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Requested by :

Espa Cole

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"But you don't want to actually do anything to help me?" Shepard growled, "You'll give me rank and permission, but that's it?"

"We can't do anything, Shepard. It's law and treaty, and so I'm afraid that what we want isn't relevant." Councilor Tevos answered with the same kind of well-manicured, diplomatic smile that every Asari that wasn't attached to thumping music and a pole seemed to have mastered. "If we dispatched too many Spectres or, Goddess forbid it, a fleet detachment, as you initially proposed, into the Traverse then the Hegemony would accuse us of militarizing the region in violation of several treaties."

"Then let the Alliance do it." Anderson said simply, dressed in his Navy colors and ignoring Udina, pacing anxiously behind him. "Allow the Alliance to incorporate these fringe worlds properly and expand our borders. Then we can patrol it ourselves."

"Councilor-"

"Admiral, if you please." Anderson grunted sharply, "At least in my own office."

"Anderson, you can't just ignore your actual rank for-"

"We're not in public, Ambassador Udina." Anderson growled simply when the man stepped up on his other side, conveniently as far from Shepard as possible. Turning a short look on the man, Anderson growled, "This is private, and if I prefer to be addressed by my rank rather than my title I will say so. Am I understood, Udina?"

"Yes, Counc-" Anderson growled and Udina backed away, hands held up in mock surrender. "Yes, Admiral, I understand. It's just-"

"Then leave us and see to that Eezo mine debacle you were briefing me on this morning." Anderson ordered crisply, turning back to the hologram of the at least outwardly patient Councilors. As the man left Anderson sighed and asked, quietly, "Now, about incorporating those worlds..."

"Well meaning as it would be the same issue would come up." Valern answered, shaking his Salarian head and turning a gaze on the Commander instead. "That would put your borders far too close to the Batarian's. They'd accuse you of looking to start border skirmishes over their… Ventures, in the area."

"You mean the pirates they hire to slave for them." Shepard grunted, shooting Anderson a look and grimacing when he did. Turning back to the Council she asked, "Is that really a bad thing?"

"It would destroy the region's stability."

"As if the Collectors aren't already doing exactly that?" Anderson cut in sharply, adding a theatrical shrug, "And besides, a region ravaged by slaving pirates isn't exactly stable in my opinion. I don't suppose that any of you disagree?"

"Your allegations-"

"Pft." Garrus grunted, "Allegations my ass."

"-against the Batarians are unfounded as of yet." Spartacus growled, eyeing the other Turian for a moment before sighing tiredly. To the two Humans he said, "And as much as I would love to launch an invasion to liberate the Batarian's slaves-"

"Sparatus-"

"I would, Tevos, and I will state it publicly too. Let the Hegemony come after the Hierarchy, they will lose. And everyone will end up happier for it." The Turian very nearly snarled at his counterpart, earning a derisive and dismissive roll of the eyes and sigh. Shaking his head the man went on quietly, "And as much as it pains me to say, you haven't given us enough evidence about the Collectors, either."

"We have testimony and video." Shepard countered, "Both of which conclusively point directly to the Collectors."

"And that passed through Cerberus hands far before getting to you. Or us." Tevos said, gesturing to her Salarian counterpart with a hand and then folding both of them in front of her. "Cerberus cannot, as of now, be trusted. And if we staged some grand gesture off of their evidence and that got out the fallout would be…"

"Massive." Anderson agreed with a weary sigh, "Too massive for us to risk. The Citadel or the Alliance."

"Anderson…" She'd been counting on at least his dogged support. If he didn't have her back, though… Well, that was a problem. It meant that they were sunk. So, with a nod, she turned back to the Council, "Then I suggest a compromise, Councilors."

"A compromise?" Tevos' brow rose and her head cocked to the side in tell-tale and obvious, if quickly concealed by a mask of impassivity, curiosity. "What manner of compromise, Commander Shepard?"

"Don't send Spectres into the Traverse. Or a fleet." She said simply, smiling and sliding into an easy, comfortable military rest, "You gave me my rank back, so give me my mission. Set me to investigate the Collectors, or even just the disappearances. I forward my reports to Cerberus and to you and once evidence comes to light, you dispatch support into the Traverse for me."

"What kind of support?"

