Chapter 13

Illium Entertainment News Update - The latest entry in 6th Dimension Vids' Path of the Justicar vid series, subtitled 'Azure Avenger,' has been panned by critics across the galaxy. Reviewers slammed the vid for throwing aside long-established cannon in order to present an awkward, contrived story that appeared calculated to irritate long-time fans. Volus critic Greor Rebet said that while he saw the vid he would not be reviewing it because immediately after the screening he had an asari friend meld with him and erase his memories of having watched it.

Vass had driven the skycar at top speed for a good 10 minutes before Kirrahe softly told him that they were far enough away that they could safely slow down. The major added that smoke was coming from underneath the skycar and they really ought to see what the problem was before they went any further. Vass brought the car to a stop in a half-full lot near a residential area in Nos Astra's suburban sprawl. Even after they had stopped, it took Vass a few minutes before he was able to relax his grip on the skycar controls.

A quick check of the skycar's underside revealed that the mechanical problem was significant but not so bad that they couldn't limp back to the studio. The vehicle was a mess otherwise. Holes and scorchmarks from rifle fire were spread across a third of it. The front and side bumpers were bent inwards from the collisions with the mercs and long, deep scratches ran the length of the vehicle's left side.

Kirrahe looked at the vehicle and frowned. "Explaining this could be a bit difficult," he muttered.

"Can't we just tell truth? That a bunch of Eclipse mercs shot at us?" Vass asked.

The major inspected some of the gouges. "I'm afraid not. Too many questions would follow. When we get back to the studio, we act like nothing happened, is that understood?"

Vass just stared at the multitude of holes in the skycar. He tried to count but lost track after the number hit 20. He couldn't stop thinking about how narrowly he had escaped being killed. "I don't see how this doesn't result in people asking us questions. Lots of them," he eventually said in a hushed voice.

"There may be a way to avoid that," Kirrahe replied. The major brought up his omni-tool and tapped away for a few seconds before the device produced the familiar crackle of a communications lined being opened. "Yes, hello. This is Major Kirrahe... Oh, quite, well. Thank you. Could you please connect me to Dar Rarbin? I need to ask him for a favor..."

6th Dimension Vids' turian stunt coordinator Dar Rarbin pulled up in his skycar a good 20 minutes later than he had previously estimated to Major Kirrahe. "Sorry I made you guys wait. This is a pretty remote spot and harder to find than-," the turian abruptly stopped when spotted the shot-up skycar. "Spirits! What happened to your ride?!"

"It's a bit of a funny story, Dar," Kirrahe replied. "You see, young Solik here went out on a date today with Linia T'Pala, one of the asari maidens in the Blasto vid. He wanted to impress her and took her out to Nos Astra. Alas, he doesn't know the city that well and accidentally took her to one of the rougher downtown areas. When a person in a bar directed a crude remark at the actress, Solik demanded the individual apologize. Wanted to impress the asari, you know?" the major said, nudging the turnian in the ribs. "Unfortunately for Solik, the individual he attempted to teach manners to was an Eclipse merc. The individual rather forcefully said, 'No,' and when Solik then decided to leave the establishment, the merc went out to the parking lot with several buddies and unloaded on the skycar as Vass and Linia tried to leave. Solik called me for help and I realized we needed your assistance."

Rarbin looked over at Vass and burst out laughing. "Tried to show off for the girl and things didn't quite work out, huh? Ha!" The turian threw an arm over the young salarian's shoulder and drew him in for a brotherly hug. "Picking a fight with a Eclipse merc?! Didn't think you had it in ya, kid! You're alright, Solik, you know that?" Rarbin looked back over at Kirrahe. "Great story. But why did you call me out here and not one of the motor pool guys? I mean, I'm not the right person to fix this thing up."

Vass cleared his throat. "We were hoping you would take credit for the damage. If I take it back to the motor pool in this condition, they'll fire me for sure. My internship will be over. I won't be able to hang out with the major or all you great folks at the studio anymore. I've been having so much fun..."

