C-Sec Headquarters
If Turians were capable of blowing gaskets, then Pallin should have blown two by now.
Not only had he lost a man to Commander Shepard's mission, but he was still no closer to finding this Martian Manhunter. And his superiors would not let him forget that. His message inbox was flooded with requests from the Councilors to fill them in on the search.
If it would even be called that.
The problem wasn't getting a sight of the green alien. That was easy, you just had to be around when something went wrong. A robbery, a car accident, or a dangerous mishap were all excellent places to look.
The problem was keeping him in that spot.
The fact that he could fly made keeping him on the ground almost impossible. And move a car with his bare hands casually. Not to mention all the rumors about him disappearing out of nowhere and supposedly walking through walls like a ghost.
With all these abilities combined, how was Pallin supposed to catch him? Bullets were useless if they just flew through or off of him. Aeriel support would not only seem like overkill, but it wouldn't do anything if the alien could already fly faster than most ships.
He didn't have any discernable options. And that was why he needed more drinks recently.
Being a Turian, surrendering was simply not an option for Pallin. It wasn't in his people's nature. But he couldn't spend precious funding and waste manpower going against the Manhunter unless he had a plan that actually had a chance of succeeding in capturing the alien.
Once he could lay a trap that would actually work, then he would strike.
Normandy...
"The mission is to find Dr. T'Soni and see if we can get any information out of her. For this mission, Wrex and Tali will be with me."
That announcement was met with a mixture of excitement on Tali's end, acknowledgment on most, disappointment on Garrus's, and disapproval on another.
"Commander, can I speak with you privately?"
This was a reasonable request, so Shepard obliged Ashley. The two of them walked to the lower decks, where Ashley laid her grievances out bare.
"Commander, I have some concerns regarding the aliens."
Sighing, Shepard folded her arms and steeled herself. This didn't seem like it would be a pleasant conversation.
"Care to elaborate Williams?"
"With all due respect Commander, should we really be letting them get so involved? They have unrestricted access to the ship's weapons and systems. Is that wise?"
"Lieutenant, these are our allies. We need to be able to trust each other for the mission to succeed. And I can't build trust by restricting members based on species."
"I understand that Commander. But I think we should be asking how long they might stay allies."
Shepard frowned. "Not sure I follow chief."
"Commander, the council races might be willing to work with humanity for now, but we can't depend on that attitude staying the same forever. If the time comes that they need to sacrifice the Alliance for their own interests, they will."
"Rather pessimistic you have Williams," Shepard noted. "Look, I'm not going to say that your belief is idiotic or anything of the sort. But this is a multilateral mission. Saren is a threat to all of Citadel space. So for now, working with the other species gives us the best chance at defeating him."
"Understood ma'am. I'll follow your orders."
"Good. So keep your gear in check. I might need you soon."
A salute was shared. After which Shepard left Wiliams to her post and went to join her squad.
Wrex was the muscle for this mission. Shepard knew that Doctor T'Soni was working on an archeological site, which was not traditionally dangerous. But she didn't know if Saren or any other party was interested in the doctor. And in case they met resistance, having a krogan as a backup was an excellent strategy.
Tali was meant to serve as both tech support and as a contingency in the case of Geth. Shepard had already faced Geth on Horizon, and she had a feeling more might show up here. If that were the case, having a resourceful quarian around would be good insight on how to take them down.
C-Sec Investigations
Swanwick tried his best not to be concerned. It had only been a few days since Garrus had left for space along with Commander Shepard. During that time, he had to take on different cases and hobbies to keep himself distracted.
And of course, there was also the work of the Manhunter.
Speaking of whom...
"Come on. Someone has to have found something."
There was a betting board. It had been constructed following Victus's directive to find the Martian Manhunter. The idea had been to write the names of any leads or suspects in the Manhunter case. But since no one had any viable leads or suspects yet, the board was mostly just there for the rookies and veterans to enjoy a game of darts. Whoever got the most hits between the old wanted poster eyes was the winner.
Swanwick, not being the biggest fan of these games, simply stayed at his computer. He had some work to do, and he also had a friend to keep up with.
Speaking of whom...
"There we go. Looks like the Normandy can reach out this far. Good."
Smiling, Swanwick saw a familiar bird face looking at him from the other end of the screen.
"How's ship life?"
"Not too bad. Though I'm fairly certain the krogan wants to kill me."
"What's so unusual about that?" Swanick retorted
"Fair point."
Swanwick and Garrus shared a chuckle, which helped both in improving their moods.
"But seriously Garrus, how are you? You said that you were going with Commander Shepard to hunt down Saren. Any leads?"
"None on Saren specifically. But we are in the process of getting someone who might have insight into an ally of his."
"A friend of a friend?"
"Something like that," Garrus answered. "I would have gone down there, but the Commander took Wrex and Tali with her. Since there might be fighters and Geth out there, I can see why."
Swanwick frowned at the second name. Hearing it reminded him of something.
"Tali? Is that a quarian woman?"
Now it was Garrus's turn to frown. "Yes. How did you know?"
"I cleared her from an interrogation. It was right before you left with the Normandy. Shepard picked her up?"
