Chapter 38
The Dover had been built much like its sister ship, Normandy. Stealth drives and state of the art technology kept her sailing smoothly and out of any LADAR scans. Still, her crew worked diligently to ensure it operated at peak efficiency.
Garrus awoke in his command quarters, dubbed "the Loft" by engineers during Normandy's reconstruction. He groaned, rubbing his temples and flexing his muscles, going through the stretching regiment he always did when first waking.
Seated in the office terminal on the raised paddock in front of him, Tali'Zorah vas Rannoch raised an appreciative eyebrow.
"You know, Major," quipped Tali, "I daresay you're a tease..."
Vakarian smirked, as he finished and gathered his clothes, slowly putting them on, "do you dislike my lack of clothing while exercising?"
She laughed, "quite the contrary, and I certianly had no complaints last night."
The turian grinned, moving up to her, pecking her lightly on the cheek. She closed her eyes as he began to massage her shoulders.
"Mmm, that's nice, I knew there was a reason I kept you around..."
Garrus looked at the array of documents and terminals in front of her, "how long you been at this?"
Tali shook her head, unable to shrug for Garrus' ministrations. She enjoyed the moment a bit more, a sigh escaping her lips, before turning around. She gestured to the readouts.
"Part of my work as an Admiral," explained Tali, "logistics and such for many of our technical initiatives."
Garrus nodded remembering, "ah yes, they put you in charge of the research and development division of the fleet."
She nodded, "well, we aren't at war currently, so they figured this would be the best use of my talents."
The turian nodded, grateful that Tali had something to do other than concern herself with battle. They'd been getting enough of it out in the field, and he said as much.
Tali shook her head, "you're the one who's been going out alone all this time..."
It had been a source of no small amount of tension between the two of them. Tali had lost enough people in her life; she wasn't about to lose him as well.
Garrus rested his forehead against hers, "I know...and I thank the Spirits you're here with me now..."
Tali grinned, "you should be! Now, we both have work to do."
Vakerian nodded, "oh?"
"Miranda and I have been working with our salarian friend. She says that they made a breakthrough last night."
He nodded slowly, "she said that to you, did she?"
She caught the look, and rolled her eyes, "we're fine Garrus, honestly..."
The SPECTRE shrugged. He had no personal gripes with Lawson either. They were both consummate professionals, and had saved each others' lives plenty of times before.
"Still, doesn't mean you have to work well together, you let me know if-"
"Garrus," interjected Tali, "we survived the Collector Base as a team, remember? We overcame our gripes back then. I doubt we'll be drinking mates, but I trust her."
Vakerian arched an eyebrow, considering her logic, "I suppose I can understand that. So, dinner tonight?"
"If we aren't out fighting Remnant in the trenches," sniffed Tali.
It was a very real possibility. They were being called to the planet of Lesuss for a reason, after all. It seemed that the Remnant were threatening the asari border worlds. Many of the Special Forces had been drawn into the conflict. Compounded by skirmishes with batarian and vorcha slavers, the asari were at their limit.
The attacks were affecting the asari responsibility to protect the hanar and elcor homeworlds, which was a cause of further diplomatic strain. They needed to resolve the Lesuss affair, to free asari forces for other incursions.
"Major," came Steve Cortez's voice over the intercom, "we're a few jumps from the Athena Nebula, which puts us at the asari border worlds in a few hours."
"Keep me posted Cortez," replied Garrus, "I'll be conferring with XO Lawson."
Garrus kissed Tali on the neck before dressing and heading to the elevator. There was a lot of work to do before their mission on Lesuss; and it wouldn't get any easier moving forward.
In the medbay of the Dover, Miranda Lawson was rubbing the space between her eyes, massaging away the headache that refused to go away.
"So let me get this straight," she said, "you've been having regular 'conversations' with Shade?"
Seated across from her, Kasumi was dangling her legs off a medical cot. Leaning back self-contentedly, she nodded.
"Yep, she and I have been trading info back and forth ever since Omega."
Miranda shook her head, "come again...Shade is a woman?"
Kasumi shrugged, "seems so, just the way she speaks."
"...You've spoken with Shade enough to get that much a read?"
"As you are aware," Goto nodded, "one forms quick impressions in intelligence work. I just read Shade as a woman."
Lawson pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head, "I don't know whether to be thankful or afraid. You are friends with the most elusive intelligence asset in history; someone who's eluded Liara's, Aria's, and my own security networks.
Nearby stood the salarian STG scientist, Padok Wiks. He was currently sifting through screen after screen of data on his holovid. Even for Miranda, the images moved impossibly fast. She looked away, lest her headache become a migraine.
"Probably just as well," said the salarian, "without Ms. Goto's input, I would not have been able to decipher these readings from this 'Corporal Toombs.'"
