A/N: So sorry for the hiatus. As an apology, here's a new chapter, and there should be another on the way within the next week. Thank all of you who are sticking with me on this journey. I may be slow to post from here on out, but the story will not go unfinished.
La'Dauna checked on her other patients, an Elcor suffering from the flu and a drell with Kepral's Syndrome, then excused herself for a break to check in with the rest of the Night Fox. She arrived to see Vetra manning the communications.
"La'Dauna, is everything okay?" Vetra asked, a concerned hum in her voice.
"Hey Vetra, yeah, she's mostly fine," La'Dauna waved her hand to dismiss Vetra's worry. "There was a bit of a scene in the Council chambers, but she's resting now. I thought it would be quicker to just update everyone at once." La'Dauna looked around the CIC of the ship. "Where is everyone?"
Relief passed quickly across Vetra's face before she answered. "Goto and Keiji are off doing whatever it is they do in their free time," her mandibles quivered in a smirk. "Wrex heard we were back on the Citadel and called looking for Shepard about a job. I sent Zaeed and Jack to help him. It will keep their minds off Shepard's situation," Vetra rolled her eyes and gave La'Dauna a knowing look.
"Heh, heh," La'Dauna chuckled, "I'm surprised they went."
"I threatened them with reduced requisition options," Vetra said, crossing her arms, "they agreed very quickly after that."
"I bet," La'Dauna said, shaking her head, "So I guess I should have called first. Oh well, I'll update who's here and head back."
Vetra pushed the comms button for the ship and asked everyone to meet in the lounge. "I'll meet you up there, I'm just going to switch incoming to my omni." La'Dauna nodded and left for the lounge. As soon as she got the incoming comms switched over, her omni pinged. It was the emergency channel. She answered it without hesitation. "This is the Night Fox."
"Vee, it's Zaeed. We got caught in a shitstorm of a firefight." Vetra could hear a bassy rumble in the background. "Shut it, krogan. Fist is a guddam traitorous asshole bastard." The rumbling voice could be heard in the background, again.
"What?! Are you all okay?"
"Jack was tagged a couple times. She's out but stable. Wrex is taking us to a trauma center down in the Wards."
"Are you safe now, or do I need to send back-up?"
"No, we're good, but there's a quarian, who Fist sold out, that needs help. I'll get you the coordinates for where she's meeting for an ambush. If Reyes is there, send him and Cael. Otherwise, you'll need to go. You've got twenty minutes to get to the coordinates."
"Shit," Vetra cursed, already moving to the lounge where she knew everyone had gathered, "We'll get there. Take care of Jack."
"Got it, Vee. I'll update you when I can."
"Thanks," Vetra said before cutting comms. When she got to the top of the stairs, all eyes were on her. Walking into the lounge, she addressed the group, "Change of plans. Wrex's job went a bit sideways. Cael and Reyes, we've got an ambush to stop. Go, gear up." She watched as they pushed up from their seats and headed directly for the armory. Her omni pinged with the coordinates of the ambush. "Sid, I need you to get in touch with Goto and Keiji, if you can. Have them meet up at these coordinates in less than twenty if they are able. Inform them of the situation." Vetra sent the coordinates to Sid's omni.
"Got it, sis," Sid said, moving to a terminal station.
"I'm not taking any chances so, I'm going, too. The more people, the better, I think. Reza, I'm moving incoming comms back to the ship. You're in charge of those. Also, find out what you can about the area. Mark noteworthy spots and send the info to myself and Keiji."
Reza nodded his understanding as he left by the stairs.
"Dauna, walk with me, please," Vetra said, turning and heading for the armory. La'Dauna followed without question. Vetra waited until they were out of hearing range of the others. "Jack was tagged." Before La'Dauna could react, Vetra continued, "She's stable, but Wrex and Zaeed are taking her to a trauma place on the Wards. If you could…"
"On it," La'Dauna said, already reversing direction to the airlock. "She'll be fine, I'll make sure of it." She paused for a moment, stopping Vetra also, "Oh, and Shepard's got a concussion and possible lingering effects from the Prothean artifact. Initial scans were concerning, but she was awake and coherent. I'm collecting more readings now that she's sleeping. I'll give you more when I have it."
Vetra nodded before both continued in opposite directions toward their tasks.
