Chapter 34: Lair of the Shadow Broker
Shepard entered the med-bay where Chakwas and Lilith resided. "How's our guest, Doctor?" he asked.
"Physically she's fine," Chakwas answered.
"I'm just a little shaken from what happened at that base," Lilith finished. "I'm glad you blew that place to hell. No one should have a fate like that. I've been meaning to ask... Are you THE Commander Shepard?"
"I am," Shepard replied.
"I thought you were dead."
"I was in a coma for the last couple of years while I recovered. I've been working undercover for the last while, while taking down the Collectors."
"Undercover?"
"Infiltrating Cerberus, a Human supremist group. I can tell you this because I broke ties with them and really tick off their leader, so there is no cover to keep. Now about where you'll go from here... Which colony did you come from?"
Lilith bowed her head in sadness. "I-I'm not sure if it's even around anymore after the Collectors attacked. I'm from Horizon."
"Horizon is still around. My team and I went there to repel the attack. They still took half the colony, but it is still there."
Lilith jumped to her feet. "Oh thank god! Did you find Williams there?"
"Ashley Williams?"
"Yes! The Alliance representative."
"Yes, she's fine. We managed to repel the attack before they could take her."
"I'm glad she's fine. She was on your crew during your mission against Saren, right? I'm surprised she didn't rejoin your crew."
"She..." Shepard briefly reflected on those events. "She had a career of her own. Ash couldn't drop everything to rejoin my crew. We'll be returning you to your colony. Soon after you return, the Alliance is going to be asking you a lot of questions about what happened. I'm going to need you to answer them fully and truthfully."
"Of course, Commander."
VVVVVV
Shepard reached the CIC to set course for Horizon. Kelly was at her station working away. She heard the Commander walking by and turned around. "Hello, Commander. I sent the Collector Base data to the Council. Also you have a message at your terminal. It's... uh, from Cerberus."
This news caused Shepard to raise a brow. "Why would them sent me a message?"
"The message was sent shortly before we went through the Omega-4 Relay," she answered.
"I'll have a look then." Shepard walked over to his terminal. He looked into his inbox and saw it was a message from Cerberus Intel Centre.
The message was about some Intelligence they gathered about the Shadow Broker which may be useful in locating him. Shepard laughed a little to himself, realizing how much the Illusive Man must be kicking himself for this department for sending this Intelligence. It's likely TIM wanted the Broker out of the way so he could have access to his network for himself.
'It seems we'll be paying Liara a visit after our trip to Horizon,' Shepard thought.
VVVVVV
Shepard, Garrus and Nihlus entered Liara's office. Liara jumped out of her seat upon seeing him. "Shepard!" she exclaimed. "I heard that the Omega-4 Relay was activated. I knew it was you. I've been hoping you would make it. And here you are. You've done the impossible yet again."
"And I would love to recap the mission, but I thought this required your immediate attention." Shepard handed her an OSD.
"What's this?"
"Cerberus had Intel on the Shadow Broker."
"Goddess." Liara started reading the OSD. "Are you still with Cerberus?"
"No."
"This is a leaked transmission between Shadow Broker operatives. Some hints to the location, and..." An image of a Drell appeared on the OSD. Liara's eyes widen. "It's Feron. He's still alive."
"Friend of yours?"
"Yes. He helped me recovered your body from the Shadow Broker. I hadn't imagine in two years I would be able to save him."
"Well, any friend of yours is a friend of mine. What's our next step?"
"I...I don't know. I need to prepare, to think. I'm going home." Liara got up from her desk and started walking out.
"You okay?"
"I spent two years plotting revenge. Now I have the chance to make it a rescue."
"Let me help. I'll come by your apartment?"
"Okay. Hopefully I'll have a plan by then. Thank you, Shepard." Liara left the office.
"Do you ever pick an easy enemy, Shepard?" Nihlus asked.
VVVVVV
When Shepard, Garrus and Nihlus got to her apartment, they saw the front door open. They entered inside and saw half a dozen cops combing the place. Shepard approached the police line and asked, "What's going on?"
The officer next to the line turned to him and said, "This area is sealed off. Please step back, sir."
"Sealed off? Why?"
An Asari reached the bottom the bottom of the stairs and answered, "Someone tried to kill your friend, Commander Shepard."
"Vasir?" Nihlus said.
"Agent Nihlus? I thought you were in a coma."
"I woke up."
"You and your people are dismissed, Officer."
"You can't do that!" the officer argued.
Shepard, Garrus and Nihlus crossed the line.
"Already done," Vasir stated.
"You two know each other?" Shepard asked Nihlus.
"Yeah, I know her. Tela Vasir. Special Tactics and Recon."
"A Spectre?"
"I heard you were reinstated. That's good to hear. You're a legend. I might even get you to sign my chest plate."
"Definitely mentioning that to Tali," Garrus joked.
"I assumed you had business with your friend this evening, Commander?" Vasir asked Shepard.
"Liara was following a lead on the Shadow Broker."
"The Shadow Broker? Dangerous enemy to have."
"Well, Shepard needed a replacement for enemy after we finished the Collectors," Nihlus quipped.
"The Collectors? I find that hard to believe."
"We sent the report to the Council."
"I look forward to hearing about it."
"Liara was expecting me," Shepard interjected. "She would have left a message for me. Her office wasn't safe."
"I'm not surprised. Illium is just Omega with expensive shoes. I haven't found anything useful for tracking her down yet. You knew T'Soni better than I do. Where would she have hidden her backups?"
"Let me take a look around."
Shepard searched different parts of the room. He observed the bullet holes in the windows, followed by the display case of his old armour. Eventually his search went up stairs around Liara's bed. Shepard noticed a picture of the Normandy. He picked it up. The image changed to that of the Prothean dig site on Eden Prime.
"That picture changed when you touched it," Vasir observed. "It must be keyed to your ID."
"It's a Prothean dig site. Liara did leave a message."
"There are a few Prothean-looking things around the apartment. Let's see what we can find."
Shepard looked at the Prothean near the bed. It had no noticeable slots. He went down the stairs and walked over to the case. He touched the glass. A small holographic display briefly appeared under his touch before vanishing. A hidden slot on the case opened and revealed the data disk.
