CHAPTER 14: SHADOWS

Admiral Hackett had seen many strange things in his life, a great deal during his years of service in the Alliance. Anything where aliens were involved tended to stretch far beyond the norm for humans. He had discovered that this same foreign oddness had a habit of following Commander Shepard around. Her squad mates were almost entirely alien, and the remaining humans were far from average and mundane. Somehow she managed to earn their loyalty in ways no human would have ever dreamed and he was constantly thankful that she was still faithful to her Alliance roots. Anyone else with this sort of backing might have been a concern, and she was always acquiring more, each one stranger than the last.

Though he could mentally find justification of her choice of comrades so far, he was having a difficult time deciding what, exactly, this little green man offered. So far, all he had done was stalk around, yell a lot, and insult passing officers who had done nothing to instigate such aggressive behavior.

"Thank you for arranging this for us, Admiral," Shepard said, giving his hand a firm shake when they had met up. She seemed to take no notice of the small alien's tirade behind her.

"Our doors are always open to you, Commander," he replied. "I was disturbed to hear of the events on the Normandy. I take it your crew is unharmed?"

"They all came out alright, if not a little shaken up. The Irkens are still very new to everyone, and an undead one doesn't exactly put forth a good impression."

"I have a feeling they don't do that often," he noted, his eyes training on the Irken again briefly. "It's probably safe to bet that the galaxy still has many surprises for us."

"Some less pleasant than others," Shepard said through a strained smile as Zim began hollering at the humans on the lower deck while he clung to the railing of the docking bay.

"We've arranged boarding for you and your crew while we do a thorough examination of the Normandy. The process should take forty-eight hours at most."

"Excellent. I'm sure they'll be excited to get some down time."

"I HATE THIS!" She heard Joker exclaim from across the port.

"It seems you're going to have your hands full, Commander. I have my own duties to return to. I trust you'll find every thing in order," Hackett mentioned, and she was almost certain she caught the beginnings of a sympathetic smile cross his normally stoic face. Once he had departed she turned and marched to the center of the cluster where her crew had congregated.

"Listen up, everyone! We're going to be here for a couple of days while the Normandy is checked out. The Admiral has informed me we have been granted room and board and I expect you all to show the utmost professionalism while you are here. There will be no fighting, no discharging of weapons, biotics, or headbutting!" Shepard watched a distinctive part of her crew ruffle at the restraints. "I mean it! If it so much as see you thinking about any of this so help me -!"

"BOW before ZIM, puny humans!" Shepard cringed and marched over to the railing where Zim and his robot had apparently taken to hurling something akin to spit wads at the marines below. She reached over and grabbed the Irken by his collar and Gir by whatever was handy.

"Unhand me!" Zim squirmed. Gir merely giggled, amused at being upside down.

"Am I going to have to assign you a babysitter while I'm away, Irken?" she huffed.

"You're leaving?" Garrus piped up. "Where are you going?"

"I received a message from someone on Earth that I plan to go meet. It shouldn't take me more than a few hours. But I'm not leaving until I'm certain the station won't be blown up before I get back." She eyed Zim as he dangled in her grasp. He crossed his arms and waggled his long, segmented tongue in her direction. "You have my orders. Dismissed."

As the crew dispersed, Joker hobbled up to her and crossed his arms with a defiant tilt of his head once he was at her side. Glancing between him and the Irken, the expressions were not all that different.

"Can I help you, Joker?" Shepard asked.

"I'm going with you."

"What? No, you're not."

"Yes... I am," he emphasized. "You booted me from my ship and I'm not about to go plant my ass and sit idle in some Alliance issue white room."

"I don't even know what this is about, exactly. I might have to defend myself for all I know."

"Then give me a gun. I can handle it." Shepard sighed deeply.

"I'm going too."

"What? Absolutely not!"

"You kidnapped me from my base on Earth before I could properly outfit myself with supplies. Or would you rather I let my robot eat the brains of your precious Alliance humans?" Zim glared with a disturbingly promising grin. In her other hand Gir squealed and clapped his hands together in anticipation.

"What is this – harass the Commander day?" Shepard asked, incredulous.

"Shepard," the Turian approached from behind and rested his talons on her shoulder.

"Oh, Garrus, don't start-" He rumbled with a vibrating chuckle in his chest.

"No," he assured her. "I was just going to say that you should take a couple of us with you to Earth just in case. Besides, not all of us are exactly...comfortable...staying in an Alliance station. We would much rather keep busy."

