(3 hours ago...)

"What are we supposed to do with this information?" Tali asked, looking over the audio again.

"We could turn it over to the Hierarchy on Palaven. I know a few contacts who hated Desolas as much as I do and would want Saren to face Justice." Divia said, throwing an answer into the ring.

Shinzo scoffed at the notion, causing the Turian to scowl.

"Let me guess, you'd want to turn in the audio to the alliance?" She said, placing both hands on her hips.

"It wouldn't hurt." He replied with a grin. "The alliance has an embassy on the citadel and they could speak to the council."

"And as I live in breathe I remember you saying 'I would never go back to helping those bureaucrats'". She fired back, hands on her hips.

The only man in the room shrugged, not really knowing what to say back. The alliance would definitely have a foot in the door for council membership, but again they were fairly young and the galaxy viewed them as power hungry. On the other hand, giving the Turian hierarchy the information would probably have them arrested for trying to undermine a famous specter, one of their own.

Each decision sounded bad when you left them alone in the same room of the mind.

"What if we go through the shadow broker?" Said their ward.

Both looked at the Quarian sitting on the couch in amazement. Out of two options there was always a third, but this one was not the best either. Shinzo shook his head at the statement, causing the Quarian to wonder what she said wrong.

"The broker deals with all people, especially the wrong people. For all we know they could just sell Saren back the information he doesn't want out there." He said, folding his arms one over the other. "I know this from experience the last time I worked for him, and met Divia here."

Divia shuffled behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Maybe we can trust them this time. After all the other options really suck, especially with Udina representing your people on the citadel."

For once the mercenary admitted defeat to an opponent, just not in a gunfight. He raised his hands and simply walked away towards the kitchen. A kettle of tea sat there waiting for him to drink, maybe help cut off the edge from the battle earlier.

Divia decided to sit across from Tali on the massive crescent-shaped sofa in the living room, being careful with the newer pajamas she now had on. The newcomer was still messing with the audio from the Geth, still diving in the data to find out if there was any other audio to pull. What she was also doing was contacting the Shadow Broker, since it seemed to be the best choice to go with. Neutral parties are sometimes the best option.

Every now and again she would look up and around at the somewhat immaculate apartment they owned. On one wall was an old alliance chest plate with quite a few scoring marks and impacts on it. Everywhere else was full white walls with accents of purple around the room, apparently someone's favorite color. She could only imagine it was not Shinzo's choice.

Her eyes then fell on a virtual photo display on the coffee table right at her feet, pictures flashing and most of them featuring the two in various locales. The image flashed again, showing the two looking into each other's eyes right in front of a starlit ocean view.

"I don't mean to pry...but are you two married?" Tali asked, wringing her hands together.

The Turian across the way uncomfortably shifted in her seat, briefly looking over at the man in the kitchen and then looking down at her hands, both sagging downward in defeat. Immediately the curious Quarian shifted the topic when her omnitool pinged, and awkwardness became clear.

"So I might have messaged the shadow broker before I even asked you guys about that." She said, rubbing the back of her neck.

Across the room the two could hear Shinzo coughing up his tea, as he set the cup down and walked lividly over to the couch.

"You did what?!" He asked, frustration in his tone, fist raised. "Why would you even go ahead..."

"Shinny..." Divia interjected.

Hopping over the couch he landed on the sofa and clapped his hands together once. Something was obviously off about him to both of the women, especially when he looked Tali in the eyes and put on a more calm face.

"So...what did they say?" Shinzo asked through his teeth.

"They said I'm not safe here and to go to the citadel. There I could meet up with a contact and safely hand over the information."

"How did you even get their contact information?" Divia asked. "An online forum?"

Tali shrugged as she opened up her omnitool once again. She turned her arm to show them where she looked, causing them both to facepalm. Right on the screen was a common social media website where she had been chatting with someone random, Ogeagle.

