A/N: I own nothing except the laptop I wrote this story on.
It wasn't tense, but the air was somewhat charged all the same. There's a big difference between silences. Sometimes the silence is sorrowful. Sometimes it's contemplative. And sometimes it's…this. Restless. It puts me on edge.
Perhaps part of it is the Asari next to me. Samara is seated at the bench beside me, her hands rested in her lap, with one leg crossed over the other. Her expression is utterly serene, and she looks forward into the crowd of people in front of us, her face utterly blank. It's impossible to know what she is thinking right now, or if she even is thinking. Every now and then people make eye contact with her and scurry away. Either they know that she's the real thing or she's just a fanboy cosplaying as a Justicar, but whatever the reason they decide that they don't want to mess with her. I don't blame them.
Sis is off to the side, talking to Liara over her omnitool. It's…well, it isn't lovey-dovey but it seems a little bit less frosty than I would have expected. Maybe there's something about the way they're talking to each other, where they can sense that things are alright even if they never explicitly or implicitly tell one another that that is the case. Sometimes we can just sense the air around us and those we love, and know when things are alright.
But right now that just leaves me with the Justicar. Zaeed went off with Kasumi back to the ship, and Sis put in a transfer request for Grunt and Miranda to join up with us. So we're stuck in transition, waiting both for Sis to finish talking to Liara about our next mission as well as the other members of the squad to arrive.
Samara doesn't seem interested in talking right now. So I reach into my pocket, fish out my iDroid, and wire it to my TeamCom earpiece. Might as well listen to some tunes while we kill time. I shuffle for the playlist that Zaeed sent me, and with a sigh select the first song on the list.
We passed upon the stair
We spoke of was and when
Although I wasn't there
He said I was his friend
"Do you listen to music often?"
Samara's question jars me out of my reverie. I flit my eyes over towards her, slightly annoyed that she interrupted me, but at the same time I press the volume button a few times so that I can hear her better. I look at her and shrug.
"Every now and then." I said. "I used to listen to it a lot when I was done with missions or even before."
"I do not begrudge that decision." Samara said. "Music can be a wonderful way to settle the mind for the task at hand." She looks at me with those shiny blue eyes of hers. "Do you mind if I see that?" She nods towards my iDroid. Reflexively, I hesitate. But then I figure that if I don't, she might beat me to death and take it anyway. It doesn't do to anger a Justicar.
I hand the device over, and I have to admit that she is quite gentle as she holds it in her hands.
"Interesting." She said, examining the iDroid as though it was an amusing curio. "The holographic interface is rather advanced, despite being limited to a physical device. And I imagine the resolution is sound." She presses a button, and I see that she's accessed the map feature. "My suspicions are proven correct." There's a ghost of a smile on her lips. "Rather curious that you are still so hesitant to take up an omnitool. I imagine that using one of these takes longer than using an omnitool."
"I wouldn't know." I said. "I've never really used an omnitool long enough to compare." I smile a bit, despite myself. "Sis always called me kind of stubborn."
"I can sympathize." Samara said. "My way of life is considered archaic by many. So, if you think about, I suppose I am little different from this device." She looks at me. I shrug.
"I dunno. You can think. You're alive."
"If we wanted to be technical, so too is this device. In a way, it can 'think.' The fact that the press of a button turns it 'on' could in turn suggest that it is 'alive.'"
"Okay, let's stop with the metaphysics before you really start weirding me out."
"As you wish, Jonathan."
…
Finally, Sis comes over. At around the same time, Miranda and Grunt arrive.
"Greetings, Venom." Grunt said, making eye contact with me. "I look forward to seeing if you can match me in battle. Unlikely, but a good myth to live up to, all the same." I have to smile at the Krogan's hubris. The guy can't be older than a week and yet he acts as though he's the greatest fighter in existence. Miranda just looks at him, and then at me, and then sighs.
"I had to drag him away from some street competitions." She said. "I felt like his mother. 'No Grunt, you cannot challenge that Turian to an arm-wrestling match.' 'No Grunt, you cannot demand that Salarian fight you 'in real life' because he looked at you funny.' 'No Grunt, you cannot lift the scaffolding that the dancers were using as a benchpress.'"
"But it would have added to the excitement." Grunt said. It sounded like he was being…petulant? "Dancing is boring. Deadlifting dancers is humorous." He then lets out a slow little chuckle. "Heh…heh…heh…" It's both unsettling and hilarious at the same time.
