HAH! APRIL FOOLS! You thought there won't be a chapter today, but there is!

Yeah, finally got around to finish this, and I really apologize for the long wait. With how things are right now, I've had plenty of time but I've been mainly working on my web-serial. I'm nearly done and it's awesome! I really hope you'd read it when I start releasing it.

But on the topic of how things are... not a lot to say. I'm home 24/7 beyond the occasional runs to the grocery store. Work gave us leave so thankfully I still get paid but my health has been in the shitter for the past 2 months. Thankfully it's not related to what's going on but I've been dealing with a serious throat infection 2 months ago (5 different bacteria and viruses in my throat, holy shit) and while most of it is gone, my general health took a hit, so I'm a bit sickly, but I'm getting better. I hope none of you and those close to you are personally suffering through what is going on and I sincerely hope that none of you will. Stay home everyone and keep yourself healthy!

Seriously. STAY. HOME. Don't go out. It's crazy outside so stay healthy!

So let me try to improve your mood with this chapter for a bit. Enjoy!


I wasn't actually trained in the use of a bow. I spent a couple of weeks learning to use what was possibly the shittiest and lousiest makeshift bow and if I managed to get to the point where I could hit a target with that piece of shit, I definitely had better chances with a professionally made bow.

Regardless of that, it didn't mean that I was a good shot. I was just good enough to hit a target if I really tried hard enough, the wind wasn't too strong, the target wasn't moving too fast and if I wasn't too far away.

To be frank, I kind of sucked. If I would be put against an actual bowman, I would lose every single time, probably across multiple timelines and dimensions. It wasn't a gun, which you could learn to properly use in a relatively short time span. It required a lot of practice, of which I just had a couple of weeks.

Which was why I was cheating the fuck out of the established system.

I wasn't very accurate? I had a VI that calculated every single variable and provided me the estimated trajectory with nearly pin-point accuracy. Wind and other environmental effect? Fuck that shit because my bow shot insanely heavy arrows – by arrow standards at least – at such speeds that they pretty much ignored such concepts at low to medium ranges.

With all these amazing things at my disposal, when I released my arrow, it travelled in a nearly-straight line and skewered the mech's head with a sharp crack and a shower of sparks, hitting with enough force to nearly tear it off the mech's body.

Not even a second later, a second arrow pierces the second mech's head and both mechs noisily collapsed on the walkway they were on.

I glanced to the side just long enough to see Ella's smug smile and start feeling annoyed. She didn't say anything, but I knew she was judging me. Well, maybe if she would've taught me better, I wouldn't have to resort to cheats in order to hit something.

Shoving my annoyance to the back of my mind I focused on the task at hand as we started moving out. "Start the assault," I say over the comms as Ella nocked another arrow and let it loose, nailing a security camera that was located further away on the walkway. It wasn't pointing at us right now, but it might change any moment now. "Sam, keep marking targets for us but don't fire yet. We've got a minute or two before they figure out what's going on and mobilize to defend. Once that happens, pick your targets and fire at will."

The mechs were connected to the facility's security system and it was reasonable to assume that they were all controlled from a security station of some kind, which was more than likely manned by someone. It wouldn't take them more than a minute to notice that the mechs and security cameras were dropping one by one.

"Roger that," Sam answered and two red spots appeared on my HUD at the same time as two others vanished in the area where Honda was supposed to be. Good, Honda was already laying waste to them.

We entered the premises of the facility without issues, something which was extremely simple seeing as no one had bothered to erect any security walls, for which I was extremely thankful. The planet – the name of which I hadn't even bothered to learn beyond the system's name – was a spot of nowhere on the edge of Citadel space.

As such they obviously weren't expecting any attack as evident by the lack of even a chainlink fence around the place. Literally anyone could waltz in there but then again, who would even bother? By all accounts this facility was pretty much worthless for pirates or any criminal organization. At least until now, that is.

The whole place was set in such a fashion that it had a "main street" that began from the main facility, which was built into the crater wall, and continued all the way to the large landing pads on the other side, essentially cutting the compound in half with such facilities as the cafeteria and recreation room on one side and the barracks on the other.

At least from the look of the buildings on our side and their size, I was assuming we were approaching from the barracks side, darting between building and avoiding the main 'street' at all costs. If my hunch was correct, that place probably had a dozen of cameras pointed at it, though that number was steadily decreasing with the amount of arrows Ella had fired so far, effectively sniping out their eyes.

