Here we go everyone, hope you enjoy and don't forget to REVIEW!
After my little talk with Hackett my room was silent and stayed that way for the next 17 hours. Most of that said time was spent either sleeping, meditating, going through Katas with my ax and knife or reviewing the footage from my fights with Dashi. Reviewing that footage was needed for me to make sure that I did not make the same mistakes when we fought again.
Reviewing said footage it became apparent to me that I needed to focus more on being unpredictable. Something that should've been obvious to me; 18 years of baseball with 15 years of being a catching and calling the pitches should've made that apparent. Make a pattern, break the patter, rinse and repeat but when fighting that didn't happen. Even Dashi fell into a pattern after a minute of fighting. It wasn't an obvious patter but it was there and showed me that she could be beaten. After finding that it now came down to being good enough to actually beat her in a fight.
Either way at the end of those 17 hours of silence a knock resonated at the door. A couple moments later the door opened and the LT from yesterday was standing there. He didn't say anything as we looked at each other but he did move out of the doorway and gestured with his hand for me to get out. Smiling behind my helmet I got up from the bed and left the room.
The LT along with a squad of four N7's escorted me through the hallway and upon passing the other cells I noticed that none of my team was in their cells. My paranoia flared a bit at seeing that but I pushed it down and kept on walking. My escorts guided me out of the brig and back towards the bay where my ship was. To which they were with me all the way to the entrance of the ship, they even watched me enter.
Upon doing so my team was mulling around but there was an extra person with us. Hackett was standing in the middle of the room completely silent but he did meet my eyes through my helmet upon my entrance. He opened his mouth to speak but I held up a hand before removing my helmet and staring the man down. After a few moments I gestured with my hand for him to start talking but I could still feel the hostility in me rising at just seeing the man.
"I would like to apolagize for the conversation that we had yesterday," I snorted at his words but otherwise didn't do anything. "I poorly worded my argument and you made that abundantly clear."
"Apolagy accepted Admiral… How's Shepard handling this whole situation if you don't mind me asking?"
"He's under house arrest in Alliance HQ on Earth. He is not the happiest at the moment but he also understands what exactly happened and what would be at stake if we allowed him to roam freely."
"Probably War with the Hegemony," Ilok interjected after Hackett stopped talking. I simply pointed to him and nodded my head silently agreeing with the Salarian. Hackett looked conflicted for a second before sighing and nodding his head.
"Yes. However, the situation is probably worse. From what Shepard shared with me the Reapers were about to come through the Alpha Relay when he used the asteroid to destroy it. According to him we have, at best, six months left before they arrive regardless."
"How's the preparation with the Alliance going?" I asked, all of the hostility in me leaving the moment he told me about the Reapers.
"About as well as one could expect. Not anything special but far better than if we were doing nothing. It has slowed down in the last month or so as we started to find people showing signs of indoctrination. They were swiftly taken care of and isolated but it is a major concern and the already hush hush nature of this has only increased."
"What about the outer colonies? They'll be slaughtered by the Reapers and then used as canon fodder if they're left out to dry," at my words Hackett sighed, his shoulders sagging just a hair. Guess that arena hasn't been going all that well and his next words confirmed that.
"We've been able to convince only a few of them to come back into stronger territory. Most outright refused unfortunately but we have stationed escape vessels capable of extracting them near all of the colonies. Hopefully we'll be able to get them out of there quick enough."
"I doubt you'll be able to get them all. But being able to even get one person out of those colonies would be a victory, one less person to fight once the Reapers pervert them for their own uses. I would suggest self destructs on the ships as well, better there be nothing left for the Reapers to use in the aftermath."
"I agree, which is why those ships are already fitted with them. The ones commanding the ships and their first officer have the detonators."
"What about the other colonies. The ones closer to home," he raised a curious eyebrow at my words and I elaborated. "Scorched Earth."
