Nearly three thousand years ago, it was said, a Chinese general, writer, and philosopher named Sun-Tzu had written a treatise on the philosophy of war; it contained a series of chapters, each devoted to different sets of art related to warfare, military strategy, and tactics. It was the first of its kind, and it found instantaneous success, even now in the modern era remaining one of the most influential strategy texts in Far Eastern and Western human thinking. Its success and relevance endured because the text wasn't solely about warfare - it contained strategies to overcome all of life's obstacles. One of its premier lessons stressed the importance of preparation - the precursor to success. "The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable. Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win."

Arius had spent a good portion of his life preparing. Entropy sought to undo all efforts set to pursue order, so tied to this endeavour was constant, ongoing maintenance of all things he possessed; his body, mind, and equipment. And In times of war like these, such acts were paramount to stay alive. Even now, while on route to Hagalaz, they were performing maintenance. Weapons, armour, and undersuits needed cleaning and repair. Equipment needed testing. Reports needed to be drawn up. Bodies needed to be refuelled. Minds needed rest.

Arius inspected the monomolecular blade he had been using on Ilium and found its edge badly chipped. Armour, bone, metal - these really did a number on its edge; it was no longer fit for use and needed a replacement. He debated bringing the relic with him - his sword - but decided against it once he read the datapad containing the mission details resting next to him. It disclosed that the Shadow Broker's base was a ship perpetually travelling through the violent atmosphere of Hagalaz, and as such, lightning storms were ever-present. He did not wish to carry a large, conductive weapon and turn himself into a lightning rod.

"Mind passing me the oil and polish?"

Arius reached over for the canisters and passed them to Garrus, who muttered thanks before absorbing himself in cleaning his rifle. The maintenance tasks they both undertook were mundane, but they grew to be almost therapeutic; Getting temporarily lost in the grey numbness was sometimes a welcome relief between nerve-shattering stints. While he worked mindlessly, Arius' thoughts drifted to Liara T'soni, Shepard, and the old notes he had on her original crew. All of them he had heard stories about or met in some capacity, and all still bobbed in the wake of Shepard's influence - all but one, it seemed.

"Garrus, if you have a minute, may I ask you something?"

He waited till the turian gave the nod.

"A little while ago, I kept tabs on the original crew members that Shepard recruited on the Normandy SR-1. When I came aboard, I was happy to see that Shepard had found most of you again after her return: Tali and yourself, Urdnot Wrex - who wanted to return but has since been indisposed after becoming a clan leader, and now Miss T'soni. The only person not accounted for is Alliance marine Kaiden Alenko. No one has spoken for or about him, and I believe his service record is still active. That seems like an anomaly to me. Do you know where he is?"

Garrus gave a scowl, quite uncharacteristically, and Arius performed a double-take,

not expecting such an unwelcome reaction. "Did… something happen?" he asked, caught off guard by the negative sentiment from the turian. Garrus expressed his answer joylessly with a dour nod, and it was clear that his thoughts on the matter were less than savoury.

"I'll keep this brief. Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko," the turian coldly began, "was stationed with the original Normandy crew back when Captain David Anderson was still the executive officer. He was likeable, a good soldier, and a great biotic. Shepard usually keeps her personal relationships at arm's length, but both seemed to hit it off quickly. While chasing Saren across the galaxy, we discovered a secret facility on Virmire where Saren was developing a cure for the krogan to use them as a personal army. Long story short, our plan went south quick. When the time came to blow the place sky high, someone needed to stay behind to defend the bomb from the geth while the rest of us escaped. Shepard had to decide whether to leave Alenko or another one of our crew, Alliance soldier Ashley Williams, behind."

"She chose Williams," Arius affirmed solemnly.

"Yes." Garrus shook his head. "It hit us all hard, but Shepard suffered the worst; They were practically sisters. It pained us all for a while, but we had to move on - we had a galaxy to save. One day while cleaning up the last remaining dregs of Saren's geth in the Amada System, the Collectors hit us. Eden Shepard, commander of the Normandy, hero of the Citadel, saviour of the galaxy, was spaced and died alone in the void." The turian marksmen scoffed. "But that didn't stop her. When she came back, the first thing she did was look for us. We had lost and scattered ourselves across the galaxy… and she pulled us out of the darkness and saved us all again."

Garrus paused, and from the look on his face, it seemed like he was ruminating over some internal struggle.

"Before long, it's me, Tali and her on Horizon, just like old times. We discovered the Collectors were abducting humans, and we had caught them in the act. We get the settlement's weapons grid online, repelling the Collector ship. Guess who else was stationed at Horizon that day? Staff Commander Kaidan Alenko. Turns out he had been dispatched by the Alliance to investigate if Cerberus was responsible for the vanishing colonists. Although we were all happy to see him again, Shepard was overjoyed. Of course, she would be; she had loved him. After all that time and all that had happened, she had found him. And do you know what he did?" he growled, mandibles grinding. "I've never understood why, but after Kaidan takes her in his arms, his relief at seeing her alive turns to anger. He demanded to know why Shepard didn't try to contact him over the two years that had passed and why she had forced him to go through the pain of thinking she was dead. Shepard explained that she had been dead in every definition of the word. He then claimed that working with Cerberus betrayed everything they stood for…" Garrus shook his head in anger. "And he left! He just left!"

