"You're not making my life easy, Shepard. Firefights in the Wards, an all-out assault on Chora's Den?" the Human Ambassador listed off, frustration evident.
'I haven't even spoken yet, and already, I don't like him,' the Mandalorian thought, crossing their arms.
"Do you know how many-" he turned around to face the Commander but stopped as his gaze fell upon her. "Who's this? A Quarian? What are you up to, Shepard?"
And despite the ramifications, said Quarian wanted nothing more than to lay the Ambassador onto his ass. Shepard, however, beat her to the punch.
"This Quarian can help us bring down Saren. I would've told you that if you hadn't jumped down my throat," he said, glaring at the man.
'I like his style, he would've made for an excellent Mandalorian,' Zorah thought, smirking.
He had the decency to look embarrassed. "I apologize, Commander. This whole thing with Saren has me a bit on edge. Maybe we should start at the beginning, Miss…?"
"Zorah, Ambassador," she said. A few seconds went by, and he blinked, realizing that she did introduce herself.
"Just Zorah?" he asked, looking confused. Taking a quick glance around, Zorah noticed that he wasn't alone; the Turian – Garrus Vakarian, if memory serves – and Shepard were sporting the same look. Wrex was the only one that wasn't – and he had a smile on his face. He knows what's coming next.
"Yes."
The Ambassador hummed, pondering the circumstances. "In any case, we don't see many Quarians here. Why did you leave the flotilla?" he asked.
"I'm not a Quarian," she stated. "I might share their race, but I have never been one ever since they abandoned me."
The other man to the Ambassador's left – Captain Anderson – stepped forward. "Then, what are you, exactly?" he asked.
Zorah sighed, preparing to open a can of worms. "I am a Mandalorian," she said.
The reaction she got was expected; both Ambassador and Captain took a step back, concern and shock evident. Garrus also stepped back, more in awe rather than the emotions the Humans expressed. Wrex's grin broke into a full Krogan smile, enjoying the other's surprise.
But Shepard…his eyes narrowed. It wasn't hostile; more inquisitive than anything. 'Has he never heard of one, let alone see one before?' the Quarian pondered. If he hadn't, then it would be a first for her as well. The criminal underworld was all-too familiar with the deadly efficiency of the Mandalorians when they were on the hunt, and official channels knew better than to try and interfere with their work when they were spotted.
The Ambassador broke first. "I thought your people were to be detained if you were found out in Citadel Space," he stated.
"Ambassador, if that was the case, your C-Sec cells would be far emptier," she said. "I've been working alongside them and other bounty handlers in exchange for amnesty, regardless of what I'm being paid."
The man was about to argue, but Anderson put a hand on his shoulder, and shook his head. "Let's get back on track. How are you connected to this whole situation?" he asked.
"I was turning in a bounty prior to now, when I received a distress signal from a colony planet. Geth were raiding the colony, which doesn't fit their MO, so I got curious," she started.
"What do you mean 'doesn't fit their MO?' The Geth we saw had a clear and present MO that involved killing humans," the Ambassador said.
"I'll get to that, and don't interrupt me again, Ambassador," the Quarian barked out. The man had the mind to look at the floor. "I waited for one unit to separate from it's cluster, then siphoned all the information I could from it."
"What did you find?" Shepard asked.
"A lot, Commander: These Geth in particular separated from the main Consensus to follow Saren and something they call the 'Old Machine,'" the Mandalorian answered. "While I'm not certain of this Old Machine, something I did find is about our dear friend." Pulling out her Omni-Tool, she tapped a few buttons and played the recording.
"Eden Prime was a major victory! The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit." 'I can't wait to tear him apart.'
"That's Saren's voice. This proves he was involved in the attack!" Anderson stated. Zorah noted a tinge of vitriol from the Captain, perhaps a grudge? 'Don't worry, I'll leave a piece for you when I'm done,' she thought evilly.
"Saren won't get out of this one," Shepard added, a grin forming.
"There's more; Saren wasn't working alone," the Quarian stated, and replayed the recording, this time not pausing the woman's section.
"I don't recognize that other voice. The one talking about Reapers," the Ambassador said.
