A/N: I promised to deliver, and I'm never one to (purposely) let people down.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Jason 'Maverick' Harlow
800 Blocks - Upper Wards
November 24, 2180 - 16:57 hours
Jason looked through his visor and tagged all of the C-Sec officers and their cruisers as non-hostile on his HUD. Despite their goal to take him down, he wouldn't attack them regardless of what they tried to do to him.
Vasir was another matter entirely. She was a Spectre, one of the council's best. But if they knew about what she did for the information given to her about her missions they wouldn't think so highly of her. He tagged her as a hostile since she was the more dangerous among those gathered.
"Tactical Options Available." A small map of the area appeared with a waypoint over a rapid transit hub several blocks away. A plan began to form in the soldier's head. "SECOND, can you hack the skycar for the rapid transit?" he whispered while keeping his eyes on all of the weapons aimed at him.
"Affermative. Direct Contact Required." Jason clenched his fists again as he prepared himself.
X
Vasir kept her gaze on the vigilante. She read the reports, saw the footage, and from what she had seen he could prove to be a difficult individual to bring down. His black and silver armor was nothing the Asari had seen in the centuries she's been alive. It's capabilities looked to be endless with how he took down the mercs.
And because of that, the council were not the only ones who were after him.
Her information benefactor, the Shadow Broker, showed great interest in someone of his skills and had requested that she go about her mission another way. One where Maverick wound up in his control instead of the council's jails.
The C-Sec officers kept their weapons trained on Maverick and focused. Seeing the vigilante for the first time had many of them shivering. He was much bigger than they originally thought. And seeing him bringing down two gunships on his own told them that they'd be needing a lot more than their sidearms for this.
Chellick and Garrus stood among their colleages observing the man. After all this time they were able to see Maverick in person, and like the others, the two Turians realized they may be out gunned. "We gotta plan?" asked Chellick. Garrus' silence told him all it needed to.
With her biotics flared, Vasir spoke out once again, "Maverick! This is your last chance, in the name of the Citadel Council drop your weapons and surrender!"
The vigilante looked in her direction, but didn't say a word which unnerved many in the assembled officers. A large crowd of civilians had gathered just outside the group, many had mixed feelings about the situation considering what they had seen the vigilante do moments before.
Jason reached a hand behind his back, "You want me?" he said, his filtered voice making many shiver, as he pulled out a couple grenades from his pack. "Come and get me." he tossed the explosives onto the ground infront of him. The flashbangs went off making everyone cover their eyes as he spun around and began running toward the cruisers blocking his path.
Vasir covered her eyes, but managed to throw something at Maverick as he made his escape.
Vaulting over the skycars and the C-Sec personnel who were still recovering from the disorientation, Jason used the suit's enhanced abilities to run faster as he sped it to the rapid transit hub several blocks away.
Vasir was the first to recover and gave chase, using her biotics to enhance her speed as she went after the vigilante. The C-Sec officers recovered soon after, half giving chase on foot while the others piled into their cruisers and taking to the air.
Jason kept up his speed, reaching the rapid transit hub and calling a cab. When the automated skycar arrived he leapt into the drivers seat and grabbed the dashboard allowing SECOND to hack into it. "Let's go!"
X
Vasir and the C-Sec officers behind her arrived in time to see the skycar rise into the air and take off. "He's hacked a transit cab! Get after him!" she shouted into her comm. The police cruisers picked up speed and took off after it with their lights and sirens blaring.
Back on the ground, the Asari Spectre brought up her omni-tool. A frown covered her face at what she was seeing.
X
In the air, the C-Sec units chased the hijacked cab. Coming up fast behind it as it weaved in and out of traffic in an attempt to avoid them. "He's not slowing down, take it out!" Garrus ordered from the center of the group.
The lead crusier zoomed ahead, pulling up along side of the cab before slamming hard against it's side. The cab shuddered but maintained flight as a second cruiser pulled along the other side and slammed it as well.
Both cruisers hammered on the cab until smoke billowed from it's engine. The cab pitched hard to the right before dropping, crashing hard into a construction site in the 500 Blocks, going straight through a half built office building before coming to rest in the vacant street under it.
"He's down, all squads move in!" ordered Garrus as the units came down. C-Sec personnel filing out and surrounding the downed cab with weapons drawn. "Maverick this is C-Sec! Come out with your hands in the air!" Garrus shouted with his sidearm drawn with Chellick right next to him.
