Chapter 20

Illium Entertainment News Update - The entertainment world is buzzing following the Galactic Entertainment Academy's surprise best performer nomination for elcor adult vid star Nor Rejmey. "Smug satisfaction. I thank the academy for nominating my work in The Sexual Liberation of Shanxi. I hope this will finally settle the debate over whether adult vids are art," Rejmey told our correspondent. Volus critic Greor Rebet slammed the nomination. "Even after seven viewings, I can find no artistic merit to the vid."

Rejmey also told our correspondent that work on the upcoming parody vid, Blasted: The Butt of Soren Assterius, was on hold now following rumors that 6th Dimension Vids might pull the plug on Blasto: The Hunt for Saren. "Perfunctory Expression of Concern. I sincerely hope that Blasto recovers and the production resumes. Disingenuous claim. My interest in the viability of my own project is secondary to my concerns for the beloved star and his fans."

Special Tasks Group agent Solik Vass drove the vid company skycar as fast as he could to Nos Astra's Dantius Memorial Hospital and pinged his superior, Major Kirrahe, on a secure communications line numerous times along the way. Reports of gunshots at the hospital likely meant one thing, the junior agent assumed: Kirrahe had encountered members of the Eclipse mercenary group and a confrontation had followed. If the gang was willing to risk a firefight in a place as public as the city's leading hospital, the major's situation could be dire indeed, Vass thought.

On the third try, Kirrahe responded and the young agent's suspicions were proven correct. "Sorry I couldn't respond earlier, Agent Vass," the major declared using a hushed voice. "I'm out-numbered and the situation was far too fluid to talk until now. There are at least eight Eclipse mercs in the building on my level. Was forced to retreat to avoid civilian casualties. They have me cornered, but with no way of getting at me other than attacking head-on, which they haven't dared to do yet."

Vass caught the sight of the hospital on the skyline. "I'm on my way. Almost at Dantius Memorial now. Where are you, precisely?"

"17th floor, same as the one Blasto is on," the major replied. "Sneak in, take an elevator to the north side of the floor and try to create a distraction. Without them spotting you, of course. Your cloaking device is working properly, I assume?"

Vass affirmed that it was. Kirrahe then announced he had to sign off because it appeared Eclipse was about to make a move against him. As the line closed, the junior agent realized with a gulp that while the cloaking device had been installed into his omni-tool, he had never actually tested it. He certainly wasn't overly familiar with its use. It was all the defense he had too. He was still too new to the Special Tasks Group to have been requisitioned any body armor. Major Kirrahe was similarly unprotected, having gone to the hospital in civilian clothes to attract as little attention as possible.

There was no margin for error, Vass realized: one lucky shot could doom either one of them. He tried to shake the notion out of his head. 'You're a STG agent now, Solik, and a colleague is in danger,' he thought. 'There's no time for doubt. You've got to get this right on the first try.'

Vass pulled the skycar into on-street parking a short distance from the hospital and then sprinted the rest of the way towards the building. As he approached, he saw that Illium police had cordoned off the area and were telling a crowd of Blasto's fans and curious on-lookers to disperse. A few law enforcement skycars hovered around the building.

Kirrahe had previously told Vass that most of Nos Astra's law enforcement were paid off by Eclipse to look the other way at the mercenary's group's less-savory activities. Vass therefore could not be sure if what he saw was an honest attempt by the law enforcement to protect the public and investigate the shooting incident or a surreptitious effort by those same officials to provide Eclipse with cover in the guise of protecting the public. Either way, they weren't just going to let Vass stroll into the hospital. He would have to sneak in.

Once the rookie agent neared the building, he spotted some members of the cast of Blasto: The Hunt for Saren just outside the police cordon. The vid's large, even by eclor standards, producer Mlax Ventkad and turian actor Tyruss Aklaysius were being jointly interviewed by a gaggle of reporters representing several different species. Krogan actor Jorgal Dreed and quarian makeup artist Suzra'Bonah vas Marketa, clad in her brown and gold exosuit, were loitering nearby.

"Feigned optimism. We believe the authorities have the situation well in hand," the eclor producer stated. "There is no indication that Blasto has been harmed or was in any way involved in the incident, which is still being investigated. We caution your viewers against jumping to conclusions."

