A/N: I must confess that I had tremendous fun writing this chapter, largely because of the ending scene. I hope you will have as much fun reading it. :)
Also, it seems I have to part with a lot of cookies, because most of my readers guessed the mystery asari correctly. And a box of cookies for Tayg for being the first, obviously. :D
And a heads up for those desperate to see Aria, yes, she'll have a heavy presence in the next chapter!
Chapter 50 - The Salarian and the Thief
Admiral Hackett contacts the Normandy directly prior to their arrival on the Citadel. "Your comm specialist has been forwarding updates about the summit. Good job, Commander," he tells Shepard. "Any news on the asari?"
"I had to really push Tevos to find someone for us," Shepard admits. "They wanted to stay on the sidelines and make nice with the frogs, but in the end she said she will find someone for us." She then catches herself. "Uh, I meant the salarians... Sir."
"Shepard, as of late your diplomatic skills have left something to be desired," Hackett says, shaking his head. "But this was always going to be difficult ever since you decided to bring krogan into the mix. Just... promise you will create alliances, instead of making new enemies, Commander!"
"I will be the very model of Earth's diplomatic corps representative, Sir!" Shepard snaps off a salute.
"That's precisely what I'm afraid of..." Hackett sighs, then growing more serious. "I trust you will get it done, Shepard. I don't need to remind you what rests on this."
"No, you don't need to remind me," Shepard shakes her head. "Sir... what is the progress on the Prothean device?"
"We have confirmed all of Liara's findings. It is a weapon, and a big one," Hackett says. "We have no idea what it does and how to operate it, though we are starting to get a clearer picture on how to build it. And our hand has been forced, we need to get working on it."
"I agree, I hope the other races will see the need to work together on this thing," Shepard nods.
"I think the asari and the salarians have arrived to the same conclusions as our scientists. Our comm chatter has increased in the past few days and we have seen several discreet inquiries on what sort of aid we are looking for in order to build this weapon," Hackett explains. "Meanwhile, our fleets will be engaging in a delaying action with the Reapers. Avoiding all direct confrontation, unless the opportunity is too good to pass upon."
"Any trouble with Cerberus after Mars?" Shepard asks.
"Yes, I was about to speak to you about them," Hackett nods grimly. "We have noticed them launching several operations and I would like you to investigate. We have discovered a Cerberus lab on Sanctum. Also, our intel suggests that the recent attack on Eden Prime is Cerberus digging for some kind of Prothean artifact. We don't need something like that to fall in their hands."
"Eden Prime again?" Shepard sighs, shaking her head sadly. "Those people just can't buy a break. If it's not the geth, it's Cerberus. But yeah, Prothean artifact? Liara will be interested in that. We can check it out... but probably not right away."
"Thank you, Commander. Cerberus motives in this war still remain a mystery to us. Perhaps next time when The Illusive Man offers to kindly explain his reasoning to you, don't hang up on him, Shepard."
"Uh... yeah, we were kind of in a hurry to stop the Cerberus synthetic from downloading the data from the Prothean beacon," Shepard mutters. "But point taken, Sir. Even if I have to listen to his insane ramblings."
"Please, Shepard. It might provide us with crucial intel," Hackett says, looking a little exasperated.
"Oh... one last thing, Sir," Shepard quickly says before Hackett has managed to terminate the connection. "...any news from my mother?"
Hackett shakes his head a little sadly. "Not yet... do not lose heart, Shepard. There are still several dozen of Alliance ships unaccounted for and at least a few are reporting in every day. There is a good chance that your mother is still alive."
"Yeah..." Morgan swallows the heavy lump in her throat. "Not much else I can do but hope."
"I'll let you know as soon as we have news, Shepard," Hackett says in a kinder voice. "Until then, keep me posted. Hackett out."
Shepard stands still in the comm room for a while, before moving from the spot, reaching out to Joker over the comms. "ETA to the Citadel, Joker?" she asks.