Another pair of red marks were approaching our position and by their hurried pace I assumed that they were no longer on their patrol routine and were actively searching us. No alarm though, which was strange.

I motioned to Ella to catch her attention and nocked an arrow, pulling back the bowstring in preparation. I moved to the corner of the building we were hiding behind and prepared myself, hearing the barely audible noise of Ella nocking her own arrow. I waited for just the right moment and moved out of cover just as two mechs stepped into view, immediately turning to face us.

Their reaction was horribly delayed to an embarrassing degree. There was a very good reason why LOKI mechs – and most security mechs for that matter – were to be considered as disposable cannon fodder against trained soldiers under most circumstances. They had a specific algorithm or whatever it was that they followed. Before they could fire, they always had to run the person they were seeing through their database to see if they were authorized to be there or not. The process took a couple of seconds at most and normally it was fine against civilians or common thieves, but against trained soldiers it was too long, especially in an ambush situation like the one I just sprung up on them.

The only way mech could be a credible threat is for someone to completely turn off their inhibitors, enabling them to just at anything that moves and for them to have superior numbers. The mechs I was facing off against had none of these.

By the time they raised their weapons to aim them at me, my arrow was already flying, whistling through the air to crash into the mech's visor with a thunderous crack that shattered the head into pieces. Ella's arrow – which followed mine with a barely a second between them – neatly sliced through the mech's neck, nearly decapitating it and leaving it hanging just by a couple of wires. Both mechs collapsed to the floor and not a second later an alarm klaxon started blaring through the compound.

And there's the alarm that was suspiciously missing until now.

"There we go," I muttered to myself, "Alright everyone, wipe out any mech you see. I have no idea how many more of them they have but it can't be a big number," I announced as Ella and I moved through the alleyway between the barracks building towards the main street, "Once people start coming out see if it's possible to take them out without killing them. If not then… ugh, shit happens," I finished with a grimace and peeked around the corner.

The main facility's main doors were now open and a trio of LOKI mech stepped out, followed by a handful of men dressed as security guards, all armed with assault rifles and hardsuits.

Nothing military grade or specialized, just basic gear straight from the conveyor belt. Not particularly threatening – obviously still dangerous – but nothing that would give us trouble.

I nock an arrow and take careful aim before I'm spotted. I let the arrow go and watch it fly through the air with a whistle to slam against a mech's shoulder. The mech was spun around from the force of the impact but it was still standing. "Fuck!" I hiss as I hide behind the building just as they began firing back, peppering my position with gunfire. I guess I still needed to calibrate the aim assist more. I was aiming at the mech's chest.

I waited until the staccato of cracks stopped for a moment before nocking another arrow. Speedshooting wasn't my thing and it unfortunately showed. I leaned out of cover – this also allowed me to see that the three mechs were advancing on my position while the five guards were taking cover near the main doors – and release the arrow, but it whizzed through the air between my target's neck and shoulder, completely missing. Not a second later I was fired upon and I had to lean back behind the wall.

"Goddamn mechs are –" I began to say but quickly noticed that I am, in fact, completely alone. Ella was nowhere in sight. "Godda—fucking ninjas!" I spat out and nocked another arrow, quickly glancing at the ammo counter on my HUD. Sixteen arrows left and one more clip on my belt. Thirty-six arrows in total.

Plenty enough to get used to this thing.

A particularly loud gunshot broke through the cacophony and I chanced a peek and saw that one of the mech was now lying motionless on the ground, head completely obliterated. I couldn't help but crack a smile at the sight. Sam finally joined in.

Another mech suddenly had its head explode into pieces and a split second later another loud crack from Sam's echoed through the air.

Right, no time to just gawk at the exploding mechs. I took aim at the last mech and fired, this time nailing it right in the middle of its chest, sending it toppling back to floor where it kept erratically twitching. That left me with only the humans.

Two of them retreated into the facility the moment Sam started firing, leaving me to deal with three of them. Neither Ella nor Honda were in sight, which filled me with hope and a bit of an annoyance. Honda's active camo tech messed up the squadsight program I had installed so I could track their location and since the guy spent most of his time invisible, it meant that I had no idea where he was half of that time.

Ella just pointedly refused to turn hers on, which was frustrating me to no end.

