*****The Broken Reaper*****
Chapter 17: Awakening: The Visit, Part 3
Yeah, not much to say here, so let's get to reviews.
Blaze1992: In the ever immortal words of Jarjar Binks: how wude. *tries to sound snooty and arrogant* First, it was an incendiary bomb, and second, even if it was a normal one, which it wasn't (the shrapnel came from the carrying case, not the bomb itself), it still came close to getting the job done. Chemical bombs are messy and force people to ask a lot of questions about who made them, and questions mean investigations which no bomber-for-hire in their right mind would want; whereas firebombs or standard ones are harder to track down because pretty much anyone can make them with just ordinary hardware store supplies (or the ME equivalent anyway). PS: Still waiting on those tech ideas, but hey, take your time; I'm not going anywhere.
NovaSaber: *writes this chapter* Yeaahhhh, about them being 'near' dead.
Prometheus-777: [Covered in a PM]
Tom712: *grumbles about how he can't surprise someone that's seen it all* I'll show you, just wait! Somehow, someway, I'll do something you've never seen before! And when that day comes- *rants on for another 15 minutes* -so there! Also, you probably know more about halo than I do, because I haven't read any of the books (have seen the shorts though, some of those were awesome), but hey, I'll try to make it work; whenever I get around to investing serious effort into it that is.
I don't know about you guys, but I think what this needs right about now is a Valora segment. Tell you what, let's make it an entire chapter! Now, as I'm not a total jackass (ok, maybe a little), I'll cover what happened outside her POV in the next chapter, and I expect it to be the final entry for The Visit. After that….well, I've been going on about how Awakening is nearing it's finale, and to that end, the next several chapters will be made with that goal in mind; so I'm going to try and avoid my preference for lengthy, banter filled ones until the next arc. *sniffles* That said: ohohoho, I'm gonna have some fun with this one. In case I haven't mentioned it yet, I enjoy writing for Valora far more than I should.
Meanwhile, the Huntress Never Tells.
"-I'm telling you, it was the funniest shit I ever saw!" She finished the story, roars of laughter coming from the half-dozen or so people that were listening to it. Valora didn't expect to be let back into the joint after the mess she'd inadvertently caused the last time she was there, but when the bouncer saw her walk up to the entrance, he just laughed and said 'You must have quite the quad to come back here. Lucky for you, I respect that, and the owner doesn't turn away business from paying customers'.
The first mug of booze she downed felt like a bucket of water given to someone dying of thirst.
Unlike her previous visit, however, she had no intention of being carried out between a pair of cops this time around, so she cut herself off after the fourth mug. Just enough to make me relax, not quite enough to leave me a rambling drunk. Ahh, nothing like an hour or two swapping stories with my fellow patrons.
She was about to start another entertaining tale from her rapidly growing collection when her attention was grabbed by a holoscreen on a nearby wall that showed a familiar building with smoke coming out of it's roof; the view from what must've been an aircar. An explosion on top of Tower 343? But that means….
She couldn't finish the thought, dread gripping her at what it implied, and spoke while gesturing to the screen; trying not to sound too concerned. "Hey bartender, can you turn that up?"
The asari that was both the owner and bartender, a relatively young matron in her 300's, nodded her head and tapped a command on her omni-tool a few times. Eventually, it was loud enough to be heard; and Valora tipped her a few credits for good measure while nodding in thanks.
She didn't like what the reporter was saying one bit, and for once, it wasn't because of any inherent disgust with their lack of basic honesty; the asari voice on the other end tinged with a bit of worry. "-is unknown if anyone was injured in the explosion, as the sole elevator leading to floor 127 mysteriously malfunctioned less than a minute after it went off. C-Sec has yet to arrive on scene and-wait a moment. What's that shuttle doing? It doesn't appear to be an ambulance."
Sure enough, a sight she'd gotten all-too familiar with pulled up next to the penthouse balcony; showing an older turian combat shuttle painted silver and blue blocking the cameraman's view, to the obvious distress of the reporter. The aircar they were in swerved around to another angle, and showed the last person to get inside the transport just before it's doors slid shut. "I'm….not sure, but I think that was Major Meldos of the Turian Hierarchy." a muffled salarian voice could be heard, probably the cameramen "According to my partner, it was the Major. What could've happened here? Is this where he's been living ever since the failed attempt on Councilor Campascus' life?"