Anderson had departed the small group with a last look at Cara, concern creasing his brow. He knew he could have sent Williams, but the Wards were a tricky place for someone who had never been. If he were being honest, he still got turned around himself from time to time. Like, now. He walked hurriedly through matching corridors, actively looking for the one that would finally lead him to the clinic. His worry for Cara had already caused him to take an elevator to the wrong level, costing him precious time. He sighed in relief when he found the correct one on the first try.
The quicker he got to Karin, the sooner he would feel better. At least Karin could discern if it was related to the beacon or just general fatigue from everything that had happened during the last day. He hoped it was the latter. Anderson took the next left and came face to face with a door that wooshed open to a busy area of the wards. With a determined look upon his face, he made his way through the parting crowd quickly. He turned a final corner to see a krogan and a human male entering the clinic, an unconscious woman in the krogan's arms.
As Anderson entered behind them moments later, he could hear Karin's voice say, "Here, this bed is ready." Another woman with short dark hair gathered supplies. She looked up when he walked in.
"Be right with you," she said in an accented voice.
He nodded and stepped further into the clinic as she rushed towards Karin's voice, instructing people to stand aside. There were four beds lined against the wall. Two were occupied with sleeping or unconscious patients. One was empty, and the fourth held the woman the krogan brought in. He and the human stood against the far wall, watching the two doctors work. Anderson, realizing he'd have to wait, also leaned against the wall, watching the two women work before the privacy field was activated.
"What happened?" Karin asked as the large krogan carried the small woman to the back of the clinic.
The krogan answered in a deep burling voice. His explanation, short and exact. "Two slugs. One right shoulder, through and through. One lower torso, still there. Both plugged with medi-gel."
"Here, this bed is ready," Karin said as she heard the door open again. Dr. Michel would take care of whoever had entered.
"Is she going to be okay?" the human asked. Karin looked over to the scar-faced man. One of his eyes glassy and unseeing, the other focused on her every move. She would have thought father, but they looked too much like mercenaries, so probably not.
"If I have anything to do with it," Karin said, scanning the woman with her omnitool. Karin's eyes roamed over the woman's body along with her scanner, checking for other injuries. What she saw stunned her, but she kept to her task. The woman was covered with fine and not so fine scars. Some she could tell were caused by a surgical knife, while others looked to be from battle or something similar. Most were hidden by colorful tattoos. What could have happened to this young woman for scars like this? Her mind wandered shortly to Shepard and the batarians, and she shuddered.
"Please, step back," Karin said to the human and krogan, closing her scanner. The krogan went to stand against the wall, but the human hesitated.
"Wait, before you do anything," the man said, his accented voice rough with concern. Karin paused to listen to what he had to say. "I'm sure you can see, she's had a rough go of it." He waited for Karin to nod, then continued, "Don't give her anything that will knock her out, just something to numb the pain if you can."
"That should be doable," Karin agreed. She looked at the man, "Anything else?"
"Keep her informed of what you're doing. Even if she seems unconscious, let her know. She doesn't like surprises," he said.
Karin gave the man an understanding look and nod. "Okay, now please stand back." He did as she asked this time and took up watch against the wall alongside the krogan. "I'll take good care of her," Karin assured them. "She'll be good as new once I get in there and repair the damage, and maybe after a bit of time with the muscle stitcher."
Dr. Michel approached with surgical tools and medicines. "I believe there is someone here to see you," she nodded her head towards the entrance.
She saw Anderson leaning against the wall. He gave her a nod that told her it could wait. She focused back on her patient. "All right, let's begin," Karin said. She pushed a button on the wall nearby and waited a second for the disinfecting field to cover the area, making sure to keep the working area sterile. Another button was pushed, and an opaque barrier surrounded the area like a curtain, giving them privacy to work.
"Vetra, I have sent what I could find of the area," Reza told her over comms as her omni ping with the information packet. "It appears to be an open-ended alleyway in the wards. Not much through traffic."
"Thank you, Reza," Vetra replied as she, Cael, and Reyes boarded a transport. "Has Sid gotten into contact with Goto and Keiji yet?"
Sid's voice piped up over the comms, "I sent off the message but haven't heard anything back. I've set it up to send one every couple of minutes. We should hear from them soon." Vetra shook her head at the smirk in her sister's tone.
"Good job, Sid," Vetra said. "Keeping channel twelve open. We're going silent otherwise. Vee out."
"Okay, boys," Vetra said, turning to Cael and Reyes, "this is the playing field." She pulled up a 3D hologram of the area the ambush would happen. "We've got an open-ended alley, not much overhead space, and plenty of space for scumbags to hide." She gave the boys a couple of minutes to assess the situation as she checked their position. They'd be cutting it close. Three minutes to get in a secure position and impede the ambush.
