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This is my first attempt at a story, so I am open to constructive criticism. Also If anyone has suggestions for the story feel free to give them.

Hindered Rescue

Location: Citadel, Citadel docks.

Date: 31st March 2184

Time: 08:20 CST

Kaidan and Shepard stood in front of the ship's boarding ramp as lines of humans walked past them onto the ship. The Alliance was determined to ensure that every human member of the re-forged sword program returned home safely. During this, John was looking over the crowd, his frown deepened as time went on. "They're not here," he muttered. Kaidan looked up for a second, then quickly checked the data pad in his hands, "you're right," he admitted, "you don't think they wanted to come last do you? You know make sure everyone else is okay first? Liz was one of the highest-ranking people in the program after all." "That would be something they would do. But everyone's here now, why aren't they?" he asked rhetorically, anger slowly building in his voice. Kaidan quickly glanced round before whispering to John, "relax John, our agents on Palaven reported that everyone boarded the ships safely. And the ships we had tailing them also reported that the Turians didn't try anything en-route to the Citadel." John seemed to relax slightly as he ran over Kaidan's logic in his head. "True, but the Council refused to allow us to send any Alliance soldiers to the hotel to escort them ourselves," he stated. Kaidan gave a weak chuckle, "come on Shepard, you really think the Council wants to let Alliance soldiers roam free on the Citadel. they're still pissed off at us," Kaidan remarked. "True," Shepard admitted with a chuckle. Kaidan couldn't help but smile slightly at his friend, over the last month he had seen Shepard's mood lightened, even entrusting Jack with his secret, but he knew what Miranda and Dr Chakwas had told him, had greatly concerned him. So, it was nice to hear his friend laugh, it showed that the darkness in his heart wasn't consuming him anymore. "Come on John, Saren is overseeing the transfer from the Turians' end. And you know you can trust him to look after them. You don't automatically need to assume the worst," Kaidan said. John had been forced to admit that the Turian Spectre did genuinely care about the humans under his command.

Shepard was brought out of his thoughts by his omni-tool flashing. He answered it, hearing Saren's voice, "Shepard, head over to the hotel, immediately. We have a huge problem," the Turian said, before ending the call. John felt the temperature of his blood drop by several degrees, he gave a quick glance towards Kaidan. The other human only let out an exasperated sigh before saying, "I know. Feel free to never listen to what I say again."

000

Location: The Citadel, Shalta Ward.

Time: 08:40 CST

Kaidan and Shepard had been able to get a taxi, and as they approach the hotel, the feeling of unease in Shepard's gut only increased as he spied a couple of C-sec sky cars parked out the front. The two humans disembarked the taxi and noticed a C-sec officer talking to Saren, who was accompanied by Garrus. The Spectre quickly noticed the two humans and waved them over. "It's good that you're here lieutenant," Saren said. John merely looked at him, "what's happened?" he asked. The C-sec officer rolled his eyes at the two humans, "seriously Arterius?" he asked incredulously, "you asked him here. Already making a bigger deal out of this than necessary?" Saren narrowed his eyes at the other Turian, "I felt it prudent to inform the Alliance of this as soon as possible," he said, calmly. "Inform us of what?" John asked again this time more forcefully. "Elizabeth Shepard and Ashley Williams are both missing," Garrus responded. Both Kaidan's and Shepard's eyes immediately widened in shock, before Shepard's expression morphed into a scowl, "what do you mean missing?" he said, through gritted teeth. "There is no sign of anything suspicious in their room, probably got drunk somewhere and haven't come back yet," the C-sec officer said, uncaringly. All four present, glared at him, "do you know a lot of bars where humans are welcome officer? especially these days," Garrus snarked. The officer just rolled his eyes, "Couldn't rightly say," he shrugged. "I bet you wouldn't be this unmotivated if this had happened to a Turian coming back from the Alliance" Shepard said, mockingly. The Turian narrowed his eyes at him, a sneer then formed on his face, "okay, here's another theory. Maybe those two were killed by one of those Cerberus freaks as traitors to their kind. And their bodies are rotting in a dumpster somewhere," he said, with a hint of dark pleasure in his voice. John almost lunged for the bastard's throat, but a quick movement from Saren stopped him. "I think the point we're making here, 'officer," Kaidan said, sarcasm thick in his voice, "is that the Citadel isn't the safest place for humans, especially right now. So how about you stop being an ass, and put some effort into trying to find them," he finished, still glaring at the Turian.

The C-sec officer's eye twitched momentarily, "safe?" he said, barely above a whisper, "the Citadel isn't safe for anyone right now," he growled. "Do you want to know what me and my friends have been doing for the past few weeks?" He asked rhetorically. We've been quashing riots practically 24/7. Dealing with more counts of assault and hate crimes then we've had to deal with in decades. And if the Spirits are feeling particularly shitty, we'll find somebody in an alleyway, killed in some random act of violence." He then pointed an accusing finger at Shepard, "all because of the footage you released. Because of you, the people of the Citadel are trying to tear each other limb from limb!" he yelled. John narrowed his eyes at him, "first. I only transmitted my broadcast to the Council. It being transmitted all over the Galaxy, and all the other stuff that was revealed. That was Cerberus. Second, so it's my fault for exposing those crimes, instead of the people who actually committed them?" he asked, scathingly. The officer just continued to glare at him, "there is a difference between exposing someone's crimes, so they can be arrested and convicted through the due process of the law. And broadcasting it for everyone to see, unleashing anarchy," he muttered darkly, before leaving.

