Chapter 8: Assembling the Squad
AN: I'm on vacation in Rocky Point, so writing this chapter was a bit of an on and off thing. I hope you all enjoy it!
EDIT (7/26/2021): Found some typos/errors. Bugged me a bit, so I fixed em.
Citadel, Lower Wards, 2176 A.D
One Week After The Skyllian Blitz
The raven haired woman walked into the room, ignoring the man she had just killed. Whitley slowly got up, weary of the mysterious woman that had suddenly saved him out of the blue.
"Not that I don't appreciate your rescue, but how did you know that I was in danger?" Whitley asked, suspicious.
"You've been under surveillance for the past day, Shepard. When we caught wind that someone was coming to kill you, I decided to intervene." the woman replied.
Whitley chuckled. "We? Heh. I'm guessing you aren't C-Sec. They tend to aim for the knees."
"You would be correct in that regard. My name is Michelle Lowry, and I've been tasked with helping you deal with the slavers that attacked Elysium."
"Why do I have the feeling that isn't your real name?" Whitley couldn't help but think.
"Why? What's so special about me? Is the Alliance truly inept enough that they have to rely on a seventeen year old teenager to do their work for them?" Whitley asked.
Michelle shook her head. "All your questions will be answered later. For now, we should focus on getting out of here. There may be more coming."
Whitley shook his head. "Really? More of them? Why?"
Michelle reloaded her pistol. "Not now, Shepard. When we get to safety, all your questions will be answered."
Whitley nodded. "All right then. Let's go."
The duo quickly escaped from the apartment complex, just as C-Sec was beginning to crowd around the building. Tucked inside the back alley was a jet black skycar. Rising into the sky, the skycar jettisoned away, fading into the skyline of the Citadel.
15 Minutes Later
"Nice place you have here." Whitley remarked, appreciating the luxury of the apartment he and his new friend had just arrived in.
"Me and my group only accept the best." Michelle replied. She sat down at a terminal. "My boss wants to speak with you."
"Really? If your boss is as mysterious as you are, Miss Lowry, then I very much doubt he'd have come down from wherever he is to come visit me."
Michelle smirked. "You would be correct on that front, which is why that room contains a QEC."
Whitley whistled. "A QEC? That's….exorbitant, to say the least." He turned to face the door of the room.
"Consider me intrigued, Miss Lowry." Whitley said, before walking into the room.
A large blue disc stood in the middle of the room, with a small console in front of it. A red button kept pulsing on the console. Whitley, noticing the pulsing button, pressed it. The holographic projection of a man sitting on a chair and smoking a cigarette popped out of the disc, surprising the silver haired teenager.
(Play Mass Effect 2 - Illusive Man Suite)
"Whitley Shepard." the man stated, putting down his cigarette.
Whitley raised his right eyebrow, confused. "And you are?"
The man drank from a small glass in his other hand, before replying. "I have carried many names and aliases in my life. The Alliance and my associates, however, tend to refer to me as an Illusive Man."
Whitley chuckled. "Illusive Man? What is this, a cheap spy novel?"
The man smirked. "A sentiment I shared when I learned about that alias. At least it's memorable." The man's smirk faded, as he took another puff of his cigarette. "I'm guessing you have a great many questions?"
Whitley sighed, before asking the question that had been burning in his mind the past fifteen or so minutes.
"I've seen the rather ludicrous setup of this apartment. Even by my lowest estimates, this entire apartment, including the QEC, would cost around thirty million credits. Miss Lowry, a woman who has stated quite clearly that you are her boss, was able to shoot a man in the head with a pistol from about twenty feet away. You and your people have a great deal of money to burn, and people to carry out your orders? Who are you?"
The Illusive Man smirked again. "I knew I was making a good call when I asked Michelle to keep an eye over you. To answer your question, we are the guard dog of humanity, it's sword and it's shield in times of darkness. We… are Cerberus."
Whitley frowned. "Cerberus? I've...heard about you." Whitley racked his head, trying to think of the times he'd heard about the organization in his history class. "Your organization tried to steal antimatter from the SSV Geneva in 2165."
Whitley balked at the next part of his memory, but he continued onwards. "During the 2160's and 70's, your group assassinated politicians, sabotaged starships bearing eezo, and conducted horrific experiments on both aliens and humans! Both the Council and the Alliance had you denounced as human-supremacists!"
The Illusive Man nodded, before taking another drink from his glass. "You know your history." he remarked.
"What can I say? It fascinated me, the same way a person can be fascinated by the life of a serial killer." Whitley replied. "What the hell does a terrorist organization want with me?"
"I bought you here because I believe that both the Alliance and Cerberus has been compromised. Someone has been pulling strings to ensure that the investigation on the Batarian slaver's base of operations has been slowed to a crawl. A few of my contacts, as well as a significant number of private investigators, have all turned up dead or missing. While the Batarias may have a small foothold on the Citadel, evidenced by their attack on you, I don't see how my own people could be affected, unless we have traitors in our ranks."
Whitley frowned. "Traitors? How? Isn't your group all about human supremacy at any cost?"
"Greed can be a powerful emotion across all species, and slavery, for all it's moral quandrys, pays well. What resources I have now are devoted to finding the traitors embedded in the Alliance and Cerberus." the Illusive Man replied.
Whitley shook his head. "And now you want me to continue my investigation on the slavers?"
"Yes. I can devote a few resources to you to aid in your investigation. Michelle Lowry will be your liaison to me. She's an incredible operative, and you will be quite safe under her guard."
