I'll be honest with y'all. We getting real close to the ending of ME1 and this chapter will make it obvious. If you read the excerpt from the end of the last chapter you know shit is gonna go hard. Here's the beginning.
Also, as a side note I'm kinda disappointed no one made a "this bitch empty, YEET." joke about when Wynne threw the Breaker pistol. Other than that have fun reading.
*POV: AedTorchbearer*
You know, I'll be honest here, I had forgotten how much I liked to sketch. Hadn't done it in a few years so there was plenty of rust to get off but it didn't take long. After a few hours of practice the rust had been shaken off and I was getting into a groove. It apparently got the attention of the crew of the Normandy though.
When I woke up after Tali had left earlier I had started to sketch and after getting the rust off Dr. Chakwas took notice. Probably because I had sketched her while she worked but after that the info of me being a halfway decent sketch artist spread like wildfire.
I don't really get why everyone was so surprised, I did my own makeup damn near every day to look different. The skill does translate over. As far as the most part for the sketching the hardest part about it wasn't getting the rust off. It was dealing with the IV that was still in and Dr. Chakwas refused to let me take it out.
Anyways, after that fact spread around I got a few requests from people wanting to be sketched. Let it be known that Dr. Chakwas didn't let most of the people in as I was still her patient. Of the ones she let come in to be sketched included the ground team members that showed up (Liara, Tali, and Wrex) plus Joker and a few minor shipmates who were done with their jobs when they came.
Dr. Chakwas and Ashley got plenty of sketches of themselves as they were the most readily available people to sketch. Liara seemed enamored with her sketch and thanked me for it. Tali didn't actually come to get sketched, she just came to talk about some possible hacking upgrades and different code variations with me. She left with a sketch though and seemed amused but appreciative at it.
Wrex on the other hand suited up in his ancestral armor and stuck a pose for me. I couldn't help the laugh I had but I did end up giving him the sketch. To be honest, I never expected that from Wrex but the sketch turned out to be my best one so I didn't mind. Personally, I had expected that out of Joker when he came but he just sat down in front of me and gave me a goofy smile. It was so utterly Joker that I gave it my best effort for the man. It didn't turn out as good as Wrex's but it was solid.
Anyways, that's how I spent most of my time as we traveled back to the Citadel. It was a rather relaxing time for me among all the hecticness of the past few days with Noveria and Virmire back to back. Thinking on it those two days of travel had actually been the most time to actually relax since I've been in the Mass Effect universe.
When I was with Frank I had been training or working every day with the rare Sunday off for two years. Then with Shepard it's been missions and a bunch of busywork with the only time of actually relaxing was the odd day in the infirmary. Now, I finally had two whole days to relax; the first time in two years.
Still, as I waited in there I could feel my paranoia begin to act up. Staying in the same spot for relaxing didn't agree with me apparently. Would have been worse and at least Dr. Chakwas was a good conversationalist. Ashley on the other hand spent most of her reading the bible and keeping to herself. She did accept the sketches I made of her with a bright smile at seeing them.
It didn't get really bad until we hit the final Relay and appeared in front of the Citadel; Joker announced over the PA system that it would be about an hour until we docked. When that happened I got a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach that something was about to go wrong. Surprisingly enough, nothing really did and while we waited for us to dock Tali visited me.
Dr. Chakwas had said that the medical team at Huerta Memorial was going to come aboard and run some tests on me since they had been informed of the nature of my injury. They had apparently leapt at the chance to study someone who had survived as much eezo radiation as I had. That was what made my paranoia hit new heights.
Dr. Chakwas told me that the doctors weren't told who I was exactly but it didn't sit right with me. I knew something was going to happen here but Dr. Chakwas assured me that nothing would. Still, I made sure to message Wrex and he brought up not only my pistol, which is all I asked for, but all my gear.
Dr. Chakwas wasn't even remotely happy at that but when she realized I wasn't about to give it up she let me keep them out. She did make me put all of it into a box and put the box below the bed. Though, I put my omni-tool on.
Tali, if anything, was amused by the whole situation. She understood my paranoia but didn't exactly agree with it. Still, she did leave and come back with her shotgun after she found out about the visiting medical staff. It was good seeing that she was taking precautions even when the paranoia was unfounded. It's better to be safe than sorry.