The furious turian stopped what he was doing, unable to continue. His talons were pressed into the surface of the table. "The look on Shepard's face that day, that completely crushed look, I will never forget it. After everything she had endured and all her efforts to find and pull us back together, I thought it was utterly despicable how he treated her."

The turian gave a deep exhale and released his grip on the table. There were marks left on it. The feelings were fresh, Arius realized, and this had most likely happened relatively recently. "And that's the last I heard of him," he said, grabbing his things to leave, unable to mask the resentment his telling had unearthed. "I'm heading back up. You know where to find me."

Garrus Vakarian walked off.

Arius sat silently for a while, thinking about what had been shared. There was strong emotion in Garrus' account, and Arius had suspected the turian's feelings toward the human female extended deeper than what he saw. He contemplated the tangled webs of people's lives and the inexorable contradictions that pulled at each of them, then wondered about his own.

Eventually, his thoughts dried up, and he slowly shifted his attention to the suit he had earlier splayed out on the table. He began carefully cleaning each part, from helmet to greaves. He wiped down the armour plates, some of which were caked with different hues of dried blood. The condition of some of the plating he cleaned was sorry - they were pockmarked with cuts, chipped from weapon fire and rife with corrosion, altogether looking like a hand-me-down that had seen more than its fair share of action - which was entirely not an unfair assumption, for these decrepit-looking armour pieces were originals and could not be remade once broken. He had replaced the lost pieces with the best equivalents in the modern era, but as good as that was, they were, even now, guaranteed to be inferior.

While he continued to clean, the elevator opened. It was Shepard, and she had ambled down to check that her gear was ready for their nearing foray. Satisfied with the state of her affairs, she passed by his table to chat, checking in with him after their recent mission on Ilium.

They had been filling in on what the other had missed when Shepard posed a question to him that he hadn't expected: "Do you believe that the end justifies the means?" she asked.

"In what context?"

"Generally."

"Did something recently prompt this?" he asked her, suspicious about the line of questioning. It was turning out to be a recurring theme of the day. He saw her teeter on an internal decision to share or not before yielding.

"This may be unprofessional… but I suppose we're past that now. Back on Ilium, Vasir, before she died, told me that she was in our way because it was payment to the Broker for intel provided to her through the years that saved many lives. I told her she crossed the line by blowing up a building filled with innocent people, and she pointed out that I was with Cerberus - who we know is no innocent party. She asked me to look in the mirror before judging her… and then she died."

"Oh."

"Yeah. Since I've come back… I've done things that I said I've never do, things that I thought I had a hard line against once," Shepard admitted, without giving details. "I don't know; everything feels a bit… blurred."

Arius had once known the exact feeling within his heart, and the acknowledgment by another selfsame filled him with a desire to reach out and share with her the entirety of his life - each decision he had made and each resulting outcome to quell her uncertainty, but he knew they had not the capacity or the time. "Hmm. I'm afraid that's a question only answerable if one has a crystal ball," he offered. "As unhelpful as this advice is, that's something that you'll have to decide for yourself, Shepard; your life is your own. I will, however, also say this: you've done an admirable job with the circumstances you've found yourself in. Continue to do what you think is correct, and the answer will eventually follow."

She didn't acknowledge him immediately, and he could see thoughts stirring behind her sharp, blue eyes. "Alright," she finally responded after a long pause. Her eyes glanced over to his suit that he was in the middle of cleaning. "I noticed earlier that a couple of your plates look damaged. Why haven't you replaced them?" she asked him, leaning in to get a better look. "They look like they've aged past the point of effectiveness. Are you keeping them for sentimental value? I'm not sure how useful they would be at stopping weapons fire."

Arius gave a wry grin, remembering her sarcastic comments at the Eclipse party about his predilections for the past. "Partially," he answered her. "I will admit. It's true; they've been with me long; I wore them when I crashed on Earth. The rest of the suit deteriorated soon after, so I removed the plates and dragged them. Less than a handful remain," he said, pointing to the ones that looked clearly out of place amongst the others, "some got stolen, some broke or deteriorated from the environment. I'd replace them if I could. It's just that the material is difficult to come by."

"Since you crashed on Earth?" she repeated, astonished, "That was thousands of years ago… I'm amazed they haven't crumbled into dust." She picked up one of the weathered plates and held it to the light, trying to glean a better view of their composition. "What are they made of? An advanced Prothean alloy of some kind?"

"Not quite. It's refashioned Reaper hide."