"There's a balcony here," Cael said, pulling her attention back to the map. "Good place for a sniper; us or them."
"No time for us. Access isn't easy," Reyes countered. "We'll check there as we hit this opening. Two from this entrance, unless we get help, and one from the opposite end."
"I'll go in quiet, and you two draw fire?" Vetra asked.
"Exactly," Reyes agreed. "If Kas and Keiji get here in time, they join you. Kas get's the target out, you and Keiji take them out from behind."
"If they don't show, I brought this," Cael holds up a belt. "Reza and I worked on that shield cloak some more. It's got three charges. It'll give you ten seconds each before it's out of juice. Also, this." He pulled a small metallic sphere from his bag of tricks. "Push this button here, and roll it towards the target. When it detects people, it activates. I've keyed our sigs in so it won't react to us."
"What's it do?" Reyes asked curiously.
"Stasis bubble," Vetra answered, taking the Stay grenade, "everyone within ten feet of it gets caught in the stasis field it produces." She looked over to Cael, "Nice. Hopefully, there's no repeat of last time."
"It's not my fault Shepard didn't listen to the instructions," Cael quipped.
The transport beeped, letting them know they were close to their destination. Vetra tapped into her comms. "Still no word from the thieves?" she asked.
"Nothing yet. I'm working on tracking their location," Sid answered immediately.
"Okay," Vetra said and turned to Cael and Reyes. "Looks like we're on our own. Keep gear hidden until we're out of public view, don't want to draw unwanted attention."
"Rey and I'll take this route," Cael said, pointing out their route on the map Vetra still had displayed.
"Give us a couple minutes to get there before you go storming in, Vetra," Reyes said, "If you hear gunfire, that's your cue."
"Once an ass, always an ass," Vetra said, rolling her eyes. "Okay, I'll wait for you here." She pointed out her entry position then shut down the map. "Let's go people, we're cutting things close. We've got less than five." She opened the transport door and stepped out, not looking back.
Vetra waited in the shadows near the alley entrance behind a large storage crate. She could hear people talking further in the alleyway corridor. One sounded turian, male, another, the higher pitch and quicker speech of a salarian. Vetra couldn't hear them clearly, and she peeked around her hiding spot to get a better read on the situation.
A female quarian stood a few feet away from a turian and salarian that had their heads bowed towards one another, discussing something on the turians omnitool. The quarian shifted from foot to foot nervously, rubbing her hands together every once in a while. Vetra watched as a second and third salarian stood with their backs to her, closer to the entrance. She rolled her eyes at them, idiots, she thought.
"So, when am I going to get to meet the Shadow Broker?" the quarian asked. Her voice was strong, but it held a hint of caution.
The turian glanced her way then looked back at his omnitool, his mandibles flicking in irritation, "I've told you, we're waiting for word that it's safe to go. You've already been attacked once for it. If this information is important as you say it is, the Shadow Broker wants to make sure you'll be safe."
Had the turian been looking, he would have noticed the subtle tilting of the quarian's head before she nodded slowly. Vetra had seen it, however. She watched as the quarian rubbed her hands together, again, and looked around the alleyway. So fast Vetra nearly missed it, the quarian reached into her pocket and pulled out a disc grenade.
"Boss," one of the salarians guarding the door yelled. The quarian released the disc and dived towards cover.
The turian looked up in time to see the disc flying towards him. "Shit," he yelled, moving away from the flying disc and looking for cover. The salarian next to him pulled his pistol and fired at the quarian, but she had already dived away. He could not hit her before she rolled into cover, and he was blinded by a bright flash.
Vetra took all this information in, in a manner of seconds as she ducked back behind her own crate. She was just in time to see a large flash, light up the alley, and the sound of gunfire ignite in the air. Although she managed to avoid the worst of it, her peripheral vision still got obscured by the grenade and she had to blink a few times to clear away the flash blindness. As her vision cleared, one of the salarians that was guarding the entryway rounded the crate she'd hid behind. She took advantage of his blindness. In one swift motion, she pulled the blade at her hip and drove it through one of his eyes and into his brain. She caught him as he collapsed and laid him gently on the ground. Clicking her comms on, she said, "Hope you're in position because things just blew up."
"Entering the corridor, now," Cael said.