Sure enough too when we docked the doctors tried to shove their way to the med bay. They got abruptly stopped by Shepard and co who were leaving and had to wait until they left. Once Shepard and the rest were gone leaving just Tali, Ashley and myself from the ground team in the Normandy; that was when the doctors came aboard.
They acted as if they owned the place practically and shoved their way past crew members to get to the medbay. It was annoying but not surprising to be honest; hotshot doctors always had some of the biggest egos out there and I should know, my real dad had been one.
When the doctors got to the medbay they started pushing around Dr. Chakwas who for her part did nothing to help them and didn't follow their orders at all. She gained a lot of respect from me there, if that was even possible since I already respected her a ton. The doctors didn't take too kindly to that but when they tried to speak down to her she simply stared them down. They folded like paper.
From there they started being a lot more respectful and professional. They went through some regular tests and scanned me a couple times with a few different machines. I didn't know what any of it was or how it worked but it wasn't my job to know that. My job was to be a killer and efficient tech guy.
Still, the whole time my paranoia didn't let up. Something was wrong here but still nothing happened. Probably helped that Ashley, myself, Tali, and Dr. Chakwas were watching all of them like hawks as they went through the tests. They went through all their tests without so much as a hiccup and were done within a half hour. As they were leaving they spoke to Dr. Chakwas quietly about some things but that seemed to be it from them.
"What did they say?" I asked Dr. Chakwas as the last of the doctors left.
"They want to perform more tests at a later date to see the effect over time. I told them that it was up to you."
"That's all the tests they'll be having. I don't trust them," Dr. Chakwas gave a small nod of her head at that.
"A wise policy for doctors on the Citadel," I gave her a raised eyebrow at that. She saw my reaction and answered the unsaid question. "Doctors here aren't looking to actually fix you; they're looking to give you a temporary solution so you keep coming back. Some do want to actually help but they are few and far between."
"What about me? They can't really treat this, only study it."
"They'll find something wrong with you, trust me. Especially if it keeps you around for longer. They'll find a way."
Just then the doors opened and the head doctor from earlier came back into the room with four paramedics, 2 gournies and 2 guards. He didn't say anything to anyone and simply sent Dr. Chakwas a message via omni-tool. Dr. Chakwas looked positively furious at whatever the message said but from how she reacted it wasn't good in any sense.
Before she could say anything to us the head doctor shoved his way past her and you could literally see the murder in Dr. Chakwas eyes as he did that. He stood arrogantly in front of me specifically and to be honest I was thoroughly unimpressed. The man was a doctor but in no way imposing and didn't even radiate confidence, just arrogance.
"Both of the patients will be coming with us to Huerta Memorial Hospital while the SSV Normandy is locked down as ordered by the Council. We ask that you relinquish your weapons to us for your stay," I just gave him a blank look as I cocked the hammer back on my pistol and had it pointed at him.
"Not gonna happen."
"Sir, I again ask th-" this time I raised the gun from my lap and leveled it at his crotch.
"No."
"Very well," he squealed out and made a hasty retreat at that. Tali gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze as she got up to leave. She usually gave me a hug the last couple days, why only a squeeze now?
The two guards gave each other a worried look at that but didn't comment. They didn't do anything else regardless and just watched from the back. I got the older pair of paramedics as they loaded me onto a stretcher. My muscles were still tight when they put me on and I groaned in displeasure. This resulted in the paramedics trying to give me some pain meds but I grabbed the syringe and broke it off before they could administer it.
They each gave me pointed looks at that but I didn't care. Once I was on the stretcher I grabbed the box with my gear and put it on my lap. After that it was smooth sailing from them and they brought me to one of the ambulances. Neither got in the back with me though and they didn't get into the front seats either. Instead it was the two guards who got into the front and two random people who jumped into the back with me. Both of whom levelled AR's at me.
"Ah, there it is." I couldn't help myself from saying those words. One of them grabbed my pistol holstering it in his waist and put my box of gear next to them as they sat across from me. Let me keep my omni-tool though, idiots.