Shepard's mouth opened to voice concern, but then she closed it. "I'm not sure why I should act surprised anymore. I trust you've done your due diligence so that we're not putting ourselves at unnecessary risk of being indoctrinated, right?"

"So long as you only touch a Reaper's fleece and not its meat, you're safe from its influence," he reassured her. "I don't know how they're constructed, but, given their multi-million-year longevity, their hulls are perhaps the most durable of any that have graced this galaxy. The problem is that we need to kill a Reaper to get at it, which is its own labour."

Throughout the conversation, Arius' chosen nomenclature intrinsically drew Sherpard's mind to the famous Greek myth of the Nemean lion. The Nemean lion, the story went, was a vicious monster that the Greek hero Hercules had been tasked with killing. The task was the first of twelve nigh-impossible feats he undertook to redeem himself of his past transgressions. The task's difficulty lay in the fact that the lion could not be killed with mortals' weapons because its golden fur was impervious to attack, and its claws were sharper than mortals' swords and could cut through any armour. Unable to slay it with his arrows, Hercules eventually killed it by trapping it in its cave and strangling it with his bare hands. Afterwards, the hero wore the lion's coat on his shoulders as natural armour as it was impervious to the elements and all but the most potent weapons.

"Well then," Shepard said, dusting off her hands with an air of casual nonchalance, "I will let you know the next time I take one out so you can finally repair your suit."

He heard her sardonic remark and couldn't hide a slight smile. "On a serious note, if we get a big enough piece, I can probably fashion plates for you too, if you'd like. Its protection and durability would be superior to what you currently own, and I recall that it possessed some subtle qualities that suited it well with biotic users."

"Wearing the hide of my enemy against my enemy?" Shepard imagined as she scratched her chin. "Verytempting. Sure, count me in as long as the plan doesn't involve me having to strangle a Reaper with my bare hands."

"There's more than one way to skin a cat," he said, with a knowing gleam in his eye. "If I may segue to the topic of the Shadow Broker's ship, how do we intend to get in? I imagine it would be well sealed to the elements and intruders."

"We're playing it by ear; there should be a shuttle bay or hatch we can access on the hull somewhere. It's a massive ship, so it probably has a large living crew, which means there are entrances we can exploit."

"Reasonable. I will take some small charges with me if we need to hot breach."

"Sounds good. We're jumping a few light-years, so we still have a few hours before arriving. Going to check in with Liara and then grab something proper to eat. Catch you later?"

"Commander."

.

The shuttle's interior was periodically struck with short flashes of light. Outside, a colossal electrical storm caused by the clashing air fronts raged. All three stood holding onto the safety bar, assessing the Shadow Brokers floating fortress as they zoomed toward it.

"Hagalaz," declared Liara, breaking the silence. "The oceans boil during the day, then snap-freeze ten minutes after sundown."

Shepard shielded her eyes from a sudden bright ray of light. "The Shadow Broker lives in this? How appropriate."

The asari nodded. "The ship follows the sunset. Completely undetectable in the storm unless you know where to look."

"How do we get inside?"

"The shuttle bay is locked down," Liara reported, checking a scan. "We'll need to land on the ship and hunt for a hatch."

Shepard had jokingly suggested hitting the station with a blast from the Normandy that would send the entire thing crashing down to the planet's surface. Liara sternly reminded her that it was a rescue mission.

"We can't stay outside for long," The asari doctor warned. "There's a constant lightning storm where the hot and cold air collide."

Shepard took a quick visual assessment of the ship. It was clouded on all sides by the storm, and an array of solar shielding loomed far ahead near the back. Lightning rods were arranged in rows along the hull to channel the massive bolts of electricity brought by the storm to where it was needed. It was perfectly isolated and self-sufficient.

Liara's voice rose to fight against the harsh winds. "It's hard to pinpoint in this lightning, but I'm picking up signals from a communications array near the back of the ship. We have to find an entrance near the back shielding."

Nothing was ever easy. Although the Normandy was invisible to scanners, the moment they stepped foot on the hull of the Shadow Broker's ship, something whizzed right past them.

"Maintenance drones!" yelled the asari doctor.

"Maintenance drones? Why are they attacking?"

"They must think we're debris from the storm!"

Thankfully, the drones were more than easy to dismantle with a quick shot, and the trio made their way to the ship's rear through boardwalks and maintenance gangways. Although it had looked relatively easy to traverse from the higher altitude they had been flying in, it turned out to be a bit more complicated down below; visibility was low, and the storm ensured a constant stream of atmospheric debris flying right at their faces. Loki mechs would occasionally pop out from hidden maintenance lockers like spring-loaded booby traps, and the colossal lightning capacitor rods along the spine of the hull crackled and boomed as they were hit again and again by the staggering electrostatic discharges the storm produced. Shepard's earlier conversation with Arius about Greek myths had primed her imagination with ancient tales of adventure, and she could not shake the feeling that they were wandering through some futuristic sandstorm to reach the next phase of their journey while the gods of old threw down their bolts from high up on their mountain.