"Spectres." She answered the Turian, "To start with, at least. Ships and soldiers if you think it's necessary. Or, if you're that afraid of a Batarian protest, hire mercenaries and privateers to do the job instead."

"That would be traceable." Valern warned, "The STG could do it easily. I'm sure even the Batarians would be able to bribe someone, trace their account's payments back to them."

"Not," Shepard smiled politely, "if I hired them myself to do the job. Men, ships, supplies, all paid for in my name. A private company, founded to work for me and make my jobs as a Specter easier throughout the Traverse."

"You're talking about a private army." Sparatus realized suddenly, "Your own fleet, your own military- Spirits, Commander, the scope of what you are suggesting is, well… It's beyond the pale, to say the damn least."

"But not unprecedented, from my readings on Citadel history." Anderson murmured, looking from Shepard to the Councilors and then smiling thinly. "Many Spectres have had their own units. Squads, regiments, I even read that one had a small fleet all his own that he used for anti-pirate operations."

"I have a feeling this would be a bit beyond that…"

"It will." Shepard nodded, "And it's happening either way. The Collectors pose to great of a threat. And if the Reapers are already acting-"

"Bah!" Sparatus snarled, "The Reapers…"

"-whether you believe in them or not, then I will do what I can to prepare us." She promised simply, frowning deeply. "For now, though, my forces would be focused on the Collectors. The problem that everyone here will agree is undeniable, even if they can't act on it without more evidence to convince the public of the problem."

"It will be limited." Tevos warned her after a moment where her gaze flicked to her right, where she was sure the Council had a private group text chat up to discuss it. Shepard nodded and Tevos shared a glance with her two alien compatriots and then sighed heavily. "Funding and details will be sent to you, Commander."

"And we will be keeping an eye on what they are spent on." Valern warned coolly, "If you use Council funding to overstep Council restrictions it will be rescinded. Is that clear?"

"Crystal." Shepard smiled, "Now, if we're done here, I have a fireteam member to collect elsewhere. And a job to do."

"That you do." Sparatus nodded gravely, "And Spirits be with you while you do it, too, Commander. You will need them on your side."

"I won't say no if they decide to show up with a Phalanx and some armor," She smirked, snapping a salute and then turning to leave. "Good luck with that Eezo mine, Admiral. Let me know if you need a good word from me for some PR shenanigans."

"Will do, Commander." She heard Anderson chuckled as the door opened and she stepped through. "Will do."

"I can't believe you pulled that off." Garrus murmured quietly after a few minutes of walking. She gave him a look and he waved a hand back the way they'd come, and then in the vague direction of the Council's Tower, which was still buzzing with construction ships finalizing the repairs, "You just bluffed the Spirits be damned Council into letting you build an army, Commander."

"What part was a bluff?" She asked, side-stepping suddenly onto a dirtier service path that wound under the proper walkways, and was thus less populated. Or rather, not at all populated aside from a sleeping Volus and a working keeper. "If they had refused me then I would have asked Tim."

"Who is- Ah." Garrus grunted, "Acronym."

"Acronym." She smiled, shaking her head at the Turian's typical habit of talking before his brain, sharp as it was, could catch up to him. "Now, though, I can get his support and have extra funding to keep me out from under his thumb."

"Clever." He admitted tersely, "I think it's a terrible plan, trusting either of them, but… Clever."

"Thanks." She said, beaming a smile at him, "I try."

"Mhm. I can tell…" He sighed, after a second, and shook his head like he'd just recalled something. Then he scowled, and she realized he'd been letting himself relax, and that he was agitated about it. Instead of whatever he was going to say he grunted, "Are you done with me for now, then, Commander?"

"Garrus, come on, we were getting along just-"

"And that's the problem." He growled, "I'm not ready to get along yet. So, are you done with me?"

"...I'd hoped to have you with me when we recruited Goto." She saw his scowl and an ache wormed through her heart. Quietly, she stuffed the pain in a box and set it aside, and then she sighed and shrugged, "But no. Go on and do whatever you were planning to do. I'll make sure you're notified three hours before we embark."

"Understood." He grunted, taking one long step before her hand caught his forearm and he spun around, her 'upgrades' making her strong enough to force him to. Sighing a warbling sigh he asked, "Yes?"