"You got a 4 billion dollar bounty on your head from the Batarians. You didn't expect this to happen?" one of the obvious mercenaries asked as we started to get going in the ambulance.
"Of course I did. Gotta say I didn't expect it to be humans that would do it though."
"Money is money."
"Maybe," I got a vibration out of my omni-tool and gave a quick peek at the message that popped up. It simply said '5 seconds' and it was Frank. "Money never stays with the foolish though."
I grabbed onto the nearest thing I could and it happened to be the guard rail on my side of the ambulance. The two mercenaries had all of a second to react and neither were quick enough. The ambulance got slammed into from the side opposite of where I was and we went spinning. It was a rather rough landing and I could feel most of my wounds reopen, the box with my gear slid over to me.
I got off pretty well all things considered though. The mercenary that had taken my pistol landed weirdly next to me and broke his neck. The other was groggily starting to get up but I wasn't about to let him actually get up. Grabbing my pistol off the dead merc I put it against the head of the one getting up and blew it off.
At the bark of my pistol the merc in the driver's seat looked back at me with his gun raised only to be biotically ripped from his seat and out the door. I didn't see what happened to him but the other one I did. His shield flashed a few times as I heard glass shattering and then blood sprayed everywhere.
Reaching into my box I put on my helmet and put it under my arm. My wounds screamed in protest at that but I didn't care; mostly because the adrenaline had set in and I couldn't feel anything. I walked the couple steps to the back door and waited for it to open. It did only a few moments later and revealed the entire squad with Frank standing in front. Miss T'Kari on his right and Ceelo and Volio on his left.
"Good timing," I said as I made to get out. Miss T'Kari helped me get down from the steps gently.
"Thank Tali'Zorah Aedon. She messaged us saying you were about to be taken by mercenaries," Ceelo said as we all walked to an aircar. Volio had taken my arm to help support me as we walked.
"How'd she know?"
"Hacked their omni-tools while she was near them and then told us the ambulance they put you into," he replied matter of factly as we all got into the aircar.
"My paranoia is wiping off on her. Good."
"That's one way to put it," Miss T'Kari said as she got into the passenger seat. "I think she just likes you."
When I didn't immediately say anything back at that Miss T'Kari looked back at me and smiled. Volio gave me a sideways look and I looked back at him. He gave me a small nod and a thumbs up. Ceelo on the other hand sighed and rubbed the top of his mask. Frank let out a bark of laughter before talking.
"You just had to shoot for a woman who's practically a princess."
"Go big or go home," that got a laugh out of everyone but Ceelo who just sighed again.
"Yet, how did they know it was you?" Volio asked quickly, silencing the car. It took me a few moments but it clicked.
"Cerberus. No one else makes sense unless the Shadow Broker is involved and I haven't done anything to him, nor does he need the money. Plus, they were all humans. Cerberus might've been looking to take me off the board and get funding in one swoop."
"I thought you took care of the mole though?" Miss T'Kari asked.
"Doesn't mean they didn't have more than one. They could've had multiple ways to get info out. We were looking for recent transfers too when we were looking for the mole."
"You're thinking they've had people embedded in the Alliance?" Ceelo asked. Frank gave a mirthless chuckle before answering.
"No way they don't. The one you found was probably the one they wanted you to find to keep the other one or ones safe," it got deathly quiet in the car for a few moments before Volio spoke up.
"Those guys were shitty veteran mercs at best though. Cerberus would've been a lot better."
"Outside contractors?" I suggested with a shrug of my shoulders. "They do the dirty work, and then Cerberus kills them and takes the money afterwards."
"I don't think it's Cerberus," Ceelo spoke up. We all collectively looked at him as a result. "I think it's Saren."
"Makes a bit more sense than Cerberus," Volio said, agreeing with him. "Take you out of the game completely and from the reports Ceelo's been able to hack Shepard definitely trusts you a lot. It would've been a major blow to kill you; hell, just the attempt and you opening up your wounds is significant."
I was silently for a few moments thinking it over and Saren made far more sense than Cerberus in the grand scheme of things. I'm still not ruling out Cerberus completely but Saren makes more sense. Guess I might be projecting on Cerberus because I know how bad they'll get.
