Chapter 6 - The Opposite Of Low Profile

Citadel Newsnet - The Batarian Hegemony today demanded that the Council investigate recent incidents on the disputed planet of Mala'Nak. The Salarian Union has refused to relocate its colonies there despite conceding that the planet was once the site of batarian colonies. The salarians have contended that the batarians abandoned any claims to Mala'Nak after pollution rendered it uninhabitable for centuries. They claim that the batarians only want the planet back now that salarian technology has reversed the ecological damage. The batarians have called this 'a grievous insult to the Hegemony and its people.'

The batarians dispatched a pair of dreadnoughts to the planet last month to press their claim. The dreadnoughts' engineers built a major gun battery on the planet surface within range of the main salarian colony. However, the battery inexplicably fired on the batarians' own ships, wiping them out before the guns' own mass effect core overloaded and exploded. The Batarian Hegemony has alleged sabotage but the Salarian Union has denied having any hand in "what was clearly faulty work by the Hegemony's engineers." A Salarian Union source told Citadel Newsnet that it would continue to "hold the line" on Mala'Nak. - Emily Wong reporting.

It was fortunate for Solik Vass that his lunch reunion with Linia T'Pala was scheduled for four hours after he first arrived on the Citadel because it took him nearly that long to find the Presidium cafe that the asari actress had picked. It wasn't that the spot was obscure. When he asked Citadel residents for directions, they immediate knew of the place, a famously picturesque spot near one of the station's larger lakes. But it was in a different ward than the spaceport where he had arrived and the Citadel's public transit system was so bafflingly complex that it took him three tries and several long trips before he reached the Presidium.

Vass was from Sur'Kesh's capitol city and he had just spent several months on Illium, a bustling asari-run trade hub for the Terminus Systems. Neither prepared him for the sheer cacophony of the Citadel. Whereas Sur'Kesh and Illium were each dominated by one species that imposed its own particular brand of order, the Citadel was a melting pot of all the different Council-aligned species and several others besides, all jostling for space. Everything varied from ward to ward, sometimes radically and that could spell major confusion to a newcomer like Vass.

He was feeling rather weary when he finally arrived at the Presidium cafe but forgot all about that the moment he spotted Linia. The young, dark-hued asari had gotten a table that overlooked the lake and was excitedly waving her arms and hopping up and down in her chair in a bid to get his attention. "Solik! Over here!" she shouted, demonstrating much more lungpower than one would expect from a person of her size. Her yelling drew startled looks from the other customers, all of which she ignored.

Vass trotted over and was greeted with a kiss. "You've done something different with your crests, haven't you?" he asked as he settled into his seat.

"Oh, you noticed! Yes, it's Suzra's work. Do you like it?" Linia asked, running her fingers along the glimmering golden streaks painted onto her head.

"I do. Very colorful," Vass replied. "How have you been?"

They chattered away for 20 minutes, shooing their human waiter away three times as they caught up. It had been a few months since they last saw each other, having parted shortly after the premiere of Blasto: The Hunt for Saren. The vid had been a big hit and boosted Linia from 'unknown actress' to 'Hey, aren't you Lt. A'Lenko from the Blasto vid?' After several weeks zipping around the galaxy to help promote the vid, she went directly into rehearsals for the sequel, whose budget had ballooned following the earlier vid's box office success.

Vass had spent the time finishing up his formal education while simultaneously taking a crash course in spy training for the super-secret Special Tasks Group, ultimately graduating to the status of full-fledged agent. Linia already knew he was with the STG, so Vass could afford to share some details with her but he warned his asari girlfriend that he couldn't tell her everything he was doing.

"I'm sorry, Linia. Really, I am. I hate keeping secrets from you," he explained. "But the STG is very strict about keeping mission details classified. Plus, I'm still a rookie and so I cannot afford a screw-up."

Linia gazed sympathetically at him. "I understand and I don't want to get you in trouble. Goddess, I'm still getting over the fact that you are an STG agent in the first place. I don't mean this in a bad way, but you're kind of the last person that I would think worked for that organization. You're, well, dorky even by salarian standards," she explained, then hastily added, "I mean, I find it adorable, but, you know..."

Vass took the comment in stride. "That's kind of the point, actually. STG agents are supposed to be so low profile that we're practically invisible. Ideally, nobody even knows that we are around or what we are doing."

Linia puzzled over this. "But Major Kirrahe is famous and he is one of the STG's top guys, right?"