They all held their breath for several seconds, but nothing happened. Garrus tredded forward and activated his omni-tool to unlock the crashed car's doors. With the police moving in, they raised their weapons as the doors all opened.
Nothing.
"Dammit!" Garrus shouted. "He's not here! He hacked the cab as a diversion!"
X
From a rooftop within the 800 Blocks, Jason deactivated the zoom on his visor as he began moving again. Now that C-Sec and the Spectre were off his back he could get away a little bit easier.
Now he had to focus on finding a way to stop Eclipse's' plans before it was too late.
"Warning: Threat Detected." something slammed him hard in the back sending the soldier crashing to the ground.
Quickly rolling back to his feet, Jason looked up in time to see Vasir lower herself to the rooftop with her biotics. "That was a nice trick you pulled. Not many could throw C-Sec off of their trail so effectively." she said with her gaze focused on him.
Jason's eyes narrowed behind his visor. How did she see through the diversion?
His HUD flared, showing a diagram of the nano suit before a small red blip appeared on his right side. Reaching down, the soldier pulled a small device the size of bullet head from the suit's weave.
"Tracking device. Cleaver." he said crushing the thing between his fingers.
The Spectre started to walk in a circle, Jason mimicing her movements as they stalked each other. "I've read the reports, seen you in action. I must say I'm impressed. You don't see someone with your skills and abilities everyday." she said as they kept moving.
"I'm one of a kind." Jason replied. "And I know a lot about you as well...Tela Vasir."
The two stopped as the Asari leered at him, "Oh really? And what about me do you know so well?" she asked crossing her arms.
"Your a Spectre, one of the best elected by the council only when they want things done quickly and quietly. Which is why you were sent after me. But there's something else, something the council doesn't know about." Jason crossed his own arms. "Do they know how you get your information so quickly and accurately?"
Vasir's eyes narrowed, there was no way he could know. It was impossible for some random vigilante to know the deal she has with the Shadow Broker. "What are you going on about?"
Jason shook his head and chuckled, "Your not as careful as you think Vasir. Working with the Shadow Broker doesn't work out well for anyone, when they've finished serving their purpose to him."
The Spectre's biotics flared, "That's big talk coming from someone like you." she growled menacingly. She couldn't wrap her head around how someone like him could find out about the information network given to her. "You honestly think a council Spectre would willingly work with a criminal mastermind like the Shadow Broker?"
"I don't think. I know." said Jason. "How do you think the council will react when they discover one of their best double dealing under the table? Doing their assignments, while at the same time doing jobs for the Shadow Broker to keep the intel flowing."
Vasir roared and fired a warp that struck the soldier in the chest like a small wrecking ball. "How would you know!" she shouted blasting him again and knocking him back several steps. She calmed slightly and kept her face passive, "The jobs he gives me are no different than that of the council. They give us the freedom to do what we can to get the job done."
"We're outlaws for the politics here on the Citadel. Diplomatic immunity, making our own rules, dealing with the pieces of shit in the galaxy our way as long as the public at large is safe." She smirked, "Guess that's where we're alike. I can see why you chose the alias 'Maverick', it sums up what you do very nicely. No different than what we Spectres do on a regular basis."
Jason stood his ground while his HUD was going haywire from the biotic attacks. "We're nothing alike. I may have the same mentality as 'some' of the Spectres. But unlike you I don't slaughter innocent people to appease my other boss."
His hands flexed, "Speaking of which, how much is he paying you to betray your orders from the council to bring me to him?"
The Asari Spectre had heard enough and threw a lift at him. Levitating him off the ground before he was thrown across the roof and into a wall. Jason got to his feet and quickly drawing his assault rifle when a warp struck him.
"Warning: Suit Integrity Compromised. Unknown Energy Element Detected." Jason stumbled when another warp attack struck him in the chest sending him slamming into the wall behind him again.
Vasir stalked forward as the nano soldier staggered to his feet. "Is this all the great 'Maverick' has? I thought you'd be more of a challenge?" she taunted.
Jason's HUD shimmered as SECOND repaired the damage to the suit. "System Reconfiguring. Adapting to Biotic Energy Signature." Several window appeared as the AI collected data received from the confrontation so far. Altering the nano suit and adapting it to the new change in combat.
Vasir stopped several feet away and powered up her biotics. "I think it's time I brought you down for good."
"System Rebooting...Complete." Jason braced himself as the Spectre threw a shockwave at him. "Maximum Armor."
