To anonymous reviewer Guest Z, don't worry. I in no way took your review as a flame, but a simple honest question. So don't worry about it, and I was glad to answer.
To the other anonymous guest who reviewed concerning Vetra and Drack from Mass Effect: Andromeda, I had not considered that possibility largely because I wasn't planning on Andromeda having any major impact on my fanfic. At best, my ideas consisted or consist of Naruto having contact and previous dealings with Vetra, and having the launch of the Initiative Nexus and Arks perhaps be mentioned in news reports. Otherwise no, I wasn't planning on Andromeda characters making any major appearance largely because it really has no impact on my fanfic here. Still, thank you for the ideas and thoughts.
So as mentioned in my Shinobi's Creed and A Simple Mission chapters, my family is currently experiencing financial problems. Because of this, my writing may or may not be delayed. I don't know if it will or not, so I will have to wait and see. And if it does delay me, I don't know for how long. All I can guarantee is that none of my fanfics are abandoned. I fully intend to continue writing every chance I get, when I can. Only utter catastrophe will stop me from writing. So no, these are not abandoned. At worst, they'll be on extended hiatus.
Now, on to the chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect or Naruto. They are the property of Bioware and Masashi Kishimoto respectively. This is a nonprofit fanfic. Please support the official releases.
Chapter 9
The Hearing and
The Spectre
Tali could only curse her choice, as she sat inside the office of Fist, the man who had made the offer to her from the Shadow Broker. She scoffed at the thought of that. She should have known better, known that such an offer was just a ruse.
She had met two of Fist's 'associates' in the marketplace not too far from Dr. Michel's office, and followed them to Chora's Den, a very seedy bar/gentleman's club that belonged to Fist and served as his base of operations. She had felt uncomfortable upon the sight of the risqué clothing worn by the females in the bar, especially the dancers, most of whom were asari, but a couple of them were humans. The men in the bar had leered in her direction, some obviously wondering what she'd look like under her suit.
Thankfully, her escorts had led her further into the bar, past a krogan bouncer and through the stockroom of liquors, before reaching the office of Fist.
Almost as soon as she had entered the room, she knew it was a trap, given the three armed men waiting for her and Fist's knowing smirk. Immediately, the two men who had escorted her grabbed her, one of them seizing her pistol and yanking it away, before she was seated down in a chair.
Fist had just continued to smirk, before ordering his three goons to keep an eye on her, as he left to take care of some business. The three criminals, two humans and a turian, had set themselves up in comfortable positions, each one far enough away that she couldn't grab their weapons, but close enough that they could easily see her movements. What's more, Tali could make out the housing for a pair of retractable turrets located in the corners of the room to either side of Fist's desk.
Judging by the housing, they looked like batarian made automated security turrets, which made Tali nervous about them being turned on her. Batarian weapons had a nasty habit of being designed to inflict the maximum amount of pain and carnage to those hit by their projectiles, though they also tended to be cheap and requiring constant maintenance. Tali knew that she could easily hack and take over those turrets if she needed to, as the onboard VI was usually very simplistic with little more than command codes for activated the turret, extending it, firing, and retracting, as well as a 'friend or foe' detection system. She could easily switch their FoF to recognize her as friendly, provided there wasn't any surprises added in.
The problem was her three guards made that impossible. At least one of them was always at an angle that would allow them to easily see her start to activate and use her omni-tool, so she'd never be able to start hacking the turrets without them seeing. That was her one bit of good news at the moment, was that her omni-tool was integrated into her suit so they couldn't remove it without killing her. Though she didn't understand why they hadn't done so already.
Her answer came when Fist entered the room again. He was an average looking human, with a crew cut and dark eyes, and was wearing a rather flashy suit. Tali couldn't help but think he looked like one of those stereotypical 'gangsters' from the human vids she had occasionally seen onboard the Rayya, before her pilgrimage.
He just smiled at her, as he moved to his desk. "There's someone who wants to meet you. My employer," he said, as he moved to a holographic comm unit and activated it.
"The Shadow Broker?" Tali asked bitterly, glaring at Fist, who just laughed.
"No, someone a lot more dangerous, and who pays a lot better," he said, as the hologram began to waver, before taking shape, becoming that of a turian in an armored suit. The turian's eyes immediately locked onto Tali, causing her to shrink back.
"Is this her?" He sneered, turning towards Fist, who just nodded.
"Yes sir. She managed to escape my boys once already thanks to some do-gooder getting in the way, but I was able to track her down and lure her in," Fist said proudly.
Tali shifted ever so slightly in her seat, as she quietly leaned her head forward inside her helmet, a quick blink of her eyes activating the mute command of her external audio. "Voice command, begin exterior audio recording," she whispered quietly.
Her suit's onboard computer, picking up her whisper, immediately activated the recording program that was part of her suit's systems. Most quarians who went on pilgrimage were outfitted with such programs, to allow them to record images or audio that they could scan or record with their omni-tool. In this case, she now was recording the conversation going on. If for no other reason then perhaps someone would hear it, if they found her body.
The turian nodded, looking in Tali's direction again. "You almost caused me some problems, suit-rat," he said. "Your interference could have caused me annoyances I don't wish to deal with right now. But don't worry. I'll show you the cost for sticking your nose where it isn't wanted. Fist, hold onto her until I arrive. I want to deal with her personally."
"Understood Saren. But what about the data she's got? Should I take it now?" He asked.
Saren just scoffed. "You'd likely never be able to extract it from her omni-tool. No, once she's dead, I'll have my 'friends' retrieve it from her omni-tool. For now, simply keep her there. I'll enjoy ending her existence after I deal with this pathetic hearing the Alliance is demanding," he said, before signing off.
Fist just turned to Tali, shrugging his shoulders. "Tough break there kid," he said, as he sat down in his office chair. "But that's what you get for sticking your nose where it doesn't belong. Should have just minded your business," he added, putting his feet up on the desk.
Tali just glared at him, leaning forward. "How can you betray your own people like that?! He attacked a human colony!"
Fist just waved his hand dismissively. "Why should I care for them? I may be human, but that doesn't mean I'll get heartbroken cuz some farmers got killed. I'm worried about me and my own. And that's the gang working for me, and the customers who pay me. The rest of humanity can go burn for all I care," he said, before dropping his feet down and leaning forward. "But listen…you know you don't have to die. If you hand over that information and promise to work for me, I'll talk to Saren about sparing you. I can use a good mechanic and hacker, and that's what you quarians are good at, right?"
Tali just glared at him, before sitting back. "I'll never work for you," she said as defiantly as she could.
Fist shrugged. "Oh well, I tried. Still, maybe Saren will let me keep you anyways. I can think of other uses for a young female," he said, smirking, as Tali shivered, before he turned to his computer and began working.
Tali slumped back quietly in her chair, looking down and trying not to cry, though tears did start to well up in her silvery eyes. 'Naruto…I'm sorry I ran off…I should have trusted you,' she thought quietly.