Immediately the former broker agent got up and sat next to her, lightly pulling her arm, putting her in an awkward position, so he could better see the person she contacted. His expression changed when he opened up the message she had, eyes now opening wide.

"I don't believe it. The message...it uses the same encoding the broker's does. Hmm...ask them if they remember a former operative codenamed 'SILVER'?" He said, scratching at the small beard on his chin.

Both arms now free, her fingers typed away, putting in word for word as he asked. She tapped the send button and watched it go away as the lineup of messages reappeared. They sat there and waited for a moment, Shinzo readjusting himself in the seat next to her.

Finally there came a ping.

With a swipe the message was opened up and Shinzo once again grabbed her arm, causing Divia to snicker. Reading over the new blurb on the screen the tension in his body went down. A sudden realization came across him, a feeling he had not experienced in years. He looked over at Divia and nodded.

"It's them. They even addressed her as if I was writing the message myself. She gave him our current location." He said, resting his face in his hands.

"Sooo...is this a good thing or bad? Don't we need to establish a line of trust?" Tali asked, waving off her omnitool as her arm became hers again.

"Yes and no." Divia started. "It's good we know we're actually talking with the broker or at least an agent, but it's bad because they deal in information. Let's say that Turian that was trying to kill you, Jacobus? If Jacobus paid top credit for our location, the broker would turn on us in a heartbeat."

"You're not entirely right." Shinzo said, wiping a hand down his face as he stood up. "The broker would want to keep us alive with the information we have, I mean having dirt on a spectre of all people? No, they would never pass up on an opportunity...tell you what, ask them for more information. Who are we dealing with in the citadel, where would they want to meet and when?"

Tali typed away as he walked back to the kitchen to grab his cup. He motioned over to Divia as he reached into the cabinet and she nodded. Another message was sent as he set the cup under the coffee maker next to him. She used one side while he used the other so there would not be any mixup.

The little machine beeped as it prepared her cup, slowly preparing her casual beverage of choice. Somewhat bored with the quiet, Divia waved her omnitool at the holofeed on the wall, turning it to the nightly news.

"This just in, reports are coming out from the Exodus Cluster now about an attack on Eden Prime..."

The first few words out of the speaker immediately caught Shinzo's attention, making him quickly grab the now finished brew and his own cup of tea and walk back over to the living room. Setting one cup in front of Divia he motioned to the cup in his hand towards Tali who only shook her head. Leaning back he took a seat on the couch, tea in hand.

"The alliance has not released much about the attack, which has led to much speculation. Some claim the attack was by a pirate raiding party, others suggest a possible attack by the mysterious, human supremacist organization known as Cerberus. We attempted to reach out to an alliance official ourselves, but to no avail. This story is still developing as we speak."

"So this is what they were talking about in the audio..." Shinzo dropped off, taking a sip. "At this rate, we need to get this information to whoever can get it out the fastest, I don't know if.."

DING DING DING

Ping!

At the same time their doorbell rang as well as Tali's omnitool. She looked down at her screen and pointed to the door.

"The broker sent someone to get us off planet." Tali said.

Shinzo set his cup on the table with one hand, reaching underneath with the other to grab something. His other hand brandished a handgun from a hidden compartment in the table, aiming down at the low ready as he quietly walked around the couch. From outside someone was banging on the door, and they sounded pretty apt to get an answer.

Pressing one hand to the intercom next to the door Shinzo took one look. Then with a quick motion he holstered his sidearm and opened the door. In came a familiar blue face wearing the same coat she had on not too long ago.

"Broker wants you moved asap." Sergeant Aidas said, pulling in a few crates behind her. "Put on this armor, you won't be able to go out to your ship and get yours."

The former alliance veteran scoffed at the Asari. "A good soldier never leaves his gear for the enemy."

"Well this time you are. Commander Jacobus and a nice sized crew of former Turian military personnel are heading this way as we speak. They probably planted a tracker on your ship."

