a/n: Hello all readers and welcome to the next chapter of the story. I'll be quick with this note because god knows you are bored with them. I would like to announce that I have acquired myself a beta reader. The wonderfully talented and amazing Kraidle has started beta reading my chapters. They will be more gramatically correct from now on. Now you know that im always one to plug a good story now and again, but believe me when I say you should read this guys story Mass Effect: Vindication. Positively one of the best oc stories I have ever read. After you finish reading this, you will go read that, or I WILL KILL THE HOSTAGES! A little dark humor before a chapter always helps, enjoy.
Chapter 11: Changes, Realizations, and Preparations
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"How is he doing, doctor?"
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"He is doing well, the nerve endings have repaired themselves, and adapted to the new hardware."
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"What of the implants?"
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"Suprisingly no damage came to them, sir. He should be up in a few hours."
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"Good, how long will it take for the recovery."
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"After he wakes up, we'll give him a quick check up and he should be fine."
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"Excellent, the boss required him to do work."
Nathan woke up with a volt. As he looked around he saw that he was in a hospital room, by the looks of it, still on the Citadel. It was then he realized that he couldn't see out his right eye. His mind shot back to the last thing he remembered.
'I pushed Thane out of the way. Zline shot me in the eye'
Just then a Salarian doctor walked in.
"Ahh you've woken up. How are you feeling"
Nathan, who felt exceptionally sarcastic replied "Well my back's a little sore, my legs are asleep, oh and yeah I can't see out of my right eye"
At that point William walked in smiling, "Don't hassle the good doctor Nathan, he did in fact save your life after all"
"Irritation, common symptom of adaptation process, problem remedied momentarily", the doctor said as he brought up his omni-tool
After a few seconds Nathan saw a bright light flash in his previously dark eye. Following that were words saying 'neural connection established. uploading visual feedback'
It was then that Nathan regained vision in his right eye. Suprised by this Nathan brought his hand up to his eye to feel that it was purely metal as well as a part of the side of his face.
"Synthetic eye. Nifty huh?", William remarked
"I guess", Nathan responded still feeling it
"Simple design, increases depth perception, though very expensive. You are very lucky to have such a wealthy benefactor"
Nathan looked to William, "Will?"
He responded, "Hell no! you're in enough debt to me, that was on the bosses tab"
"Well it's nice to know you cared Billy"
William rolled his eyes.
"Need to run additional test before you are cleared, very simple, very fast"
"Alright, lets do it"
Nathan and William walked out of the hospital an hour later and headed towards William's office.
"How's the eye doing?", William asked
"It's weird, I know I should have some mental shock to losing my eye and part of my face, but the synthetic eye feels normal like I didn't even lose the old one" Nathan said as he reached up and touched his eye. The feeling was truly odd to him. His eye was and part of his head was gone but he felt as if nothing ever changed.
"Good, the boss got his money's worth then", William replied as they walked through the market area near the hospital. This area of the Citadel didn't look quite familiar to him, but then again he never did do much off hand exploring in Mass Effect 1 of the Citadel so he wouldn't know.
They made their way through the dense crowd of people browsing the many kiosks and stores of the area, when they passed a C-Sec outpost. Nathan looked at William and asked, "By the way, did you get that C-Sec warrant off me?"
"You give me too little credit Nathan..." William replied as they passed a Sirta Foundation store
"I give credit where credit is due", Nathan interuptted sarcastically as he basked in the glory of his comeback
"Before I call you on that bullshit, I was saying that the boss does have contacts high up in the Presidium"
"Who would that be?" Nathan asked
"A Spectre"
"No shit!" Nathan responded, somewhat taken back by William's response
"Yep, an Asari spectre by the name of Tela Vasir" William answered back with what Nathan noticed as a bit of hesitation
Nathan squinted at the sound of that name. He had heard it before, either in his travels, or out of something else but he couldn't put his finger on it.
'Damn name sounds familiar, starting to get some deja vu out of this shit'
Nathan responded, "When does someone with the money to beam a person from a different universe give out sources names that easily"
William was quiet for a bit before responding, "When you're the one to give him the source."