A turian reporter asked Aklaysius whether rumors that Blasto: The Hunt for Saren had already been canceled were true. "Your sources are wrong," the actor declared, projecting his booming voice even more than usual. "Production has merely been suspended while our star recovers. Most of the vid has been finished. Only a few scenes remain to be completed. We fully expect Blasto to return and the vid to reach theaters later this year."

Ventkad followed on Aklaysius' comments as quickly as an elcor could. "Evasively. We are assessing the situation daily and will make any further announcements when appropriate. That is all," he disclosed, then added, "Attempted distraction. The Nos Astra police press liaison has returned."

The reporters galloped off, heading en masse for the police official. As soon as they were out of earshot, Aklaysius turned and glared at the producer. "Why did you have to undercut me in front of the press?" he angrily spat. "I thought the whole point of forcing us cast members to make trips to the hospital was to tamp down the closure rumors."

"Sneering condescension. Watch your tone, turian. You work under contract for me. Do not forget that," Ventkad announced in the same flat tone he always used. "Casual frankness. The situation is changing rapidly. Today's incident may raise insurance costs prohibitively high. The investors are nervous. The vid's status is unclear."

"Yes, well, next time, tell me these things before I make a fool of myself in front of the press," the actor retorted before storming away.

The drama over for the moment, Vass began trying to formulate a plan for how best to get to the floor's 17th level. His thoughts were interrupted when Suzra'Bonah spotted him. "Vass? What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Oh, I was fetching something for Major Kirrahe from his hotel room when I heard the news, so I headed over to see what was going on," Vass replied, deciding that there was no harm in being truthful so long as he left out a few key details. "What brings you guys here?"

"6th Dimension Vids has said all of the actors under contract for Blasto: The Hunt for Saren have to appear at the hospital as well-wishers," the quarian replied. "They said the PR would help sustain public interest in the vid and prevent it from being shut down. Tyruss volunteered to go first and I volunteered to drive him. Next thing I knew, Dreed and the producer were coming along too."

Vass got a brief mental image of her, the turian actor, his large krogan colleague and the even larger elcor producer all squeezed into one skycar and instantly grasped why Aklaysius and Ventkad appeared so cranky.

"Shortly after we arrived, we were told there had been a shooting incident in the hospital," the quarian added. "We don't know much more than that."

Dreed was in a particularly foul mood, Vass noticed. He had clearly been irritated by Ventkad's admission that the vid may soon be scrapped. "Finally get to play a hero part for my girls and the plug is going to be pulled anyway. Why do I bother?" he growled to no one in particular, before announcing, "Hey, quarian, I saw a place across the street that has varren skewers and dextro food. Let's go."

"I have a name, you know. It's Suzra'Bonah vas Marketa," the makeup artist remarked. "But, yeah, I'm hungry too." The odd couple walked across the street, Dreed loudly mumbling his candid opinions about 6th Dimension Vids and its eclor producer as they went.

Vass scanned the police cordon until he spotted what appeared to be the best place to slip through. He ducked behind some skycars, turned on his cloaking device and headed to the police perimeter. His heart was thumping loudly the whole time. Cloaking devices, even the cutting-edge ones used by the Special Tasks Group, didn't make their user invisible, Vass knew. They always left a noticeable distortion effect, meaning the devices were only truly effective when no one was actively looking for an intruder. Vass therefore had to control his breathing, step lightly and avoid making any noise as he slipped past the officers.

He got most of the way to hospital's main doors when a pair of asari officers suddenly began crossing his path. Vass froze in place and hoped they were absorbed enough in their own conversation about the upcoming biotic ball championships to miss any of the tell-tale signs that a cloaked salarian was standing just a few meters away. After what seemed like an hour but was probably no more than two minutes, the officers settled on a bet on the next game and walked out of Vass' path. He quickly crossed the rest of the way into the hospital and began seeking out the elevators.

Once inside the building, Vass noticed that the few officers present were doing little, if anything, to investigate the shooting. Most seemed bored and distracted. The young agent, still cloaked, decided that he could risk picking up the pace. He jogged his way to a north-side stairwell and then continued up to the building's second level. The police presence on that floor was even thinner. No one noticed when an elevator door opened and closed.

Vass rode the lift up to the 19th floor, two levels above where Kirrahe said he was, then made for the stairwell and snuck down the next two levels. He spotted an asari merc guarding the 17th floor door and holding a submachine gun.