"Yeah. She had evidence on her that led to Saren being disenfranchised by the council. She was there when Shepard got promoted to Spectre."
Nodding, Swanwick was glad to hear that Tali was doing well for herself. He was aware that the interrogation had been infuriating for her, as had her near mugging in the alleys. He had known at the time that a human commander was looking for her, but he hadn't made the Normandy connection until now.
"What exactly is the commander after? Can you talk about this stuff?" Swanwick questioned.
"Might not be protocol, but I'm not with C-Sec anymore," Garrus said with a grin. "Saren has an Asari matriarch for an ally. We're still figuring out how he managed to do that, but we did learn that she has a daughter. An archeologist named Liara T'Soni."
"And a daughter might know how to find her mother," Swanwick surmised.
"That's the idea. The commander still needs to find the doctor before asking any questions," Garrus informed his friend.
"How are things going? I don't expect much excitement to occur at a dig site."
Before Garrus could offer any response, serious or sarcastic, the lights behind the turians head began to change to red. And a blaring sound became apparent behind the screen.
"What's going on?" Swanwick asked.
"Looks like the commander ran into some trouble," Garrus noted. "Sorry to cut this short Swanwick. I need to see if I can help."
Garrus hung up, leaving Swanwick to look at a black screen.
Shuffling in his seat, Swanwick momentarily considered calling Garrus again to see if things were alright. But he quickly decided against that. Not only because it would be pointless, but also because distracting his friend in what seemed to be an emergency.
He could go himself, however...
That might not be the wisest course of action, on second thought. There was no guarantee he would get there in time to do anything useful. And even if he did, there was the possibility that the Normandy crew might see him as a threat and fire at him. Something that would benefit no one. And then there was...
Why did Swanwick keep doing this? He already knew he was going to help. He was just trying to justify his cold feet to himself at this point.
Using the rather cliche bathroom excuse, Swanwick entered the men's room and walked inside a stall. he neglected to lock it feeling that someone else might need it later.
Allowing his skin to change and his eyes to glow, J'onn J'onzz flew out of the C-Sec building and out of Citadel space. A brief mental scan showed him that the doctor Liara T'Soni was stationed on the planet Therum in the Artemis Tui system. It was a considerable distance away, so he would need to push himself to arrive on time.
Inhaling a large amount of the Citadel atmosphere's gas, J'onn filled his lungs and took off.
Therum...
Shepard did not like how this mission boded for the rest. If all of them ended with a chase against time and several near-death experiences then finding Saren might be the least of her worries.
"We must hurry!"
Dr. T'Soni had been secured after a long trek and some too many fights against geth and tank-bred krogan. Now they just had to get out of the mine before the whole damm thing collapsed on them.
"We don't have much time!" Shepard ordered. "Haul your asses!"
"Hauling!" Tali complied. Wrex's response was a snort followed by charging toward the exit. An exit that was within reach. There was just one problem in getting there.
"Geth!"
The group of four had to take cover behind some rocks as Geth soldiers began advancing from the exit. Either they didn't know that the mine was going to collapse in itself soon, or they didn't care. They were only machines, Shepard had no doubt they would rather be destroyed than fail a mission.
Unfortunately for Shepard's squad, since they were pinned down in their spots. If they wanted to get out alive, they would need to be strategic.
Tali and Liara were the most vulnerable, so Shepard had simple orders for them.
"Both of you stay defensive. Tali, save your bullets for when the shot is clear."
"Roger!"
"Wrex..."
The old krogan stared at her unamused.
"Don't take too many bullets."
Grinning, Wrex nodded. He cocked his gun and aimed at the geth. He was getting ready to shoot. But then he saw something out of the ordinary.
"Did the quarian do something?"
Frowning, Shepard dared a look towards the Geth. And rather than a bunch of battle-ready machines, she saw a bunch of frying robots with sparks flying off their bodies.
"Tali! That you?"
If her helmet wasn't on her face, Shepard might have seen the look of confusion on Tali's face. She stared at the Geth just as perplexed as the rest of them. "I didn't do anything. I-"
Tali's words stopped dry when she noticed something. A phantom of recent memory.
"It's him."
Before Shepard could question her squadmates, she saw the figure take shape as well. A figure in a purple cape. One that she had seen in vids and on the news.
The Martian Manhunter did not need to raise a hand to deal with the geth. The only thing he did was fly and phase through all of their bodies. His mere presence going through their metallic forms was enough to cause their wiring to cross, and the programs going on in their heads were not able to compensate. Causing them to short circuit.
Groaning, Wrex lowered his gun.
"I was hoping to get some shots in. Where'd this pyjak come from?"
"No idea. But we can ask later."
They still had to escape a collapsing mine. One that was, at current, dropping more and more rocks on top of them. And just as they were approaching the exit, one particularly large rock was descending.
The Manhunter phased his hand through one last geth, rendering it inert. He then saw the boulder falling from the ceiling. Right above Nar Rayya and the asari.
Just as Shepard was about to yell at him to move, J'onn flew above and grabbed the boulder. He held it above his head, keeping it from crushing the people below.
"I suggest you all move. I cannot hold this up forever."