Indeed, after several correspondences, Miranda had come to Kasumi. Kasumi had done a good job of encrypting and scrubbing her feeds, but Lawson was a professional, and curious by nature. Eventually, Kasumi had caved in, sharing her connection with the mysterious Shade.
What had surprised them all, however, was how Kasumi had broken through the encryption of the messages that Shade sent. They were just as advanced as the protocols apparent in the data packets recovered from Toombs' transmission. However, Miranda recalled the mission to Bekenstein, when Shepard and Kasumi had single handedly toppled the empire of the infamous contraband dealer, Donovan Hock.
Hock had killed Kasumi's friend and lover, Keiji Okuda, gutting his brain for the "graybox" within. It was priceless, a computer repository containing a lifetime of secrets and classified intel. Kasumi wanted revenge for the butchering of her friend, the graybox was an added bonus. The former theif swore it was the other way around, though she wasn't fooling anyone.
However, the graybox also contained other secrets, all accumulated data concerning Shepard's battle against the Reapers. Unfortunately, no one had acted on the data in time, and the Reaper War had engulfed the galaxy. However, the data still remained, as Kasumi had integrated Keiji's graybox into her own.
Somehow, this had allowed her to read and decrypt lines of code that nobody had been able to crack. She could even read Reaper and Prothean codes, given enough time to hack the security. As such, the last several days had been nonstop for several of the crew. Between Miranda, Padok Wiks, Tali, and Revenant, the Dover had a proverbial think tank, and Kasumi's knowledge was yet another key element.
Garrus Vakerian walked in, nodding to the three individuals, who nodded back. Miranda even straightened her back, offering a small salute. Kasumi could never be bothered, and Wiks was engulfed in his work.
The turian smirked. He never stood on ceremony, so long as the crew respected his lead, which they did. Still, he curtly nodded back to Miranda, acknowledging her efforts to keep their relationship professional. It was awkward to be in command of a ship of so many disparate organizations, but Garrus was adaptable, as ever. He could scarcely think of any others he'd have chosen to work with, barring the old crew on the Normandy.
"So," he said, "where are we?"
Miranda gestured to Kasumi, "thanks to Ms. Goto's correspondences with Shade, we've managed to decrypt some of the data we recieved from Corporal Toombs."
Vakerian nodded, gesturing for them to continue. Lawson gestured to Wiks. The salarian nodded, as he cycled through the screens on the holovid before him.
"Even with Ms. Goto's knowledge," explained the salarian, "the team had problems deciphering the data. It wasn't until Liara's team forwarded us the decrypted data from Feros that things began to fall into place."
"So they're connected, these attacks?" asked Garrus.
Miranda nodded, "the key phrase, 'Paladin,' it's not a person, it a group."
Padok Wiks continued, "until now, we had assumed that Ms. Lawson's Orthos had recruited or arrested all former Cerberus assets."
"It seems," explained Miranda, "that someone's been hiring up the ones that fell through the cracks."
"We expected as much," remarked Garrus, "so what's so special about the 'Paladins?'"
"They've also been recruiting other agencies," answered the salarian, "in fact...Eclipse salarian mercs...batarians and vorcha from the Blood Pack...any of this sound familiar?"
Garrus shook his head. So the mercs they'd fought on Omega weren't simply traitors to Aria T'Loak, they'd formed a cabal with others as well. It was a terrifying prospect, but something didn't make since.
"Cerberus was pro-humanity, why would they ally with these 'alien' organizations?"
Miranda nodded, "mmm, remember, these are intelligence assets masquerading as mercs. We can't know their motivations, besides..."
"We still haven't sifted through the data," offered Kasumi, "there's something bringing the badguys together, but we don't know what yet. In fact, we're pretty sure it goes further than just batarian and salarian interests."
"Any connection to the quarian disappearances?" asked Garrus.
"Not yet," answered Miranda, "but what concerns me is how they are controlling the Remnant."
The room went silent. The batarians and salarians were in bed with former Cerberus agents, which was bad enough. Any other players with enough clout to operate on par with Karshaan and the Salarian STG were likely dead. But whoever was pulling the strings, they were also controlling the Remnant, or at least herding them like animals. This meant there were people out there on friendly terms with Reaper tech, and willing to play with it. The thought was less than comforting.
"Do we know the players yet?" asked Garrus.
Miranda shook her head, "they've covered their tracks well, though it stands to reason a human would be in control of the Ceberus dregs. That puts us at three masterminds at least, and all likely within the political hierarchies."
"I have narrowed the list of possible traitors in the Dalatrassy," added Padok Wiks, "but these people own the STG, and our evidence is circumstantial."
"Which means we can't act without more proof," groaned Vakerian, "for fear of tipping off the traitors."
