We are back, with another chapter for Are We Alone, hope you like it. Been struggling a little with Transcendence so I plan to branch out and do some other stories as I get my mojo back for that. This is going to be one of them, along with United and Lords of Warcraft, the latter deserves some love after so long.
Now this is the beginning of the events revolving around some of our beloved character, mostly those that we picked up on the Citadel. So enjoy.
Are We Alone
Chapter 14: Law and Order: C-Sec
Citadel, Zakera Ward, Block 233
"That is… that is the sum of it, sir."
Garrus had somehow managed to maintain his composure through the entire debriefing with his superior, even with the dozens of officers and medical teams running around the plaza. The entire square was practically a madhouse, hundreds of personnel crammed into area, from C-Sec personnel and medics, to the many wounded (and dead) that needed treatment or transport. It was hard to hear his superior in one ear while a dozen others were all shouting over one another to be heard in the other, but Garrus made due. The amount of detail he had to go into to explain things to Pallin had made the debriefing a long and arduous affair, yet even then he felt as if he had come up short. But the man had looked a half-step and a robbery gone wrong away from a breakdown, so Garrus relented. For all that he had told him, all the major and minor details about what had happened on this Block, he had only one thing on his mind right now.
In all of Garrus' years working at C-Sec, he had only seen the Executor look worried once before, and that was when the Council had decided to personally visit the headquarters. Sure, they had booked the tour three months in advance, even delayed it another month due to scheduling issues, but the Executor had been on his toes the entire time. That had been the only time he seemed nervous, but it couldn't compare to what the Turian was doing now.
He was pacing. Slowly and calmly with only his fists clenched and his mandibles twitching, but pacing none the less.
Pallin was a rigid man in both principles and life. He did his job while barely moving from his post, almost a statue dedicated to his purpose, and yet now he was a jittery, pacing, mess who looked ready to tear his own hide off. But could Garrus honestly blame him? No, no he couldn't. Pallin was the head of C-Sec and he had the job of protecting this station from all threats. He had done his job for years, done it well in fact, but just what did you do when a creature that could tank AA-guns, quite literally crashed in for a visit?
"How long has it been on the station?" Pallin finally asked, finding his voice after a long moment.
"Twenty minutes, sir." Garrus replied, a bit surprised that there hadn't been any tremors or alarms or really anything for them to track just where the anomaly, Ichigo, was. If it had been that Kenpachi that the Torfan soldiers wouldn't shut up about he was sure they wouldn't be so lucky.
"Word will get out soon enough, especially if that thing is running around. Then it's a matter of minutes before panic sets in and everyone starts running to get off this station." Pallin said, shaking his head and rubbing the ridge over his eyes. "We need to see about getting evacuations in order, to control the flow before it controls us."
He was muttering now, but it wasn't the quiet ramblings of a man who had lost his head- even when panicked he could think straight. Evacuation plans needed to be put into order, if even a single anomaly was on the station, then it was likely something was going to get destroyed and people were going to die. The anomaly might be relatively passive currently, but all it took was one asshole thinking his gun was loaded with silver bullets for everything to go south. They had to get as many people out as possible, but that was going to be hard to convince anyone to leave without a reason.
But the actual reason would just cause the very panic he was trying to avoid, resulting in swarmed ships and trampled civilians. The only option was to be vague, to not tell them the 'insignificant' details about the treat. They could be carted off in groups that wouldn't clog the system, and everything would be cheery and bright and sunshine and rainbows.
Garrus scoffed. Maybe in a perfect world things would end up that way, but a world where an anomaly was prancing around without a care in the world was anything but. Their only saving grace was that the idea of an anomaly being on the Citadel was so ridiculous that people would probably think he was some extremist playing dress-up. And then some genius would get it into their head to take a swing at the 'human' and effectively set off a nuke with legs.
"Vakarian, I want you to clean this up. Keep the people here for the time being and hopefully that will keep the lid on this for a little while. I need to report to the Council." Pallin replied and didn't stay to hear out Garrus' protests.
Garrus didn't even bother to complain, instead sighing and accepting his orders. Understandable, given what was going on, but there was also more to the situation that just that anomaly waltzing around the Citadel like he owned the dame place (and if he stuck his sword in the corpses of the Council and declared himself king, what could any of them do?), like the mysterious merc group. They had shot up an entire plaza, killing dozens, and all for just one Quarian.
But here he was, stuck with keeping the wounded from going back to their homes, or to the nearest exit terminal off this station.
'Great, and he sticks me with this.' Garrus grumbled, if only within his own personal thoughts. Even if this was probably for the safety of the entire Citadel, he still felt he had other things he could be doing.
"What did the Executor say?"
Garrus' head snapped to the side to see Chellick strolling up to him, a bit sluggish but otherwise unharmed.
"Chellick, where have you been? Last I saw, you were on the tail of those mercs!" Garrus barked. He was glad his colleague was alive and kicking, but the man had just up and vanished on him and he'd been ready to assume the worst.
"Got ambushed by two of the bastards: they nearly did me in before that Krogan showed up. I tried to detain him after he killed them both, but bastard threw me into a wall." Chellick replied with an exaggerated roll of his shoulder that seemed to actually hurt if the way he winced was anything to go by.
"Yeah, I ran into him as well. Took one of the two surviving mercs with him." Garrus grumbled. And considering that the other merc was being carted back to Headquarters to be put in holding, there was no telling how long it would be before they could question him. Or if they would even be given the chance to; if evacuations were going to happen then Garrus likely wouldn't be part of Citadel Security much longer. You needed a Citadel to actually be the security for it.