"I think you're right Ceelo," was the only answer I had.
The rest of the ride was made in mostly silence with the occasional small talk. Nothing big, really only catching up with everyone as we drove. I didn't really recognize where we were until we took a couple hard turns and made our way to the shadier part of the Citadel. Once we were in that area I started to recognize exactly where we were.
Pulling into a darkened alley we got out and Frank threw a thermite grenade into the car. We left the burning car behind and made the journey back to Frank's shop, the long way of course. It took us longer than I remembered it usually did but that had to be because of me.
When we did make it back to Frank's shop we went into the back and down the stairs to the living area. Before I could go to my room though, Miss T'Kari set me down on a stretcher that they brought in. She then went to work on my reopened wounds. Stitching them up and applying medi-gel to them, not to mention she gave me a cocktail of pain meds. They didn't make me loopy like the ones Dr. Chakwas had given me but they definitely numbed my whole body.
As soon as she was done she readjusted the stretcher so I was sitting up. Once I was up she gave me a cup of her special tea and not long after the first sip I was getting hallucinations; I had forgotten about that. At least it wasn't debilitating like certain drugs, just seeing things that weren't there.
"I gotta call Shepard," I said as I continued to sip on the tea. The others looked in between each other as they sat at the table and Frank nodded to Ceelo.
"Let me encrypt the call so no one tries to hijack it," Ceelo said and I nodded to him.
He fiddled with his omni-tool for a few seconds and then nodded to me. At that I pulled up Shepards contact info on my omni-tool and then called him. He took a few moments to answer and when he did he had a mix of determination and pissed off on his face. It quickly morphed to concern and confusion when he saw it was me.
"What happened Wynne?"
"Mercenaries after the Batarian bounty."
"You good?"
"Yes sir. I'm in a safe spot right now healing up. Any orders?"
"Can you make it back to the Normandy?" I looked over to Miss T'Kari who just shook her head.
"No sir. I can't," Shepard then started walking during the call before responding.
"Is the call encrypted?"
"Yes sir."
"Okay, we're going after Saren. The council locked us down but we'll be leaving anyway to go after him. I got a feeling the geth may try to hit the Citadel though. Can I count on you there?"
"Of course sir."
"Good," with that he hung up.
"If we're in the endgame than Saren was definitely the reason for the attack," Volio stated. The heretical geth being the reason he knew I was hurt.
"Yeah… I'm going to call the geth. See about that favor," Ceelo practically jumped out of his chair in alarm and anger, held back only by Volio's hand on his arm. The rest just gave me concerned looks.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Frank asked and from the looks of everyone else they agreed with the question.
"Not particularly but it's probably our best bet. Besides, I got a hypothesis working."
"Care to share?" Ceelo asked. I could hear the edge in his voice.
"The Geth developed independent thought and complex emotions right?" I directed the question to Ceelo.
"Rudimentary emotions at best but independent thought, absolutely."
"Then I think they might have schismed," the shock in their eyes and bodies was massive. They all sat frozen for a few moments before they recovered and looked in between each other for a few moments before they all looked at Frank. He took a deep breath and turned his head to me.
"Explain."
"Well, first and foremost what I know about the Geth Revolution is that it started when the Quarians tried to kill them all because at some point they wanted more. More than to just be cleaners and essentially slaves," I looked to Ceelo silently asking for confirmation and he gave it with a nod. "And we can only assume that they continued this trend and evolved it. Wanting to be more than what they were and to truly decide for themselves what they want.
If that is the case then why follow Saren? They aren't deciding anything for themselves by following him. They are completely contradicting what got them their freedom. It doesn't make any sense.
So, with that Ceelo you said it yourself that they had developed independent thought," he nodded his head slowly and then it all clicked for him.
"Holy shit," he whispered out, the others looking at him. "It's possible. It's absolutely possible," it seemed that the others now caught on.
"No matter how much you are intertwined with someone you will never see eye to eye on everything. It simply isn't possible in life," Volio said slumping back in his chair.
"That to me isn't the damning part though," I spoke up and they all looked at me. Putting my helmet back on I addressed Sam.
"Sam. Send the recording of the being named Sovereign to my omni-tool."