"Almost there, Commander," comes the reply. "Ten minutes."
"Right, I need the crew to gather in the mess hall ASAP. Liara, Garrus, James," she says, already on her way there.
"Passing the message on," Joker gives a quick acknowledgment.
Liara and Garrus are already waiting for her when Morgan arrives in the mess hall, and James joins them scant moments later. Shepard does not waste much time explaining their plans. "According to Tevos, we might have up to two days of downtime until the asari come up with their summit representative," she tells her friends. "You are free to use this time as you see fit, but please remember to check in with Normandy every two hours for status updates. Also, it might be helpful if I knew roughly where to look for you."
"If I'm not on the Normandy, I will probably be hanging out with the refugees on the docks or in some sleazy nightclub," James grins.
"That doesn't exactly narrow it down, but fair enough, James," Shepard shrugs. "I expect you to conduct yourself by following the dignified example set by your commanding officer," here, her words are interrupted by a snort escaping her asari lover's lips. "Liara!" she turns around to face the young scientist, a bashful and apologetic smile on the asari's face.
"Shepard, I spoke with Victus," Garrus tells her. "A large number of our wounded have made it to the Citadel. I will probably be down at the refugee camps in the docking bays, seeing if I can do anything for them."
"Alright, Garrus... that's good thinking," Shepard nods. "Let me know if I can help in any way. Perhaps use my Spectre resources if your people are in dire need of some supplies."
"Thank you, Shepard," Garrus says, looking appreciative.
"Okay, I guess that accounts for you two," Shepard says, turning towards Liara. "And where I would be able to find you during our stay on the Citadel, Dr. T'Soni?"
"Somewhere close to you, Commander, if I can help it," Liara answers with a completely straight face, the nonplussed delivery making Shepard grin like a fool.
"I did plan on taking care of that Spectre business first thing after we set foot off the ship," Shepard says.
"That's fine, there's something that I was planning to do myself, but I would love to catch up afterwards," Liara smiles.
"Alright, I'll let you know when I'm free. Okay… that's it," Shepard gives her final orders. "Dismissed, people!"
Not much has changed on the Citadel during the three solar days that they have spent away on the mission to turian space. There are signs of this war growing fiercer and more desperate, the lines of the refugee ships waiting for permission to dock are steadily rising. There is a particular increase in heavily damaged turian ships, limping back to this sanctuary to drop off the injured and make repairs. Enjoying the privileges of being one of the Council races, the turian ships have been told they can bypass the queues, an action that has left many other races increasingly unhappy, and the palpable tensions on the Citadel are growing steadily.
The galactic news terminals have more and more reports on the war, slowly pushing all other news into obscurity, making it harder for the good people of the Citadel to ignore the growing Reaper threat, forcing them to confront the reality of the war. At some point the Reapers will arrive here as well, even if these people refuse to believe it. The more and more refugees flock here, the more attractive target it becomes to the Reapers, Shepard thinks, stopping to listen as the journalists report about the first asari colony world coming under attack. Well, it was only a matter of time, we all knew that.
She arrives at the embassies shortly after, spotting her contact through the crowds, an inconspicuous looking tall salarian in a black and pale gold light suit of body armor. He somehow manages to appear dangerous in a subtle way, a feat difficult to pull off for any salarian. As soon as he notices Shepard approaching, he straightens his back and nods towards her. "Commander Shepard," the salarian says. "Jondum Bau, Special Tactics and Recon. I have intel suggesting that high-level hanar officials might be indoctrinated."
"Those jellyfish have always been crazy," Shepard shakes her head. "All that Enkindler gibberish? Please. But I digress, what do you have, Bau?"
"Not here, Shepard," he says, pointing towards the doors leading to the Spectre offices, directly opposite to the human embassy, where the wild Udina makes his lair. They quickly pass the scanners and enter the Spectre headquarters, housing several information terminals and even a small shooting range. "I have evidence of an Alliance black ops team raiding a batarian research station. The batarians were studying Reaper technology."