She sounded honestly confused, if a little surprised at learning where he did indeed live as it wasn't exactly widespread information, but Valora ignored it entirely; slapping down a credit chit that would cover her drinks and then some as she ran out the bar's entrance. A couple people in the small crowd that had gathered around her yelled out 'Where you going!?', but she didn't have time to answer, not that she would've anyway.
It took a minute or two to get to her destination: the elevator that had in a way become Ocean's pet project, and had also become quite possibly the most used on the Citadel if the crowds that typically gathered around it were anything to go by. Even with so many people using it, the increase in speed meant it was still less of a wait than any of the other elevators on the ancient station, but if the elcor had their way, it would be slowed down to 'safer levels' soon enough. Because of course the fucking high gravity herd animals want everybody else to be miserable for their own 'safety'. What, they can't handle moving faster than a fat volus? Well, a fatter than normal one that is.
The legal pushback against such an action was hodgepodge at best, but the fact there even was some showed how many people just wanted an elevator that took less than a salarian's lifetime to get anywhere. Either she turned out to be incredibly lucky and no one was using it at the moment, or it had just finished depositing it's passengers, as the thing was completely empty much to her relief.
As soon as the doors closed she stopped for a breath of air, having sprinted the entire time, to the confusion of several bystanders, and accessed her omni-tool's contacts list. It didn't take long to find the one she was looking for, so she slammed her fist on the available option shown by the elevator that took her to the nearest rapid transit terminal, which happened to be in the Presidium, and held down the 'close' button as the call went through; preferring not to let someone walk in on her. The voice that answered the call sounded incredibly tired; and considering who it belonged to, that worried her almost as much as first learning about her former, if temporary, home being blown up. "Hey, Valora. You've seen the news I take it?"
"You're goddess damned right I have! Athame's holy ass, what the fucking hell happened!"
"I see you're feeling particularly colorful today." he paused, which tended to be a bad sign from one of the squids in a situation like this, and gave a long sigh "To sum it up as best I can: we got lazy and stayed in the same place for too long. Our old 'friend' the Shadow Broke apparently decided to try getting rid of the people hunting for her, and conveniently sent us a 'present' during the party. We're moving the sniper to a safe house now, and Ocean managed to catch the person that delivered it; who we'll be taking with us while you finish the job."
"Wait just a fucking second; what job? And what did you mean by 'conveniently'?"
"Not counting Salonia, there were less than twenty people who knew when the party was taking place tonight, so there's only one possible way the Broker could've learned of it."
It didn't take her long to figure it out; having gotten a thorough education in 'undercover speak' from Setherus during one of the rare moments where she actually paid attention to what he said. "The bitch has a spy in one of the squad's."
"Precisely. With us leaving the Citadel, your job is to get whatever info you can from the sniper, and to clean house before the traitor can get off-station. I've already done a thorough search and every member is still here, so you'll need to start immediately to narrow them down. Even if they catch wind of you searching for them, trying to get away will only serve to broadcast who they are."
"You're leaving so soon? Why?"
He paused again, trepidation filling the gap, and eventually answered in such a quiet voice she had to hold the device closer to her ear to hear what he said. "When the bomb went off, Ocean and I had barely any warning, and we did what we could to protect the others. It…we should've just thrown it out the window, but there wasn't enough time to think it through, even for us, so we only managed to keep Calvatia and Salonia from being harmed when it detonated."
He's not saying what I think he is, is he? Deciding to find out, mostly to get a clear picture of it for better or worse, she asked the question that would either bring her great relief, or end the year with the loss of several recently made friends. "What about pointy, gramps, and newbie? Were they able to get into cover in time?"
"They're dead; the injuries they sustained killed Setherus around three minutes ago, and he was the last survivor." if not for what he said next, the elevator would've needed maintenance done to it thanks to the flare of biotics she intended to release "But I have an idea that might be able to bring them back."
"That being?" She demanded through gritted teeth.
"What do you remember about the process for making an infiltrator?"
10th month, 33rd day, 1027 CE, 6:59 GST, Warehouse District, Zakera Ward.