C-Sec Skycruiser
Naruto shifted in the backseat of the C-Sec Skycruiser that Garrus had checked out, feeling rather crowded. This could be because he was stuck back there with Ashley and Kaidan, with all three of them decked out in full armor and weapons. Garrus sat in the pilot's seat, with Alicia riding shotgun. "Remind me again why I'm the one stuck back here?" He asked his sister.
"Because I'm the senior officer, my armor's bulkier than yours, and I won when we played rock-paper-scissors to decide," Alicia said, grinning behind her breather mask on her helmet, as Naruto just scowled a bit. Though he did have to admit, she had a point about the armor. His N7 armor was somewhat slimmer in comparison, due to not having reinforced armor plating like hers' did. Instead, it was modified with extra storage space for thermal clips, as well as sensory modules that fed both his weapons and helmet telemetry data to increase his aim when firing his weapons, which consisted of an M-97 Viper sniper rifle, the N7 Valkyrie battle rifle, and an M-6 Carnifex, a rather powerful hand cannon, though not quite matching the power of Alicia's Mustang. He preferred the lighter armor as it allowed him to move quickly and quietly, his best combat traits.
Garrus meanwhile was outfitted with a Predator and a Lancer, both of which were one of several human designed weapons that had become one of the mainstays of the C-Sec arsenal. Both weapons had been modified with grips and triggers more comfortable to a turians tri-digit hand.
Ashley just rolled her eyes. "I actually thought I was done with crowded backseats once I left for Basic," she said, as Kaidan chuckled softly.
"And then you found out they pack you like sardines into your barracks, right?" He asked, as Ashley just sheepishly grinned behind her mask.
Garrus nodded. "There's our stop. We won't be too far from Chora's Den," he said. "If Fist has any contacts in C-Sec, he likely knows by now that his goons sent to Dr. Michel were picked up. So we'll looking at a firefight on our hands," he said.
"Which means we'll need to be careful. We're entering a civilian area, and the last thing we need is to cause an incident," Alicia said. "So everyone check your targets and don't fire blindly. Garrus and I will be first wave, clearing out immediate enemy threats and establishing our foothold in the club. Kaidan, you follow up behind us and give Naruto and Ashley a chance to get in there as well. We'll see the club first, and then proceed further in," she said.
Garrus brought up a holographic display of the club on the cruiser's dashboard. "If our target is still alive, she will most likely be kept here," he said, indicating a room towards the back. "This is Fist's office, and the most likely place he'll keep her. The only thing beyond it is Fist's personal quarters."
The four Alliance soldiers all nodded, studying the display. "Looks like some tight quarters once we're past the main club area. Good spots for chokepoints and barricades," Naruto said, studying the display.
"Thankfully, there's a ventilation system big enough for someone to move through. If we end up bogged down, someone can slip through and try to flank the enemy," Garrus said. "Probably one of you though. Turians don't exactly fit into tight spaces that well," he said sheepishly.
"Right. We've got a plan, now let's get it done," Alicia said, as Garrus piloted the car to parking area for personal skycars and cruisers. The quintet quickly piled out, each one drawing out their primary weapon, and quickly moving away from the parking area. They passed by some civilians, who were wise enough to move out of the way the instant they saw the military grade armor and weaponry, while a few kids stared and gaped at them, amazed at the sight of them.
Garrus stopped at the corner of a small alley way they were passing through, nodding his now helmeted head around the corner. "The club's just around the corner and down the street a bit. We'll be there-," he said, only to be interrupted by the sound of a gunshot, and a couple of people screaming and yelling.
"Well that doesn't sound good," Alicia muttered, as the group split into two teams. Alicia and Ashley moved to the right side of the street, as Garrus, Kaidan, and Naruto took the left side, both teams moving cautiously down the street towards the club. When they arrived, they quickly found the cause of the commotion.
Two turians lay dead in front of the club, one armed with a batarian assault rifle, while the other had a turian shotgun. Both of them were lying in a puddle of orange blood, their chests ripped open by shotgun blasts, as a very large krogan idly leaned against the wall near them, gripping a smoking M-22 Eviscerator shotgun.
The krogan in question was decked out in dark red armor with thick armor plating, and besides the Eviscerator in his hands, he also carried an M-76 Revenant Light Machine Gun on his back. His face was uncovered, though a krogan helmet sat nearby, and so they could see that the right side of his face, neck, and forehead plating were all marked and scarred, evidence of previous battles.
Naruto tensed as he saw the krogan, memories being drawn up of the fight on the Folly, while Alicia whistled quietly. "That is one mean looking son of a bitch," she said.
The krogan turned his gaze away from the club's front doors, and saw them. With a grunt, he lifted himself up from the wall, and grabbed his helmet, before stomping over to them. They started to raise their weapons, but he just waved them off with the shotgun. "I ain't here to fight any of you. Not unless you're allied with Fist," he stated in a deep gravely, yet tired sounding voice.
"Who are you?" Garrus demanded, weapon still raised, as the krogan glared at him.
"Listen kid, you wanna point that gun away from me. I'm not the one you need to worry about right now," he said. "Name's Urdnot Wrex, and I was hired by the Shadow Broker to deal with Fist. Damn idiot turned traitor apparently."
The group looked at each other, before turning back to Wrex. "So what are you doing out here then?" Ashley asked.
Wrex just nodded to the club. "I might be a krogan, but I'm not dumb enough to go charging into a club full of thugs on my own. I was just thinking how I'd get in there after dealing with his bouncers outside, when you all showed up."
"Well…seems we've got a common enemy," Alicia said. "We're after Fist as well."
Wrex nodded quietly. "Hmmmm…would make sense to join forces then," he said. "My people have a saying. 'Seek the enemy of your enemy, and you'll always find a friend'," he said.
Kaidan raised an eyebrow. "Humans have the same saying. Go figure."
Wrex nodded, before looking at Alicia and Garrus, since they seemed to be in charge. "I should warn you though, warrior to warrior," he said, leaning in. "I am going to kill Fist. It's what I was hired to do. If you can't accept that, don't get in my way."
Naruto frowned slightly, taking a step forward. "Is that a threat?" He asked stiffly, as Wrex turned towards him.
"It's a warning. Nothing more," he said. "So who am I working with?"
"I'm Lieutenant Commander Alicia Shepard, Alliance Navy. My brother Captain Naruto Uzumaki Shepard, Alliance Marines. That's Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko and Gunnery Sergeant Ashley Williams, also Alliance Marines. And lastly Officer Garrus Vakarian, Citadel Security."
Wrex acknowledged each of them, before his gaze shifted to Naruto, a new respect glinting in his red reptilian orbs. "So…you're the Crimson Demon, huh?" He asked, making Naruto stiffen. "Heard about what you did. Took on a krogan battlemaster in one on one close combat, and lived. Not many who aren't krogan can say that."
Naruto just stared him in the face. "I prefer not to go into that," he said, his voice emotionless, as Wrex shrugged.
"And you're his sister? The Blue Maelstrom. You're pretty famous too," Wrex stated as he sized her up.
"Don't worry, I'll autograph your shotgun later," Alicia said, before nodding to the club. "For now, we've got a party to crash. Wrex, you mind taking point? Garrus and I will be right behind you."