At those two words his face darkened and turned into a scowl. As for everyone else in the room they understood exactly what I was saying. They probably had different words but the concept was the same in every species. When it looks like you are about to loose everything you burn it all down so that nothing could be used. Meaning that in this instance it would require the death of every single person in the colony. And not just any regular death, it would require their bodies to be next to nothing. Meaning a massive explosion, or several depending on the size of the colony.
For the reactions of the others none of them looked even remotely happy with the suggestion. However, all their faces quickly turned to resignation for a moment agreeing that would probably be the best option if the colony was going to be lost. Kelli looked sad and rather disappointed in the whole thing but didn't voice anything. Vrule stayed resigned but looked to be in agreement with the suggestion. As for Ilok, after his resignation faded he seemed to be in complete agreement with the idea.
"It will need to be discussed… but I don't disagree with you. If the worst is to happen and the Reapers are powerful enough it will be better this way. Less to fight for those that remain," I nodded my head and that was the end of the conversation.
Hackett nodded in a way to say goodbye before heading out the door and leaving us alone. A couple minutes later we were radio'd from the command center and told that we were clear to leave the ship. Doing so we went straight to the Relay but stopped before going through. Just had to get the coordinates from Kelli.
"Kelli, where's Corlishi?" Kelli didn't respond verbally and just sent me the coordinates. Illium, of course.
Going through the Relay we shot out at the next Relay and I told Ilok to look up everything that he could about the meeting Corlishi was currently in with the Turian arms dealer. While he did that I piloted us through the next several Relays with no problem until finally getting to the system with Illium. Customs let us pass without much of an effort after a decent sized bribe and we made our way to Illium.
The air traffic controller let us land without problems, again with a bribe. Though after we got out of the ship there were a good amount of people who recognized us immediately and made to stay away. That is to say that most did, the Asari made efforts to talk to us and and specifically me but were scared away by Kelli and Vrule. Plus, I didn't give them the time of day.
Either way we made our way to a hotel and immediately checked in and got ourselves two rooms, conjoined through a side door but two rooms. Moving on as soon as we were checked in Kelli and Ilok went through all the information they could find on the meeting. Vrule began making sure all of our weapons and equipment were in working order and I called Liara.
"To what do I owe the pleasure Aedon," I held back a quick retort and schooled myself.
"I have a request for long term information upkeep," she gestured for me to go on. "I want you to keep an eye on everything Cerberus. Their movements, their people, everything."
"That will be hard considering they're just as paranoid as you. I'll do what I can but I'll also be busy in the coming months."
"You talk to Shepard recently by the way?" Liara shook her head in the negative.
"The Relay he blew up was apparently about to be used by the Reapers. He said we have, at best, six months before they get here," Liara's eyes widened for a second before she rubbed her head with her hands mumbling something about having a lot more work to do.
"Thank you Aedon. I'll keep you updated on Cerberus when I can," I simply nodded before cutting the connection.
With that done I asked if anyone wanted food. Getting a few affirmatives I asked them what they wanted and changed into some casual clothes, put some makeup on and went out. To my pleasure they all wanted stuff that could be found at my favorite Food Truck. Well, I hoped it was still at the same spot and my prayers were answered. It was still there and it seemed that they had just opened for the day. Perfect.
Even with it just opening there was still a line, a small one but one regardless. It was a quick wait and when it was my turn I ordered everything that my teammates wanted and an extra helping for Vrule. Though when I went to pay a voice spoke behind me. It was surprising to see who it was.
"I'll pay for his meal, just put it on my tab," detective Anaya spoke. She made direct eyecontact with me and gave me a subtle nod and smile.
One that I returned and went off to the side to wait for my food. Though, once she was done ordering hers she made it a point to walk over to where I was standing and quietly stand next to me. However, she wasn't doing what I would normally think Asari would do. She wasn't hitting on me or doing anything of that nature, she did something else.
"That makeup looks good on you Torchbearer," I went completely stiff for a second and as subtly as I could placed my hand on my concealed pistol. As I did so she waved her hand that hung just below her waist silently telling me not to. My paranoia screamed not to trust it and I didn't but I didn't put my hand on my pistol.
"How?"