Momentarily shocked, the squad of four swiftly ran towards the end of the mine tunnel. Once they were out, they ran towards the end of the stairs.
On the ground, Shepard held her hand up to her head in the hopes of calling the Normandy down to their position. But she was stopped by another bother.
"More of the geth!"
A lot more units, at least two dozen, were approaching their position. Each of them had their blasters aimed. Above them.
Her squad took cover behind some crates, and Shepard followed the geth's line of sight.
The Manhunter was alive and unscathed. And he was staring down at the geth.
"I do not want to prolong any conflict. If you surrender and allow the commander to leave, I will argue against your destruction."
On the ground, both Wrex and Tali had issues with the manhunter's statement. Wrex just wanted to blast the Grimm. But Tali, whose entire species had lost their planet to the machines, had no idea why anyone would even attempt to make peace with rouge Ai.
On the geth side, the machines were trying to figure out how to respond to the ultimatum. Their computers had just finished translating the manhunter's words, but they were still busy with other calculations. They could not compute how this being was flying, and they were still processing the shared data of how the creature had destroyed the units in the mines. None of the data made sense.
The creature did not make sense. it should not be physically possible for it to exist.
Seeing it as a perversion of reality, the geth opened fire. But none of their shots hit.
Sighing, J'onn felt disappointment along with his lack of surprise. He had hoped to create a peaceful outcome, but it would not be possible. The geth were synthetic beings, and he could not tamper with their minds in the same way he could with an organic. He would need to physically move the geth for the commander's sake.
"Commander Shepard. I will clear the geth and allow you passage."
But just before J'onn moved, he saw someone from the corner of his eye. The same quarian from the alley all those days ago. A quarian he nodded at.
"Tali'Zorah."
And then he attacked. The Geth never had a chance. And Shepard and her compatriots never had to lift their guns.
Much like before, the manhunter solved his problems by going right through them. He phased through half of the geth like a ghost, causing them to short circuit. When the rest of the geth tried to fire at him, the manhunter reacted by grabbing one geth unit and throwing it at another two. Three for the price of one.
Standing up from their crates, Shepard, Wrex, Tali, and Liara were all privy to the sight of geth being severely, hilariously outmatched. None of them stood a chance. Both Shepard and Wrex were smiling, glad to see their destruction. Even if Wrex would have preferred to be doing it himself.
Tali, on the other hand, was more focused on her savior from a few days ago. She still had no idea how he was able to do the things he did. But she found him mesmerizing to look at nonetheless.
Liara, however, was too busy dealing with shock to have much of an opinion on anything. First, there was her imprisonment in a Prothean device, then the attack from Saren's forces, and now a... Martian Manhunter? She had believed that mars had no life. And there was martian life, then how was it able to do... any of this? Liara was too shocked to think clearly.
"You at the drop point commander?"
Shepard finally took her eyes off of the action to talk to her pilot. "I'm sending you the spot now Joker."
"On my way commander."
Shepard hung up just as the manhunter was finishing his work. The last geth had resorted to attempting close-quarters combat, which ended pitifully. The manhunter grabbed it by the neck once it was close enough. And he applied very little pressure to his grip, decapitating the machine.
Letting go of the geth, the manhunter turned his attention to the Normandy crew.
"Commander. My name is J'onn J'onzz. I hope my assistance wasn't a bother."
J'onn held out a hand as he introduced himself. Shepard gladly took it and shook it.
"Jane Shepard. Can I ask how you knew where to find us?"
J'onn declined to answer properly. "The information found its way to me. I simply wished to help."
"It's appreciated."
Looking back, Shepard noted how Tali was playing with her hands behind her back as she stared directly at the manhunter. Her feet were also shuffling a bit.
"It's my pleasure, Miss Zorah. Though I must be going now."
"Hold up," Shepard said. "You think I could ask...?"
The Martian didn't stay long enough for Shepard to ask. By the time Shepard started her question, he had already taken off to the sky. Tali watched closely as he left.
He was already out of sight by the time the Normandy came into view.
"I'm going to headbutt him."
Shepard turned to Wrex. "Why?"
"I want to see what happens."
That simple response was all that Shepard got. Then it was Liara's turn.
"Commander? Who or what was that?"
Shepard chuckled as the Normandy touched down, giving them a chance to board.
"Dr. T'Soni, you need to watch more news."
This is where I will be stopping for now. The Normandy crew now has J'onn J'onzz listed as a person of interest. Not yet an enemy or an ally, but someone worth keeping an eye on. His presence alone already gives some crewmates a few opinions.
For J'onn making the trip from the Citadel to Therum, it was something that I struggled in figuring out. From the info I looked up, there doesn't seem to be a consensus on how J'onn can survive in deep space. Some say he can do it naturally, others say he can't at all. So my comprise was having him able to survive in deep space, able to hold his breath for a long time, and keep his mind intact. But it is still a good idea for him to inhale as much as possible, just to be safe.
The next chapter will go into more detail about the consequences of J'onn's unplanned trip. The Normandy crew wasn't the only one to notice his presence.
Anyway, please leave reviews, tell me what you think, and I will see you all next time.
Bye!