Wrex just shrugged and put his helmet on, sealing it in place. "Works for me. I'm better on the frontline," he rumbled, cocking his shotgun.
Alicia glanced at Naruto, seeing he was still rather stiff. "You okay?" She asked him on a private channel.
Naruto just nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry sis," he said.
Alicia nodded, switching back to her public communications. "Alright then. Wrex, on my signal," she said.
Inside the club, the only people present were Fist's gang members, as shortly after Tali arrived, he had ordered the club shut down so that his men could handle any C-Sec officers who came snooping around. When he learned about his thugs who went after Dr. Michel also being taken out by a few well-placed contacts on the streets and in C-Sec, he was doubly sure now that a raid was coming.
One of the enforcers, a balding human male, grumbled as he sat at the empty bar. "Can't even get a free drink here now. What is this horseshit?" He griped, looking over at his companion.
"We're on lockdown in case C-Sec tries anything funny while we're holding that quarian bitch. You really want to be drunk in the middle of a fire fight?" He asked.
The first thug was about to respond, when the doors to the club were thrown open, bent in half and ripped off their housings by something. That something being the seven-foot tall, hulking monster of a krogan who had slammed right into them.
Before any of the thugs could respond, the krogan was roaring, his shotgun coming up and blasting the thug who had been complaining full in the chest, practically disintegrating the man's torso with the serrated shrapnel the Eviscerator fired. His friend was drawing his own pistol to fire when rounds from two Lancers ripped into him, dropping him where he stood.
Around the club, other thugs immediately were bringing their weapons to bear, some tossing tables over to use as cover, others ducking behind the bar. One wasn't fast enough though, as a sniper round ripped through his head, splattering his bone shards and gray matter all over his companions.
Wrex was laughing as he brought his shotgun around to another enemy, blasting him with a thunderous roar that sent him flying over the bar in a mangled mess, while Garrus and Alicia quickly got inside, taking up cover and firing at the remaining thugs. Kaidan quickly followed behind, and seeing the thugs were getting organized and starting to fire back, he threw up a barrier around the group, as the bullets bounced off the shield of dark matter.
Ashley and Naruto quickly followed them in, taking up their own cover, as Wrex let out a grin at Kaidan. "Nice shield kid, but let me show you some REAL biotics," he said, before he let out a roar, shrouding himself in biotic energy and rushing out of the shield, the biotics making him move faster than before. He slammed right into a table that a thug had been hiding behind, causing it to slam into the thug and smashing him into the wall with enough force to practically liquidate his skeleton and organs. Wrex just let out that same blood crazed laugh as he brought this shotgun around, barely missing a turian who had popped up to fire.
Alicia began channeling her own biotics, sending out a shockwave that sent a salarian and a human flying from their cover, where they were quickly picked off by Garrus, Naruto, and Ashley. Kaidan followed behind Wrex, firing a throw at a turian who was about to fire at Wrex's back and sending the gang member smashing into a wall, where he was knocked unconscious.
The few remaining criminals, seeing themselves outflanked and outgunned, began retreating back towards the stockroom, with Alicia signaling the squad to move up. Wrex was again the first one to the opening, where he was forced back by the hail of gunfire. "Damn pyjaks got themselves a kill zone here," Wrex said, as the few remaining thugs had a few large crates for cover, and were peeking out to fire from them.
Naruto pulled out his Viper. "I've got this," he said, falling back a bit behind the others and setting himself up behind a table. Lying in a prone position, he readied his sniper rifle, aiming through the scope. He frowned, as the thugs kept popping out a random, barely giving him time to register, aim, and fire. He stopped as his scope panned over a fire suppression unit, packed full of highly compressed fire suppression foam. With a grin, he aimed at that, and fired.
The thugs were all blown out of cover as the unit exploded, the force of the compressed foam being released creating a localized shockwave that sent them flying. One smashed into a wall, his neck breaking and killing him. Another, a turian, was blown into the open, where immediately Ashley gunned him down with her Vindicator. The third and final one, a krogan, was staggered but quickly got his balance back and roared, charging towards them.
Wrex met his charge with his own, the two of them smashing together, the krogan bouncer being knocked back, as Wrex drove his shoulder into him, driving him into the wall. Wrex immediately reared back, slamming his helmeted head into the unprotected krogan's face, head butting him several times.
Pulling back, watching the krogan slump against the wall in a daze, Wrex grinned as he put the barrel of his shotgun right under his chin, and pulled the trigger. Even the thick hide of the krogan could do nothing against a point-blank shot like that, and the front of the krogan's face disappeared in blood, gore, and shrapnel, which sprayed all over Wrex's armor.
Wrex let out a hearty laugh. "Now that was a good warm up!" He shouted, feeling his blood pumping and thrumming through his body as he turned to look at his allies. "Let's get moving. I want some more enemies," he said.
Alicia just shook her helmeted head, quickly moving up next to the sealed door at the other end of the stockroom. "Alright, there's just a small corridor and then Fist's office is on the other side," she said quietly, checking her HUD's motion tracker. Not seeing any enemy movement, she nodded to Kaidan, and pointed to the lock door. "Get working," she said, as the Alliance lieutenant nodded and got to work.
In Fist's office, the atmosphere had changed dramatically. As soon as they heard the first shots and yells from the club, Fist had immediately shot up, grabbing an ornate pistol and indicating to his three thugs. "Get out there and find what's going on!" He ordered, as the three thugs immediately rushed off, while Fist activated the two sentry turrets and pointed his pistol at Tali. "You, up. Hands where I can see them," he snapped, as Tali quickly stood, hope in her chest as she heard the gunfire and yells.
As the noises grew closer, she could sense Fist growing more and more nervous, by the way he kept glancing at the door, the way he twitched at each noise, and his pistol shook. She quietly waited, not doing anything to draw his attention fully back to her, knowing that she might have an opportunity at any moment.
Eventually, everything was silent, and Fist looked towards the door, frowning as he waited for one of his thugs to return, or contact him via their omni-tool. But no response was forthcoming. And that's when the sealed door's holographic display shifted to 'unlocked', and the door opened.
Alicia was the first one in, Crusader shotgun at the ready, with the rest of the squad moving in. Almost immediately the two turrets pointed at them and began firing, forcing them all to dive into whatever cover they could. Alicia cursed as rounds ripped into the couch she was hiding behind. "Garrus, why didn't you tell me he had sentry guns?!" She shouted to the turian C-Sec officer.
"I didn't know he had them!" The turian shouted back, as Wrex grimaced at the sounds of the guns.
"That's not good. Batarian T-57's. Very nasty piece of business," he stated. "We'd be lucky to take one out without someone losing a limb at least."
"Lieutenant, think you can hack them?" Naruto asked Kaidan, who brought up his omni-tool. He began typing in a few commands, only to curse.
"No good, he's got a signal jammer program. The only way to access them is on a specific frequency," he reported, as he tried to find the frequency, or a way to bypass it.