"The Torchbearer returns to Illium again and then seemingly disappears from the radar. Not many know this but I figured out this was your favorite place to get food while you were here the first time around. So I decided to wait it out, then a man in baggy clothes with very good makeup appears, who constantly checks his surroundings and was ready to pull a gun on me. Plus, you're wearing gloves in the middle of our summer. It wasn't that hard to figure out when the pattern sticks, I am a detective you know."
"That is impressive detective. Though, I do have to ask why aren't more of your friends here? And is the bounty y'all placed on me still active?"
"No one believed that you would be here so I'm here alone, just doing a normal neighborhood check. As for the bounty, well… it's increased after the property damage you and Dashi caused. Plus, several high ranking Matriarchs wanted it increased on general principle. That being said, it's a capture only bounty now."
"Of course it is. All things considered those changes aren't really surprising," I sighed taking a sip of the coffee I had gotten from the food truck. "So, are you here to cash in?"
"No," I raised a curious eyebrow at her because of the certainty she said the word. "That information network through the street kids you created. The Force uses it, we give the kids the best we can but the streets are all they know and most won't leave them but we make sure they live better now. The one's that do leave we take care of personally.
Then there's the homeless communities, they look up to you. Started creating actual communities, helping others get out of drugs, whoring, general crime and everything else. We haven't seen the numbers of homeless people getting off the streets increase in almost 200 years until you showed up. Now, it's one in three every other month.
Finally, we have the shit you uncovered while here. Not all of it was pretty and made us loose a lot of faith the people had in us but it opened our eyes. Especially when you did it through us, though me, and got the job done where they would see their day in court. It showed us that we were being complacent and we've taken the initiative. All crime is down, not gone but down. That's a hell of victory on Illium. In other words, I'd say around 90% of the Force will look the other way as long as you aren't straight up murdering someone in front of us."
"Thank you," they were the only real words I could muster. I knew I had made a decent impact here but the way she talked about it seemed like I was some type of messiah. Shaking my head at those heretical thoughts and smiling at her she opened her mouth again.
"That being said, I do have to ask why you're back on Illium," I contemplated what to tell her and decided with the truth.
"You remember when I disappeared for six weeks?" she nodded her head. "I was kidnapped by a Asari supremacist faction, all the leaders in very high places and now I'm intimidating them to get back in line."
"Intimidating them? Not killing?" I shook my head.
"The Reapers will be here in six months at the max. If I took them out it just result in chaos within the Asari and we can't afford that at the moment."
"I thought the Reapers were just a rumor."
"They are very real and they are coming. They would've already been here if it wasn't for Shepard," as I said that she had a confused look for a second before her eyes widened.
"That's why he did it," I nodded my head. "Who… Who do you think they'll hit first?"
"Batarians," was my instant reply. "A decent population size including slaves but that's where it hurts. They have slaves from every race, adds new variety to the canon fodder they'll be able to produce. We'll be facing different types of husks right off the bat, types we have no confirmed tactics for. The first month or two is going to hurt."
"How bad is your best guess?"
"Best case we lose 15% percent of the galactic population, worst case… we lose half. Even when we win the war I doubt we'll be left with more than 20% of the population we currently have."
"Do you really think… wait, you said 'when'. You think we can win?"
"We will win. We'll kill all of the Reapers"
"Any advice then?"
"The Reapers create soldiers through the dead, they manipulate the body to become their soldiers. Be prepared to conduct Scorched Earth Tactics to prevent that."
"Order 9!" the food truck cook shouted out. I nodded in goodbye to the detective before going to grab my food and leaving.
Taking the quiet walk back to the hotel I went up to the room and announced that the food was here and ready. They all stopped what they were doing and began to devour the food as if it was their last meal. I took my time with mine and savored every bite, I don't know when I'll be able to have it again afterall.
With that done Ilok and Kelli gave me the rundown on everything that they've been able to find out about Corlishi and the arms dealer she's in talks with. Nothing major at all and everything is behind closed doors in one of the taller buildings in the city. A building that wasn't finished and they had each meeting an area with no camera's. Which should be good news but it wasn't.