"See what I've been dealing with?" Miranda asked, looking at me. I shrug.
"Well, you do have a bit of a motherly feel to you, Miranda. I guess I'm not surprised."
There's that look in her eyes again. On one hand, she smiles slightly, clearly flattered by the flippant compliment yet not wanting to betray to the rest of the team that she has a heart…and yet at the same time there's an infinite sadness in her eyes, like there's something that she's hiding. I don't know what it is, but it's unsettling.
"Okay, 'mom.'" Sis said, drawing Miranda's and the rest of our attention to her. "I just got off the phone with Liara. Our next potential recruit is on Illium, and in Nos Astra. I've got good news and bad news. What do you want to hear first?"
"The only bad news is if there are no enemies to kill." Grunt growled.
"Behave, Grunt." Miranda chided. She was looking exasperated, like a soccer mom whose kids had just discovered sugar. It was kind of funny. But I bet she'd biotically close my throat if I said anything, so I kept a lid on it.
"Good news first, then." Sis said. "It's the quality of our recruit. His name is Thane Krios. He is a Drell assassin, and is very, very capable."
"Ah, Thane Krios. I remember him." Samara said, drawing the rest of our attention. "I have encountered Mr. Krios in the past." She looked at Sis, a pensive expression on her face. "What does your contact Liara say about him?" Sis shrugged.
"Just that he is good. And the same with the Illusive Man's dossier. There's really, really not much to go on about him. It's a wonder that we even have his name."
"As I expected." Samara said. "Thane was always meticulous in leaving as little a trace as possible. He is very professional…and oddly gravitating, in a sort of way. I enjoyed working with him."
"You worked with him?" I asked. Samara nodded.
"Yes. I was pursuing a fugitive of justice, and it just so turned out that the man sheltering my fugitive was a target of Thane's. We co-operated on the mission, and it was very successful. An entertaining story, I imagine. But now is not the time for telling."
"You mentioned that there was bad news." Miranda said, no doubt to steer the conversation back on track. "What is it?"
"Well, it's twofold." Sis said. "He's in Nos Astra because he's working a job. He's contracted to assassinate a high ranking Asari executive." Sis frowned. "It's doubly bad news because I know this Asari. Nassana Dantius." She cleared her throat. "There was an Asari worker in the vicinity that Thane contacted to help him with his job. We should find her and see what she knows."
…
"Shepard, if I may."
"Go ahead, Samara."
"How do you know Nassana?"
We're walking in a v-shape formation down the street, and we must be quite a sight: a resurrected woman leading the charge, flanked by a genetically enhanced woman of stunning features and my raggedy ass, and further flanked by a massive Krogan and an Asari Justicar. I dared anyone to fuck with us.
"I met her two years ago. She asked me to help her with a mission." Sis began. "She said that her sister had been kidnapped by space pirates, and were demanding a ludicrous sum of money as a ransom. She wanted me to rescue her sister, because the Dantius family couldn't afford to make the payment or take the hit to their reputation."
"The way you're telling this story, Sis, it sounds like there's a real Hitchcock involved here."
"I am afraid I am unfamiliar with that phrase." Samara said.
"I don't know it either, and I'm human." Miranda said. "What do you mean?"
"He means that there's a twist coming." Sis said. "Bro and I can quote movies and shit back and forth all day. And he's right: it turned out that the reason Nassana wanted this all hush-hush was because her sister was the leader of the pirate gang, and she was blackmailing her sister for money at the risk of exposing to the galaxy that the Dantius family had one hell of a black sheep in the family. So I was the unwitting savior of Nassana's public image when her sis refused to come quietly." She sighed. "I was compensated with what I would describe as a sacrilegious amount of money. I donated almost all of it."
Samara was silent for a time. And then she spoke.
"That does sound like something that Nassana would do."
"And now she's on Illium." I said. "This place is just like Omega, only cleaner." I spit bitterly into the ground, drawing a rather dirty look from one of the Asari cops walking by. I don't give a shit. I'm just doing my part in contributing to the gilded clean that covers this place.
Eventually, we reach a terminal, where an Asari is working behind the desk. She flits her eyes up towards us, but then returns to her typing at the desk. It is quite clear that she does not want to be disturbed.
