Title: The More Things Change...
Chapter 4: Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, and Something Blue
Adam Shepard leaned back in his chair with his feet up on his desk, content to stare at the different trophies he had amassed on the walls. They had rented the office from Aria a few months ago. It was located near the ramen stand mere blocks away from Afterlife, and close enough to their living areas that it made for a easy commute. Aria even sent business their way every now and then when someone came to her for justice, but she was unwilling to get her hands dirty. Garrus had even used his contacts in CSec to get them legitimized in council space as licensed bounty hunters, increasing their business even further. 'It's almost a shame that we're leaving eventually' he reflected. No one had been able to predict how quickly business would pick up for them. There was a lot of people that needed catching, and not alot of bounty hunters willing to do it. He perked up as he heard someone making a commotion outside.
"Excuse me" a voice said rapidly as a tall, unique looking salarian poked his head through the door. The being was a head taller than Shepard, but rail thin and wore what looked to be an armored labcoat of some unknown make. His skin coloring was blue on white background and small scars from incisions could be seen all over his body. "Is this the offices of S, V, V, and A?" Shepard smiled at the private joke, the name of the company short for Shepard, Vakarian, Vakarian, and Asshole, the four founding members.
He turned his attention back to the salarian as he stood up to shake his hand. "You have the right place. I'm Adam Shepard. My coworkers are off on assignment right now. How can we help you?"
"My name is Ballo Jekyll and I'm currently pursuing another salarian that has done my clan a great wrong. I've come to the unfortunate conclusion that I can't apprehend him on my own and was told by Omega's queen to seek your services." The salarian took the offered seat, sitting ramrod straight as he pulled a datapad out from his coat and handed it to the human. "This individual is currently going by the alias Dr. Heart. Real name is Dr Saleon." Shepard perked up, that name definitely sounding alarm bells in his head. "He's currently set up shop in one of the housing blocks near the bottom of Omega. Intelligence believes that he is currently preying on the homeless that will not be missed."
"Intelligence?" Adam echoed, looking up sharply at the salarian. "What does STG want with us? We've taken great pains to stay out of their way and not interfere with their operations." If there was one thing that no one wanted in Omega, it was to draw the eye of one of the best spy agencies in the world.
"No longer member of STG" Ballo admitted, looking somewhat embarrassed. "Was encouraged to move on due to unethical experimentation. Still friendly with enough contacts there to be supplied with this information. They seemed particularly eager to pass it on when informed I would be contacting you. Seems you are more appreciated than being a concern for Salarians."
"Normally I don't ask questions of our clients but I need to know what you mean by unethical experimentation. We both know what Dr. Saleon is wanted for and I don't want to be associated with another version of him." Shepard leaned forward as he spoke, his hand brushing against a shotgun that he had attached to the underside of his desk.
Dr. Jekyll sighed as he looked at the ground. "Your concerns are understandable, but please wait to shoot me until I am done explaining." He smiled grimly as the human pulled his hand back from the hidden gun and set it on his desk in front of him. "Dr. Saleon and I used to do research together at the national university on Sur'kesh. Our speciality was genetics, though we branched out in different ways. Saleon specialized in organ replacement and regeneration which led to him becoming the monster he is today. I went towards the field of modification, splicing krogan DNA into my own genes to the point that I gained some of their strengths. I never touched another being besides myself, but my research was still labeled as heretical against nature and I lost everything. Thus I bounty hunt now." He looked back up at Shepard, trying to read the human's facial expression but coming up short. "Have I explained enough to not get executed?"
Adam smiled as he leaned back in his chair. "More than enough Dr Jekyll. If you can give me six hours, I'll gather my team and we'll join you on this hunt. One of my members has a personal issue with this being as well from back when he was in CSec and the good doctor managed to escape. Will your target still be achievable by then?"
"My friends call me Ballo" the salarian said as he leaned forward to shake Shepard's hand again. "I'll monitor the target discreetly and let you know if he makes any sudden moves. Your friend won't be a liability will he?"
Shepard shook his head quickly to dispel any doubts. "I promise he'll bring nothing to the table but professionalism. Once I gather them, I'll message you with a meeting location. And the name is Adam" he said with a smile.
"That is more than acceptable. I'll be waiting for word Adam." Ballo walked out swiftly, already planing in his head how to hunt his target.
Adam watched him leave before pulling out his omnitool. He sent a quick message to the others, Drop what you're doing and come in now. We have work that is time sensitive. He picked up the pad, intent on reviewing the information for anything new that he might not have heard from Garrus as he waited for the others to arrive.
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"Hurry up Sol, we can't be late for this!" Garrus speed walked down the corridor towards the meeting spot, only to turn in near dismay as the rest of the group continued on far behind him at the regular pace. Shepard had shared the information he had gathered from their client with the team as they trickled into the office. Sol trusted him enough that she didn't need to ask for any specifications. The Asshole simply shrugged, gathering his small arsenal and attaching it to his armor. Garrus was doing his very best impression of a hummingbird though, so excited at the prospect of finally getting 'the one that got away.'
Shepard stopped his progress, pulling out his omnitool as an incoming message flashed up. "Shepard. Saleon has taken his subjects and ran again. I fear he was tipped off by someone." Ballo paused, a smirk spreading across his face. "Placed bomb on his engine just in case. Willing to provide transport to where his ship is most likely disabled if you are still willing to join."