"Any idea what this entire gunfight was about?" Chellick asked.
"They were after someone- a Quarian. I saw them chasing her and it sounded like their boss wanted her dead for some reason." Garrus replied, the mystery as to why still eluded him.
"Probably stole a credit chip or something."
"Unless that credit chip had a few million credits on it you don't shoot up half of the Zakera Wards to get it back." Garrus shot back at the easy explanation. Even ten million credits wouldn't be worth such a brazen attack, not when it would bring Citadel Security down on the organization's head. And even if it wasn't such a public place, the entire thing screamed overkill. Eight trained and heavily armed mercenaries for one Quarian that likely had little to no fighting experience? No, whatever it was had to be either time-sensitive, information, or something else that couldn't be allowed to get out, no matter what.
"There has to be more to this than we realize. I can feel it. If they sent that many after her there had to be a reason, especially if it meant getting heat from us to just kill her."
There had been a report Garrus had managed to catch the tail end of about a shootout at a factory a few blocks down, likely the same one they were responding to. Seven more bodies, seven more dead, but what made it truly interested was the reports of an armed Asari group sighted in the area, working with the other mercs. The only Mercenary group that came to mind was the Eclipse, but there hadn't been issues with them on the Citadel for years now. Not when the galaxy was a massive place with plenty of poorly guarded planets. Most of the Citadel's problems started and ended with small-time gangs and thugs that were rarely violent and tended to sell illegal goods for quick cash. And even those were quick to be stomped out by authorities as soon as a single mistake was made. This wasn't Omega or the Terminus Systems where the ruler was the one with the biggest gun and the most manpower and entire armies of mercenaries clashed as each attempted to carve out their own territory.
So a group of armed Asari involved in a shootout with a merc group sounded suspicious to him, and considering there were no bodies, it raised more questions. Something was going on, and if this entire firefight was over just one Quarian then they needed to find her. She would have the answers they needed, and likely information to crumble the very same groups that were coming after her.
"What did Pallin say?" Chellick inquired, and instantly Garrus knew that the roadblock to actually investigating this issue had reared its ugly head.
"He was more concerned about the Anomaly than anything else and ordered me to stay here and handle clean up while he breaks the news to the Council."
"I see. Also, I heard that you met the Anomaly. It reduced one poor bastard to paste, and yet somehow you were able to negotiate with it to let the last suspect live." Chellick replied, one might think his tone was sly, but Garrus knew for a fact that he was awed.
Garrus less awed and more in delayed shock that he had talked with a being that people – from humans to plenty of other races – worshiped as a god. A literal god. He had gone up, and, in a less-than-graceful negotiation, had been able to broker a trade with the anomaly. Anyone else would probably try and pat themselves on the back for such an accomplishment, and Garrus certainly would make a joke out of it, but…
"It was the most nerve-wracking experience of my entire life." Garrus said, slumping as he recalled the feeling of meeting the not-human's gaze, willingly staring down a wild beast. It was terrifying.
But he had survived that experience, either by chance or dumb luck he wasn't going to guess, and he planned to figure out this mystery.
"I don't think I need to tell you I plan on looking into the Quarian, right?" Garrus said, keeping his words low and even shutting off his optical interface just in case. Having a record was sometimes good, but not in this case when you are about to commit insubordination.
"Why am I not surprised you want to do this?" Chellick said, though, it was a shock his partner didn't sound more enthused.
For the last few years the two of them had been forced to put cases on hold and stop investigations because of the human population becoming unruly. They had been forced to police an entire species, both to protect the Citadel and the human race itself from harm. Needless to say, it was a thankless hassle.
Garrus didn't want to admit it since it was a childish thing, and he thought his bitching had made his point clear enough, but he hated being unable to chase down and catch criminals. Not really, not anymore with the current policies. The only word to describe how he felt day in and day out was antsy, he wanted to go out and investigate a crime scene or go after a criminal. But that wasn't something he could do. Not with the rising tension and the Council's poor attempts to police the humans that ended up backfiring more often than not. It was an endless cycle of anger on the verge of tipping over, for months now, and it had become a daily occurrence. It was only a matter of time before it became an endless brawl where everyone just didn't stop fighting even after the bodies started to drop.
Garrus couldn't fix that- it was well out of his hands. But anything like what happened here was well within his power to at least attempt to solve. Because if it went unaddressed, people might start thinking this was an attack on the Council by humans. All the mercenaries had been human, and people would realize and be quick to cast judgement and their own twisted 'justice'.
"This is our chance to do something." Garrus said. "Think about what could happen if we let this go: there will be more attacks and more shootings. If these mercs are willing to shoot up an entire plaza, then there's no way they wouldn't be willing to do the same somewhere else. Worse still, imagine what the people here would think about a group of humans shooting up a bustling marketplace in the Wards?"
"I… I see your point." Chellick replied, understanding the logic behind it. It was a scenario that was easy to imagine: people would cast blame on the closest thing they could with no regards for logic or reason.
"Great, then we should investigate this immediately."
"You're just are looking for something to do because you hate this job since you can't chase criminals anymore." Chellick was as blunt as ever, and Garrus internally panicked.
"Nothing of the sort! Now come on, we need to do a little digging." Garrus said a little too fast, turning around and moving for the edge of the plaza.