Whitley looked downwards for a few moments, trying to decide what to do.
"So this is Hannah Shepard's girl. I should've expected someone descended from her to put up a fight as ferocious as you have today."
"Fuck you!"
"It hasn't gone as well as I'd hoped, but I think we can still send that Alliance bitch a message."
His fists clenched, Whitley turned back to the Illusive Man "Fine. But that's it. I have no intention of playing terrorist. I'll find the base of operations for the slavers, no more than that."
"If that is your wish." the Illusive Man replied.
Whitley turned away from the hologram, walking out of the room. Michelle Lowry stood up from her chair.
"Shepard. I trust your meeting went well?" she asked.
"It did, I suppose. Let's go. I have an idea on how to better search for the slavers, now that I know they're on the Citadel." Whitley replied.
"Alright. Before we start, I have a proposition for you that might help our chances." Michelle stated
Whitley paused. "Go on." he replied.
"The Illusive Man sent me a few details on a person he believes will help us in our mission, should things escalate like they did today." Michelle continued
Whitley shrugged. "Ok. Who is it?"
"A Krogan mercenary, by the name of Urdnot Wrex." Michelle replied.
Whitey shook his head. "Wait a second, I've met him! He saved me from a Turian that was about to shoot me!"
Michelle hummed. "According to this, Wrex has come to the Citadel due to a large number of lucrative contracts that are being paid to find the slavers responsible for the attack on Elysium."
Whitley frowned. "Wait a minute, why would a mercenary come here to find them? Is it possible he already knew about the Batarians hiding here? And why would Cerberus want to work with an alien? Doesn't that go against your entire modus operandi?"
Michelle shook her head. "No. He's just here because the Citadel is the center of the galaxy. It would be much easier to gather information and equipment here than any other part of the galaxy. As for the other question, contrary to what many believe, we aren't a human-supremacy group, so to speak. We're more human-survivalist than anything else, and right now, Wrex may help us achieve that goal."
Whitley scoffed. "If you say so." Whitley stated, clearly not believing her. "So, are we heading to meet him now? Where is he?"
"At the C-Sec Offices of the Lower Wards." Michelle replied.
C-Sec Offices, Lower Wards
As Whitley and Michelle walked into the building, they were greeted by the sight of many C-Sec officers running around frantically.
"What's all this?" Whitley asked.
Michelle rubbed her chin in though. "I don't know, but if I had to take a guess, I'd wager it's the attack on your hideout. C-Sec is supposed to be the best police force in the galaxy. They won't take an insult like this lying down."
Just then, the duo was greeted by the sight of a massive Krogan in blood red armor, along with a Turian C-Sec officer in front of him.
"Witnesses saw you on the scene just before the explosion happened. If you had anything to do with this, Wrex..."
"What'll you do, Turian?" Wrex replied, a smirk present on his lips.
"Don't make me arrest you." the Turian snarled.
"I'm quivering in my boots." Wrex replied. He saw Michelle and Whitley behind the officer. The Krogan started walking up to them.
"Huh. Well, this is a surprise. Whaddya want, kid?" Wrex asked.
Michelle took the forefront of the conversation. "Urdnot Wrex, my name is Michelle Lowry. Right now, we are investigating the slavers that attacked Elysium, and we could use your help."
Wrex scoffed. "I didn't ask you, human. I asked the kid."
Whitley sighed. "My name is Whitley Shepard. Like Miss Lowry said, we're looking for the slavers. We have reason to believe they're on the Citadel, and I have a plan on how to fine tune our search for them, now that we know where they are. Miss Lowry told me that you've come to the Citadel to pursue some of the contracts that went out on the slavers. I thought we could team up, considering how well I saw you handling the Turian that was about to attack me earlier today."
Wrex huffed. "Whitley Shepard, huh? I've heard about you, or more accurately, I've heard about your mother. Captain Hannah Shepard, right?"
Whitley froze. "How do you know her?"
Wrex chuckled. "Who doesn't know her? Anyone able to slaughter three entire slaving rings is bound to be remembered, even if it's been 21 years."
Whitley found himself shocked.
Mom did that? What happened? Why did she do that?
Whitely shook his head. "What's this got to do with anything?" he asked.
Wrex walked up to him. "Because, kid, I can't help but think history might be repeating itself again. And if that's going to happen….heh. I wanna see it firsthand. My people have a saying. Seek the enemy of your enemy, and you will find a friend."
Whitley held out his hand. "Well, for what it's worth, I'm glad to have you on the team, Wrex."
Wrex shook his hand, before stepping away and cracking his neck. "So, kid. What's the plan?"
Whitley pointed to the distance. "You're looking at it.", he replied, talking to both Michelle and Wrex.
Wrex and Michelle both looked up, seeing the colossal antenna that was right in the middle of the Lower Wards.
Michelle gaped at him. "Shepard, you do realize that is property of C-Sec, right? The same C-Sec forces that are right now panicking due to a possible terrorist attack on the Citadel, and may decide to start shooting trespassers on sight?"
Whitley shrugged. "What better way to get started on our investigation than getting shot at by everyone on the Citadel?."
Wrex's laughter echoed throughout the C-Sec offices.
AN: So, a lot to unpack for this chapter.
Miranda (Michelle) and Wrex are here! Now that Whitley has his own squad, it's time for the hijinks and high octane action to commence!
Hannah has a history with Batarian slavers. This'll be explained within the next few chapters. The timeline's a little wonky, and to be honest, most of the fault in that lies with me.
Next chapter features a break in on C-Sec property! Let's see how well or how terrible it goes!