"Vasir, I found something," Shepard notified her.
Vasir walked over and saw the disk in his hand. "A backup disk. Let's try it on her terminal."
They walked over to Liara's terminal and inserted the data disk. The recording of an exchange between Liara and a Salarian named Sekat played.
"It looked like she recorded a call," Vasir said.
"What have you got for me, Sekat?" Liara asked in the recording.
"It was tricky, but you paid for the best," he answered. "I can narrow it down to a cluster, maybe even a system."
"How soon can you have it?"
"Shouldn't be too long. Come to my office. Baria Frontiers, in the Dracon Trade Center. Gotta say, though, T'Soni, you're making me a little nervous. How big is the trouble that could come out of this?"
"Relax, Sekat. I'll see you in a few hours."
The recording then ended. Shepard turned to Vasir. "This must be important. The Shadow Broker's people already tried to kill her once."
"I know where the Dracon Trade Center is," Vasir said. "My car's outside."
VVVVVV
Vasir landed in front of the Trade Centre. The area seemed quiet enough. The four of them stepped out of Vasir's vehicle. They started walking up the stairs to the building.
"The Baria Frontier offices are located on the third floor," Vasir said. "I don't hear police chatter. It looks like we missed the party."
An explosion erupted from one of the windows on the third floor.
"Liara's in there!" Shepard screamed.
The building then erupted in a series of explosion that knocked them all off of their feet. Flames and smoke bellowed from the openings in the building. Bodies, dead and unconscious, were all over the base of the building.
Shepard and Vasir got to their feet. Nihlus rushed up next to them. "Spirits..."
"They just took out three floors to make sure she's dead!" Vasir said. "I'll grab the skycar and seal off the building from the top!"
"I'll start from down here and work my way up," Shepard said.
"Just leave some for me," she said while getting into her car.
Shepard thought it was a mess outside. It was chaos inside the building. There were fires all over the place. There were bodies that covered the ground of the rooms they went through. Each of them had varying degrees of damage. The smell of burnt flesh filled the air. Despite years of knowing that smell, Shepard has never gotten used to it.
"So you know Vasir?" Shepard asked Nihlus as they advanced through the building.
"I know of her," he answered. "We met a couple of times, but I never got to know her personally."
"What do you know of her?"
"What do you think of her?"
"Honestly? I'm suspicious of her. That's she hasn't told us everything."
"Your suspicions are well placed. Vasir has always been a secretive Spectre. Even the Council is suspicion of her. As long as she gets the job done, they don't pry too much into her operations. I, on the other hand, don't trust her."
Suddenly a soldier peeked out of cover and threw a flashbang grenade in their direction. Shepard, Nihlus and Garrus took cover and managed to avoid being blinded. They came out of cover and took down the merc with return fire. They pushed forward and encounter more mercenaries.
"Vasir!" Shepard called over the radio. "We've run into some mercenaries. They're well armed."
"Say hello to the Shadow Broker's private army, Commander," Vasir responded.
These mercenaries were well trained. They were likely ex-specialists from various armies around the galaxy. The Shadow Broker had the power and resources to attain this private army.
The three took down the mercs left and right as they advanced through the building in search of Liara. The building's damage increased as they went through. They eventually reached the entrance of Baria Frontiers. Shepard and his squad took positions around the door.
They rushed into the office as the door opened. The body of a Broker agent slumped forward and landed on his face in front of them. Vasir took a few steps passed the body. "Damn it. If I'd been a few seconds faster, I could have stopped them."
Shepard saw the body of a Salarian. He kneeled next to the body. "Is this Sekat?"
"Must have been."
"No sign of that data Liara talked about. Looks like a dead end."
"Speaking of which, did you find your friend's body?"
"You mean this body?" Liara asked while stepping out of a hole in the wall. She was soaked from the fire suppressing system. She had her pistol aimed at Vasir while moving closer towards her.
"Liara, this is Vasir. She's a Spectre." Shepard moved slightly off to Liara's side.
"This is the woman who tried to kill me," Liara accused.
"You've had a rough day, so I'll let that slide," Vasir said while backing towards the window. "Why don't you put that gun down?"
"I saw you! I doubled back after I left. I watched you break into my apartment!"
Shepard pulled out his pistol and aimed at Vasir with Liara. "You didn't know where Liara went, because she hid the message. You needed me to find it for you."
Nihlus and Garrus pulled out their weapons as well.
"Another rogue Spectre," Garrus sighed.
"I always knew there was something wrong about you," Nihlus growled.
"Well, Shepard, thanks for the help," Vasir said while shrugging her shoulders.
"Once she had my location, she signaled the Shadow Broker's forces," Liara explained. "They bombed the building to take me out. She found Sekat, took his data, and killed him. I'm guessing she's still got the disk on her."
"Good guess," Vasir congratulated while holding the disk in front of her. "Not that you'll ever see what's on it..." An energy pulse came from behind her. It caused the glass to crack. "...you pureblood bitch!" Vasir sent glass shards at their group.
Liara projected a biotic shield to prevent the shards from hitting them. Vasir turned to escape. Shepard charged after he. He leaped and tackled her through the window. They rolled off of the ledge and fell towards the ground below. Vasir used her biotics to slow their fall and they fought.
Vasir planted a foot on Shepard's chest and kicked him towards the ground. The impact shock Shepard enough to delay him from getting up. Vasir landed softly on her feet. She looked up and saw Liara jump out of the window. She also used her biotics to slow her descent.
Liara chased after Vasir. Several Broker agents came up from the stairs to slow her down. They didn't Liara used throw on the two agents sending them into the walls.
Shepard got to his feet and was rejoined by Nihlus and Garrus. The doors ahead opened with three agents coming through. Garrus fired a concussion shot at the agent on the right. Nihlus fired several rounds from his AR at the agent in the middle. Shepard moved forward with his squad and shot the last agent several times.
"We have to catch up with Liara," Shepard said.
They ran down the stairs back into the foyer they originally entered. Around half a dozen Shadow Broker agents entered the area. Shepard used his biotics to lift three of the agents out of cover.
"Take them out, now!" Shepard ordered.