"Not even a guardrail," Shepard commented as they carefully crossed a boardwalk where one enthusiastic jump was all that stood between them and a fall to the planet's Hadean surface. "I bet the Broker's agents love patrolling the hull."

"At least the view is nice," Liara offered dryly.

"Yeah. Fantastic."

At last, they could see the hatch they had been searching for. "There. That hatch leads directly to the communication signals," Liara informed them. "It's locked. I got a bypass shunt program that can crack it."

Naturally, the moment the shunt program began, the ship's alarm started blaring.

"How long till it's open?" Shepard impatiently asked, readying herself against the inevitable onslaught.

"I've never broken into the Shadow Brokers base before." The asari remarked, "Well, not this one anyway."

Shepard observed the Shadow Broker's agents emerge from elsewhere on the hull and begin firing on them within her muddled vision. While returning fire, she wasn't sure who had missed their shot, but one of their rounds had hit a lightning capacitor near where their quarry was assembling, and it caused it to forcibly discharge through the nearest paths of least resistance - right through their enemy. The sound was deafening, and they were blinded by the release. Electrical arcs danced and crackled through the air before finding the nearest bodies and sizzling them. Shepard decided to do herself a favour and mercilessly abuse every stroke of lightning she was presented with.

"You sure that shunt is working?" Shepard yelled, laying down cover fire to allow Liara to lash out with a biotic warp.

"It's illegal even on Illium. It didn't come with a warranty."

"But you tested it, right?"

"Here come more of them!" she warned them, not directly responding to Shepard's inquiry.

"Tell me you tested it!" Shepard demanded.

"No time to talk."

"Liara!?"

"I'm sure it won't be much longer!"

And people tell me I have trust issues, Shepard thought to herself, reloading a heat sink into her weapon. Even though they were surrounded and outnumbered, they held up pretty well.

"Their attacks are disorganized," Liara called out, "They'd be more effective if they all attacked at once."

"Please don't give the mercs ideas, T'Soni."

On cue, a large group appeared.

"You just had to give them tactical advice!"

"But now there'll be fewer left to deal with inside!"

"Keep dreaming, T'Soni!"

"There! The hatch is open!"

The large hatch doors slid open, revealing the dark interior. They rushed in and closed it behind them.

.

"Footsteps. Many. Heading this way," Arius exclaimed. "Cover, now!"

At the opposite end of the long hallway they faced, a squad of mercs burst into view, looking quite hurried, and opened fire on them before even moving into position. There was a measure of desperation in their movements - perhaps fear of retribution from their employer for failure. A rocket streaked toward them down the long hallway they faced, exploding against a wall section that Shepard had jumped behind.

"More of them? How many guards does the Shadow Broker have?" Liara cried.

"I told you!"

The team advanced room by room, deeper into the ship. The interior was precisely like Shepard had imagined; Long, shadow-filled corridors met them at every turn, walls featureless and sepia coloured from the inadequate lighting. The architecture was strictly industrial; nowhere could she see a splash of colour or comfort. It only added to the ominous atmosphere, further heightening the persistent thought in Shepard's mind that they were navigating a labyrinth to find the creature at the center of it all.

Liara signalled her. "I've downloaded the ship's layout. We're headed toward the prison block... and Feron. This next door should open to the block."

"Good. Glad there's an end to these tunnels."

The asari tapped on the holographic controls, and the doors hissed open. The main block beyond them was an interrogation room, and on the other side of the metal and glass, surrounded by monitors and wires, sat a restrained drell.

"Feron!"

Roused, the drell blinked and shook his head as he regained consciousness. His eyes widened as an awestruck expression passed over his face. He had not expected both Liara and the one-time mass of charred tissue to stand alive before him.

"Liara?!"

The asari rushed over to the console. "Hold on - we're getting you out of here!" she shouted, hands hurriedly typing at the console.

The drell's head rolled back onto the seat. "No!" he yelled to stop her, but it was too late. A sizeable electric shock discharged from the seat, causing convulsive spasms as the electricity passed through his body. His screams were hoarse.

The asari's hands dared not touch the console again. "Feron!"

The smell of scorched flesh did more than stir Shepard's ire. "What that hell is the Broker trying to do to you?"

"The equipment is sensitive to tampering." the drell explained to them, catching his breath. "This chair plugs directly into the Broker's info network. You have to shut off the power. Pull me out now, and my brain cooks." The strength required to keep his head lifted proved too great, and it fell back to the seat.

"Do you know where to cut the power?" Liara asked, hurriedly tapping something into her omni-tool.

"I don't– aaagh!" The shock arrived again, and the hoarse screams of the drell sounded.

"It's a neural grounding rod," the asari doctor explained. "The medical equipment is to make sure he doesn't… expire."