He could hear Chellick muttering something, probably questioning his sanity for going along with this, but still fell in line next to his partner. Garrus was glad his good buddy was going to be there to help him through this, and the reassurance that at least one person would have his back lifted some of the weight from his shoulders.
But they had to get a move on; that Quarian had been injured and there was no telling if she was still in mortal danger or not. Knowing Quarians, she could already be fatally infected and might have mere minutes if they didn't get to her immediately. They needed to get info, they need to get it fast, and they had only a single potential contact.
"We don't have a lot of time on our hands, so maybe skipping the investigation and going right to hunting down those responsible will do." Garrus said.
"Planning on interrogating the perp? Or seeing if we can find anything down at the warehouse?" Chellick asked.
"No, would take too long, we need info in the next few minutes rather than hours. We need to have a word with an Information Broker."
An Information Broker's main trade was exactly as it sounded: buying and selling information. A Broker rarely cared what information they bought or what they sold, so long as it held some value. People from every circle of life knew one thing or another about every person they knew, and even the smallest detail, the tiniest crack, could bring the rich and powerful to their knees. There were a few people around them even now, snitches and small peddlers that saw things on the streets and sold what they knew to anyone. But they were small-time, and their information varied wildly and was often just as unreliable. If you wanted something useful and was actually valuable, then a Broker was your only choice. There was only one known broker on the Citadel, and he was part of the biggest network in the Galaxy, serving as one of the Shadow Broker's many arms. An enigma that no one had any idea if the person existed, or if he or she was just a spokesman that acted as a figurehead for an organization.
The Shadow Broker had agents on nearly every major planet and station across the galaxy, selling information almost indiscriminately, so long as the price was right. It was a dangerous trade, hoarding all those secrets, with no way to know what someone could do with it. The Shadow Broker was a powerful individual indeed, a million secrets in hands that cared little for right or wrong.
With that kind of power, one had to wonder just how much pull he had in the Galaxy.
"We won't be getting anything out of a Broker unless we have the credits to pay for it, and don't think being detectives will mean a thing to them." Chellick replied. "Besides, if we pay, Pallin will boot us down to maintenance. Or worse."
Garrus knew that, heck, everyone in his unit knew that. Pallin had a low tolerance to using the Shadow Broker, or any information brokers for that matter, for leads. Sure, he may turn a blind eye to speaking with some street punks who might have seen a little more than they let on, but paying a "know it all that tried to make a living selling other people's business" was unacceptable to him. It might have seemed understandable to not wish to collaborate with someone as much a threat as the Shadow Broker, but Garrus knew better. Collaborate would imply that C-Sec and the Shadow Broker were on even footing when that couldn't be farther from the truth. The Shadow Broker quite simply knew things that C-Sec didn't, had information that could stop crimes, bring down criminal organizations, and bring about the end of corruption in almost all forms of Government.
And yet the Shadow Broker sold that information, power over people's lives, like simple goods.
But-
"We have to risk it: that Quarian is in danger and we have to be the ones to step up and save her."
"You say it like saving this Quarian is somehow like saving an important political figure, or maybe an attractive woman. I'm really starting to wonder just why you want to do this so much." Chellick said, staring right at Garrus as he made that pointed accusation.
"No. What I'm actually saying is that saving the Quarian is important because it helps us uncover the real reason as to why those mercs were willing to shoot up a plaza just to get her." Garrus replied, glaring at his partner for thinking so little of him.
There was more to this than just a Quarian being attacked by thugs. As much as she was the victim, she was also their only lead. It may sound callous, even cruel from a certain perspective, but she was just a means an end, a way to continue the case. If they didn't, they would keep coming after the girl until she, and anyone who happened to be nearby, was dead. The faster they dealt with this, the less people that would get hurt.
"Come on, I know a guy on the Presidium. His name is Barla Von." Chellick said with a defeated sigh.
Well, at least he was on board now.
Wrex downed his drink like any good Krogan would: in the blink of an eye while hardly making a face. The drink was foul, but not half as terrible as the idiot beside him that kept rambling on about details that he truly didn't care to remember. He couldn't for the life of him believe that he met this idiot again, after all these years. Honestly, he was surprised the idiot wasn't dead all things considered. Although he had to wonder what Jasox was doing here on the Citadel. But considering who the human was working for, it wasn't hard to guess what he was doing for a living.
It was a lucky break that the merc he had caught had been someone he had met on another job a few years ago. Their previous working arrangement (and Wrex's gun to his head) had been enough to convince the guy to spill what he knew without too much violence. Well, besides what that anomaly had already done at least, and Wrex may or may not have threatened to throw the poor bastard back at that monster's feet. Even if this human had helped him out of a burning ship, the fucking idiot had been the one to cause that problem in the first place just because he didn't turn up when he was needed.
He tried to argue back about that. But it was an argument that died quickly when Wrex threatened to end him if he didn't start talking some sense.
That did the trick and now Wrex had the guy's life story after that faithful day. Jasox had been stranded on the station for the last five years, working odd jobs until he'd been employed more permanently by Fist, and-
"Fist hired me to run security for the Wards, what with humans being targeted by every other race out there they needed protection. So Fist saw this as a good way to earn some extra credits on the side, ah, motivated by how he was being targeted too."
-Unimportant shit Wrex didn't care about.
The Turian bartender ignored Jasox when he gestured for a refill, glaring as the human when he started to loudly demand another drink. Wrex was starting to get the picture now, and it seemed like Jasox wasn't bullshitting him when he said that humans were now on everyone's shit list.