"Or suffering political backlash," reasoned Miranda.
Garrus shook his head again. He hated politics...
"Which reminds me, we're coming up on Lesuss, hobnobbing with some delegates on the space station in orbit around the asari colony."
"You decided on a team yet?" asked Miranda.
He nodded, "I'll need diplomats, so it's you, Elana, and Tali for now."
"We'll suit up and meet you at the airlock," she answered.
Garrus nodded, turning to leave…
Dr. Michel and Kelly were currently sitting in the common eating area of the Dover, nursing mugs of coffee.
Elana Pytar leaned against a nearby bulkhead, nursing a glass of something harder, "sure you'll have none, doctor?"
Michel shook her head, "I tend to avoid alcohol, even while off-duty."
"No telling when you'll have to sign back on?" offered Kelly.
"Life of a physician," agreed Michel, "frankly, I'm surprised to see you indulging, even while off-duty."
"My turian nature, I suppose," Elana shrugged, "we are expected to work hard; nearly anything goes out of combat, so long as we are ready when it's time for battle."
Kelly nodded, "I heard as much, is it true that you and Garrus actually fought each other in between missions?"
Pytar grinned, "well, it was an excellent stress relief."
"Is that what you called it?" Kelly teased, "I've heard the stories."
Michel blinked, astounded at Chambers' fearlessness.
Elana swirled her drink, "well, there are multiple ways to relieve stress…but that was long ago…"
Michel didn't reply, glancing listlessly as she saw Major Vakerian saunter onto the deck, making his way out from the medbay. The doctor saw the knowing glance from Elana, who openly grinned at her. Michel cleared her throat, looking down into her cup.
"Well, no harm in looking, every now and then," suggested Elana.
Kelly stifled her grin and took another sip, while Michel firmly decided that the most interesting thing in the universe currently resided in the bottom of her mug.
"Er," Michel cleared her throat, "I suppose I will have a bit of that alcohol…"
Garrus didn't have to tell his crew to be careful; they all knew the stakes. Still, the uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach wouldn't go away. A catastrophe was brewing, and they needed to work fast to have any hope of stopping it. Lost in thought, Garrus almost bumped into the familiar looking geth aboard his ship.
"Sorry Revenant," he grunted, making his way to the elevator.
The geth shook his head, "it is alright, Vakerian-Major."
Garrus had to grin, still getting used to the small displays of emotion the geth were beginning to exhibit.
"So remind me," he asked, "how did you first meet Tali and Kasumi?"
The light on Revenant's head flashed for a moment, dilating like a pupil. Garrus now recognized the affectation meant the geth was thinking. Revenant hesitated a moment before answering.
"Actually, this unit has served previously with Normandy, back during the assault on the Collector Base."
Garrus blinked for several moments, letting the words sink in, "you mean...you're Legion?! Why didn't you tell us?"
He didn't know how to describe it, but the turian was pleased. It had been strange, making friends with a geth, after years of war. Still, Legion had saved all their lives on numerous occassions, then sacrificed his own, helping to forge a peace that had been crucial in defeating the Reapers.
"I am not Legion," explained Revenant, "the unit you are referring to made a backup of his processes shortly after returning to the Geth Consensus. After he died in the Reaper War, I assumed control of his assets, helping with the defense of the Crucible and the reconstruction of Rannoch."
Garrus shook his head, "I still don't understand. If you remember all those things, how can you not be Legion?"
Revenant pondered again, his glowlight dilating once more, "consider if you went back in time to before the Reaper war, and met yourself. Would you be the same person?"
Vakerian reflected on this. Technically, he was the same. But the Garrus of today had nearly a decade of memories and emotions that had shaped him into something different. Strictly speaking, Garrus couldn't say the turian he was so long ago would behave in the same way.
"I see your point," he replied, "so I suppose you could say you're...Legion's little brother?"
The geth went silent again, thinking, "it is not quite the same, Legion had attained a level of consciousness I yet aspire to. In deference to his sacrifice, I cannot call myself Legion."
"The geth are growing as a culture," explained Garrus, "I wouldn't have said this ten years ago, but you have to consider your rights as a living being. For all intents and purposes, Legion was your family."
"By that logic, all geth are family. Though some could be considered more closely related. Wouldn't most species deem this line of reasoning as foolish?"
"I think it's a nice sentiment," the SPECTRE answered, "all the races should learn to think like that."
Revenant pondered for a moment, "then we hope that organic wisdom can learn from synthetic foolishness."
Garrus narrowed his eyes as the plates around Revenant's light socket twitched. He realized that the geth had just attempted a joke.
He laughed, "there's hope for all of us yet. For now, we have a mission."
The geth saluted Garrus, as the turian made his way to the bridge, a smirk still on his face…