Mass Effect belongs to EA and Bioware. AvP is the property of 20th Century Fox.

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USM Normandy, docked at Citadel

The soldier in front of her fell, an arrow through his throat. She stepped forward, taking his place in the shield wall. More arrows came flying in from all sides. Most of them bounced off the bronze faces of the shields, or of the soldiers' helmets, but a few always found targets and more men fell to the ground. She could see the archers massed around the hill, careful to keep their distance. The barbarians had learned. The first two days, they had tried to come close and engage in hand-to-hand combat. They had been slaughtered by the thousands as the bronze tips of the defenders' spears ripped through their flimsy wicker shields and cloth armour. Now, they kept their distance, relying on their bows to do the killing, no matter how long it took
The battle was lost. Any fool could see that. But the king had given his word that they would cover the retreat, and so they had. She could only hope that it would be enough, that the rest of the advance force could escape and link up with the main army. Perhaps they would, perhaps not. Perhaps she would find out in the afterlife, but that was in the hand of the gods.
Something smashed into her back with terrible force. An arrow! With a strange clarity, she understood that it must have flown over the hill, over the shield wall on the other side, and somehow passed through the ranks behind her.
"To come back with my shield or on it," she whispered as she sank to the ground. "I kept that promise."

"Okay, this has to stop." Shepard looked at her alarm. It was too early to rise but too late to get back to sleep. That seemed to be the story of her life, lately. She had suffered through variations of the same nightmare for several nights in a row. Now, the nightmare had changed, but it wasn't much of an improvement. "That's it. No more studying old battles. Only light comedy for me from now on."

She checked the time again, but it hadn't magically moved an hour. Shepard got out of bed anyway. No point in lying down and worrying if she was going to be awake anyway. There might at least be some coffee available in the ship's mess. She'd need a clear head for the next meeting at the embassy.

-o-o-o-

Human embassy, the Presidium

"Well, the Council has made its first move. A turian fleet will be dispatched to the demilitarized zone to keep an eye on our ships." Udina looked even more sour than normal. "I can only hope that there aren't too many hotheads on either side, so we can avoid a shooting incident, but, to be frank, my past experience with the military does not give me much cause for optimism in that regard. No," He raised a hand as Captain Anderson tried to speak. "I don't want to hear it. It will not end with this, of course. The next step will be some form of economic reprisal, to make up for the concessions they did to get the beacon. Meanwhile, the first garbled stories about the attack on Eden Prime are circulating in the news. Lots of speculation about the geth, obviously, but also a few stories about an unknown alien species."

"How much do they know?" Anderson asked.

"Not much. The question is, how much do they suspect? We've always maintained that we did not get element zero-based technology through the protheans, which is technically true. But the Council has its suspicions that we didn't figure it out all by ourselves either. Now, they knew about the xenomorphs because of the Calypso incident, but we insisted that they were only animals and they had no real reason to doubt us. But now the xenomorphs have shown up again, and if they make the connection, they'll start digging and eventually find out about LV-426."

"So what?" Shepard asked. "I've never understood why people were so desperate to keep it all secret. So, we found a derelict ship, we learned from it. That's exactly what other species have done with prothean dig sites, so it's hardly a crime. Why bother to hide it?"

A look passed between Udina and Anderson. For once the two men seemed to be in harmony.

"Talk about a generation gap," Udina smirked a little.

"Yes," Anderson said. "Think of it from the perspective of the old days, Commander. Less than a century-and-a-half ago, we thought we were alone in the universe. Then we found that ship, and people started dying. The first ship that stumbled across that derelict was destroyed by the crew to get rid of the xenomorph that managed to get on board. It was given up as lost until the only survivor showed up after half a century in cryo-sleep. Even then, nobody knew what was going on, because Weyland-Yutani managed to keep it a secret. Next thing we knew, contact with the colony was lost, but we still didn't know what was going on. That was when Lieutenant Gorman and his unit were dispatched to LV-426, and I'm sure you know what happened next."