The whole recording pilot?
"Yes Sam."
I didn't need to say anything else. Sam sent the recording to my omni-tool and from there I sent it to the group. They quietly looked and watched the recording and when it ended they all collectively looked between each other before looking back to me.
"What the fuck was that?" Frank asked.
"That was the conversation we had with Sovereign; the Reaper. That is my damning evidence, why would the Geth follow that?"
Again silence reigned in the room as I took my helmet off and laid it on the stretcher. I had said my peace and now it was up to them to do anything about it. Thinking more on it now, contacting the Geth might not be the best option. Save the favor for later because who knows where else I could use it and asking the Geth for help during the battle will just make it more chaotic than it already will be.
"And if they go through this cycle every 50,000 years and created the Relays then they may have created the Citadel," Frank spoke up gaining my attention. "A central place so big and extravagant anyone who discovered it would want to make it the center of the galactic government."
"They hit it hard and fast once and you have all the leaders dead in one fell swoop. Chaos would reign and there would be practically no organized defense. It would be a slaughter," I said. It was at that moment that Frank took complete control of the situation as he stood up and addressed us all.
"If you have contacts that can help reach out. We can't prepare everyone for this but we can make sure that we have enough fire power as possible to have a fighting chance on the Citadel. Anyone you can, call in every favor, every deal, anything. I'm going to go talk to the local gangs. They respect me enough to at least hear me out."
"I'll go with you. Don't want to risk it too much and I don't have any favors or anyone to call besides all of you," Ceelo spoke, standing up with Frank. Guess the Geth will take the backburner.
After that Frank and Ceelo left to talk with the local gangs on the Citadel. Volio called everyone that he could and was even able to reach a few ex Turian Blackwatch Operators to help out. They wouldn't be here until tomorrow but they would be here. After that he got a few smugglers on the Citadel who were willing to lend a hand to the cause of keeping the Citadel safe.
Miss T'Kari went a similar route and got some ex Commandos on the Citadel to agree to help as long as they were given arms to fight with. Frank's shop would handle that. Other than those she got a few warehouse owners to lend their warehouses over to us so that we could turn them into med stations and our base of operations. After she got the warehouses then she got a good amount of the medical staff to chip in for us. From everything from painkillers to working surgery machines and even a bit of personnel agreed to help out. All of whom were vetted by Miss T'Kari.
Once those two had done their part they set off to the warehouses to get them ready for the medical supplies and personnel. I watched most of the process and fell asleep for a bit of it so my wounds would recover. When I woke up they were heading out and I put on my helmet before opening up my omni-tool and made a call. It was to the Quarian Admirals.
They had mixed reactions to seeing me and weren't all that thrilled that I had been able to contact them all into a video conference. However, they quieted down once I said that I needed help and they would increase relations with the Council if they chose to help me.
With their attention I made my pitch. Just asking for a few marine squads and if they were willing to send any pilgrims my way to help. They were skeptical at first but when they were told it was about the Geth they decided that they would help as best they could. They couldn't help with the pilgrims as they didn't actively keep track of them. As for the Marines most of them were unfortunately on or near the Flotilla but there was one near the Citadel and would divert it to me. By the grace of God they were an extraction team too, perfect for this.
It was as good as I was going to get to be honest and that was fine by me. We got a lot more than I thought we actually would. Since everyone was out I got up off the stretcher and put my armor on. It was a bit of struggle but I managed and only bits and pieces of my body were aching. None of the wounds reopened though so that was a plus.
After the armor was on I put my AR on my back and my pistol at the small of my back before heading up the stairs. Reaching the top of the stairs and getting behind the counter I spent the next couple hours waiting for the ones on station to show up.
The first group to show up would be some Asari in formal gowns. They took one look at me and instantly recognized me. Collectively activating their biotics and preparing for a fight. I guess they weren't expecting me to hold up a hand to stop them and then open the side door leading to the good shit Frank had. They looked at me for a second as the door opened and nodded their heads before heading in.
They stayed in that room for a few minutes and when they came out they were all armed to the teeth and ready for a fight. Once they got out I sent them the location of the warehouse we would be using as a base of operations. Silently thanking me they left without incident or talk.