To say she was pissed at barely getting any sleep in her new living quarters would be a severe understatement. He couldn't have picked a nice hotel or apartment for the safe house, no, that would've been too easy; he went with a rundown, piece of shit, third tier, should've been torn down decades ago warehouse, that also happens to be over a kilometer away from the closest rapid transit car. *sigh* At least I only need to see three more guys to wrap up this fucking mole hunt.
Finally having finished the long walk, she got into the car and went to her first destination: a hotel where a former Marine corporal with the name of Marius Orotus, part of Lavaeus' squad, had rented a room until New Year's. The previous day, Valora spent close to fifteen hours finding and talking to nine of the twelve squad members on her list, and from what she could tell from their conversations and the way they'd acted, none of them were the traitor.
While she preferred to act boisterous and rash, there was a very good reason she used to be in charge of Besk's fledgling biotic division; having been chosen for the position ahead of several older maidens and matrons. That reason being she could read people better than most, and often put it to good use; after all, it was why she's come to trust Premalon and Ocean so thoroughly in such a relatively short period of time. At least, she hoped that was why she trusted them so much. Even if it was unintentional, subtle and harmless indoctrination was still indoctrination, and while she didn't feel any different, that was the whole point of it. The thought resulted in her overworked mind starting to hurt, and she grabbed her head with a hand to try and soothe it. That's just great, now I have a headache from the knots I've tied my brain into. Come on Valora, focus on the present, that always works.
And work it did, the slight headache disappearing in time for her to arrive. She got out of the car, briefly turning a few heads to see who it was, and promptly flipped them off; getting a couple glares before they went back to ignoring her, which was the intended result. Noting how successful she was in that regard, Valora smirked in satisfaction, and walked into the hotel lobby to ask the desk clerk where she could find Orotus. The volus gave her a quick once-over, and she couldn't tell thanks to the suit, but he seemed to appreciate what he saw. Works for me; if it means he's a little more 'helpful', I'm not complaining. A pity for him that his species isn't my type. Could never get around that whole ammonia biology thing. I mean at least turians can breathe the same air as the rest of us, and quarians have the advantage of looking like a muscular three-fingered asari; an attractive one at that. Well, ok, I might be slightly biased thanks to my last bondmate being one, but hey, that woman knew how to satisfy. So did her brother too now that I think about it. She just had to come home during the best part, didn't she? Uppity bitch didn't even let me get dressed before throwing me out.
Valora's musings about precisely why the woman was her last rather than current bondmate were brought to a halt when she stood in front of the diminutive alien; and he took a breath in the manner of his kind before speaking. "Greetings Thessia-clan, *kssh* what can I do for you?"
Deciding to play the part to the hilt, she leaned heavily on the counter, her form fitting armor an advantage in this scenario, and gave him a devious smile that had made even the most shy maiden blush in excitement. "Hi, could you tell me which room Marius Orotus is in? I'd greeaaatly appreciate it." She rolled her shoulders in time with the stretched greatly; smirking when she caught the glance of a nearby quarian janitor admiring the view.
The volus stared at her 'assets' for a second just shy of being rude, and brought his gaze back to her still smiling face. "I *ksssssshhhhhh* think I can help you with that. Room 229, take the stairs to get there, it's at the end of the hall. Would you *kssh* happen to be available when you're through with the turian?"
Before she could answer non-committedly, it wouldn't do to let the man think she was actually interested after all, a second volus came up behind him and smacked him on the head with a datapad; the newcomer's suit a dark purple and pink rather than the first's stereotypical black and white, and she, as it apparently was judging by the voice, almost sounded like an angry matriarch. "Alten Bunidy, if you think *kssh* that you can make eyes at every asari that walks in, I'll *kssh* buy your share of this hotel and put you to work *kssh* back in that shoe store! Now go *kssh* help the other customers before the children notice their father *kssh* ogling a random stranger!"
Even with the suit, Valora could tell he cringed; his chubby shoulders sagging like a kid caught stealing candy. "Yes, dear."
Once he was behind her back, he shook a small fist at her, and went over to another section of the welcome desk. Ah yes, the 'bonded couple that hate each other' cliché. Good to know we asari aren't the only ones that applies to.
Valora dropped the smile and replaced it with a neutral, if amused, expression to keep from making an incident. The female took his place behind the counter and looked up at her, somehow translating displeasure without a facial expression to show it, and asked much the same question he had. "Can I help you?"