Shepard nodded. The loss of a Colonial Marine unit and the complete destruction of the colony on LV-426 had become something of a legend, a story that was whispered about in mess halls and dorm rooms, a cautionary tale about incompetent officers and overconfident marines. When she had finished her N7 training and got a chance to learn what had actually happened she had still marvelled over the chain of mistakes that had led to the disaster.

"Then it turned out that some xenomorphs had escaped, and we had the mess in the prison on Fiorina 161. That's when people started to investigate and suddenly we realised that we were living in a nightmare without even realizing it." Shepard twitched slightly, but Anderson didn't seem to notice.
"A link was found to the destruction of Sevastopol station, decades earlier, which meant that the Seegson corporation was involved as well. The pins kept dropping and the military was in a panic. In the end, we managed to fix it. We slapped down the corporations and established the United Systems to make sure that we'd always have a strong government to oversee the military and keep the corporations under control. But meanwhile, we had to deal with a series of xenomorph infestations that kept popping up, because people kept trying to study them and they kept breaking out. When I joined the Marines, half a century after LV-426, that was still a concern. However, the general public only had a vague idea of what was going on. Before we discovered eezo, FTL communications were very much a luxury, so the news didn't travel all that fast."
Anderson shrugged and continued. "It was in that environment that the first eezo-tech showed up, out of the R&D division of Weyland-Yutani. At that point, we weren't going to advertise what exactly had happened. W-Y didn't want it to get out, because they would look like the villains, and the military didn't want it out because we'd look like fools that had danced to the corporations' tune for far too long. Besides, there was the very real possibility that whoever built that derelict ship was still somewhere out there and might show up at any time. A civilization that was far more advanced than our own. Can you image the panic that would have caused in a society that was going through an internal upheaval? So, they decided to keep the whole thing secret and once you start hiding information-"

"-it's easier to keep doing that than to come clean," Udina concluded. "Then we actually met a bunch of aliens, and we certainly weren't going to share the origin of our technology with them. Let them think we figured everything out on our own. Not to mention, that we didn't want to give them any smart ideas about finding a few xenomorphs of their own and set up their own little research program. But that's enough of a history lesson. We have to deal with the fallout from Eden Prime. So far, we've not been accused of turning the xenomorphs loose ourselves, but I'm sure that's only a matter of time. Conspiracy theorists will never pass up that opportunity and there isn't much we can say in return. Telling the whole story about LV-426 wouldn't help, even if I was authorized to make it public. But that is for later concern. Right now, we have work to do. I hear you spent all of yesterday playing tourist, Commander."

"Yes, sir, if it's on the Presidium, we've seen it."

"And you have been seen. We received enquiries from several reporters about unconfirmed sightings of 'The Butcher of Torfan' on the Citadel, as well as-" Udina scrolled down the list "-a rather nervous sounding message from a salarian family who want to know if it's safe for them and their offspring to be on the Citadel with such a violent individual as you walking about. Such excitable creatures, salarians. And then there is this." He looked up. "You have received an invitation from the asari consort, Sha'ira. She would like to make your acquaintance."

"Asari consort?" Shepard activated her tablet and searched for a moment. "This has to be a joke. Why would some asari escort want to meet me?"

"More of a geisha than an escort, really; but to answer your question, apparently she, too, heard of your presence here and is curious about such a renowned soldier." Udina snorted. "And I have a bridge for sale on Zakera Ward. Trust me on this, Commander: There are no coincidences. The consort's services come highly priced and are in extremely high demand. Normally, you'd have to make an appointment, months in advance, just to have a conversation with her. If she wants to meet on such short notice, there is a good reason. So, Shepard, you've got a date. I strongly suggest that you go alone; taking your fellow soldiers with you would look, peculiar, to say the least. Meanwhile, we have to start moving on Saren. Captain Anderson's contact here on the Citadel has raised a very good point: we cannot investigate Saren without Saren hearing about it, no matter how subtle we are. So, we'll have a small window of time from the moment we start asking questions to the moment where Saren either retaliates or runs for it."