Kirrahe chimed in. "You're the one person who could drive this skycar back to the studio in this state and no one would give it a second thought if you just said, 'I was testing out some ideas for action scenes.' You do that and we'll drive your skycar back and park it wherever you tell us to, then take a skycab the rest of the way."

Rarbin thought for the second, then shrugged. "Spirits, why not? I think I still owe the kid for that time I got him got knocked out cold on Soundstage 11 anyway." The turian leaned in to Vass and dropped his voice down to a mock-whisper. "How'd the date go otherwise?"

"Good ... I think," Vass replied.

Rarbin let out another roaring laugh and slapped Vass on the back. "Kid, when an asari maiden expresses interest in you, you follow up on that!" He gave the salarians the address of a garage he normally kept his skycar in then hopped into their battered one and drove off. Kirrahe and Vass took Rarbin's vehicle to the requested spot and then summoned a cab to take the major back to his downtown hotel.

"Hop in, Solik," the major said when the cab arrived. "I owe you a drink, at least. It'll also give us a chance to talk, if you'd like. I expect you might have some questions."

"For what it's worth, I thought you handled yourself pretty well today," Kirrahe said as he poured Vass a tall measure of asari brandy, then fixed himself one.

Vass took a sip and stared out the hotel room window at the Nos Astra skyline. Under normal circumstances, a compliment like that coming from Major Kirrahe would have set his heart soaring. But he felt overwhelmed just trying to process everything that had happened that day. Had he only made the trip with Linia T'Pala to see information broker Liara T'Soni that morning? It seemed like ages ago. He had so many questions that he didn't know where to start. After a few seconds he made up his mind. He would start from the beginning.

"So, Eclipse really is tied to to 6th Dimension Vids and you really are here undercover for the STG to investigate that?" Vass asked. "The mercs thought I was an agent as well. That's why they kidnapped me."

Kirrahe nodded slowly. "Yes. I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean for you to be in danger but I did know the mercs might jump to the conclusion that you were agent if we were seen together often enough. I tried to keep you near me most of the time so I could watch out for you. Obviously, I didn't do a good job of that today. In my defense it is commonly understood that when a pretty asari maiden asks to 'borrow' a young man for a day, you say 'yes' and do not interfere until she is ready to give him back. Or so I've been told several times."

The major's reference to Vass' asari friend Linia T'Pala brought a sudden realization to the shaken salarian. "How did you even know where to find me? Or even that I had been kidnapped? Linia headed back to the studio before the mercs caught me. Nobody could have known."

Kirrahe sank into a chair opposite Vass. "A few hours into what was supposed to be your date with Linia, she came tearing into the studio in the belief that they had resumed shooting scenes involving her character. But that wasn't the case. The shooting schedule hadn't changed. Somebody faked a message to her. She was livid, assumed it was a prank by one of the other actresses and was determined to find out who. She sought me out on the assumption that you were still stranded in Nos Astra and needed a lift back. As soon as she told me what happened, I realized the real purpose of the fake message must have been to separate you two. So I talked the studio motor pool into letting me borrow our regular skycar and headed into the city."

Vass mulled this over. "But how did you find the warehouse they dragged me off to?"

The major took a slug of brandy, then grinned sheepishly. "I planted a bug on your omni-tool when you weren't looking so I could trace your location. As I said, I knew there was a chance Eclipse might try something with you, so I deemed it a reasonable precaution."

"Why didn't you tell me any of this before?" Vass sputtered.

Kirrahe narrowed eyes and his tone grew more impatient. "Because my orders from the Special Tasks Group were to stay undercover. I'm on a spy mission, Vass. I can't give information away, even to a friend. You should know that. Besides, if I had told you anything that would have just increased the odds that Eclipse would try what they tried today. The only reason I'm telling you any of this now is because I know I'm not telling you anything that you haven't already figured out."