The biotic attack struck him, the nano suit's outer layer shimmered as the energy flowed over him like water in a raging river. Yet the soldier remained standing with his energy meter dropping over half from the strength behind the attack.
From where she stood, Vasir looked gobsmacked. "How...how are you still standing? That attack would rip a normal Human in half!"
Jason cracked his neck, "Like I said, I'm one of a kind." he said before charging forward. The Asari fired several warps, each one hitting the vigilante but not haulting his movements. When his energy meter hit zero and his armor mode was disabled as he reached the Spectre and delivered a thundering right cross that knocked her across the rooftop.
Recovering quickly, she drew her pistol and fired a few shots forcing the soldier to dodged to the side.
Grabbing the Spectre's arm, he twisted it to the side forcing the next round fired to go wide as he elbowed her in the stomach before flipping her over his shoulder. The Asari shot her leg up and kicked the vigilante in the head making him stumble back and allowing her to get back to her feet.
Vasir powered up her biotics and fired another shockwave. The nano soldier dived out of the way in time and quickly activated his cloak. "You can't hide from me!" she called out looking all over for him.
"Don't need to." he said appearing behind her and kicking the Spectre hard in the back. Vasir did a front hand spring and landed back on her feet, Jason drew his bow and shot an arrow forcing her to throw up a biotic barrier to deflect it.
With the Spectre distracted, Jason ran up and slid across the ground, kicking her feet out from under her as he slid past.
"This is getting old." Vasir muttered getting back to her feet and firing a singularity at him. The small blackhole-like attack began to draw everything into it's pull, Jason planted his feet hard into the ground, and fought against the gravity well until he managed to get out of it's range only to dive out of the way again.
"You can't keep this up forever Maverick!" Vasir shouted throwing another shockwave at him.
Jason leapt over the attack, drawing his Hammer and raining bullets down onto the Asari who threw up another barrier, several rounds skimming her armor before the energy could shield her.
Pumping more power into his system through the suit, the soldier put his pistol away and slammed his fist hard against the barrier making Vasir strain harder to keep it up.
He slammed the barrier again and again until the Spectre couldn't keep it up anymore. Dropping it and swinging a biotic fist out that barely missed his helmeted face. Jason grabbed her arm and struck her with an uppercut that staggered her. Using the distraction, he punched her hard in the stomach, denting her armor and causing her to double over before slamming his knee into her face and launching her into the air.
Vasir attempted to right herself, but found her throat encased in the vigilante's grasp. "I don't want to kill you Vasir. No matter what you may think, I'm nothing like you. I don't kill because it's convenient."Jason said grabbing her arm as she attempted to throw a warp at him, his other hand going around her neck.
The Asari chuckled, "It's not just me you have to worry about. You think the council will give up simply because you beat one of us? Your fucked no matter what you do."
He cluched her throat tighter, he should kill her right now and ensure that every horrible act she committs in the near future never happens. But at the same time, he knows the repercussions of such an act would cause.
Whether he hated to admit it or not, she was right. No matter how this ended he was fucked. But killing a council Spectre would put him at the top of the most wanted lists in almost every corner of the traverse. He'd be hunted and executed before he ever got a chance to help Shepard save the galaxy.
Despite the features, the nano suit had limits. And an entire galaxy hunting for him reached those limits and beyond.
"Maybe I am." Jason said raising his fist. "But I'm not your prize today." he punched her hard in the temple, knocking her out before pulling a nearby metal bar from the rooftop and wrapping it around her to make sure she was subdued.
With Vasir out of the way, Jason activated his cloak and leapt off the rooftop. Hitting the ground hard before sprinting away from the area as fast as his enhanced legs could take him.
X
Reena paced the apartment, worry and fear coming off of her in waves as she prayed for both Chellick's and Jason's safety. She worried about her boyfriend's well being, but at the same time she didn't want her Human friend to be captured, or worse killed.
She jumped when the door to the apartment opened.
Jason came in deactivating his cloak and pulling his helmet off. "Jason! Thank keelah!" she shouted running over and hugging him. She pulled back and looked into his face. "Chellick? Is he-"
"He's fine. I made a diversion that drew C-Sec away. I had them all labeled as non-combatants. I won't fight or kill any of them regardless of what they try to do to me." Jason replied sitting at the table and slumping down.
Reena sat across from him, "What happened?"
Jason sighed, "I figured out what the Eclipse are up to. Their plan, how they're going to do it. Everything."