Unlike Shinzo, the other two quickly made use of what was inside the crates. Shortly after, he came around and started armoring up, putting on the pieces as he could find ones that fit. Popping open another crate, Aidas started laying out the firearms neatly packed inside, distributing weapons to each.

Tali was handed a sniper rifle, which she quickly gave to Shinzo. Divia picked up a shotgun and tossed it over to the Quarian on the other side of the crate, opting for the assault rifle the Sergeant just laid out. Grenades were given to those who could use them and Shinzo quickly ran back into his and Divia's room.

The sergeant almost thought she needed to give the man a loud reminder they needed to move until he ran back out with a small blade now holstered to his side. It had an immaculate, foot and a half long blade in its sheathe, which itself was adorned with silver iconography.

"What's that?" Tali asked, pointing to the blade.

"It is a family heirloom. Our family has maintained this blade since the 1800s, adding thin layers of metals to keep it intact."

Aidas looked at the rest of the group and began closing cases, motioning for Divia to help her out and the others to follow suit. Those with free hands had weapons out and at the low ready, moving at a fast pace through the hall as the police officer/broker agent led them to the elevators.

As soon as they stepped inside, Aidas cursed to herself as she looked down at her omnitool.

"They're on the bottom floor right now and are about to take the elevators up. Let's just hope they haven't found my patrol car up top."

Tali holstered her shotgun before she waved her omnitool at the elevator panel, causing the display to change. On the new screen they could see a layout of the tower and the elevators other than their own. Furiously the Quarian typed on the holographic display, causing the elevator to shimmy, then speed up.

"That should buy us some time. I just increased power to our elevator and cut the others throughout the tower." Tali said as she pulled her shotgun back out.

APPROACHING ROOFTOP

A bell dinged above them as they quickly stopped and were let out into a downpour. All four looked around the rooftop and saw nothing but the police car in front of them, leading Aidas to run ahead of the group and open the storage.

"You two go ahead and jump in while we throw these in the back." Aidas ordered as she hefted the crate into the compartment.

The other two did as they were told and sat back in their seats as everything was hastily thrown in. Divia slid into the passengers seat with Aidas right behind her, closing the door and getting their escape into motion. The skycar lifted up into the air, surging off of the roof and into the night of Illium.

"Thank you Sergeant, or should I say agent." Shinzo said as he patted her shoulder.

A slight smirk graced her face as she put the vehicle into autopilot. "You're welcome by the way. At least you know why I keep tabs like I do."

"Right. So where exactly are we being flown off to?" Talk asked.

Putting on autopilot, she turned to face the other three looking into each of their eyes. "You can't be sent to the broker's agent on the Citadel if you're dead. So you're going to be sent through irregular means of transport. Jacobus is going to have guards set up at ports and landing pads used for travel in the area. The broker has set up a few dock workers to look the other way when we touch down at a resupply depot. There you're going to ride a freighter piloted by one of ours to the Citadel, meet our contact there named fist, and get paid."

"You make it sound like it is going to be straightforward or easy." said Tali.

"She's got a point." Divia chimed in.

Aidas shrugged at the rest of the group, using one of her free hands to turn on some music. Skycars, transports, and trucks flew in and out of their view all around them as a lighthearted song flooded their ears. For those along for the ride, it felt peaceful amidst the current circumstances.

Not everyone is used to being chased by murderous mercenaries, except for one in the backseat. Shinzo looked out at the cityscape, the lights of towers, plazas, advertisements, making it through the rain. It was peaceful, especially with the weather on top of everything.

Nights like these, minus being hunted, was why he chose Illium, why they did...

1.5 years ago...

He was offloading the last of the boxes into the apartment, not entirely sure where to even put them, specifically the box in his hands. Divia did most of the organizing, but at the moment she was occupied testing out the new bed. Shinzo shook his head with a smile as he walked into the room only to find the grown Turian woman jumping up and down like a kid on a new trampoline.