Garrus and Nihlus shot the floating agents. One of the agents managed to sneak up on Nihlus. He tried to fire a shot at the Turian, but Nihlus pulled out his sword and sliced the agent's gut. The agent fell to ground.
Shepard saw the last three agents taking cover behind a pillar. He used a singularity in their area and pulled them out of cover. The battle was over. As the three ran out of the foyer Nihlus lobbed a grenade into the singularity with the mercs. He heard them curse before the explosion engulfed them.
They exited the building and saw Liara and Vasir in the middle of a firefight. Vasir spotted Shepard and his squad. She activated her omni-tool and called for her skycar. Her skycar flew itself next to the edge of the area. Vasir made a run for it and jumped down into her car.
"Damn it!" Liara cursed as she watched Vasir fly away. She went into her skycar.
Shepard got into the car. "I'm fine by the way, thanks for asking." He looked to Garrus and Nihlus. The skycar was a three-seater. "Garrus, you stay here and try to help anyone who needs help here. Radio the Normandy for a shuttle, when you're done here. Nihlus, with me."
"Yes, Commander," they both said.
Nihlus hopped into the back of the skycar.
"Come on!" Liara urged. "She's getting away!"
Shepard spotted Vasir and flew after her. They flew into a large intersection, where on one of the walls, the preview to the movie, Blasto: Jellyfish Sting, was playing.
"Hang a right. No, wait, left!"
"I'm on her," Shepard groaned.
They followed Vasir through an alley way between a couple buildings. As they exited, Vasir pulled a hard left and went into a construction site.
"We're not going into the construction site, are we... Oh, Goddess."
Shepard could swear Liara had her eyes closed as he weaved in between the supports. Vasir took a right and went into a tunnel through a skyscraper. Shepard kept the vehicle low to avoid the traffic.
"I'm not letting her escape with that data."
They exited the tunnel. Vasir drove between two trucks that were turning. Shepard followed through. He followed her until the next turn directed them into oncoming traffic.
"Oncoming traffic!" Liara yelled.
"We'll be fine," Shepard said to calm her.
Shepard followed Vasir passed a large ad through a small service tunnel. Vasir's car dropped an object behind it.
"She's dropping proximity mines," Liara pointed out.
"I noticed," Shepard said in annoyance.
Shepard struggled to avoid the proximity mines and the trucks moving through the area. Around the truck was another tunnel. Above it was a wanted ad from Jack. Two missiles streamed passed them and impacted the ad.
"She's got reinforcements!"
"What kind of guns does this thing have?" Shepard asked.
"It's a taxi, it has a fare meter."
The agent vehicle flew into the tunnel and went by Shepard's car. Around the corner, the agent vehicle crashed into a large transport truck causing it to slide across the tunnel ground.
"Truck!"
"I know."
"Truck!"
"I know!" Shepard yelled.
Liara screamed as Shepard barely avoided the truck on the left.
"There we go," Shepard joked.
"You're enjoying this."
"And you two are bickering like a married couple," Nihlus commented. "Can we focus on getting that traitor?"
An agent vehicle lost control and slid against the side of a building.
"A collision at this speed..."
The driver tried to regain control, only to go to the right too much. The driver tried to turn left and skid the back end of a truck.
"Yeah, I hear that can be bad for you," Shepard mentioned.
The agent vehicle spun and slid against the side of the truck on the left. The vehicle launched forward and then fell towards the ground below. Ahead a truck started backing up. The driver of the truck saw Vasir driving towards him and he tried to compensate to avoid collision. The truck tilted upwards creating a ramp. Vasir skidded across the roof of the truck.
Shepard took the left to avoid the truck. Vasir's vehicle had flames come out from the side. Shepard caught up to her vehicle. The two Spectres exchange glares before Shepard slammed the side of her vehicle. They both pulled away and slammed into each other again. Vasir looked away from Shepard and screamed as she collided with an incoming car. Her vehicle skidded over the top of the car and crash onto the balcony of a resort hotel.
Shepard set their car in a nearby parking lot. As they stepped out of the car, an agent vehicle pulled in above.
"Looks like she called in her friends," Nihlus said.
Liara created a singularity in the back of the vehicle, pulling the soldiers towards the dark energy ball. Shepard threw a warp at the group, detonating the singularity. Another vehicle pulled in overhead. Nihlus tossed a grenade into the back as it flew over. Shepard watched him pull out his detonator and pressed the button. The explosion caused the vehicle to crash into the wall and killed its occupants.
An agent vehicle flew in and landed in the lower area of the parking lot. Shepard used a throw field and two of the agents were thrown off of the edge of the parking lot. Nihlus used his shotgun on the last agent.
"Here comes another," Liara pointed out.
The agent car flew over the area. A vehicle took off to get out of the war zone and accidentally runs into the agent car. The vehicle got away, but the agent car crashed into the wall on the left side of the parking lot, opening the way ahead. The three moved passed the wrecked skycar into the hotel room.
The occupants were still in the room and were hiding in the bedroom area begging for their lives. Shepard noticed a porno playing on the large screen television.
"Just what kind of hotel is this place?" he asked Liara.
"This is Azure, it is a resort with an exotic edge. Azure is slang for a part of Asari body in some areas of Illium."
"Where?"
"Mainly the lower reaches, near the bottom."
"I meant where on the Asari body."
"So did I."
Nihlus stifled a laugh. They exited the room a saw a trail of blue blood.
"A blood trail," Liara observed. "Vasir got hurt in the crash."
"That should slow her down."
The blood trail continued forward.
"She lost a lot of blood. We have to be getting close."
"She's tough, I'll give her that much," Shepard muttered.
"She's a Spectre," Nihlus stated. "They don't let regular soldiers into the organization."
They moved through the next hotel room and reached an outdoor restaurant. Down below they saw Vasir, badly wounded, trying to move forward. Shepard and his squad moved down below and caught up to her. They pulled out their weapons and aimed at her.
"Vasir! It's over!" Liara said to her.
Vasir turned around and saw a waitress nearby. "Hey! Hey, you! Come here." Vasir used charged to teleport herself next to the woman and grabbed her while aiming her pistol. The patrons of the restaurant panicked and ran for it, clearing the area of anymore innocents. "What's your name?"