"Seryna?" Sis asked.
"Who wants to know?" The Asari replied, though she still didn't look up from her terminal. Clearly this lady was involved in a few shady things on the side. Anyone who asked that question was either a kid who'd watched too many crime flicks…or someone who was more than capable of some dark shit. Sis smirked.
"Call me Shepard. A mutual friend of ours said that you might have information on someone that I'm looking for."
At this, Seryna stops typing. She looks up at Sis, and the rest of us, and narrows her eyes.
"Is that so? And to whom might you be referring to?" At this, I see her hands slide down out of sight.
Before anyone can react, I pull out a Carnifex and aim it at her head.
"John!" Sis snarls. I don't hear her.
"I hope that's a sandwich you're reaching for, Seryna." I growl. "Because whatever it is, I'm gonna make you eat it."
Seryna stares at me coldly, and slowly brigns her hand back up into sight. She's holding a Predator pistol, though she hadn't had time to get the safety off.
"From Liara T'Soni with love." Sis said. "Where's Thane Krios?" At the mention of Liara's name, Seryna seems to relax a little bit.
"Can you blame me for the preparation?" Seryna asked. "It's not easy being a CI for an information broker here on Illium, especially for someone that is as new to the game as Miss T'Soni. You have to work extra hard to make sure the established players don't eat you alive." She crosses her arms across her chest, clearly displaying that she isn't swayed by the pistol I'm pointing in her face. "Gimme a second." She turns to the Asari next to her. "Tana. Cover for me."
The other Asari silently nods, and Seryna leads us off to the side.
"Yeah, I know who Thane Krios is." Seryna began. "I might have passed him some information, but I didn't hire him."
"I doubt you could with the salary this job offers." Miranda deadpans. Sis leers at her, but I have trouble keeping a straight face. Since Sis made me put my gun away, the best I can do is look like a bored goon.
"What do you wanna know?" Seryna asked.
"Maybe help me find him." Sis said. Straight to the point.
Seryna scoffed.
"I can tell you, but you won't stop him." She cleared her throat. "When he contacted me, I checked up on him. The man never gives up on a job. I ran security for Nassana Dantius…"
"Here we go…" Miranda muttered.
"And then I found out that she was having people killed to cover up her dirty secrets." Seryna continued. "She fired me when I confronted her. Her loss. I might have been good enough to stop Thane from taking her down."
"I'm surprised, given the fact that you confronted her with the knowledge that she was killing loose ends, that she didn't literally fire you. With a gun." I said. Seryna smirked.
"Baby, this is Illium. Everyone knows someone who knows someone. I'm pretty damn connected myself. If I went down mysteriously, then someone who's a bigger fish in the pond might start asking Nassana questions. And she's already skating on thin ice as is. No, it's far less difficult to just can my ass."
"So if you worked there, then you must have an idea of what his opposition will be." Sis said, clearly steering the conversation back on track.
"Eclipse mercs. High tech weaponry. They're undisciplined but very well equipped. Thane has quite a reception waiting for him. I told him what I knew…he didn't seem worried."
"The fact that they are undisciplined most likely reassured him." Samara said. "An army could not stop Thane if they did not have the proper training. And even then…" She trailed off.
"I should like to meet this 'Thane Krios,' if he is truly as mighty a warrior as he sounds." Grunt said, a devilish smirk on his lips.
"So where is he?" Sis asked.
"Most likely working his way through the Dantius Towers." Seryna pointed to two very large towers that were a stone's throw away from each other. "He'll be aiming for Tower One's penthouse level. That's where Nassana works out of. And that's where she'll be holed up. There's a second tower that's currently under construction. If Thane is smart, and he is, then he'll go in through there."
"I doubt that Nassana is just going to let me waltz in." Sis said.
"No doubt." Seryna said. "I can get you in through the second tower, but you're only going to get one shot at this. Things are going to be hairy enough with the guards looking for Thane."
"Wait, you're offering us your help, no strings attached?" Sis asked suspiciously. "What do you stand to gain from this?"
"Directly, nothing." Seryna said. "But you're looking for Thane. Despite his job, he is a good-hearted man. A total gentleman. The fact that you'll be raising hell in the towers most likely means that you'll give him a free pass at Nassana. I didn't hire the man, but I won't shed a single tear when she gets what's coming to her."