"Those idiots had Reaper tech?" Shepard blinks. "They would have had no clue about the indoctrination and how to avoid it! God... this is bad."
"Correct. The raid turned into a massacre, and your people ended up with nothing," Bau explains. "They faked a power failure to hide the incident."
"If the batarians had known that, we would have been at war even before I went to Aratoht..." Shepard remarks bitterly. Bau nods quickly, obviously well informed of her past actions. "Still... how do the jellyfish factor into this?"
"They were maintaining some discreet trade relationships with the batarians, and found out about the research. They led the Alliance to the station. We suspect that those hanar operatives escaped with the Reaper tech. I trust your reports about the indoctrination, Commander. Which means, those hanar are in the Reaper's pockets."
"Sounds serious, alright," Shepard nods. "Your source?"
"It was an anonymous 'gift', but I believe it came from a thief named Kasumi Goto," Bau explains, Shepard hoping that her face does not betray her surprise. "I have been after her for years."
"I have heard of this Kasumi," Shepard says casually. "Why are you so interested in her?"
"We had a good reason to believe that she was in possession of some extremely sensitive intel that could have implicated one of the Council races," Bau replies. "Perhaps it was this particular piece of information. A year ago it would have put humanity in a very difficult position." Shepard nods, quietly agreeing with her fellow Spectre's train of thought. "Besides, catching a master thief like Kasumi Goto would be a crowning career achievement," Bau then says, reverence in his voice. "Her intelligence and skill are almost salarian."
"Well, if she sent you the data, perhaps the feelings of respect and admiration are mutual," Shepard chuckles, but Bau's face remains impassive, save for a slight twitch of his head horns. "In any case, I'd like to help. We don't need crazy jellyfish jeopardizing the safety of the Citadel."
"I'm tracking suspicious transmissions to hanar homeworld, and I could use someone with hacking experience," Bau explains. "Now... here's what I would like you to do, Commander…"
"Is Major Alenko ready to receive visitors?"
"Yes, err... and your relation to Major, miss...?"
"We served together on the SSV Normandy. We are old friends."
The nurse hesitates. "I will check with Major Alenko. Your name, miss?"
"Liara. Liara T'Soni."
"Just a moment," the human nurse spins around on her heel and rushes off. Liara stands at the reception desk, looking around the growing lines of patients, feeling guilty about wasting the time of the hospital staff with her foolish demands. The galactic news terminals bring more and more disturbing reports from the war, hanging in the hospital lobby like a dark cloud. Why do they even have those news broadcasts here? She wonders. I understand the need to confront reality, but most of these patients are here because they have experienced this reality firsthand. Do they really need the reminder?
The nurse returns soon after, informing that Kaidan would like to see her, taking Liara to one of the infirmary wards. Major Alenko is resting on one of the hospital beds, still looking rather poorly, his face is badly bruised and sporting traces of several nasty cuts. "Liara, this is a surprise," he speaks, turning his head to face her. "Did Shepard send you? Too busy to see me, eh?"
That's not the best of starts, Liara sighs mentally. "No," she says simply. "Shepard does not know that I intended to come here. She planned to come visit after she has taken care of some urgent Spectre business." Kaidan doesn't say anything, only looking a little surprised. "I came because first of all I wanted to thank you."
"Thank me?" Kaidan blinks. "What for, Liara?"
"The Cerberus synthetic on Mars. She was turning towards me, I remember her eyes boring down on me. If you had not stopped in her way and knocked me aside... well, I'm not sure I would have survived those injuries," she speaks quietly.
"Oh... I see. Well, you were already injured, I simply did what any soldier should do," Kaidan smiles. "There is no need to thank me for doing the right thing."
"I also came to speak about you and Shepard," Liara plows straight ahead, not mincing any words.
"Right... isn't that something between me and the Commander?" Kaidan sounds a little defensive.
"Kaidan, do you believe I am stupid? Naive? Obtuse? Do you still think I am that shy and awkward archeologist that you saved on Therum?" Liara asks, her voice steely and determined.