"I feel like I've heard that name before…" Shepard added, sounding off to the Mandalorian.
"The information I pulled list the Reapers as a hyper-advanced machine race that existed fifty-thousand years ago," Zorah replied. "They hunted the Protheans to total extinction, then vanished without a trace. Wait…" She began rapidly tapping at her Omni-Tool, searching for links between the Geth's description of the Old Machines and the Reapers mentioned.
The holes in her theory were present – something that could be fixed if she harvested more of these units for similar information – but the link existed; they were one and the same.
"That sounds quite far-fetched," the Ambassador said, very uncertain. As the Mandalorian was about to spit back at the man, Shepard spoke up.
"The vision on Eden Prime –" 'Vision? He also used a beacon? How strong is he?' " – I understand it now. I saw the Protheans being wiped out by the Reapers," he stated.
"I did a bit of research with this data; these Geth revere the Reapers as gods, calling them Old Machines," she began. "and that they are the pinnacle of non-organic life. This explains why they're following Saren, they believe he can bring them back."
"The Council is just going to love this…" the Ambassador muttered.
"If the Reapers did drive the Protheans to extinction, then they are a threat to every species in Citadel space. We have to tell them," Shepard said.
"No matter what they think about the rest of this, those audio files prove Saren's a traitor," Anderson agreed. Silently, Zorah sent a copy of the information to the Ambassador's terminal. 'Sorry, Broker, but it looks like you're too slow this time.'
"The captain's right. We need to present this to the Council right away," he said.
"What about the Mandalorian?" Wrex asked.
"Far as I came along, I kept in mind that my luck wouldn't last forever," the Quarian said. "I made quite possibly a risk that will result in my end soon. I'll have to face the Council for outing myself, but I will perish with the knowledge that I helped save the galaxy."
"What makes you so certain that you'll die, Zorah?" Shepard asked, concern showing in his voice.
"Mandalorians are legally exiled from all of Citadel space, only allowed entry to jump between Mass Relays," Garrus answered. "If they're caught, they're detained and put in C-Sec cells to be processed and returned to either their homeworld of origin or a colony. And considering the targets on our backs…"
"I'll end up on page four with the title 'Quarian prisoner died mysteriously in C-Sec custody,'" she finished for the Turian.
"I won't let that happen, Zorah. You have my word," the Commander stated firmly.
For a second, the Mandalorian was rendered speechless. A Human, someone that doesn't know of the Mandalorians or anything about her, was willing to put his career at risk just to protect her? Sure, it was something like what C-Sec does, but she considers them business partners more than anything else.
'He holds a great sense of confidence in his demeanor and words. Quite standard for Systems Alliance military, but with him…it feels different…' she thought.
"I appreciate the offer, Commander, but I highly doubt you can sway the Council's decision on the matter," she replied.
"Maybe our Commander can't, but I can," the Ambassador said. "The information you provided is more than likely to convince them otherwise. Anderson and I will get things ready with the Council. Take a few minutes to collect yourself, then meet us in the Tower." Both men left the office, leaving the other four to consider the fate of the Mandalorian in the room.
"If your Ambassador is good on his word, Commander, then he's good in my book," Zorah said, turning towards Shepard.
"You don't like him?"
"As far as first impressions go, he's an annoying dick," she stated bluntly, to which Garrus and Wrex chuckled at.
"He can be…critical, most of the time," Shepard lamely admitted.
"Commander, I've seen people be critical over a great deal of things, ranging from a proper weld to the minute detail of how a sniper scope should be measured for the best magnification to account for bullet drop and resistance," the Quarian said. "That's not critical; that's just arrogance and hot air.
"But, again, if he convinces them to not lock me up for Saren to kill easily, I'll have no problems with him."
Through some excellent convincing on Shepard's part, Zorah agreed to join him in meeting the Council at the Tower, her excuse of getting it out of the way being disregarded.
As she stood next to him, listening to the three Councilors debate on the existence of the Reapers – damn politics – they shelved the topic to focus on Saren's betrayal, stripping him of status and resources with the damning evidence. But, in doing so, they needed another, and their focus landed on the one person that brought it in: Shepard.