The Quarian perked up, "That's great! Now it can all be stopped." Jason shook his head confusing her,
"Not that simple. It's a lot bigger and more devious than I originally thought. Christ, I only managed to read just enough to understand it all and I can't believe they could pull it off." he said making her stomach sink.
"How bad?" she asked fearing the answer.
"Bad...very bad." Jason said running his hand over his shaved head. "I can't do it alone Reena. They have an army waiting to strike at the right moment. I need to have C-Sec and the council aware of what's happening before it's too late."
Reena recoiled in shock, "Jason if you step into C-Sec headquarters it's all over! They won't believe you because they're so uptight about their rules and regulations to take you seriously."
The nano soldier nodded before bringing up his omni-tool. "That's why I'm going to do something I had promised us both I'd never do." Finding what he was looking for, he hit the button and waited.
"Chellick here." replied his Turian friend.
"Chellick, it's Jason. Listen I need you to come to mine and Reena's apartment ASAP." he said causing Reena's eyes to widen greatly.
"I'm a little busy at the moment, Jason. Maverick was here in the 800 Blocks and we missed him." replied the detective.
"That's what I want to talk to you about...I have information on Maverick." said Jason. Reena covered her mouth piece not believing what she was hearing.
Chellick was silent for a few moments, "You have information on the vigilante we've been hunting? For how long?" he asked in a low voice meaning he was away from others.
"A while, and before you start in on me about it I had my reasons. I just need you to get here as fast as you can and come alone." said the soldier.
"Jason...you know I can't-"
"Please Chellick...if there was anytime I needed you to trust me. Now is that time." Jason interrupted desperately.
Chellick sighed, "Alright, I'm on my way. And this better be really good, Jason." he said cutting the line. Jason closed his omni-tool and rubbed his eyes.
"Jason...what are you doing?" asked Reena sounding close to tears.
"Something I should have done when you found out about me, Reena." he said looking back at her. "I can't do this alone. The Citadel is in danger and I can't attempt this on my own."
Sitting back in his chair he smiled sadly, "I only hope Chellick can forgive me when it's all over."
X
Chellick entered his friend's and girlfriend's apartment. The whole way over he had been thinking about what Jason had wanted to tell him that was so important that he had to leave the crime scenes they had been going over.
But from the sounds of it, it was very serious. He'd never heard Jason as serious as he was on the call that was made. He trusted the Human greatly, so whatever he had was important.
Yet something in the back of the detective's mind told him that something was about to go down and he wasn't going to like it.
Entering the living room, he saw Reena sitting on the couch staring at the coffee table. "Hey." he said coming in and sitting down next to her.
"Hello, you." she replied, but her voice lacked the usual enthusiasm.
Chellick raised an eye ridge, "Reena, what's wrong? And where's Jason, he said he had something important to tell me about Maverick."
He saw the Quarian visibly flinch and was now concerned. "Reena what's going on?" he asked serious. "Did something happen to you? To Jason?" she shook her head in response. "Spirits Reena what is happening!" he asked loudly.
Reena looked at him with sad glowing eyes, "He's here." she said standing up and facing the window.
Chellick looked at her confused, "Who's here?"
"Hello detective."
The Turian was off the couch, weapon in hand as Maverick decloaked right infront of him. "YOU! What are you doing here! What did you do to Reena! Where's Jason?" he demanded keeping the sidearm trained on the vigilante's head.
Maverick looked at the Turian for a few moments before reaching for his helmet. "He's right here." The gun nearly slipped out of Chellick's hand as the Jason's face was revealed to him.
"W-What?...Jason?...H-How-Why?" the detective stumbled over his words trying to form a sentence.
Jason set the helmet down on the coffee table and faced his friend as he overcame his shock. "Y-Your Maverick...all this time." Chellick's face formed into one of rage as he pointed the gun at Jason's head. "All this time it's been YOU!" he roared, his weapon shaking in his grip.
Looking back at him with a calm expression, Jason let out a sigh. "I know your pissed Chellick-"
"PISSED?" Chellick exclaimed. "I'M NOT PISSED, I'M FUCKING LIVID!" he looked at Reena who hadn't said a word. "Reena did you know about this!" he demanded.
"Don't get on her case!" Jason shouted regaining the detective's attention. "She found out on her own, and I made her promise not to say anything to anyone. I didn't even want her knowing about it." he said somberly. "I didn't want anyone to know."