The young STG agent drew his Carnifex pistol and crept up behind the merc as slowly and quietly as he could, hoping all the while that the pounding of his heart would not give him away. He got directly behind the merc and prepared to deliver a blow to her neck with the butt of his pistol, having decided that firing the gun would risk attracting other guards. Kirrahe had drilled him in this particular neck strike, a key non-lethal take-down used by STG agents, during their secret training sessions over the last several days. Vass readied the blow when he suddenly remembered that Kirrahe had said there was something unique about the asari nervous system and therefore the blow had to land on a different part of the neck than for most other species. Try as he might, Vass could not remember the spot's location. He then saw the guard's body get tense and realized he must have done something to give himself away. 'It's now or never,' he thought.

Vass swung at the asari's neck with all of the force he could. The blow struck and the asari yelped, staggered to her left and spun around, spotting Vass in the process. "Salarian!" she shouted while simultaneously swinging her submachine gun towards him and activating her biotics.

Major Kirrahe de-cloaked from behind the asari and swung his pistol at her neck, delivering a textbook example of the strike. The merc twitched, spasmed and collapsed to the floor.

"Agent Vass, you must hit an asari just under the jawline for that tactic to work," he admonished the junior agent, then knelt down and began using a thin wire he drew from his belt to bind the asari's hands and legs.

"Major, I thought you said the Eclipse mercs had you cornered on this floor," Vass exclaimed.

Kirrahe nodded without looking up. "They did, but that was several minutes ago. I escaped by finding an opening in a wall that I guess they didn't think was large enough for a salarian to squeeze through," he explained as he finished tying up the asari and placing a makeshift gag on her mouth. "Still need your help. There's at least seven other mercs on this level and they've evidently decided to get rid of their biggest irritant: me."

Vass peeked out of the stairwell doorway to see if any other mercs were nearby and had heard the asari's cry. "What exactly happened?" he whispered as he scanned across the adjacent room, which appeared to be a visitor waiting area. The coast was clear, as far as he could tell. "Isn't a shoot-out in a hospital a bit brazen and drastic, even for Eclipse?"

Kirrahe examined the merc's submachine gun, then tucked it inside his jacket. "Yes, it is. But I'm not sure that was their plan when they came to the hospital," he replied. "I was trying to find a way to sneak a look at the admittance records for Blasto's visitors when a contingent of a dozen mercs just strolled in. One of them spotted me, shouted, 'This is for Henry!' and started firing away. Judging by the reactions of the other mercs, they weren't expecting that any more than I was. I'm guessing 'Henry' was the name of one of the mercs I killed while foiling your kidnapping. The guy who started shooting must have been his buddy. Things escalated from there."

Vass did some quick math in his head. "A dozen showed up? I though you said there were seven more mercs besides this one," he asked.

Kirrahe shrugged. "Well, yes. As I said, 'things escalated from there.' I did shoot back. They then got even more reckless and I was obliged to retreat before civilians started getting hit."

"Do we know why they came here in the first place?" Vass asked.

Kirrahe scratched his chin. "I'm not sure but I think they intended to pay a call on Blasto. He's the most noteworthy thing on this floor and they have been supplying him with drugs, so there is a connection."

Any further conversation between the STG agents was cut short by a voice shouting towards the stairwell. "Nureeta? What's going on? You haven't checked in," followed a scant few seconds later by the same voice shouting into an omni-tool com line. "Everyone! Likely breach at north stairwell, 17th floor!"

"Blast! Had hoped for more time!" Kirrahe exclaimed. "Vass, come on! Down the stairwell! Fast!" Kirrahe and Vass turned on their cloaks and sped down to the next level only to have the door to the 16th floor burst open and a pair of asari Eclipse mercs race through. Though cloaked, Kirrahe and Vass' footfalls were loud enough to alert the mercs that there was movement above them. One asari threw a singularity up the stairwell, catching Kirrahe and Vass.