Alenko blinks, taken aback by the ferocity in the asari's words. "No... no, Liara, you're obviously one of the most intelligent people I have come across," he says. "And you are making it quite clear you are no longer that timid, frightened girl we encountered in those Therum mines."
"Do you think I am stupid for placing unconditional trust in Shepard?" Liara asks.
"You love her," Kaidan replies quietly.
"That simply means that I am risking all that much more if she truly turns out to be a Cerberus tool, like you seem to believe. I worried that Cerberus will rebuild her as something else despite their assurances," Liara speaks, the memories of those dark days causing her to stop, struggling with her emotions. "But I have touched the depths of her mind, Kaidan. She is the same Commander Shepard that you knew and trusted. You can dismiss what I am telling you, you can believe that my feelings make me blind, but I am telling you the truth."
Kaidan manages a small smile. "She is... very fortunate to have you, Liara."
"She does tell me that constantly. I suppose she truly feels that way," Liara smiles back, blushing a little. "So, does that mean..."
"We cannot afford any more doubts, Liara. Not with this war around us... I had already decided to place my trust with the Commander even before you came to convince me," Kaidan says.
"And... now I went and ruined everything?" Liara asks hesitantly. "Goddess, I have the worst timing in the galaxy with these things, I swear!"
Kaidan breaks out in laughter. "No, Liara. You did not make anything worse. Only better."
"I have to say, that Bau is quite smart, the way he put together it was this very same intel the Spectres were after years ago," Kasumi speaks, as together with Shepard they walk all the way back from the docking bays to the hanar embassy. The petite thief had shown up immediately after Shepard had parted with her fellow Spectre, predictably having been within the earshot the whole time. "I thought it was safe to leak the intel from Keiji's greybox now, was I right to do so?" she asks Shepard.
"Yeah, that was the right call," Morgan replies. "Especially now that we know there really is an indoctrinated jellyfish slithering around."
"We don't need them crazier than usual, do we?" Kasumi chuckles. "I'm just glad that Bau latched onto that intel and didn't dismiss it. Ah, I shouldn't have doubted him, he's a good Spectre. The galaxy needs more like him."
"You really do seem to approve of him," Shepard says, feeling a mite surprised. "Considering he's been chasing you for years, that's... a little unexpected."
"Well, nobody's perfect. I can forgive him that little character flaw," Kasumi grins. "It has been a fun chase, though. Sometimes it has almost felt like some strange wooing ritual."
"And maybe, just maybe, you more than just approve of him," Shepard winks, watching Kasumi blush slightly. At least it's good to see she's no longer stuck in the past with Keiji's memory or blaming herself for Jacob's death, Morgan decides.
"Please, Shepard!" Kasumi protests cheekily. "He's still quite serious about arresting me, you know."
"Fortunately I will be there to protect you and grant you immunity," Shepard grins at her.
"If I join up against the Reapers? No thanks, I think I'd rather let Bau drag me to some dusty cell," Kasumi shakes her head vehemently.
"I wasn't planning to ask anything in return, but I like how you think!"
"Pah, you are no fun, Shepard!" Kasumi complains. "Oh, we're almost there, I better disappear or Bau might get some ideas. I'll be nearby just in case!" she says, quickly activating her cloaking to hide.
"There you are, Commander," Bau greets her with a nod, before pointing to the doors leading to the hanar embassy. "Zymandis is inside. Shall we get to it?"
"Yeah, let's crack some skulls-... no wait, that doesn't work with jellyfish," Shepard grins, patting the holstered pistol on her hip and then heading towards the entrance, Bau sticking close to her. Inside, a hanar is wobbling nearby some computer terminals, and several sleazy looking human thugs posing as guards are discreetly leaning against the walls. "Zymandis?" Shepard asks to attract the hanar's attention.
"Or should we say Regards the Works of the Enkindlers in Despair?" Bau cuts in, causing the hanar to shuffle around to face them at the mention of its soul name.