The Mandalorian smiled as she watched the Commander be inducted into the elite task force of the Council and given the directive to hunt down the traitor and bring him to justice. But it also marked an ominous feeling within; now that they have their newest soldier to do their dirty work, she felt her odds of survival dwindle. It wasn't out of fear, but morose contentment; she gave the Human Spectre the power necessary to do the job requested and felt ready for judgement.
Something that the Council had in mind.
"Mandalorian, step forth," the Turian Councilor commanded. Shepard took a step back, allowing the Quarian to take his place.
"Your presence here in Citadel space is still illegal entry. Have you forgotten the decree the Council has established those years ago?" he asked with a tone of fury.
"I have been regaled the decree by the Conclave, Councilor," she replied without hesitation. "But I still felt a desire to do right by the galaxy, despite this ruling. I will readily pay the cost of my transgression, as I feel no regret for what I have done."
The Turian Councilor blinked, not expecting the Mandalorian to willingly submit. The Asari Councilor took advantage of his hesitation.
"Do you truly believe that you are to be punished?" she asked.
"That is the main rule placed upon the Conclave at their exile, Councilor. I would not expect anything less."
It put a damp mood on the Council, the trio looking at each other for comment. The Salarian Councilor broke the silence after some time.
"While following the rules we've placed upon your people is of noteworthy honor, your presence here isn't exactly news, either," the Councilor began. "Reports of a highly-armed bounty hunter cleaning the galaxy and assisting C-Sec in jobs they cannot touch for some time have been circulating the news. Putting a few feelers out there only led to greater rumors of the hunter in question, and you standing here now only confirms them."
"Your desire to assist in keeping not just Citadel space secure, but the other systems in the galaxy as well have been regarded by many as a turning point for opinions on the Mandalorians as a whole," the Asari continued. "If the rest of your Conclave is naught but a fragment of what you are, then we believe that your exile has gone on long enough."
'What? Are they…?'
"Mandalorian, we know your work in the bounty field, so we given time to establish this contract," the Turian Councilor added. "The target is none other than Saren. While we have Shepard hunting him down as well, we believe having multiple hunters on him will cause Saren to make a mistake and flush him out faster."
Zorah was, once again, glad for the mask, as everyone couldn't see how wide her eyes had become. A Council Bounty: They wouldn't do that unless the situation demanded it. Blinking the stars out of her eyes, she snapped out of her trance and fell into a professional state.
"I have a grudge against him anyways, so your timing couldn't be better, Councilors. How do you want him brought in?" she asked.
"Alive if at all possible," the Turian Councilor answered. "If you cannot detain him alive, then we will live with his death."
"Doable. What's the price?"
"Dead or alive, Mandalorian, we will lift the exile order on the Conclave as a whole; your people will be allowed to travel through Citadel space once more," the Asari stated.
Once again, she had to will herself to breathe. A chance to free her people from exile…it was an offer she couldn't refuse.
"I accept this bounty, Councilors, with my humblest gratitude," Zorah stated.
The elevator down to the Presidium was filled with anticipation, both emanating from the newly minted Spectre and the Mandalorian. Both were given a similar task, both would bring the galaxy peace, and bring honor to their people.
This also meant that they would part ways – something that wasn't sitting right with the Quarian.
'In the short amount of time that I've known him, Shepard has surprised me at every turn, showing force when necessary, but also proven to be quite the honorable man of his species,' she thought. 'I doubt I would find any boredom if I was to fight alongside him, yet I have my own duty ahead of me, as the Conclave must know of this the moment I return to my ship.'
"Penny for your thoughts?" the Commander asked.
Zorah turned to look at the Human. "Planning for the next step when I return to my ship," she said. This appeared to surprise him as he leaned back a bit.
"You have your own ship? That must have cost a small fortune," he replied.
"It wasn't. It was a gift from the Conclave, as I have done my fair share of work for them," Zorah corrected. "Asking the price would've made me feel terrible, and probably work it off to the point where they would end up remodeling it."
"Knowing your work, you've probably paid it off with some to spare," Shepard said with a chuckle. His smile was gone a second later. "So…you're not going to come with us, then?"