"M-Mariana," she muttered in fear.
"Mariana, you want to live, don't you? Tell those people that you want to live."
Shepard clenched his teeth in anger.
"Please..." she begged.
"We'll get you out of here, Mariana," Shepard assured her.
"Well, that's good to hear," Vasir said. "All you had to do was walk away. Now it get ugly." Vasir planted the gun at Mariana's head.
"Please, I have a son," Mariana begged again.
"A son? I hope he gets to see you again, I've heard losing a parent is just horrific for children. Scars them for life."
"I'm going to end you, Vasir," Liara growled.
"It's okay, Liara," Shepard said. "We'll handle it..." He points his pistol at Vasir. "The usual way."
"You want Mariana's little boy to grow up without a mommy, Shepard?" Vasir asked. "Thermal clips on the ground. Power cells, too."
"That's it?" Shepard asked in a manner like her demand was a fucking joke.
"What?"
"Vasir, I sacrificed hundreds of Human lives to save the Destiny Ascension. I unleashed the Rachni upon this galaxy! So I hope for your sake, your plan doesn't hinge on me hesitating to shoot a damn hostage."
"You're bluffing!" Vasir yelled while aiming at Shepard.
"I am. Now, Liara!"
Liara used her biotics to throw a table at Vasir, knocking her into an artificial pond and Mariana to the ground. Shepard helped Mariana to her feet. "Go home." Mariana didn't think twice before escaping the area.
Vasir used a biotic charge to move out of the water and back to ground. She pulled out an assault rifle. Shepard saw several Broker vehicles fly in.
"I want you two to handle the agents," Shepard ordered. "I'll take care of Vasir."
Shepard went on the assault by biotically charging forward. At the end of the charge, he landed a punch to Vasir's face. She was launched from the attack and impacted the wall. Some blood came out from her mouth. Vasir got to her feet and touched the corner of her mouth and saw the blood on her hands.
"Didn't your mother tell you not to hit women?"
"Yeah," he replied. "What's your point?"
"Bastard!" Vasir charged forward.
Shepard rolled out of the way and used warp to take down her biotic barriers. She is much stronger than Benezia. Vasir threw a warp back in his direction. Shepard sliced it in half with Asha. The two continued their exchange of biotic attacks.
Liara used singularity on the incoming agent truck. The agents were pulled off of the vehicle into the energy field. Nihlus took out two grenades and tossed them up to the agents. He activated the detonator and blew the agents over the ledge to the ground below.
They returned their attention back to Vasir who was locked in battle with Shepard. Liara used warp while Vasir's attention was focused on Shepard. A dark energy field must have been in use, because when the warp ball impacted her, it exploded. The explosion knocked her to the wall. It was hard to believe she was still standing after losing so much blood.
Vasir called over her radio, "Get in here and kill Shepard!" She used a biotic charge to go up to the balcony above.
"You're not getting away that easily!" Shepard yelled. He used a biotic charge to reach her above.
Nihlus took aim at the incoming truck. He fired several rounds and killed the driver. The vehicle lost control and slammed into the ledge and fell towards the ground below. Liara open fired on the drones that flew in with her SMG.
Vasir watched Shepard biotically charge up to where she was taking cover. She raised her AR to shoot him. He was on her before she could pull the trigger. Shepard knocked the AR out of her hand. He followed up with several punches to her stomach, chest and face.
Vasir was stunned by the barrage of punches. Shepard grabbed her shoulders and threw her off of the ledge. He used his biotics to grab her in the air. A look of fear and dread came across Vasir's face. Shepard grinned and slammed his hand downwards. Vasir was biotically slammed down to the ground below. The battle was over.
Shepard jumped and landed on the ground below with a small biotic shockwave from using his biotics to ease his landing. Vasir was very bloody. She crawled over to the wall and used it to help her sit upright.
"Ugh," she groaned. "Damn it! Damn it!"
Liara walked over to her and pulled the data disk from her belt. She walked away from the disgraced Spectre without a word. Shepard walked to Liara. She used her omni-tool to download the data.
"Sekat's personal data," she said. "This has what we need to find the Shadow Broker."
"You're dead," Vasir yelled. "The Shadow Broker has been in power for decades. He's stronger than anything you have ever faced!"
"Is that why you sold out the Council to work for him?" Shepard accused.
"You think I betrayed the Council? Like Saren? Go to hell!"
"I'm hardly seeing any difference," Nihlus said.
"Screw you, Nihlus. The Broker's given me damn good Intel over the years. Intel that has saved lives and kept the Citadel safe!"
Shepard turned to face her.
"So if the Broker needs a few people to disappear, I'll pay that price without hesitation!"
"Spectres don't blow up buildings filled with innocent people!" Shepard argued.
"Sure we do. We get our hands dirty so the Council doesn't have to. The Councilors might complain about our methods to soothe their consciences, but they never look too closely. Besides, you're with Cerberus. You have any idea what your terrorist friends have done?"
"I know who they are, and what they've done." Shepard crouched down near her. "It doesn't matter here."
"I think it does."
"Vasir, it's probably best you don't-" Nihlus tried to get out.
"And you too Nihlus! You two want to judge me? Look in a mirror! Kidnapping kids for biotic death camps. Hell, your own unit that barely escaped on Akuze. And you're with them."
"You know what, Vasir?" Shepard growled. "How about for your finally moments... I'll cure your ignorance. Show you exactly what you've done and what's really at stake!"
"What-"
Shepard grabbed her head and stared into her eyes. His eyes glowed green, as did her eyes. A minute passed before the glow faded from their eyes. Vasir had tears running from her eyes.
"I-I didn't know. I didn't know."
"You refused to find the truth and you nearly doomed us all for it. Go to hell."
Vasir's body went limp and her head went to the side as he eyes closed. Shepard checked her pulse.
"She's dead."
"Couldn't happen to a better person," he muttered.
"I'll need you to get us a car. One with four seats. I'm going to speak with Liara. Once you get the car, we'll pick up Garrus and head back to the Normandy."
"Yes, Commander." Nihlus left to the parking lot where they landed.