Fist just grinned as he kept the pistol pointed at Tali. "Hah! Is this really the best you could do?! You're all so pathetic!" He shouted, as the guns continued to chew through the cover protecting the would be rescuers. However, with his attention drawn to watching them, Tali took that moment to act. She quickly began typing on her omni-tool, keeping her arms down low so Fist didn't notice. She began accessing her own hacking program, but instead of directing it at the sentry guns, she directed it at his computer. Hacking into it, she soon found the command frequency, and latched onto it, pirating command of the sentries and rerouting it to her omni-tool. She grinned to herself as she suddenly dropped to the ground, activating the command she had typed it.
The sentry guns immediately ceased firing, turning to aim at Fist and firing a short burst each. Fist let out a scream of pain as the bullets ripped through his arms, leaving them both bloody mangled messes, causing his pistol to drop to the ground. Immediately both sentry guns powered down and retracted into their housing.
Fist was still screaming in pain, as the others quickly got out of their riddled cover and Tali scrambled away, retching a bit at the sight of the mangled limbs. As soon as she was clear, Wrex brought up his shotgun, and shot Fist in the head, reducing it to a bloody mess.
Everyone flinched at that, as Wrex lowered his shotgun. "Well that takes care of that," he said, holstering his shotgun. "Better to just put him out of his misery, hmmm?"
"I guess so. Wounds like that, he probably wouldn't make it to a C-Sec lockup," Alicia said, turning to where Naruto was holding Tali, who was bent over, shuddering in horror and disgust at the sight of what she had caused. She turned to Ashley and Kaidan. "Secure the entrance. Let's make sure there aren't any more surprises," she said.
The two Alliance marines nodded and quickly headed to the entranceway, as Garrus and Alicia approached Naruto and Tali. Naruto was helping Tali to stand up straight, as she shuddered.
"You okay?" He asked her, as she weakly nodded.
"I…I've never seen something like that up close," she said quietly. "It…I did that."
Naruto nodded as he made her look at him. "Yes, I know. You did that, and saved us in the process."
Tali just quietly nodded, looking away from him. "I…caused all this though," she said. "I should have waited, should have trusted you. Instead, I ran off like an idiot, and look at what happened."
"To be fair, I think if you refused Fist's offer, he would have just come and attacked you at the clinic anyways," Naruto told her. "He didn't seem to be the type to take no for an answer."
Tali just kept looking away from him. "It's not just that…I knew that the information I had connected to Eden Prime. I knew how important it was to the Alliance. But…I hid it from you, and even after you helped me out, even saved my life, I still chose to trust some random stranger instead of you. I was just a stupid idiot…"
"Okay yes. You made mistakes, but you can't wallow in them," Alicia said, joining the conversation. "Considering what Naruto told me, I can understand you being skittish and paranoid about people around you being a threat, or just using you. Sure, you should have maybe thought things through better and trusted Naruto more, but in the end, we're all here, alive and uninjured. Let's just chalk it up as a win, and move on," she said firmly in a reassuring tone.
"Aah yes, enlightened advice from guru Alicia Shepard," Naruto said with a grin, as Alicia punched his shoulder. Tali blinked, and giggled slightly at the two of them, making Naruto smile at her. "By the way, Tali'Zorah? This is my sister, Lieutenant Commander Alicia Shepard of the Alliance Navy. Alicia, this is Tali'Zorah nar Rayya."
"Good to meet you," Alicia said. "My brother told me a lot about you. Personally," she said, leaning in and speaking in a loud whisper. "I think he's got a huge crush on you."
Naruto just groaned, covering his visor, as Tali blinked. "W-What?" She squeaked out, as Alicia grinned.
"Ignore her. She feels the need to tease and but the shit out of everyone around her. And by everyone, I mostly mean me," Naruto snorted in exasperation, getting a snort from Alicia and an unsure chuckle from Tali.
Garrus cleared his throat at this point, drawing their attention to them. "Miss Zorah, I'm Officer Garrus Vakarian, with C-Sec. I was hoping perhaps to talk to you about an investigation in Saren Arterius. I was assigned to gather information on him after the Alliance demanded a hearing to discuss him being behind the attack on Eden Prime. I was hoping you might be willing to reveal whatever information you've gathered?"
Tali hesitated for a moment, looking at Naruto and Alicia, then back at Garrus. "I'm willing to share that information with you, but only if I'm also allowed to share it with the Alliance," she stated. "They saved my life twice now, and it is at least a start to me being able to pay them back," she stated.
Garrus blinked, before nodding. "Understood. Perhaps we should return to the human embassy then, and find out what exactly you found?"
"Sounds like a plan to me," Alicia said, before looking at Wrex, who was busy raiding a small fridge for alcohol or snacks. "What will you do now?" She asked Wrex.
The krogan stood up from the mini fridge, helmet off and holding a mini bottle in one hand. "Me? Well I'm going to go get paid for killing Fist, and then probably going to raid a couple bars. Celebrate our fun here," he said. "Have to say Shepard, you seem to know how to have a good time. You ever need a bit of extra muscle, give me a call. I'll even give you a reasonable price," he said with a smirk, before downing the bottle and tossing it aside.
Alicia just chuckled. "I'll let you know if I ever need another door busted down. You make a nice battering ram," she said, as they started to leave. As they passed through the doorway and joined Ashley and Kaidan, Alicia looked to Garrus. "You do know we're likely to need a second cruiser now, right?" She asked.
"Oh...yeah," Garrus said, not wanting to try and fit six people into the cruiser.
Alicia just grinned at Naruto and Tali. "Course Tali could just sit on Naurto's lap. I'm sure they wouldn't mind,' she suggested.
Tali just stopped and gaped, sputtering in protest, as Naruto slapped his palm against the forehead of his helmet. "Alicia, I'm begging you. Stop," he groaned out, as Ashley and Kaidan laughed at his and Tali's reaction.
Council Chambers
The trio of Councilors all stood on the platform overlooking the Council Chambers, suspended over a garden with a glass roof, allowing those who stood before the Council to look down at the beautiful, serene vegetation below. Behind them, the glow of the building lights of the Wards cast a faint glow into the room.
Next to them, a large holographic projector currently showed the image of Saren Arterius, the famed turian Spectre. His arms were crossed, frowning, as he looked down at the assembled figures standing before the Council.
Councilor Udina stood at the forefront, with Anderson, Alicia, Kaidan, and Ashley behind him, each in their dress uniforms. Naruto was behind them, standing slightly at Anderson's right side, while Garrus was stood next to him.
Tevos was the first to speak. "This session of the Council has now been called to order. We are here today to deal with claims by the Systems Alliance that the Spectre, Saren Arterius, conspired to not only attack the human colony of Eden Prime, but kill Spectre Nihlus Kyrik. Before we begin, does the defendant have any statements he wishes to make?" She asked, turning to Saren.
"I resent these baseless accusations," Saren stated angrily, looking at the humans. "Nihlus was a close friend and colleague. I would no sooner betray him then I would this esteemed Council," he stated.
"Ambassador? Do you have any statements?" Tevos asked.
"No Councilors. Not at this time," Udina said.