"He was pleasant to talk to," Garrus muttered dryly. "Come on, let's go and see if we can actually find something," suggested Kaidan. The four of them, soon found themselves at Ash and Liz's hotel room, where John met a familiar face. Kaesrius Acanis was waiting for them outside the room, the man's eyes widened slightly as he saw John, "Acanis," Shepard said in greeting. Garrus and Saren quickly looked at him, "you two know each other?" Garrus asked. "We only met once; he had purchased a good friend of mine that had also been taken from Mindoir. I bought his freedom before I left the Citadel," Shepard explained. An awkward silence passed between all of them before Kaesrius asked, "how is Jeff doing?" John didn't immediately respond, before finally relenting, "Joker is doing fine, he's become a freighter pilot," giving a half-truth. A small smile formed on the older Turian's face, "Octenea will be happy to hear that." The officer then turned to look at Garrus, "Vakarian? Your Castis' son," seeing the younger Turian's face light up slightly in curiosity, he continued, "he and I worked together a lot back when he was still in C-sec, he talked about you a lot," he said, with a small chuckle. Garrus gave a week chuckle as well, "yeah, he mentioned you a lot as well." His expression then turned slightly grim, "although, I think I'm beginning to see why he wasn't too sad to leave C-sec a few years ago," he admitted. Kaesrius gave a snort, "believe me, not finding many reasons to stay myself." "As enjoyable as this conversation is," Saren cut in, "we still have two potentially missing woman who need to be found." Kaesrius nodded, "of course. I'm actually really glad you're here Saren. At least now there's someone else here who's willing to actually help me," he said. "Yeah, the impression we got from the guy at the door is that not many of you are that enthusiastic about 'investigating' this," said Kaidan. "An attitude that is sadly becoming all too common throughout C-sec," muttered Kaesrius. "Well, we're all here now, let's see if we can find something," said Saren. The Spectre's expression then turned sombre, "Kaesrius…. I just wanted to say….. I'm sorry about what happened to your wife," he said. The officers posture immediately slouched, "thank you," he mumbled.

The five of them soon began looking around the room. "As far as we can tell there's no sign of any kind of struggle, nothing out of place, their belongings are still here." Kaesrius explained. While he was speaking, John carefully looked around, checking to see if there were any signs. "This hotel has security cameras," John stated, having noticed them on the way to the room, "have you checked them yet?" Kaesrius gave another grunt in response, "I asked to see it, but they got really defensive, demanding I get a warrant. I requested one, but I then realised I could speed the whole process up with a Spectre's assistance," Kaesrius explained. "Well let's go have a look then," Saren remarked. A few minutes later the five of them, were in the security room. Looking at multiple screens, with a security guard typing on a terminal in front of them, he brought up the screen showing the hall outside Ashley and Liz's room. "As you can see, this is the two of them heading into the room," the guard explained, as the events played on the screen, "and there's no further activity until morning," he explained further, as he fast forwarded the footage. "We know they were the last two up to their rooms," said Kaidan. "They probably wanted to make sure that everyone was accounted for," added Shepard. "That sounds like them," remarked Saren.

The guard reclined back in his chair, "as far as we can see nothing strange happened," the guard remarked. "Apart from the fact, two people entered a room and seemingly vanished into thin air," John said with venom. These peoples lack of empathy towards the two women's disappearance, was really starting to grate on his nerves. It didn't help that the lack of any sign of what had happened to them, was causing a great feeling of dread to build up in Shepard's gut. The guard stood up to glare at him, "well I can name a few others, who seem to be pretty good at appearing and disappearing out of thin air. Cerberus," he sneered. John's scowled deepened as the Turian continued, "maybe that's what happened, they were rendezvousing with their terrorist buddies and left with them," he said mockingly. Shepard clenched his fist, intending to deliver a right hook to this asshole, but he was stopped again by the hand of Saren. "In any case, we'll take a closer look at the security footage, so you can leave," the Spectre said to the guard, coldly. The Turian flinched under Saren's hard stare, "you won't find anything," he said, as he left.