Feron wheezed. "It won't be easy. You'll have to go through central operations."

Central operations, Shepard thought - the center of the labyrinth. They still didn't even know what they were to face. "What do you know about the Broker?"

"He did this to me."

No shit, Shepard internalized. "I was hoping you'd know what he is."

"I never got a good look, but he's big. The guards are terrified of him."

"A krogan?" Suggested Liara.

"I don't know," The drell responded, shaking his head, "but not everyone who visits his office comes back out."

"Oh, don't worry about that," Shepard stated, "easy or not, we're all getting out of here."

"Good. Central operations are down the hall. You know the Shadow Broker's waiting for you, right?"

"Yeah," Shepard assured flatly, "I'm counting on it."

"Wait," Arius offered, speaking up. "Feron's treatment is needlessly cruel; Either the repercussions of failing to retrieve your body for the Collectors warranted personal, extended retribution or the reason Feron is still alive is to ensure that Ms.T'Soni returned in an attempt to rescue him. She has, now with you - the original bounty. The efforts made thus far to stop us, although worth considering, are not serious enough. Considering their absolute secrecy and nearly unlimited resources at their disposal, the Broker is risking a meet with us - which means they have confidence that they can handle us," he reasoned, turning to her. "even knowing who you are and what you are capable of. I advise extreme caution - we may well be playing right into the Shadow Broker's hands."

"You're right, but I don't think we have much choice if we're to get Feron out."

"We'll be back for you, Feron!" The doctor promised.

"I'll try not to go anywhere." The drell sarcastically quipped. "Be careful. The Broker knows you're here."

Fewer trigger-happy agents awaited them when they exited the interrogation room overseeing Feron, and it became clear to the three that they were at the final push of the assault on the inner sanctum. Within a few minutes, they had passed through their last hallway, and at the end, a receptionist's desk and water cooler sat empty next to a large door. Shepard expected the Broker to be a krogan, or perhaps an asari with an abnormally large ego. Whoever it would turn out to be, they all had their own score to settle. Shepard motioned to the doctor to hack the locked door.

Meanwhile, Arius browsed through the terminal on the desk. The conversation with the drell had unsettled him deeply - they still had no idea who they were facing and why they seemed confident to meet the woman who had brought down at least two council Spectres, vast swathes of the galaxy's finest mercenaries, and an immortal Reaper. "Liara, In all the time you've been chasing the Broker, did you garner any idea what or who he was?"

'No," the asari responded, shaking her head, "The Shadow Broker operates in much the same way the Illusive man does; each cell of his organization can be operated on and cast off without any contact save for his voice." The door opened. "There, it's open." she reported, "I think this is it."

"Let's get it done," The Commander chimed fervently, hoisting her weapon and surveying the last corridor that led to the sanctum beyond. "Time to meet the man behind the curtain."

As Shepard gave the go-ahead and walked through the final portal, Arius looked down at the terminal as he got up from the seat. The terminal had registered a change in state, logging that the door had opened by manual override from inside the chamber. He looked up just in time to see the last body part of Liara T'soni follow Shepard into the dark room before the doors shut and locked behind her. Far down at the opposite end of the hall behind him, the nearest entranceway slammed shut and locked. At his fingertips, the terminal blinked out as its power was cut off. He was effectually trapped. It was the Broker's plan all along.

.

The door behind Shepard locked when she and Liara stepped through, stranding Arius on the other side. She hailed him on the transmitter but got no response. She would have spent a tad longer trying to figure out how to circumvent the door had it not been for the fine chill that prickled at the hairs on the back of her neck, her limbic system sending her a warning on high alert. In the center of the large room was an equally large desk, seated at which was a massive form she could not place - it was most definitely not krogan. Befitting their name, the thing sat clothed in the shadow cast by its enormous bulk with calm, folded hands, waiting for them. Shepard could not see the thing's face, only the faint reflection of black, beady eyes and large, crooked horns jutting from the top of their head. She glanced at Liara, hoping for some indication of recognition, but the asari only afforded a quick glance before both drew their respective weapons.

"Here for the drell?" the Shadow Broker questioned. "Reckless, even for you, Commander." The voice sounded like ground glass.

"That bombing on Illium wasn't exactly subtle," Shepard retorted.

"Extreme," the Broker admitted. "But necessary."

"No, it wasn't!" Liara snapped angrily, glaring daggers at him. "Neither was caging Feron for two years!"

While Liara was fuming and pointing a gun at his head, the Broker seemed almost bored. "Your interference caused all this, Dr. T'Soni.", he explained, "Feron betrayed me when he handed you Shepard's body. The drell is simply paying the price."

"Someone was bound to come after you for working with the Collectors," she pointed out, tightening her grip on her weapon.

"It was a mutually beneficial partnership," stated the Broker, as if reciting fact. "Your arrival is convenient. The Collectors' offer still stands."

