From his rather uncomfortable position on the floor, Garrus could hear the batarians chaperoning Shepard away, unarmed and unarmored. He didn't like it one bit. But he respected the commander enough to follow his lead. With a groan, he sat upright, putting forth his best effort to look exhausted and powerless. The batarian in crimson armor and two of his lackeys were gone. Now only six remained. The ruse was working. Once they had the all-clear to board and begin unloading the faux cargo, Tali would jam their internal coms before hacking their long range signals and the slavers would be completely fucked. He'd enjoy putting them down like the worthless dogs they were.
A crackle echoed against the Worthington's half empty halls, "The captain is neutralized. He didn't even try to resist and just keeps asking for food. They look better fed than they are. Get the cargo so we can leave this worthless system with something to show for it."
"What do they mean by neutralized?" Garrus protested.
"What's it to you?! Start unloading the cargo." One of the batarians sneered.
Kaiden and Garrus made their way to Tali's container. The quicker they had her on-board, the sooner they could start shooting.
Liara busied herself carrying some smaller boxes while the men lugged the more cumbersome cargo onto the Rotunda. She could easily lift the massive crates using biotics but half-starved asari shouldn't be capable of such feats. The batarians clearly noticed and one in particular had developed a hungry look. He curled an arm around her waist, and leered at her. "Hey sweet thing, why don't you come with me and leave these brigands to such menial tasks." As he lead her away, Garrus felt his trigger finger twitch. Well at least he'd be getting a nasty surprise, her biotics were more than strong enough to handle one handsy asshole. And there was a far more pressing issue at hand. Two batarians had begun cracking open the crates. Thankfully, Shepard had the good sense to fill the boxes with the various mineral deposits they'd acquired in their travels but they were now focused on Tali's sealed crate.
"What's in this one turian?"
"Fuck if I know. I was only hired to protect this crap."
"Hmm. I don't like that it's sealed. Open it up."
Garrus shuffled forward, attempting to stall as long as possible. Come on Tali. Hack faster.
It was at that precise moment Wrex came stumbling out of the airlock, thrusting his flask in the air. Bits of ryncol splashed out and the krogan let out a belch that practically shook the floor.
"Anybody got some grub?!" He continued stumbling forward, grabbed the nearest batarian and spun him around to face him. "I gotta say man. You're the besssst. Got somethin' ta eat? I'll trade yas some ryncol." Even from several feet away, Garrus could smell the krogan. He absolutely reeked of booze.
Both batarians had completely forgotten about the sealed cargo and had spun around, weapons aimed at Wrex who took the opportunity to lurch forward, and vomit an impressive amount of yellow goo all over the floor.
"Oh for fuck's sake." A batarian was covering his nose and mouth, in an obvious attempt to suppress his gag reflex. "I don't get paid enough to deal with this shit. Get some slaves up here to clean this up."
Another batarian opened his omnitool, "Hey Jorgan, we have krogan vomit on deck two. Bring up some hags with mops." No answer. "Jorgan?"
"Figures. That lazy ass is probably sleepin' on guard duty." Another offered in explanation.
Finally, Garrus saw a blinking red light pop up on his visor. Party time.
Upon receiving Tali's signal, Wrex headbutted his batarian 'pal' and pressed a shotgun to his face. A second later, bits of brain matter decorated the airlock's entrance. Garrus pistol whipped the batarian next to him before putting a bullet between his eyes. Kaiden had the rest suspended overhead, shimmering in beautiful blue. They hollered helplessly floating towards the ceiling as the group fired into their bobbing mass. Liara returned, pistol in hand shooting alongside them. "I've gotta say, killing that creep felt damn sweet."
"You good?" Garrus inquired.
"Of course. He was dead the second we rounded the corner." Liara smirked.
"Alright team that went smoother than anticipated. Let's get Tali out and make our way to deck one."
As they pried open Tali's small bin, an explosion shuddered overhead.
"I take it that means Shepard is free." Wrex snorted.
"And we're his back up. Let's move people." Garrus replied.
