Shepard pulled her skyball cap down tightly over her hair, her fingers then sliding familiarly into her duffle's straps and lifting it to balance the hardcase's weight swaying from its handle in her left hand. She heard Liara call to her as she passed her office, reminding her about some additional equipment she might need.
"Right," she called over her shoulder while taking the stuff to the shuttle. "Back in a sec."
The bags and cases were heavy and Shepard was pleased that she was carrying them well, though she'd never have revealed her doubts to the others. Her body still felt strange to her, slender and misproportioned compared to everything she'd ever known, but as far as she could tell she was...just fine. No more weakness, no more cloying hunger; aside from her appearance in the mirror she could see herself adjusting quickly. Everything would be fine and Miranda would find a solution in no time. They'd probably be laughing about the whole thing over drinks in a month. The thought made her smile as she walked outside to the landing pad, shuttle door open and waiting.
She had the duffle on the floor of the shuttle and was pushing it aside to make room for the case when a flash of something from the treeline entered her peripheral vision. She paused to look but it was gone, so in went the case.
"Shepard," came Liara's voice in their shared earpiece channel. "Glyph just informed me of an Alpha Two event."
She blinked, her brows curling in concern. "That was fast," she replied, sliding the gear into a secure place inside. "Sitrep?"
"TSF is sending a full company to assist a 'high-value' capture mission at our location."
"Wow," she said, smirking, "I'm flattered."
"Shepard," Liara said sharply in disapproval, "This isn't funny."
"No," she reluctantly agreed, "It's not. I honestly never thought I'd say this but, it's time for Gemini."
"You still sound entirely too pleased with yourself," Liara growled, but Shepard could hear her moving quickly in the background.
"Well, I mean I did spend months putting this thing together in case of emergency; I just didn't think all the fuss would be for me." She saw amber lights flashing around the building and nodded in satisfaction.
"Our teams have been alerted," Liara intoned.
"Good, okay. We need to pick up the pace." There was another flash of light to her left and Shepard paused again. "Wait, did you say... assist ?"
There it was again, she saw, and just as her mind put it together she jerked to the right; an ultradense particle the size of a grain of sand striking her at such a high velocity she wouldn't hear the report for a second after. The force of it propelled her backward into the shuttle, twisting her body into a heap to strike the back bulkhead.
The pain of it was overwhelming, but then shut off like a switch had been flipped. Upper chest, left side was all she could recognize before she was keying her comms to warn her lover. "They're...here," she tried to say, but there was no wind in her voice.
"Didn't catch that," Liara said calmly, before adding in a much more animated voice. "By the Goddess, Shepard, these reports say they're not just here for you."
The words meant something, she knew, but she just wasn't putting it together.
"They're here for me, too. They know I'm the Shadow Broker ," she said leadenly.
Shepard winced as if she'd been slapped. Linron hadn't pulled any punches with what she'd learned from Valern and was clearly gunning for them all. Shit shit shit, was the best her mind could do as she managed to put her feet back on the floor and twist to get a look at the wound while trying desperately for a breath. There was a clean hole in the shirt she was wearing but she saw no blood. She pulled at the neck of the fabric to see just how much damage had been done, but only saw a deep divot in her darkly mottled skin just below the collarbone. That shot should have killed her. It could have struck her heart directly but definitely should have punctured a lung...and yet even with the realization came her first ragged breath.
"Liara," she gasped, "They're here." She started coughing at that point but threw herself forward to unlock the hard case and pull out a weapon. Her next thought was, When did Thessian Security Forces start wielding sniper rifles ? The answer, of course, was they didn't and she didn't like where that thought led her. Shepard threw herself against the wall by the door and powered up the Harrier she'd drug along with her from house to house, unwilling to let go of the lightweight assault rifle she'd used with so much success in the past.
Now that she had her breath back she changed channels to include all onsite security. "We've got snipers on the grounds. This is an Alpha One. Repeat Alpha One. This is not a drill." Shepard heard the click of several mics, indicating her message had been received without identifying location or numbers. She'd trained them well. Paid them well, too.
The sniper might think she was dead; she sure would have. The question was, did they need her body as proof? If so they might come in to verify. Questions bubbled about why she was still alive at all and she pushed them down ruthlessly. Time for that later. She saw Asari bodies boiling out of exits from the barracks, moving to their appointed positions while providing cover for one another and while she stayed in the shadows of the shuttle she used the opportunity to level her own scope near the sniper's last known position.
