CHAPTER 21

Captain Armando Bailey furrowed his brow at the tablet in front of him. His eyes exhausted from reading Andromeda's findings troublesomely over and over. Setting the tablet down, he cupped his face with his right hand and sighed hard. "Go ahead and close the investigation for now."

Andromeda's jaw nearly dropped to the floor hearing her Captain's order, the opposite reaction that she was expecting. "Sir..?"

"Ilium is in the Traverse…out of our jurisdiction, Lieutenant."

"I was planning on finding out more information on Lantar Sidonis, sir. Not to make any arrests. I know where our boundaries are." Andromeda pressed on. This had to work.

"Sadly…the rest of the galaxy doesn't see it that way. The systems in the Traverse don't like people snooping around in their business…especially the Council. You confront the wrong person and it may spark an intergalactic war."

"I was on Omega for awhile remember? I'll be cautious…besides the suspect may still be on the Citadel. What if this homicide wasn't just on one Turian?"

"What are you saying? That there could be more killings in the next few days?" Bailey's jaw clenched as he looked up at the young female.

"It's always a possibility…that's why I needed to go to Ilium. I may find the evidence I need to at least conclude it was one hit and not a taste of things to come. I don't like the idea of knowing there is some crazy professional sniper lurking around the Wards do you?"

The Captain heaved a sigh again…this time in defeat. It really bothered him at what the Lieutenant was getting at. He always believed that policing some part of the Wards on the Citadel was like patrolling the streets of New York City. If more people were killed it would spark a panic. "Shit…" He tapped the monitor in front of him and began to type in an order. "I really do not like the idea of you going to Ilium on your own, but the less people the better. I'm going to arrange a transport ship that is leaving for Nos Astra at fourteen hundred hours to take you with them. You have two orbital cycles on Nos Astra to get all the information that you can find and then get your ass and your report back here, is that understood?"

"Yes, sir." Andromeda saluted appropriately.

"I mean it." Bailey emphasized as he stared hard at her. "Use discretion…don't mention Citadel Security unless you find it necessary. When you return, do not talk to anyone about your trip. I'll log you in as being out on the schedule."

"Thank you, sir." Andromeda relaxed her composure as her thoughts instantly turned to arriving at Ilium and talking to Garrus about what was going on. She turned to head back to her place to get her things.

"Lieutenant?" The older gentleman called after her.

"Yes?"

"Be careful."

The trip to Nos Astra was longer than Andromeda expected …it took about six Earth Days and that was even when hitting the Mass Relay. She really couldn't complain because she couldn't even imagine how long the trip would have been without the advanced Prothean technology. As she saw the glamorous skyline come into view, Andromeda made her way to the back secluded area of the ship to change her clothes. Luckily for her, she kept her Blue Suns armor that she stole off of a merc on Omega. Before she departed the Citadel, she did some research on her destination and learned that the space port was the gateway to the Traverse, meaning a lot of mercs came through on a regular basis: Majority Blue Suns and Eclipse. She hoped with her disguise that it wouldn't ignite a lot of interest to anyone and she could go to wherever she pleased without too much trouble. The difficult part would be in locating Shepard and his crew.

The ship gave a slight jar as she closed her suitcase from the magnetic locking mechanisms that held the ship in place at the platform. Andromeda quietly let majority of the ship's crew deboard first before she followed suit. She really didn't want them to see her new outfit.

The spaceport was filled with the traffic noise of transport cars all around. A LOKI Mech approached her and then stopped about two feet away. "Welcome to Ilium. May I check in your luggage?"

Glancing down at her small compartment bag, Andromeda shrugged and then decided it would be best to not worry about dragging it all around the port unless she had to. "Yes, one bag please."

The mech extended its right arm to accept her item. "How long shall we keep it for you?"

"Two Earth Days."

"Name?"

"Andromeda Kryik."

"Logging the information into our database. Thank you. You may pick up your item at the Luggage Kiosk. Enjoy your stay." The mech turned around and walked off with the bag.