I leaned out of cover one more time and let loose another arrow, letting my shields tank their fire while I took aim and managed to nail one of the guards right in the chest before I had to dive back behind cover to let my shields refresh. I was not ashamed to admit that the bloodcurdling scream the guard let out made me flinch.

It's not like I haven't killed people before – by the gods I don't even know what my body count is at this point – but normally when I shoot people they die. The arrow had practically skewered him so the man would likely die in the end, but his screams were a telltale sign that it wasn't going to be a painless experience for him.

I forcibly banished these thoughts and refocused on the fact that I'm being shot at. I push the trigger button and another arrow extends out of the clip, ready to be nocked. I pull the bowstring back and lean out of cover to take another shot but a blur that comes rushing into sight stops me from doing that.

Honda circled around and attacked from their flank and while the remaining two guards were completely focused on me it left them completely open for the assassin's assault.

Something must have alerted the guard because he looked at Honda's direction but by the it was too late. There was a silvery flash, followed by Honda flickering into view and the guard's head separating from his shoulders, flying into the air with a spray of blood.

The second guard cried out in terror at the sight and shifted his weapon in the assassin's direction as Honda began to move in his direction.

He didn't need to.

An armor piercing arrow broke through the guard's armor with a loud crack of breaking armor plates, skewering him right through the heart. He collapsed with a chocked gasp and Honda visibly relaxed, flicking the blood off his sword with what was an unnecessarily complicated flourish.

I stepped fully out of cover and jogged my way over to him, spotting Ella doing the same from one of the buildings closer to the main entrance. "Took you long enough," I remarked to Honda as I approached him but all I got was a silent shrug from him, as if saying 'it happens'.

"Alex," Ella called out to me and turned to see her standing over the guard I shot. I approached her, looking down at the wounded guard. He was still moving, laying on his side and letting me easily see the arrow that pierced him all the way through. Judging by where it pierced him, his lung was punctured all the way through.

"Shit," I muttered quietly to myself, grimacing at the muffled wet wheezes that I hear through the man's helmet.

"You know how we operate," Ella quietly said, not looking away from the dying man, "we hunt, and we kill. Unnecessary suffering is… not something we approve of," she said to me.

I let out a heavy sigh and reached for the pistol strapped to my hip. One of the first lesson Ella had taught me in the jungle. It was a borderline… humane rule that she had. Always go for the kill and make it quick. To cause unwarranted suffering in the hunt was simply unnecessary.

"Sorry," I said and crouched before the downed man, pressing the pistol against his helmet. He didn't react in any way, even as I pulled the trigger. His body jerked once and he fell silent.

The apology was meaningless, I knew that, but it didn't feel right to me to just shoot someone like that when he was on the ground, even though I clearly understood the principals behind it. In a way it was mercy. If I want to kill someone, I ought to do it and not let them slowly bleed to death, drowning in their own blood.

I stood up and turned away from the man to face the main gate. Honda didn't react in any way and quietly moved to follow me. "Get ready. They probably set up someone defenses inside, though I don't expect it to be anything too serious," I warned as we moved to flank the door.

I triggered the holographic switch and the door slid open with a hiss, revealing… nothing.

It was an empty lobby, with a simple security checkpoint to log in the workers that would go back and forth throughout the day. It was completely devoid of life, with not a spec of defenses in sight. I check and then double checked for any signs of a trap but as far as I could see there was nothing awry with what I was seeing. I glanced at Honda, who occupied the opposite side of the door.

His featureless facemask turned in my direction and he only shrugged, apparently as confused as I was.

My initial thoughts were filled with suspicions that it was obviously trapped, possibly with explosives or defensive turrets… but then I reminded myself that I was dealing with rebellious miners.

"Suspicious," I muttered but stepped out of cover, holding my bow at the ready and slowly walked inside. The remaining guards had obviously retreated deeper inside but it seems so strange that they left this place unguarded.

"Who are you? State your business here!" a commanding male voice suddenly blared into life, almost making me jump. "We're giving you one chance to leave before we have to remove you by force."

Oh, now this was interesting. I looked around the room and quickly spotted the security camera that was pointed directly at us. "Sentinel Security. You bosses sent us to handle… an administration dispute that you happen to have here," I announce, not even needing to fake the confidence in my voice.

