him, ripping holes through both his shields and body, before he fell to the ground, dead.
Satisfied with his work, Shepard approached the quarian, everyone choosing to follow behind him. Exasperated, the quarian turned to him, yelling, "I knew it! Fist betrayed me!"
The commander attempted to calm her, assuring her by saying, "Relax, Fist has been taken care of and you're out of immediate danger."
As he said that, he shot a glance at Wrex, who had a triumphant grin on his face.
His words seemed to work, as the quarian quickly calmed down, speaking in her slightly distorted voice, "I-... thank you. You arrived just in time."
"Don't mention it. Now, I don't quite think I caught your name."
"It's Tali'Zorah nar Rayya. You can call me Tali, though."
There was a pause, then she continued, a bit of suspicion in her voice.
"If you don't mind me asking, what are the odds of you just showing up with a squad like you did, and what is your name?"
"My name is Virgil Shepard with the Human Systems Alliance. These are Naruto Uzumaki and Ashley Williams, members of my crew, and some strays we picked up, Garrus Vakarian, Colban Ryznov, Nihlus, and Urdnot Wrex. We are currently looking for evidence to convict Saren for crimes against the council and understand you may be able to assist us."
"Well then, I suppose I have a chance to repay you for saving my life. But not here, though. I want to be someplace out of the way."
"We could go to the ambassador's office. It's save and will give us the chance to show him the evidence," Naruto suggested. And, while Shepard may not have liked how pretentious Udina was, he quickly agreed.
There was a slight hiccup in the plan, though, by means of Nihlus. "I hope you don't mind, but I'll meet you there. I can't exactly just walk through the Citadel and have the chance of being seen. The only reason I followed before is because we moved mostly through back alleys and were moving fast. But I'll still be at your embassy."
Shepard quickly put two and two together. "If you want the details of your death to continue being greatly exaggerated and Saren to keep thinking you're dead, I recommend not showing yourself to Udina. Still, there's bound to be a time he leaves the office, so you can come out then."
"Right."
And with that, he detached a grate from the bottom of a wall, and disappeared once again into the vents. Surprisingly, Colban made no motion to leave, but Shepard would question him when they got there. With that settled, they made there way to the embassy.
(At the Embassy):
As expected, when the group arrived at Udina's office, said ambassador immediately attempted to chew Shepard's ass out regarding the numerous firefights in the wards, particularly the assault on Chora's Den. However, he stopped himself on finally noticing all the strangers, most notably Cole.
"Ah, I see you've found Mr. Ryznov. I'm sure his character is shot, though, and I'm not sure if the council will listen to what he says, but it's worth a shot. Let's get him prepped again."
"I'm not going," said the man, shocking Udina. The ambassador was about to retort, but Shepard cut in.
"As you said, his character is ruined. The council won't believe him. Besides, we've got something better. If you would, Tali."
The quarian nodded and activated her omni-tool. An audio log was played, the voice immediately identified as Saren's. Everyone listened.
"Eden Prime was a major victory! The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit."
It was then that Anderson, who had been standing quietly in the corner up until that point, came foreward, astonished. "This will amazingly improve our chances! They can't deny that Saren was involved in the attack now. Where did you find that?"
"I was on my Pilgrimage, and had heard ever increasing word of the geth. After they drove my people off of our home planet, they had never traveled beyond the Veil. It intrigued me. I managed to track a patrol to an uncharted world, and waited for one to become separated from its unit. I disabled it and removed its memory core."
"But I thought that the geth fried their memory cores when they died," argued Anderson. Sure, he was glad for the information, but he didn't want to leave any holes in the story the council could exploit.
"The quarians created the geth. If your quick, skilled, and lucky small caches of data can sometimes preserved, as in this instance."
"My question is what this whole 'Conduit' business is about," said Naruto, drawing everyone's attention.
Tali was the one to answer that. "I couldn't tell you, but we may have a clue."
Going back to her interface, the quarian played the audio log again, but this time it kept playing after Saren's voice, revealing a woman with him. "And one step closer to the return of the Reapers along with it."
Unbeknownst to everyone, Naruto's body trembled at hearing that, something that was outside his control. He did his best to cover it up, and if anyone noticed, they were more concerned with the matter at hand. It didn't stop him from asking what was on his mind, though.
"I know I have amnesia and all, but now I'm even more confused. What are these 'Reapers', and who's that voice belong to?"
"We can't help you with the voice, Uzumaki," began Udina, before Tali took over.
"According to the memory core, the Reapers were a hyper-advanced machine race that existed 50,000 years ago."
Upon hearing that, another tremour went through Naruto's body, a smaller one, but one just as disconcerting just as well. Luckily, no one seemed to notice again, as they were listening to Tali. Just as well, since he didn't know why this was happening. Instead, he continued ignoring it and how muddled his head was becoming. He continued listening to the young quarian girl.
"The Reapers apparently hunted the Protheans to total extinction, and then they just vanished. At least, that's what the geth believe."
"It's a bit hard to swallow," said Udina, stroking his chin in a thoughtful manner as her looked down, digesting the information. Shepard's brow narrowed, though, having no problems believing that. The vision the beacon had caused, it made sense when put into that context. However, not everyone needed to know that now, let alone the he had visions in the first place.
Instead, he tried to sort out geth involvement with Saren. "So as machines themselves, do the geth think of these Reapers as sort of great deities? If Saren is attempting to bring them back, it would explain why the geth are following him in the first place."
"That actually isn't too far off," said Tali. "However, if Saren does have a way to actually bring them back, it would be... worrying to say the least.
"We may be better off not mentioning these 'Reapers' at all," said Udina warily.
Anderson seemed to agree. "In any event, that file proves Saren is a traitor! We need to present it to the council."
"Right you are. Shepard, if you would accompany me and Anderson to the Presidium. I would also like Uzumaki, Williams, and the C-Sec officer to stay here watch our dockworker friend. The krogan and quarian may do whatever they please."
"But I can help you!" tried to argue tali. She was shot down by Udina, though.
"We can handle this, Ma'am. We thank you for your help."
And with that, the ambassador and captain ushered Shepard out of the office before he or anyone else could argue. When they were gone, Naruto spoke up.
"Stay with us for a moment. When the commander get's back, I'm sure you can plead whatever case you have with him. In any event, he'll give Udina a piece of his mind when they get back."
Tali nodded, and they all took seats around the office, watching idly as Nihlus came out of a vent, having heard everything, and found his own spot to wait.
(End):
So if you have yet to realize, I am not the Acolyte of Truth. I am, however, his cousin that resides in the U.K. This is only the second chapter I've done for him during his absence, and I must say I think I'm easing into it quite nicely. I haven't taken to reading other fanfiction yet, as I prefer the source material to another person's interpretation, but luckily he left behind a set of rather comprehensive notes. So now, being on holiday from the university, I have time to do this. He asked me to update his main three stories at least once, but also stressed that I focus on this, so I'll inevitably update this at least twice more. I would also enjoy feedback. I believe I also managed to cut out my 'Britishisms' from this chapter, so that's good for you American's who read the other update and were annoyed. And I think that's it. So yeah, whenever next time may be. This has been Chuck, signing off.