Following it, her blue eyes fell upon a soft blue skinned Asari standing at the entrance of the port. The woman smiled gently at Andromeda as she walked closer. "Welcome to Ilium. My name's Careena. The docking fee was paid by the captain of your vessel. Please enjoy your stay and feel free to ask me any questions about points of interest."

"Well I was looking for someone who may have already arrived here, a Spectre."

"I'm not able to provide any information on persons at the spaceport. However, I can point out some wonderful places to check out while you are here."

Andromeda cursed silently as she looked ahead inside the busy spaceport entranceway. Maybe this trip wasn't going to go as smoothly as she hoped. "What about information on vendors that have affiliations with Lantar Sidonis?" She questioned as she thought back to Kasumi's message.

She could tell the Asari was becoming frustrated with her similar question, but Careena replied just as pleasant, "I apologize. I cannot provide that type of information. You may see if you can book an appointment with Liara T'Soni. She is wonderful when it comes to finding out that type of inquiry."

"Sure…where is she?"

Careena's eyes lit up with enthusiasm, "Liara is located in the administrative office just above the trading floor. She is one of Nos Astra's most respected information brokers."

"Thanks. I'll go see her now."

"Of course…enjoy your stay."

"Wow…this place is way too friendly…but somehow it feels like it's a front to what really goes on behind closed doors." Andromeda pondered, shooting back a glance at the Asari before walking out onto the trading floors. She was somewhat familiar with the trading area and the Eternity Bar from her previous visit with Garrus. Instantly her gaze fell upon the same Volus that she confronted before. He was at his usual position in front of a stock exchange kiosk. His respirator going at a fast rate with his anticipation in increasing his cred amount.

"Twenty-Five! Sell at Twenty-Five!" The Volus shouted at the kiosk. His short round body jumped about an inch off the ground.

Feeling the blood boil in her veins she watched on, Andromeda diverted her attention away to avoid confrontation and made her way on up the stairs to the administrative office. A purple skinned Asari sat at a desk just outside Liara's office. "May I help you?" Her voice was just as charming and soft as Careena's.

"Yes, I'm looking for Liara. May I speak with her?"

"I apologize, but Liara is not in. She had urgent business. May I schedule an appointment for you?" The Asari tapped her monitor. "May we contact you or the local Blue Suns agent for the request?"

Andromeda shifted her body a bit uncomfortably by the question. So maybe her outfit would attract some attention. "It was sort of…personal. Non-Suns request." She informed as she looked at the closed door in front of her. She was beginning to wonder if Liara already met up with Shepard before her onset and they departed the port already. "Can you tell me if a Spectre was here earlier to speak with Liara?"

"A Spectre was here four days ago, however, that is all the information that I can give out."

Feeling her heart sink with despair, Andromeda mumbled a thank you and went back down the stairs before the receptionist could reply. She paused at the bottom of the stairs as she looked out into the trading floor. She had no clue what to do now. There had to be some reason she was directed here by Kasumi, but what if she was too late? What if Shepard departed earlier than Kasumi intended? Without any direct ties to Shepard, she doubted anyone would be willing to provide any information that she really needed.

Exploring the other sections of Nos Astra to find anything that she could on Shepard, a woman in her late thirties with dark hair to her shoulders held up her hand, motioning Andromeda to stop. Andromeda noted that she was wearing some type of colonist medic outfit. The woman looked at her as if she recognized Andromeda but she was definitely not familiar. "Krysta…is that…no it couldn't be…" The stranger leaned her head closer to get a better look, then her hazel colored eyes became wide in a surprise of satisfaction. "Bless the heavenly spirit…it is you!" Quickly moving closer, she hugged Andromeda tightly, crying. "We were all afraid that the Geth got you."

Once the overfriendly woman released her, Andromeda took a comfortable step back and cocked her head to one side trying to recall her past memory. Catching Andromeda's puzzled look , the older woman smiled softly and laughed in slight embarrassment. "I guess you don't remember me. I was one of the colonists on Feros. I didn't have time to formally introduce myself to you on Zhu's Hope before the Geth attacked. "

"I was rescued from Saren later by Shepard…how are you guys doing?" Andromeda replied shortly, but politely. She really hoped she wouldn't have to go into a long story about what transpired after Feros to this new acquaintance.