"Push off the walls!" Kirrahe shouted and Vass saw his translucent form rocketing upwards and back towards the 17th floor, before vanishing behind a turn in the stairwell. The singularity, Vass realized, was a tactical mistake by the merc. In the tight confines of the stairwell, the momentary weightlessness actually created a means to escape. Vass kicked against the ceiling and used the resulting momentum to ricochet up the stairwell after Kirrahe. About halfway up the next turn in the stairwell, the young agent escaped the singularity's pull and dropped to the ground. He scrambled the rest of the way to the 17th floor. A clamor further up the stairwell indicated that another group of mercs were heading down from the higher floors.

"How many reinforcements did they call in?" Vass gasped. "They must want you bad."

Kirrahe remained as unflappable as always. "Well, we *are* dangerous. Between the two of us we have killed nearly a dozen of them so far," he replied. The major pulled out the submachine gun he had earlier taken from the merc in the stairwell, who was now conscious again and squirming against her bonds. Kirrahe placed another swift shot at her neck with the butt of his gun, making her go limp a second time. The major then grabbed his pistol with his other hand. "Agent Vass, we're going to have to risk the door on this floor. Keep your cloak on and when I signal, go through and head for the best piece of cover that you see on the right."

Both took a quick breath, then Kirrahe shouted, "Now!" and kicked the door open. The major dashed through first, firing a burst from the submachine gun at a pair of salarian Eclipse mercs in body armor and toting rifles at the far side of the room. The mercs ducked down, giving Kirrahe and Vass the time to reach cover spots about halfway across the room. Vass spied a couch and dived behind it. From the corner of his eye, he saw Kirrahe reach a thick pillar on the left side of the room. They likely had only a few seconds before the mercs in the stairwell started pouring through, Vass realized. The two Eclipse mercs in the room with them had to be taken out immediately.

Vass, now on his hands and knees, scurried to the edge of the couch, which was soon being ripped apart by vindicator rifle fire. It was clearly not a sturdy piece of furniture and several rounds exited it just a few centimeters above Vass. The rookie agent peered past the edge of the furniture and spotted his attacker, who was firing from behind an interactive display for the hospital's services. Vass saw that the tip of the merc's foot was poking out past the bottom of the display. The STG agent lined up a shot and fired three rounds in rapid succession.

The first two shots were absorbed by the merc's shields. The third tore through his boot. "Arrgh!" shouted the merc, who then staggered and took a step back from the display. It was just enough for Vass to line up his fourth and fifth shots to his enemy's chest. Both struck and merc slumped to floor.

Vass looked for the other salarian merc and saw that Kirrahe, no longer cloaked, had somehow managed to get the rest of the way across the floor and attack his opponent from behind. The merc struggled against the major's wrestling hold for a second before the veteran agent succeeded in slamming the Eclipse member's head against a pillar. The major then grasped the dazed merc's head from both sides and, with a single swift motion, twisted his neck until the Eclipse member went limp and dropped to the ground.

A few mercs appeared at the stairwell door and began firing at major, who re-engaged his cloak and sprinted through a nearby doorway. Vass fired several rounds into the stairwell, forcing the mercs to jump back. The young agent decided it was too far and therefore too risky for him to try to exit the same way the major just used. He glanced across his side of the room, spotted a different door and bolted for that one. He was through before the mercs had time to draw a bead on him.

The doorway led to a hallway with rooms along each side. Vass was a few steps down the corridor when his cloak faded out. The device's stored power was exhausted and it would take a few minutes before it recharged.

"Agent Vass, what is your location?" Kirrahe asked through his colleague's omni-tool. Before the young agent could reply, he heard the sound of more shots on Kirrahe's end and the com line clicking off. The distant, continuing sounds of gunfire being repeatedly exchanged told the rookie agent that the major was not out of the game yet. Vass reached the end of the corridor and took a left turn, which seemed to be the direction the shooting was coming from.

As Vass rounded the corner, he spotted a lone asari Eclipse member speaking into her omni-tool. "We just need a few more minutes!" she shouted. "We've got them surrounded."

"No!" barked a voice at the other end of the com line. "Goddess, people in the adjacent buildings can see the gunfire! We can't keep this charade up any longer! You had your chance, now we're coming in."

"Dammit!" shouted the merc as she turned off her omni-tool and stomped one foot onto the floor. As she looked up, Vass got his first clear look at her face and his blood turned cold. The merc similarly spotted the young agent but instead broke into a wide grin.

"Well, well, well," the asari chuckled as she brought up her biotics. "Didja miss embracing eternity with me, darling?"