"Very well. Let us begin. Present your evidence," Tevos said, as Valern and Sparatus both shifted their attention now.
"Our first piece of evidence is both the recorded images of Spectre Nihlus's body, as well as the autopsy report," Udina said, indicating to a holographic screen that had appeared on the Councilor's opposite side, as well as smaller screen's appearing on their consoles in front of them. "As you can see here, the ground team from the Normandy recorded the scene where Nihlus was found. To explain what we're seeing, I'd like to call an expert witness on bullet trajectory and body placement, Captain Shepard of the Alliance Marines," he said, stepping to one side.
Naruto moved up next to him, as the Councilor's turned their focus to him. "The Council recognizes Captain Shepard as an expert witness on this matter. Please, begin."
"Thank you, Councilors," Naruto said, before he indicated to the screen. "Both the placement of the entrance and exit wounds, as well as the positioning of the body, is all telling of how this individual died. The entry wound is located at the back of the head, and is a single shot, which rules out that Nihlus was killed in regular combat. We would be seeing multiple bullet wounds across the body, as well as damage to the armor in multiple locations, if the case was otherwise. As such, we can conclude that his death was caused then by either a sniper ambush, an execution, or someone getting close enough to shoot him from behind," Naruto said.
"We can, however, rule out this being a sniper ambush," Naruto said, bringing up a three-dimensional map of the area where Nihlus had been found. "As you can see from the way his body fell, it fell forward when he was shot. This is further corroborated by the fact that his helmet visor shows signs of exploding outward where the round exited his head. This means Nihlus was shot from behind. However, the bullet's entrance and exit holes are level with each other. A sniper rifle could not have done this without being fired from close range, as the terrain behind where Nihlus was found dead is an incline. Any sniper shooting at Nihlus would likely have caused an entrance wound higher on the back of his skull, and the exit wound would be down lower at an angle. Meaning then this was either an execution, or a surprise attack from behind."
The Councilor's shifted a bit, looking at each other. "Which one was it then?" Sparatus asked.
"If we went with the execution theory, then that would mean Nihlus was captured and executed by enemy combatants. Considering that the only confirmed enemies were geth, who would likely not go through the trouble of staging an 'execution' and would simply kill a captive, this would mean then that it was an organic that captured Nihlus, and killed him. However, we can eliminate this as the cause of death, as Nihlus's weapon was still in hand, and if he was a captive, he wouldn't be carrying it. Meaning then that the most likely cause of death was someone being able to come up behind Nihlus, and shoot him almost point-blank range in the back of his helmet. The only way that would be possible would be if that someone managed to somehow sneak up on him completely undetected, or if it was someone that he trusted," Naruto said, before bowing his head and stepping back.
Captain Anderson stepped forward now. "According to the autopsy report, they were able to determine that the entry and exit wound was likely caused by a pistol or hand cannon that was less than two inches from the back of his helm, well within the protection area of his armor's shielding. While we were unable to determine the exact type of weapon used, the wound is consistent with a human or turian based weapon," he concluded.
"I see then," Valern said with one hand on his chin in thought. "While hardly concrete evidence, this does at least indicate that Nihlus was killed either by an extremely stealthy opponent, or someone he trusted."
"But as you said, it is hardly certain evidence that Saren was the one who did it," Sparatus said. "I hope you have more evidence then that."
"Yes Councilor's. We have an eyewitness who stated that he saw the one who killed Nihlus. We forwarded the recording taken by the ground team of his statement to you when we submitted the report on Eden Prime," Ambassador Udina said.
"Yes, we saw that piece of evidence, and while I do find it concerning that he mentioned the name Saren, he was clearly in a traumatized state after what happened. We cannot take his word at face value without corroborating evidence," Tevos stated.
Udina and Anderson frowned at that, while the others didn't seem worried. Saren chose this moment to speak up. "This is nothing but a waste of time. They have no proof that I killed Nihlus or led this attack on their colony. They're simply using this hearing to hide their soldier's incompetence and inability to complete their mission and retrieve the beacon," he said.
Alicia frowned at that, and spoke up. "I was led to understand that the mission to retrieve the beacon was top secret, known only to the Council and the Alliance personnel involved. How do you know about it?" She demanded.
"When Nihlus died, his files on the mission passed to me automatically, since I am one of the senior Spectres. You proved your species inability to accomplish even the simplest of missions, Shepard. You've proven that you and your species are not ready or fit to join the Spectres or the Council, but you hide it behind this attempt to frame me," he sneered.
Udina was about to step forward and yell, only to be stopped by, surprisingly, Alicia. She just gave him a smile, making him blink, before speaking. "Actually…we still have two pieces of evidence left to present, Councilors. Evidence that we very recently uncovered. However, I leave it to someone else to present it," she said, stepping aside and turning. "Garrus?"
Garrus slowly stepped to the front now, nodding to the Councilors. "Garrus Vakarian, Citadel Security Officer Second Class. Councilors, I was one of the officers put in charge of investigating Saren after the Alliance leveled their charges against him. And what I've discovered is rather disturbing."
Sparatus frowned at that. "What did you find, Officer Vakarian?" He asked.
"I was called in when a couple of criminals found on the Presidium were interrogated, and one of them mentioned the name Saren. Upon further questioning, I was able to establish that these criminals worked for a criminal leader known as Fist, who they claim was hired by Saren to track down a quarian girl and to eliminate her. Further investigation led to me to Captain Shepard, who apparently had been instrumental in saving the quarian from Fist's criminals. After meeting with him, I was able to confirm that the quarian in question, one Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, was in possession of what she claimed was valuable information, and was being pursued by more of Fist's criminals. At this point, we also confirmed that she was most likely now in Fist's hands, leading to myself, Captain Shepard, Commander Shepard, Lieutenant Alenko, and Sergeant Williams to attempt to find and rescue Tali'Zorah," he reported, before beckoning over his shoulder.
There was a few moments of silence, before Tali slowly stepped from the shadows, moving past the humans and standing next to Garrus, shifting a bit uncomfortably as she found herself in front of the three most powerful people in Council space, and the holographic image of the man who was trying so hard to kill her. Taking a deep breath, she looked up at the Council. "Honored Councilors, I am Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, recently arrived from the Migrant Fleet. And I have evidence conclusively proving that one Saren Arterius was behind the attack on the human colony of Eden Prime."
The Councilors all focused on her, as Sparatus frowned, his mandibles flaring. "Is that so? And what is this evidence exactly?" He asked, his voice sounding condescending.
Tali felt her confidence take a hit, before straightening up. "I encountered a group of geth shortly after leaving the Migrant Fleet on my pilgrimage, and upon ambushing one, I was able to save some of the data from its hard drive," she stated. "I had hoped it might be some useful information for my people, but what I discovered was something that shocked me. I found this audio recording," she said, accessing her omni-tool, and bringing up the recording in question, before setting it to play.
There were a few moments of silence, and then Saren's voice could be clearly heard speaking. "Eden Prime was a major victory. The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit."
"And one step closer to the return of the Reapers," a female voice said, before Tali shut down the recording, and looked up at them.