The said building has the top 20 floors still under construction and where the actual meeting took place was a complete mystery. We could do some recon but that might take too long. Their talks were in the closing stage and slated to finish within the next two days so appearing at the meeting wasn't exactly an option with the time we had available to us.
The only good bit that they were able to come up with was the fact that they would both be at a restaurant tomorrow night. Where both of their guards would apparently not be present. That made my paranoia scream in protest but then it came to light that they were fucking. Score another point for sex appeal. Once we found that out it just came down to how exactly to infiltrate the place and make a statement.
It was that or the hotel that they were going to be rendevousing at. Already purchased through a third party and under a fake name but through an alias that linked back to the Turian. However, here they would have their guards but they would only be outside of the room. At that moment though it became apparent that they weren't on the top floor of the hotel and I couldn't help but laugh.
Who would have thought that now of all times there would be a repeat performance of all things for me. It was the perfect plan. Especially with the floor plan being an almost exact copy of the previous one. Now, I just needed a tranque gun.
The next night we were all in place. Kelli was in the lobby of the building sitting at the bar taking sips from her drink. Ilok and Vrule were in the car outside the building with Ilok monitoring the guards comms and Vrule behind the wheel. While myself infiltrated through the servants entrance and took their elevator all the way to the floor above Corlishi's room. Specifically in the room right above hers.
Going through the grate near the corner of the room took a bit longer than expected. Thing was just a bit too small for me to enter and I needed to use my omni-tool to open it up a bit, but at least the vents were plenty big enough. Crawling through the vent down and around to where the other vent was only about six feet.
Getting there it took a bit of effort to get the tranquilizer out without making any noise but it was accomplished. Hanging it over the edge of the vent I decided to wait it out. Opening the vent more had taken a bit too much time and Corlishi and the Turian were already going at it. If I had been intent on killing them it would've been easy but it was a tranquilizer gun and thus had a needle at the end of the bullet.
In simple terms the Turian exoskeleton would be too hard to hit an opening with 100% accuracy with the way they were moving at the moment. It forced me to wait for the perfect opportunity but they didn't make me wait long. Corlishi took control and got on top of the Turian and while she did that I took another few moments to bring my actual pistol up while lining up a shot on the turian.
As soon as my pistol was in my other hand the shot was lined up and I took it. The needle stuck straight into the neck of the Turian and he slumped immediately. Corlishi with her head thrown back didn't notice immediately and I chose that moment to pop open the vent. It wasn't quiet but not loud enough to alert the guards but it did get Corlishi's attention. Either way when it opened it was held in the hand with the tranquilizer and my other hand held my pistol pointed at her.
She had already opened her mouth to scream but with my pistol pointed at her head she stilled. Even at this awkward angle there was no way that I would miss from this distance and she knew it as well. Taking my time sliding out of the vent and dropping to the floor as quiet as possible my eyes never left hers.
Walking over to the chair in the corner I grabbed it and dragged it across the floor and stopped it right next to the bed. My pistol pointed at her head the whole time. We entered a serene silence as we looked between each other… well, it might've been uncomfortable for her. I mean, the guys cock was still in her. I couldn't help the chuckle that escaped my lips. She just looked at me like I was completely mad, which may not be that far from the truth.
"Corlishi, how do you do?" she looked at me like I was completely mad. "Obviously not the best question with your current predicament," I could hear Kelli snicker over the radio.
"I… am at a disadvantage. So, Ditriyne was right. You are coming after us," I nodded my head. "Who else have you… visited?"
"Raros, Ditriyne, Caleto and now you. Glaessya is next."
"And the reason you haven't killed us pertains to the Reapers," I nodded my head. "To much chaos with them so close; if we died there would be no real leaders for the Asari."
"Yes. That is why you are not painting the wall and the sheets of the bed with your blood, skull and brain matter."
"How kind of you," the sarcasm was palpable.
"You're welcome. Do you understand the implication of our meeting?"