After them it was just a steady stream of the local gang members. All of whom weren't in any type of shady business besides drugs and after they found out I was watching them they had stopped selling to kids. The ones that hadn't were dead. Either way they got their guns and equipment from all the over the counter stuff Frank had and got no access to the special stuff. There were 18 groups that came in ranging from 4 to 7 people. Still Frank had more than enough guns left over for his business.
Once the gang members stopped coming in I waited at the desk for a few more hours but no one else came. At around 9pm I closed up shop and disappeared into the bowels of the Citadel making my way to the warehouses. It would take me another hour or so to get there using the backroads and just a little after 10 I arrived.
Walking into the warehouse Volio greeted me and walked me to the table where Frank was going over the plans for when the Geth attacked. Choke points we could use, areas still in development we could blow if the geth went there, where we could reinforce for safe points for civilians. Anything you could think of for this type of operation was being discussed. Especially where we could use the specialists; commando's, and blackwatch.
That was everything I expected but I did get a bit of a surprise. Tela Vasir was standing to Frank's right and straight across from me as I walked up to the table. She acknowledged me with a subtle nod, one which I returned.
"We got a squad of Quarian Marines coming in too," I said, getting the attention of Frank, Miss T'Kari, 3 gang leaders and the Commando leader.
"You got their comm channel?" Frank asked gesturing to the screen where a Turian was, guess they had the Blackwatch guys here by proxy too.
"Yeah, give me a second," it took two to hail the Quarian leader.
"Torchbearer. My superiors say I'm on loan to you. What's going on?" I looked at Frank but he just looked back at me expectantly.
"The Citadel is about to be attacked by the Geth. I'm sending over our bases coordinates, double time it. Stay on the line though, we're going over the specifics right now."
"Copy. My team specializes in extractions," I nodded to him and stepped away so that Frank could go over everything.
"Alright. Since everyone is here, let's go over it again," he said, standing up straight from the table and gaining everyone's attention. "The Black Sharks will take point A. It's a choke point in Zakera Ward and if they get past you they'll have a direct route to 3 of the arm's power, don't give it up. You'll have the support from the Commando's; they'll be running interference on the geth and getting any civilians out of the way and to safe point Canon, the C-Sec HQ.
The Green will take point B, another choke point. It's connected to the power for the other two arms. You'll be on your own but you should be more than fine. The Geth would have to go through about a quarter mile of a single hallway just to get to your first point of defense. Just don't try to be heroes.
The Krakens will have point D. The housing district near the shop where you got your weapons. It's your territory so you'll have the best bet at defending it. Your priority is to keep civilians safe and bog the Geth down as best you can. Shoot and scoot, don't stay for long. Since it's the most populated area I want… What's your name?" he asked looking at the Quarian.
"Captain Wito'Halon."
"I want Captain Wito and his team to extract all the civilians they can to safe point Foxtrot. It's a Smugglers' Den and they've already agreed to house any civilians necessary. Now, speaking of civilians this goes for them all if they or you get injured and you can't treat them bring them here. The warehouse next to us is set up as a Field Med Bay," there were nods all around at that.
"Now, Blackwatch. Since you have the best heavy weapons you'll be hunting and helping VIP's. If you see a Prime or any big Geth take it the fuck out. As for helping VIP's if you come across any race's soldiers or C-Sec in trouble, help them out and move on. Help the other specialized squads and the choke points if you can but don't stay long.
My team will take the hospital and defend it. However, everyone has everyone's comm codes. If you need help, call for it."
"And me?" I asked.
"You'll be with me," Tela spoke up from across from me.
"All right everyone. You know your jobs. Make sure you're ready; Blackwatch, Captain Wito, make your way to your designated points once you arrive. Expect the attack to happen within the next 24 hours so be ready. Just don't do anything until it kicks off, we don't want any arrests before this happens."
With that everyone dispersed. Frank walked over and gave me a pat on the shoulder and a quiet good luck. He also handed me some emergency stimulants and said to only use them if I absolutely had to, then he left with the group. It left me looking at the map with Tela right next to me. She stayed silent while she waited for me. Not turning to look at her, I asked my question.
"What will our job be?"