John immediately sat down and began to type at the terminal, they watched the footage again, but still found nothing. "Guess he wasn't lying when he said we wouldn't find anything here," Kaidan remarked, sourly. He knew something was wrong here, just like the others did. "True," responded John, "because you can't find something that isn't there." "What are you suggesting Shepard?" asked Saren. Shepard began to look at the logs of the security systems. "All security footage is sent to the hotel's backup data servers, but there are a few minutes between when the footage is created, and being sent to the servers. So if the security footage is tampered with, it must have happened…..there, a section of the log has been erased," John stated. Kaidan leaned closer, "20 minutes. Someone must've overwritten the real footage, then erased any signs of tampering," he remarked. He then narrowed his eyes, "wait, there's another blank space in the log," he pointed out, "it's an hour before any of them got to the hotel." John slammed his fist on the table, "they were waiting for them. They must've known which room Ashley and Liz would get, abducted them when they arrived and snuck back out with them. All while someone in here covered their tracks," he growled. He began typing at the terminal again, even more furiously, soon he was able to find the identity of the guard who had been in this control room last night. His snarl increased, as he saw it was the guard who had just left. John shot to his feet, "he knows something," he growled. Just as he got to the door Saren grabbed his shoulder, "Shepard wait," the Turian said. Shepard rounded on him, "wait?!" he yelled, "every second we waste, increases the chance that we will never see Ash or Liz again!" "I know that Lieutenant, but so far all we have is several minutes of missing data logs, which could easily be contributed to a technical glitch. It's not enough for you to break his mandibles," Saren explained. John snarled at him. 'Kill him John, he cares nothing for their lives. He is just like the rest of his pitiful kind,' Shepard flinched as he heard the entity whisper in his ear again. "What are you saying?" Shepard growled, "that I'm seeing connections that aren't there. That I'm creating a conspiracy that doesn't exist." Saren took a deep sigh, "no Shepard, I believe you are correct. Williams and your sister have been abducted, and I am certain that guard is involved," he said calmly. "But stop and think for a second, the level of sophistication indicates that there are some very powerful individuals behind this. The last time I saw an abduction this elaborate, it was when your sisters were kidnapped from Mindoir," he explained. John immediately froze at that, as Saren continued. "I swear to you Shepard, I want to save those two as much as you do. But if we take such brazen action such, it will immediately alert those higher up that we are onto them. That is something we cannot allow," he said sternly. John seethed in anger, but eventually relented to Saren's logic.

"But you need to head back to the Alliance ships for the time being, while me and Garrus continue to investigate," Saren said. "You can't expect us to just sit back, while they're in danger?" Kaidan asked, half joking, before Shepard could yell in protest. Saren held a hand up, apologetically, "I know you want to do all you can. But this kidnapping is in all likelihood some manner of retaliation for the actions of you five on Eden Prime. In addition," he looked John straight in the eye, "you likely know this Shepard, but the Hierarchy tried to arrange a deal with the Alliance to have you surrendered to them. The Alliance refused, but I overheard from a friend in C-sec, that they have been instructed to find any reason to arrest you, no matter how minor. And in your current state of mind, I fear you would give them a reason. So please, not just for the sake of finding those two, but for your own safety, return to your ship. I promise we will inform you when we have a lead." Shepard clenched his fist in frustration, but he relaxed, and nodded his head in acknowledgement of Saren's request. As he left, Saren turned to Kaidan, "Do we have to worry about Reaper getting involved with this?" he asked, uneasily. Kaidan immediately grimaced, "yeah I'd say there's a very good chance of that," he said. Saren rubbed his brow in frustration, "try and ask him if he's willing to work with me and Garrus. The last thing the Citadel needs is another rampage from him."

000

Location: Somewhere on the Citadel.

Time: 10:00 CST

Liz groaned, as her body fought off the effects of the tranquilliser. She made a few feeble attempts to push herself up, before slumping back down. Suddenly she recalled memories of her abduction and shot up with a gasp. At this point, she noticed that her hands were handcuffed behind her back. She gave them a few experimental tugs, to no effect. She also felt the pinch of a collar locked round her neck. Quickly glancing around her, she noticed that she was in a featureless room, with a single transparent door at one end. Just before Liz could stand up to investigate further, she heard a groaning to her side. Glancing in the direction of the noise, Liz's eyes widened as she realised, she wasn't alone. "Ash!" she yelled, and quickly went to her friend's side. "Ash, wake up!" Liz yelled, nudging her unconscious friend with her knee. Slowly Ash's eyes opened, "Liz," she groaned, "what…what happened...?" she saw her handcuffed hands, and immediately became alert. "What happened to us? Where are we?" she asked, frantically. "I don't know," Liz responded, "I remember we were in our hotel room. I came out of the bathroom and I saw a guy standing over your unconscious body…. then I think another one grabbed me, and that's it," Liz continued slowly, as she pieced her memories together. Liz stood up and made her way over to the door, she tried to activate her biotics and several wisps of blue energy appeared across her body. And which promptly dispersed, as the collar released a painful electric shock, sending Liz to her knees with a scream of pain. Ashley yelled out in concern for her friend.

"Well look who's up," came a mocking voice. They both instantly turned and saw a figure on the other side of the door. He was obviously a Turian, but due to the black armour he wore, they couldn't discern anything else about him. "What do you want with us?" Liz asked with a glare. The Turian gave a chuckle, "oh come on now, even a couple of apes like you are smart enough to figure that out," he said mockingly. Before his tone turned incredibly hostile, "did you truly believe there would be no consequences for your actions? That your crimes would go unanswered?!" Neither of the women were intimidated by his words. "So, this is about revenge for what happened on Eden Prime, and everything that followed," Ash stated bitterly. "Indeed, it's for all the lives that have been lost in the chaos the four of you unleashed," he stated. "Reaper released all that information to the galaxy, not us, asshole," Liz stated. The Turian only began chuckling again, "do you believe us to be so naive. How did Reaper know of the events on Eden Prime so that he could co-opt the broadcast? He knew, because the four of you told him. He knew, because you four are Cerberus," he declared. Both of them stared at him, completely dumbstruck. "We both fought Reaper when he attacked the Spectre office!" Ashley yelled, in defiance of the figure's claims. "And yet you still live, when hundreds have died facing him, do you have an explanation for that?" the figure asked, coldly. Both of them fell silent, after a pause, Liz finally responded. "Because he was toying with us," she muttered under her breath, as she recalled her fight against him. The Turian looked at her slightly curious. "He was toying with us!" she yelled this time, "we weren't a threat, so he had some fun! I saw what he was like, his unrestrained anger, the revelry he took in the violence. Do you think that's the humanity I want the galaxy to see!"