Shepard looked between the aliens in her hands, her pilot, and lieutenant.

"Fine. Who else wants to come?"

"Joker, you had better land this thing fast or I'm not going to be responsible for someone losing a limb!"

Although the entire ride in the Alliance shuttle down to Earth's surface had turned into one scream away from a nightmare the pilot seemed to be enjoying every second of it. He had insisted on driving and his mood seemed to improve drastically once he was behind the controls, so much so that he seemed oblivious to the anarchy in the back seat. Shepard, on the other hand, was ready to pull her pistol.

"Get your feet out of my face, Zim!" Garrus growled. Normally quite in control, the Turian had had just about enough.

"Get your squawking bird-dookie face away from my feet!" Zim retorted. "GIR! Stop pulling my antenna!"

"Eeeehehehe! Dookie!" GIR cackled and pulled on them harder.

"AHHH!" Zim screamed.

"Shut up! Shut UP, or we're turning this shuttle RIGHT AROUND!"

"Shepard Commander promised we would get to see Earth," Legion peeked up from behind the conglomeration that was Turian, Irken, and robot, his optical panels flaring animatedly.

"It's a figure of speech. Legion," Shepard huffed a breath.

It seemed to take much too long before they entered the atmosphere and passed the clearance checkpoint. The doors were flying open before Joker had the shuttle properly grounded. Garrus fell out one side while GIR and Zim tumbled out the other. Shepard moved to help Garrus to his feet while trying to cool her head as Joker and Legion departed the shuttle in much smoother fashion. Once on his feet, Zim began and pointed march in one direction while Shepard made for the other. When she realized the Irken wasn't following, she stomped after him and seized him by the jacket.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Let GO of me!" He smacked her hand until she released him. "I'm going to my base!"

"Not by yourself, you're not. People will see you!"

"Not an issue for Zim! GIR! Disguises!" He snapped his fingers and the two whipped on what Shepard could only hope had to be a joke. GIR had thrown on what appeared to have been a child's dog costume that failed to accommodate his awkward structure. On a proper model it may have appeared like an adorable puppy, but he simply looked an stuffed animal that had been filled with junkyard debris with and had been stabbed a few times for good measure. Zim's disguise was only so sad in that it was completely ineffective. The oddly styled wig on his head looked like it had been licked by an Earth cow one too many times, and how he thought the gigantic contacts that simulated human irises and pupils would help anyone overlook the fact he was green was beyond her.

"No. Just...no," Shepard said, covering her eyes with a hand while holding the other out in a 'cease and desist' gesture. "Legion?" Without even having to be given the order, the Geth grabbed up both Irken and robot, not even phased by how much resistance Zim gave. GIR simply allowed himself to be dragged across the floor.

"Commander Shepard." The woman that greeted them at the port exit didn't strike Shepard as familiar. Her features were dark, and if not for the way her skirt billowed to the floor the Commander might have assumed her dress had been painted on.

"That's me," she said warily as she and her troupe paused before her. "Can I help you?"

"My name is Miha Etzi. I am here to escort you to my employer's estate."

"And who is your employer, exactly?"

"The CEO of Amazing and Extreme Discoveries. You received the correspondence. That is what you are here for." There was no question in her tone, as if she simply knew everything for a fact. It wasn't something Shepard liked and it made her feel anxious. How could this woman with a seemingly permanent frown know what she had read?

"You couldn't have possibly known I would come."

"Of course you would. You are Commander Shepard, and Commander Shepard has an insatiable curiosity. Not exactly an ideal quality for a leader, but it is a fact." The anxiety was gone now, and had been placed with full blown agitation. For someone she had just met, Miha was quickly becoming one of her least favorite people of all time – not a good list to be on. She was almost as bad as the Asari Consort on the Citadel had been, but at least Sha'ira attempted to look pleasant while she invaded your personal and mental bubble.

"Fine. Let's say I am here to see your boss. Where do I need to go?" Shepard managed to stay civil despite her more unsavory urges.

"I will take you in my car," Miha replied. Her eyes roamed over her pack, not bothering to hide her obvious distaste. At the very least she seemed too preoccupied with judging them to notice the Irken in the Geth's arms. "Follow me." Joker sidled up to his Commander as he limped along with the others.

"She better be careful when she sits down or that stick up her ass is going to go straight into her brain," he murmured. Shepard snorted back a bitter laugh and nudged him to signal that he needed to be quiet no matter how funny that was.