"We are….doing the best that we can do. A lot of us are still experiencing neurological symptoms from the Thorian's control: Migraines, fatigue, memory loss. Desperate for rapid treatment, we signed a contract with a colonial survey group to do some medical scans…but the medical contract apparently allows the company to perform invasive procedures without our consent. That's why I'm here. They will do the procedures if they deem it valuable…which they have. We should have taken the time to fully read the contract…but the problems were too much..and we could not afford an advisor to examine the document for us."

Frowning, Andromeda glanced over the woman's shoulder to the company's kiosk to see the Asari glaring at her with distaste. "So what are your options now?"

"They cannot do the procedures, however, they will have us mark for breach of contract and we will have to pay back the full price that we would have paid for the scans." The woman sat back down on the bench and hung her head. "Our colony is just now reviving from the Geth attack…we cannot afford to pay… You are lucky, Krysta, from what I heard, you were not under the Thorian's control too long and hopefully have not suffered as much as we have. I do not wish this on anyone else."

Rubbing her neck a bit uneasily, feeling guilty and helpless, Andromeda glanced at the colonist in sadness. She really didn't know what to say or do to help the situation. Looking across the vendors to the cab port, she noticed a cab car pulling up with its occupants departing. The first one appeared to be an Asari, the other a human male with his back turned, but was heavily loaded for combat. The last was…a Turian! Recognizing that the passengers were now Shepard and his crew, Andromeda muttered a quick apology to the sobbing woman as she cut across the floor to greet the new arrivals.

Not wanting to wait on them to come up to her, Andromeda waved her hand to make sure that she had Shepard's attention. "Commander!" She called.

The three were walking to her, all of their expressions different: The Asari's eyes were warm, but yet skeptical at the same time, Shepard's were cold and filled with frustration, and Garrus' were a mixture of pain and shock. Stopping just inches from her, Shepard kept his jaw clenched tightly as he looked her over. "Just what the hell are you doing now? You sure have a fetish of following me around it seems, Andromeda."

"I'm sorry, Commander…but I…" Andromeda babbled as the Commander's strict demeanor broke down all her strength.

"I hope this one has noble goals in teaming up with the Suns." The Asari remarked as her eyes remained fixed as if she was searching deep within Andromeda's soul.

"She's not with the Suns…" Shepard mumbled, looking around as if he was almost embarrassed by her presence. "Excuse us." He then stepped around her to continue his course.

"It is important that I do speak with you, sir…" Andromeda followed keeping on the Commander's heels as her voice remained soft yet stern.

"I'm not here for idle chatter. I'm planning on meeting up with my next dossier. Garrus, what was the location again?"

The Turian in the back tapped a few buttons on his omni-tool. "Contact should be at the shipping dock."

Gathering more courage, Andromeda increased her step and nearly cut the human male off, stopping him. "I'm on official C-Sec business and I need to speak with Garrus about an incident that happened on the Citadel."

"Hate to break it to you, but you are far from Council Space and they have no jurisdiction in this sector so get that right."

"I am pretty familiar with my boundaries, Commander." Andromeda spat back, becoming quite frustrated about the Spectre's negative attitude towards her.

Opening his mouth to relinquish a rebuttal, Shepard was stopped when Garrus stepped out to place himself in between the disputing humans. "Commander, I will handle this."

"Miranda?" Shepard tapped into his comm.

"Go ahead, Shepard."

"I need you to help out with the next dossier. Garrus has…business elsewhere. Meet us at the shipping dock in fifteen minutes. "

There was a pause on the other end as if Miranda was trying to figure out what was going on. "Understood, sir."

Turning back to his Turian comrade, Shepard tilted his head towards the direction of Eternity. "Handle this."

Remaining quiet till the others left, Andromeda kept her gaze down on the floor until the footsteps disappeared. Satisfied that the two now were alone, she slowly raised her head back up to her friend whose avian eyes were already on her. "It's about Sidonis…" She started.

"Wait…" Garrus looked around to make sure that no one was lurking nearby and then motioned her to follow him. "Let's get a table at Eternity…I need a drink."