"Who did hire Thane?" Sis asked. Seryna shrugged.
"That's the thing. He wasn't. He told me that he's doing this job on his own time, and on his own dime. He said he needed to 'restore the balance to his life,' which was poetic but a little bit overwrought if you ask me."
"Let's do this." Sis said. Clearly she wasn't bothered by the fact that we were dealing with an assassin either so flush or so morally pious that he didn't mind infiltrating and then killing on his own dime and time. Seryna smiled.
"Good. I was getting tired of standing around here just talking. Meet me here tonight. We'll go to Tower Two when the shift ends for the workers."
…
The sun has set as our skycar gently lifts off and begins its trek to the Dantius Towers. Seryna is driving, while Sis is sitting shotgun. Miranda, Grunt and I are wedged in the back. Samara sits on the floor, her legs criss-crossed in a meditative position. It's a little unsettling but at least she isn't hogging any undue space on this thing.
"The towers are heavily guarded and you'll find more resistance closer to the penthouse." Seryna said. She looked at Sis. "So this assassin…you planning to stop him?"
I waited for Sis' response. She was the kind of person to say yes, to take the forever high road.
"I'm just there to make sure that he survives."
That…wasn't quite the response I expected.
We weave in and out of traffic, and soon the two symbols of Asari decadence are in plain view.
"There they are: the Dantius Towers." Seryna said. "You'll have to get up to the second tower bridge to reach the first tower penthouse. Her mercs will fight you every step of the way, but it's your best shot."
"If they're bunkered in for a fight…" Sis began. She turned around and smirked at the Krogan next to me. "…Then it's a good thing that I brought my bunker-buster, huh?"
Grunt racks his shotgun with a cartoonishly gleeful face.
"Heh…heh…heh…"
"Alright, I'm taking you guys in. Be ready." Seryna cuts hard to the left, diverting off of traffic and right towards the Dantius Towers. She settles the car down on a veranda outside. The wind is blowing slightly as we exit the vehicle. Seryna watches us get out of the car, and then gestures towards the tower. "Be sure to move quickly. They're gonna know something is up."
"We're ready for them." Sis said, racking a shotgun of her own. Seryna smiles slightly.
"I think you really are. Good luck, Shepard."
The car door closes, and she flies away into the night. Sis watches after her, and then motions for us to follow her.
"Eyes open." She said. We draw our weapons and fall into place. As we creep towards the door, I glance over to the left, towards the interior of the building.
"Jesus Christ!" I manage to snarl.
There's a group of Salarians running away from LOKI and FENRIS mechs. Some of them get away. Some of them aren't so lucky. But we can hear their screams. I can hear them wailing through the ringing in my ears.
They had dropped their weapons, and had run away in a blind panic. That didn't save them. The smell of oil and fire burned in the air as they were cut down one after another.
"Engage!" Sis shouted, and that was the cue for the rest of us to start firing on the mechs. They stopped their pursuit of the unarmed Salarians, and began to fire upon us. I scored a direct hit right in the head of one of them, and clipped the leg of another LOKI mech. A FENRIS charged towards me, a mechanical snarl in its audio processor. It got close to me, and then with a calm shot I put a hole through its head and out through where its tail should be. There were only a few of these mechs out here, but now they were all gone. Sis scanned ahead of us, her eyes wide.
"Move up! We have to find the workers."
…
There isn't much left of them in the hallway. Most are dead, their faces twisted in screams and terror right before the bullets cut them down. Blood everywhere. I put the back of my hand to my mouth, as if stifling a choking. The smell is awful.
We'd chased them out of one of the houses, and eventually Jax was brave enough to peer inside to see what they'd left behind. He ran back out and doubled over, puking his guts out. I was the next one in. They'd left behind civvies…with pieces small enough to fit in a matchbox.
"Help…" One of the Salarians was still alive. There was blood all over him. "…Help." He managed to squeak out.
"He's alive, but barely." Miranda said. At the sound of this, Samara got down on one knee and placed a hand on the Salarian's cheek.
"Shh…" She whispered. "Be at peace. We come to help." She slowly turned her head back towards the rest of us. "Does anyone have medigel? He has lost a lot of blood."