Someone from a strong position wouldn't resort to making demands after losing a firefight and likely the majority of his mechs. Either the guy was delusional and thought he could actually make demands, or he was trying to buy himself time to figure out how to stop us.

Alright, time to do the third option and pull a Shepard!

"I won't mince words with you. Your former employers have sent us here to kill all of you. We have total carte blanche so far as we're concerned, we can slaughter all of you and get away with it with no repercussions from anyone," I said, letting him know just how fucked his situation was, "but, I'm not exactly into senseless slaughter, if you get my drift."

Whoever was on the other side said nothing for a long time, to the point where I started considering just going along with the original plan and fight our way through when the man finally broke the silence, "What are you suggesting?"

I smirked in victory, though it remained hidden underneath my helmet. "Surrender and lay down your weapons and we won't harm anyone else," I stated my terms in a tone that hopefully brokered no argument.

"I refuse. Do you really think—"

Paragon interruption!

"Then you will all die!" I interrupt him, "I think you don't understand the position you're in. I'm offering you a way to stay alive. You've seen what happened to your people outside. The facility is surrounded and there is no way out for you, and you know that you won't be able to hold your position for long. You will lose."

Not exactly a total paragon speech, considering what I'm saying, but I'm totally trying to save his life!

It doesn't matter that I'm motivated mainly by the desire to get this over with as fast possible and avoid another fight. I'm still trying to save him!

There was another long stretch of silence after that and I suspected that he was probably debating with his colleagues over what he should do. After nearly two minutes of silence, the broadcast system crackled again. "We don't have any guarantees that you speak the truth. You could just shoot us the moment we surrender."

Gotcha! That kind of question meant that they were seriously considering it. "I'm getting paid the same amount whether you're alive or not," I replied with a shrug, "likewise, I don't have any guarantees that you'll follow through. You could say that you surrender to try luring us into a trap, so let's call it a show of mutual trust."

To emphasize my point I fold up my bow and return it to it's place on my back and hold both arms to my sides to show that I'm unarmed, "Like I said, I'm getting paid for taking this facility back and they don't care how I do it. I'm just offering you a solution that won't end up with you and your people dead."

That was it. That's the most I could offer him and now the only thing I could do was wait for him to accept.

The man on the other side let out a defeated sigh. "Very well. We surrender. We will be in the security office."

"Thank you. We will be there shortly," I say loudly and switch the external speakers off before continuing, "Fuck yeah," I quietly cheered into our comms. I could almost see that imaginary blue meter filling up with my paragon points.

"Congratulations," Ella remarked, though she didn't sound as excited as I was.

Ugh, bloodthirsty woman. "Alright, let's head inside. I've got the map right here," I said as I started walking past the security checkpoint and into the facility. It took some effort, but our employers eventually agreed to provide me with a barebones map of the main facility. I loaded it up and sent a couple of copies to Ella and Honda. "Stay on your guard just in case. They might get desperate and try to kill us anyway," I added as I lead the way.

The main facility wasn't really that big as far as commodities went. Security room, a small rec room to use between breaks and various rooms to house essential things such as generators, communications and whatever else was needed to run such a place. The security room wasn't too far inside, and it didn't take us more than a couple of minutes to reach it at the cautious pace I set for us.

The first thing that came into view was a man dressed in a security guard uniform which made me reach for a weapon, but I quickly stopped myself in time. He stood in front of the door to what the map informed was the security room, his arms held were at his sides, giving us a clear view that he was holding nothing.

"Good," I said, removing my hand from my pistol, making the guard release an audible breath of relief, "now, tell your friends to toss out their weapons out into the corridor."

The man looked into room and gave them a shaky nod. A moment later three assault rifles and handguns – all thankfully folded – were tossed out of the room to noisily land on the metal floor. The man then looked at me expectantly and I offered him a reassuring nod and staring walking over to him.

I took point and much to my pleasure Honda and Ella took positions at my sides without needing to be told. They were still visibly armed, though they kept their weapons pointed at the floor. The man retreated into the security room and I strolled in after him, carrying myself in a manner that I hoped conveyed that I now fucking owned the place.

Three more guards were inside, nervously looking at us as we entered, though one of them remained seated and was looking to be utterly defeated. "I take it you were the one I spoke with?" I asked him, taking note of how the other stood around him in an almost protective manner.