"No thanks, he already told me what I wanted to know. I'm visiting a coworker of mine while he's here." She said vaguely.
"Then good day, *kssh* Thessia-clan." Valora walked away towards the stairs after that, feeling the proverbial daggers thrown at her; the volus coming off as more angry about her not renting a room than flirting with the woman's apparent bondmate.
Once at the top of the stairs, she went to the end of the hall like the male said and rang the doorbell for room 229. It took longer than it should have for him to answer, and she started to get suspicious, but he eventually did; opening the door with his mandibles spread in a friendly smile, for a turian at least. Too friendly really. That's a mark against him.
"Sederis, Ma'am, to what do I owe the pleasure?" He asked after glancing at her waist, and more specifically, the Armax Arsenal Brawler she carried there; her having gotten a carry permit for the pistol within a week of arriving on the station. That makes two.
"Just checking up on the various squad members to see if they're prepared for when we leave the Citadel. Mind if I come in?"
"Of course; be my guest." He said while stepping away from the door; gesturing to the rest of the room with his left hand. She obliged, and walked in; noticing the bags on the bed, and how it looked like she interrupted them getting packed. Three marks already? They just don't make spies like they used too.
"Going somewhere are-" She got cut off thanks to two rounds being fired at the back of her head; glad that her armor's barriers were up. He must not have expected that, as when she spun around to lock him in a stasis, he'd already taken off down the hallway. Dammit, I should've noticed he was hiding his other hand the entire time! Stupid, fucking, secret agent stuff!
Her mental berating done with, she went after him; annoyed his species' natural speed was being put to good use as he jumped down the stairs four at a time, shoving people out of the way in the process. I hate chasing turians; they can outrun mechs for fucks sake! Well guess what buddy, I can cheat too!
She channeled biotic energy in preparation for a charge, and released it once it reached it's peak; the ability bringing her to the top of the stairs in a flash of blue. The turian was nearly out the hotel's front entrance and briefly turned his head to look at her, running even faster once he had, and went out of sight with a left turn on the mostly empty street; the 'early morning' of the Citadel meaning not many people were on it at the moment. Oh no you don't!
She repeated the charge and shot through the open doors; finally at an advantage as Orotus was about to make another turn at the corner, so this time, she charged straight into him. He stumbled at the impact, and she realized too late that he was going to fall over the railing. She tried to grab his arm before he did, but failed to do so, and he started screaming at the top of his lungs as he slipped over the edge. Nononono, not gonna happen shitbag, not today!
She reached out with her biotics and 'caught' him, bringing his fall and screaming to an abrupt stop, and slowly began to 'reel him in'. He looked up at her, an almost funny mix of fear and relief openly displayed; only for an aircar to crash into him, sending his likely already dead body flying into a wall. The car slammed on the brakes as best it could, and the driver stuck their head out the window in obvious panic; looking at the dead turian in apparent shock.
"GODDESS FUCKING DAMMIT!" She yelled out in frustration, sighing angrily after she did. So close, so FUCKING CLOSE!
Valora took one last glance at the thoroughly pulped corpse that, if everything had gone according to plan, would currently be pumped full of a nanite dosage Hystuss left in a vial for her to use; eventually spilling every dirty little secret he held regarding his employer. I'll have to let the squids know that the mole died before I could catch him. Wait…I have an audience, don't I?
She turned around to find out, and just as she predicted, there were at least a dozen people that were watching her with wide eyes, even a couple recording it on their omni-tools. Weeelll shit, should probably ask them to get in touch with the Councilor while I'm at it. Looks like C-Sec is going to be covering up this mess as 'a tragic accident following an attempted shooting'. I hate my life right now…..
7:28 GST, back at the safe house.
"*siiiiggghhh* It can never be easy, can it?" He muttered, annoyance clearly shown on the face of his preferred 'avatar' even with the partial signal lag; the avatar in question being a holographic representation of his original body in one of the trascari's trademark black bodysuits, with a long ceremonial cape gently swaying in the digital 'breeze', also black, but with crisscrossing blue lines that formed a scale-like pattern that made it appear to have been crafted from the hide of a massive sea creature.
"No shit, genius. So, you gonna let Campascus know?"
"I think you can handle that personally."
"What? Why?!"