"I do." I find myself speaking. I was the better doctor than Sis was, and I'd seen that she'd had some medigel prepped as well. I dispensed it from a cartridge inside my iDroid, and began to spread it over the wounded area…which seemed to be his entire pelvic area. Samara was staring him in the eye, gently encouraging him to breathe. Sis stood over the three of us, and I could feel the righteous fury and sorrow radiating off of her.
"Who did this to you?" Sis asked. "And why?"
"We're just…night workers!" The Salarian wheezed. "And Nassana…she sent them after us. They sent the mechs to round us up but…we didn't hear…they just started shooting…"
"Medigel's taking." I said. We weren't out of the woods yet for this guy, but with some luck he'd be able to feel his lower body in a few minutes.
"They just attacked you?" Sis asked.
"The mercs said…they said there wasn't any time…that we needed to be removed…immediately!" The Salarian was starting to cry. "So much screaming, so much…and then…the dogs…!" The Salarian's breathing is steadying, but now he is sobbing. Samara reaches forward and gently gives him a hug, not caring that blood is now transferring onto her armor.
He sat there in the corner of the room, his mouth covered by a gloved hand. His face whiter than snow. "What are our orders sir?" I scream them in his ear, but I know that he doesn't hear anything. He breathes in and out, and he stares ahead as though I am not there. The bile rises in my throat as I can practically see the golden oak leaves on his shoulders wither away before my eyes. He keeps that expression long after the medics carry him off the front line.
"Nassana is getting desperate." Miranda said. "She's cornered, out of options, and just flailing out at anything that gets too close." She shook her head. "We had to deal with a few assets and enemies going out the same way. It means that the way ahead is quite messy."
The Salarian gets back up to his feet.
"Thank…thank you. The medigel is kicking in. I'll be alright. I'll…I'll be alright." He steadies himself. "Please, you must save the other workers. If they were doing that to us, the night workers, I…I won't think about what they're doing to the main custodial staff above us."
"How do we get to the penthouse of Tower One?" Sis asked.
"Take that service elevator behind you to the upper levels of this tower." The Salarian said. "It will make it quicker to reach the bridge between the towers. It's unfinished but…if you're careful, you should be safe." He staggered over to a phone terminal. "I'm going to call the police. They need to know what was going on here."
"I agree." Sis said. And then she looked like she'd had an idea. "Hey, EDI?"
"Yes, Commander?"
"If the police get here, they're probably going to eventually see the security footage of the place. Can you retroactively go back and wipe our presence from any visual footage in either building?"
"It will take some time, but I can do that. Without a trace."
Not bad for a talking lightbulb.
…
The elevator carried us up to one of the higher floors in the tower. However, as luck would have it, the door opened to a room full of Eclipse mercs.
Luckily, they weren't expecting us, if their startled cursing was any indication. And then Grunt charged right into the center of them, roaring like a demon and firing his shotgun like a maniac. I might have gotten off one round, but he did the heavy lifting.
"That's…wel, at least we know that Okeer didn't half-ass his work." Miranda said. I nodded.
"He's saving me ammo, that's for sure."
Sis checked the room for any survivors, and then gestured for us to follow her. As we entered a doorway, we were treated to the sight of several cowering Salarian workers.
"Please don't kill us!" One of them wailed. "We're leaving, we're leaving!" But then he hesitated. "Wait…they're not Eclipse mercs."
"Are you here to help us?" One of them asked Sis.
"That's one of my main reasons, yes." Sis said. She lowered her pistol. "Come on out. It's safe enough."
"Thank you." The leader of the Salarians said. "We are in your debt."
"Well, I'm flattered, but I don't need that." Sis said. "How about for repayment you just help me a little bit. I'm looking for someone. Not an Eclipse merc. He's…he's on his own."
One of the Salarians scratched his head.
"Well, there was this one man…he didn't kill us. He just herded us into this room and then locked the door after us. I…I don't think that he wanted us to get hurt."
"That's sweet." Miranda said somewhat drily. "We've got ourselves an assassin with a heart of gold."
"Thane would never allow an innocent life to come to harm during one of his missions." Samara said. "It is part of why I admired him so much during our short time together."
"Assassin?" One of the Salarians asked, somewhat fearfully.
"I bet he's here for Nassana." Another one drily commented. "She's got it coming. When you treat people like this, it always comes back to bite you in the ass."
"I don't disagree." Sis said. "I've had dealings with her in the past. But I need to get to her penthouse. What's the fastest way to the top?"