"Yes," he spoke, confirming my guess with the sound of his voice, "thank you for keeping your word."

"Likewise," I replied with a nod, "where are everyone else? This facility should have about sixty people in total."

"They're locked downstairs in the storage and generator rooms," the man responded.

I looked back at my teammates with a wordless request and Ella quickly gave a nod and headed over to check on them, leaving me with Honda. "So… what was the plan? You knew that Sonax would bring the hammer down," I asked, unable to keep back my curiosity.

"This would've set us for life…" the guy explained, not bothering to hide his bitterness, "we were digging down as usual but then we've found what looks Prothean ruins."

I quickly hold up my hand and wildly gesture him to stop, "Don't fucking tell me!" I order him, "I don't want or need you to tell me!"

Jesus fucking Christ, now this complicated this to whole new levels of bullshit. This is exactly what I didn't need!

"Some of it even looks like working tech down there, do you understand what I'm saying?" the man continued, giving me a very pointed look.

Oh, so this is what it is? He's trying to bribe me now. Well, too fucking late for that, jackass. "I understand that I'm looking for potential fifteen years in prison and enough fines to put me in debt for the next five lifetimes," I dryly respond, "I signed NDAs, so I can't do shit with this and I don't want to do anything. Last thing I need is to be doubleteamed by Sonax and the Council."

Hiding any Prothean discoveries, especially ones that involve tech was punishable by law. The Council would descend on me with their full political might and use me an example for future generations. Which bring me to the biggest question: what the fuck were Sonax doing? Since I didn't hear anything about this discovery so far, I could only assume they were hiding it… to which I was now complicit, though thankfully the NDAs I signed would keep me relatively safe.

Thank the gods the Council was a cesspool of bureaucratic hell. Just because of the NDA they couldn't do shit to me, but Sonax on the other hand… well, let's hope they won't get the urge to blackmail me over this shit.

"This is worth billions," the man pleaded, "maybe even trillions!"

That was probably true, I couldn't deny that. "Yeah, and I think you didn't consider that you probably won't live to enjoy them. These kinds of discoveries are serious business. It's not something that you can just sell to anyone."

"We contacted the Shadow Broker," he said and at that moment I was very sorry that I was wearing a helmet because the man couldn't see the utterly incredulous look I was giving him.

Yeah, this man was a complete idiot. We needed to get the fuck out of here, right now.

Thankfully at that moment Ella returned, accompanied by a large man in combat fatigues. "This is, apparently, the head of security," Ella reported, introducing us to the man, who was at least a head taller than me.

The guy didn't even look at us. He made a beeline to the still seated idiot and without any warning or hesitation, slammed a meaty fist into his face, knocking him out of the chair and down to the floor, where he remained motionless, completely knocked out. The other traitors backed away cautiously and no one moved to help the man on the floor. "Fucking traitor," he spat down on him before turning towards me, "Captain Santiago. Thank you for the assist," he introduced himself, offering me one of his beefy hands.

I shook his hand and offered him a nod, "Just doing my job," I replied with a shrug, "can you contact your superiors?" I asked.

He gave me a gruff nod in response, "That's what I was planning to do," he answered.

"Good. Because that idiot apparently contacted the Shadow Broker, or at least someone who works for him," I explained, pointing at the down idiot.

Santiago's eyes widened in alarm and his breath hitched, "He did what?" he incredulously asked, levelling another glare at the traitor.

"Yeah. Ask them to send in a goddamn army or something. Contact the Council. I don't fucking care. Can you handle this from here?" I asked.

This caused Santiago to give me an incredulous look. "You're not staying?"

Fuck no. I wasn't suicidal. "I'm sorry to say that no. That's way above our paygrade. I only have a single fireteam with me and none of us are equipped to handle something like this," that and I wasn't getting paid to tussle with the fucking Shadow Broker of all people.

Santiago grimaced but despite that nodded, "Understandable. I can handle it from here," he gruffly replied. The look he was giving me wasn't exactly the nicest one, but I couldn't care less about that.

"Great. In that case, go contact your employers while we lock these idiots up," I offered, feeling a little bad for just dumping everything on him with the worst news he could have heard.

Santiago said nothing in response, but he did angrily stomp his way out of the room, likely heading to the communication room they had down the hall. I looked at my teammates to see how they were responding to the situation, and though it was a useless venture with Honda, but Ella's reaction only solidified my decision. She looked calm, but the slightly widened eyes and tense body language told me enough to know that she fully supported my decision to get the fuck out of this system.