"Because I was in the middle of a simulated combat mission with the three…projects when you got in touch with me, and until they get used to the improved physical and mental abilities, I'm running the sims they live in at 20× speed to allow for more time to pass from their perspective." she opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off with a raised holographic hand "They're doing fine; their capacity to understand and adjust to such a unique situation has surpassed expectations, and the rebuilt bodies are nearly finished. The only reason it took longer than normal is because Ocean and I had to rework the process to ensure they wouldn't be turned into true infiltrators."
She released a held in breath; happy to hear the good news. "How's pointy taking it?"
"Are you kidding? The kid was salivating at all the tech upgrades he'll have access to once he's let back out!"
She shook her head, chuckling lightly. "Gramps and newbie?"
"Not quite as thrilled as him, but I think they don't mind; considering the alternative is being dead. Plus, there's the whole 'immortality' thing that comes with never aging and being immune to diseases, so they're not all that upset really; although I had to reassure Drutus his 'equipment' would still 'function'. Why the Reapers would leave that part of a species' body intact, I have no idea. Maybe it let's them experience and imitate what an organic feels during sex?" He said with a contemplative look, eventually shrugging; and she raised an eyebrow, wondering where this line of thought came from. Not that she didn't think of that kind of thing herself, obviously, it just wasn't what Hystuss typically brought up in a conversation.
"Learn anything from the bomber?"
"Less than I'd have preferred. She was a freelancer that got a job offer around an hour after we caught Gadena, probably as a result of Orotus telling the Broker about the party. No name given by the employer, big surprise there, only an address and a note telling her who I was and the message to deliver along with the bomb."
"So in other words: a dead end."
"Basically, yeah. Speaking of Gadena, have you had a 'talk' with our other 'guest' yet?"
"No, I was too busy yesterday and I haven't gotten around to it today."
"Then I'll leave you to it. Once you've gotten all you think you can out of her, just send a mission complete signal to me, and I'll let Campascus know you're going to see him."
So I'm actually going to meet a Councilor. Huh. Even for me, that's not something that happens every other day. Well shit, now I feel underdressed. "How should I handle him? Just go in, let him know I've got the sniper locked up down here, and then cover what happened on the 31st in detail, no facts withheld?"
"Pretty much. Just leave out the part about how the three turians were temporarily killed and are being rebuilt; he doesn't need to be informed of everything I do, after all."
"Hey, whatever you want, boss." She said snarkily, earning a glare before he cut the transmission. That was easy. Hmm, I should keep that in mind if I want to distract him in the future. Alright, let's go pump the unlucky bitch for some information.
She got up and shut off the projector, no point in wasting electricity even if it was practically free thanks to advances in technology, and went to a closed door that led to the small 'interrogation room' in the safe house; really just an unused storage room with only one way in or out. Gadena was asleep, tied to the sole chair inside with omni-cuffs on each wrist and ankle, and looked like she hadn't even tried to escape in spite of being alone for over a day. I know that's a good thing in reality, I mean I wouldn't have been able to stop her from doing it, but it's freaky how indoctrination steals a person's free will like that.
She shook her head, deciding not to focus on it, and cleared her throat. It had the intended effect, as the other asari snapped her eyes open and rapidly took in her surroundings in a panic; only for them to glaze over after a few seconds like she was under the influence of a powerful drug.
Gadena lazily turned to look at her, barely registering anything else, and formed a smile that was somewhere in-between happy and confused. Now that she had her attention, Valora began the questioning; starting with a simple one to judge her reaction. "What's your full name, and how old are you?".
"Yaeez Gadena, 459 years and 8 months by Citadel standards." She said readily, as if pleased to mention it. Okay, so it does work. Let's go straight for the prize, then.
"Do you know who hired you to kill the turian Councilor?"
She shook her head, but not in the negative. "I wasn't hired to kill him; that's what the disposable krogan and paid off C-Sec officer were for. I was there to take out the surrounding guards to ensure they had the chance to finish their part of the hit." Well….I suppose that explains why she didn't shoot him outright when she had the opportunity. Still didn't answer, though.
"Who was the person that hired you?" She asked in a more stern voice, trying to send the point across that she should answer it directly. The sniper took the hint, and seemed to internally struggle for a moment; her face scrunching in pain. It went away, however, and was replaced with the calm expression once more.