Vass nodded. "He's a special case. He only became famous because the humans made a point of publicizing the details of the battle on Virmire. Commander Shepard fought alongside the major and they used the story to recruit for their navy. The STG wasn't happy about that but it wasn't the major's fault. He still does high-risk missions. He just did one on the planet Mala'Nak. I'm supposed to meet up with him here on the Presidium after my lunch with you."

"Are you and the major working together again?" Linia asked.

"Umm, I cannot say. But I cannot prevent you from making any assumptions either..." Vass replied, slowly shrugging as he spoke. "I'm not really even supposed to be staying with you at your hotel, but they're giving me some leeway on that because I asked. I was hoping we could do more of that thing that you introduced me to. You know, after you wake up but before you start the day... What's it called? Cupping? Cuzzing?"

A bemused grin spread across Linia's face. "I believe the word you are looking for is 'cuddling,' Solik."

"Yes! That's it! I really enjoyed that," the salarian exclaimed. "Would you mind doing it with me again?"

Linia stroked her chin, then slowly and thoughtfully nodded. "That can be arranged."

Vass' relationship with Linia was unusual territory for him. Like most salarians, he had little understanding of the concept of romance. His people had long since made propagating their species a matter of contract negotiations between families. The 'queen bee'-like structure of salarian society - males outnumbered females by a factor of nine to one, but the females headed the families - meant that the average salarian male didn't interact much with females outside of his family and it was even rarer that they were involved in any breeding contracts. Vass had been taught growing up that this was a good thing because romance could cause people to become erratic, unstable or even depressed. One only needed to look at the popular books, extranet programs or vids made by other species to see this, he was often told.

When Vass first met Linia while working as an intern on Blasto: The Hunt for Saren, he instantly liked her and offered to be her friend. He only later realized that her feelings for him were stronger than just friendship. To his own surprise, he discovered he liked that idea too and began cautiously moving in that direction. Linia had been patient with him but wasn't above nudging him outside of his comfort zone from time to time. By the end of the vid shoot they had become quite close. When they parted after the vid was finished, Linia lingered in Vass' thoughts in a way that no other person ever had. He decided shortly before he headed for the Citadel that Linia was worth the risk and he would give this romance stuff a serious try.

"Well, I'm certainly glad you got the okay to stay with me," Linia announced. "You never asked me for the room number. You need that to have your luggage delivered. It's..."

Vass shook his head. "All I have got is the clothes on my back, actually. There was an error with the transport company. All of my luggage was accidentally sent to Tuchanka. I may not get it back for weeks. I got my service upgraded so that won't happen again. In the meantime I am traveling light, as they say."

Linia grinned. "Oh, does this mean I get to take you shopping? I wouldn't mind the chance to make my boyfriend even handsomer."

Vass nodded in response and was about to speak when he was interrupted by a ping on his omni-tool. "It's from the major. It says, 'I may need your help soon on something. Be ready if I do.' Nothing else. Hmmm..." He shrugged and looked back up at Linia. "Anyway, I've got something kind of awkward to ask for, so I hope you'll understand. I need to know what, if anything, you know about the human reporter Khalisah Bint Sinan al-Jilani. She's been investigating the Blasto production and our intel says she has several inside sources at the studio. I cannot say why I need to know who they are, but I do need any clues you might have."

Linia leaned back and went "Ooh..." at the mention of the human's name. "So, I'm helping you spy?! Cool... Yeah, I've caught that human snooping around myself. I was in the cargo hold, believe it or not, doing an errand for Suzra when I literally bumped into her. She had this crazy conspiracy theory that all of the props and equipment for the Blasto vid were actual armaments. I called security on her right away. She finagled her way on to one of the rehearsals the other day by telling Dar Rarbin she was doing a soft feature on stuntwork. The human has an asari bondmate who showed up and caused a huge scene. People who witnessed it say the asari was panicked because al-Jilani's story involves Aria T'Loak and she demanded al-Jilani drop it. Anyway, al-Jilani and the asari were both ejected from the set. The producer announced afterwards that nobody was to have any contact with al-Jilani. Doing so will get you fired immediately."

Vass mulled that over. "Ok, so you know that this involves T'Loak too."

The asari actress shrugged. "Yeah, she came to the Citadel with the Blasto cast & crew. It was never announced but word of it spread all throughout the ship. Everyone assumed that T'Loak hitching a ride was S'Voz's doing since they're friends. It wasn't really a secret."

"Do you have any idea who al-Jilani's inside sources might be?" Vass asked.

Linia shook her head. "Sorry, no."

Vass' omni-tool gave off another ping. The salarian secret agent looked at it and scratched his head. "The major again. The message says, 'Heading your way now. Keep an eye out for me.' Still doesn't say what this is about."