"Let's get these assholes locked up and leave," I said to them and turned to the 'captives', "Pick him up and let go," I ordered them and they hurriedly picked up their downed comrade.

As we corralled the prisoners to the storage rooms, a task made more difficult by the stream of glaring and cursing workers that came pouring out towards freedom, I opened a channel to Mar to ask for a quick pick up, "Did everything go well?" he asked as soon as I contacted him.

"Yeah, but we need extraction ASAP. The landing pads are clear for landing, so get here as fast as you can."

"It doesn't sound like everything went well," Mar muttered, tone making it obvious he wanted to know what was going on.

"I'll explain everything once you pick us up," I promised and returned to my squad channel, "Sam, get down to the landing pads. We're getting out of here as fast as possible."

"Got it. I've already heard it."

Good. No need to explain to her just how bad the situation is.

We escorted the prisoners the same storage room they used keep the other workers locked and after basically shoving them inside and locking the door we turned around and headed out as fast as possible. I didn't bother with goodbyes or talking with anyone, instead shoving our way through the throng of workers to reach outside.

Once we were outside I increased our pace into a light jog until we reached the landing pads and met up with Sam, who looked as nervous as I felt, which was saying a lot. It was rumored that the Shadow Broker had what was basically an army at his disposal, but I knew it as a fact from Liara's DLC in the second game.

Fortunately, we didn't have to wait for long as within five minutes the roar of engines broke through the sound of the jungle and the Mortifera appeared over the tree line, smoothly coming into landing position.

The moment the yacht landed and the boarding ramp descended we pretty much ran inside and I made a beeline towards the cockpit, though not before cursing the decontamination chamber like a madman for the thirty seconds it took to do its job. "Floor it, floor it, floor it!" I frantically ordered as I entered the cockpit and sat down in the co-pilot's seat.

"Floor? What?" Mar asked, looking at me in confusion.

"Get us the fuck off this planet and out of this system! One of the idiots here called the Shadow Broker."

Mar didn't need to be told more than that. His hands blurred into action, firing all liftoff sequences and within seconds the ship started moving. We both sat there in uncomfortable silence as Mar pointed the ship straight at the sky and throttled the engines to their fullest to get us off the planet.

I couldn't even enjoy the sight of the thinning clouds and the gradual shift from blue skies to stars and the black void of space. All I wanted was to get out of the system before the Shadow Broker sent a goddamn army to raid the place.

It was only when we jumped into FTL that I finally allowed myself to breathe out in relief, though it was a short lived moment of reprieve because I now needed to prepare myself to deal with Sonax.

There was no denying that it was highly unprofessional, I knew that very well, but I couldn't care less and I told as much to the Sonax spokesperson that was supposed to handle my report. I wasn't paid to handle the fucking Shadow Broker of all people, not with a single fireteam and not for that amount of money.

The spokesperson didn't sound all too upset by that – oh he was upset by the whole situation but thankfully not at us – and wired the credits to my account without issue, though with a very pointed reminder that we signed the NDAs and that there will be consequences should I tell anyone about what we've seen and heard there.

There wasn't really a need to remind me of that. I was more than happy to stay quiet and as far away as possible from that dumpster fire of a situation and the shitstorm just waiting to happen.

So with that immediate issue resolved we simply kicked back and relaxed while Mar flew us back to the Citadel.


"Finally," I yawned out as I stepped out of the ship and into the sterilized, stale air of the Citadel and stretched my body. I waved to the turian C-Sec officer looking at us from his security station – a wave which he awkwardly returned – as I walked down the bridge to the docks, followed by everyone else.

"So you got any plans?" I asked them as we walked towards the elevators. I've given them all a couple of days off for a job well done and I was somewhat curious whether they had any plans or not.

"Not really," Ella admitted, "I was thinking that maybe I could—" whatever it was that she was about to say was an interrupt by an alert from her omni-tool. A priority message alert. She gave me an apologetic look and quickly opened it up.

"I think I'm going on a shopping trip?" Sam took the cue to speak while Ella was busy with her message, "Morri wouldn't stop pestering me about it for the whole week, so I might as well do it just get it over with…"

I wasn't really paying attention to her. I was more focused on how Ella's face gradually paled the longer she read the message. Once she finished reading she offered me a weak, apologetic smile. "I… ah, I have to go."