"Yes. That you can and will get to us if you wish to. That we aren't untouchable and you are more than willing to personally paint a target on our back."
"Glad you understand and that you are at least cordial. Unlike Ditriyne, bit of a racist there," Corlishi only sighed at my words.
"She's not particularly a people person but yes I understand. She is on the far extreme of us. Though, in your eyes none of us are innocent."
"Indeed… I'll be taking my leave now… Sorry about your partner but he'll be up in about an hour," she let out a quiet laugh at that.
"It won't be the first time he's passed out… I wouldn't say no to another partner though," she gave me a sultry look and it was a good look on her, especially with her being completely exposed. However, she also currently had someone else inside her and I was extremely taken.
"Sorry, I'm married… God that feels good to say," I then left her with a surprised expression before grabbing the vent and jumping up grabbing the edge of the hole with my augmetic and pulling myself through.
After that it was a simple process of going through the vent, back to the elevator and all the way down and walking to the truck. By the time I got there Kelli was back in the truck as well and we drove off. It was a quiet but nice ride and we all knew who was next on the chopping block. Glaessya and with my connection with Tevos it might just be an easy in as their talks with the Elcor didn't seem to be going anywhere for the moment. I'm going to change that as well; we'll need them.
We left Illium the next morning after dealing with Corlishi and made our way through the planet without any trouble at all. The few police vehicles that saw us left us completely alone on our way out of the planet and system. It seemed that Anaya was telling the truth and even when we were leaving the system the customs people let us go without a word. Guess they got in touch with the police force on Illium.
I wasn't complaining at all and we made our way to Dekunna. It was a bit of a farther fly than usual. Taking upwards of almost 10 days. However, that was mostly for the fact that we made a detour and dropped off Ilok and Vrule on Omega. They had duties on the station that they needed to attend to and I wanted to hang out with Iris for a couple days. Plus with my connection through Tevos this wasn't going to be a problem at all.
At the end of those ten days we sat on the edge of the space of Dekunna but they were far more intensive than I ever would've expected. They had both Kelli and myself vetted and we had to wait for an entire day to see their response. When they did responde they rejected our request to enter their atmosphere. When I asked why they didn't even respond and just chose to cut off the call altogether.
When that happened I decided to get a little petty and use my connections. Calling Tevos and telling her that I was planning on meeting her on Dekunna she was a little surprised at the request. However, after a few minutes of talking to her and lying that there might be an attack on her and the meeting she accepted my request.
Not an hour later Kelli and I were flying into the gravity of Dekunna and making our way to the reserved airdock. One only placed for council members and esteemed guests, guess this means I finally made it big. Laughing at my internal joke Kelli gave me an odd look but I shrugged it off in favor of piloting my ship onto the landing pad.
As we approached the landing pad I noticed that Tevos was waiting there just off the landing pad for me. With her was an entourage of Commandos far larger than should've been necessary. That, however, is when I noticed that there was someone standing right next to her. She was tall, regal and instantly recognizable. It was Glaessya.
As I landed neither of us spared a glance from each other. Neither of us even looked at anyone else but us. It was the very definition of a staring match and even when Kelli tried to pry me from the cockpit I didn't move. Glaessya and myself continued to star at each other. However, both of us knew in that moment that it didn't matter who was better. All that mattered was which of our subordinates were better. And Kelli fucking showed out.
Kelli stepped out ahead of me on the ramp and proceeded to stare down Tevos and Glaessya's entire entourage of Commando's. They may have gotten the prestige of guarding the two most influential Asari in the galaxy but the crumbled under her glare like they were school kids. Not only was she doing that but in the way she held herself compared to the Commando's it was evident that she had seen far more combat than all of them combined. In other words, she made them look like complete nonfactors.
I didn't even join Kelli outside of the ship until a full two minutes had passed with me watching this all through the cockpit. She did all of that without my presence being a factor at all. If there was ever a moment that I didn't respect the hell out of Kelli that moment was chastised by my brain for simply watching what she just did. It was glorious and after I had my fill I followed her out of the ship and stopped in front of Tevos.
