If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be 'meetings' – Dave Barry

Irin – Pronounced similar to the girl's name 'Erin' – Zaeed Massani's shortened form of 'Iringù-Eßizkur'
Kaffe – equatorial Thessian vine, the seeds of which are used to produce a non-alcoholic beverage of the same
· · · · · · name, the taste described as a mix of coffee and chocolate. (Thessian/Source: CDN)
Ø7 – An allegedly discontinued vocational code in the Systems Alliance military.
· · · · The Ø designates covert operations; the 7 refers to the highest level of proficiency.

• AHN'KAHAR STATION, STRENUUS SYSTEM · HORSEHEAD NEBULA •

Dammit, Sammy! Griff sealed the compartment door against intrusion, turned on the lights, pulled on the heavy cloak with its deep hood, then sat in the chair to inspect his image on the monitor. Satisfied his identity would be safe, he thought, Vocal modulator: ON; Video modulator: ON. His new omnitool reacted to his mental commands, setting up the necessary electronics to enable the charade. In less than two minutes, an incoming signal sequentially triggered several relays; Buchanan growled his response. "This is the Shadow Broker." Not having seen her since before the war, he was surprised that she didn't appear to have aged a bit during the intervening years.

"Samantha Traynor has presented me with some damning evidence concerning two high-ranking Alliance officers, one of which is still very much alive on the Citadel. She tells me she is now employed by you as a member of your research team. Is that true?"

"Not that it is any concern of yours, General Park, but yes … I hired her immediately upon her separation from the Alliance Navy, which was grossly under-utilizing her talents. Has she caused some problem about which I should be aware?" Griff instantly knew his question had slightly embarrassed her; that she would contact the Broker to verify Traynor's assertions concerning her employment and research—her proof of Cerberus meddling in Alliance affairs—was highly irregular … before the Reaper war, no one in their right mind ever questioned information provided by the Shadow Broker.

Park's reply was slightly apologetic in tone. "Please forgive my doubts, and the intrusion, Shadow Broker. It just seems so unusual that Traynor would agree to work for you."

"Why would she not come to work for me? She is supremely talented, General … the absolute best at what she does." Griff chortled. "Would you have the Shadow Broker settle for lower tier researchers?" The question flummoxed the general for a moment; before she could formulate a reply, he said, "Rhetorical question, General. The Shadow Broker is the best at what he does, because only the best—from all over the galaxy—are employed, as researchers, as agents, …" here he darkened his tone. "… as enforcers. The reputation of the Shadow Broker is beyond reproach, and will always remain so."

Park sighed as she replied, "Thank you for your time, Shadow Broker. Again, my sincere apologies for this intrusion, and for my doubts concerning Samantha Traynor."

She broke the connection, leaving Griff wondering if he had adequately covered Sammy's ass. He sent a quick mental text to her omnitool, then sat back in his chair. Guess I'll know shortly.

• T'SONI COUNTRY ESTATE, ARMALI REPUBLIC · THESSIA •

Accompanied by Liara, General Park returned to the dining hall to find Rachaél and myself having a quiet conversation over steaming mugs of Kaffe; Garrus sat nearby with a mug of a reddish-purple liquid I knew to be a mixture of the turian equivalent of beet and carrot juice.

I covertly glanced at the message I'd just received from Griff; it consisted of just three question marks. Fortunately, I was able to mentally compose and send a reply of »STANDBY« without attracting notice.

RaeLee returned to her seat beside me and whispered, "Please forgive my seeming lack of faith in your story, Sammy; you'd think that after all this time I would know better. Still, I find it a bit odd that the most powerful data broker in the galaxy would allow you the freedom to pursue your own agenda."

"He recruited me, General. I made my mission to bring Sutton's and Fletcher's actions … their treachery while wearing Alliance uniforms … a non-negotiable condition of me consenting to work for him. Imagine my surprise when he agreed that the truth concerning these two bastards needed to see the cold light of day." I finished the last bit of Kaffe in my cup. "The primary reason the Shadow Broker has such a terrible reputation is because he doesn't deal in innuendo, rumors or lies … just unvarnished truth … something that's a very scary thing to most people, particularly those—like Jack Harper—whose entire existence revolved around promulgating falsehoods."