Vetra peeked the corner. She saw the quarian ducked behind two crates wedged into a "V" shape, staying low as she tapped away at her omnitool and avoided the weapons fire. A moment later, the firing stopped as the salarian's weapons overheated. Vetra heard the salarian swear and the turian growl. A second later, she saw the quarian pop up to take a shot in the direction of the two and duck back down again, typing away at her omni. A small cry of pain and another curse; from the turian this time. Vetra couldn't get eyes on the attackers, but she did catch a glimpse of Reyes as he removed a blade from the neck of a human she had missed.
"Eyes on you," Vetra said. "Target's in cover for now, but the bad guys have her pinned. I don't have a shot. Three near me. Didn't have line of sight further down the alley, and not sure if they have back-up."
"Removed two from the door," Reyes answered. "I have eyes on your three. They're dug in deep. One salarians hurt."
"Balcony sniper down," Cael informed them. "I have bodies coming from behind us on radar." The weapons fire started again.
"Damnit," Vetra said. "Sid?"
"Yeah, Vee."
"Did you ever get hold of Goto and Keiji?"
"Just now. I tried to raise you, but the line was static."
"Flashbang," was all Vetra said.
"Well, they should be there soon. Kas said something about infiltrating the enemy before she chuckled and cut the line."
"Great, whatever that means. Okay, thanks, Sid."
"Sure thing, sis."
"Okay you two, we've got help on the way. Focus on covering your asses for now. I'll see if I can get a better angle without getting mine shot off." Vetra had noticed a small alcove that used to be a doorway. It should provide her with cover and give her a better angle, but she'd have to run through the open space between the two fighting parties. Checking her weapons, Vetra took a deep breath, "Here goes nothing." Activating her cloak shield, she ran for it. She had almost made it through unscathed when the sound of a shotgun went off behind her, and she cried out as a trail of burning pain raced across her hip. Vetra stumbled the rest of the way into cover, holding her side.
"Who the hell was that?" the turian yelled. "Check for more," he ordered someone. "You were supposed to come alone!"
"And you are supposed to work for the Shadow Broker," the quarian hollered back.
"It doesn't matter anyway. I've got back-up on the way. You and your little friends will be nothing but bloodstains soon enough."
Weapons fire started up from the end of the corridor that Reyes and Cael were located before anyone could say anything else. More footsteps could be heard from the other end. Vetra checked her wound. A graze. She administered medi-gel to the area and checked out her surroundings. Not great, but it would have to do. Using her gun to lead the way, she peeked around the corner, firing at the two salarians and turian. They ducked into cover and gave her the time to see at least five more bodies enter the corridor. "You're going to have to find better cover, quarian," she yelled to the woman as she retreated to cover.
"I'm open to suggestions," the quarian yelled.
"Boys, how are you doing?" she asked into her comms.
"Peachy," Reyes said.
"Holding our own, but help would be nice," Cael said.
"Yeah," Vetra agreed.
Vetra focused back on the quarian, yelling, "Okay, quarian…"
"Tali," the quarian yelled, "my name is Tali."
"Okay, Tali," Vetra called out, rolling her eyes, "on the count of three, run to me."
"What!?"
Vetra ignored her and began counting, "One...Two...Three!" She popped out of cover, shooting at the turian's group while throwing the grenade she had prepped at the newcomers. The turian and his friends ducked into cover while the quarian hopped over the crate and ran towards Vetra. The newcomers scattered as the grenade came their way. A small watery sounding explosion signaled the grenade going off as Vetra's weapon overheated. The quarian slung herself into cover beside her, breathing hard. Vetra watched the status field engulf three of the attackers, but before she ducked into cover, she thought she saw one move. The turian and one of the salarians fired at her position a second after she safely retreated into cover.
"Thank you," Tali said.
"No problem," Vetra said, her subharmonics tinged with sarcasm. "What the hell do you have that's so important that people want you dead?"
"Is that really important now?" Tali said, peeking around the corner just long enough to overheat the attackers' weapons.
"No," Vetra agreed. "Okay, give me a moment to check the status of my people." Vetra activated her comms, "Check-in."
"Both, still here," Reyes said. "We've got four pinned down, three dead."
"Cael, your damn stay grenade only holds two people at a time," Vetra informed him.
"Are you sure?" Cael asked, "Sid, Reza, and I tested it. Anyone caught in the field should stay."
Vetra peeked the corner, firing her weapon. Nope, there were only two in the bubble. Wait. She ducked back. "Goto, Keiji," she said into her comms. She heard two clicks of static, then the line was clear again. "How many? Not including the stasis." Four static bursts. Vetra turned to Tali, who was ducking back into cover after firing another burst from her shotgun, "Can you overheat their weapons again?"