"Good to see you Councillor," I greeted amicably.
"You as well Torchbearer… So the attack you mentioned that could happen?" I made a show of looking around the area and noting that we were still in a rather open area with plenty of ears close by.
"Not here ma'am," she nodded her head and turned around leading us away. Glaessya walked side by side with Tevos while I walked right behind both of them. The commando's surrounded us and Kelli walked side by side with myself.
We walked in silence for a few minutes until we got to a caravan of cars. Kelli rode with the Commando's while I got to personally ride with both Tevos and Glaessya. Once we started the ride Tevos looked at me expectantly to start talking but I stayed quiet and instead pulled out my pistol and pointed it at Glaeesya. Tevos looked completely taken aback but after a moment realization dawned on her and her head shot over to look at Glaeesya. A look of utter betrayal on her face.
"I know your motivations, I know why you are doing this and I know you won't kill me. Can you put your weapon away just in case it accidentally goes off. Old human technology does have a tendency to do that," I did put my pistol away. I doubted that it would misfire but she wasn't wrong that it could happen and decided to play it on the safe side.
"Now, the secrets out through Tevos. I doubt she'll be able to remove someone of your standing without true evidence and at this point I don't want that to happen. You are integral to the Asari as of now; if we both survive the upcoming war and you don't fix yourselves I will be paying you another visit. A sanctioned visit," I pointedly looked at Tevos and she gave me the barest of nods agreeing with my words. Good.
For the next couple minutes of the ride we sat there in a peaceful silence. Both Glaeesya and myself calmly sitting and generally just looking straight ahead without acknowledging anything else. Tevos though was the same and yet she wasn't. She sat in the same way as us and was quiet as well but it was easy to see to anyone who bothered to learn body language that she was beyond furious. Either at Glaeesya or myself, the actual person she was angry with was up in the air.
"Was the attack you mentioned a fake to get you on planet?" Tevos finally asked me. I contemplated telling her that it was but at the same time getting the Elcor to actively fight in the war would be huge for us. It was something that an indoctrinated person would definitely interfere in.
"There's been rumblings about it but nothing truly concrete. I'm thinking that it may be someone who is indoctrinated making the moves," was my response after a few moments of thinking. Tevos thought to herself for a few moments before responding.
"Then you will stay for the talks. You and your companion," I thought about it for a few moments before nodding my head. I didn't know how long it would take for everything to figure itself out but at this point there was no harm in staying for the talks. It couldn't possibly take that long.
It's been two and a half fucking months. We have just over three months until the Reapers get here and I've wasted the last two and a half months being a fucking bodyguard for these talks. This was absolutely ridiculous. It got to the point where I sent Kelli off to Omega and had her switch out with Samuel and Ilok. There was absolutely no reason that was acceptable in my mind that this should be the case.
The Elcor were absolutely obstinate towards anything that would require them to fight. They were surprisingly pacifist in their nature and were almost wholly unwilling to participate in the fighting as a whole. However, both Tevos and Glaeesya kept pushing them and they needed to in my opinion. Having the Elcor on our side actively fighting in the war would be a fucking boon and a half.
I have gotten close to blowing my top on the Elcor no less then ten times in the last two weeks alone. There were things that needed to be done, that I needed to do other than participate in this bullshit where they were dragging their feet. The only two things that have been positive that have come out of this was the fact that Tevos was willingly to listen to my proposed tactics during the war but only in front of the whole Council. The second being that the Elcor have agreed for the Council War Machines to use their shipywards to build ships. Something that was already happening.
As of right now though I was standing in the corner of the room that we were in with Glaeesya and Tevos seated at the table with the Elcor ambassador standing across from them. At this point it was like beating your head against a steel wall but they kept on trying to get the Elcor to fight. It was honestly impressive that they were still trying and they needed to but if our positions were flipped I would've threatened them at this point. Getting close to doing that myself at this point.