The Councilor's all stood there, shocked, before their gaze moved up to Saren. Saren looked quite angry, before pointing at Tali. "You trust this nomadic thief over me?" He asked them. "How do we know this message isn't simply a forgery, designed to humiliate and frame me for the actions of another?"
The Councilors looked back to Tali, who brought up a second message. "Because I have here evidence supporting your attempt to kill me," Tali said, as she began playing the recording she took in Fist's office.
The Councilors could only look on in horror as the message played, and they heard Saren question Fist, heard his threats to Tali, and his final orders to Fist, before it ended. Immediately, Tevos turned towards Saren's holographic display, her mouth open to speak, only to stop as she saw him. Everyone else also turned to the Spectre's holographic image.
The turian was in a fury, rage and hatred evident on his face, as he glared down at Tali and Garrus, then at Alicia and Naruto, before his gaze turned to the Councilors. "You're all fools," he sneered, before his display suddenly shut down, the communication cut off.
The Councilors stood in silence, before Tevos spoke. "The…Council would like to call for a recess, as we deliberate on…what we've heard," she said. Despite it being obvious Saren was a traitor, the Council was still shaken up by what happened, and she wanted to give them time to come to terms with what had happened. Sparatus in particular seemed a bit lost after what had happened.
Udina, sensing they had scored a major victory, decided for the moment to back down. "Of course Councilors. We'll await your summons in our embassy," he said, as he slowly stepped back. The group turned and left the Council chambers, as the three Councilors glanced at each other, before slowly departing for their office spaces.
Inside the lift, Ashley grinned. "Am I the only one who enjoyed seeing him get nailed to the wall?" She asked, as the others nodded. Udina was still frowning though.
"This is a victory, but not the one we want. Commander Shepard's position in the Spectres is still in question," he groused.
"And Saren is still likely a threat. He'll be on the loose now, and he won't hold back now that he's been exposed," Anderson said. "If we truly want to protect our colonies, he needs to be stopped, and for good."
"Let's not forget here though that we wouldn't have been able to take Saren down without Tali's help," Naruto said, as Tali shrunk a bit back against the wall.
"There's really no need for that. I was just making up for my screw ups earlier," she said.
"Nevertheless, we do owe you a debt of gratitude, Miss Zorah," Anderson said. "If there's any way we can repay you back, let us know."
Tali just nodded quietly and shyly. Garrus however was distracted by his omni-tool, reading a message he got on it, and frowning. Kaidan noticed, and spoke up. "Something wrong Garrus?"
"Just a communication from Executor Pallin. He wants me to report to his office. Guess I won't be able to celebrate with you guys just yet," he said, lowering his omni-tool.
As the elevator stopped on the Presidium's level, Garrus got off quickly. "I'll get in contact with you all later!" He called out, heading off to meet with the Executor.
Alicia nodded, before glancing at Tali. "I think we should talk about what exactly we heard in that recording though," she said. "I mean, okay it convinced the Council that Saren attacked Eden Prime, especially when added to everything else and his little disappearing act there. But what about the rest of what he was talking about? What's the Conduit? And the Reapers?"
"I don't know what the Conduit is," Tali said, as she followed her off the elevator, "but I do know from the data I did manage to harvest that the Reapers are some type of machines. The geth apparently revere them because they're some type of ancient AI. Apparently, the geth believe they wiped out the Protheans fifty thousand years ago."
Alicia missed a step at that, stopping and turning back to her. "You're sure? That's what the geth believe?" She asked.
"Y-Yes. Why?" Tali asked, startled by Alicia's sudden focus on her, as the others stopped as well.
"Commander, do you think this is connected to your vision?" Anderson asked.
Alicia nodded. "It makes sense sir. Think about it. That Prothean beacon leaves me with some kind of mission involving machines or something destroying people. I thought it was maybe some type of vision about the geth or something, but it wasn't. Maybe that beacon had an archive of the Prothean's fall, and it was transferred into my head. The vision I'm seeing is of these Reapers wiping out the Protheans," she said hurriedly.
"And now Saren is looking for them? Why?" Ashley said. "Why would he want to find a bunch of machines that killed off the Protheans?"
"He could want them as a weapon," Naruto said. "He doesn't seem to have a high opinion of humanity, so I imagine if he got his hands on a bunch of AI and could somehow take control of them…" he said, trailing off as the horror sunk in.
"He could effectively wipe out anyone he wanted to," Kaidan said quietly, summarizing their thoughts.
"All this conjecture is pointless," Udina said. "What we do know is that Saren is a threat, and he is out there. As soon as the Council recognizes that, we'll get their support in securing the region and hunting him down. All this talk of ancient war machines is just nonsense," he stated firmly, attempting to end the discussion.
"Not when it's the motivating factor for the guy we want to take out," Alicia countered. "We need to understand his motives if we're going to stop him."
"Then you best hope the Council hurries and comes to a decision," Udina said, as they arrived at the Embassy. "Miss Zorah, you're welcome to stay here until such time as you decide what you wish to do next. However, please refrain from going anywhere without an escort," he said, heading off to his office, as the others started to disperse.
Meanwhile, Garrus could only to blink and gape at the turian sitting across from him. "I'm…what?" He asked.
Executor Pallin, the head of C-Sec on the Citadel frowned. "You're suspended indefinitely, Vakarian. Your actions in the Saren investigation were a clear violation of standard protocol. Be glad that I'm only suspending you from the force."
"But…I just helped expose a traitor! A Spectre no less! I was protecting the Citadel," Garrus protested angrily.
Pallin just watched him coldly. "What you did was launch an unauthorized assault on a civilian establishment with unauthorized personnel. You should have called on C-Sec for a Specialized Response Unit, not go charging in with some gung-ho marines."
Garrus growled as he slammed a fist on the table. "With all due respect sir, how the hell am I supposed to do my job if you keep suffocating me with protocols and regulations? We're supposed to be protecting people, not worrying about some bureaucratic bullshit!"
"And how can you protect people when you take matters into your own hands, and go off half-cocked like some blood crazed krogan?" Pallin asked. "There's nothing more to discuss. Turn in your weapons, armor, and badge," he said, turning away from Garrus.
Garrus glared at him, before angrily yanking the badge from his armor and tossing it on the desk. "Yes sir," he said bitterly, before storming off.
The Council took several hours to 'deliberate', before a message was sent to the human embassy, recalling Udina, Alicia, and Anderson at least. The trio quickly returned to the Council Chambers, where the three Councilors now stood again.
"Ambassador, after much deliberation, we cannot deny the evidence that has been brought before us. Saren is a traitor, and as such has been stripped of his Spectre status, effective immediately. However, we have discovered he is not the only one," Tevos said. "The second voice in the recording provided by Tali'Zorah has been identified as Matriarch Benezia, a powerful and highly respected figure within the Asari Republics. It has become apparent to us that she has thrown in with Saren, as our attempts to contact her after we heard the recording all failed. "
"If Saren has the support of one of your…matriarchs, as well as the geth, then he is still a threat, even with losing his Spectre status," Udina said. "If you could send a Council Fleet into the Traverse, we could-," he said, only to be interrupted.
