9. AIRLOCK

Shepard was led back out of Arturus' room to the elevator. They did not descend

further than a single floor. When the doors slid aside the bright white sheen of the

previous setting was replaced by a broad cargo bay of grey metal plating, industrial

crates and stacked fuel cells. An empty landing pad, big enough to take two small

shuttle craft lay between them and another pair of doors, eerily illuminated by a thick

red light strip overhead. Shepard fancied whatever lay beyond would be fairly

terminal. Each of her arms were now gripped by a Turian security guard, with a Blue

Suns merc trailing them.

"You'll be joining your scav friend in a few moments, Shepard," he said, triumph in

his gruff weasel voice. "Then you can go check out the stars for real."

They neared the door and Shepard looked aside to see the surface of the planet far

below, the other domes of the Faculty, the protective translucent casing shielding

them all from the void.

"You don't know what's coming, grunt," she answered, "You're already as dead as I

am."

"Right." The Sun chuckled as they reached the doors. The guards stopped and

tightened their grip as he went around them and put a finger to a blinking red switch

in the wall to the left. The doors hissed aside and Shepard was dragged forward,

passing the smiling Sun, who once more decided to lag happily behind.

They turned a corner, and Shepard saw Tali, similarly held by two more Turians, this

time in Arturus' grey plate armour, plain save a couple of ranking emblems.

"You okay?"

Tali nodded. "I don't know how long that will be the case, Commander."

"I got to agree with the scav on that," the Sun said. Now they were hauled one after

the other, Tali first, around more corridors, also grey, metal and cold. Red light

occasionally stained the air just before things became too dark, but Shepard found it

cavernous and labyrinthine. Like the mind of an insane Turian warlord.

Then the corridor broadened abruptly. A long glass hall, entirely empty, with

walls and roof of glass, led forward to what was clearly an airlock. Beyond the glass

was space.

Tali appealed to the the Turians. "Palaven is gone if you do this, do you understand?

Opening a new relay will bring war on your people. Just because Arturus has a

grudge. You honestly want that?"

The Turians looked at each other. Then they started to drag their captives, still locked

in grasp, down towards the airlock.

"Their blind, Tali. Sorry." Shepard was angry. After everything that had been before,

she would not be able to face the Reapers when they returned. After everything, a

wretched little crazy would be able to claim he killed the great Commander Shepard.

Bastard.

A crackle of gunfire made her flinch. The vice grip around her wrists dropped off.

Four thuds sounded as each Turian guard hit the ground.

Slowly, both Shepard and Tali turned. The Sun smiled, but this time it was not a

mean one. Rather, satisfaction at a wrong righted.

"You got lucky, Commander," he said.

"Uh… thanks. Who…"

"Been tracking this Arturus hell of a time." He beckoned them forward. "He's bad for

business. Throws things out of kilter. War is not, as they might have you believe,

quite so good for business. Not for mine, anyway."

"What?"

"One day, Emily, you should ask the shadow broker about interstellar economics."

With that, he took a step back, and faded away into a glittering eddie of digital yellow code. It

vanished in another second.

Shepard made a note. One day.

Then she looked at Tali. "Fuck it, Tali, let's move."

"As'alai'atcha."

"What?"

"What you said, Commander."