"The Collectors are working for the Reapers," she reasoned, "I sincerely doubt your partnership will remain when their bosses come knocking."

"They need my services, and I need what they have to offer."

"I dunno; I'd think I'll be pretty hard to run a base this size with no crew."

"They're replaceable. Your arrival is barely an interruption." The Broker sneered. "Enough talk. My operations are too crucial to be compromised by a traitor."

"You're quite confident for someone with nowhere left to hide," Liara interjected, voice full of venom.

The Shadow Broker's attention turned away from Shepard and to the asari doctor, cocking his head to the side as he studied her more closely, then, with an air of indifference, looked back to Shepard. "You travel with fascinating companions, doctor. I'm pleased to see you brought me the Wanderer, T'Soni. I have several contacts who would be willing to pay a fortune for his mind, body, and weapon. His eventual dissection will be... interesting."

Shepard and Liara glanced at each other.

"You're not putting a hand on either of them," Liara declared firmly, her finger twitching on the trigger.

"It's pointless to challenge me, asari. I know your every secret while you fumble in the dark."

The creature's confidence was nearly palpable, and though she couldn't distinguish one expression from the other, Shepard was sure he wore one of the smuggest looks in the galaxy.

The asari smirked knowingly at him and asked, "Is that right? You're a yahg, a pre-spaceflight species quarantined to their homeworld after massacring the Council's first contact teams. This base is older than your planet's discovery, which probably means you killed the original Shadow Broker sixty years ago, then took over." Tilting her head to the side, she appraised the yahg, and the fin-like appendages on the sides of his head twitched angrily. "I'm guessing you were taken from your world by a trophy hunter who wanted a slave… or a pet. How am I doing?"

Knowledge was power, and the power in the room suddenly shifted. As the Shadow Broker rose from his large desk and towered over them, Shepard finally got a good look at what she was facing. As the creature rose, the light finally reached its blackened skin, which looked like something out of a nightmare. She saw that the beady, dark eyes were part of four sets of them. It was covered in muscle and towered over them in height, and there was no question in her mind that the Broker was pissed. The creature's mouth and teeth met in a triangle that sent mental images of flailing limbs disappearing down its gullet. The operatives who had entered and not exited this office had been eaten. It was the monster at the center of the labyrinth. It was the Minotaur.

The two of them backed up a few steps, preparing themselves for what was to inevitably happen. With a roar of rage, the Broker slammed his fists into his desk, utterly destroying it, then hurled it at them with incredible speed as if it were a paperweight. Thinking fast, Shepard grabbed Liara around the waist and tackled her to the ground, narrowly avoiding being hit. A numbing roar broke through the air, and Shepard looked up to find the Broker pulling out his large assault rifle one-handed, aiming it toward them. Gritting her teeth, she scrambled to her feet to take cover.

Liara took off in an alternate direction while Shepard took position behind a large console across the wide room. She had brought a heavy weapon with her, which as a rule, she only used in cases of exceptional circumstances as ammo charges were hard to come by. Now, she thought to herself, it was an exceptional circumstance. She removed the M-622 Avalanche from her back, levelled it at the chilling monstrosity and gave it everything she had. A cooling laser collapsed its ammunition within the weapon into Bose-Einstein condensate, a mass of supercooled subatomic particles capable of snap-freezing impacted objects. A mass effect containment of the supercooled state of the matter instantly painted the Broker with ice, causing instant frozen damage to his armour and shields. The room temperature began to plummet, and their breath became visible in the cooling air.

The Broker stumbled back from the wave of ultra-cold force. Shields gone in record time, Shepard retreated to safety behind the barrier while the Broker levelled his massive rifle one-handed and fired. Focused on Shepard, Liara struck with a biotic warp, further cracking the composition of the Broker's armour. It was losing, and quickly. The Broker hurriedly stepped under the glowing white light emanating from the ceiling above them, and a tendril of white descended to wrap him up like a glove. It was a localized barrier, and the shots didn't get within an inch of him.

"The shield's kinetically sensitive! Energy and projectiles are just going to bounce off!" Liara yelled to Shepard.

The Spectre cracked her knuckles. "Then we do this the hard way," she said before charging forward, slamming her fist with all her might into its hideous face. The blow made the massive creature stumble back, likely more shocked that Shepard actually hit it than truly hurt, and it gave Shepard the opening to hit him again in a right cut. Going for a decisive third, the yahg activated a large omni-shield on one of its arms and batted Shepard across her midsection, sending her sprawling to the floor. It left her breathless, and her insides felt less than exemplary. Enraged, the Shadow Broker charged.

.