Shepard certainly was effective. As the elevator doors slid open to reveal deck one, the team gaped at the destruction. Bits of wires hung from the ceiling. Most of the consoles were emitting sparks. And the few batarians still alive were busy attempting to put out various fires. They quickly finished them off and began searching for their commander, carefully stepping over what must've been slaves given their wretched appearance. Most were human females but Garrus noted a few asari among the unconscious bodies, and all were still breathing.
"Geez. He barely left any for us." Wrex pouted.
"Whatever. Let's just find him and keep moving." Garrus retorted. "Oh, and someone put out those fires before the flames hit something explosive."
Once the fires were taken care of, they quickly located Shepard in the cockpit scrounging around on the floor for something.
"Everything good commander?" Garrus found his behavior a bit peculiar.
"I'm fine. They took a couple of my molars. I figured Chakwas would give me hell if I came back without them." As he let a wide grin spread across his face, a bit of blood dribbled out. "Aha! Gotcha!" He rose, triumphantly holding up a small white tooth. Garrus would never understand how humans ate meat with such blunt little objects.
"I've gotta say Shepard, I was expecting more resistance."
The commander's face turned hard. "These pathetic excuses for sapient beings run this ship with mainly slave labor. And as you can see, they mostly use half-starved human women. Our females aren't as physically adept and given how thin they are I doubt those assholes were used to fighting, well, anything."
"I'm guessing the slaves resisted? Should we have our grenades ready?"
"Yeah…. they're… they're all chipped."
Liara strode forward, attempting to place a comforting hand on Shepard's shoulder. But the man withdrew immediately. "Let's move. According to what I overheard there are only a handful of guards on the sub-deck. I've already scanned the slaves here."
The scene before them was gruesome to say the least. After the attack on the citadel, Garrus was no stranger to dead civilians. But seeing live women and children caged like animals was another story. The second they reached the sub-deck, he had to brace himself against the smell alone. A wretched odor greeted them, the stink of unwashed bodies and infected wounds. But no guards, which he found peculiar. That was until he heard a soft whimpering sound coming from an area of the sub-deck the darkness obscured. As Shepard marched forward towards the sound, the squad quickly parted to let him pass. He returned dragging a half-naked batarian by the neck whose dick flopping about helplessly. The commander whipped out his shotgun, pressed it to the creature's balls, and pulled the trigger. As the batarian shrieked and struggled on the ground, even Kaiden didn't protest. Instead, the man moved forward with a determination that Garrus had never seen in him before. He bioticially pulled two more batarians out from the darkness and shot them in the head.
"And The Alliance just allows this?!" Kaiden hissed and shook with rage. "This is an act of war if I ever saw one."
"Spread out and check our perimeter." Shepard, cool as a cucumber, said. "Let's make sure no more batarians are hiding down here. I don't want any surprises when we open the cages."
Garrus found a single batarian, naked as the day he was born, futilely trying to hide under a makeshift bed. Before he could lift his gun and eliminate the man, Kaiden strode over and asked for permission. "Vakarian…. I… I was the one who gave Shepard hell over executing these pieces of shit. May I?"
Garrus shrugged and moved out of the way. The shot echoed off the walls as the biotic eliminated the last slaver on the Rotund.
"Liara?" Shepard called into the darkness. "I think you should be the one to approach the cages. There were some asari slaves on deck one. They'll probably be terrified of me. And I have no idea if they've ever encountered other aliens besides batarians. The rest of you, could you see about turning on some damn lights?"
Tali switched on her omnitool and with a few presses activated a cluster of crude overhead bulbs. The slaves cried out and huddled against their cages' furthest wall.
"Please," Liara stepped forward, placing her hands in front of her in a placating manner. "We're here to help. We won't hurt you." If the slaves understood her, they gave no indication. "I want to open your cages. Will you attack us? Can you understand me?"
Still no answer. She lightly stepped forward and unlocked the first cage. Yet, none of the slaves moved a muscle or gave any indication that they could comprehend.
Eventually, Tali pulled a blanket from one of her numerous pockets and carefully approached the naked asari who was being raped when they arrived. She gently wrapped the fabric around the trembling woman's shoulders, covering her entire body. And as she smoothly helped the blue woman to her feet, a few caged slaves slowly crept forward out of what Garrus could only guess was curiosity. What these poor people must have been through.