She saw nothing, but the sudden troop movement might've made them reconsider their next move. Liara should be utilizing the safe room at this point as they'd so often planned but she realized Garrus, Tali and their kids were probably in the wind. She switched channels on her Omni and made a call, which was promptly answered.
"What in spirits is happening?" He demanded, alarmed, his voice's very existence still managing to calm her.
Her scope never left its vantage, Shepard's eyes watching for any movement at all. "Remember when I told you that you were throwing in with galactic criminals?" she rasped. "Well, the chickens have come home to roost."
There was a pause before he muttered, "Dammit I don't even know what that means but I know what it means."
"First floor, northwest corner," she said hurriedly. "Take them and get in there with Liara."
"I'm not…" he began.
"I've got help out here, Garrus," She interrupted. "I need you there. Do it now." She heard him growl before he disconnected but he'd see reason soon enough.
In the distance she heard a grenade go off, followed by scattered small-arms fire. Her instincts demanded she go with them to engage but before she made the door she remembered that none of them had seen the new 'her' and might accidentally take her for an intruder as well. Comms quickly lit up with the chatter of battle. There were already casualties but still no sign of the attacker, which meant it was some kind of infiltrator. She heard them switching to infrared and coordinating movements professionally so there was no need to redirect them. Shepard had 30 minutes at best before TSF arrived and needed to get things moving.
She quickly finished loading the shuttle herself, listening to scattered engagement reports and their positions. A fire was blazing in the park, now, smoke billowing above the tops of the trees. Three engagements, three positions, each farther away from the house; which, if it were her out there, meant she'd be turning and going back for Liara to finish the job. The whole thing struck her as odd, walking into the house armed. No too long ago that would've been her out there, trying something tricky to get at the objective. Now she was the one standing in the way.
She keyed her comms as she walked briskly down the hall toward Liara's office. "Teams 2 and 4, flank the intruder's last known position from the west." That would put them between who she was now assuming was a Spectre and the house. If they couldn't bring him/her down the move would at least slow them.
Shepard slung her weapon, grabbed up Liara's equipment and was headed back to the shuttle when the fine hairs on the back of her neck stood. She just felt someone behind her, though she couldn't put a finger on why. The woman didn't change her pace or gait, instead taking an unexpected left turn down a hallway to the front room for cover, where she came face to face with an Asari wearing a T'Soni house uniform, pistol in hand. The predatory look in her eye didn't fit that of any employee she'd ever met, though.
The sniper was a diversion. She thought, cursing herself. Just how many of them are there ? Two was plenty, three was…
"How are you still alive?" The purple toned asari asked pleasantly before tsking. "I guess you've earned your reputation."
Shepard smiled in a non-threatening manner. "Spectre, right? Don't think we've met. Kill someone for that outfit?"
The Spectre shrugged eloquently. "Oh she'll probably be fine. Head wounds can be tricky though." Her eyes narrowed then, examining her. "I must say I thought they were lying. Are you really part Reaper?"
The idea offended her, but as much as Shepard wanted to set the record straight it was only a matter of moments before the Spectre she couldn't see arrived...behind her. She shook her head dramatically and laughed, then tossed a hardened equipment case at her head. It wasn't meant to hurt her, necessarily. That pistol in her hand just wasn't her primary weapon and Shepard needed her opponent's vision blocked for a moment while she ran back around the corner toward the landing pad.
A round from that pistol still struck the wall junction in front of her as she slid around that corner, and other rounds came her way from the living room while she twisted and zagged. She heard heavy footsteps followed by the telltale roar of biotics, then heard a male cry of pain and the sound of a body striking the same wall that'd been pockmarked by the Asari's fire.
Shepard had the trigger of the Harrier in hand now and quickly turned to send a tight burst of three down the hall as she backpedalled. She could see the second Spectre finally, a fully armored Turian picking himself up and diving back into the living room for cover while the Asari peeked around the corner at her. Shepard heard him cursing at his biotic counterpart using the name Persea. That was the thing with Spectres, she realized with a curl of her lips, they weren't team players. The thought made her regret sending everyone into the safe room, though, which was underground. By the time they got back this might be over, but at the same time they all needed to push to the shuttle if they were going to get out of here before TSF showed.
She wasn't liking the odds and sent out a call to her Commandos for assistance, but kept firing and kept moving backward even as the Asari tossed a grenade in her direction. One of her shots caught it, mid-air, and the hall erupted in an explosion.