"The program's resetting. It'll be another twenty seconds," Tali said.
"Okay, let me know. Then on my mark spam them, and we go out together, understand," Vetra said, watching the quarian closely.
Tali nodded her head and squared her shoulders, readying her shotgun in her hands.
"Okay, Goto, Keiji. On my mark." A burst of static for confirmation. "Cael, Reyes keep yours busy."
"Got it," Cael answered.
Vetra turned and awaited Tali's signal, popping bursts of weapons fire around the corner every couple of seconds. It seemed like forever as they waited in silence. Finally, Tali nodded her head. "Now," Vetra said as she burst from around the corner, firing at the turian and the remaining salarian. Her distraction gave Tali enough time to get around the corner and use her omnitool to spam their weapons with a sabotage program that overheated their weapons.
"Move forward," Vetra told Tali. She moved towards the bunkered down turian as he scrambled for a weapon that would fire. Hearing angry yells from the direction of Kas and Keiji, Vetra focused her weapons fire on the turian, breaking down his shields and finally ending his pathetic life. Tali had taken out the salarian quickly when she got her shotgun in range. Two quick blasts ripped through his shields and armor, then through flesh with ease. Three down, Vetra thought.
"Follow me," she guided Tali, "we've got two friendlies behind the crate, so watch who you point that thing at." She indicated the shotgun. They paused to listen for a second before moving around the corner of the crate. Two dead bodies laid on the ground, blood pooling beneath them. There were four alive, fighting one another. Guns were scattered around the area. Vetra looked over the ones in stasis and checked a timer on her omni. So far, they had gone unnoticed. She tapped Tali's shoulder and signaled for her to keep her eyes on the ones in stasis.
Turning back to the four fighting, Vetra yelled, "Down!" Two dropped immediately to the ground. A third hesitated, and a fourth stopped and turned towards the noise. Before the third or fourth people could move, Vetra had opened fire on them. Number four went down quickly, taking a chest full of bullets in a matter of a second or two. Number three lasted a bit longer, having realized the situation, and falling to the ground a second too late. Vetra caught three in the side, so even if Keiji hadn't finished them off with a knife to the throat, death still would have found them, just significantly slower.
"Glad you could find time to join us," Vetra said as Kas and Keiji stood and retrieved the weapons they had lost during the close-quarter fight.
Kas removed the mask covering her face and came over to Vetra, "You know how much Keiji and I like to make an entrance."
"Hmmm," was all Vetra said, her subharmonics coming through clearly.
"Sorry," Keiji, ever the more responsible one of the two, "I was checking something out that required no comms. I had to meet with an old contact." He gave Vetra a knowing look.
"Did you figure it out?" Vetra asked.
He nodded. "Something was bothering me about the giant geth ship on Eden Prime…"
"It bothered all of us," Reyes cut in, "but we can discuss that later. Cael and I could use some assistance."
Vetra turned her focus away from the group and heard the weapons fire at the opposite end of the alleyway. "Goto, this is Tali," she pointed at the quarian, "stay with her and guard these idiots. The stasis should be wearing off soon. We can question them. Keiji, let's go."
"Here, take this," Tali said, handing over a disc grenade. "It's my last flash."
Vetra took it, "Thanks."
Keiji and Vetra worked their way carefully to the other end of the alley. Cael and Reyes were in a prime position to defend and keep the other from advancing, but they didn't have clear shots to remove them from the attack. Vetra kept low as she approached Cael and Reyes' cover, Keiji close behind her. When she got settled into cover, she looked over to Reyes, "What you couldn't take care of these second-rate mercs on your own? I won't always be there to pull your ass out of the fire, Rey."
"Yeah, yeah," Reyes said, looking over far enough to aim and shoot. "So do you have a plan?"
"Of course," she held up the flash, "now cover your eyes and count to ten." She pushed the activation on the disc and peeked over the edge of her cover to throw it in the open area between the two sets of attacking mercs. Vetra quickly ducked and shielded her eyes as the disc grenade activated and a bright flash lit up the corridor. "Let's get them," she said, tapping Reyes and Keiji on the shoulder as she hopped over the waist-high crate she'd hidden behind. They followed, along with Cael, not a second later. It was short work taking out the mercs who flailed and rubbed at their eyes, trying to clear them of flash blindness. "Remind me to get more of those," Vetra said of the flash grenades as they walked back to join up with Kas and the quarian Tali.