Nathan caught on to William's reoccurring tone and replied, "I knew I felt a personal bond"
William stuttered a bit before saying, "What No! this is purely buisness"
Nathan smiled, "Now its my turn to call you on your bullshit"
Defeated, William replied ,"Fuck fine, she and I are in a relationship"
"HA!" Nathan smirked basking in his victory
"Fuck you man!" William spat back defensively
"Ain't that her job?" Nathan said laughing
William facepalmed and then smiled as they exited the market area and entered the building which Nathan pressumed was his office. The walked through the lobby and towards the back wall which held the elevators.
"Oh now, since were on the topic of jobs, I believe you owe me a few", William said as he pushed the elevator button to go up.
"Hell, I only ever promised one", Nathan sighed as the elevator door closed on them. The elevator was significally faster then the ones on the Presidium, much to Nathan's suprise. Whoever the boss was appreciated the luxury of a faster elevator as much as he did.
"Either way, i'm calling this one in since your little 'witch hunt' is over" William remarked as the elevator door open much to Nathans suprise. They walked down the hallway towards William's office, while Nathan was still shocked about the elevator's speed
'Now why can't all Citadel elevators be like this. ...Shit!'
"Alright fine what do you need, someone dead?, shit blown up?, what?", Nathan replied as they walked into Williams office and sat down. William's office was decorated quite nicely with an abundance of art on the walls which resembled pieces that Liara's apartment contained in Mass Effect 2
"Actually all of the above. You're going to be taking down a gang that the boss wants gone here on the Citadel" ,William said as he leaned back in his chair
Nathan shrugged, "I'm going to need a lot more than just my usual loadout to take down an entire gang operation"
"That you will. As well as taking the liberty of making your arrows mod friendly, I also have hired you a partner to work with", William said
"You know I work fast-paced right?" Nathan replied
"Don't worry, so does he", William said as he turned to his omni-tool "Let our guest in Ms. Greene"
A few seconds later "Yes sir" came out of his omni-tool
All of a sudden Nathan heard loud thumps coming from the hall outside. They progressively got louder until they reached the door. They door opened and he walked in.
"Nathan West meet your partner, Urdnot Wrex"
...
Nathan, while having a minor heart attack from seeing another of his favorite Mass Effect characters of all time had a sudden realization at that moment.
'Wait a second, I have just been put on the mission to kill Fist and his thugs. This mission is how Wrex eventually joins Shepard and gets on the Normandy. That means I have a clear shot to make it on the Normandy. How fucking peculiar is that? Well no need to question fate.'
After a few more seconds Nathan also realized something.
'Hold on, in the game Wrex mentions that he gets the mission to kill Fist from the Shadow Broker... Holy shit I'm a damned idiot. How didn't I catch that with hint with Tela Vasir? Yeah some freakin assassin I am'
Nathan looks at William to see that he is wearing a suit with the same insignia's as the troopers from the Mass Effect 2 DLC.
'I...I have been working for the damn Shadow Broker for 2 years. I see the secrecy for it, as many people do not like him, but 2 freaking years? Definitely going to have to watch myself, I know the Shadow Broker's future intentions, and if i'm one of them, that ain't good'
Nathan mentally facepalms and returns to the conversation.
"You partnered me with a human? They're weak! He won't survive Fist's thugs!", Wrex exclaims
'Ahhh, Wrex's irresistible personality shows it self for the first time. How fucking charming'
"You need not worry about him Wrex. He may seem like a selfish jackass, but be assured he can hold his own"
'And you may seem like the Shadow Broker's bitch but... oh wait you are'
Wrex does the Krogan equivalent of a sigh as William continues to speak.
"Now your target is the scum known as Fist and his gang which are centered in the bar Chora's Den in the Wards. Before you think of just bum rushing the place, know that he has 2 warhouses on the Citadel that need 'special attention' as well. They'll be guarded, no doubt heavily, but thats why I have both of you. Also know that they will probably have a substantial amount of red sand there too. Make sure you clear the place quickly when you take care of it. I don't want 2 high as fuck hitmen to take down Fist. "
"It'll get done as long as this human doesn't get in my way," Wrex responds as he makes his way out of the office
Nathan rolls his eyes and gets up as William responds, "Good and one more thing," he says as his gaze rests on Nathan
"Make sure not to get caught, I would rather avoid another incident wit C-Sec" William remarks calmly
"One time... one time Billy!"