Garrus spoke up. "So, my assumption about you was incorrect, Sammy … still, you and Griffen Buchanan were assigned to discover exactly how Cerberus intended to assassinate Raherix Ursivus. You've known all this time," came the accusation. "Even on our voyage back from the edge of the galaxy, Samantha. Was a Spirits-be-damned piece of paper in your personal record the only reason you didn't tell me about this?"

I sighed. "I'm telling you about this now, Garrus; it wasn't something I could do while I was still in the damned Navy … and that's just one of several reasons I resigned. We transferred all of Liara's specialized equipment from the Normandy to Iringù-Eßizkur. You accompanied her to the Horsehead Nebula. After Shepard's physical existence was restored, Admiral Hackett wanted me to become an info broker for the Alliance Navy … use all the equipment inside Irin for the sole benefit of the Alliance."

I stood and paced about for a few moments, then added, "They would have eventually assigned someone to the job if I didn't volunteer … thing is, Iringù-Eßizkur is not Alliance property—or anyone's property—nor is the equipment inside her."

"Still doesn't explain why you couldn't tell me about Raherix Ursivus, Sammy," he grumped.

"Above my pay-grade back then. Griff and I were confined to quarters until after the ship—and Raherix Ursivus—was obliterated. And you wouldn't even know about this if Michael Moser Lang or Kelsey Winters had been successful in murdering me on Arcturus Station."

I turned on RaeLee, saying, "I distinctly remember telling you how much simpler it would have been if your fucking superiors had allowed us to stop Lang and save that ship! Unfortunately, it was too late for us to do anything after the fact, and I damned near paid the ultimate price for their decisions."

Park actually looked somewhat embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Samantha … I truly am. Above your pay grade? … Above mine as well, make no mistake." She turned towards Garrus. "Vakarian, what I truly need to know is what reparations the Hierarchy will require from the Alliance in order to put this matter behind us."

Garrus quietly growled for a moment before responding. "At a minimum, a million credits … each! … for the families of each of the people aboard that ship when it was destroyed, with a 250 million credit bonus to the family of Raherix Ursivus, since he was the primary target of the plot. A billion credits to be paid to the ship's manufacturer, for their damaged reputation and loss of business."

General Park's mouth fell open further upon hearing each of Vakarian's demands. When finally able to again give voice to her thoughts, she quietly said, "That's an enormous number of creds, Garrus. We kicked the turian's asses during the Relay 314 incident … is this plan designed to simply bankrupt the Systems Alliance military as payback for that?"

"Not in the least, General Park … furthest thing from my mind … or the Primarch's."

I quietly asked, "General Park? … a word? … in private?" I knew of something that would help the Alliance, but didn't wish to share what I had to say with Garrus … or Shepard.

• OMEGA STATION · OMEGA NEBULA, SAHRABARIK SYSTEM •

Tulana Varinian passed a talon through the red-glow of the haptic lock barring entrance to her commander's office. As second—a lieutenant—to Nyreen Kandros, Tulana was responsible for many of the day-to-day operations of the Talons; she knew her duties and did them well, so it was rare for her to be summoned to meet with her leader … rare, and just a bit troubling.

The haptic interface turned green and the hatch parted in the middle, allowing admittance. The female stepped into Kandros' office, noting not for the first time the sparseness of furnishings … the total lack of luxuries of any kind. Nyreen's office was virtually empty, containing nothing deemed to be impractical; there was a large desk, placed diagonally in a back corner of the compartment. A chair stood beside it … another chair across the space next to a free-standing lamp. Several small, mostly empty shelves were mounted on the two walls behind the desk. A large cabinet containing her armor and weapons stood to the side, just inside the doorway.

The overall impression had always been one of ruthless efficiency, as if possessing anything more than could be used by one person was an utterly selfish exercise in self-glorification.