"I was approached with the job offer by an old friend; you may have heard of her. Her name is-"
9:71 GST, Presidium, reception area of the Hierarchy Compound.
"Yeah, I have an appointment with the Councilor."
The receptionist tilted her head up, a scrutinizing gaze examining her body, and went back to what she was doing when she was through. "Name?"
"Blue Wallflower."
The turian squinted her eyes in suspicion, but checked anyway; blinking after a few seconds passed. "Ah, you're on the special visitors list, my apologies. Pardon me if this comes off as rude, but is it true he sometimes has more than one relationship at a time?"
Valora raised an eyebrow, wondering why the woman was asking her. Wait, did she say 'special visitors'? And when you combine that with the name I gave….oh fu-okay, anything except that particular word. I'll get you for this, trigger-happy.
"I wouldn't know, this is my first time." It took her less than a second to realize exactly what that sounded like, and she cringed. The receptionist, to her credit, just nodded sagely; unfazed by the answer.
"Don't worry: he's a kind hearted man, so you shouldn't have any issues." Probably thought I cringed because I'm afraid of…oh goddess, I don't even want to think about it.
While Valora was rather experienced in that 'field of expertise', she still had standards, albeit low ones, and agreeing to 'get it on' with someone she hadn't even met yet was a line she refused to cross. Rather than say all this out loud, she forced a reassured expression on her face; not wanting to come off as more suspicious than she already was.
The door to the turian's left slid open and she walked through, nodding in thanks, and the woman went back to work; although Valora noticed a shotgun underneath her desk as she passed. And that's how you know she's taking her job seriously. Now that I mention it though, I have yet to see a turian without at least a pistol somewhere nearby. I swear, the krogan are the only species I know that have a bigger hard-on for weapons in general; you'd think it was a cultural thing for them to own a gun! Then again, every single one of them spent, or is spending time in the military, so I suppose it's understandable.
She went for another minute through the winding hallway; noting the rectangular metal flower pots that could easily be used as barricades, the small wall cutouts as defensive positions, a dozen 'workers' that hid armor and assault rifles underneath their baggy clothes, easily deployable turrets hidden at every corner, and countless nearly unnoticeable doors perfectly built for ambushes. If one thing could be said about the building, it's that it could survive a war unscathed. Guess the attack urged them to increase security a bit. Still, some of this is going a little overboard; I mean do they expect an entire army to try invading?
She eventually reached a final door, with two ridiculously well armed turians outside of it in covered from head to toe in black and orange heavy armor; almost looking like a pair of krogan. One of them held out the hand not resting on his, she assumed it was a male anyway, trigger, while the other scanned her with his omni-tool. Scanner repeated the action a second time and then nodded at trigger; followed by both of them moving back to their original positions and acting like she wasn't even there.
She went through the door, aware they continued to track her movements even without turning their heads, and waited until it closed before speaking to the room's only occupant. "If they were looking for weapons, they didn't do a very good job." She said, patting the pistol at her waist.
"Can't be too careful. I've never seen you before, and you could've been anyone underneath that face. That said, according to the multiple scans run on you as you came here through the building, you appear to be you. As I'm sure you no doubt know, I'm Herieus Campascus." He extended his arm, and she held back a snort at the turian greeting gesture; but shook it anyway to keep from being rude.
"Valora Sederis."
"Sederis? Ah yes, I know your mother, Admiral Teriala. We haven't spoken in some time, but I understand she recently found a new bondmate; is that correct?" He asked in curiosity.
She growled at the mention of her name; suddenly wishing she could turn around and forget this ever happened. "That bitch can rot in the lowest pits of hell for all I care, and she can take her fuck buddy with her!"
He was taken aback at the raw vitriol in her voice; his brow-plates shooting up. "Apologies then. I didn't mean to touch upon a sore topic."
She took in a calming breath and let it out; old wounds nearly reopening. "No, it's not your fault; you had no way to know."
"Family can be like that sometimes." He said with all the wisdom of a matriarch, and all the bluntness of a krogan. Well, at least he says what's on his mind. Still, I should have better control over myself than that.
"Yeah, that's one way to put it." she shook her head, berating herself for veering off topic "You-know-who sent me to deliver some bad news, good news, and just plain ordinary news."
"It's alright, you can talk freely here; I have it swept for bugs twice a day. So, what's Premalon been up to recently? According to Citadel Control, the shuttle he was on went straight to the relay after that explosion two days ago."