My eyes narrowed in response as I gave her a suspicious look. "You need help again?" I asked her as we stepped into the elevator, seeing the similarities to what happened last time she needed to go somewhere like that.

Her eyes widened at that and she quickly shook her head in the negative, "No. Not this time. I might be gone for a while though. It's… important."

I carefully considered her words. What she meant to say was that she was probably going to receive a mission of some sort. Likely something shady. "I see," I finally responded, "be careful then."

She offered a halfhearted smile. "Don't worry about me."

And that was that. The elevator doors opened and Ella rushed out, probably running towards the skycab terminal.

"Okay… what was that?" Sam asked, staring after Ella with one eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"She has issues. And baggage," I replied with shrug. Not my secret to tell, so I wasn't going to say anything more than that.

"Ah. None of my business. Got it," Sam said with a nod of understanding.

I wasn't surprised that Sam understood what I was talking about. The girl had enough issues of her own that she wouldn't want to share. Same with every single one of us, come to think of it. "She'll deal with whatever it is and then come back as if nothing had happened," I eventually said with another shrug knowing that nothing could be done about it now. My omni-tool then let out an alert that I was getting a call. I quickly look at the contact info and see that it's Jorrun. "speaking of issue… hello Joe," I greet him.

"Yeah, since you're finally back, there was someone here for you earlier," Jorrun said, tone of voice exasperated. I wasn't even going to ask how he knew I got back and chalked it up to him asking people to be on the lookout, "could you direct them somewhere else for a change? I'm not your goddamn secretary."

"Hey, I actually do have an office and I don't tell anyone to come to the Den, not anymore at least," I defended myself, though calling it an office was a bit of a stretch at this point. It was a small office in our warehouse with a desk and a couple of chairs. It was a work in progress!

"I know. That's why I sent him over to your office. He told me you were expecting him," Joe replied and promptly hung up.

I ignored the fact that he hung up on me again in favor of focusing on what he said. Someone I should be expecting? The only thing I was expecting was… oh shit! That job from the Chairman! I turned to my two companions with a grimace, "Shit. I know I said you can have a couple of days off, but we might have a big job now. Really big and important stuff."

"I had no plans," was Honda's simple reply, never one to hide his lack of a social life.

"If it'd get me out of that shopping trip, I'm game," Sam offered.

I couldn't help but smile at them, "Thanks. I'll make it up to you later!" I promised and broke into a jog to reach the aircab terminal and few minutes later I was already flying towards the warehouse district.

This was happening faster than I expected. The Chairman said it would happen within a month, but it hadn't even been a week yet! I… wasn't sure if I was ready for it just yet, but it didn't look like I had a choice but to face it head on.

I fucking hate my life sometimes.

About ten minutes later the aircar landed in front of my warehouse and hurried inside. I walked inside but had to pause when I spotted Johnson and Tilben sitting one of the crates with a bunch of cards and… lunch? I had to stop for a moment to give them a puzzled look.

"What?" Johnson asked defensively, voice slightly muffed by the burger he was chewing.

"Why here?" I couldn't help but ask. There were literally thousands of better places they could use to eat and play cards.

Johnson thankfully swallowed his food before replying, "It's quiet here," was the simple answer, "at least it was until that old guy and you came over."

"Old guy?" I asked.

"Client, seems like. He said you were expecting him here," Tilben piped in, eyes completely transfixed on the cards in front of him, so much that he didn't even look at me since I entered.

"Right. Uh, enjoy your lunch," I said and continued moving towards my 'office'.

The man that waited for me inside was indeed old. Gray hair, receding hairline, wrinkled face and a pair of glasses, something which I haven't seen in a very, very long time. He wore a gray classical business suit, though it was noticeably old with how faded and worn it was, which created a strange contrast with the clean-shaven image the man had.

He was nervously pacing in the middle of the office when I entered but he immediately froze when he noticed me. We stood there for a moment, studying each other until the man broke the silence. "Ah, I take it you're Alexander?" he asked, offering me his hand, "A… mutual acquaintance recommended you."

The man had an accent, almost a Russian one. I shook his hand, noting his firm grip. "Tall, blonde, wearing a trench coat and an unbearable grin?" I asked.