'Was that…?' "I'm sorry, Shepard, but I have my own duty. If I had not revealed my presence to the Council, I would have asked in the Ambassador's office," she replied, her voice flat.
"I'll be sorry to see you go, Mando. In fact," He tapped a few buttons on his Omni-Tool and held it out before the Quarian. "if you ever need to get into contact with me, don't hesitate. My offer for you to join will always stand."
She looked at the address given and copied it to her own Omni-Tool. "I'll…keep that in mind, Commander…thank you."
Zorah couldn't help but continue to stare at the address she was given. It was the first time anyone willingly gave their contact information out of any form of kindness – or perhaps it was leverage? She shook her head, dispelling the thought.
'Even if there was something to gain, I highly doubt that the Commander would exploit it readily,' she assured herself. 'His actions alone define his honor, and the badge it holds shines brightly.'
The elevator dinged as it reached the top – Bay D32, where the Mar'Vasj was currently docked in. She got distracted by one person; if the other Mandalorians saw her now, they'd be laughing. Blinking hard for one second, she stepped out of the elevator –
And saw her world shatter.
While the structure of the ship was mostly intact, it was practically unusable in its current state; every glass panel that wasn't missing was in pieces, the hull had multiple sections warped or ripped off entirely, one of the engines was on the floor, and she didn't even need to step inside to see that the wiring of the place was torn apart.
Zorah gingerly stepped into the carcass, a level of sorrow and confusion awash on her posture. It took all her willpower to not collapse inside and scream; she had to make sure. Climbing up the ladder to the flight deck, she flipped a switch to try and get lights on – nothing.
It was scuttled. Cleanly, at that; the Mandalorian would be impressed if it wasn't her own ship.
Looking back in the bay, she noticed a foot sticking out from behind some barrels. Someone else was here, and they weren't OK. Diving out of the flight deck, she jogged towards the figure and saw that it was another human lying down – with a dart in their neck.
And they were waking up.
Zorah waited for them to blink away the drug-induced sleep, then picked them up forcefully. This caught the human's attention as the last of their exhaustion vanished.
"What. Happened," she said, barely restraining her rage.
"Wha-what? I-I-I don't know what you're talking about," the human replied, looking around the Mandalorian. Upon their eyes landing on the Mar'Vasj, their face paled.
"What the hell happened. You don't have much time left," Zorah stated, her hands tightening their grip on their shirt.
"Oh…oh god…I…I just…I have no idea-"
"ANSWER ME!" A pistol was at their head, primed to fire.
"Mando! Wait, please! I truly have no idea! I came in here to do basic maintenance checks on your shuttle, then I felt something bite my neck; next thing I know, I'm waking up to you, please don't kill me, I don't know who did this, I'm so sorry…" they began to ramble and pray, but the Mandalorian didn't hear them. There was only one explanation:
Saren. That damned Turian's carapace will be mounted on the underside of the flight deck if it's the last thing she did.
Zorah lowered both the gun and the human, calming down slightly. "I'm…sorry. The ship…it's important to me," she said morosely, cutting through their rant. "I have an idea as to who did it, and I will make them pay dearly for this transgression. Until then, I need an estimate on repairs."
The dockworker blinked rapidly for a moment, then glanced at the ship. "Ma'am, I…I don't know what to say. That ship is practically scrapped, I don't know if it's even possible to fix it up," they said uncertainly.
"If it is possible, what would be the estimate?" the Mandalorian asked.
The worker lowered their head in thought, silently counting out the numbers on her hand. Looking up, her expression was grim: "Six months, at least."
Zorah, in frozen silence, stumbled backwards into a railing, and caught herself. 'Six…all my life away from the Conclave, that ship got me out of so much trouble. And now, it's been reduced to this…the Contract…damnit…' It was over before it even began. She couldn't hunt down Saren to exact vengeance, couldn't contact the Conclave for assistance, and Shepard must have left by now…
…wait.
"My offer for you to join will always stand."
Her expression lifted immediately. "If you get it done in six months' time, I'll see to it that you get a better job with the Mandalorian Conclave," she stated, surprising the worker.
"Bu-but it's only an estimate, ma'am! I don't know if I'm even right!" they stated, surprised and a little frightened.