The Turian merely stared at her, "whatever your personal feelings towards Cerberus and Reaper. It does not change the fact that your crimes are inexcusable, and you will answer for them," he said. Ash gave a dry laugh, "please spare us the righteousness crap. Any kind of credibility the Hierarchy or the Citadel Council had, was destroyed. And you just want someone to punished for it, you're too much of a coward to try and target Reaper. So, you thought you would go after someone you believed you could actually handle," Ash sneered, seeing right through the Turians false claims. Liz chuckled as well, "yeah, Saren told me that the Hierarchy tried to make a deal with the Alliance to hand over my brother, but they were refused immediately," she said smugly. The Turian didn't respond, he pressed a button on his omni-tool and both women fell to the ground in pain as the collars shocked them. "That will be rectified soon enough, when Alenko and your brother join you," he seethed. "Good luck with that," Ash said with a grin, confident that these fools would never be able to grab John. "And what's your plan after you have us?" Liz asked, hoping to glean more information. "Broadcasted execution? Because you've got to realised by now that stuffs only going to drive more people to Cerberus' cause. The Citadel Council is a hair breath away from a civil war, do you really want to try and provoke a fight with Cerberus and the Alliance," she stated. The Turian looked at her, Liz got the impression he was glaring from beneath his helmet. "That is true. We will not be able to give the public the closure they deserve. We will also have to ensure, that none of this is connected back to the Citadel races." He leaned closer towards them, "I'm almost tempted to tell you what our intentions are, so that I may see the looks of horror on your faces. But I would hate to spoil the surprise," he turned around to leave. Just before he passed from view, "I will tell you this. Death will seem like a kindness, compared to the fate you two have been condemned to."

000

Location: Citadel, Zakera Ward, Residential Area

Time: 11:00 CST

Saren and Garrus paced around the apartment belonging to the hotel security guard. "You know if my dad was here, he would be giving me a lecture about breaking into someone's home without a warrant," Garrus remarked. "Your father has a strong sense of justice, it's one of his best traits. Unfortunately, he still upholds it in circumstances where the 'law' is controlled by those who would abuse it," Saren responded. "Keep looking Garrus, we need to find something before he returns," Saren said. "Why?" Garrus asked, "you can just tell him you're a Spectre." "True, but that would also give him an opportunity to inform others, if he is indeed working with the abductors," responded Saren. "I'm thinking, he might not be the only one," Garrus said, walking over to a nearby picture. He picked it up and glanced at it for a second, as Saren came to stand next to him. Garrus showed the picture to the Spectre, it was a picture of the security guard surrounded by several others in some sort of bar. Both Turians noticed that one of the men in the picture, was the C-sec officer they had also met at the hotel.

"Well, they look friendly," Garrus remarked. "Indeed," said Saren as he made his way over to the terminal, "there can be little doubt that there is a considerable conspiracy behind Shepard and Williams' abduction. Now let's hope that this man is actually involved in it, and could hopefully provide some information." Saren was easily able to bypass the security, "something in his recent messages. 'Invited tonight, remember when to turn the lights off,' I believe that is referring to when he altered the security footage. Obviously, they are communicating in this way so as not to reveal anything incriminating," Saren stated. Garrus slammed his fist into his palm, "I'm beginning to think we should go with Shepard's plan. Make him talk," he said. Saren sighed in frustration, "even with my Spectre authority, we have only suspicions, no evidence." Suddenly, a new message was received on the terminal, "it's talking about celebrating at the usual place," Garrus said, after reading it. Saren rested his Talons on his chin as he considered their options. He then glanced back at the image. "We have a plan?" asked Garrus. Saren smiled, "what's the saying Vakarian? Killing a single Pyjak yields little achievement, but if you scare them enough, they'll run back to their nests," Saren stated.

000

Location: Citadel, C-sec Headquarters

Time: 11:30 CST

Saren was able to learn the current location of the C-sec officer they sought, through his contacts, they learned that he had returned to C-sec headquarters to make his report about the current situation. They quickly made their way to C-sec headquarters. They found him sitting at his desk, they slowly approached him from behind. Saren calmly placed his prosthetic hand on the Turian's shoulder, who flinched at the sudden contact. "We'd like a quick word officer," Saren said, with a menacing undertone. The two quickly escorted him to a nearby vacant interrogation room. The C-sec officer glared at them both, "what the hell makes you think you can do this?" he said scathingly. The other two Turians merely glared back at him, "maybe because I'm a Spectre. And if I felt inclined, I could shoot you with no repercussions," Saren said, coldly. The C-sec officer shifted slightly, but otherwise didn't react. "I have nothing to say to either of you," he stated. "Fine. Then for the moment, you can shut up and listen," Garrus said as he forced him into a chair. "Elizabeth Shepard and Ashley Williams were kidnapped officer," Saren said, his eyes fixed on the man, ready to analyse what is reaction would be. The officer merely shrugged, "we found no evidence of any kind of struggle, or anything else that would support that idea," he said uncaringly. "That's because you were involved in it," Saren said. Garrus stared at the older Turian, in complete shock by his bluntness. Although he showed no obvious outward signs, with his years of experience, Saren was able to notice the subtle signs. He had made this man nervous.