The safe room was fairly large, but 5 crying children made it feel very very small. It was well stocked, thankfully, so the trio of adults were armed. Liara was quickly putting on the familiar white and blue armor she had stashed, but they didn't have the luxury as his gear had been left somewhere on Sur'Kesh and Tali hadn't seen the need to bring any. He figured that was why Shepard told him to bunk down here but she didn't have any armor either, so he was frustrated at not being by her side. The lingering deep ache beneath his right chest plate wasn't helping either. There was something there that needed attention, not that he'd ever admit it.
"Oh quit sulking, Garrus," Tali said as severely as she could manage in a pleasant, calming tone while stroking Marus' and Nira's backs. "I could use your help, you know." She looked up at Garrus when he met her gaze and said, "Bosh'tet," in the sweetest voice imaginable.
His mandibles crooked in amusement despite himself. "You always know just what to say," he replied sarcastically, but moved over to put a confident hand on Reegar's head while the child looked up at him. "Everything's fine," he crooned. "Your aunt Jordan will have this all sorted in a jiffy, then we'll get some sweets. Okay?"
"How's it coming, Glyph?" Liara said distractedly while she watched Shepard jog back into the house to pick up her things on the security monitor.
"Full system wipe will be completed in approximately 4 minutes, Dr. T'Soni," The Advanced VI said smoothly from his place in the corner.
The sniffling died down a bit at the calm discussion, but moments later the room rocked from a nearby explosion and the crying began anew.
"What happened?" he asked, moving to Liara's side.
Her face turned to glance at the children and he could see how pale it was, how saucer-like her eyes appeared. She glanced up at him and said in a voice he could barely hear, "They're in the house. She's outnumbered."
Garrus came to her side and looked at the screen with her, noticing the armored Turian diving to the ground in the living room. "Since when does TSF have Turian soldiers?" he asked before glancing at the side of Liara's face, her eyes staring in shared shock. He already knew the answer.
"Open the door," he snarled, but Liara shook her head, standing. "Liara…those are Spectres, you and I both know it. She doesn't have any armor and if she goes down we're screwed. I'm not just gonna sit here and watch it happen!"
Liara picked up her pistol from the desk and slid it into her holster before looking at him again. "You two aren't part of this," she said tersely, then pointed at a covered button mounted on the desk. "If things go wrong, this will bring the corner of the house down on top of the chamber and this," she pointed to another button, "Will call for assistance. There's plenty of water and air and my agents will come get you out."
He began to protest but she continued, "Garrus listen to me. Cooperate with the authorities if you're somehow taken. Tell them everything."
"Dammit," he hissed, "You sound just like her ."
"You're wounded, my friend," she said, while putting a hand on his shoulder. "You wear it well but everyone can see it." She took the time to smile comfortingly even though he knew she wanted to be away quickly. "This is my crime. My wife." Her eyes pierced his with furious certainty before she looked between them and added, "If you want to help then protect Athena. Let me go."
He nodded after a moment and she was gone, but he noted which button she'd pressed to leave. Athena looked at him from where she lay on her side, silently. Her watering, reddened eyes unnerved him. They looked like they understood.
The force of the explosion buffeted Shepard's body backwards but she rolled cleanly and lifted to a knee, Harrier instantly searching for a target. She was pleased to see part of the ceiling had dropped to block the hallway and jumped back to her feet immediately to make her way to the shuttle double-time. Previous encounters with Spectres flashed cleanly in her memory, though, so she wasn't entirely surprised when she heard another biotic whoosh and saw the Asari take shape at her flank, limned in blue.
The problem with biotics was that so many of their abilities hampered movement. Pushes, pulls, lifts, singularities, stasis...as a regular soldier she had little defense against them and against a killer of this calibre any one of them potentially spelled death. The only way she'd reliably found to prevent them was to get in close, but that also meant she wouldn't reach the shuttle...and raised the odds her Turian partner would join the dance. It was what it was.
She remembered how slow she'd felt in that sparring match at the Villa and knew there would be no sportsmanlike pauses, no second chances here. Fast, fast, fast, Shepard chanted quickly in her mind and felt her adrenaline respond before suddenly darting straight at her , firing as many rounds into her barrier as possible before arrival.