In the city, the skyscrapers always seemed to be competing with each other to see who might break the skyline first. The ones that soared above them now where no different, but when the tower that was AED headquarters came into view, Shepard mentally crowned it king. The building was very tall and very narrow compared to its neighboring counterparts which were strangely few and far between. Where the bustling structures clumped and clung to each other vying for just a little more space in the wide expanse, the corporate tower stood singular, dark and proud. The thought of trillions of stairs came to mind, and elevator rides that took over an hour simply to get to the high-rise. Luckily, Miha allayed those fears by pulling into a parking garage three quarters of the way up the building's height.

The walk to the elevator, and the trip up to the stark and empty secretarial office were done in a complete and oppressive silence. Even Zim seemed to have his ever present words stolen from him. When Miha reached her desk at the far end of the room, she turned with a sharp flourish and clasped her hands in front of herself like the strictest matron.

"You may enter the chamber," she said with a gesture to the door behind her. "But they must stay here."

Shepard glanced between those in her crew, and though it was apparent none of them liked the idea, they all silently nodded their agreement. Except Zim, who merely continued to glower at her, and Gir, who expressed nothing at all except that his hands were suddenly very fascinating.

"Fine." Miha bowed her head once and turned to open the door for the Commander. Once she had stepped through, she had barely a chance to think before the door slammed behind her and left her alone in the very dim room.

She stood there, letting her eyes adjust to the dark as she wondered what sort of trap this was. She refrained from calling out into the shadows for a response, which never led to anything good. It was only when she took a testing step forward that the light shone in the distance. It illuminated the form of what she assumed was another desk, and a figure sitting behind it. Cautiously, she made her approach, fingertips ready to seize her pistol if the need should arise.

"Could you walk a little faster? I don't have all day," came the voice from the desk, raspy and unamused. Shepard took her steps a little quicker and came to stand before the shadowed figure who's eyes seemed even darker than the shadows that framed her face.

"You might want to install a few more lights," Shepard noted.

"Why? I like it like this. Except for this..." she outstretched a long, lithe finger towards the solitary light on her desk – the only one that was turned on.

"You sent me a message," Shepard changed the subject as she tried to ignore the bizarre vibe she was getting. "About the Irkens."

The woman's other hand shot out to something on the desk and ushered it forward. "There it is." Shepard reached out and plucked up the object, finding it much heavier than it appeared.

"What is it?"

"It's a computer."

"Okay." A heavy sigh followed, accompanied by an eye roll that confirmed she did, in fact, have eyes.

"It's my brother's computer. He was obsessed with the Irkens, and Zim, which, for some odd reason, you decided to bring back to Earth."

"He's under my supervision."

"Yes. Supervision. Good luck with that."

"If you don't mind my asking," Shepard interrupted the snark. "Who are you exactly, and who is your brother?"

"I am Gaz. And he was."

"Was, what?"

"Was my brother. Dib is dead."

"Dead...? Dib...?" Shepard blinked. "Dib is your brother?"

"Was," she reiterated.

"And he knew Zim?" Gaz sighed deeply again. Questions. There were always questions.

"Everything you wanna know is on that computer. I don't feel like playing twenty questions."

"You're all just a chipper bunch, aren't you?"

"Research is my business, Commander, not sunshine and moonbeams."

"Fair enough," Shepard shrugged and there was a space of silence. "There is one thing I want to ask."

"Too bad," Gaz replied, leaning back in her chair enough that Shepard just barely see the whites of her eyes now. "I'm a very busy woman, Shepard. Find your own answers."

"Wouldn't be the first time," Shepard replied and turned to go. It was obvious she was going to get nothing out of this woman, and the longer she stayed in her presence the more dreadful things began to feel. "Sorry for your loss."

"That makes one of us." Shepard's eyes focused on the door, barely visible in the distance. When had the room gotten so large, she wondered. It appeared as though the exit continued to stay a firm distance from her, and it didn't help that she couldn't even see her own feet on a shadow cloaked floor. "There's one more thing."

"Shit!" Shepard about dropped the laptop in her grasp, drawing her pistol as the air before her moved and she was greeted with those dark eyes once more. The woman before her quite literally loomed, though she didn't seem to be much taller than the Commander herself. As a new light beamed from overhead while the other behind her vanished, her eyes adjusted and focused on the form ahead. Very pale, her hair long and crunched into jagged looking curls about her shoulders, she peered through the light at Shepard. "Honestly, can we please drop all this spook bullshit? It's getting old."