Shepard caught up to Liara who was listening to a recording by the Shadow Broker.
"Eliminate T'Soni and retrieve the data," he said. "Civilian casualties are not a concern."
"Vasir's dead," Shepard announced.
"I'm putting the data through to the Normandy's computers," Liara said. "We can be at the Shadow Broker's base in a few hours. He'll know about Vasir before long. If he decides to kill Feron..."
"We'll get Feron out of there alive, Liara," he assured her. "I promise."
"I know. You're here to help. Just like always."
"That's not a good thing?"
"When we first met on Therum, you saved me from the Geth. You fought a Krogan Battlemaster in hand-to-hand combat while I cowered. Now you're doing it again. And I'm still leaning on you for help."
"That's what friends do, Liara."
They continued walking towards the parking lot.
"I can get us there, based on Sekat's data," she said. "The Normandy's stealth drive will keep them from detecting us. The Shadow Broker's agents are still shooting their way through Illium. With luck, they won't notice we've left until it's too late."
"That's a little cold. They killed innocent people."
They stopped walking and Liara turned to him.
"You know what I mean."
"Do I? When I hit the ground back at the trade centre, you went after Vasir without a backwards look."
"A little fall wasn't going to kill you. I had to stay on Vasir." Liara rested against the railing on the balcony. "I had to stay rational, make the call. Like I did with Sekat."
"That's Vasir's fault, not yours," he said while resting against the railing.
"Sekat had no idea what the stakes were. I put him in harm's way to get the data I needed. I got him killed. And I'd do it again."
Liara pushed herself off of the railing and turned to continue walking. "But from here on out things will be simple."
Shepard followed.
"Get in, get Feron, get out. And kill anyone who tries to stop us."
"That's it?"
"That's it."
"Will you stop for a second?" Shepard yelled. "We'll be jumping several light years. There's time to talk."
Liara turned around. "Talk about what?"
"You haven't been the same since I came back."
"What do you want me to say, Shepard? That I mourned you? That I feel guilty because Feron got captured? I made mistakes. I lost people. I helped get you back! And I want to do the same for Feron. I'll sit and talk once he's safe. Until then, enjoying the scenery is an insult to the man who saved both of us."
"Okay, let's go." As they walked he said, "before we reached the Normandy. I just thought I'd give you a heads up about a squad mate I recruited for our mission. Legion."
VVVVVV
Shepard entered the Normandy with Nihlus, Garrus and Liara. Tali was waiting there for him.
"Hey, Tali."
"Hey, John." She notices Liara. "Liara, it's good to see you again. Will you be staying with us?"
"I don't know," Liara answered. "Shepard is helping me recover a friend from the Shadow Broker."
"Shadow Broker!" Joker exclaimed. "Commander, can you take on at least one easy enemy? Like maybe fuzzy bunnies or something."
"I have forgotten Joker's humour." Liara looked to Shepard. "If you don't mine, I'm going to prepare for the mission."
"Go right ahead," Shepard said. Nihlus and Garrus followed her towards the elevator.
Shepard and Tali waited until the elevator returned and went up to the cabin. As soon as they entered his cabin, Shepard activated his armor deactivation command. His armor retracted all over his body. It soon returned to its original box shape.
"It seems like galaxy is refusing to give you a break," she joked.
"It always seem to work like that," he sighed.
Shepard walked over to the bed and fell backwards onto it. He rested his head on the pillow. Tali climbed onto the bed and crawled next to his side. She took off her face mask and then curled up next to him.
"We're so close," he said. "The Guardian Fleet is on their way to this galaxy. Hundreds and hundreds of ships of various classes. All whom are prepared to defend sentient life."
Tali kissed his cheek. "Are you going to tell Liara about this?"
"Once we rescue her friend, I'll tell her. There's too much happening at the moment. It's not a good idea to give her more stress than she already has."
Tali nuzzled his neck. "Of course," she cooed. "Just be careful when you reach the Shadow Broker's base. He is a very powerful and dangerous person."
"More so than the Reapers?"
"Good point. I'm just saying be careful. Who knows what you'll face there."
"We'll be fine." Shepard pulled Tali in closer to himself. "Where would you like the ceremony?"
"On Rannoch, of course."
"Of course. But I mean is there a city or special location on Rannoch that you would like the ceremony."
"It will be on Rannoch. That is special enough. We don't have any records of many cities, save for a couple, but I don't think having a ceremony in a ruined city would be appropriate. I want the outlook of our bond to be positive and beautiful. I... want to have the ceremony next to an ocean. Just to feel the ocean breeze on my face as we exchange vows. Watching the sun set over the horizon. It has been a dream since I was a child."
"I like that. Though you had that dream since you were a child?"
"Yes. I'll admit that you were a part of that dream, even then."
"Really?" Shepard said in amusement. "You had a crush on me then?"
"Are you really that surprised? At that time you were the only friend I had. Back on the Flotilla, many avoided me because of who my father was. We were all told to beware aliens because they hated us. You were kind to me and greatly encouraged me without becoming extremely strict."
"So you developed a crush on me and even had dreams. At the time, I felt that the dream was impossible. Both being with you and Rannoch."
"I guess it's not impossible anymore."
Tali rubbed her cheek against his. "I guess not."
VVVVVV
The shuttle flew through Hagalaz's atmosphere. A storm raged in between the hot and cold front on the planet. Ahead they could see the Shadow Broker's ship.
"Hagalaz," Liara stated. "The oceans boil during the day, then snap-freeze ten minutes after sundown."
"The Shadow Broker lives in this?" Shepard asked while examining the Broker's ship from the viewport.
"His ship follows the sunset. Completely undetectable in the storm, unless you know where to look."
The shuttle shook as it flew through the storm.
"How do we get inside?"
"The shuttle bay is locked down. We'll need to land on the ship and hunt for a hatch." Liara stood up along with Shepard and Nihlus. "But we can't stay outside for long. There's a constant lightning storm where the hot and cold air collide."
The shuttle flew to the back of the ship and hovered over its surface. Its side hatch opened and Shepard and his squad jumped out. The wind was very strong. The three struggled to stand.
"This is the perfect place to hide," Nihlus muttered.