"It seems this one has been apprehended, but confinement is irrelevant. The work of the Enkindlers cannot be stopped," the hanar says in its watery voice. "We must serve the Enkindlers, even as they became the Collectors. And since the Collectors serve the Reapers..."
"Indoctrination makes for the most hilarious leaps of logic," Shepard says angrily, pulling her pistol and aiming it at Zymandis. "Well, we're not letting you endanger this station or your own people. Step away from the consoles, you big, stupid jellyfish!"
"Your belief in your victory is mistaken," Zymandis replies, even if he does step away from the computer terminal. "Our planetary defenses are largely automated. They can be disabled with a single virus. Which I just uploaded."
"Damnation!" Bau exclaims. "Wait… a virus would be detected unless sent on the low priority channels! I might be able to block the upload..." the salarian activates his omni-tool, but before he can do anything, one of the hired human thugs rushes him and wraps his hands around Bau's throat, trying to strangle him.
"Help him! I'll take care of the virus!" Kasumi shouts, breaking her cloaking and darting towards the nearest console as Shepard takes a single step before punching the guard heavily on the side of the chin, watching him collapse with a groan. Bau and Shepard draw their pistols and quickly spray-paint the opposing wall with Zymandis' sloshing innards.
"I got it!" Kasumi exclaims victoriously, frantically working on the consoles. "Upload disabled. But hey... what's this, some kind of failsafe. Uh-oh, get down!"
There is a massive blast as the computer terminal explodes and as Morgan and Bau are both thrown off their feet, for a moment Shepard is genuinely worried about Kasumi's fate. "She was here the entire time!" Bau exclaims, getting back to his feet.
"Yeah, it would appear so," Shepard nods, her eyes scanning the room for any sign of Kasumi. "And she just gave her life to save the hanar homeworld."
"Really, Shepard," Bau says, giving her a surprisingly amused stare, before turning his attention back to the room, his eyes peering carefully in the farther corner. He brings up his omni-tool and pokes over it a bit. "If she gave her life, then where is her body? Unless... it is there..."
Suddenly there is a tiny electrical discharge and Kasumi's cloaking fades, revealing the startled thief. "Ow!" she glares, rubbing her hand. "That was not nice!"
"My apologies, miss Kasumi," Bau bows his head. "But I'm afraid you're under arrest."
"Hey! No way I'm letting you do that!" Shepard protests. "She helped me take down the Collectors, Kasumi is an old friend! I'm invoking my Spectre rights to grant her immunity."
Bau sighs theatrically. "Well, I suppose in that case I cannot stop you, Commander," he says, but then a broad grin slowly spreads on the salarian's face. "Though, I must admit, I was counting on you to do exactly that, Shepard. That was the only reason I invited you along in the first place."
Shepard stares at Bau with her mouth open in surprise, noticing that Kasumi's expression is very similar. "Uh... what?" Shepard manages.
"I knew that your presence would lure miss Kasumi out," Bau explains, looking very pleased with himself. "And I knew that you have worked together before. There was no way you were going to let me arrest her."
"But isn't that what you wanted all along?" Shepard blinks.
"Not really," Bau admits. "I wanted to create a set of circumstances where my obligations could no longer demand that I attempt to arrest miss Kasumi. Such as her being given immunity by another Spectre."
"But why go through all this?" Kasumi shakes her head, still looking a little confused.
Jondum Bau turns towards her, grinning as he takes a deep bow. "Because now I can invite the great Kasumi Goto to dinner without my duties getting in the way."
"Oh... wow, that was smooth..." Shepard says, then starting to laugh, shaking her head.
"Well, I can't really say no to someone who outplayed me like this, can I?" Kasumi also breaks into a grin. "Okay, you won this round, Mr. Bau."
"Most excellent. Apollo's Cafe, eight o'clock?"
Kasumi smiles in reply, looking genuinely happy. "I'll be there."