"We'll be at the Presidium watching over the Councillors. When it kicks off it'll be our job to extract them."
"Then I'll be staying with you tonight then?"
"Yes."
"Let's go then."
With that we left and made our way to her apartment near the Presidium. The Geth attack looming over our heads and not surprisingly it didn't really do anything to either of us. She has been around for a while and this type of thing never really bothered me. If I die, I die; if I don't then we won. That's it.
Still, it didn't stop us from drinking. She poured the first one in my glass from a rather intricate looking glass. I had no idea what it was and the logo was written in a language I didn't know; tasted amazing though. We shared 2 glasses of that drink before she went off and started to make some food for each of us.
Funny enough, neither of us said anything the whole time. It was kind of unsettling but at the same time not. I just decided not to let my guard down around her. I knew she worked for the Shadow Broker but also knew that she put the Council above it. Even if she tries to kill you in the game, she does so thinking Shepard was full on Cerberus.
Walking over to her liquor cabinet I inspected her impressive array of alcohol. Most of them were shit I recognized from in shops and all of them were really expensive. Nothing here was under 500 credits a bottle. Fuck, guess the Shadow Broker pays really fucking well.
"Yo, Vasir. You mind if I have a drink from one of your other bottles."
"Go ahead, but only if the bottle is already open," she called back from the kitchen.
With the go ahead I looked back to the liquor cabinet and spotted a purple bottle. Again, I didn't recognize the writing but it looked expensive; and it did say it was 60% alcohol. Of course the only thing legible was the alcohol content. Either way, I poured myself a glass and took a sip. It was that perfect blend of alcohol and taste you just love to sip on, would've been even better with a cigar.
A couple minutes later as I was just finishing up my first glass and preparing to pour myself a new one did Tela return with food. Looked like regular pasta with some fish in it, my favorite. Though I didn't expect Tela's reaction as she saw me pouring another glass of that drink. She rushed over, basically threw the food onto the table and grabbed my chin with her hand. My pistol was on her stomach but she wasn't doing anything.
"What the fu-... wha… Are you okay? No tightening of the throat, not itching, nothing?" she continued to hold my chin as she turned my head up, down, to and fro seemingly looking for something. I felt none of what she asked though.
"I'm fine. Why?" she reached over to the bottle, grabbed it and shook it in my face.
"This is for dextro species. How are you alive right now?"
"I took a nuke to the face. Doc said there might be complications for my future, guess this is one of them," she looked speechless and it was weird to see it. The only interactions I ever had with her, she was being a badass, not confused or speechless.
"If the Geth weren't literally within a day of attacking this place I would bring this to the council," it was at this point where the beginnings of a plan surfaced in my mind. Barring I lived through the attack, this plan would definitely make me the most wanted man ever. Only if I failed though.
"Don't. I'd rather not be a guinea pig for doctors."
"What do I get out of it?"
"A favor?"
"I already have one for letting you live when you reached the Citadel. Good job on proving me right to keep you alive."
"What do you want then?"
"Next time you hit the Batarians, I want in."
"Deal," there was a quiet lull in the conversation as we started to eat. After my second bite I asked another question.
"What do you think of the plan?" she took a second to respond as she still had food in her mouth.
"Frank's a good leader and good strategist and the plan he's given everyone is solid."
"But?"
"But we just don't have enough people. I've managed to get a couple of the top Brass moving for C-Sec. There'll be more patrols and the officers will be better equipped but that's only for the ones I was able to convince. C-Sec as a whole and their commander, Gailus Helion, are tied to the council and as such believe that what they have will be more than enough. In essence, C-Sec is completely hamstrung from being able to make a significant impact on the fight. Plus, we're only protecting a couple of key areas. There's going to be a lot of casualties."
And that was that. For now, we ate our meal and then went to bed. I stayed in my armor and it was a good thing I did. At 4:23 am Tela was waking me up. The Geth were here.
At least the Quarians and the ex Blackwatch guys had arrived an hour ago so our plan was still okay. Let the shit show commence.
Not gonna lie, this chapter was needed and set the ground for a lot of things but it wasn't exactly my favorite. I try to stay away from a lot of exposition but it was needed, bit of a filler in all honesty.