"So, why be subtle at all?" Shepard asked. "If he's going to find out anyway, we should make the most of the time we have, not waste our time with clever tricks."

"Because we can make the time window as large as possible by controlling how and what he finds out." Udina smiled thinly. "I discussed this yesterday with your Captain. Anderson?"

Anderson sighed.

"Saren and I have a history together. The details don't matter. Let's just say things didn't end well and I tried to get Saren stripped of his Spectre status. And that is known here on the Citadel. It is also known that I've been assigned to the embassy as the military liaison. It's not unreasonable to think that I would be using my new assignment to dig up dirt against Saren, or to create such dirt by making false accusations. For example, I might hint that Saren was involved in the attack on Eden Prime, just to cause him embarrassment."

Shepard looked sceptical. "So, people might dismiss your actions as a personal vendetta, rather than an official investigation for the United Systems. Do you really think that Saren will fall for it? After all, he knows he was on Eden Prime. "

"Oh, it won't fool Saren for a second. But it might stop other people from contacting him right away. It isn't much, but we need every second we can get."

"And in that spirit, let's get moving," Udina said. "I have pushed through the paperwork that has the lot of you detached to embassy security for the duration of your stay on the Citadel. That means you're allowed to carry weapons from now on. However, I would not advise you to walk around carrying sidearms openly. C-Sec would start to follow you wherever you went. Fortunately, we have a Mr Harkin on staff who can provide you with smaller alternatives. Unfortunately, we'll have to come up with a story to tell him as to why you need these guns."

Captain Anderson's eyes narrowed slightly. "Why?"

"Remember what I said about one of my security people probably taking bribes?"

"This Harkin?"

"Yes. A snake. A useful one, but still a snake. He's made a lot of useful contacts in the local underworld, humans and aliens alike, but unfortunately, they seem to be rubbing off on him."

"So," Anderson asked, 'What do we tell him?"

Shepard smiled without humour. "The batarians. Some of them still come to this place, right? Even after they withdrew their representative."

Udina nodded.

"Then there is a potential security issue. The Butcher of Torfan is on the station. They might take a shot at me or anyone around me."

"Yes, that might work. Even if he doesn't believe it, it doesn't matter all that much, as long as he doesn't suspect the truth."

"Then let's go with that. Guns for myself and Captain Anderson, obviously, as well as Lieutenant Alenko and Chief Williams." Shepard considered for a moment. "I suggest we bring Estanza and Jin into it as well. I already briefed them on the need for discretion. If Captain Anderson is going to make waves about Saren, he might need some backup of his own."

Captain Anderson nodded. "Agreed."

"And so, I have more paperwork," Udina muttered. "In any case, I recommend you both start moving. The clock is ticking."

-o-o-o-

"Commander Shepard herself. This is an honour"

"Yes, that's just what the batarians said," Shepard retorted.

"Haha. Yes, I'm sure they did. Anyway, I understand that you need some hardware." Harkin smiled. "Don't worry. We've got just what you need."

He opened a large wall safe, more of a walk-in closet actually, and took out a gun.

"This one's probably the easiest option. Compact version of your standard side-arm. Semi-automatic only, but all the controls are in the same place and it'll fit in a coat pocket."

"Looks good." She weighed the weapon. The balance was a bit off, compared to the heavier marine sidearm with its longer barrel, but the grip and the action felt familiar. "Yes, this will work."

"Great. I can supply them for all of your people, so nobody has to walk around naked."

"Good."

"Tell me, Commander," Harkin hesitated a little. "Does this happen often? You know, that you have to protect yourself against alien revenge?"

"It happens. Why?"

"Well," Harkin hesitated again. "It's just that if you were planning on being a little more, you know, proactive, then there is another option."