"Then the best way to find out is to get started."
To her fortune, the Commander had not left yet; he was arranging an inspection with a Rear Admiral when the message came in. Exiting the elevator, she strode towards him, just as the Admiral walked out of the ship.
"Commander. I'm not happy," he began, voice already grating on her ears.
"I'm sorry to hear that, sir," Shepard replied.
"Who designed that CIC? Putting the commander aft of everyone else is inefficient," the Admiral ranted. "What if he needs to discuss with the operators at the bow?"
Taking a glance at the ship, Zorah noted that its sleek design was akin to Turian spacecraft, but with Systems Alliance colors. A collaboration?
"Modified Turian style," the Commander replied smoothly. "They prefer commanders looking over their subordinates, rather than in the middle of them. We wanted to see how effectively they can command with that setup." 'That was simple to figure out.'
"Hm. Reasonable goal. But they should have studied that in a lab rather than on a front-line warship," he retorted. "I had to shake my head at that drive core of yours. One-hundred-twenty billion credits of element zero to make this thing able to move without giving itself away."
'A stealth frigate? What kind of resources were provided to you, Commander?'
"You realize we could make drive cores for twelve-thousand fighters with that money? What good is it to hide for a few hours, anyway? Useless!"
Even a Foundling knew the benefits – if you lack information of the enemy, you won't know where to hit safely or defend readily without them charging at you with a battle cry.
"Men of limited vision said the same thing about early aircraft, submarines, and tanks," Shepard stated. Old Human vehicles?
"There's two ways I can take that, Commander. But that is true. I suppose the early U-boats weren't much better," the Admiral relented. "And we need to talk about your crew, Commander." This caught her attention.
"Krogan. Asari. Turians? What are you thinking, Commander? You can't allow alien nationals free access to Alliance equipment!" 'Great, not only is he annoying, but a xenophobe,' Zorah thought.
"Between Saren and the Geth, we have enough enemies out there," Shepard began. "Treating other species with suspicion and distrust won't win hearts and minds."
"That assumes the hearts and minds are worth winning." He started. "That hasn't been proven yet."
"Then you need to keep observing, Rear Admiral," the Mandalorian retorted, surprising both Humans. "Otherwise, you will never see the big picture."
The Admiral recovered quickly. "I think I see enough of the picture to know that this entire ship is a risk to Alliance security," he spat back. "And for the record, I don't believe you should be here."
"I was doing final checks with the docking authority, the Commander here had me leave prior to your arrival to confirm our leave," Zorah lied. Glancing at Shepard, she saw his eyes widen slightly, but level out as he returned his gaze to the Admiral.
"My crewmate here speaks truly, Admiral; there was a small issue with our communications equipment, and Zorah here could reach the authority the fastest," he stated boldly.
She allowed a smirk as the Admiral accepted the lie, mentioned how his report will not be as negative as it would have been and left the two in the docking bay. Shepard turned to the Mandalorian; an eyebrow raised.
"Your message didn't detail anything more than asking to come along, what happened to your ship?" the Commander asked.
"The bastard Saren must have some agents in the Citadel, as it was all but a frame when I returned to it," she said angrily. "He can take whatever shot at me and I'll be fine, but no one rips my ship apart and lives. Even if I didn't have a contract for the Council, I'd kill him for this transgression."
"So, this just became personal, then." Zorah noticed that it wasn't asked. "I'll see to it that if we run into him at some point, you get a shot in first."
"I have a few ideas in mind, Commander. How about we get off this station and deal with what comes first?" the Quarian stated.
"Can't wait to hear them," Shepard replied, turning towards the ship's airlock.
As she followed him in, she took note of two things: First, the ship's name; Normandy SR-1. 'Human-based, as I doubt that Turians would give this vessel that name.'
The second was the docking bay number: D24.
'…he stole my parking spot.'
To be honest, I didn't anticipate such a significant response to this story. I knew people liked Mandalorian, and Mass Effect is practically awesome except for one thing that we don't talk about cause fuck EA, but…damn. I guess some things just work…
I'll try to update weekly. If I can't post it, the latest chapter will have either an estimated release date or the newest chapter will go up in a day or two, whichever comes first.