Probably the only reason they were being served was because Wrex was with him, and no one denies a Krogan a drink when he asks for it. Still it was a strange thing to see; a human and Krogan sharing drinks and not acting like thirty minutes ago they were trying to murder one another. But such was the life of a mercenary now: you may be enemies one day and then comrades the next, before going back to enemies the following week. Mercs only serve the highest bidder, so good friends and respect amongst fellow mercenaries is almost non-existent.
"Then why is Fist still here?" Wrex grumbled, glaring ahead into the reflective back wall of the bar where the multicolour bottles and drinks refracted a sickly rainbow.
"Humans are not permitted to leave the station unless they have legitimate reason and the paperwork to get off said station. And being hated by everyone on said station isn't good enough to get off this shithole, not when too many people leaving would cause the economy to collapse or something." Jasox replied, finally getting a bottle angrily slammed on the table before him and refilling his glass. "Fist could get the paperwork if he really needed to, but it would be more trouble than just hiring some guards. And then he had to improvise and do something to keep himself afloat."
Wrex knew enough, hunting down Fist had been a lot trickier than he had counted on. For good reason- the bastard had lost his home and business to rioters and looters. Most of his alien crew had bailed on him at the very start, and only those who could be bought had stayed around to help him. The racketeering ring he ran had almost every human in the area paying a good sum of money to keep the other races off their backs, and such a venture had earned him many enemies. So Fist had gotten good at hiding and keeping himself away from any unknowns that might threaten him.
It was only by chance he had heard that a group of his men were going to take someone out in the factory. He had hoped that he could ambush the man there, only for Fist to be a no-show. But while he didn't get Fist, he did get one hell of a firefight with at least two dozen other hired guns, and not all of them had been human either.
"But we have some friends who say that they'll get him and all his men off the station if we help them take care of a little problem. That Quarian." Jasox continued, not caring of Wrex was listening or not as he grumbled to himself, obviously tipsy.
Well that was news to Wrex. Just what the hell would one of the suitrats have to do with something this big? Well, the Quarian wasn't exactly his problem, but Jasox so-called 'friends' back at the warehouse were. He killed seven mercs easy enough, but those five Asari were a lot harder to handle, and they got away without even a scratch on them.
"I take it you mean those Asari? What do they want with a Quarian?" Wrex asked.
"She's got data on our new friends' boss- data they do not want to get out." Jasox replied, bringing his glass up again. "If we get it, they'll take us off this damn station and straight to Illium. From there it's a clear shot into the Terminus."
Jasox might be acting helpful, but Wrex didn't think it was just because he was good at being threatening (which he was), but that the slippery bastard was trying to keep him busy. If Wrex was here listening to the guy's life story, then he couldn't go out and find Fist and murder him. That left the man free to keep looking for the Quarian, kill her, and then he could be off-station within minutes. So the Quarian was the key to Fist's escape, and he couldn't have that happening.
Wrex kept his thoughts to himself, for now, "What can you tell me about these friends of yours? From their equipment they don't look like regular mercenaries."
"There are two groups helping us: one is headed by Captain V'naria, and the other is a merc called Jacobus." Jasox replied.
Wrex knew the latter- Jacobus was someone he had worked with before a few years ago. But the implications of it made Wrex wary, because he knew who that bastard worked for. Jacobus was part of a small company that worked directly for a Turian Spectre, Saren Arterius, and that didn't sit well with Wrex. Just why would someone so highly-ranked do grunt work like this?
"I know Jacobus. But V'naria, who is she?" Wrex rumbled.
"Asari Commando. She has an entire squad with her, and she's a mean piece of work too. I wouldn't want to fight her." Jasox replied.
Asari Commandos were the best of the best in the Asari military. Their Biotics and skill alone made them dangerous, but the years, decades even, of training they received made them deadly. He had faced a few in his time, and all of them had been close calls. He fought against one on an old space station and for days they battled and destroyed that old hunk of metal. Neither of them died.
Fighting a squad of them would be tricky at best, suicide at worst. Hell, he didn't even think he was up for it.
But he knew enough about Commandos to know that they were either assigned to the military, joined up with a mercenary outfit, or they were guards to someone important. And with the way the five he'd seen had worked together, he had to guess they have been a team for a while now. Which meant someone's personal hit squad and not just a random collection of hired guns, ain't that just wonderful?
"Does their boss have a name?" Wrex asked, although he had a good feeling he already knew who it was.
"Fist mentioned a 'Saren' a few times." Jasox replied.
It was just as Wrex had feared, because Saren was probably the one guy that he did not want to have after his head besides Aria. Having formally worked under Saren for even a short time gave him a good feel for what kind of man the Turian was: ruthless and prone to seeing his assets as disposable. Wrex wondered if he should tell Jasox that the last merc group Saren used were all dead within a week of working for him. But considering that they wouldn't be getting off the station with Wrex's paycheck, he decided they would be safe(ish).
'If any of them survives, technically I'll be saving them. Or I will just be moving up their executions?' Wrex thought, and only felt amused by the idea.
When Wrex had been contacted to silence Fist since the human had made the mistake of selling secrets to an unknown party, he had no idea who Fist's buyer was, until now. Saren was the one that made Fist turn, and likely was trying to get whatever information he could before silencing them all. The man didn't like having any loose ends, he had a reputation to keep, one that the not even the Council was likely aware of. It was amazing just how many places someone could have their fingers and still leave the Council clueless.
'This is going to be a pain in the ass to deal with.' Wrex thought.