"Well, we haven't even ordered our food yet," Linia noted. "If we do it now we might able to-"

The asari actress' comments were interrupted by a chorus of screams and shouts across the cafe. A skycar roared overhead, flying in an erratic pattern far below the allowed level for such vehicles on the Presidium. It was so low that its wake caused several tables to get knocked over, prompting customers to fling themselves to the ground. Clinging to the roof of the vehicle was a salarian male. A human male wearing the uniform of the Eclipse mercenary group was leaning out of the passenger-side door and firing a pistol at the salarian but the skycar's shaking made aiming impossible. The vehicle flew past the cafe and over the nearby lake at which point Vass could just make out the telltale flash of a neural shock from the salarian's omni-tool. The human was hit and began convulsing. Vass guessed the pilot had been hit too, judging by how the skycar suddenly lost any semblance of control. The salarian let go of the roof and fell into the lake below while the skycar did a herky-jerky loop and began heading back towards the general direction of the cafe.

Vass grabbed Linia and pulled her down to the ground while the asari activated her biotics and threw a barrier over them both. Just as it began to approach the cafe, the skycar veered off on a tangent towards some nearby office buildings. Vass and Linia watched in amazement as the skycar flew directly into the side of a building, smashing through its windows and disappearing inside before smashing through the windows on the opposite side and exiting the building. The smoking, mangled vehicle then slammed into the roof of a smaller nearby building before finally skidding to a stop at the roof's edge.

The rookie STG agent was still taking all this in when when his omni-tool again lit up. "Agent Vass, do you have a visual on where the skycar crashed?" Major Kirrahe asked.

Linia let her barrier fade and Vass stood up. "Umm, yes, sir. It's not far from where I am. The roof of a nearby building," he announced. "Are you okay? Should I call for a medic or...?"

"I'm fine," the major declared, now huffing and puffing as he spoke. "Still swimming to the edge of the lake. Go to that building. I'll track you through your omni-tool and meet you there as soon as I can."

Linia poked her head up. Other customers were still cowering or running in a panic. Glass and other debris fell out of the both sides of the building the skycar had plowed through. A plume of smoke could be seen emanating from the crash site on the adjacent building. Multiple sirens and emergency alarms blared. "I don't know anything about spying, Solik," she declared. "But this is pretty much the opposite of low profile."

Vass shrugged as he pulled a concealed Carnifex pistol from inside his jacket. "Well, we're also told to 'expect the unexpected.' I think this qualifies," the rookie agent remarked. He tapped away at his omni-tool, activating his cloaking device. "I, uhh, have to go. You should be safe here."

"Please be careful!" Linia shouted. She could just make out her boyfriend's now-translucent form nodding, before it turned in the direction of the crashed skycar and vanished.

Vass, still cloaked, reached the front entrance of the building and discreetly waited in a nearby alley for about a minute before Major Kirrahe, also cloaked, signaled that he had arrived as well.

"Some random office workers have fled, but nobody wearing an Eclipse uniform has exited," Vass reported. "What is this about, major?"

"Revenge, I believe," the senior agent explained. He motioned Vass to draw his pistol and follow him inside the building. "I was literally just strolling down a thoroughfare on the other end of the ward when that skycar came up and did an old-fashioned drive-by shooting. It was astoundingly brazen. One of the attackers even shouted my name. Luckily, I was able to reach cover. A few civilians weren't as fortunate."

The agents dashed to the stairwell and began sprinting up it. Vass silently gave thanks that it was only a three-story building.

"But how did you end up clinging to the skycar's roof?" the junior agent asked. "And how did you happen to fly past where Linia and I were if you weren't the one driving?"

"How did I get on the roof? Let's just say that the anti-gravity effects of biotic powers can be unexpected, even for the user," Kirrahe replied. "As for how the car came to crash near you & Linia, well, it was hardly the only place the car flew past while its occupants were trying to shake me off. I just decided that the best time to attempt an overcharged neural shock was over the one place that I knew had a lake I could drop into and where I might be able to get back-up."

The pair reached the top of the stairs and found the exit to the roof. Kirrahe kicked open the door and they dashed out. The crashed skycar was resting at the far side of roof, smoke pouring out of its engine. It looked like it had been chewed on and spat out by a thresher maw. The body of a human in an Eclipse uniform was sprawled out halfway between the STG agents and the vehicle. The angle of the human's head said all that needed to be known about whether he was still a threat.

The agents decloaked and Vass followed Kirrahe's lead in slowly approaching the vehicle, though it seemed unnecessary. "Could anybody really have survived that crash, major?" Vass asked.