Finishing up the meeting a couple minutes later my group left with me sitting at the back of the group. Samuel and Ilok were at the front prepared for anything and constantly scanning the area in front of us. The trip back to the hotel was the usual and in silence but as we entered the caravan Tevos and Glaeesya's masks shattered. They were both visibly angry that this had taken so long. I shared their sentiments but didn't voice anything, my body language did that for me.
Calming myself as much as I was able to I held onto the only thing that was keeping me sane through this. Every other day I would call and talk to Tali and on the days I didn't talk to her I would call Iris. The two best girls in my life and they were the only reason I wasn't strangling the Elcor negotiator.
They weren't the only ones I've called in the past two and a half months though. The most frequent after them being Nyreen. She knew that there was a war coming and wanted my input on how we should start training our soldiers. I opted for hit and run tactics at the moment but first and foremost we needed to be able to defend Omega. Nyreen had sent out feelers across the station and had set up traps and automated defense systems at chokepoints and key areas. About a month into the meeting with the Elcor Aria had caught wind of this and wasn't happy.
It came down that we ended up having a three way call between us that very nearly resulted in open war between our two groups. Thankfully we got it taken care of and a truce was struck between our us. A sort of non aggression and mutual one, that in the event of attack on Omega our soldiers would take control of the battlefield while Aria's would perform hit and run tactics while getting the civilians to safety. It also resulted in me sending the Geth code that controlled Omega to Nyreen. Just in case I wasn't there when the attack happened, no way it wouldn't happen with the rich resources of Omega.
After Nyreen I talked to Garrus the most. Most of it resulting in just us catching up with each other and me finding out that he was working with the Turian Military as an advisor for all things Reaper related. I asked him how Nyreen was taking him being away for so long and he confessed that it had been rocky with her. Though with the money that the Turians were paying him for his service she had decided to look the other way for now. As long as he visited her twice a month, which he made sure to do. He also asked me if I knew any good places to buy a ring so there's that.
Then it was Jack. Found out my psychotic biotic mentee was now a teacher at Grissom Academy. She also let slip that they now had a swear jar, all because of her and she was its highest donor. I laughed at that but overall she seemed happy and wanted me to visit when possible. Though she was bummed that Shepard was behind bars at the current moment. Especially because she wasn't allowed to talk to the man.
Other than that there wasn't anyone I really talked to. Thane a couple of times called and asked how to get a better relationship with his son and I helped as best I could but the rest of the crew were mostly silent. Well, Grunt called a few times as well but it was mostly drunken calls to prove to his squadmates that he knew the Red Eyes.
With that out of the way I was now outside of my room in the hotel that we had been stationed at for the duration of these talks. Hitting my pulse as usual there ended up being a signature in the room. Unholstering my pistol and knife I opened the door and stared down a Salarian that held his hands in the air.
"Greetings Torchbearer, I come bearing gifts courtesy of the STG," the Salarian spoke before gesturing to a small device on my bed. It looked like a datapad but with an antenna sticking out of the top of it. "Portable Indoctrination detector. First gen."
"You think someone in the talks is indoctrinated," it wasn't a question.
"Yes, Elcor being uncharacteristically obstinate. Something amiss, broke rules to deliver device, might lose STG job," I was silent for a moment before nodding to the Salarian.
"If you do get canned come to Omega. You'll be vetted but we could use someone like you in my unit," the Salarain nodded before leaving. I left out the part that he would be watched like a hawk while on Omega if he did come for at least the first few months but for now he deserved at little reward if he was canned.
Walking over to the device I fiddled with it for a few moments to get it working. When I got it to start it took me another couple minutes to work through all the settings and nodded to myself once that was done. Putting my gear and weapons away I took a shower and went straight to sleep, there was no point in staying up any longer.
Waking up the next morning early I did my morning routine without weights or a bag and took another shower before getting my gear on. Once everything was on I grabbed the device and walked downstairs to the caravan that was just arriving as I did and got in. about 20 minutes later we arrived at the room before the Elcor ambassador as usual.