Not only was he dealing with Fist and his cronies, but they were being bolstered by a seasoned merc outfit and a squad of Asari Commandos. And from the looks of it, they were being organized and led by Saren, a Spectre that had a lot of resources under his belt. It was just Wrex's luck to have to deal with all this on his own, without any sort of backup. It wasn't like he didn't have his hands full already looking for the cockroach that didn't like being seen out in the daylight.
"I'll be asking for a bonus when this is over." Wrex muttered, drowning his drink and then rising from his seat. He couldn't wait around, he had to find Fist and murder the bastard fast, otherwise he would be scuttling off the station.
"Good luck Wrex, you're gonna need it." Jasox said, raising his glass as the Krogan Battlemaster walked away.
Drinks were on him, that was probably the only good thing to come out of this conversation – along with a new Sniper Rifle, that never hurt. But the IFF transmitter he took from the guy's helmet would be useful, since having a direct line to the enemy's communication was always helpful. If he can track down Fist like that then things would be fantastic, but he couldn't do it on his own.
He would need to talk with his contact.
Presidium, Financial District
Money was always important, keeping those with an excess in power, and let the rest subsist on enough to survive in a world run by credits. But credits weren't the only way for power to be collected, not without the knowledge needed to use it. For with knowledge came wisdom, and from there a means to use what life provided effectively and to their advantage.
Barla Von did fancy himself as such an individual.
A financial tradesman by profession, and a well-respected one at that, he was quite skilled at moving large sums of money without anything taking notice. Some may decry it as illegal money laundering, but no, he always made sure to obey the rules and was always completely legal. It wasn't his fault that the laws had plenty of loopholes. Exploits left in laws by greedy politicians to keep their own wealth intact, Barla Von did nothing more than follow their lead. It was how he had become so valuable to his particular clientele, and why he was under the employ of the Shadow Broker. Moving money around from person to person without rousing suspicion was key in the trade of information. People payed well for discretion.
Cold and calculated it may be, but money was also a good motivator to go out of his way and put morals to the side for some extra profit.
But it was sad to say that business has been slow these last few years, what with the trade embargo and the Presidium threatening to rip itself apart, both new and returning clients were hard to find. So he had to rely more and more on his business with the Shadow Broker, until gathering and trading information had unofficially become his primary business.
So he was one of the first to hear when one member of the Shadow Broker's network had gone rogue. But this was no small slight like selling secrets to people who didn't pay enough, but instead that person had stolen from the Broker. Barla Von was currently trying to discern just how much was lost, what had been taken, and how much could be retrieved without being compromised.
Saren was a possible culprit since there had been rumors that Spectre having been paying Fist under the table for the last few years. But Fist knew how to keep information hidden, and so they had no solid evidence to support that claim. There was suspicion, and for now that was enough.
After all, most what had been sold off was locations and areas of interest regarding Prothean Technology. These sites have been noted to have been raised and destroyed by an unknown party without a shred of evidence left behind, so determining who was responsible for the attacks was impossible. But finding out what happened to what was stolen was a different story. Prothean technology and items were being sold off by a mercenary company under the command of a Turian named Jacobus. Jacobus was a subordinate of Saren Arterius, so it wasn't hard to put two and two together.
That had put Fist on a death list without a second though. Selling secrets to others and not paying a commission was a bad move on Fist's part, because you never tried to scam the Shadow Broker out of his cut, otherwise your life would pay the difference. But blame did fall on one Barla Von's head, for he had not restricted Fist's access to the network as he should have, leading to this entire mess. Fist had accessed the network again and stolen more information, and it was a lot more valuable than some Prothean dig sites.
"Fist has been digging around lately… into areas even I… am not certain I should be searching through." Barla Von muttered, but he knew better than to try anything like Fist did.
The Broker would have his head if he touched any, and for all Barla Von knew, he already had a hit put on him. But until the Volus knew for sure, he would continue to do his best to prove his worth, even if he didn't know why Fist was searching for…this information. Or how the man even had access to it. There were things here he had never heard of, and things, from what he could see, he would be better off not knowing. Why would Saren want this information? It was a massive shift compared to what he usually wanted. Something was definitely different here.
But was it actually Saren who wanted this information? Saren had been the one to whom Fist typically answered to, but what if there was another party involved also looking for this information? After all, Saren had just been incarcerated and was now being held for questioning, and these transactions had been carried out after Saren was captured on Eden Prime. It couldn't have been him who requested this, not while he was still being transported.
There was someone else out there, possibly an ally of his doing their own research in his name. But it raised the question as to what they wanted with this information? It was terrifying to think of what they could do with it.
"Now who could possibly be wanting… this information? So much is here… and yet it is all so strange." Barla Von mused. Whoever wanted this information was definitely looking to make enemies of not just the Shadow Broker, but a most of the other powers in this Galaxy.
The hiss of the door opening drew him away from his search, and he quickly hid his work and looked up to his visitors. It had been weeks since someone had actually come through that door instead of digital contact, and it was surprising to see two people of note. C-Sec detectives, both of whom were known to him.
"Ah… Garrus Vakarian and Decian Chellick … what can I do for Citadel Securities finest?" Barla Von inquired, letting out a breath as he spoke. At least it wasn't hitmen.
"We were hoping to get some information, and we don't have much time and need it fast." Garrus said, straight to the point and impatient.
"I see… I do warn you that information does not come cheap… especially depending on what you are asking." Barla Von replied.