"Having fun there?" Shinzo asked, snickering as he leaned against the doorframe.

"Ab—so—lutely" she said between each bounce. Performing a flip, then stopping her act and taking a seat at the end of the bed, staring out the window.

"It's a sight isn't it?" The merc said pointedly, making his way over to her side and sitting down next to her, putting his hand on hers. "Still don't understand why you would want to live on Illium of all places."

They both stared out at the sun as it was setting between the towers ahead. Shinzo's hand briefly left hers as he put his arm behind her neck and scooted across the bed right next to her. She took advantage of the situation and laid her head against his shoulder, looking straight out at the bright ball of light.

"Palaven...it reminds me of Palaven. It's just not as hot, but still as bright...I grew up in a city about as big as this back there."

Not trying to ruin the moment, Shinzo tried reaching out to the side to grab the little crate just at the foot of the bed to grab the contents inside. As he stretched out his arm, Divia pulled him back in, nuzzling his neck.

He never did figure out where he put it.

He searched fruitlessly for the box later on...

"Ok, as soon as we reach the port all of you will get aboard the freighter. You won't need any supplies since it's going straight for the Citadel. Do you guys have any questions?" Aidas asked.

The other members of the company looked at one another and shook their heads. They were set, they had all they needed to leave. All they needed to do was just get there.

It was never heard from outside, with the rain...

SCHACK

A hole was made through the windscreen and through the console. Alarms started blaring through the haywire electrical panel. Lights flickered on and off of the vehicle as it's flight path wavered.

Aidas tried to maintain the car and was making a valiant effort until another shot went through the windscreen, sending glass all throughout the front of the craft. Divia and Aidas got the worst of it, some shards protruding from open spots in the armor. Everyone was thankful for the armor they did have on for it could have been worse.

Only problem for them is, it just did.

SCHACK

BOOM!

Another shot ripped through the boosters at the back of the skycar, causing it to list hard right. At the wheel Aidas attempted to get them down onto the streets for a safe landing and were going straight for the entry point of the depot.

On the ground, workers were frantically moving people out of the way, leaving only automated systems operating in their path. Pulling up on the controls, the craft banked up enough to not plow front first into the pavement below, but the back end did hit. The front slammed down, eventually leading the vehicle to skid across the ground and into the actual work area itself.

When the craft finally came to a stop, Aidas slammed a free fist onto the emergency release, blasting off the door. The first two out scrambled to their feet, aching in pain from the shrapnel in remote places, with adrenaline kicking in. Knowing whoever fired those shots in the first place would be coming after them, their guide out of Illium unholstered her sidearm and pulled out her badge.

"Clear away now officer of the law! Get out of here and call for backup!" Aidas yelled, fighting through the pain.

Those still left scrambled to their feet and ran. Helpful workers picked up others left and ran as far away as they could get, some even making it to their own cars.

Divia stumbled, prompting Shinzo to hop into action and carry her.

"Shinny, I can still walk." She said, only to see a very concerned face and little response other than direct action from the man. She used the muzzle of her rifle to push her up off the ground, grab onto the skycar and stand on her own two feet. "Focus on protecting the Quarian ok? She's the only one who needs to make it after all."

Nodding at his beloved he ran as fast as his legs could carry him over to where the crates were stacked for the cargo freighter and began setting up, motioning for Tali to get to cover. Automated systems continued to work as intended and deliver them aboard, but also move them across the floor. There was a huge gap from where they flew in through the door, the skycar, and where Shinzo was.

Tali ran across the gap to the crates behind shinzo, getting her shotgun ready. Aidas watched in front of them, handgun aimed right at the door, waiting for anything...

Her heart sank, she fled for cover.

Five shuttles touched down just outside, and out of those shuttles poured out a multitude of men. Turians clad in full, unrecognizable, black armor, all being led by a singular Turian in silvery armor with red accents. He carried a massive sniper rifle in hand, aiming it at the low ready as he sauntered in, stopping right behind the crashed skycar.