Wrex and I enter the first availible skycar as we leave the building. The first warehouse is all the way across the Citadel so its going to at least take us awhile to get there.
We sit in the skycar in absolute silence, not that I was expecting any conversation. Mass Effect 1 Wrex was pretty quiet unless you spoke to him. But still even with everything that was just revealed to me I couldn't brush off the aura of akwardness in the car. I needed to break the ice.
"So..." I ask nervously
"Spare me the conversation human, I don't know how humans are but Krogan don't prefer small talk" Wrex interrupts
Well damn! Can't say I didn't half expect that, but really? 'human'? Come on. If were going to work together on the Normandy, thats going to get on my nerves. Then again it already is, so better I remedy the situation now. But then again there is always the possibility of Wrex 'accidentally' throwing me out of the skycar.
"Alright, alright, first of all my name's not 'human'?, it's Nathan, ok. You don't see me going around and naming people off by their species. and what the hell is wrong with talking? I at least want to know something about the guy that's going to be fighting along side me, like maybe if he's going to shoot me in the back or not?"
Ok even an hardened assassin has to be scared of the possibility of being thrown out of a skycar at god knows what height by a ticked off Krogan Battlemaster, right? I look at Wrex who is slowly turning to me. Shit, out the skycar I go. But instead he lets out a small laugh.
"Gotta say that it takes a quad to yell at a Krogan in such a enclosed space like that. Maybe it won't be that bad to work with you after all. But lets see if that quad will hold in combat. then maybe we'll talk."
Classic Wrex ehh. More a man of action then of words. The again he is Krogan, so maybe Krogan of action? Anywho I check my omni-tool again for the location of the first warehouse. Looking at it, I realize that I have an unread message. Since were not in any type of hurry I open it.
From: unknown sender
Nathan, I have recently gotten news of your recovery from the incident during our fight with Dralla Zline. When I got you to the hospital, your accomplice William was waiting there and said that he would take care of it. How he caught wind that I was to bring you there, I cannot say, but do stay cautious, his motives may not be what they seem.I have to say in all truthfulness though that I am relieved for your recovery, not only as your mentor but as your friend. It has been quite the experience having traveled with you for the last few months, and it has taught me a lot about myself. Lessons that I will never forget.
I apoligize for my abrupt departure, but for now our paths must split as I must continue to search for those who murdered my wife and you continue on, I know you will understand. I know our paths will meet again my friend, after my buisness is complete.
May Amonkira, Lord of Hunters guide your bullet toward those who deserve it,
Thane
I give a smirk to the message. We will definetely meet again my friend, if I don't die first. I close my omni-tool, as the skycar lands. We walk out onto the street as the Citadel is turning to its night cycle. This ward is one of the less populated ones, so there are only a few people wandering around still.
We walk for awhile before we reach the warehouse designated by William. As we overlook the place we see that his intel was spot on. A group of 5 guarding the front entrance to the warehouse as well as intervals of 2 patrolling around it. But the volume coming from inside the building sounds like there is a lot more mercs to deal with than just the ones out here.
"How do you want to take this?" I say, expecting Wrex to go ape-shit and charge the guards
But he just stands there and replies "We wait until the guards shift ends then we catch them by suprise"
I look at him confused
"What, do you have a better plan?" He asks
I slowly reply "No, its just that I've never seen Krogan as ones for a strategical approach"
"Only a fool would rush in there blindly and expect to come out alive!" Wrex exclaims
"We're going to need a helluva alot of luck to pull this off" I respond
Wrex laughs again "Who needs luck when I have ammo?"
I let out a laugh, when I realize something. Wrex just stole Grunt's line from his loyalty mission from Mass Effect 2. Not that it matters because it still sounded awesomly epic.
Well I got the future leader of the Krogan race at my side and shitload of mercs in between me and my ticket to the Normandy. Result?... Blood... a WHOLE LOT OF BLOOD.