Chellick growled while bringing up his omni-tool to call C-Sec.
Jason's hand grabbed his wrist with surprising strength. The detective pressed the barrel of his pistol to the Human's forehead. "Before you call in the cavalry to take me in, hear what I have to say." he said not at all bothered by the gun in his face.
"Why the fuck should I? Give me one damn good reason." Chellick growled ferally.
"The safety of the Citadel and the council." Jason said dead serious. The two stared each other down for several minutes before the Turian lowered his weapon. "You've got ten minutes."
"The Eclipse are planning on attacking the Presidium." Jason said grimly forcing the detective to sit up straight.
"What? That's not possible. The Presidium is the most guarded sector of the station." he said not believing him.
"That's where Kaion Xambit comes in." the nano soldier replied. "That's whose apartment I was at earlier today. He was hired by the Eclipse to create a device that will transmit a virus into the power conduits all over the Upper Wards and the Embassies."
Chellick froze, eyes widening slightly, "How did they get that kind of control? How is it possible for them to do it?"
Jason sat in the armchair across from him, "The service tunnels underneath the wards. They used the Red Sand dealers to find out how to gain access to them, from there they killed the Keepers looking after the conduits to be able to attach the devices to the terminals."
He brought out his omni-tool and showed the blueprint of the device, "Kaion called it the TX-99. The virus is remote activated with the power to overload the conduits temporarily. They'll have complete control of the power for that sector. Security systems will be shutdown, elevators and doors disabled, the mercs would have control over all of it."
Chellick leaned back in his seat absorbing it all in, "When? When are they planning on doing this?"
Jason checked his omni-tool and looked grim again, "10 hours from now." Chellick's head shot up and Reena spun around.
"That soon!" shouted the detective standing up quick. "Why are they doing this?"
"Control of the Citadel." said Jason. "If the mercs gain control of the Presidium, they'll take the station's control tower. They take the tower, they have control of the Citadel arms and thus the station itself." he leaned back a bit, "Once the power and security is down, they have over 400 mercs ready to storm the Presidium and take it by force. Complete with YIMR mechs, LOKI mechs and gunships."
"They're going to overthrow the government." said Reena finally.
The nano soldier nodded, "Exactly. Jona Sedaris is behind it all, guess she really is as crazy as they say she is."
Chellick took several deep breaths to calm his already frayed nerves. "Why are you telling me all of this? Why reveal your identity to me now?" he asked wanting a direct answer.
Jason reached into his suit and produced a OSD. "This disc contains all of the information about the Eclipse's plans. Where they're going to strike, the locations of the effected conduits, blueprints of the TX-99, everything that C-Sec and the council will require to mount an effective defense when the shit hits the fan."
Taking the disc, Chellick looked at Jason as he stood up. "What are you going to do?"
Jason picked up his helmet and headed to his bedroom, "I'm going after Kaion. He made the device and the virus, he'll have a way to shut it down." he said disappearing down the hall.
Silence filled the living room while he was gone. Chellick looked down at the OSD before slipping it into his pocket. "He was looking out for us." he looked at Reena who had her back to him. "He didn't want the mercs coming after us to get to him, so he kept it to himself."
She turned to him, "He also didn't want to force you to pick between your job and your friendship to him. That's why he never told you." she said sadly.
Approaching his girlfriend, Chellick wrapped his arms around her from behind. "It's just...a lot to take in all at once. To know Jason was Maverick after all this time is hard to swallow." He nuzzled his jaw along her covered neck making her shiver, "I'm sorry I was so harsh."
Reena reached her hands up and stroked his fringe making him purr, "It's okay. I can't blame you for being upset. I was pretty pissed at him too. But now he needs us, and the Citadel hangs in the balance."
Chellick nodded as they broke apart when Jason entered the living room again armed to the teeth. "Get that data to Executor Pallin and the council, make sure they're ready no matter what it takes." he said slipping his helmet back on and heading for the door.
"Jason." Chellick called making the vigilante freeze by the door. "When this is all over, I expect a damn good explanation for all of this." said the Turian seriously.
The Human nodded as Reena spoke up next, "Be careful out there Jason."
"It's not me that should be worrying." Jason said in his filtered voice as he activated his cloak and vanished.
A/N: It would seem things are coming to a head with the Eclipse. And with Chellick now in the know, how will the events to follow play out?
I'll drop another installment tomorrow night, so leave as many comments and reviews until then and I'll be sure that you get it!