There was a part of Sai'ira that knew she should've just gone to her grandmothers immediately after what happened with Fel. Sure it was messy Maxine shot him in a public park after all, regardless of reasons Shepard understood why staying at a casino or a place where Dh'elia's thugs were in spitting distance might not be the most low-profile option. Still, she could've said no, maybe delt with them on her own and somehow explain this whole mess maybe even convince E'nea that the Shadow Broker is a dead end or at least that she has nothing to do with him. Sai'ira could forget it all entirely and just go to her grandmothers and forget about Kriek as she thought, what could I possibly do in a city under lockdown? It ate at her as she knew that even if she tried to run the Broker would find her. She set this in motion perhaps it would have been better to comply on the shuttle into Horizon. An old Justicar once wrote how she felt on fire, uncontent to let the universe passively move her she had to move against it at all times even if it was only in her own head, even if it meant hurting herself in the long run. With meditation and long hours of training the drums in her head beat a little quieter. but it always nagged at her, the passages resonated with Shepard now more than she thought it would. That feeling in the back of her head pushing her forward, she'd let it push her off a cliff if she wasn't careful.

She was offered a change of clothes, shorts, a tank top, slipping it on she felt it held pretty well. Feeling a bit wired She wasn't able to sit down so she meditated standing up, gently activating her amp in preparation for what would probably be strenuous use. With an exhale she felt the gentle hum of harnessed element zero suround her. Her eyes were closed, she heard the door open and one of the guards walk in.

It was night by the time they reached the roof, stepping onto the catwalk that led to the landing pad she could see Dh'elia was already in the center. The night-like most on the big isle-was warm even with the wind being strong enough that Sai'ira had to compensate for it as she walked up the small steps. Dh'elia's tattoos lit up her dark blue face as she appeared almost devoid of color aside from her luminescent ink. She was facing the city below Korlada, the light pollution making it hard to even see the space stations and shipling lanes in the stars. All nearly blotted out by New Horizon an oasis in the Shadow sea, the jewel of Horizon, and the gateway to the Attican Traverse.

"Our dream." She said as Sai'ira stepped onto the landing pad, it was dry under her bare feet, a decent enough place to fight she thought.

"Built for the new era of peace, of innovation, unity. But here we are...playing politics with the same diplomats from the council one hundred years later." Glancing in her direction Dh'elia turned to face her.

"Some even have the same names, the trouble makers certainly do."

"And what does that make you?" A gust of wind nearly pushed her, shifting to stance just to remain in place as a chill rushed through her.

"This isn't about me, It's about her always is. T'loaks are cunning incarnate, but I'm reminding her that letting a tad pole run rampant through our city chasing ghosts while we're on the brink of war isn't just stupid it's cause for questioning."

"Sounds like late maiden syndrome to me." Sai'ira had little sympathy for someone like Dh'elia. She knows the game she plays money for power, coercion and force keep it, all so she can indulge while she sits in her crown. Complaining about the good'ol days and how her friends changed and picking fights she thinks she can win.

"A little weak."

"An early matron past her days, whose identity is a conflict over a hundred years ago, complaining about your more successful friends while you look down at your non-asari colleagues from your crown. You're about to fight one of the most prominent relics of your time, the name Shepard." She couldn't tell if she was getting to her or not but she could feel it in her spine. The energy building for a snap response, the element zero swirled around her head even if it wasn't yet visible she could feel it in the air and the amp in the back of her head began to kick in.

"So what? Can't fight the mirror so you only fight your past?"

Dh'elia shifted her feet into with ribbons of eezo swirling around Dh'elia's feet and hands. Sai'ira had seconds to move before she heard the thunder crack of the charge. Sai'ira barely had time to dash away, even then she didn't get far as Dh'elia who quickly recovered and turned to fight. Entangled in aa shimmering dance as element zero swirled around their fists, Shepard checked her repeatedly looking for a weak point in Dh'elia's defenses. Though ultimately not fast enough as the matron went for her stomach, Sai'ira kept her arms up and defended the strike towards her chest though felt the sting of a follow-up that caught her above the breast. Dh'elia's speed was sometbing she had only seen in justicars, as her chest stung and teeth vibrated. Sai'ira made a bold move to counter her speed as she phased behind Dh'elia. She struck multiple times at her lower back and kicked her left leg out from under her, bringing her down on one knee Dh'elia whirled her torso around sliding dark energy through the air like a firework going off she shot Sai'ira back.

"Not bad girl, you can almost keep up."

Standing up from her knee Dh'elia whirled her arms charging her amp as she conducted dark energy into stance. Sai'ira did the same as she felt the energy flow through her, she felt light pressure on her spine with a numb feeling in her muscles as they formed stance.

"You know," Dh'elia began to circle, remaining light on her feet Sai'ira moved to counter and she backed up. Swirling around each other as they formed a neon whirlpool of dark energy.

"Ah, never mind." She Phased forward, plunging her fist only to be countered as Shepard doged right into performing a lighting-fast roundhouse to Dh'elia's head. It hit her arms, blocking it, though it did give her the opening she needed but Dh'elia was ready, a cannon went off sending her hand through the air with unnatural speed that caught Shepards fist. She was stuck, her hand caught in a vice grip as Dh'elia's charged fist struck her. Sai'ira tried to counter but by the second rocket to the head she couldn't think, she fell down.