"The cargo elevator is the only thing working right now." One of the workers said. "But be careful. Most of the walls aren't finished and it's a little unstable up there."
"This whole place is unstable." Miranda said with some degree of disgust. "If Nassana designed the building, she should be ashamed."
From there, we wished the workers well, and then went about our way to the elevator. There was a small mercenary group defending it, but they went down easily. The Krogan bounty hunter with them was another matter.
But then again, that's why we had Grunt.
The tank-born managed to get within striking distance of the bounty hunter, and then cracked the beast across the nose with the butt of his shotgun. From there, he grabbed the Krogan by the waist and flipped him upside down. And as God is my witness, he dropped the bounty hunter right on his head with a piledriver that shook the floorboard.
"REST IN PEACE!" Grunt bellowed, thumping his chest. We all looked at each other, and then I cleared my throat.
"Who was it that thought letting him watch wrestling vids was a good idea?" I asked.
"They were a good idea." Sis said somewhat gleefully. "Did you see that?"
From there, we loaded into the cargo elevator and it took us even further into the sky.
…
"I haven't heard from either team Four or team Five."
Somehow we came across a merc on conference call by the window wall. He was totally oblivious to our presence as the elevator door hissed open.
"Don't worry. My team is always ready to go."
He must have been talking to his boss. As if unable to believe our extraordinary luck, Sis frantically waved us to silently follow her towards the back of this unsuspecting schlub. I felt like Elmer Fudd. Be vewwy vewwy quiet. We're huntin' a shithead.
"I don't know where he is. Not yet. Don't worry about it. No, we don't need reinforcements."
He's clearly talking about Thane. And from the slightly exasperated tone in his voice, he is clearly talking to Nassana.
"It's under control. I'll take care of it myself."
Oh god, I think Sis might burst from the sadistic glee that is radiating off of her right now. Somehow she keeps her voice steady as she speaks.
"Turn around. Real slowly."
The merc freezes, and then does as she asks. He looks at Sis, and then he looks back and forth to see the rest of us. His shoulders slump.
"Fuck."
"Have you seen the assassin?" Sis asked, slowly walking towards the merc. He's backing away towards the glass. It doesn't look very thick.
"Why are you looking for him?" The merc asked. "You're not one of Nassana's mercs. Who are you?"
"Let's make a deal." Sis said. "You answer my questions, and I let you go."
"Look pal, even if I knew where he was, I wouldn't tell you."
He's brave. Stupid, but brave all the same.
"Not the answer I was looking for." Sis said, this time stepping close enough that the merc has his back resting gently against the glass.
"If you shoot me, my team's right there beyond that doorway." The merc said, crossing his arms. "They'll be all over you." He then shook his head. "So I've got nothing more to say to you, cunt."
I grab him by the scruff of his neck.
"How about goodbye?"
I give him a sharp, short kick.
His screams fade away as he tumbles into the abyss below. I stare after him, ignoring the look I'm getting from Sis to my right. Miranda is the one that breaks the silence.
"Was that…necessary?" She asked. I shrug.
"Dude deserved it. Back to a glass wall, bottomless drop below, and then he calls the woman giving him a lifeline that? While her brother is right here?" I look at Miranda and shrug. "I did the gene pool a favor culling that bastard."
"Commander, that was impossibly reckless, even for your brother." Miranda said. Sis looked at her, and then looked at me. And then she sighed.
"I wish you weren't quicker on the draw than I was." Sis said. "I would've done it myself."
…
After some time, we enter another room with Salarians hiding. The only difference is that this one in the middle has a gun.
"Stay back! Stay back or I'll shoot!" He wailed. He's bluffing. I can see it in his eyes; he doesn't have the guts to do what's necessary. He doesn't know what it's like to end a life. "Don't make me use this!" Tears start streaming down his face as his nerve fails him. "Please…please don't make me do this."
"Hey, it's okay." Sis said. "I'm not the bad guy here. What's your name?"
"Telon…I…my name is Telon-don't come any closer!" He brandishes the gun threateningly.
"Telon, my name is Jane Shepard. I don't work with the mercs, and I'm here to help you and the other workers." She said. Telon sighes.
"Alright. Alright, here." He hands Sis the gun. "I…I don't feel so…"
He faints dead away. Out like a light.