She nodded and filled him in about the bomb, the bomber getting caught, and told him to expect a proper call from Hystuss in a few days; never mentioning if anyone got hurt or not. "Well…damn. Does he know who sent it?"
"He thinks it was the Broker, but aside from the message delivered with the bomb, we have no proof."
"Damn asari are always trying to cause problems…." he muttered, to which she narrowed her eyes "Oh, uh, present company excluded of course. I happen to have good relations with asari not involved in politics."
She snorted, having learned that already. "I know. I was put on the 'special visitors list'. Tell me: is it true you've had two partners at once at some point? Very impressive for a turian."
She could've sworn a bit of blue made it's way to the edges of his facial plates, but he managed to hide any other reaction from her. "I see you've been talking to my secretary."
"Secretary? I thought she was a receptionist?"
"She does work as both."
"Ah. Well anyway, he's going to start setting up outposts in the Terminus and Traverse to try and locate the Broker's hiding spot; at least until we come up with a better lead. Onto more recent issues. I'm not sure if you've been told, but I was sort-of, kind-of, involved in an accident a couple hours ago, which is something I need to get you to solve; in exchange for a favor from the squids." She finished with slight embarrassment, and he smirked at the mention of 'squids'; though his eyes remained focused.
"What sort of accident?"
"Well, it's really a result of what I've been doing for the past two days." He raised a brow-plate and gestured for her to continue. She did so; telling him about the suspicions regarding a possible traitor, her efforts to find them, and the unintentional death of said traitor earlier that day.
"Unfortunate; they might've been able to provide answers. I'll get in touch with the Executor and ask him to personally handle it. Besides, from what you told me, it was justifiable self-defense that can easily be proven by the hotel's camera recordings; so I don't think it'll be a problem." Well that's a relief. And now for the fun part of this little visit.
"That brings me to the final reason of why I'm here." she allowed a vicious grin to form; reveling in the more-than-likely chaos that would come from her next several words "We caught the sniper and 'convinced' her to tell us who her employer is." Pause for dramatic effect. "Your fellow Councilor: Faalra T'Loris."
He looked disbelieving at first, only to slowly turn from disbelieving to thoughtful, soon followed by shocked, and ending with a neutral expression that was betrayed by the fire in his eyes. "I assume you have proof?" He asked with a bit of venom laced into it, and she had to keep from cackling with sadistic glee at the damage to galactic politics she'd just caused.
"Proof, names, locations, times, all of it. Turns out Gadena was a rather close friend of hers during the Rebellions, so when the old hag needed her competitors 'removed' from the playing field, she turned to the ex-Commando for help; the dumb bitch even took her to bed a few times as a reward for a 'job well done'. I have it all on here," she waved her left arm around with the omni-tool turned on "so believe me when I say this: both her life and career can be decided with the press of a button. If just half of this got out, the Council of Matriarchs back on Thessia would have her head served on a platter."
He stared at the glowing device with a mix of ruthless calculation and what could only be described as a hungry desire; the gears almost audibly turning in his head. "I think I could put such a thing to good use; might even be able to finally break the asari-salarian alliance when it comes to Council law. If you could send me a copy-" "Not so fast. I want in on this." She interrupted, making him narrow his eyes.
"What do you mean?"
"Trigger-happy," he tilted his head in confusion, and she reworded it "I mean Premalon. Premalon may get to have all the fun, but he didn't find this delightful piece of blackmail; I did. So when you 'inform' T'Loris of the changes in policy, I want to be there for it."
"Why?"
"Because call me a cruel fucker, but I want to see the so-called 'wise and powerful' Councilor T'Loris squirm when it's her neck on the line." He raised a brow-plate for the barest of moments; only for his mandibles to spread in a predatory grin similar to hers, and he sounded practically giddy when he responded.
"I like the way you think. After we've torn her a new asshole," this time she did cackle "I have a feeling my job will become infinitely more easy. Would you happen to be available tomorrow at sixteen-hundred? I can arrange a 'private meeting' for just the three of us at a nearby restaurant."
"Why Councilor Campascus, don't you know how that might look to the completely and totally honest tabloids if they found out!?" She asked with faux shock.