"Really?" She considered for a second. Clearly, Harkin had his suspicions about her real need for weapons. Then again, one could never have too much firepower, so, if he had some extra options... "What kind of options?"

Harkin smiled, clearly happy to see that his suspicions were not unfounded. He walked back to the safe and took out another weapon, smaller than the first.

"Disposables. Completely sealed, no outside controls other than the trigger. Guaranteed water and dirt proof."

"Uhuh," Shepard took a look at the compact but ugly weapon, which wasn't much more than a lump of plastic. "Caliber seems a bit small."

"Doesn't matter. They use split-tip bullets that expand like you wouldn't believe. Trust me. They could take out a krogan. They're very popular with hitmen, 'cause you just throw them away after a hit. Nobody wants to do that with a gun they're attached to, you know?"

Shepard looked up. "Doesn't it bring down the local cops? We're the only ones that use chemically powered guns. Must be pretty easy to trace."

Harkin grinned. "Not anymore. A lot of the aliens love our guns. They're cheaper. Plus, they don't have a power source. You'd figure cops would have caught on to that by now, but three quarters of the security check points in Citadel space still rely on energy signatures to check for weapons." Harkin snorted. "Dumb freaks. Anyway, now that the market's more open, you'll find guns like these everywhere."

And you're probably the one selling them. Udina had been quite accurate when describing Harkin. If anything, he'd probably understated the case. Still, if Harkin really had underworld contacts, that might be useful. If someone did try to interfere with their investigation it would be useful to know where the bullets would be coming from.

"Tell me, Harkin, if someone on the Citadel were to look for some hired muscle; you know, to do a little wetwork, like taking out a human that's pissed them off, where would they go looking?"

Harkin considered for a moment. "Well, it depends, really. There are a couple of really high-end freelance operatives around, but they tend to work alone. You got to find them personally, which takes a lot of time. Then there are the merc companies, of course. Bloodpack, Eclipse, and Blue Suns are the biggest. But Bloodpack cannot do covert jobs, krogan and vorcha stand out too much. If they try to get on the Citadel, C-Sec will probably arrest them just on general principle. The other two are a bit more subtle, and they have some good people, but they tend to stay out of Citadel Space as well. Not enough profit to risk pissing off the Council or some of the big governments. A smaller company might be willing to take a job here if the money were good enough, but you'd have to find a way to get them here without tipping off C-Sec and that might take a while. Now, if all you need is some dumb muscle that doesn't ask questions and knows which end of the gun the bullets come out off, then I'd say 'check out the local underworld here.' A guy named Fist would be your best bet."

"Fist?"

"Yes. Trust a human to rise to the top, even here on the Citadel. He owns a club called Chora's Den. Great place. He's got some lovely dancers, blue or human, whichever you prefer. But, that's just the front. Fist's got his fist in everything," Harkin chortled at his own joke. "He could definitely supply a few hitmen. Not really quality, of course, and if someone hires them to have a go at you, they'll be in for a nasty surprise, but I guess some dumbass batarian might give it a try."

"Of course." Shepard did her best to match Harkin's rather oily smile. "You know what? I think I'll take one of each. One for official use and the other just in case. Like you said, perhaps I need to become proactive."

Harkin's smile grew even more, if that were possible.

"Incidentally," he said. "If you should need some cleanup done, you know, if you ever have to defend yourself. That isn't difficult to arrange."

"That's good to know," Shepard said. "I"ll keep that in mind."

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A/N

I'm trying to keep a higher tempo for my updates, because it had been very slow lately, but I won't be able to keep this up forever. This chapter contains a lot of backstory, which is why I could produce it so quickly. Most of this was already written.

Obviously, no humans in C-sec in this universe, but Harkin is still a useful character. The disposable guns are actually from Alien Resurrection. They are barely mentioned in the movie but get more exposition in the novelization, which I'm partially quoting here.