Considering what he had heard from some contacts in the last few minutes, he had a few ideas as to what they were asking for. Mostly likely it was about the Anomalies, but for all his pride, there was little he could give, except maybe the where the one currently running around the station was at this moment. Which was unreliable information at best, since the creature could move so fast it seemed to vanish. Barla Von stayed only because any attempts to flee would be seen as treason in the Shadow Broker's eye, no matter the reason.
"We need information on a mercenary group, they're after a Quarian down in the Zakera Ward." Chellick said.
Well that was a surprise, he was sure they would have demanded any information he had on Anomalies, considering the current…problem. And he certainly did, more than even the Alliance or Council did, but if they weren't here for that then he certainly wasn't going to making any decent money here.
"I am not aware of any Quarian… or of any merc group... currently searching for one." Barla Von replied slowly. He may be an information trader but even he didn't know everything.
"The merc group was involved in a shootout down in Block 233, near a warehouse. They shot up a plaza, and they seem to be fighting a Krogan in heavy combat armor." Garrus said. "Does that ring any bells?"
It did, and it sounded like they were referring to Fist and his cronies. They were far from being worthy of being called mercenaries, nothing more than thugs in armor. It also sounded like that they were referring that blunder down near the storage facility in Zakera, where Wrex had been directed to catch Fist. Wrex may have had a knack for getting things done, but it was usually at the cost of millions of credits in damage to everything around him. Barla Von even heard he brought down an old Space Station in a one on one fight with someone, perhaps the Shadow Broker hiring him may have been a little overzealous. Wrex would get the job done, but often at a high price.
But if these two Detectives were going after Fist and his men, then that could work in his favor. Fist needed to die, either by Wrex's hands or these detectives, and even if he was detained he could always have an 'accident' in Prison. It was all about the results, the methods didn't matter so long as there were as many as possible to ensure Fish didn't have a chance to survive.
"Perhaps I do have information for you… and this time… it won't cost you a thing." Barla Von replied.
"That's oddly generous of you. I would have thought an information broker would never sell his intel without compensation." Garrus said, quick to pick up on that little fact and immediately warry.
"Luckily for you I am still in my right mind… otherwise I might rescind my generosity…" Barla Von replied, a little amused when Chellick elbowed Garrus in an attempt to silence him. "But the mercs you are looking for… are not mercenaries… they are a small group of criminals… working for Fist."
"Fist? I've heard of him." Chellick suddenly cut in, perking up at the familiar name, "Used to run a Bar called Chora's Den, well, before it was destroyed. What is he up to now?"
"He runs a business that extorts humans…in the Wards for protection money…he has made a fairly big business out of it… but he also worked as an agent for the Shadow Broker…" Barla Von replied, noting only some surprise from his guests. "But he has been selling information… and the Shadow Broker has hired a Krogan Battlemaster to…deal with him…"
"That is a pretty stupid thing to do, to betray the Shadow Broker. Even I know having that man after you is dangerous." Garrus said, all while wondering what the odds were that Fist would get assassinated before they could reach him.
"Yes, but Fist was being paid under the table…by a well-funded business partner… Saren Arterius…" Barla Von replied, and this time they were shocked by the revelation.
While not exactly important information considering what they wanted, it might be what was needed to give these two motivation to go after Fist with more gusto. Garrus' profile did say he had a dislike for the Spectre, even if there was a small amount of respect for their status and the fact they didn't require oversight. But Garrus had a personal dislike towards the Council's favorite, formally of course, agent. Not that word about that had gotten around quite yet.
"Saren? The Council Spectre?" Garrus asked, wanting confirmation.
"One in the same." Barla Von replied. "A large cache of information was recently stolen…It details many things across the galaxy… I do not need to tell you how damaging that information is… but I can tell you if this information is used in any way… it could be responsible for the death of millions... and would cost our organization a lot of money as well."
It dawned on them both what this meant; they would be given no information about just what they were walking into but the stakes had just been raised higher than they ever expected. They needed the motivation, to not only stop that information from getting out, but to also prevent anyone else from getting their hands on it. That would ensure they would do everything in their power to retrieve that information back, and, ideally for the Volus, return it to him. Of course, C-Sec was hardly going to do such a thing, but if the information was lost along the way, it hardly made a difference, so long as it was out of Fist's hands and the man was locked away or dead. An example was needed if someone thought they could outplay the Shadow Broker, to prevent anyone else from getting any ideas in their head. And the files could always be stolen back from C-Sec if they weren't destroyed in the fight, it would be a simple enough thing to arrange considering what was on the line. Those unknown projects were very dangerous if exposed or even interacted with and should stay in the shadows.
It was likely that Saren would be meeting an unfortunate end as well, Spectre or not. The Broker didn't tolerate people like him, and any allies he had would suffer just as much for his sins.
"I will do what I can from my end… but I ask that you do not interfere with the Battlemaster… he was hired for a job and he won't stop until it is completed… best not get in his way." Barla Von warned. "Any information on the Quarian I will send your way… apart from that, there is nothing I can do…"
Garrus and Chellick turned to one another and after a moment nodded. With them working under Barla Von's direction, they would be a valuable cog in the trap to take care of Fist and any other loose ends. He was certain they could handle the more delicate parts of this operation, Wrex was better at being a literal battering ram than an analytical investigator. Let him slaughter Fist's men and allies all while the two detectives worked on locating Fist himself. Then it was a simple task to point the Krogan in the direction of his target, and it all would be over and done. At least this way he could localize the damage and likely prevent C-Sec from sending a team of officers to try and apprehend him.