Kirrahe said nothing and instead signaled Vass to be silent. No sooner had he done that than the blue glow of biotics appeared inside the vehicle. A wave of energy blew a crumpled, bent-in door off its hinges and an asari in a Eclipse uniform burst forth. She was bruised, cut and bleeding in several places, which made the crazed look on her face seem even more maniacal. As she began to charge up her biotic powers, Kirrahe fired a trio of shots into her chest. The asari laughed at first as the shots hit her barrier without affecting her, only to let out a confused, "Huh?" when she looked down and saw that three glowing orbs were now stuck to the barrier. All three exploded a moment later, destroying the barrier and sending the asari hurtling backwards into the side of the skycar with a loud "Whump!" She bounced back slightly, then fell face-forward onto the ground.

The major and Vass approached slowly with guns still drawn until they got close enough for Kirrahe to bend down and check the asari's pulse. "Out cold," he announced. "Agent Vass, allow me to introduce you to Jona Sederis, founder of the Eclipse mercenary group. A noted violent sociopath, who, I am guessing, took a dim view of our destroying Eclipse's red sand smuggling operation back on Illium. I am, unfortunately, too famous for my own good, so it's likely they were tipped off to my presence when I arrived on the Citadel. Surprised that they'd risk a daylight attack in front of multiple civilians but then again Sederis has gotten a reputation for being reckless of late. This is why we must always be on our guard."

A moment later a pair of C-Sec skycars hovered up on either side of the building, followed by several heavily-armed officers pouring through the rooftop door. "Surrender your weapons now and get face first on the ground!" shouted one of the officers.

Kirrahe sighed. "Do as he says, random concerned citizen I have never seen before," he told Vass.

Citadel Security Commander Armando Bailey took a sip of his coffee and looked up and down at the young salarian nervously seated in the C-Sec interrogation room. "Okay, let's see if I understand this properly: Your name is 'Solik Vass' and you are a documentary maker from Sur'Kesh here to do a 'making of' vid about the Blasto production. A documentary maker with no vids to his credit. A documentary maker who has no camera drones or other equipment. A documentary maker who does have cutting-edge shields and cloaking technology discreetly installed in his belt. A documentary maker who has neural shock technology installed in his omni-tool. A documentary maker packing a concealed, high-caliber Carnifex pistol. A documentary maker who was found by C-Sec standing next to a known Special Tasks Group agent, one dead Eclipse mercenary and one unconscious merc. Is that correct?"

Vass took a breath, forced a smile, and replied, "I believe you are twisting the facts, commander. True, I have no vids to my credit, but everyone has to start somewhere. I do own camera equipment, but, as I have explained many times now, Trans-Galactic Transports accidentally sent all my luggage and equipment to Tuchanka and I'm still waiting for it to be recovered. They will confirm this. At the time of the skycar crash I was interviewing one of the actresses in the Blasto vid, Linia T'Pala. She will confirm this. Yes, I carry some items for self-defense. That's because I began my career on Illium, which can be considerably more dangerous than the Citadel - though after today's incident I am wondering if that is still the case. Yes, I rushed to the scene of the crash. That is what documentary makers such as myself do: go to where important incidents are occurring. Plus, as a concerned citizen, I thought I might be able to render assistance."

Bailey took another sip of coffee and swirled the remaining contents of his cup around. "You know, son, I'll give you credit: that almost doesn't sound ridiculous. But here's the thing: when the known leader of a mercenary gang attempts one of the most brazen daylight attacks I have seen in all my time in C-Sec but refuses to explain why AND the target is a known Special Tasks Group agent but said agent claims to have no idea why he would be targeted in such a manner AND he is found in the company of another salarian who has the kind gear you'd expect an STG agent to own AND then the asari councilmember herself calls me up directly to request that I release the mercenary - Did mention that the merc is also an asari? 'Cause she is - that's when I say to myself, 'Armando, there may be something more going on here than just a random attack.' I'm funny that way."

Vass was jarred for a moment by the news that Councilor Tevos had called for Sederis' release, then remembered his training: during an interrogation stick to your cover story and volunteer no additional information, no matter how seemingly insignificant. He took a breath and replied, "Commander, I sympathize. In fact, the whole reason why I chose making documentaries as a career was to dig away until I found the truth. In this particular case, all I really know is that a skycar crashed in spectacular fashion near the cafe I was at and I ran to the scene because I thought I could help."

"The proper question is why he is being detained at all," a voice behind Vass declared. The junior STG agent spun around and was greeted by the sight of a tall, tan-skinned salarian in full body armor. "Hello, young man. I am Jondum Bau, Council Special Tactics and Reconnaissance and I am taking you out of here. Release him, Bailey. Spectre authority."