Nyreen stood in greeting as her second approached her. "It's been a while since we've chatted, Tulana. Please," she indicated the chair with a small wave. "Have a seat." Nyreen poured water from a small pitcher into a tumbler and sat it at the edge of the desk for her. She poured a bit more into her own glass, then took a sip of the contents before retaking her seat.

Handing a datapad to her lieutenant, she said in a quiet tone, "Aria has tasked me with a mission to Illium … I'm to recover a person she's been tracking for a number of weeks."

Varinian studied the information on the device's small screen. "She found this person?"

Nyreen chuckled mirthlessly. "The Shadow Broker found her … Jona Sederis, living in exile on Illium, in Nos Aedelos. Her location was sold to Aria for a very high price … we need to make sure the only way she leaves Illium is dead, inside a stasis chamber."

"Sederis!? Eclipse will fight tooth and nail to prevent her capture or her death." Tulana studied her commander through narrowed eyes. "Why us? … why me?"

Nyreen placed her hands on the edge of her desk and leaned back. "I need the best soldiers we have for this mission, Tula, and I cannot leave the station. My absence would not go unnoticed by Eclipse – they have spies everywhere. But you …"

"I believe my absence would be noted as well," Varinian said. "And there's another problem. A group—no matter how small—of armed and armored turian females would be quite obvious in a asari majority population city like Nos Aedelos." Studying the datapad in her hand, she observed, "Even if we kept to the shadows at night, we'd be made before we could get within two or three klicks of Sederis' hiding place."

"So, what would you suggest we do?"

"Sounds as if the Eclipse contingent needs to be completely eliminated from Illium, Nyreen, and I think we'd need more than four or five of us to accomplish that." Tulana's flanging sub-harmonics were nearly inaudible as she thought about what needed to happen. "Why not hire a merc team … an asari merc team … through the Shadow Broker?"

Nyreen sat forward; leaning over forearms resting on the desk with elbows cupped in her hands, she replied, "Two problems with that … number one is, Aria wants Jona's head brought back to her … she wants to place it on a pike sitting in front of Afterlife." She looked down, shook her head slightly and huffed, before returning her gaze to Varinian's eyes. "I really don't think a dead asari's head mounted outside Afterlife would be good for business, but Aria generally gets what she wants, no matter the possible ramifications."

"What's the second problem?"

Nyreen flared her mandibles as she minutely shook her head. "The price Aria had to pay for Jona's location was rather high. From her point of view, having to employ a merc team to capture Sederis—when she already employs security personnel on this station—would simply add insult to injury."

"Let's go talk to her, Nyreen … we need to convince her that using the Talons for this would be a foolish waste of resources." Tulana sounded embarrassed when she quickly added, "And that sounded worse out loud than it did in my head, so I will not be telling Aria that using the Talons for a strike against the Eclipse is foolish."

Nyreen sighed in resignation. "She told me she loves me, Tula. Guess we'll discover if that's enough to keep her from using her biotics to smear me all over her walls."

Eyes glittering in barely controlled anger, Aria T'Loak attempted to rein in her biotics while struggling to understand why in hell her security chief was sitting in her office, suggesting she spend even more credits to put an end to Jona Sederis. "I gave you an assignment, Nyreen, yet it would seem you and your second are not up to the task. Can you explain to my satisfaction why I should hire mercenaries to put an end to the Eclipse on Illium?"

Nyreen, having learned long ago to never show fear in the face of Aria's volatility, calmly replied, "Talon members are all turians, Aria. You want to eliminate an asari target, in a city populated by asari, on an asari controlled planet." She quickly glanced at Varinian before directing her gaze back to the violet-blue face of her boss. "To get this done properly with the least amount of interference from Illium's authorities, you need an asari commando team."

Aria abruptly rose from her chair and began pacing around the small office. After several circuits, she asked in a seemingly calm voice, "Where in hell do I find such a team, Nyreen?"

"Contact the Shadow Broker's agent, Aria. If he doesn't know of a team, have him contact the Broker for that info. You provide a ship and clandestine support, the commandos can eliminate Jona Sederis and obliterate Eclipse from Illium. Your personal involvement is minimal, and you have plausible deniability should anyone get caught or killed during the operation."