Gaz huffed a breath that might have been a sound of amusement, though even her mouth appeared unable to fully form the smirk on her face.

"You take a foreign pod willingly on to your ship. You fail to kill the alien inside when you have the chance. You come to my office with a Turian, a crippled pilot, a Geth, and said alien in tow. And you see fit to pull a gun in my face when you have no idea what's around you." Gaz took steps towards Shepard as her words echoed through the room, though not as much as they aught should the room be entirely empty. "If you were meeting anyone but me you would have a situation on your hands."

"And I don't?" Shepard challenged, watching what she could see of Gaz closely and blatantly ignoring the grinding sound of metal in the far reaches of the room.

"I'll admit it. I've seen the reports and I've read the news. I never thought you would live up to the hype, but it seems you're as insane as they say."

"Thanks, I'll take that as a compliment."

"You should. I like insane," Gaz replied. She lifted a hand and snapped a finger and suddenly Shepard felt something hit her wrist, causing her pistol to go spinning to the floor. Her eyes darted back to Gaz, whose expression had become unreadable again. She reached inside the jacket of the business suit she was wearing and retrieved a small case with and OSD. "Give this to Zim when you find him." Her arm flourished outward and Shepard reached up to take the disc, eyes narrowing.

"He's in the other room, you know."

"I do know. And I know he is not." The CEO moved to her left, appearing to float rather than walk. "I'll do you a favor, Shepard, since you're doing this for me. I'll answer one question, but then you have to leave." Shepard pursed her lips together, not particularly enjoying this little game, nor feeling like she herself was the playing piece. Still, she thought on it and finally decided.

"Is Zim the only genuine Irken left?" One of Gaz's brows raised in the dark. For a time it seemed like she had changed her mind and planned not to answer at all. Instead, the unthinkable happened, and she split a smile. It was a wicked one, something Shepard expected might greet a small child from under their bed or in their closet.

"No."

And like one of those monsters, she was gone as the light vanished and was replaced by that of the open door ahead. Somehow, it had drawn closer in the last few moments, and she could see Garrus and Joker just outside it when she looked. Not daring to spend another moment in Gaz's office where unseen things made skin crawling noises, she made a hasty exit.

"Where's Zim?" she asked when she noticed he was, indeed, missing. The robot, too.

"He said he had to go do 'his business'," Joker replied, gesturing to the restroom door to their right.

"And you believed him?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know what Irken bowels do, Commander? With the fit he was making I thought he was about to explode," the pilot retorted. Everything with Zim was a fit, Shepard replied, though only in her mind. She strode for the door and knocked.

"Zim? Are you in there?" No answer. She glanced back to Miha at the reception desk, who couldn't have appeared less interested.

"Are there windows in this restroom?"

"No," she replied. Garrus pushed by and kicked open the door with one heavy thrust of his taloned foot.

"There is now." He looked to Shepard and she pressed her head into her hand at the sight of the massive hole in the outer wall of the room.

"Goddamn it."

"Commander," Miha's voice came close. How she had gotten so near without making a sound was a mystery, and all Shepard knew was she hated how stealthily these people moved around. "The CEO has instructed me to give you access to one of our vehicles for your departure."

"Thank god!" Joker breathed, tugging on the bill of his hat. "The thought of those stairs about killed me."

"That's very generous...," Shepard replied.

"Return to the parking garage from which we entered and you may have your pick."

"Seriously? Sweet!" the pilot exclaimed. Miha scowled at him before handing Shepard a clearance card and returning to her desk. Shepard blew a lock of hair out of her face and looked at Garrus.

"Little help?" she asked, hoisting the ever growing number of items in her arms. The Turian chuckled lowly and retrieved the laptop, it's weight seeming to be nothing for him. As they departed and entered the elevator which automatically set their course for the parking garage, Shepard decided they had better find Zim before he began to cause too much trouble around the city. At least he was restricted to the use of his short little legs to get around, and as such might be easier to catch up with. There was no question about where he was headed, but Shepard wondered how, exactly, he planned to get around Alliance security since it had been stationed at his base.

As the elevator hummed along her thoughts turned to Gaz. What was the deal with this woman, she wondered, though she wasn't sure she wanted to know. All she knew that she was connected to Dib, the one who owned the coat that Zim now wore. She could only hope that the contraption in her Turian mate's arms carried more answers than questions.

And if not, there was always the Shadow Broker.