"I see we have some resilient foes in our midst. No matter. I'm a man who believes in the process of peace, after all, I saw what true peace was like firsthand with Shanxi. Listen to me! If you give me the Quarian, you don't have to die, no blood has to be shed!" He shouted across the way.

The four hiding behind a crate thought about it for a moment before Aidas spoke up.

"Fat chance you would bring that much heat with you just to let us go." She briefly paused as she pointed to a highlighted walkway in between the crates. They looked at the path and where it led, seeing just a portion of the ship in sight. Tali realizing what she meant began to make her way through the crates to the cargo ramp, out of sight.

"Sergeant Aidas..." Jacobus said as if they were friends. "You, and your friends need to turn over Tali'Zorah Vas Neema to me. Final warning."

Looking around the edge of the crate she pointed her handgun and blurted, "or what you traitor! You turned on your own military, your own people for money. Hard to trust a turncoat."

"Hmph, suit yourself. Open fire!"

Suddenly the once intact area in front of them was riddled and ripped apart by the gunfire. Shinzo got off only two shots, doming one Turian just to the left of Jacobus, and a single Turian to the leader's right before he had to move somewhere else. Divia covered him with a barrage of fire as she and Aidas scrambled behind to get cover of their own.

The mercs ahead would alternate between squads whenever one group's rifles would overheat. It was a sight to see because they did so in such fluid action. The demands of the Turian military were being put on full display, and even so Shinzo found openings.

One shot sent one merc, into another to throw off their shot. Shinzo scoped in on one, just as he ducked into cover, only for Aidas to hoist him up with biotics and Divia to riddle the merc. They were working like a well oiled machine themselves, the only issue was they were not here to hold the line and battle, but leave the port in a cargo hold.

As he scoped and dropped yet another Turian, Shinzo fell back behind another bunch of crates and as he leapt over, a single, heavy round went through the shoulder pauldron of his armor, ripping it off. He rolled to the ground, causing Divia to run after him and she had all reason to.

He wasn't moving a muscle.

There was blood.

A lot of blood.

She turned every now and again, laying down fire through the aisles in between the crates. Using what strength she had she helped her beloved up and lifted one arm over her shoulder, trying to avoid moving the one that now had a nice chunk taken out of it. Some muscle could be seen underneath, but even with the pain and blood Shinzo unholstered a handgun and fired back at the encroaching Turians.

In between trigger squeezes a shot of pain went up his arm and into his chest as red droplets flew off his shoulder with the recoil. He winced as the shots occasionally missed their mark, only enraging him as the adrenaline was all that was holding him together. It was then they finally caught up with Tali, who had gotten to the ship's open door, shotgun aimed at the crates.

"Keelah! He's bleeding!" Tali said after catching a mere glimpse of the wounded warrior.

"I know! I know! GAH!" Shinzo yelped as he fired a few more shots towards where the enemy was running.

"Lorim, your froggy ass better have they ship ready and soon!" Aidas yelled as she pressed a finger to her ear.

The sounds of engines starting rumbled the platform around them. Aidas let out a sigh of relief, but too little too late. Mercenaries began pouring out from between the crates like a horde of angry ants from a freshly stomped mound.

Tali waved them aboard as she fired a shot at the oncoming onslaught, and Shinzo was first to get on, pushing the Quarian inside as he motioned the others to follow. Aidas got the memo immediately and tapped Divia on the shoulder to follow. The Asari made it on the ramp and Divia was close behind...

CRACK!

Time itself froze in all its horror.

Blue flew through the air...

Shinzo's heart skipped a beat, eyes far open wide as Divia flew off the ramp, a massive hole through her chest.

He tried dashing forward to catch her, just like he always had.

The only thing stopping him was Aidas' biotics, then the door.