"Since when have I worried about taking the blame for anything I decide to do?"

Nyreen stood; stepping into the queen's path to block her, she gently grasped her upper arms. "Aria, it's a different galaxy since the end of the war, even out here in the Terminus. You may be queen of Omega Station, but if authorities in Nos Aedelos think they can tie you to a bunch of murdered citizens—no matter their affiliation—they'll request the Galactic Council assign the Spectres to arrest and hold you for trial."

With a malevolent grin, she growled, "They can try."

Nyreen shook her head. "Aria, please." The turian used her hold on Aria's upper arms to gently close the distance between them until they stood cheek-to-mandible. Using only her sub-harmonics, she quietly observed, "This station has barely recovered from an occupation by Cerberus mechs, soldiers and abominations. They enslaved, abused and killed many hundreds of Omega's citizens. They damn near burned out the machinery that keeps this station going, all while that Oleg Petrovsky bastard sat on his ass in your loft playing chess … when he wasn't strutting around like some damned terrene ostrich. Do you really want more trouble?"

Aria stood, quiet as death and still as a statue for a number of moments, before using her hands on Nyreen's hips to gently place a few centimeters between them. Once again able to look into brilliant amethyst eyes, the asari touched her forehead to the turian's; with a heavy sigh, she said, "Dammit, Nyreen, look at me … look at what you've fucking done to me!" Shaking her head minutely, she continued, "I've grown soft, dammit. Between you and that self-righteous human Shepard, my edge is gone."

"Your so-called edge consisted of coarse abrasive," came the snarky rejoinder. "These days, you're a much more pleasant person to be around." She leaned in, gently placing her mouth against soft lips, which happily responded. Pulling back to take a breath, she resorted to pleading with her boss. "Contact the Broker, Aria. I feel sure he will be able to point you to a trustworthy merc team … a team that can capture Sederis and eliminate Eclipse from Illium."

Once again, Aria stood absolutely still as she thought about her security chief's request. After several moments, she sighed. "Okay, Nyreen. I'll contact Jipaw Zilorno … have him set up a call to the Broker for me."

• T'SONI COUNTRY ESTATE, ARMALI REPUBLIC · THESSIA •

"Okay, Traynor … let's have it." The general and I had retreated to one of several small rooms in the enormous house and were sitting across from each other at a small table.

I clasped my hands together on the polished surface in front of me, saying, "RaeLee, I won't attempt to tell you how to proceed regarding Garrus's requests, but …"

"Requests? … you mean demands, don't you?" she interrupted. "I'm not privy to the financial health of the Systems Alliance, Sammy, but I have serious doubts about our ability to survive a payout of that magnitude."

With a grimace, I continued, " … but, I strongly suggest you tell him you'll take the matter under advisement. Cerberus spent over three decades bending the Alliance to do its will. They paid small fortunes to numerous people during that time. This conference is strictly off the record … that's the reason we're having it here at the T'Soni estate."

General Park was not happy. "Then how in hell did he come up with those numbers, Sammy. He must have some information concerning that ship … its value in 2182, the cost to business for the manufacturer. He didn't just pull those numbers out of his ass hoping we'd acquiesce, did he?"

With a chuckle, I replied, "Garrus Vakarian is the chief advisor to their Primarch, General. He's not some stupid politician trying to dazzle you with bullshit … I believe he knows exactly what that ship was worth and how much compensation each of those families should receive from the Systems Alliance, for what was, in reality, a terrorist act perpetrated by an agent working for Cerberus." I looked straight into her eyes; without flinching, I said, "Ultimately, the Alliance was complicit in that ship's destruction, but Cerberus was responsible for it … Cerberus should have to pay the penalty."

Her mouth fell open at that. "Just how do you propose we bill them for this, Sammy? The Illusive Man is long since dead … his organization scattered to the solar winds, galaxy-wide."

"Credits still exist, in various financial institutions across the galaxy; some are being utilized even today, by shell corporations that continue to operate as if Harper still sits on their boards." I handed her the datapad I'd been fiddling with, saying, "Haribon Military Industries, Cord-Hislop Aerospace, CDR Holdings, New Dawn Pharmaceuticals … there was even a bank purchased on Terra Nova."