"We cannot launch a full fleet into the Traverse," Valern stated. "We have no idea what Saren's motives are, and this attack on Eden Prime simply could be a ruse to lure us away from his real target. All Council Fleets must be kept in reserve to respond to any emergency that might pop up."
"Councilors, we might have some idea on what Saren is after," Alicia said, stepping forward. "As you heard in the recording, Saren is searching for something called the Conduit, which will apparently allow him to find those 'Reapers' mentioned by Matriarch Benezia. When we questioned her further, Miss Zorah revealed to us that the geth data she extracted had some information on these Reapers. Apparently, the geth believe them to be an ancient race of sentient AI that was the cause of the Protheans disappearing fifty thousand years ago. It's possible that Saren is using the geth to find the Reapers, though we don't know for what purpose."
Sparatus scoffed. "Do you hear yourself Commander? You think he's seeking out ancient AI that wiped out the Protheans? What possible purpose could he have for these Reapers? If they even exist that is," he said, looking to the other Councilor's. "There has been no record of anything like these 'Reapers', not even rumors or myths about them. Most likely they're a ruse for Saren to use to manipulate the geth, if they believe in these things."
Alicia took a deep breath. "There is one other thing. I do not know if the report sent by Captain Anderson mentioned it, but upon my interaction with the beacon, I received a vision, one that showed me fear, death, and destruction. I saw organics being slaughtered by machines, which I thought to be geth initially. However, after hearing about these Reapers, I believe that the vision I'm seeing is something the Protheans left behind. Maybe it's a data archive, or a recording, warning someone of the Reapers."
Tevos sighed. "I'm sorry Commander, but we cannot act upon 'visions'. Unless we have credible evidence, we cannot move into the Traverse against Saren."
"There is something you could do though," Anderson said, stepping forward. "You could send a Spectre into the Traverse, to hunt down Saren. And I do believe that there is a potential Spectre candidate who is already familiar with the details of this operation?"
Sparatus waved his hands. "It is too soon. Shepard has not undergone the full evaluation for Spectre recruitment. We have no idea if she's capable of handling the power and responsibility."
"It's a win-win though for everyone," Alicia said. "You can send me after Saren without sending in a Council Fleet and thus provoking the batarians or anyone else, and the ambassador gets the human Spectre he wants. Everyone here wins," she said.
"She raises a valid point," Tevos said. "Commander Shepard has already proven to be a resourceful and skilled woman, and her actions in past missions show she has the qualities we are looking for. I believe this is the best idea," she said, looking at Valern. The salarian Councilor nodded, before she turned to Sparatus who stared at her for a few moments, before reluctantly nodding as well. "Very well. Commander Shepard, please step forward," Tevos said, as each Councilor activated the console in front of them.
Alicia slowly stepped forward, unaware that the entire event was now being recorded and televised live to every colony and outpost within Council space. Along the balconies overlooking the Council Chambers, diplomats and officials present lined up, to watch this historic event.
Tevos began to speak. "It is the decision of this Council that you, Lieutenant Commander Alicia Shepard, be granted all the powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance unit of the Citadel."
"Spectres are not trained but chosen. Individuals forged in the fires of service in battle, those whose actions elevate them above the rank and file," Valern intoned, arms crossed.
Tevos now took over, speaking next "Spectres are an ideal, a symbol, the embodiment of courage, determination, and self-reliance. They are the right hand of the Council, instruments of our will," she said.
"Spectres bear a great burden," Sparatus said, now taking over. "They are protectors of galactic peace, both our first and last line of defense. The safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold."
"You are the first human Spectre, a great honor and accomplishment for you and your species," Tevos said, the hint of a warm smile on her face, seeing the potential of another race start to blossom.
Alicia bowed her head. "I am honored, Councilors, for your trust and faith in me," she said.
Valern spoke up at this point, as the live feeds ended. "Your first mission as a Spectre will be to enter the Attican Traverse. There you will hunt down the rogue Spectre Saren, and utilize any means at your disposal to apprehend or eliminate him," he said.
"We will forward any information or leads to you as soon as possible. In the meantime, I suggest you prepare yourself for your mission. Your Spectre status will allow you to requisition special weapons and armor if need be, as well as access to the Spectre Offices," Sparatus stated.
Alicia nodded in understand, turning to Tevos who was the last to speak. "As there is no other business at this time, this meeting of the Council is concluded," she said.
The Councilors left their platform, while Alicia turned to Udina and Anderson. Anderson smiled warmly as he held out his hand, shaking Alicia's hand. "Congratulations. This is quite an accomplishment, and one that's well deserved," he said.
"Yes, congratulations. But we cannot stop and celebrate," Udina said, resting his chin in his hand as he thought. "You'll need your own ship and crew if you're going to go after Saren. Not to mention you'll need a specialized team as well to support you. Anderson, come with me. We'll need to contact Alliance Headquarters and begin preparations at once for Shepard's mission," he stated, turning to leave.
"Ummm…shouldn't I be part of the preparations and stuff?" Alicia asked, blinking as Udina just walked off. Anderson just gave her a sheepish smile.
"Why don't you go get your brother and some others, and celebrate becoming a Spectre. Though I'd stay out of some of the back-alley bars. Never know who you'll run into down there," Anderson said, before turning and following Udina, as Alicia stood there.
"…ooookay," she muttered, before heading off, bringing up her omni-tool. They could always try out that Flux club she had seen while they were in the Wards access. Seemed like a promising place. Smiling, she sent out invites to Naruto, Ashley, Kaidan, and Tali, before calling up the Citadel registry info, using it to find Garrus and Wrex and sending invites to them as well.
Research Dig, Therum
Dr. Liara T'Soni frowned quietly, carefully wiping the dirt away from the Prothean artifact that had been brought back to the campsite, her tongue sticking out slightly as she concentrated on her work. The asari archeologist very gently brushed the dirt off, exchanging the brush for a tiny chisel which she used to gently pick at some of the hardened dirt that had crusted onto the artifact. Finished, she smiled as she slowly picked up the artifact in gloved hands, looking it over.
Like all her species, Liara had blue tinted skin, hers being a light grayish-blue in color, with vivid blue eyes, a light sprinkle of freckles across her nose and cheekbones, and a pair of unique markings above her eyes that resembled human eyebrows. She was also very young by asari standards, being only a hundred and six years old. Despite this though, she was already an up and coming member of the archeologist community, with a couple of papers published regarding her theories on Protheans.
And now she was on Therum, taking part in an excavation of the Prothean ruins that had been discovered on the planet almost two decades earlier. She remembered the uproar that had been caused when the Systems Alliance not only discovered the ruins, but discovered a living, breathing person kept in stasis from the Prothean era. How she wished that she had already graduated at the time and could have been part of the team to arrive here shortly after the humans discovery. But now, she settled for being part of the team that was helping to excavate more of the ruins found. Already they had discovered a large elevator in a massive shaft, one that would perhaps lead them to more undiscovered rooms, even perhaps a new research facility.