The officer was quickly able to hide his discomfort, "I don't know what you're talking about," he said. "Yes, you do," Garrus said, as he placed the photo they had taken from the guard's apartment on the table. "That's you, and that's the security guard from the hotel," he said pointing to both individuals. He turned to glare at the officer again, "the one who tampered with the hotel security footage to cover up the kidnappings," Garrus said with hostility. The C-sec officer didn't show any reaction, "we checked the security footage. There were only a few minutes missing. Most likely a technical glitch," he replied. "He also received an invitation to some kind of celebration, I get the feeling that if we checked your terminal, we would find a similar invite," Garrus continued. The officer merely looked away. Garrus slammed his fist on the table, having finally lost his patience, "that guard tampered with security footage, allowing those two women to be kidnapped. And your investigation, or lack thereof, is ensuring that we can't find out where they were taken!" Garrus yelled. "No," the officer replied. Garrus then grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the wall, "I'm done asking questions," he seethed. Saren immediately stood up and placed a hand on Garrus's shoulder, "take a breath Garrus, I don't think that approach is going to work with someone like him," said Saren. Garrus took a deep breath before releasing the officer, and backed away. Saren narrowed his eyes as the officer looked at Garrus with a smug expression on his face. "I wouldn't look so happy if I were you," the Spectre stated, "he's the nicer one," he said in a threatening tone, which caused the officer to flinch back slightly. "You would do yourself a huge favour by telling us what we want to know," Saren stated, coldly. "You don't know what you're talking about," he said. "We got you connected to the kidnapping," Saren said forcefully, "and if those girls die, don't expect to get a trial." He expected the threat to scare the officer slightly, but instead he seemed to find a new well of conviction within himself as he fixed Saren with a hard stare. "Unlike you, some Turians are willing to die for a righteous cause," he stated. Saren narrowed his eyes, "well I really hope you're one of them."

"What in the name of the Spirits is going on here," a loud voice demanded. Both Garrus and Saren turned their heads in the direction of the door to the interrogation room. A Turian stood in the doorway, he was wearing a C-sec uniform, although Garrus had to admit it was more decorated than any C-sec uniform he had ever seen. Saren narrowed his eyes as he recognised the newcomer. "Executor Pallin. Thank the Spirits you're here. Please, you've got to stop this harassment," the officer said, his previously smug tone, gone in favour of one of fake relief. Garrus's eyes widened in surprise, this man was Executor Venari Pallin. The man in charge of all C-sec operations. Garrus knew that his father had worked with Pallin a number of times, when they were both regular C-sec officers, and had once spoken fairly highly of him. But as they had both risen in the ranks something happened between them. He had no idea what, he only knew that whenever his father saw vids of the Executor, he scowled with a hatred that Garrus didn't think his father was capable of.

The Executor fixed both of them with a cold glare, "explain yourselves," he stated, coldly, "why are you assaulting one of my officers?" "They think I'm involved in the kidnapping of those two human girls," the C-sec officer spoke up. The Executor slowly looked at both of them, his harsh gaze unwavering, "I was under the impression that there was no evidence of a kidnapping," he stated. "There's no evidence, because your officers haven't even bothered to look," Garrus said through gritted teeth. Pallin glared at him, and looked the young Turian up and down. "Vakarian? You're Castis' son? He always said you were a hot-headed boy," he said in a deeply condescending tone, "do you think, just because you were able to get away with killing Turians before, that you have free reign to do whatever you please?" he asked, his tone more threatening this time. Garrus clenched his fist at the insult. "As we said," Saren cut in, "we are investigating the kidnapping of two women." He then walked up to the executor, "and you should remember that I am a Spectre Pallin. I have the authority to pursue any avenues of enquiry I deem significant," Saren said, matching the Executors tone. "I wouldn't be so sure of that Arterius," came another voice. Saren's eyes narrowed further, as behind Pallin stood Kuril, the head of clandestine operations. "What are you doing here Kuril?" Saren asked, although he already had a good idea. "I'm here to prevent you from wasting everyone's time Arterius, including yours," he answered, smugly. "You're telling me I shouldn't pursue a possible lead?" Saren questioned, his eyes narrowed. "I'm telling you that C-sec has enough to deal with, what with all the riots and mobs currently taking place, without also having to deal with harassment from Spectres," replied Kuril. The increasing amount of stonewalling was getting on Garrus's last nerve, as evident from his trembling fists. "We have him linked-," Garrus started as he pointed to the officer. But he was cut off as Pallin glared at him again, "what you have is speculation and theories. Didn't your father teach you the importance of gathering all the evidence before acting. Or have you found Shepard's method of going in guns blazing, and cutting down everything that moves too appealing," he said mockingly. Garrus wanted to deck the Executor right there, but was able to restrain himself. Kuril looked back at Saren, "if I were you Arterius, I would stop wasting your time here, and actually look into what happened to those two women," he said. Saren glared at him, before turning to Garrus, "I don't think we're going to find anything else here Garrus," he said calmly.