A hopeful expression flitted across General Park's face as she studied the information on the datapad. "Do you believe there's a chance we can get at whatever credits Jack Harper had stashed away among those organizations?"

"I do. Certainly no harm in looking … see what's being hidden."

"Okay … let's go back out there. I'll talk to Garrus, see how much time he'll give me."

"I need to speak with him first, in private," I said. "Let's go find him."

I was sitting in the same chair as before, only now there was a turian with a terribly scarred face seated across from me. "General Park was a bit surprised by the amount of credits you're demanding from the Alliance, Garrus. I must confess to being a bit baffled myself. How in hell could you know an exact figure for each of the aggrieved parties when you only just learned of this?"

"Shepard told me why I was being asked to travel here, so I did a bit of research during the trip; each amount is based on an increase in value for each year since that ship was destroyed." With a flanging, sub-harmonic chortle, he added, "I'll admit to you, it's a negotiating tactic … set the bar high so we can come to a satisfactory agreement somewhere in the middle." He focused brilliant blue eyes on me as he asked, "And really, why would you even care if the Alliance goes down the financial shitter, Sammy? Didn't they treat you like shit your entire career?"

"Really?" He actually drew back slightly at the change in my facial expression. "How I was treated during my time in the Navy is not what we're here to discuss, Garrus." I lowered the timbre of my voice as I angrily stared at him. "And this meeting isn't about bankrupting the Alliance for the destruction of one goddamned ship, either. I've been sitting on this fucking information since 2182! The only thing compelling me to inform you of this is my desire to see Admiral Fletcher earn the condemnation his actions would have garnered had he not taken the coward's way out by eating a bullet. I just as easily could have suppressed this information until my own death!"

Garrus leaned back towards me and sighed. "I apologize, Samantha. You shared a bit of your Ø7 program history with me on our trip back from the edge of the galaxy. Apparently, you developed a plan to prevent the destruction of the Anixara, and this Admiral Fletcher put a stop to the mission before you could complete it."

I slid the OSD I had recorded for Garrus across the table. "There's the proof, Garrus. All of Fletcher's comms with The Illusive Man … those relating to the Anixara are indexed so they're easy to find." I growled, "The final recording in there is of him speaking to the Arcturus Station CO, telling—no, virtually ordering him—to find a way to kill Michael Moser Lang and implicate me in his murder, after which I was supposed to die during their attempt to take me into custody."

The turian flared his mandibles as his mouth dropped open for a moment. Recovering quickly, he said, "I wasn't aware Cerberus—The Illusive Man in particular—wanted you dead, Sammy. Seems incredible just how wide their influence had spread." He sighed heavily. "I guess I owe you a big thanks on behalf of the Hierarchy. And your General Park appears to be someone who cannot be swayed by credits, which is as rare now as it was then. If it hadn't been for her assigning you this mission back then, the answers to the ship's disappearance would have never been known, much less seen the light of day."

"So, now that you have a few more facts, can we get back to negotiating a realistic settlement?"

Before I could rejoin Shepard, Garrus, and General Park, my omnitool lit up with an incoming text message from Iringù-Eßizkur. »The Shadow Broker has a comms call from Omega Station. Jipaw Zilorno is calling on behalf of Aria T'Loak. He will reconnect with her when you are ready to respond.«

I thanked her, then sent a quick text to Spectre Shepard as I changed direction and walked a bit faster. Griff must have placed some incoming calls in a forwarding queue, knowing there were some questions to which only I could provide intelligent answers.

In less than ten minutes I had reached Irin's dull black form and ridden the null-gravity tube into her structure. I quickly donned my cloak and sat down as I silently commanded the special lights and vocal modulator to power up. I checked my image—displayed in the lower corner of the large monitor in front of me—then used a thought to have my omnitool reconnect with Zilorno on Omega. "This is the Shadow Broker."

Appearing as nervous as he had during our previous interaction, he anxiously stated, "Shadow Broker … I will connect you with Aria T'Loak."