"Telon!" Another Salarian runs up to him. "He's…Telon's my brother. I just need to make sure he's alright." He looks up at us. "Are you the ones who shot the merc?"
It's then that we notice the cold corpse of an Eclipse merc off to the side. He's dead as a doornail.
"It wasn't me." Sis said. "It wasn't your brother?"
"No." The Salarian said. "The merc found us and started yelling for us to move. We panicked, so he got louder and madder. I thought he was going to kill us, but then his head just…exploded!" The Salarian shook his head. "Telon picked up his gun…and that's when you all came in."
"Well, it's over now." Sis said. "How safe is that bridge out there?" Sis asked, gesturing to the bridge that connected us to the penthouse of Dantius Tower One. The Salarian shrugged.
"The bridge is fine. The wind is a little choppy, but nothing serious. It's the mercs that might give you some trouble."
"Trouble? Nothing troubles pure Krogan! BANZAI!" Before any of us could react, Grunt was rushing across the brudge, laughing wildly as he fired his shotgun at anything that was moving.
"Fuck!" Sis said. "Uh…take your brother and go back down the way we came, all the others mercs are dead. It should be safe. Gotta go!" Sis said. "Goddamn it, wait Grunt!"
"It's like walking a crazed dog!" Miranda growled. Samara says nothing as we rush out onto the bridge and I…
…I try to ignore the fact that we're really, really high up in the air right now.
I stay as close to the center of the bridge as I can, not really firing my weapon any more than I have to. The others are doing the heavy lifting, which is fine, but Grunt has them all beat. He's smashing people in the face. He's throwing them off of the bridge, and he's shooting point-blank with his shotgun. He finally dropkicks the final mercenary off of the bridge, and turns back to look at us with a loopy grin. He is covered in blood, both mercenary and his own.
"Grunt, you need a bath." Miranda said. And then she looked at me. "And you need to pick up the pace, John!"
Don't look down. Just don't. Look. Down.
…
We enter Nassana's penthouse to see her at the far end. She's got her back to us, and she's staring at the setting sun of the Illium. Most likely because she knows that it'll be the last one she ever sees. There are a few Asari commandos and a few high-ranking Eclipse mercs surrounding her. She turns around and holds up her hand.
"Wait." She takes a few steps forward. "Before you kill me…at least tell me who hired you."
Sis looks at her with both confusion and derision.
"I'm no assassin, Nassana. I told you that two years ago when you tricked me into cleaning up your sister and I'm telling you the same thing again. Besides, I'm looking for an assassin. I might be the only one who can stop him."
Nassana laughs. It's humorless.
"You tear through my entire security team, decimate one of my towers, cost me countless credits in damages…and you tell me that you aren't here to assassinate me?" She snarls at one of her guards. "What?"
"I heard something." The Asari replies. They're all looking up in the ceiling. Nassana visibly pales.
"Shit! Check the others entrances." She turns back towards us. "You. Stay. Put." She started directing her men to start checking other places, and in the end she never saw it coming.
He came in from the vents above, like a wraith. He was behind the Eclipse mercenary in moments, and with a silent twist he broke the man's neck. It made a dull popping noise, like cracking your knuckles. By now the others knew he was there, and he moved. He punched the next one in the throat, crushing his trachea, and then grabbed the pistol from the dying man and shot dead the two remaining commandos before they ever saw him. Futilely, Nassana Dantius tried to shoot him. He wrenched her gun arm upwards, and with his free hand fired a single round right up into her chest cavity. In the span of about three seconds…it was over.
Nassana gave a gasp for air as she expired, and he gently laid her on the command console. He folded her arms so that her hands were resting over her heart. He stared silently at his handiwork, and then bowed his head. Clasping his hands together at his chest, he closed his eyes. He did not move.
"He has not lost a step." Samara said quietly and with a great deal of respect in her voice.
Sis gingerly stepped forward. The assassin did not move, nor did he acknowledge her presence.
"I…uh…was hoping to talk to you." Sis said. The assassin briefly looked up, but did not break his stance.
"I apologize, but prayers for the wicked must not be forsaken."
He has a gravelly voice, and yet it is a pleasant baritone all the same. I expected something a little less high-borne than that accent of his, but then again I don't run into many Drell. The few I have met have clearly never taken advantage of the classical education the Hanar gave them: they were cutthroats, spoke grouchily and in slang, and boasted of their street smarts. This man was clearly a jewel of inter-species development. And yet his prayers for the Asari seemed a bit…much.