"I forwarded you some extra credits and I'm going to send more when my accounts finally unfreeze." She explained quietly, "The Collectors melted our armor like wet tissue paper last time we ran up against them."

"Yeah." He nodded as she released him, "Lost a lot of friends when that happened, too."

"I'd appreciate you reaching out to any contacts you have." She said, sliding into an anxious stance with her arms folded and her hip cocked. If Garrus recognized it he didn't say anything so she explained, "Use my name and my Credits if you need to and however you like. You need anything, Credits, an appearance, a gun, send me a message. But see what you can do."

"Aye, Commander." He nodded, "I'll get on it."

With that he left, striding around a corner and out of sight and leaving her in the winding pathway. Sighing, she leaned against the corner of another pathway that lead up and tugged her helmet off. Blinking back misty eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose she took the moment to catch her breath.

"You're not the only one that isn't ready for things, Vakarian." She murmured, turning to climb the stairs beside her and tugging her helmet on, grunting, "Bastard."

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Inside, the arcade was loud, bright and frenetic. Tables and tables of seating ringed the building, packed by families and groups of friends out for pizza and a good time. In the center, ringed almost protectively by the tables, overlooked by guardians not at their tables and staff whose job it was to ensure their patrons were safe. Occasionally, a pleasant woman's voice would chime in over the din, calling out a table number to let the children know their food was ready.

Or, well, to tell the staff and guardians to collect them.

After a moment of hesitation, Penny's hand found hers and tugged her forwards, the girl cheering, "Come on, Best Friend Pyrrha! Let's play something!"

"I-I-"

"Go one, Lil' Red." Zaeed grunted as he fell into the seat they'd found, waving her towards the games and noise further in. "I'll get us some pasta, some pizza an' some drinks. Our table's number nine so try not to kill no one an' listen out."

"I'm not a child, though." And she felt petty for saying it, too. Very much like the child she was arguing that she wasn't. "Isn't this all… A little too young for me, if you follow my drift?"

"Red, bein' real, you're about five minutes from me gettin' on Zombie House Twelve over there." The old man grumbled, pointing a long finger at a game currently swarmed by teenagers. Her brows furrowed but before she could say anything he explained quite simply, "We could, all three of us, catch a bullet tomorrow. Or, well, you lil' shits could catch an anti-ship missile or whatever that'd take you out."

"A surprise can kill us." Penny offered quietly, "We wouldn't be able to raise our Auras in time."

"A sniper then." The man shrugged, "Point is, we could all catch a pretty bad case of dead any time. So go play some damn games, have some damn fun, and don't give a damn 'bout what anyone has to say 'bout it."

"I suppose…"

"Please?" Penny pleaded, tugging on her arm gently and looking up at her with wide, watery eyes that Pyrrha knew she'd learned from Ruby, "I would so love to win a prize at the claw machines for you. I never got to go to arcades in Atlas because Father and General ironwood says it was unsafe."

"I…" Can't say no to those bright, pleading eyes. So, with a sigh, she smiled and nodded, letting the girl drag her off excitedly.

Zaeeed just watched and smiled, until their waiter finally came over and laid the little plastic menu out for him. While he looked at it the woman smiled and said, "Your grandchildren are adorable, Sir. And you're so good with them, too."

"They're not…" He sighed after a second and shook his head, "Frag it. Can I get a family order of your chicken parmesan and pasta, a triple order of garlic bread with cheese, and four pepperoni pizzas. Two to go, after we're done here, too, if you don't mind. And a 'round of something cola for the three of us."

"Of course, Sir." The waitress smiled, checking her tablet as his 'Tool wired over to her and then smiling wider. "Ah. Your ident-card reads you as a veteran, too. Would you like to use our Senior Veteran's discount?"

"...Fuck it, sure." He shrugged, grumbling as she sauntered off, a certain… Sway to her hips. Shaking his head he growled, "Fuck kinda fake chit did they give me?"

"An interesting one, it sounds like." An accented voice said from the seat across from him. He stiffened, one hand slipping under the table to prep his Omni-Shiv. It was only a little blade about the length of his finger, but he could use it to stick someone and run, but the woman only chuckled. "Relax, Mister Massani, I'm not any kind of threat to you. In fact, we're going to be workin together."