As they exited the office, Barla Von had to wonder if they would be able to find the man that had been evading the Broker's own agents for weeks now. Even he didn't know where Fist was. But his agents didn't have the knowledge and experience of a seasoned investigator or detective, so hopefully that would make up for it.
He would just have to wait and see what happens.
A com buzzed nosily, "Hey, Barla Von, you there?"
"Ah, Urgnot Wrex, how goes your mission?" Barla Von inquired.
"Got some info, so need you to do some checking for me. And also see if you can hack into these bastards' radios." Wrex replied over the line, and then some data came in.
It was a direct link to an IFF receiver, that was good. IFF tech was an integrated piece of hardware in all suites, calibrated and configured for specific armors. It also had a unique broadcasting software that contacted specific combat suit communication channels discretely. This helped with short range transmissions and prevented the enemy from picking up on their messages and chatter, unless they were using wide band interceptor frequency. Which Barla Von can use, likely Fist had outfitted his men with this armor and the IFF to keep them in constant contact with himself and others.
"It will take some time to hack into their network… do you have anything else I can use?" Barla Von inquired.
"Yeah, Fist isn't working alone. He has two others with him now. A merc named Jacobus and some Asari Commando named V'naria has a squad on the station." Wrex replied. "I know Jacobus, he works for Saren, but what about the Commandos? What can you tell me about them?"
Jacobus came as no surprise, but an Asari Commando was unexpected, and that spelled trouble.
Barla Von knew of the Asari Commando's well. They were very dangerous, and they were considered to be nearly on par with a Krogan Battlemaster, or even worse if you were poorly equipped to deal with Biotics. In fact, many of the Asari Spectres that exist now had been Commandos first, training and refining their craft away from the public eye. If there was a squad on the Citadel then he needed to figure out who they were and how many Wrex would be dealing with.
A quick few lines of code and he was in the CIC of Citadel Traffic Control, fingers already tapping the query for Jacobus and V'naria. Within a few minutes he found what he needed, docking information on two ships located on the same platform. While he ran a program to confirm the information hadn't been faked, he compiled a quick file on V'naria, including her personal record. Nothing was out of reach for the Shadow Broker after all, so at least his job came with some perks. You never know when you needed to blackmail someone, no matter what the profession or calling in life.
But the thing that stood out the most on both the docking certificate and the Commando's record was a single name: Benezia. Barla Von had already pulled up that file, and he was not too happy with what he was seeing.
The thing about Commando's is that you only find them in three places, the first was the military where they were trained, which made sense. The second was as mercenaries within the Eclipse, and they would never be able to get onto this station without being caught. And finally, they could be the personal bodyguards of high ranking officials, particularly Asari Matriarch.
"I think I know who you are dealing with now, Wrex." Barla Von said.
"What do we got?"
"An Asari Matriarch… and one with a lot of connections in the Council of Matriarchs." Barla Von replied.
It would seem that Saren had friends in high places.
A Matriarch was among the oldest and wisest of the Asari, usually near millennia old and with all the experiences that came with such a life. They were revered both in their own culture and in others for their insight and knowledge. Benezia was a very influential member within the Council of Matriarchs, and thus very powerful. To put it frankly, while Councilor Tevos was the head of the Asari Republic by position, Benezia was by far the most powerful in the entire Republic. Technically, the Council of Matriarchs held more power than the Councilor, and Benezia was among the upper echelon of the Matriarchs.
"You've got to be shitting me." Wrex grumbled.
"I am afraid not… V'naria is one of Benezia's personal guards and she was given Docking Privilege…on authority of the Matriarch. She is involved in this." Barla Von responded.
That could complicate things, because if an Asari Matriarch was involved then it may be possible that Saren may have someone here to rescue him. Unlikely but you never know, as the Asari were often very crafty with how they do their dealings. There was no telling what she could be planning right now.
"Alright then, tell me where they're docked." Wrex said, it wasn't a request either.
Barla Von knew what the Battlemaster had in mind, and while he did not wish to lose the man to a suicide mission, he knew had little choice but to let him do as he pleased. If he didn't, then Wrex would just destroy half the docks while trying to find his target. So he transmitted the coordinates to the Krogan, along with information on V'naria and her squad- he would need it.
"Also, just to make you aware… I have recently come into contact with two detectives… they are searching for a Quarian that Fist is looking for… if you find anything out about her… please inform me." Barla Von replied.
"Yeah, I got it." Wrex replied, and then cut the channel.
With a sigh Barla turned back to the terminal. He had a lot of digging to do and so very little time for anything else. He had hoped to find out what other information Fist had stolen, but that would have to wait until it was returned to them. First, he needed to get a report back to the Shadow Broker to inform him of this development, all while trying to gain access to Fist's communicators so he could track his broadcasts. It was still a surprise to think an Asari Matriarch had sided with Saren, the man was unstable and quite dangerous. Her motives for supporting him were still unknown, but if this got out and she could somehow be linked back to Eden Prime…
But that came later, when he was sure his information was sound.
Urahara's Shoten, Zakera Ward
Kisuke has really dropped the ball on this one. Or maybe it was more apt to say that he hadn't even caught the ball, and instead it had crashed on his doorstep and started breaking everything it could find.
"Ichigo, what are you doing here?" Kisuke muttered, looking out the door as he leaned against the frame.