As they both exited the interrogation room, he turned back to Kuril. "If you think I'm going to stop looking for them just because of this, you're even more of a fool than I thought. And my opinion of you was already pretty low," he stated. Kuril bristled slightly, "instead of worrying about a pair of human whores, I would be concerned about your own position Arterius. Your position in the Spectres is hanging by a thread," he gave his thinly veiled threat. Saren actually chuckled at that, "I know that's a lie Kuril. The Council can't afford to lose any more Spectres. And I'm incontestably the best Spectre with Agonius dead," he replied. Kuril grew more uncomfortable as the Spectre just brushed his threat aside. "Why?" he asked through gritted teeth, "why are you so desperate to save those humans after what they did?" Saren fixed the other Turian with a glare, "they served under me, and during that time they showed more courage and honour than a lot of Turians I know. They exposed some of the greatest crimes in our history. So, damn the Spirits, if I'm going to leave them to be brutally murdered. And damn anyone who gets in my way of saving them," he said in a dangerous tone. As he turned, "but if the idea of loyalty and saving innocent people is lost on you Kuril, try and look at it this way. If we don't save them, I have a nasty feeling the Citadel can expect another visit from Reaper. And this one won't be as pleasant." He didn't wait for Kuril's answer as he walked out of the building.

As the two of them stormed away from the building, Garrus chose this moment to voice his frustrations. "So, what now? We have no new leads? We have no idea where they are, and time is running out. What did we even learn?" he growled. "A great deal Garrus. We gained an idea of how high this conspiracy goes," Saren stated, coldly. Garrus looked at him for a second, puzzled, before his eyes widened in realisation. Saren then smiled, "and we do not have nothing, I planted a tracker on the C-sec officer," he explained, holding up his omni-tool. "Contact Alenko and Shepard. I think the four of us should attend his little…party.

000

Location: Citadel, Bachjret ward.

Time: 22:30 CST

The C-sec officer that Garrus and Saren had previously interrogated, along with the security guard from the hotel, made their way down the streets of the ward. They stopped at the door to a seemingly abandoned apartment, and after looking around cautiously, to make sure they were alone they knocked. After a few moments the door opened allowing the two of them in.

Unknown to either of them they had been observed by a group of four, hidden in a nearby alleyway. "Well got to hand it to them, this place is nice and out of the way," Garrus remarked. He was immediately silenced by the unamused glares levelled at him by both John and Kaidan. John turned his attention back to the building the two Turians had just gone into, "I get the feeling that Ash and Liz aren't being held here. These people know that the two of them have skills, and unless they've done some serious renovating, the chance of escape would be too great if they were being held here," John voiced his opinion. Outwardly, he seemed calm, but the three of them could tell his anger was bubbling just beneath the surface, ready to go off at the slightest provocation. Kaidan knew that John had wanted to don his reaper armour, and go after the suspects. But he had thankfully been able to convince him that another attack by Cerberus on the Citadel, might be exactly what the Council needs to redirect the Galaxy's hatred back at humanity. Additionally, his name has become so feared on the Citadel, that the mere mention of his appearance might cause the kidnappers to panic, and do something stupid. Which was the last thing Kaidan wanted, either for himself or his friend to go through. "In that case, it is in our best interest if we keep these fools alive long enough for us to interrogate them, to learn where the prisoners are being held," said Saren. John seemed to just continue to stare at the building, but he nodded in agreement to Saren's assessment. "All right, here's the plan," he said.

000

Meanwhile, the two Turians who had walked into the building entered a room where multiple Turians were currently waiting. The room was simple, looking no different than a normal residential apartment, with several sofas and a large vid-screen on the wall. Several of the Turians also wore C-sec uniforms, and waved in greeting to their fellow officer. Meanwhile, there were three Turians completely clad in black armour, obscuring any trace of their identity.

The lead Turian of the trio, looked at the two newcomers, his expression unreadable behind his helmet. 'I just returned from transferring those two bitches, and I'm already hearing reports of a Spectre looking into them. It's time we ensure our tracks have been covered,' he thought. "You mentioned a problem with Arterius," the Turian said to the newly arrived C-sec officer. The harsh tone of the mysterious Turian caused the officer to flinch slightly. "Yes….He was helping the other two murdering bastards, Alenko and Shepard, look into what had happened to the two whores" he said their names with utter disgust. However, he immediately flinched again due to the intimidating aura of the black armoured Turian. "But it's all sorted," he stuttered, "Kuril and Pallin got them off my back. Nothing to worry about," he said, almost as if he was pleading.