As expected, it didn't drop, but the ferocity of her approach backed Persea up a step, her left hand curling with purple energy while her pistol answered again and again. Shepard twisted and ducked as best she could to avoid those shots but grunted as her left arm caught one anyway. While it managed to spin her a bit, her momentum impacted and dissipated the barrier completely. She leaned in hard with her right shoulder for the finish, catching the Asari just under her center of gravity and sending them both down together in a tangle of limbs, her Harrier clattering to the stone floor.
The trick now was controlling her opponent's hands while still doing damage. The right one held a pistol of course while the left pulled and released biotic attacks. She could disarm the pistol if she played her cards right but then Persea could utilize close range biotic attacks like shockwaves or throws from either hand, which would put Shepard back at the disadvantage she'd just finished negating.
So against every instinct she'd ingrained over the last 20 years she let her opponent remain armed; her right hand grasping the woman's left tightly in her fist until she felt the pop of joints rolling against one another while the rest of her body shifted to stay on top. With an angry growl the Asari's pistol began training on her head, again as expected. Before it could align, her thighs tightened on Perseas own leg for purchase and her left hand lifted to backhand the pistol, the fired round missing her and hitting the ceiling, before her fingers immediately curled into a fist to punch her across the jaw.
Shepard expected that to hurt her almost as much as it hurt the other Spectre; she'd just been shot in that arm. Like in the shuttle, though, there was no remaining sensation of pain and her punch had been clean, snapping Persea's head to the side with so much force she was dazed from it. Dazed, that is, until she cried out at the pain of her fingers breaking in Shepard's other hand.
She watched the agony play out across Persea's face; her eyes squinching shut and her lips curled back from her teeth as she shouted in surprise and disbelief at the injury. It...wasn't what she'd meant to do no matter how much it helped her cause; but now the pistol's barrel was coming back around and firing wildly, repeatedly; just an instinctual need for the other Spectre to protect herself in any way she could.
She brought her left hand up under the barrel to lift it and those threatening shots away from her body. The Asari was turning her eyes to Shepard again but they didn't stop there. She expected anger, pleading, deception, anything except them continuing past her face to look at the collapsed hallway behind her. It seemed the Turian had entered the fray.
She'd wanted to finish the Asari before he arrived, but Shepard quickly pushed away and rolled horizontally to the right toward some stacked crates that may or may not provide cover as she heard the first shots of a rifle behind her. Part of her hoped some friendly fire would finish the job but with another whoosh and pop Persea disappeared from sight, the rounds pockmarking the floor where she'd been and tracking Shepard toward the wall. As her roll ended she took a glance at where he was and how he was armed, but was distracted by the glint of another grenade rolling right toward her.
Time...slowed...down as adrenaline flooded her veins. It'd been a long, long time since she'd felt it singing in her skin, through her fingertips. The grenade rolled nearer, almost in slow motion, settling just behind the crates and right where she crouched. She had only moments. If she fled to the front room she might escape the blast, but would be in open sight of one or both of them before she could reach the exit. She dismissed the idea quickly. The only way to stay in this fight was to stay close.
Shepard gathered her legs beneath her and leapt up and over the containers to put them between her and the blast, which also put her closer to him. She tucked and rolled as soon as gravity gripped her, the pads of her fingers sliding over the stone floor to snatch back her Harrier before the Turian could get a bead on her. Despite how quickly everything was happening she could see the muzzle of his Revenant training on her, memories of the rifle's capabilities coming back to her without effort. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Persea stepping from the shadows of the still-smoking hallway, her right hand curled in preparation for a biotic attack while her ruined left hand was cradled against her chest. One thing at a time.
She had time to take a quick step toward her before the grenade blew, but then juked back left as it went off. The movement drew the Turian's fire as she hoped it would so as the fiery blast sent all three of them into the wall his aim was no threat, bullets flying past her and down the hall. She sprayed and prayed with the Harrier herself before crumpling against the hard surface. Her feet doggedly slid under her, trying to rise, but then she was struck by the full weight of the crates that had also been thrown, one of them striking her right temple so hard she saw stars. Despite whatever blessings her new body was giving her she felt every bit of that.
The Spectres had armor and shields and medigel to protect them, and the Turian was up quick. Before she could lift her own weapon she was hit by a Concussive shot, throwing her through the air yet again . She soared through the door, outside the house and past the exit to the shuttle waiting so tantalizing close, landing roughly with arms and legs splayed only to be lifted helplessly into the air by a singularity.
Shepard's vision swam as the pair approached, but was pleased to see the Turian limping at least. Her hand lifted, dream-like, to fire at him but it was only then she realized the Harrier had been lost somewhere on her 'trip'.