"Well, she certainly was wicked." Sis offered. Thane looked at her, and he did not smile.
"Not for her. For me." He finishes his prayer, and folds his arms back behind his back as he walks towards us. He's dressed in a subtle longcoat with a high collar, wearing a light bulletproof vest that exposes part of his upper chest. He looks like a gentleman assassin, the kind that might have competed with James Bond for Her Majesty's Secret Service. But that's another lifetime and another species ago. "The measure of an individual can be difficult to discern from actions alone." He speaks with a measured, thoughtful cadence. "Take you, for instance. All this destruction…chaos."
He gazes back towards the dead Asari on the console, and then looks at us.
"I was curious to see how far you'd go to find me." He stands resolute in front of us. "Well…here I am."
"I do want to talk to you, but how did you know I was here?" Sis asked.
"Gunfire and explosions." The assassin said. "I prefer to work quietly. If I have to fight through guards, I've made a mistake. I rarely make mistakes."
"Your confidence has not changed over the years, Thane." Samara said. The Drell gave her a light smile, as if to acknowledge her presence, but continued to pace around the room.
"You disrupted my plan, but your distraction proved invaluable." He said. Sis nodded.
"Let's cut to the chase. I need your help for a mission, Thane Krios."
"Indeed?" Thane asked. His tone was reserved, but there was no denying it. He was intrigued.
"You're familiar with the Collectors?" Sis asked.
"By reputation."
"They're abducting human colonies." Sis said. "Freedom's Progress and Horizon were their handiwork."
"I see."
Christ, he's cryptic.
"We're going after them." Sis said, finally dropping the bomb. Thane was silent for a moment, and then he spoke.
"Attacking the Collectors would require passing through the Omega-4 Relay." Thane said, turning over his shoulder to look at Sis. "No ship has ever returned from doing so."
"They said Ilos was impossible to find, too." Sis said. Thane smirked.
"A fair point. You've built a career on performing the impossible, Commander Shepard." He said. He then closed his eyes and sighed. "This was to be my last job." He took a deep breath, and I noticed that it seemed somewhat shallow. "I'm dying."
"Blessed be the Goddess to watch over you." Samara said, with a trace of sadness in her voice. Thane smiled slightly, but there was sadness in his face.
"Low survival odds don't concern me." Thane said. "The abduction of your colonists does."
"I'm sorry to hear about that, Thane." Sis said. "Would you like to talk about it?"
"If you're interested in the whats and hows, we can discuss it on your ship." Thane said. "The problem isn't contagious and it won't affect my work." He smiled. "Giving me this opportunity is good enough for condolences." He stared out into the distance. "The universe is a dark place. I'm trying to make it a little brighter before I die." He turns and faces Sis. "Many innocents died today. I wasn't fast enough, and they suffered. I must atone for that." He extended his hand towards Sis, and she gladly shook it.
"I will work for you, Shepard. No charge."
Sis smiled.
"Thank you, Thane." She then touched her TeamCom. "EDI, did you manage to scrub all traces of the team from the video feed?"
"Affirmative, Commander. I also made sure that Mr. Krios was removed from what little footage that he was captured on. There was…not much to go on."
"I must be slipping, if they even caught me for a moment." Thane remarked drily.
"However, Commander, the Nos Astra police are on their way. Miss T'Soni managed to stall them with minutiae unrelated to the scene, but I would advise making a hasty retreat from Dantius towers. The Normandy's Kodiak shuttle has already been dispatched and will be at the penthouse suite in two minutes. Be ready to leave."
"Thanks EDI." Sis said. She turned to the rest of us. "Grab what you can, and then be ready to go. We can't stick around, and I don't feel like getting yelled at by the Council again."
As the others start gathering supplies and other spoils, I feel a hand on my shoulder.
"I apologize, but I was simply curious." It is Thane. "You bear a passing resemblance to the Commander. Are you related to her?"
"Yeah…" I finally said. "I'm her brother. Jonathan Mercer Shepard. But most just call me John."
"Fair enough." Thane extends a hand. "A pleasure to meet you, John."
I had no idea how big this meeting would be.
A/N: Happy new year! May 2016 be a year of happinees and goodwill for all of you. And as a little New Year's present, here's a long-ass chapter! Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it.