Bailey frowned but seemed more amused than irritated that his authority was being overridden. "What is your interest in this kid, Bau?"

"I have never seen him before in my life," the Spectre agent matter-of-factly replied. "Mostly, I am irritated that when I earlier ordered you to release Kirrahe you didn't mention that you had detained a third person besides the major and Sederis. A person who, by all accounts, did nothing. Honestly, commander, what is the point of this?"

The C-Sec commander finished off the remainder of his coffee and put the cup aside. "The fact he was armed and with Kirrahe means nothing? Just like the fact that a salarian Spectre agent is telling me to release him?"

Bau crossed his arms and glared at the human. "Was he at scene when Kirrahe was first attacked? No. Did Sederis' skycar then fly to a completely random location? Yes. Is there any evidence that this young man did anything other than rush to the scene of crash? No. Am I concerned that a fellow member of my species is being detained for no reason? Yes, just as I would be concerned if this was being done to a member any other Council-aligned species. Most importantly, does my authority outrank yours? Yes. Release this man. Now."

Bailey shrugged. "Alright, Solik Vass, documentary maker, you are free to go."

After a brief stop at C-Sec's evidence room to get his pistol returned, Vass followed Bau out through the front entrance of C-Sec headquarters where they found Major Kirrahe waiting for them. "I don't suppose this is going to change your opinion about me leaving the STG to become a Spectre, eh, Kirrahe?" Bau asked.

Kirrahe shook his head. "You still took an oath to the Salarian Union, then took a different oath that divides your loyalty between the union and the other Council races."

Bau sighed in response. "Even if I did it at the direction of the dalatrasses? So the union could maintain its presence within the ranks of the Spectres? But I suppose we are never going to see eye-to-eye on this."

"No, we're not," Kirrahe flatly replied. "That said, thank you for your help."

The Spectre agent smiled. "Yes, well, despite my 'divided loyalties' I still know that when Dalatrass Linron contacts you directly and makes a request, it is not really a 'request.' Not that I wouldn't help the STG anyway."

Vass needed to be certain he heard that correctly. "Dalatrass Linron herself requested my release?"

The Spectre agent's smile grew into a beaming grin. "Yes. It seems that whatever your mission is, the dalatrass herself has taken a direct interest in it," Bau chuckled. "No pressure, young man."

Vass gulped. Then another worrying thought entered his head. "Commander Bailey said that Councilor Tevos demanded that Sederis be released. Is the mercenary out too?"

"Surprisingly, no. Bailey put his foot down on that," Bau replied. "Sederis created so much havoc today that he thinks the downside of releasing her is worse than irritating the asari councilor. He may actually be right on that. Sederis has become quite unstable. Tevos isn't forcing the issue, which suggests she's not actually that eager to have Sederis released either. Someone must be pushing Tevos to do this." Bau pulled up his omni-tool and checked his messages. "Well, good luck with your mission, gentlemen. I must be off. I have a thief to catch."

Kirrahe crossed his arms and frowned as the Spectre agent strode out of sight. "You don't approve of Bau? Or the Spectres?" Vass inquired.

"Bau was a fine Special Tasks Group agent. One of the best, actually. A good friend too. Then he stopped being part of our team and joined a different one. It's that simple," Kirrahe explained. "I don't mean to overstate this. The other Council races are our allies. I just wish he had stayed part of the STG, that's all." The senior agent sighed and shrugged. "Getting back to our mission and finding the leak at 6th Dimension Vids: did you learn anything from Linia today?"

Vass shook his head. "Not much. Linia has no idea who al-Jilani's inside sources could be. She did say she encountered the human reporter sneaking around the cargo hold containing all of the Blasto vid equipment and called security on her right away. There was one other thing..." The young agent thought for a minute, then snapped his fingers. "Now I remember. Apparently, al-Jilani talked her way onto one of the main Blasto sets yesterday but got ejected after her asari bondmate showed up and caused a scene. The asari knew al-Jilani's expose involved Aria T'Loak and wanted the human to drop it before T'Loak caused a, you know, 'accident.'"

Kirrahe beamed. "Good work, Agent Vass. That's our opportunity. This asari knows something about what al-Jilani is doing, she's worried about it and she's become estranged from the human. We find her and she might be able to lead us to the reporter's sources."

[Authors' note: For the full story about what Major Kirrahe was up to prior to this chapter, see MrFredCDobbs' tie-in story, 'Secret Files of the Special Tasks Group - Incident at Mala'Nak.']