Arius had been inspecting the doors when he heard the sharp pings of gunfire ricochet off the other side. A fight had started, and he was stuck here, sandwiched between the receptionist and Broker's office in this hallway. The doors were thick, and he wouldn't be punching through them anytime soon. Had the relic been with him, it would have not been an obstacle, but he had left it back on the Normandy for a good reason. Thankfully, he was not entirely unprepared - he removed the bandolier of explosive charges he had brought in case they needed to make a hot breach and began affixing them to the door. Equipment and cabling ran along the left of him, and a short wall extended upwards about a third the height of the corridor, which left him just enough cover to hide behind if he couched low. He quickly set the changes in place, primed them, jumped over the short wall, and then hit the detonator.

.

Shepard ducked and rolled, barely missed getting squashed from the force of the charging yahg. She delivered a biotic shock wave to ensure the creature could not lash out quickly, then used the opportunity to unleash the remainder of her thermal clip directly into the creature's exposed side. Its thick hide would do little to withstand this onslaught at this range, and several shots must have travelled deep. The Broker roared in pain and limped back into the circle to recharge his barrier. It hid behind its shield, cowering. It was hurting.

Catch 'em with their pants down, Shepard thought. She saw her opening and ran towards the Broker, and now aware of the thick natural hide of the yahg, embedded her sharp combat knife into the sensitive flesh at the elbow, drawing an agonized howl. Momentarily forgetting how anger affects pain and strength, the Broker's shield caught her again, sending her flying back. Despite her error of judgement, it didn't seem like the Broker could raise his weapon with an ounce of precision anymore, and dark blood dripped from the wound under his arm.

"If you can get him to bring up that shield again," Liara started suddenly, looking up at the shimmering ceiling above them. "I've got an idea."

Shepard attempted bursts of fire toward the limbs of the yahg, unable to hide behind its shield entirely due to its large size. She needed just one more push.

.

The small explosive changes popped off, burning into the vital parts of the door and warping the metal. Arius jumped back over the small wall and tested the door's damaged condition - all it needed now was a little push to over-stress it. He retreated back to get a running start, then lunged forward, concentrating his mass in the triangular point of his shoulder to where the door was weakest. It was a blow that would have knocked aside a sturdy krogan - and while the door was tested for heat dispersion and moderate physical resistance, it was undoubtedly not persistence-proof. Already weakened from the earlier sustained damage of the explosives, the metal portal yielded to him like the front end of a car hitting a wall. His momentum took him through the door, and he stumbled into the inner sanctum – directly in the middle of the firefight. There was a scarce second in which he surveyed the scene to decide his next move, but upon seeing the horror that Shepard and Liara were fighting, he didn't even think - his weapon came up instantly, and he started firing.

Enraged to insanity by his rapidly deteriorating situation, the Shadow Broker stampeded toward Shepard, delirious. It was the break they needed. Shepard evaded the Broker easily, ducking under the Broker's grasp like a matador in the ring with a bull.

"Liara! Now!"

Liara unleashed a torrent of dark energy at the glass of the energy shield above the Broker and applied pressure. The material cracked, then shattered, and the asari pulled it down as hard as she could, bringing it crashing on top of him with tremendous force. No longer contained, the energetic substance within the enclosure broke free from containment and fell around the Shadow Broker like a waterfall of pure light, super-charging the Broker with enough energy to induce molecular disintegration of metal and flesh alike. It had been caught in its own trap, and the Shadow Broker howled as the supercharged particles broke down his cellular structure from his head down to his toes. He melted with the bright light and disintegrated into nothing more than ash. It was over.

Panting heavily, Liara staggered over to Shepard and helped her to her feet, and a second later was joined by Arius. "Was that… a yahg?" he asked the two of them, looking at the falling ashes of what was once the Shadow Broker. "They used to be much smaller."

Liara had looked like she wanted to ask something, but the crackling over the Broker's large terminal drew her attention away.

"Shadow Broker, this is Operative Murat. We had a momentary connections failure," the voice on the other end of the terminal reported. "Can you confirm status?"

Almost immediately after, a woman's voice opened on another channel. "Operative Shora requesting an update. Are we still online?"

"Shadow Broker, I've lost our feed. We are online and awaiting instructions."

Dozens upon dozens of voices filtered in from all over the galaxy requesting a status update. So many worked for the Shadow Broker and provided valuable information that could turn the tide of any conflict. The amount of power here was incredible but also overwhelming. Liara stared at the massive terminal, entranced, before snapping out of it and stepping forward, swiping her finger across the screen to broadcast to all channels. She double-checked the layout before she took a steadying breath and spoke.

"This is the Shadow Broker," she said calmly, with a voice modulator enabled to sound like the yahg's. "The situation is under control. We experienced a power fluctuation while upgrading hardware. It disrupted communications momentarily."

Through the crumpled doors limped the formerly imprisoned drell, pistol drawn. When Feron realized just who he was aiming it at, his jaw slackened, and he lowered the weapon.

"However, we are now back online. Resume standard procedures," Liara continued, hardly glancing at her friend. "I want a status report on all operations within the next solar day. Shadow Broker out." Switching off the channel, she stepped back and stared at the terminal.