The act seemed to mollify the slaves. And several more carefully tiptoed towards their enclosure's exit. As they wordlessly lead the first ragged group of women and children towards the elevator, Kaiden hung back. "I'll wait with those still caged. I… I'd prefer not to leave them alone."
Shepard nodded and the elevator doors slid closed.
It was an unusually quiet, somber group that made their way towards the MSV Worthington's airlock. After such a flawless mission, normally they'd be enthusiastically chatting & comparing kill counts. But the dark, sinister air from the sub-deck below seemed to hang over them like a toxic fog.
Once the slaves were on-board, Shepard grabbed a few bottles of water from one of the crates that hadn't been unloaded and held them out as an offering. The slaves however merely stood back, staring hungrily at the liquid.
Garrus was the one who found his voice first. "So, do we have any food aboard after all?"
"No unfortunately. But we have plenty of MREs on The Normandy." Shepard answered. He was nervously rolling a small gadget over in his hands. "Tali, Wrex, Head back to the sub-deck and help Kaiden bring the remaining slaves to the Worthington."
They quickly left, and Liara stepped towards the commander. "Shepard, do you want me to….?"
"Yeah… th-thanks."
Liara gingerly removed the apparatus from the commander's hands and slowly approached the band of slaves. As she held up the device, several jumped back.
"It won't hurt. I promise." She held what Garrus identified as an optical DNA reader, to her forehead and pressed the compact trigger. When nothing more than a beep occurred, the slaves seemed to relax. She casually made her way through the gaggle of slaves discreetly aiming the DNA reader at each in turn. When she had accounted for every slave, regardless of appearance, she shook her head and returned to Shepard's side.
Wrex and Tali returned with another group. And the process began again. Eventually, one of the children accepted the water and as he drunk greedily, the remaining seemed to grow bolder. The Normandy crew quickly passed around bottle after bottle, patiently waiting to scan new arrivals until they had their fill.
It was a child, a small boy, who spoke first. "You're looking for someone." His tone was dull, hollow.
Shepard whipped around. "You can understand me."
"Y-yes. N-not all of us have translators though."
"I'm surprised you can speak so well."
"I'm not chipped!" The boy yelled defiantly. "And…and... I'm new. I'm not like them… the others have been here longer."
"Hey, it's okay." But when Shepard stepped forward, the boy yelped and dropped his water, spilling its contents in every direction. He whipped off his ragged shirt, fell to his knees and started frantically apologizing while attempting to mop up the liquid with his top. Looking at the boy's thin chest, Garrus felt a surge of rage. The child was covered in bruises in various states of healing. Black, blue, green and yellow marks dotted his skeletal frame.
"No big deal." Liara strode in front of the burly commander and knelt down to the child's eye level. "No worries little guy."
Shepard retreated back out the airlock and the kid stopped crawling around on the floor attempting to mop up the liquid. But when he stood back up, he shook like a leaf.
"Do you know a slave by the name Jane?" Liara asked softly.
"We don't go by names."
"How about 1182?"
"I dunno" was their only answer.
Wrex emerged carrying a few asari Garrus recognized from deck one. Damn. They must be finished emptying the cages. Garrus disembarked the Worthington and joined Shepard who was leaning against several stacked crates with an ambiguous expression. He figured the man would want an update.
"So far no matches."
"I figured."
"That doesn't mean..."
"That she's dead? Look around, they don't exactly take the best care of their slaves."
They stood in silence for awhile when Liara, the boy from earlier, and an even smaller child emerged from the airlock. Having regained his composure, the boy pulled the other child towards the men.
"I haven't been here long. But she's been here since forever."
The girl just stared at them wide-eyed.
"She says you saved Terra-Nova." He pointed at Liara, who nodded, with a gentle smile plastered across her face. "That's where I'm from. Come on 6021, tell them about your friend."
That got Shepard's attention. Garrus felt the man stiffen like a board. You could cut the air with the tension that wafted off of him.
"She can talk. She's just shy."
Shepard breathed deeply several times before kneeling in front of the girl. "Do you know 1182?"
The girl nodded.
"Go on." The boy encouraged.
"She was my friend."
"Was?" Garrus had never heard the commander sound so vulnerable, his voice cracked under the strain of controlling whatever emotions were roiling under that facade of calm. Once again, he felt like an intruder on a private moment. But he reminded himself of that night Shepard welcomed his and Tali's company and stood firm.