"It's hard to pinpoint in this lightning, but I'm picking up signals from a communications array near the back of the ship," Liara notified while checking her omni-tool for readings. "There's nothing below but maintenance equipment. We have to find an entrance near the back shielding."
"Then let's get started," Shepard said while moving forward. They moved forward across the ship's surface until two drones were deployed from a port.
"Maintenance drones," Liara observed.
The drones were heading in their directly before Shepard used two warps to destroy the two. "Why were they attacking?"
"They probably think we're debris from the storm."
Two more drones appeared from the front. Shepard fired two pistol shots to destroy them. They went up a ramp which led to the center on the ship's top. Ahead lightning struck at two structures. The charge went towards a battery pack that glowed from the energy.
"Careful," Liara warned. "Those capacitors discharge built-up lightning."
"Thanks for the tip," Shepard thanked.
"Shepard, try firing at the capacitors."
Nihlus fired a round at each capacitor. The capacitors blew and electricity jumped between the soldiers that appeared ahead.
"Oh, I'm liking this," Nihlus said.
The area ahead was clear for them to move ahead. Down the ramp they went down, several LOKI mechs activated. Shepard used pull to bring them out of cover. The wind then caught them and left them to fall to the planet's surface.
Around the corner, up the ramp, several Broker agents came out of cover. Nihlus nonchalantly lobbed a grenade between them and set off the detonator.
To the side was a lightning rod on a rail. Liara activated the controls to retract the structure. More agents appeared from the other side. Liara fired several SMG rounds at a lightning capacitor setting it off. The lightning jumped between all of the agents.
They continued down the path towards the back of the ship. The Shadow Broker threw squad after squad of his agents to fend off Shepard and his squad. They barely slowed down. Eventually they made it to a blast door that led to the interior of the ship. Liara ran up to it an activated a program on her omni-tool.
"I've got a bypass shunt program that can crack it."
"How long will it take?" Shepard asked.
"I don't know, Shepard. I've never broken into the Shadow Broker's base before. Well, not this one, anyway."
The first wave of agents came from the left. Nihlus shot the capacitor nearby and killed a couple of them.
"You sure that shunt is working?"
"It's illegal even on Illium. It didn't come with a warranty."
"But you tested it, right?"
"Here come more of them!"
"Tell me you tested it!"
"No time to talk."
They took down several more agents before the lock clicked once.
"Liara!"
"I'm sure it won't be much longer."
Another wave approached from the right.
"We'll be overwhelmed before it's done, Commander," Xiltro chirped in over the private comm. "Take me over to the shunt. I'll speed it up."
Shepard ran over to the blast door and held his omni-tool up. Green electricity jumped from his hand to the lock. The data scanning sped up many times. Shepard joined his friends in taking down agents while the shunt completed. The shunt finished just as a large wave was approaching.
"Get inside!" he ordered.
Liara and Nihlus ran inside. Xiltro jumped from the door back to Shepard's omni-tool.
"What was that?" Liara asked.
"I used a program to speed up your shunt."
The doors slammed shut. The three were greeted by several agents.
"Just how many guards does the Shadow Broker have?" Liara asked.
Shepard unleashed a shockwave towards the group of agents. The attack flung them towards the wall and breaking their backs. The Shadow Broker barked orders to his agents over the ships PA. Shepard's squad pushed forward, destroying the agents left and right in search of Feron.
They soon reached the prison block. The guards proved little resistance against Shepard's team's onslaught. Once the last guard fell, Shepard approached the block entrance. He hacked the door opened. They entered inside and saw, in the area below, Feron who was strapped to a chair.
"Feron!" Liara gasped.
The Drell groaned when he woke and saw them above. "L-Liara?"
Liara ran towards the console. "Hold on. We're getting you out of here." She started accessing the security system.
"No!"
Liara tripped something. Feron's chair unleashed electricity upon Feron. He screamed as the voltage flowed through his body. The charge stopped and he sighed in relief.
"Feron..."
"What the hell is the Broker trying to do to you?" Shepard asked.
"The equipment is sensitive to tampering," Feron explained. "This chair plugs into the Broker's info network. You have to shut off the power. Pull me out now, and my brain cooks."
"Do you know where we can cut the power?" Liara asked while taking Feron's life readings.
"It won't be easy. You'll have to go to central operations."
"What do you know about the Broker?" Shepard asked him.
"He did this to me," Feron answered.
"I was hoping you'd know what he is."
"I never got a good look, but he's big. The guards are terrified of him."
"A Krogan?" Liara suggested.
"I don't know, but not everyone who visits his office comes back out."
"Easy or not, we're all getting out of here," Shepard asserted.
"Good. Central operations is down the hall. You know the Shadow Broker's waiting for you, right?"
"I'm counting on it."
"We'll be back for you, Feron," Liara assured him.
"I'll try not to go anywhere," he joked.
Several SB agents approached their location. Nihlus took one down with a concussion shot. Liara used a singularity to pull in the other two. Shepard ended them with a warp to create a dark energy explosion.
They moved forward down the corridor. Near central operations, was one last guard. He was trying to decide whether it was best to let Shepard go through and risk being killed by the Shadow Broker, or to try and kill Shepard and likely die. Shepard made the decision for him when he fired a round into his head with his pistol.
"That's the last of the guards," Nihlus stated. "All that is left is the Broker." Nihlus chuckled. "First the Collectors, and now the Broker. Always fun and interesting with you, Commander."
They entered central operations. The place was dark with little light. The Broker was shrouded in shadows. Shepard immediately concluded that he was not a Krogan. The three raised their weapons and aimed at the Broker.
The Broker clamped his hands together and leaned forward a bit. The Broker looked like the twisted bastard love child between a Salarian, a Batarian and a Krogan. It had red skin, fours eyes and two large horns. Shepard searched his memories to see if he could identify this race. It took a moment before he remember a disaster from decades ago when Council diplomats visited a race of sentient beings matching this creature's description. Yahgs...
"Here for the Drell?" the Broker said in his booming, deep voice. "Reckless, even for you, Commander."
"That bombing on Illium wasn't exactly subtle," Shepard retorted.
"Extreme, but necessary."