She let out a sigh as she set the artifact down, and began the process of labeling the artifact, adding descriptions of its appearance to the data entry. As well as preliminary theories on its origin and meaning. With that done, she began to move to the next artifact, only to blink as her omni-tool beeped. Bringing it up, she activated it, finding she had a new message. When she saw the sender was her mother though, she frowned and ignored it, as she had the past three messages her mother had sent. She knew her mother didn't entirely approve of her field of work, believing Liara would be better suited in a career in politics, like she had done. But Liara couldn't deny her passion, her need to find and understand the Prothean culture. And she wouldn't give up her dream just because her mother didn't approve.
Moving on to the next artifact, she felt her mind drifting to earlier that day, when she had been called to the main housing shelter to witness something. She had arrived in time to see a live recording from the Citadel, where apparently the Council had granted Spectre status to the first human ever. Liara had to admit that she wasn't that excited by it, as it wasn't something that interested her that much. Though she would admit that the human in question was rather attractive. Liara had always found it interesting how much humans resembled the asari in appearance, as they were one of the few races in the galaxy that did, alongside the batarians and the drell. But ultimately, while the event was obviously quite a historical one and very important to her human colleagues, she found herself quickly returning to her work after the video ended, while several of her colleagues had begun talking animatedly about what they had witnessed.
She smiled to herself, pushing those thoughts from her mind. Ultimately, it didn't really matter to her what happened with Spectres and the Council. None of it affected her, and she was quite content to continue to plumb the secrets of the Protheans, and prove herself to her colleagues and professors. She hummed quietly as she began cleaning the artifact in her hands, happily in her little world.
Elsewhere, Matriarch Benezia frowned, closing her omni-tool before straightening her dress out and moving regally to Saren's quarters to report to him. She entered, finding him quietly brooding. "You summoned me, Lord Saren?" She asked.
"Yes. Due to the actions of both that damn quarian, and this Alicia Shepard, I was exposed to the Council, and my Spectre status stripped. I want this human eliminated. You have contacts on the Citadel?" He asked.
As she nodded, Saren continued. "Order them to kill her at the first opportunity. I don't want her becoming a problem."
"Yes, Lord Saren. I'll get to it immediately," she said, bowing her head. Before she could leave, he spoke up.
"What is the status of our investment on Noveria?" He demanded.
She frowned slightly. "We have not received a new report from our research team on Noveria. Their last report indicating though that everything was going according to schedule. I will wait a couple more days, before demanding an update report."
"Fine then. Leave me," he said, waving her off.
Benezia nodded and bowed her head, before leaving Saren to his brooding.
Flux Nightclub
"Thanks for coming guys. Glad you all accepted my invites," Alicia said, sitting at a table inside the Flux nightclub. Around them, club music was pounding, as people drank and ate, talking happily with their friends, or getting out on the dance floor and moving to the music. In an upper level, gamblers played on the quasar machines, a game similar to Blackjack from Earth, except in slot machine form.
Sitting at the table with her was Naruto, Kaidan, and Ashley, all in civilian clothes. Garrus was there as well, also in civilian clothing, while Wrex and Tali were both in their armors, the latter because she couldn't leave it, and the former because he didn't want to.
Alicia grinned as she raised her drink up. "First off, I wanted to thank all of you, who helped me to not only expose Saren, but ultimately, help me become a Spectre. Tonight's little celebration is not just about me, but is about all of you as well," she said.
"Heh, I'll drink to that," Wrex said, raising his rather large mug up, and knocking it with the other's drinks, before downing it in one long gulp. The others all drank from their drinks as well, except for Tali, who instead had special tubes filled with water or other drinks, which she introduced to the mouth port of her suit, thus allowing her to eat and drink without leaving or opening up her suit. This also allowed her to carefully filter everything she ate and drank, to prevent illnesses.
As they finished drinking, Alicia grinned at them. "So yeah, tonight we're here to celebrate exposing Saren and me being a Spectre, but I actually did have an alternative reason for asking you all here," she said, causing them all to look at her. "We've all fought together, even if in some cases it was just for one or two firefights. But even so, we've fought alongside each other, and I think we've done quite well. Not only that, but we all have a common enemy: Saren."
"Okay, but so what?" Garrus asked, a little bitter about being suspended still. Though he was doing his best not to let that ruin the moment.
"So, I think you all can guess what my first job as a Spectre is," she said. "I'm going to be hunting Saren down, and I'm going to need a team to help me out. A team that I can not only count on, but is a bit unorthodox and can operate outside the normal procedures. Tali, you're an expert on geth, so you'd definitely be an asset on this. Wrex, you're not only dangerous, but experienced, and that's something that would be a big asset. And Garrus, you've shown calm under fire and pretty good marksmanship skills. My point is, I'd like you three to join me, Naruto, Kaidan, and Ashley in my hunt for Saren. Thoughts?" She asked them.
Tali shifted a bit, finishing up her drink tube. "Well…I was planning to ask if I could join your team. It would be my way of repaying you and Naruto for all you've done for me," she said. "So I guess I'm saying, I accept. If you don't mind," she said.
Garrus leaned back in his chair for a moment, before nodding. "I'm in," he said. "C-Sec suspended me for the assault on Chora's Den, and I'd much rather be out in the galaxy doing good then sitting around doing nothing. So if you'll have me, I'm with you," he said.
Alicia blinked at that. "They suspended you? I'm sorry that our adventure got you in trouble," she said, as Naruto nodded in agreement.
Wrex just huffed, draining his mug. "Let me ask you this, Shepard. We going to have a lot of fights? Good ones, with challenges?"
"I would think so, considering we're probably going to be fighting lots of geth and whoever else is on Saren's payroll. So I'd say so, yes," Alicia said.
"Fine then. Just give me a place to bunk, some good square meals, and plenty of fights, and I'll join up," Wrex said.
Ashley was frowning a bit though. "Not to be a downer, but do you think Udina or the Alliance brass will go for this, skipper?" She asked.
Alicia grinned at her. "I'm a Spectre, aren't I? If I think they're necessary for my mission, there's not much they can say, is there?" She asked.
Ashley blinked then shrugged. "Got me there," she said.
Alicia just kept grinning, signaling for another rounds of drinks. Once the new drinks arrived, she raised her drink. "To the new team!" she said.
The others raised their drinks. "To the new team," they all said.
As they drank, they were unaware of a figure watching them, said figure activating their omni-tool as they watched the group. "Target sighted. Waiting for orders," they said.
"Watch them for the moment. Await for further orders," answered the person on the other side.
"Confirmed," the figure said, before fading into the shadows as they continued to watch the new Spectre and her new team.
So here's the new chapter. Glad I finally got it done. I hope you all enjoyed it.
I'm sorry if the content is not as good, but I'm adjusting to my new situation. I hope this is still good though.
Not a whole lot to say, other than things are…going alright at the moment. Also, I'm contemplating starting my own original story, so we'll see what happens.
Anyways, special thanks to a7xfanatic11 and Kyuubi123 for their efforts in betaing my fanfic.
Till next time!