It was at that moment that the lights went out. The Turians sprang to their feet and unholstered their weapons. "You incompetent fools, you were followed," the armoured Turian seethed, before drawing his pistol and killing them both. Immediately, the Turians assembled around the room's entrance, all their weapons pointed at the door. Ready to cut down whoever stepped in. They did not however, expect a massive wave of biotic energy to blast through the door and send them all flying. Saren, Alenko and Shepard stepped forward, all three glowing with biotic energy. The Turians, quickly tried to get back up, several of them frozen in stasis, allowing the three intruders to disarm and subdue them without issue. John stood over one of the armoured Turians, before grabbing him by the throat and lifting him up, "where did they take them?" John growled, his anger threatening to surge out of him like a volcano. He heard a click, and looked over his shoulder to see another of the armoured Turians aiming an unfamiliar rifle at him. "This weapon can blast a hole into a bunker in an instant murderer. Don't tempt me t-," he was cut off, as in a flash of blue light, Shepard had slammed into him with a biotic charge. The Turian smashed into the window, dropping his weapon, John caught it before it hit the ground, and crushed it with his biotics. He looked at the downed Turian, struggling for breath against the cracked window, while Kaidan made to secure the first armoured Turian. "I'll ask again. WHERE DID YOU TAKE THEM!? he yelled.

Kaidan, Saren and Shepard had failed to notice the third anonymous Turian. They had assumed he'd been knocked unconscious, but he disproved that assessment as he sprang to his feet, and pressed something on his omni-tool. "We will tell you nothing terrorist!" he yelled back. "It's in your best interest if you do tell us," Saren said coldly, "the only reason I am not tearing you limb from limb myself, is that I know he could do something worse," he threatened, gesturing to Shepard. "So why don't you do yourself a favour and tell us what we want to know." "I knew you had a sickening affection for these apes Arterius, but I never believed your treachery went this deep," he said with disgust. "I will gladly welcome the embrace of the Spirits, knowing that you will die with me." He pressed another button on his omni-tool, and instantly the red lights of several explosives begin flashing around the room. "Burn in hell!" he yelled fanatically. But before he could activate the detonator, a high velocity slug smashed through the window and into his hand, tearing off both his fingers. He only had a second to stare at his hand in shock, before another slug hit his thigh, crippling him. While he fell to the ground, Shepard was on him. He slammed his shoulder onto the Turian, pinning him down. While he grabbed the Turian's arm. He didn't even need to order EDI, as his own omni-tool activated, and she hacked into the Turian's. Quickly deactivating the bombs. Saren pressed his comms, "nice shot Vakarian," he complimented. On the other side of the street, in the opposite building, Garrus waved, still staring down the scope of his sniper rifle.

"Learn anything John?" Kaidan asked. Shepard doesn't respond, he just continued to stare at the information he recovered from the Turian's omni-tool. "John?" Kaidan asked again. Shepard turned around slowly, shock evident on his face, "he wasn't just priming the explosives. He sent a message to his allies. They're moving Liz and Ashley off the Citadel now," he said, panicked. Both Kaidan's and Saren's expressions turned to shock. "Were you able to track where the message was sent to?" Saren asked, almost pleading. "Yes, it's in the warehouse area," John stated. The Turian at Shepard's feet began to laugh. "You won't be able to save them, human. The people you've murdered will finally have their justice. Hahahahaha." He was promptly silenced by a biotic fist to his head.

000

Location: Citadel, Zakera Ward, Warehouse District

Time: 22:50 CST

[BGM start: 'Bet My Life' by Imagine Dragons]

Elizabeth struggled between the pair of armoured Turians. Her hands still shackled behind her back. The Turians had gagged her, and dragged her from the cell to a large loading area just outside the building. Two shuttles were waiting. Although the Turian's wore helmets, hiding their expressions, Liz could tell they were frantic. She deduced that there could only be one reason for that, someone was on their trail. Liz found herself desperately hoping that they would get here in time. For as she was being pulled from her cell, one of the guards had decided to inform her of their intended destination. Despite everything she had been through in her life, the thought of being sent to that place, actually scared her. She looked around the area, large storage crates could be seen in all direction. The shuttles had purposely landed here to obscure them from anybody. There were just over a dozen black armoured Turians. Several of them watching from on top of storage crates. She continued to look around frantically, hoping for some sign that a rescue was on its way.

A sign she saw when one of the vigilant Turian guards patrolling the top of the crates, suddenly went slack and fell backwards. Only to be caught, and gently lowered by a biotic field. Realising what this meant, she began to resume her struggling, causing more guards to shift their attention towards her and the two guards holding her to exert more effort in forcing her towards the shuttle. Behind another of the crates, another Turian suddenly went slack, as a high velocity slug passed through his head. Kaidan caught the body before it fell, and dragged it out of sight. He peaked around the corner. His eyes instantly locked on the struggling form of Liz. There was no sign of Williams, he deduced she was probably on the other shuttle, just about to take off. He saw one of the Turians finally lose his patients with Elizabeth's defiance, and backhanded her across the face. Kaidan's hand involuntary clenching at the sight. 'Those bastards are going to pay for that,' His eyes widened in surprise slightly at such a strong reaction. 'Where did that come from? I mean, I know we fought together. And she's definitely got a lot of likeable qualities. She's courageous, driven, beautiful…' Kaidan immediately cleared his head. They were here on rescue mission, even the smallest mistake could cost them.