"What does she need that you are unable … or incapable … of delivering, salarian?"

The already large eyes went even wider. "Please, Sir. She would not tell me why she needed to speak with you again so soon." He dry-washed his hands as he waited for an explosion … one I chose to save for another time.

"Make the connection, Zilorno." As I watched, the image cross-faded into a rather disgruntled looking asari that was not used to waiting … for anyone, or anything. "Aria T'Loak. What does the pirate queen of Omega need from me today? Surely you haven't discovered the info I sold you was lacking in any way?"

"Your information was—as always—exceedingly accurate and complete. What I need now is an accomplished and discrete extraction team for a job on Illium. My chief of station security suggested I contact you."

"And why might Nyreen Kandros think I would be able to assist you in this matter?" I watched in amusement as one brow marking rose in surprise when I dropped Nyreen's name.

Recovering quickly, she replied, "She suggested that an all-asari team would be better suited for a clandestine mission to Nos Aedelos. Obviously, the vast majority of the city's population is asari; Kandros feels that a turian strike team would stand out like a bonfire on a dark night … an opinion with which I reluctantly find myself in total agreement. So, are you able to provide me with a team? … one that can deliver positive results?"

My mind was spinning furiously as Aria told me what she needed. Making sure my voice still sounded even, I replied, "Stand by while I consult my records." Without waiting for an answer, I blanked the live feed and opened a file I'd recently received from Liara, in which she had given me the names of a number of mercenaries that worked for the Broker; of these, a number were asari. In less than thirty seconds, I had an answer for Omega's queen; I resumed the live feed and told her, "Captain Roshida B'Sayle. She leads a five-member team of exceptional skill … and discretion. I'll place them on Omega … you provide transportation to Illium and back, plus backend technical support."

"Weapons and armor?"

"They have all their own equipment." I could see a bit of doubt creeping into her expression, so I said, "You called the Shadow Broker, T'Loak. There are more than a few highly trained teams I could assign, but none as likely to achieve success as B'Sayle and her commandos. Of course, if you'd rather take your chances with unknowns … or Tulana Varinian and her team of Talons …" I let the thought trail off as I watched her eyes widen slightly.

That I knew the name of Nyreen's second on the station shouldn't have surprised her, yet it did, and Aria did not like being surprised … I could hear it in her voice as she replied, "That you know so much about my station's security chiefs does not make me happy, Shadow Broker … it makes me suspect you have spies among my people."

"Nonsense! You make no effort to hide those turians or their positions as your employees, and none of the Talons, despite possessing considerable biotic talents, are nearly as skilled in wet-work as these six asari."

How much will this team cost me, Shadow Broker? My pockets are not exceedingly deep, particularly after paying you for the location of Sederis!"

I countered with a question of my own. "How much longer can Omega afford the continued decline in the wholesale price of refined Eezo, Aria T'Loak? Jona Sederis is selling illegally obtained product—mostly at your expense—and laughing all the way to the bank."

I could envision the wheels turning as she thought about what I had said. The doubts in her expression transformed into steely resolve in a heartbeat. "Send them. Have B'Sayle contact Varinian when they arrive, but do it quietly. My participation in this little exercise must remain undisclosed, is that understood?"

"Perfectly. I'll make the call."

• AT LARGE, CHARLIE WARD · CITADEL, WIDOW SYSTEM •

Roshida B'Sayle had just completed her late-morning workout and was walking to her quarters when her omnitool activated; of some surprise, the origin code displayed the unmistakable logo of the Shadow Broker. Haven't heard from that bastard in quite some time … there must be a shit-storm in need of a boot up its ass if the Broker is calling me. She detoured to the small comms compartment, rechecked the origin of the caller just to be sure, then punched the ACCEPT control. "Shadow Broker?"

"Captain B'Sayle. I have a contract for you and your team; location is Illium, Nos Aedelos. You will first travel to Omega Station; once there, contact Tulana Varinian … she's the lieutenant for the station's security chief and Talons' leader, Nyreen Kandros. Varinian will be in charge of getting you to Illium and providing last minute mission requirements."