"No it wasn't!" Liara yelled. "Neither was caging Feron for two years!"
"Dr. T'Soni. Your interference caused all this. Feron betrayed me when he handed you Shepard's body. The Drell is simply paying the price."
"Someone was bound to come after you for working with the Collectors," Shepard argued.
"It was a mutually beneficial partnership. Shame that they were destroyed by you. No matter. The Normandy's IFF will allow me to recover their base's wreckage."
"Be smart. Let Feron go."
"You won't be going anywhere."
"You're quite confident for someone with nowhere left to hide," Liara said.
"You travel with fascinating companions, doctor. I see you brought the Spectre Nihlus. The one who couldn't save his sister from slavers. The sister that developed a split personality." The Broker looked to Shepard. "But nothing compares to Commander Shepard here." The Broker turned to Liara again. "Tell me doctor. Do you know Shepard's secrets? Do you know his past or who he truly works for?"
"What is he talking about, Shepard?"
"What would you know about my past?" Shepard called the Broker's bluff.
"After years of trying, we managed to learn about your past, Commander. We captured one of your operatives."
"Who?" he demanded.
The Broker pointed to the wall. Shepard's eyes widen when he looked where the Broker pointed.
"Aether!"
Agent Aether was chained to the wall. He looked like he went through hell. Aether grumbled and looked at Shepard. "C-Commander... I-I'm sorry. Th-They trapped me. They disabled me with a multi-wavelength EMP. Th-They tried to make me talk, but they... they forcibly took copies of my data and records. He knows everything. I'm so sorry."
"It's not your fault," Shepard assured him. "It's not your fault, brother."
"You'll be joining him," the Broker announced.
"What the hell is going on?" Liara demanded.
"The truth, Doctor T'Soni, is that Shepard has been lying to you this whole time of who... and what he is."
"What's he talking about, Shepard?"
"I'll explain after we take him down," Shepard said.
The Broker pointed to Aether. "Amazing isn't it? Despite the emotions and pain it displays, it's not Human."
"Wh-What?" Liara gasped.
"Aether is a machine. A machine much more advance than the Geth. Far more advance."
Liara looked to Shepard. "Did you know this, Shepard?"
"I-I did."
"And you, Commander," the Broker continued, "while not a machine, you are not Human either."
Liara felt pain in her chest upon those words. She was at her breaking point. Tears formed around her eyes. Liara looked to Shepard. A pained look on her face. "Tell me he's lying, Shepard. Tell me!"
"I'm sorry, Liara, but he's telling the truth."
"You've been lying to me this whole time?"
"I'll explain everything, Liara, I just need you to trust me now."
Liara backed down.
Shepard looked to the Shadow Broker and glared. "You know what I am, so that means you know exactly what I'm capable of. Surrender."
"I think not. I'll be using you as a bargaining chip when it comes to speaking with your people."
Shepard scoffed. "I gave you a chance." He flung forward a biotic blast at the Broker, destroying his desk and launching him in the wall.
Nihlus moved to the side to get in a better position to fight. The Broker got to his feet and grabbed one of the chunks of his desk. He flung it towards the three. Shepard pushed Liara out of the way. The chunk of desk impacted Nihlus knocking him out. Liara fired at him with her SMG. The Broker's shield drained quickly from the onslaught.
Shepard ran over to Aether. He was constrained by a pair of special handcuffs that partially immobilized him. Shepard worked on the first hand cuff. Dark energy formed in his palms as he used the energy to destabilize the particles of the cuff. The cuff gave way, releasing one of Aether's hands.
The Broker focused fire on Shepard. Shepard dropped to the ground and turned to him. "You will regret attacking the Order." A ball of warp energy formed in each of his hands. He fused the balls together above his head and then threw the large warp ball at the Broker. His armour was destroyed from the attack.
Just as he was taking some damage. The Broker activated the energy dome above himself. The energy coated his body as a shield. Liara fired several rounds at the Broker but the bullets bounced off.
"The shield's kinetically sensitive," Liara told Shepard. "Energy and projectiles are bouncing off!"
Shepard pulled out Asha. He spun the swordstaff. "Then we do this the hard way."
Shepard ran forward and hit the Broker with the staff end of his sword. The barrier dropped. Shepard spun the weapon and slashed the Broker across his chest. He followed up with a biotic blast from his hand which caused the Broker to fall back a few steps. Shepard ran forward and jumped, prepared the slash the Broker down the middle. The Broker activated an omni-shield and hit Shepard back. Shepard fell to the ground ten feet away.
Shepard ran over to Aether again. Liara distracted the Broker with her gunfire from her SMG. Shepard grabbed the last handcuff and used his dark energy to dissolve the handcuff. The handcuff broke away, finally releasing Aether from his bonds.
Aether cracked his knuckles and then his neck. "Functions at full level." He looked to the Broker. Aether held up his hand. White electricity shot from his hand and hit the Broker. The attack shorted the Broker's shields, leaving his armour. Shepard used warp to take it down again along with pistol rounds. As the Broker started taking physical damage, it summoned its shield again.
Shepard struck the Broker across the face with the staff end of Asha. The Broker held up his shield to protect against Shepard's attack. Shepard rammed into the shield and pushed against him. The Broker pushed back and threw Shepard into Liara.
Aether noticed the energy. "Shepard, if you can get him to bring that shield up again, I've got an idea."
Aether disabled the shields that recharged around the Broker with his previous attack. Liara summoned a singularity at the Broker's position. Shepard immediately followed up with a warp causing the biotic attack to explode and destroy the last of the Broker's armour.
As predicted, the Broker called upon his energy barrier. Shepard charged at the Broker, as did the Broker. The Broker attacked with his shield but Shepard rolled under his attack, barely dodging it.
"Aether now!"
Aether's eyes glowed green. "Accessing systems. Overloading energy shield transfer, now!"
The dome above unleashed a downpour of energy onto the Broker. He was unable to move. The energy penetrated his body and filled it. The Broker let out one last roar before he exploded.
Shepard immediately went over to Aether. He placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"
"I'll recover," he replied.