A small distance away. John's hands shot out, as he grabbed another of the Turians. He made sure to use one hand to cover the Turian's mouth and prevent him from crying out. He then plunged his combat knife into his jugular. John dragged the body behind a container, before looking back at the current situation. 'She is there John. They have hurt her. What are you waiting for? Unleash your power. Save her. Make them pay.' The voice of the entity echoed in his ears. And he had to admit it was taking every bit of restraint not to charge out there, 'still weak. Still unwilling to do what must be done,' the entity said in a condescending tone. Shepard immediately pushed any thoughts about the entity to one side. He knew any course of action involving subtlety was vanishing, as the engines of the Kodiak shuttles began to warm up. "We do not have any more time. I'm disabling the shuttle," he stated. "Acknowledged," replied Saren. With that John unholstered his assault rifle and ran out of cover. He opened fire, quickly overwhelming the kinetic barriers of a couple of Turians before gunning them down. The gunfire caught the attention of everyone there, but before they could react John launched a shockwave, sending those directly in his path flying, as he continued to run forward. As he went, he crushed the throat of one of the downed Turians with a curb stomp. Another had just gotten back to his feet, but a biotic backhand smashed his head against a crate. Seeing that the first shuttle had already began to hover, John knew he didn't have any time left. He grabbed a grenade from his belt and threw it. It latched onto one of the Kodiak's thrusters, and detonated. Wanting to prevent any harm coming to Ash, who he assumed was on the shuttle, he had deliberately used a lower yield grenade. Therefore, the explosion merely damaged the thruster, causing it to make a clumsy, but hardly dangerous landing. John sighed in relief, but that was quickly swept aside as he heard one of the Turians yell, "kill the anarchist. Justice for those he murdered on Eden Prime." And pretty much, every single Turian opened fire on him. John was only just able to raise a biotic barrier in time, to shield him from the initial volley, and it protected him till he found cover behind a nearby supply crate. But unfortunately, he was pinned down. And could do nothing as the two Turians finally forced Liz into the other shuttle.

Fortunately, he received a reprieve, as three more Turians were cut down, courtesy of Garrus' sniper skills. Another Turian was hurled backwards with a biotic pull from Saren, who promptly finished him off with a shot to the head. Kaidan then leaned out of cover, and cast a singularity, pulling two Turians into the orbs gravitational pull, before he gunned them both down. He stopped as he saw the Turians strap Liz into one of the chairs of the Kodiak shuttle. He looked in the other direction to see Shepard completely pinned down. He knew his friend could easily overwhelm those attacking him, but it would mean revealing his powers. He looked back at the desperately struggling Elizabeth, and steeled his resolve. After everything she had done for other people, he wasn't going to let her be taken somewhere to be tortured to death. But the Kodiak was already rising into the air, and he didn't have his Ironman armour, or John's super human abilities. But as he looked at the hovering Kodiak, he knew what he had to do. He activated his biotics and leapt onto one of the nearby cargo containers. He then began to sprint along the top of them, on an intercept course with the Kodiak shuttle. He pushed himself faster than he had ever gone before. He knew his window was tiny, and if he failed, they might never be able to save Liz. As he reached the end of the container, he leapt off the edge. He hovered in the air for a second, the Kodiak shuttle directly in front of them. Then he activated a biotic charge.

His charge took him into the passenger area of the shuttle. Where he slammed one of the Turians against the opposite door. The force actually causing the other door to break off, and the guard to fall out. The other Turian, quickly tried to regain his senses and bring his weapon to bear. But it was at this moment that Liz lashed out with her legs, and kicked the Turian out of the shuttle. Unfortunately, as he fell, he let off a burst from his rifle. Kaidan quickly dived in front of Liz, and activated his biotics. Thankfully, no high velocity slugs hit them. Unthankfully, they hit the Kodiak's pilot. He slumped forward dead onto the controls, causing the shuttle to begin to spin around wildly. Acting quickly, Kaidan cut through the straps, securing Liz to the chair, then picked her up, bridal style, and jumped out of the Kodiak. As the ground came to meet them, Kaidan activated his biotics again, slowing their descent. He landed with one knee on the ground. He stood back up and flashed a smile towards Liz. It was then he noticed her blush and he also realised; he was still carrying her. His cheeks lit up, as he promptly helped her stand up, and removed her gag. "Thanks for the save Kaidan," Liz said with a smile, "but if you tell anyone about that specific part, I will make you beg for death," she finished with a laugh. Kaidan gave his own chuckle, "my lips are sealed," he responded.

[BGM end]

Shepard let out an immense sigh of relief. He desperately wanted to run over and hug his sister. But he quickly realised she hadn't been the only one they were here to rescue. He made his way over to the crippled shuttle. He pulled the door open, "Ash?" he called out. Inside there were several unconscious Turians…..but no one else. "Ash?" He called out again, slightly more frantic. "John," he turned his head as he heard Liz call out to him. "She's not here John," Liz said, her voice trembling slightly, "she was taken somewhere else," she finished. John's eyes widened as the horrible realisation set in. They had no idea where this other landing site was, for all they knew Ash could already be….

"hahahah," they all heard the weak chuckling of one of the Turians in the Kodiak shuttle. Struggling to breathe, as he choked on his own blood. "Her shuttle….just left the citadel…..you will never see your whore again Shepard, hahaha-" his laughter was promptly cut off by a shot to the head.

John lowered his trembling weapon, then after a few moments of agonising silence. Let loose a deafening roar of anger.