"Did the Talons research this assignment?"

"Information I provided to them will be provided to you as well. Varinian did not feel comfortable leading a turian team into a city with a majority asari population … an opinion with which I find I am in agreement." The Broker paused, then added, "Once there, you will be entirely on your own. The primary target is Jona Sederis; secondary targets are Eclipse members in the city … all of them. Eclipse should be terminated with extreme prejudice."

"Does your omission of a certain asari's name mean that this exercise is not sanctioned?"

"No. That person is the petitioner; with the exception of providing round-trip transportation for your team, they prefer to have no outward involvement." The Broker paused to transmit the research on Sederis, Eclipse and the amounts of pilfered Eezo, along with the estimated credits the crazed asari had been paid for the stolen resource. "I just passed on all the data collected on this matter. Take time to study it all … even the smallest detail may prove critical to your success."

The Sentinel cocked her head. "If I agree to take this mission, when do we leave for Omega?"

"The Harashi is docked and awaiting your arrival."

B'Sayle grinned as she snarked, "You must be pretty damned sure we'll accept this job."

"You are currently between assignments, Captain. This is an opportunity for you and your team to take on a mission while maintaining your anonymity … your independence … from Shadow Broker operations. There is a distinct advantage to preventing the total collapse of the Eezo market galaxy-wide, and this will help preserve your mercenary reputation. I believe it will ultimately prove beneficial to us both, in addition to our … unnamed client."

Roshida shook her head slightly, then huffed and replied, "We'll grab our gear and leave."

"Excellent, Captain. I'll inform Nyreen and Tulana."

A double-rap of knuckles on the door frame and a "Captain?" brought Roshida's head up to look at her Lieutenant. With a slight smile, she replied, "Come on in, Celia. You may as well start getting your gear ready for deployment."

Lieutenant Celia M'Creno had seen the equipment list and already had some questions. "I know we're going to Omega Station, and will be flying on to Nos Aedelos from there, but …" she trailed off, perhaps hoping her captain would interrupt her; when she remained silent, the adept continued, "… but, the specified targets are asari, Captain. Do we really need all the additional hardware to take down a few Eclipse mercenaries? Won't biotics suffice?"

"Normally, I'd say yes … but we're six against forty-five or fifty or so. My instructions are to terminate every Eclipse sister in that city; the weapons will make that a lot easier, especially as they will assuredly be armed with pistols and assault rifles." Roshida grasped her lieutenant's upper arm. "Any of us being injured or killed on this mission is not acceptable, Celia."

"Understood, Captain." She moved to the weapons lockers and retrieved her M9 Tempest submachine gun, inspected the heat-sink ejection mechanism by cycling it twice, then tucked it in her kit bag along with a number of spare heat sinks. She also stashed a number of energy bars, Eezo-enhanced water rations and several containers of medi-gel.

She interestedly watched as the huntresses, Catalina T'Gelvos and Condella Selani, each added a slender, long-bladed asari-made sword to their own packs. She had rarely witnessed either one use those blades, but when they did, it was poetry in motion as they charged towards a target with biotics enhanced speed and used that power to swing their special blades. Celia had also witnessed the gruesome results of a few of those blade attacks … amputations, or decapitations, depending on where the strike landed.

Their huntress/infiltrator, Erinna Thyria, always traveled light, preferring to equip only an Acolyte pistol and an M-77 Paladin heavy pistol; she employed the former to strip shields and barriers from her opponents, while using the latter for its ability as an accurate, long-range heavy-hitter. Her biotics emphasized the use of Dark Channel to inflict heavy, continuous damage to an enemy at a distance, ensuring a greatly weakened enemy up close.

Their designated sniper, Joya S'Raxia, was quite tall and extremely well-muscled for an asari; she had spent a lot of time developing her upper body strength, to the point where she could effortlessly heft and accurately fire her massive Black Widow rifle. To prevent the weapon's massive recoil from dislocating her shoulder every time she pulled the trigger, she wore customized leathers that featured shock-absorbing padding in the right shoulder area. She was also equipped with an augmented tactical cloak; while a bit power-hungry, it enabled a 40 percent increase in damage when the rifle was fired while the cloak was active. Celia had seen the results of some of Joy's cloaked shots; all were less than attractive for whomever she targeted.