Bringing out the device I scanned everyone in the room including the two Elcor bodyguards at the far end of the room. Everyone, including myself, turned up clean for the moment and stayed that way. Then the Ambassador and his assistant walked in and I scanned them both. The assistant was clean, the Ambassador was not but in usual STG fashion the device gave no indication that he was indoctrinated.
With that information now in my hands my blood boiled. The Reapers had stalled this for almost three months and significantly cut down the time we could've used to make sure the Elcor were ready for this fight. Still, I had to wait for the moment when it was best to strike.
It seemed that God was hearing me answered my prayers too as I didn't have to wait long. Just a couple minutes after the talks between the Asari and the Elcor began the assistant excused themselves to go to the bathroom and as the bodyguards opened the door for him they turned their heads away.
Ripping my pistol out of its holster I shot to the Ambassador put the barrel right on where his lightswitch would be, all species have it. Before the Ambassador could even open his mouth to call out for help I had already pulled the trigger and the Elcor fell limply to the side dead. Everyone in the room was shocked into silence and just when the bodyguards regained their senses and were about to charge me I held up the device.
"This detects indoctrinated individuals. Your Ambassador was indoctrinated and I killed him for it. The Reapers were delaying these talks intentionally to make sure you wouldn't be in the fight," I directed my words as the former Ambassadors assistant. My words hung in the air for a second before the Elcor told the two bodyguards to stand down and he walked over to me asking to see the device. I showed him the screen depicting the Ambassador as indoctrinated and he nodded his head in understanding.
"Determined Statement: The Elcor will fight for the Council. Dejected Comment: He has been acting differently the past few months, I should've seen it," and then he walked off. I looked at Glaeesya and Tevos for a moment before speaking to Tevos.
"I'll be on the Citadel in a week. Please wrap this up and get there to call a meeting by that time. I wish to discuss things with all of you about tactics in person," she nodded her head and then I left. Finally, I was free of all this bullshit.
Now came the depressing part. Convincing the Councillors to go along with Scorched Earth tactics. Potentially sacrificing millions in the process just so that we would have a better chance of victory. Sounded decent when its put it that way but it would still end the life of far to many people. No matter how necessary, it didn't sit right with me but it was needed. God forgive me.
POV: Eschucivi Dashi
It was a normal day for me. Training, killing the undesirables and creating havoc in the local government. Shitheads on Eden Prime had no idea what they were doing around here, or what they were currently discovering. Bitch would be up within the month if they continued the progress they were currently on.
Though that wasn't what had my attention at the moment. What did was the recording of the cell the boy had been put in for a little less than a day. The Alliance thought they could threaten him or his woman and get away with it, dumbasses. Fucking hell, I was surprised the boy didn't kill the fucker; damn near looked about ready to. Too bad he didn't, would've made him so much better. Little shit still had his moral compass.
Still, that wasn't what caught my attention. It was the flames he conjoured and it told me something about his Essence. Elements play a part in the ability of their Essence and there have only ever been three elements that have taken shape. Fire, Lightning, and Water. Water was the most adaptable and able to do many thing, Lightning was the fastest and most offensive but Fire… Fire was the one that had next to no information about it.
Athame was fire, Vondok was lightning, Phaelgda was water, I am lightning and the boy will be Fire as well. Only Athame has had that element but from the old texts I've found Fire was far away the most dangerous. It was characterized by a fire fighter from Thessia when talking about it and Athame. It was a quote long past and unknown but it got the point across.
"Fire… Fire is destructive and dangerous but at the same time it gives new life to the wild when used properly. However, we fight fire and know it's capabilities and there is something that I must say for all firefighters. You can fight a fire but if it builds into a Inferno run away as there is nothing more that you can do. An Inferno kills everything in its path and it will burn down buildings thought indestructible. You can't stop it, you can only hope to direct it in a way that it harms no one."
That quote alone stoked its own fire in me. I just couldn't wait to fight the boy again, he still needed one more lesson before he would be perfect. A perfect creation of my own making to fight to the death. When he finds his perfection our battle will be one for the ages and no one will ever come close to us.
There we go folks. Y'all will be getting an extra special gift next week, and it may not be what some of you are thinking ha.