"Fuck 'em; I've always hated reporters anyway." He said with a shit-eating grin, and they both shared a massive bout of laughter. By the Goddess, I think I'm in love!
They eventually stopped to take a breath, and she managed to wheeze out "I'll be sure to record it from start to finish. It's been an absolute pleasure, Councilor."
He was still gasping for air when he replied. "Please, call me Herieus."
"Alright Herieus, then call me Valora"
"Gladly. I'll see you then." He said with mirth in his voice.
"It's a date." She told him with a wink, and he responded in kind. Valora sent off the incriminating data to the email address Hystuss had given her for this situation, and his omni-tool lit up. She turned to leave now that there wasn't anything else to say, and decided to give him a taste as she walked out; swaying her hips and chest in a way that had turned the gaze of even the most disinterested salarian, and she could feel his eyes following every motion as he watched her go.
She stopped when the door to his office closed, although she could tell the guards were 'examining' her more thoroughly now, and left the building with a smug smile plastered on. It was only after Valora reached the rapid transit terminal she used to get there that she realized what she just did. Oh. Oh shit. Oh fuck. I just flirted with one of the most powerful people in the entire galaxy, and essentially told him I was willing to take it a step further. Veya's going to kill me.
She thought about it further as the aircar arrived to pick her up; her more 'random' side eventually winning the internal debate. Then again, what she doesn't know can't hurt her. Besides, it's the fucking Councilor! Granted, he's not exactly a celibate, but the amount of people that can say they've slept with one has rarely, if ever, gone into the triple digits for the past thousand years. I have the opportunity to join a limited group of people that know whether all that politicking ruins their sexual performance!
At this point, even she would freely admit to doing it just because she was desperate after a month of not engaging in that most sacred of asari 'rituals', but in the end, her mind was already made up: she was going to sleep with one of the three heads of galactic government, and not Veyavasa, not Hystuss, not even the return of the fucking Reapers themselves would keep her from this highly important goal.
Yeaaahhh, I think we can all agree on where her priorities lie. That said: is it possible that she and the Councilor are kindred spirits, or is it merely his supernatural charm at work? The choice is yours, for now at least, because as I've mentioned in the past regarding these types of things: if I said, it would be telling, now wouldn't it?
I'm beginning to realize that if Valora wasn't a character, I could probably rate this story T so that it attracts more readers; but you know what? The loveable, foul-mouthed, sex-crazed, alcohol-craving, and quite-possibly-insane lunatic of an asari is absolutely worth it; and I refuse to hear any arguments to the contrary.
If you want a better description of what the trescari black bodysuit and/or cape combo looks like, the basic design is essentially the kryptonian ones shown in Man of Steel (still the best live action superman movie DC's made in my opinion). To be more precise: the ones worn by Zod and his soldiers.
Oh and before I forget, BIG NEWS! I made a collaborative chapter with fellow author ThePilotArchangel for one of his fics, GST Side-stories. It explores the lives and adventures of characters behind-the-scenes of his primary fic, A Ghost and a Spectre, and I heartily recommend them both! Definitely not because I've created one of these characters. *pretends to look innocent* Not at all. But really, they're both excellent fics, and if anything, they'll make for a fun read while you wait for me to update; so go check 'em out! Just be sure to start with Ghost, because the side-stories are exactly that: side-stories.
As always, it's been a blas- *someone begins yelling in the background* READ IT! READ IT, I TELL YOU! READ IT NOW! THE SOONER YOU DO, THE SOONER YOU CAN DISCOVER MY GLORIOUS CREATION! I COMMAND YOOUUU! *the person in front of the screen sighs and gets up, going out of sight* *a scuffle can be heard, and pained cries come from the next room over, followed by total silence* *the person comes back with blood on his shirt and a black eye* Sorry about that; been having problems with the more 'independent' aspects of my personality getting out of hand. You guys should consider yourselves lucky to be able to agree on anything without getting into a mental slugfest with the parts of you that want to go left, then the parts that want to go right, followed by the parts that don't want to do anything at all, and then the guy in the middle that just wants to eat his dinner and write his story in peace without getting dragged into it; and that, when he is, has to put them down with brute force. That's me by the way. Hi, nice to meet ya. Annnnyyywaaayyyyy, it's been fun writing this out, even more so because of the POV I wrote it from. I hope you enjoyed and I'll see you next time!