He couldn't believe that his former student was on the Citadel causing a ruckus without a care for the consequences. Did he have no idea what he was doing? No, he didn't need that answered, because Ichigo rarely grasped the scale of his actions and pushed ahead, regardless of what even common sense would say. He just didn't care about what others thought of him, because if he did, then he wouldn't mess with Central 46 so much.
Turning around, he moved back into his shop. He would need to pick up Benihime before he went out. Not because he was afraid of the thugs that prowled the street, but just in case things went as sideways as they tended to do whenever Ichigo was around. And you never knew what could happen in this day and age, and oh how he disliked these times. It wasn't the places he had to go to or the advances in culture, technology, and philosophical, but where the spiritual world was in contrast, and his place in it all.
Rejoining the Gotei had been a decision he did not exactly relish making. Sure, he couldn't deny that being pardoned and allowed free reign back in the Seireitei was great, but being restricted with what he could do was never fun. As a renegade he could do whatever he wanted and not have to worry about pesky little laws and morals getting in his way, but now that he was back under the authority of the Gotei, that all changed.
Soutaicho Kyoraku was, ironically, a slave driver, and placed high standards on those that he could use to benefit the Soul Society and advance it. For a guy that didn't seem to do much, he was oddly quick to push things onto someone else. In the Eighth Division he always had his Lieutenant do the work, unless Nanao forced his ass into gear. But over the last century and a half he had changed, his work ethic improving by leaps and bounds.
The joking and wisecracking, not so much.
Maybe he was trying to fill the shoes of Yamamoto, and that certainly was one big shadow to stand under. But the man was doing a lot to try and make changes to the Gotei, to the point it was nearly unrecognizable now. For thousands of years it had looked the same, stagnating in every aspect sans the research division. Yet now they were advancing at a rate that was even faster than the humans of the World of the Living. All because he was pushing past old customs and embracing things that would help advance the Soul Society. Be it technology, philosophy, warfare, and, as was the case of Kisuke Urahara, people, that were of use.
But Kyoraku had not only brought him back into the fold, but Yoruichi and Tessai too. Tessai was expected, with his revitalization of the Kido Corps, but Yoruichi had decided to teach at Shino Academy, much to everyone but Kisuke's surprise. She had enjoyed teaching Ichigo and had foolishly believed that she would find other such students to tutor (torture) in the academy.
One problem with that line of logic however.
Ichigo was a freak of nature, and somehow Yoruichi had forgotten that little fact.
Kisuke snorted. It took that woman a hundred and fifty years to finally get out of those cramped classrooms and back to being where she truly wanted. In a way he could understand her lack of desire to be restricted to a military body and her old House at the same time. They'd both been on the run for over a hundred years, free from any rules but their own and the games they played with Aizen. So the sudden shift to such a stifling environment was jarring, and not even Tessai had had an easy time, despite having a perfect role to slip into. Hachigen had been recruited back into the fold, along with Lisa – who had taken up her former Captain's old position within the Eighth.
Ever since the Blood War ended over a hundred and eighty years ago, they have been doing nothing but advancing the Soul Society and strengthening the Gotei. He would have thought that after the end of the war that there would be a time for peace and rest, but that was never the case for the Soul Society or the Gotei. It was ever vigilant for threats, and their glaring weaknesses had been carved open at a great cost to them. Such a thing was unacceptable.
From Aizen to Yhwach, it had been one threat after the other that came back from the past to haunt them. Now, it was the Horsemen, three powerful enemies from the distance past that have come to seek vengeance against the Shinigami and the Soul Society.
"Tessai, look after the shop for me, alright? I need to go out and pick up someone." Urahara said, turning and moving out of the shop.
He took off into the sky, leaping from rooftop to rooftop and being sure to stay out of sight of cameras and people. He needed to catch up to Ichigo quickly and stop him from doing anything drastic. Which, granted, tended to just be Ichigo existing and being, but a man could try. But given the state of things on the Citadel, as soon as he noticed something he didn't like he would interfere on principle.
Urahara was always a smart man, and in a way, he knew that this was always going to happen. Not this little incident with Ichigo, no, and not that the System Alliance being victimized by all other races in the galaxy, but something that was above even that. It was about the war that was on the horizon, and the Horsemen that were the harbingers of such a conflict. This war, had been started millennia before even Yhwach had come into being, much less begun his crusade for godhood. The First War to engulf the Soul Society. It all started there, sparked by a sin that forever marked the Soul Society and everyone that dwelled within it. And like so many times before, it had been the reason why so many had tried to destroy them.
Aizen had sought to wash away the sins of the world and return a god back to a throne that was all but empty.
Yhwach wished to murder the Soul King and take his place, but also punish the Shinigami for their sins and actions.
But they had come after. After the first sin, after the first war, and now the Soul Society hunted the original three that had been there from the beginning. They had seen that sin when it had been committed, when the blade had descended and they had done the most evil of things.
He knew they were in the right to be angry, to want vengeance.
The sins of the forebears shall be carried on by their children and so on, but even Urahara thought that it could only be shouldered for so long. The humans of today shouldn't be punished for something that hadn't even been their crime, and the Shinigami of today shouldn't have to bear the weight of a grudge older than the dirt under their feet. But like every war that has engulfed the Soul Society, it all comes from a single place, that one Sin that had marked them for all eternity. It symbolized their punishment and penance.
'It is always that moment that ignites the fires of vengeance within us, it will always be the reason the Soul Society is plunged into chaos.'
There you have it, hope you liked it.