Maxine ran down the hall she still felt weak as she sprinted to punch the elevators' roof access button. The clacking of armored boots hot on her tail as the door closed. Fluorescent green filled the small space as she swiftly ran through the interface, locking the elevator so their techs couldn't stop it, or at least it would take them longer. She then applied more medi-gel to her finger, she could bare the pain later right now she needed a clear head even if it was swimming from the meds. She kept expecting the elevator to stop as it passed each floor, checking the time she hoped Ashoro was at least out of the tower by now. Wiping sweat from her brow she thought of a joke about deodorant, as she checked the pistol she swiped from Ge'tal. With a fully charged thermal she flipped the safety switch as the doors opened she was met with the wind blowing from the night sky. She saw there were no guards, for now Maxine switched the safety on her pistol and with no magnetic holster she placed it behind her inbetween her belt. Pressing the emergency stop button on the elevator it didn't take long to find the asari.

Dh'elia wasn't hard to spot as Max hurried along the catwalk, the metal railing clanking against itself with every gust was reassuring. As she got closer it didn't take long to realize who was winning, Sai'ira fell after a gilded fist met her head. She saw lights coming from the otherside of the crown, in a few minutes she'd be surounded. As she played out scenarios in her head the best course she had at the moment was to stall for time.

"Wait!" She yelled over the wind as Dh'elia stood over Shepard.

"I need better people, if you keep killing and evading them." Dh'elia narrowed her eyes at the human as she now stood below the landing pad. "Doesn't look like you can pull that off now though."

Watching as her enforcers circled the roof, Maxine felt a pit in her stomach.

"You know she has protection."

"That and if I killed her I'd be on the galaxies shit list...but you don't have those protections, you're lizzard friend doesn't either."

Max could hear them behind her now, their weapons de-compacting as the pistol was soon removed from her belt.

"I do, actually. We're apart of the same covenant, you swore an oath and so did I. To not speak of our secrets, to serve our captain loyally and protect this new Federation."

"Explain to me how letting the Alliance invade our boarders is protecting this new Federation? Playing cold war against blanket aggression, if I can't knock sense into E'nea then I will kill, steal, and burn who and whatever the hell I want until the Alliance has been wiped from our system."

Her eyes wild as she burned with element zero Max felt her hand tremble as one of the enforcers-a krogan- walked around the landing pad. Closed in, with no where to move Maxine frozen in place the krogan, clad and faceless under his helmet. With no words or emotion he grabbed her and forced her to her knees. In that moment Maxine was scared, her injured hand clutched in the other, her face filled with sweat and fear. She couldn't understand herself as she tried to come up with some solution but all that came to mind is how frightened she was. And for a brief moment she thought the light came from somewhere else. At the drop of a hat her fear turned to instinct, she saw her opportunity and took it, diving for the floor of the catwalk as the guards were distracted.

Sai'ira's world was spinning, she heard both Dh'elia and Max's voices but it sounded like they were being filtered through an old radio as her vision was tunneling her back. Before she was angry at Dh'elia, she found her arrogance typical of asari her aged. She plays with lives and deals in death and deception, and now she felt more than anger, inside Sai'ira burned a particular rage. Rage at herself for not being able to take another punch, rage for not being able to get up, and rage for failing her grandmother, for failing Max, Ashoro, even her students on Earth.

Blinded by light as she felt her amp down her spine like hot ice running through her nervous system she lost her footing while attempting to stand up. Swept away in a gust of wind while trying to hold herself biotically, she was unable to manipulate the eezo in her body. Thrown acorss the landing pad as the light zipped by she heard the roaring emgine of a well-tuned skycar as an electric sound rang through the air. Sai'ira lifted her head seeing Dh'elia was unable to use her biotics as well as she tried the reach out for the shuttle in frustration.

"No matter, Harrik! shoot it down!"

Her legs shook as she rose from the ground, Sai'ira lifted her hands infront of her chest and head. Unable to use her biotics, she knew this was her last chance.

"What's the matter..." Shepard chuckled as she imagined how hopeless she looked. small cuts on her arms from being tossed by the shuttle, her right cheek was swollen, and her vision was still slowly returning.

"Afraid of a little dampening field?" The wind picked up again as they all remained draped in white light.

Dh'elia growled in frustration. "Hold position! If that's how you want it then fine."

Her fists came up as she walked toward Sai'ira, her first blow came at her head she knew it was fake and blocked her stomach. Her arm outstreched without any aide from her biotics, Sai'ira landed her strike across Dh'elia jaw causing her to step back. She followed up with another strike to her head then stomach Dh'elia became nothing without her centuries of conditioned speed now that Sai'ira could track her, she doged and countered most of her attacks. Moving with precision she finally had Dh'elia on the run and with a low guttural growel Shepard grabbed her thighs and lifted her up, throwing the matron on her back Sai'ira pounced on her ramming her fists into her face as Dh'elia tried to defend herself Sai'ira batted her arms away and grabbed her collar, violet running from Dh'elia's nose as she kept punching.

"Sai'ira!" She ignored it, anger overcame her as Sai'ira finally noticed that Dh'elia was no longer defending herself. Still breathing as she felt her chest heave under her, Sai'ira leaned down to her ear.

"We're done."

Standing up over her, surrounded by enforcers as the bright lights of the skycar passed overhead with it resting on the pad behind her. Max tugged her arm she felt the eyes of the guards on them as two ran to check on Dh'elia.

"Shepard, let's go, come on."

Ashoro and Max switched seats, and as they flew away from Korlada tower and over the city. Sai'ira knew that any hope of walking away was gone now, she had chosen a path and for the first time in years she had no idea where it lead.

End of part one