"Correct," he confirmed, "though calling him an acquaintance is stretching the truth. I'm in a bit of trouble and he came out of nowhere to recommend you to me."

"And you listened to him?" I asked, not bothering to hide my incredulity, "that man is possibly the most suspicious person I know of."

The man chuckled at that. "True enough, but he knew things that he shouldn't, enough to convince me to give this a try."

"I see. In that case, have a seat. My name is Alex, as you already know," I said and gestured at the vacant chair, and moved to occupy my own, "so tell me what sort of trouble you're in and I'll see what we can do about it."

"Thank you. My name is Anton Orlov," he finally introduced himself, confirming to me that he was, indeed, Russian, "and I'm afraid that my life is in danger, along with my daughter's."

Daughter? Oh. Orlov and Orlova. Same family name but hers is the feminine variation. So, this was Vera Orlova's father? I was about to ask about it when the office door opened and Ella walked in. It took me one look at her to realize that something was very, very wrong.

She was deathly pale and breathing heavily, as if she ran all the way here. When she saw us she froze, eyes darting between me and Orlov. Shit, what happened?

"Ella? What's wrong?" I stood up and walked over to her.

"Alex," she quietly said, voice very nervous, which set off every single alarm bell in my head, "you need to get him out of here. Now."

"Why?" I asked in confusion. What did she mean by that? "what are you talking about? This is possibly the most important job we've had so far."

"I… I can't explain. You just need to make him leave, now. Please," she pleaded to an almost desperate degree, unknowingly turning all the alarm bells into a blaring siren. Something was very, very wrong.

Whatever was happening was bigger than I expected. I trusted Ella, but if she couldn't even explain this… I couldn't just take her word for it. Not with what was at stake.

This could be my shot to get my hands on something against the Reapers. This was too big. Bigger than me. I knew how the next two years would play out and I knew for certain that there was nothing done about the Reapers. The only thing that Shepard would accomplish was delay them for a few months and allow for some preparations to be made. A victory, but an inconsequential one.

It could be my chance to create some genuine positive change and possibly increase our chances against the Reapers, or in the best possible scenario, maybe even help us attain some kind of victory!

If that wasn't the reason I was in this universe… what was even the point of me being here? I never liked to think about it – I actively avoided thinking about it as much as possible – but this was my chance to prove that my presence here wasn't useless.

"I… can't," I finally said after a painfully silent minute, "I have to do this."

Ella closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, all the uncharacteristic nervousness was gone, replaced by the borderline blank expression I've seen on her whenever she was on the hunt. "I'm sorry."

That was the only warning I got.

There was a gunshot.

What?

It took me a second to realize what happened. Another second for the pain to kick in. My hand instinctively went to my stomach, where I felt my hot liquid start pouring out between my finger. A quick glance down confirmed the growling bloodstain on my shirt.

What?

Ella put one hand on my chest, almost gently so, and shoved me away from her. I tried to remain upright but my legs stumbled and I collapsed, back painfully hitting the wall.

Incomprehension.

She kept her gaze locked with mine – eyes filled with visible regret, something which I note with almost hysterical amusement – until I finally collapsed to the floor. Ella then tore her gaze away from me and in one smooth movement turned her pistol towards Anton Orlov.

The man released a deep, resigned sigh and closed his eyes just as Ella pulled the trigger one more time, spraying my desk and the back of my office with blood and brain matter.


Ouch. Yeah. This happened.

Things are heating up! Like I promised! We're finally here and it's getting exciting! ALSO: That one reviewer who thought it'd be Protheans? Congrats! You were right. Though it's not like it wasn't a hard guess. It's always Protheans :S

Hopefully the next chapter will be out earlier than this one, since I have no work and no one really knows how long this will last. So for now I'll pass the time writing, playing games and maybe start streaming on Twitch or something. Let me know if any of you are interested in watching me procrastinate in some games or something. As much as I love writing, I just can't do it 24/7 and I need breaks from time to time.

So thank you all for reading and for sticking around for so long! I appreciate it to unfathomable levels! Don't forget to leave a comment with a review to let me think or PM to let me know! I'm always happy to receive constructive criticism or just you general comments! I try to respond to all of them, but I always miss one or two so if I didn't respond to you last one, I apologize! So once more, thank you all for reading!

Until next time, Del