Persea looked pleased with herself.
"About time," the Turian tersely commented. "Secure her. I'll find T'Soni."
Shepard heard the chatter of two approaching squads over her earpiece, but was careful not to let it show on her face. "Looks like you got me," she said instead, though it felt like she was speaking through a mouthful of cotton.
The Asari smirked and began binding her hands. "Jordan Shepard, you're under arrest for the cri.."
Two melodic popping sounds came from the hallway into the living room and the pair of Spectres stopped to look. A moment later a barrier sprung up around Shepard and a well placed sticky-round from a Scorpion sidearm exploded on each of the intruders, throwing each of them to the floor. At the same time Shepard's commandos came streaming in from multiple directions, shouting at them to drop their weapons.
Liara strode in as well, her pistol pointed carefully and her body lit in cerulean blue. "It appears you found me," she said to the Turian where he lay sprawled.
Shepard's ears were ringing and her head ached abysmally but she managed to grin from ear to ear at the lethally protective look on her wife's face. "How could you not love a woman like that?" she blurted, then seemed to realize she'd said it aloud.
Liara's lips curled into a smirk and there were knowing grins among the other Asari, though some of them were just realizing how different Shepard's appearance was. Thankfully they seemed to be following T'Soni's lead.
She dissipated the Singularity and held Shepard up while the Commandos kept their weapons trained on the pair.
"Killing us will only make things worse," Persea snarled, eyes pinched angrily.
Shepard grinned wryly. "Oh I'm not going to kill you," she said.
"Why not?" The Turian asked, surprised.
"Because I'm no Reaper," she answered in a tone that brooked no doubt.
Ten minutes later saw Shepard dosed with medigel and feeling a bit clearer, the Spectres locked in a basement, and Garrus, Tali and the kids packed away in the shuttle he'd purchased to get here from Bekenstein. Liara had transferred Glyph into a mobile system, stowed Athena and her crib in the rear of the shuttle and was making minor changes to their travel arrangements on account of their sudden status change to fugitive while Shepard addressed the gathered forces she'd worked so closely with over the last 3 years.
"You've done well," she said with serious eyes. "You carried out your mission with distinction, but it's time to go. You'll all find bonuses wired to your accounts."
A cheer went up and she smiled crookedly. "Those of you in Red group know what you have to do. The rest of you clear out." She put a fist to her chest before ending with, "It's been an honor."
They all pounded their fists to their chests repeatedly, no words needed, before heading quickly to their own vehicles. Shepard took note of those that were missing, marking them in her mind for later.
The main group gathered the casualties and departed with them. Four other red team shuttles that'd been hacked to have the same transponder signal as the one Liara was prepping took off, flying entirely different directions. TSF would be arriving in minutes, so Shepard climbed into the co-pilot's seat.
Liara noticed her flexing her shoulder experimentally, the pain from the sniper shot that had so mysteriously disappeared during the fight returning with a vengeance. Their eyes met and Shepard's expression went careless while she nodded as if this were nothing. Just the same she pulled down the neck of her abused T to have a look at the wound again, and found the deep pucker not so defined, her new skin neatly filling back in. Strangely, a fine sheen of what looked like white powder had also filled the shrinking divot and was spreading across her chest like a smear. She ran her fingertips across it, hoping it would fall away...but it was textured and solid.
Whatever was happening had saved her life again, but its work appeared to be unfinished.
Shep put in one final call to Garrus as they were lifting off. "Hey," she said as his face appeared. "How you holding up?"
"Ass bruised but still spoiling for a fight," he replied gruffly.
He was clearly not saying what they both were thinking and she could see the conflict written on his face. Conflict about leaving, conflict about her not wanting him with her in that last fight...and conflict about his feelings about her and about what she was becoming. She had no answers that could comfort him, especially with tender ears nearby.
"I hear you," she said with intensity, looking right into his blue eyes. "You take care of them, Garrus. The Council will try to get to you, too. Even on Rannoch."
"You let me worry about that," he growled. "And I know you have to disappear for awhile, but…" he paused, mandibles working, "Let me know where you land when you can."
Her own jaw tightened, uncertainty souring her stomach. "You'll be my first call," she promised.
When the connection ended, Shepard disconnected the Omni from her arm and took Liara's in hand from where it lay in the console between them. She looked out over the the tops of trees sweeping by and dropped them out the side door with a feeling of finality before pulling it shut.
The hunt was on.