"Took her away."
"Where?"
"Dunno."
"She has something." The boy tried pulling at the girl's clasped hand. She shrieked and jumped back.
"IT'S MINE. SHE GAVE IT TO ME SO I'D NEVER BE ALONE AGAIN."
Liara quickly intervened. "Hey, hey, we're not going to take it away. But I need to check something…." Upon seeing Wrex and Tali exit the elevator, the girl started becoming hysterical. Shepard leaped up, and quickly guided the enormous krogan and strange-suited being towards the airlock with the last of the passed out slaves from deck one.
By the time he returned, Liara was cradling the girl in her arms, humming a soft, soothing tune. The child leaned back, finally relaxing. "I promise sweetheart, we'll give it right back. I just need to check something."
The child's hand unclasped, revealing a human molar. "Piece of her. My friend." Liara gently took the tooth and handed it, along with the optical DNA reader to Shepard. "We went away from big place to here." Her eyelids drooped, the girl was drifting to sleep, unable to resist Liara's efforts. Garrus began wondering if the asari was using some sort of biotic lullaby as he noticed a faint blue glow emanate from the woman.
But it was Shepard who grabbed his focus, the man was stumbling backwards. His back hit the crates and he slid downwards, landing on his knees. Garrus quickly made his way over and sat next to him.
"It can't be. Am…. Garrus… am I seeing this right?" He snorted "Wait, I scanned it against my own hand. Of course it says positive." Shepard offered up the tooth and reader.
Garrus quickly snatched them both, gingerly held the small molar in his talons and pressed down on the reader's trigger.
Positive Match.
Spirit's shit.
He passed the scanner back to Shepard, who merely stared at it in disbelief.
"Get the kids and leave."
"What?"
"Go. Now."
Garrus jumped up, tapped Liara on the shoulder and motioned for the boy to follow. She scooped up the sleeping girl and they hastily made their way to the airlock. When they were back on the Worthington, Tali immediately rushed over to him. "What's going on? Where's Shepard?"
When he didn't answer right away, Tali made to disembark but Garrus placed a hand on her shoulder.
"We just got confirmation that 1182 is Jane. He needs a moment alone."
"What?!"
"DNA match. It's irrefutable."
"Well which one..." She spun around as if expecting to find the short, red-headed woman in their midst.
"We… missed her. She was probably sold or… spirits knows what."
"Keel'ah. Poor Shepard."
Wrex let out a low whistle.
If he thought the group that made its way back to the MSV Worthington from the slave pens was somber, this was so much worse. Still, he consoled himself, today was a major victory. They took out some nasty assholes and rescued at least fifty slaves. Not to mention the fact they now had proof #1182 was Jane. That had to be worth something.
Kaiden broke the silence first. "Then we'll keep hitting these POS's where it hurts until we find the girl, or wipe slavers off the map for good. I don't care what The Alliance says. We never should've ignored this. The batarians aren't even a part of The Citadel anymore. Why haven't we fought back and pursued them to their own systems?!"
"The Hegemony was a force to be reckoned with back when they were abiding by The Treaty of Farixen. The council did the same thing with The Hegemony as they did with the geth, ignored the threat and hoped it'd go away and asked the Alliance to do the same." Garrus offered his best explanation.
"You mean allowed the enemy to gather strength while they hid all cozy like in Citadel Space. Wrex growled. "Cowards."
"It's been half an hour. We have to get underway soon." Tali seemed to have found her voice. "I'll check…." She was cut off as they all heard a commotion originate aboard the Rotunda. The sounds of breaking glass and metal beams reverberated through to the MSV Worthington.
After a few tense minutes, it fell quiet once more and the commander marched through the airlock and plopped down in the pilot's seat, his face a dark, stony mask. "I'll fly us back to The Normandy. We'll have the crew swing by and pickup the resources still on the Rotund before we blow it to hell."
"Shepard…." Tali tried.
"I'm fine." Shepard bit out.
"It's not over." Kaiden strode forward and settled in the co-pilot's chair. "We'll hit every slaver ship in The Terminus Systems if we have to."
"Count on it."