It was Vass' turn to get impatient. "Major, I was kidnapped, handcuffed, drugged, roughed up, thrown into a river and shot at. I, I ... killed a person today. I deserve to know more about what is really going on. You owe that to me."

The major mulled over his response for a few seconds. "Actually, it was most likely three people. I pretty sure the ones you hit with the skycar were banged up beyond anything that medi-gel could fix... Here's the issue, Solik. You're right, I do owe you more information but I am not authorized to give that to a private citizen. There is a workaround, if you are willing to go along with it. As a STG officer, I am authorized to recruit and deputize citizens of the Salarian Union if it aids my mission." Kirrahe took a sip of his brandy. "So, do you want to be a Special Tasks Group agent?"

Vass blinked. It had already been the wildest, most bizarre day of life. And the day clearly was not over yet. Being a STG agent was something he had daydreamed about for as long as he could remember. That opportunity was now right before him. "Am I qualified?" he finally replied in a halting voice.

A faint smile crept onto Kirrahe's face. "I think so. You're definitely loyal to the Salarian Union. You have basic intelligence-gathering skills - I know about your visits with Gianna Parasini and Liara T'Soni. You held up against an interrogation attempt as well as could be expected under the circumstances. You showed quick thinking during our escape and didn't hesitate to take out the enemies when that became necessary. And you left three dead mercenaries in an alleyway. You have the makings of a fine agent."

This is really happening, Vass thought to himself. He knocked back the remainder of his brandy. "Then I accept."

"Good, good," Kirrahe replied and began tapping away at his omni-tool. "I've just sent you the oath agents must accept. Recite it back to me. I'll note it in my mission report and, well, that's it. Sorry there isn't more of a ceremony but this is a field commission. Officially, you'll be an entry-level agent and I'll be your supervisor."

Vass nodded, still not entirely believing that this was actually happening. He pulled up the major's message, a four-paragraph oath, and began reading it aloud.

"I, Solik Vass, vow to defend the Salarian Union from all threats planetary and intergalactic, and to preserve and protect the salarian people, their culture and their institutions with my life, if necessary."

"I, Solik Vass, vow to obey the orders of The Directorate of the Special Tasks Group, to faithfully and to the best of my ability execute the missions assigned to me, regardless of the hardships, difficulties or dangers involved."

"I, Solik Vass, vow to be unseen and unheard, to operate from the shadows and to maintain the cloak of secrecy, to take the fight to the enemies of the Salarian Union through espionage, subterfuge & sabotage, to never divulge the Special Task Group's secrets, and to eliminate those sources that threaten such exposure."

He looked at the fourth and final paragraph and hesitated. Kirrahe spoke up when he saw Vass' baffled expression. "I know what you are thinking, but I am not playing a joke on you. That is, I swear, the final part of the official oath that all agents now must recite. There was an ... internal political dispute not long ago between the STG and our civilian leaders. It's a complicated story. Suffice to say it was deemed necessary by certain political figures to amend and update the oath. You do have to read it."

Vass sighed and continued.

"I, Solik Vass, vow to protect and defend Dalatrass Linron, to follow all orders from her explicitly and immediately, to attend to her person, to ensure her skycar is fueled, ready and recently washed and to walk her pet varren if so directed."

Kirrahe saluted him. "Congratulations, Agent Vass. Welcome to the Special Task Group."

Vass awkwardly saluted back. Kirrahe offered to pour him another drink but the offer was waived away. "My head is already spinning," Vass replied. "There's a million more questions I want to ask about today, about being an agent and ... other things but I'm also just plain exhausted. I'm just going to go back to the dormitory if that's okay."

Kirrahe took another sip and slowly nodded. "You're right, it *has* been a long day. We'll talk more about the STG and today's events later, I promise," he announced. "But before you go, there's also the matter of your first assignment as an STG agent. We have to figure out who sent that fake message to Linia. Whoever did it had her contact info, knew she wasn't at the studio that day, knew she was with you and knew how to make the fake alert look convincing, so it was probably somebody at 6th Dimension Vids. And that person is working with Eclipse."