Shepard noticed Nihlus getting up and went over to him to help him to his feet. Liara stood there, breathing deeply not knowing what to do next. She looked to Shepard with a mix of emotion in her face. Liara was about to say something, but...
"Shadow Broker, this is Operative Murat," an agent called in over the comm system. "We had a momentary connection failure. Can you confirm status?"
Another agent called in with the same concern. Followed by another agent. And then another. And the another. Until the whole screen was covered with incoming inquires from agents all over the galaxy. Liara approached the terminal. She bowed her head for a brief thought and then touched the screen. Liara knew what she had to do.
"This is the Shadow Broker," she announced. "The situation is under control. We experienced a power fluctuation while upgrading hardware. It disrupted communications momentarily." Just then Feron burst through the doors with his pistol aiming. He was shocked to see who was making the announcement. "However, we are now back online. Resume standard procedures. I want a status report on all operations within the next solar day. Shadow Broker out."
"Goddess of oceans..." Feron muttered as he limped towards her. "It's you. You... how?"
"Well, everyone who's ever seen him in person is dead, so..."
"You're the new Shadow Broker."
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Shepard asked.
"It was either that or lose everything," Liara answered. "His contacts, his trading sources. Those will really help us." Liara then glared and pulled out a pistol and aimed at Shepard. "Who are you? What are you?"
"Liara, what are you doing?" Feron asked in desperation.
"The Shadow Broker had some interesting data on Shepard, to which he confirmed. Shepard isn't Human."
"Put down your weapon," Aether demanded.
"As I promised," Shepard said. "I'll tell you everything, just please put down the gun."
"Are you truly Shepard?" Liara asked.
"Yes."
Liara lowered her gun. "I'm listening. But after everything I've been through. I deserve to know the truth."
"Yes, you do. I was going to tell you right after this mission. I didn't want to stress you any further."
"Then tell me now."
"Do you remember two years ago when we were on Ilos? When we met Vigil? About the race"
"Yes, I remember, Vigil said... Oh goddess... You. You're an Artician!"
"Yes."
"What's an Artician?" Feron asked.
"An alien race from another galaxy," Liara answered. "I didn't think... Where is the rest of your specie?"
A grim look came across Shepard's face. "I'm the last of them."
"H-How can that be?"
"I'll explain on the way to the Normandy. We should get Feron checked by Chakwas."
VVVVVV
Shepard poured a couple glasses of wine. Liara walked into his cabin dressed in a formal dress.
"Did you enjoy the tour?" Shepard asked.
"Yes, it's a beautiful ship," she answered. "And learning about your galaxy just goes beyond anything I have ever learned about our galaxy' history. I honestly can't wait to meet representatives from the other races. Rasitian, Exion, Praetorin, Tia'Zu and Rak'en. Just so incredible. I'd like to apologize again for pointing a gun at you."
"You were stressed and felt betrayed. It's understandable."
"You call me stressed," she laughed. "Your whole life has been nothing but one combat after another."
"I still have my friends and allies to keep me strong."
"Of course. Speaking of which. I ran into Joker. He seemed happy to see me. Although, he asked if I have 'embraced eternity' lately."
Shepard sighed. "Of course he did."
Liara walked over to Shepard's desk next to his display case. "I also spoke to Chakwas. I'm glad she's doing well. I brought you something. It took some digging, but I recovered your tags." Liara handed Shepard a frame that contained his dog tags from the Alliance.
Shepard held the frame up and looked at the tags. "I thought that I'd never again."
Shepard turned to his desk and placed the frame on top.
"They changed hands more than once," Liara said. "Do you remember Admiral Hackett? He gave them to me so I could return them to you. He sends his best... and hopes you're okay."
Shepard turned to her again. He leaned against his desk.
"So how are you doing, Shepard? I mean really, not what you tell your squad to keep morale up."
"Between you and me?" Shepard asked rhetorically. "I'm frustrated. I'm frustrated that despite all I've done, the Council still doesn't believe me. I'm frustrated that people who I once called my friend are either calling me a traitor or barely keeping me at arms length. I'm frustrated from watching my previous allies burying so much that I have done to return to the status quo!" Shepard slammed a fist into the desk. The punch resulted in a dent. His voice returned to a calm tone. "I'm not the only one. The Order are becoming increasingly irritated at this galaxy's lax approach to the Reapers. I fear they may all together abandon the subtlety approach. I don't think I've done enough."
The two started walking towards Shepard's living area.
"You've done more than enough!" Liara argued passionately. "It doesn't matter what the ignorant Council believes. Or Chief Williams' viewpoint. You have done so much for this galaxy. You delayed the Reapers arrival. Stopped Saren and the Geth. You and your team went through the Omega-4 relay and came back alive. You have an entire army who will follow your orders. I don't think there is anyone alive or dead who could have done more than what you've already done." Liara was breathing deeply from the motivational speech. She smiled and placed a hand on her hip. "You are putting a lot into this fight to save countless others. But tell me what you want. What are you fighting for? A chance to give Miss Vas Normandy her homeworld back."
"Tali is important to me," he replied as he sat down on the bed.
"Important doesn't even come close to describing what she is to you," Liara said matter-of-factly. "You two were practically inseparable on the original Normandy. Still are. You two have a connection that runs deep. Like the galaxy saw fit to put you two together. It is a strong bond. One that will give both of you strength for future battles."
"I actually asked her to join me in a life mate bond," Shepard said. "We are going to have the ceremony once all of this is over."
"I am truly happy for the two of you. I should get back to my base along with Feron. I'll be able to provide the Guardians with information to help fight against the Reapers. Thank you for inviting me up, Shepard."
The two hugged. They let go of each other and looked each other in the eyes one last time.
"Before you go, I was hoping you might be able to look into something for me."
"Of course."
"I already mentioned the Artician structure on Tuchanka. I have people trying to make heads or tails of the coordinates that were left behind. None of my operatives have been able to decipher it."
"What are the coordinates for?"
"A place I have to go to. The riddle in the ruin called it the 'crypt of beings of light'. If I am to fulfill my destiny, I have to find it."
"I'll have people look into it. Good luck to you, Shepard."
Liara turned and walked out of the cabin while Shepard went to sit at the foot of his bed.
"Come back soon."