"Goddess of oceans... It's you. You… How?" Feron stammered out.

"Well," Liara said, turning her head, "Everyone who's ever seen him in person is dead so…"

Feron exhaled in an exasperated tone. "...you're the new Shadow Broker."

"Is taking over as the Shadow Broker really a good idea?" Shepard asked, concerned.

"It was either that or lose everything: His contacts, his trading sources. Those will really help us. With the Shadow Broker's information network, I can give you… I can…" but her voice wavered with emotion, and she couldn't continue.

Sensing an emotional moment, Feron made himself scarce. "I'll, uh, check the power systems." Arius politely joined him.

The exhausted asari leaned over the terminal, tears streaming down her face. She buried her head in her hands. The emotional catharsis was the tap opening wide after two years of pain hidden from the world. "It's over. It's finally... for two years…"

Shepard stepped forward and hugged her friend in a tight embrace. Although Shepard couldn't go back in time to change things, being there for a friend in need was something she would always be available for. "It's all right," she whispered.

The Asari squeezed back, and Shepard felt her sigh. It was a sigh that let go of everything from the past two years instantly, and for a moment, the old Liara was back right in front of her. Shepard would never fully grasp just how much of a burden her death had placed on her friends, but she had no illusion of its impact.

The asari released her hold slowly. "Thank you, Shepard." Drained, she walked over to the terminal and tapped out a few commands, then expressed surprise. "No safeguards or user restrictions. It's like he never anticipated anyone but himself being here. And it's all ours."

"You sure you want to stay here? I could use you on the Normandy."

"I have to stay here. We can't pass this up, Shepard. All I wanted was to rescue Feron. But.. is it wrong that part of me wants this?" She turned to face her. "With the Shadow Broker's network, I can help you. Maybe I can turn this operation into something better."

Shepard saw the hints of the old excitement light up the doctor's face, and she knew everything would be alright.

"Don't be a stranger this time."

Liara T'Soni nodded with a warm smile. "Come by when you have a chance. The doors are always open."

.

"You know, in the eye, the view isn't half bad," Arius remarked as Shepard joined him on the railing. The shutters around the Broker's office were open, and the planet beyond stretched under them. And although the skies were coloured in shades of yellow and brown, the shapes of the clouds and bright sunlight painted a beautiful picture. They both stooped over the railing, tired and calm. They had done it - entered the labyrinth and slain the monster at the center. As she pondered the myth, she looked at Arius's side profile. He had lived through a significant portion of human history, she thought. Just how entrenched had he been in their collective story?

"Before I forget, two things; Firstly, I found something you might be interested in. Merry Christmas." She tapped something out on her omni-tool. Arius' own omni-tool lit up to signify that a file transfer was complete. It was the specs for the Shadow Broker's omni-shield.

"Oh? Much obliged. I think I can put it to good use."

"You're welcome. Secondly, while you were held up on the other side of the door, the Broker mentioned you by name. Not by Arius but by Wanderer. He knew who you were."

Arius' head snapped to hers, and she saw that the calm expression he had been exhibiting a moment before had instantly changed to one of dire severity.

"Excuse me, Shepard. I need to have a chat with the new Broker immediately."

.

"Miss T'Soni. I was wondering If I could have a moment of your time."

Liara had been busy familiarizing herself with the previous Shadow Broker's systems. "Yes, of course. What do you need, Arius?" The asari asked him inquisitively, turning from the large console.

"Seeing how you are the new Shadow Broker, I was hoping we could conduct some business," he proposed. "Shepard just informed me that the previous Broker had some information about me. I'd like to purchase it exclusively."

"I was wondering about that." the asari said, crossing her arms. "I didn't quite believe it."

"I propose a trade of information," Arius explained. "I've heard you harbour a deep, personal interest in the Protheans. I'm prepared to offer you knowledge that few others living possess - their history, culture, and extinction… as much as you can question and as much as I can answer."

"As much as I love a good deal, those two items are hardly comparable. I'm getting the far better deal."

He chuckled. "Consider the difference a… retainer for a future partnership. I'll come knocking again soon. We have a lot of work to start preparing for the upcoming war."

"You've got yourself a deal," the Shadow Broker said, extending her hand.

He shook it.

.

Later, after he had returned to the Normandy and all his equipment had been stowed away, Arius sat himself down in his quarters with a hot drink and opened his omni-tool. With a nervous flick of his fingers, he opened the file that the Shadow Broker had compiled on him and began reading.

As he scrolled, what had started as mild curiosity slowly morphed into heavy concern. The contents startled him, and anxiety began settling in his gut as he read. By the time he had finished reading, his stomach had twisted itself into a knot with worry. He deleted the file, but he knew that he was only the last person to have read it. An indeterminate number of persons out there knew.

He glanced at his sword resting in the corner of the room and cursed.