"Yeah?" He asked, setting his Omni hand on the table, Incinerate prepped. She tried anything and he'd melt the entire seat. "Why are you invisible then? S'not very friendly of you if you ask me."

"It is when I don't want you surrounded and arrested along with me." The woman joked lightly, voice a loud, joking whisper, "Your chit is good, which makes sense with, ya know, Cerberus involved. But if C-Sec drags us in, with me alongside ya, then it won't hold up to the kind of searches they'll put it through."

"Hm." He growled, "Maybe don't mention my boss in public, yeah?"

"Oh please." The woman laughed, "The only kinds of people that could even try and hear us over this chaos are ones with monitoring suites. And I have a jammer up for that sort of boring stuff."

"How 'bout we cut to the chase?"

"In a sec." The woman said, "Waitress."

"Here's your drinks, Sir." The woman from before said, smiling and dipping gracefully to drop them all off. Standing and cocking a hip she asked, quietly, "Is there anything else you might need?"

"Nah, not really." He grunted, more than aware what she was getting at. Everyone had a type, apparently… "I'll hit the ringer if that changes though."

"Alright." She smiled, "I'm just a ring away."

"Wow, she's thirsty." The other woman said amusedly, a moment before Zaeed watched one of the colas slide across the table and saw some of it vanish. His unamused stare drew a chuckle from her, "What? I'm thirsty too, even if it's a different kind of thirst by a few kilometers."

"Yeah, well…" He shrugged, "How 'bout you get to the important bit?"

"Which is?"

"Who you are." He said quietly, "An' why I shouldn't blast you now I know where you are on that there seat."

"Try it." She said, the smile clear in her voice. "See what happens."

"Hm." After a moment, he did, making the input gesture he'd programmed in by making a little finger gun and miming firing it. Nothing happened and, after a moment, he tried again. And then a third one. Frowning, he asked, "You're jammin' my 'Tool?"

"Yep!" She answered cheerily, "I mean, not the whole thing, obviously, or your ident-chip wouldn't work. But this close, I can run an anti-combat system jammer. So you can't do anything to me, Mister Man."

"Hm." He nodded, taking a long sip of his drink and smiling viciously. "Got a jammer to stop me hoppin' over this table, smashin' this glass over your head, and carvin' your damn neck open like a baked ham?"

"O-Okay, that's violent…"

"Gonna count to ten."

"Kasumi." She sighed, sounding more frustrated and bored than afraid. And that kind of bothered him in a way that was hard to explain. "Kasumi Goto. I'm supposed to be joining up with you guys on some crazy mission. But first I figured I should… Ask some of the other employees about it."

"Yeah?"

"Best way to know if a place will be good for you is to ask your future coworkers." The invisible woman chuckled, sliding the half drunken drink across the table back to where it had been. "So… Tell me the details, if you don't mind. Is Shepard a good person to work under? Is the mission worth it? How's the chef's food?"

Smitking, Zaeed leaned back, "Well if you really want to know…"

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Next chapter we shall move off the Citadel and have a bit of a tiff with a new recruit. Hope you enjoyed this set-up and character chapter pair!

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G119 :

Zaeed IS just a good person, yeah.

And aside from being kind of passive, which I see as due to her upbringing, Pyrrha and Ruby only have one divider. Ruby leads, Pyrrha follows. But no one really liked leading Pyrrha. Now, though, she's 'normal' and hopefully the interplay between characters will help open her up to you.

Australian Dealer :

M-Me? Kill off characters? N-Never! Innocent whistling

Glrassshopper :

Ironwood and penny had major arcs, yes, but everyone had minor ones. Coming to terms with the fight at hand was a big one, and many haven't gotten through them. Viewing V7 in search of a full arc is a poor way to do it, imo. Kind of like grabbing this story as is and complaining Pyrrha and Shepard's interplay isn't resolved yet.

Story ain't over, so just have patience.

Also, one more weeeeeek~

That Alaskan Kid :

I was seeking a way to make this NOT just be retreading ME2 but with a couple extra faces. The idea of a Shepard people dislike was one of them and was one I ran with.

Joe Cola :

Glad you like it so much!

CamoMurf (Guest) :

Lol, Grandpa Zaeed is great.