When everyone had packed their gear, the five team members gathered around B'Sayle for a preliminary briefing. "Our transport vessel for this stage is the Harashi… it's parked nearby at the private space-dock awaiting our arrival. All of you have been with me long enough to know this, but I'll say it anyway; do not arrive at that dock all grouped together. We're going after Eclipse; they're based on Omega, but I'm not so naive as to believe they do not have spies here that monitor ship traffic to that station."

Celia asked, "Won't our presence on Omega be noted?"

"Possibly, but we'll only be there long enough to board the ship taking us to Illium. Once we're in Nos Aedelos, I expect our presence may be a topic of some conversation, up until the time we drag Jona Sederis out of her lair." Roshida looked at each member of her team as she asked, "Any other questions?" After a few moments of silence, she said, "Okay. Let's get going."

• T'SONI COUNTRY ESTATE, ARMALI REPUBLIC · THESSIA •

I drew Liara aside before returning to my meeting so I could inform her of what was about to happen on Illium. Thankfully, she agreed with my choice to deploy a wet work squad to deal with Aria's problem. "Better to deal with it now, before Aria decides to become personally involved," she whispered. "Jona Sederis is more than aware of the risks she's taking by tweaking the queen's nose. It'll be a relief to have this Eezo piracy ended, but I worry that having Jona's head on a spike outside of Omega will be like waving a red flag at a charging Krogan. The Eclipse are not likely to treat the insult as anything less than a declaration of war." She paused to think about everything that was going to happen before simply concluding, "Best to merely do what she asks of you, Shadow Broker."

I nodded. "She's going out of her comfort zone by having the Talons stay close to home whilst allowing the Broker's chosen hit team to do the dirty work." I nodded as I said, "Be best for me to get back to it, Liara. I still need to visit T'Sere Shipyard while I'm here … inspect the Rebekah, learn how much the upgrades and repairs will cost."

Liara nodded as she said, "My thoughts are with you, Samantha. I hope you can help work something out that will benefit the Turians without penalizing the Alliance too harshly. If it brings you some long overdue justice, that's a plus. May the Goddess watch over you."

It was late afternoon by the time we wrapped up our discussions concerning the destruction of the Anixara. RaeLee and Garrus had come to a tentative agreement regarding the amount of credits the hierarchy would accept as payment for the ship's destruction with all souls on board.

All that was left for me now was a discussion with Shepard and the general concerning charges to be brought against the late Admiral Owen Fletcher and Commander Garrett Sutton. I handed a pair of OSDs to the Spectre, saying, "These have all the same information I gave to General Park … irrefutable proof of Sutton's and Fletcher's treasonous actions before and during the war."

General Park weighed in with, "You are in a position to bring Sutton to heel, Spectre. Those recordings have been independently verified as unedited accounts of his conversations with Jack Harper, going back to before the war … before Sovereign, even. He was working for Harper prior to the completion and dedication of Arcturus Station in 2162."

"I'll look at their conversations tonight before bed, General. I'll also need to consult with Admiral Hackett … make him aware of the shitstorm that's bearing down on Alliance brass. I don't think he'll like it … hell, I believe he will absolutely hate it! … the man's always been straight as they come. Finding out about all this crap in his own backyard? … hell, the Fifth Fleet was based in Arcturus, for Goddess sake!"

I nodded as I stood to go back to my room. "I truly wish you had been on Arcturus with me just before my reassignment to the Normandy SR-1 project, Rachaél. Sutton came within a whisker of losing his head." Looking down at my calf-mounted húdié dāo, I added, "Only one that's ever lost 'is head by my hand was that fuckin' roach inside Žiuk'Durmah. Sutton was lucky. Once these charges are filed and he's sitting in a cell awaiting court-martial, he may wish I'd been a bit angrier."

Shepard nodded without comment, and we each parted for a brief break before dinner was served.