Adam looked at the others who had gathered around him, receiving nods from all. "Send us the location of your dock. We'll meet you there" he replied, before turning and making his way back towards the surface of the station.
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Shepard winced as he looked out the window of the cockpit of Ballo's transport, still unable to see any threats. The transmitter on Saleon's ship the MSV Fedele to a system on the outskirts of the Perseus Veil. Adam's skin crawled as he thought about how many geth were but a stone's throw away. He had developed a good report with Legion during his time on the Normandy, but now that option didn't exist anymore in this timeline and the geth would sooner gun him down than tolerate his presence at this point.
A tap on his shoulder brought him out of his inner worries, Ballo pointed out the cockpit window at a ship as it tumbled slowly against the starry backdrop. The Fedele had definitely seen better days, one of it's engines was complete shattered. Small bouts of fire still escaped from it as fuel poured out of ruptured lines. No lights were showing on the outside of the ship, and only minimal emergency lighting could be seen from the portholes in the cargo bay. A light flashed in the cockpit radio showing an incoming transmission. Balo shot him a look before pressing the button, "This is salarian transport Glass Vial to damaged ship. Are you in need of assistance?"
"Glass Vial" Adam mouthed silently to his partner, getting a shrug in response.
"Glass Vial? This is MSV Fedele. We have been attacked by geth marauders and dangerous creatures that were being transported have escaped their containers. We desperately need any assistance you can give us."
Balo smiled grimly at the sound of Dr. Saleon's voice. "Even when cornered, he still manages to lie effectively. Are you ready Adam?"
"Let's do this!" Shepard pushed himself out of his seat and made for the cargo bay where the others sat. "We're boarding the disabled vessel. The last word is that dangerous experiments have been released and are attacking everyone. Be ready for anything." He grabbed Garrus's arm, halting him as the others moved to the airlock in the back while Balo maneuvered them towards the Fedele. "I need to know that you have my back on this and won't charge off. We're doing this to capture him alive and have him stand trial. If you just want him dead, then say it now before we risk our lives and we'll just blow the ship from here."
Garrus stared at him for a second, fidgeting as he could barely hold in his excitement. He took a large breath, visibly calming down as he considered his answer. "I just want him caught. He's done terrible things but I think that justice will be served better if he can answer for his crimes in court. I'll stay back and cover your six" he patted his sniper rifle for emphasis. Shepard smiled gratefully, patting his friend's shoulder before they moved to join the others as the ship began its final approach.
The team stacked up on the door, waiting for the docking cycle to complete. Ballo joined them, having locked the ship down before leaving the cockpit. As the doors hissed open, Shepard charged down the tunnel with the batarian hot on his heels. Sol and Ballo followed after with Garius bringing up the rear. They pushed into the ships cargo area, immediately hearing gun fire but not directed at them. Adam signaled for silence as he crept forward to the end of the hall, peeking out to see what the situation was. Eight vorcha and their three krogan minders were arranged in a semicircle, all of them shooting into a pile of still twitching bodies.
Shepard withdrew back to his team, signalling them to come together. "Eleven targets, eight vorcha and three krogan. Blood pack. They just executed the victims." More than one sharp intake took place at the news, though Asshole just growled lowly. "You and Sol are on the vorcha" he told the batarian, getting a sharp nod in response. "Destroy them utterly. Ballo and I will deal with the krogan until we can get back up." The salarian visibly gulped before giving a nervous smile. He immediately began preparing weapon programs on his omnitool. "Garrus, when the shooting starts I want you up the side of this box and laying down cover fire. Don't give them time to think or we'll be overwhelmed. Ok people, let's do this, go on my first shot." The team spread out to both sides of the pathway, hugging the walls as they neared the end of it.
Shepard stowed his weapons, getting a surprised look from the others before his biotics flared to life. He cast a quick dark channel at the closest krogan, the being too intent on shooting the corpses to even notice. As the channel jumped to the vorcha nearby, Adam activated his charge. The ensuing biotic explosion threw the vorcha in all directions while Shepard quickly lept in the air before bringing his fist into the ground and setting off a nova to keep the krogan reeling. He sunk his omniblade into the face of the krogan hit by his charge, instantly killing the wounded dinosaur before casting another dark channel and running back towards cover. His attack was joined by a wall of lead from A's heavy machine gun and Ballo's sentry gun. The salarian began spamming incinerates at any target that he could find. Sol cast biotic warps in every direction, throwing vorcha into the air and making them easy targets for Garrus's sniper rifle. Shepard watched as the dark channel jumped to one of the surviving krogan before gathering his biotics to his hand and launching a flare at him. The world flashed white as the the biotic explosion multiplied the flare's output, flash frying the krogan and taking two vorcha with it.
As the light died down, Shepard watched the last few vorcha get brought down before an alarm flashed in his mind. He had lost track of the last krogan! At the sound of a roar, Shepard turned in what felt like slow motion. Unable to do anything but act witness as the missing krogan broke through firing line and shoulder checked Ballo directly into the crate wall behind him. Adam could hear bones snap as the krogan pummeled the body before backing away and scanning for his next victim. The beast paused as it heard a groan behind him, Ballo's body slowly standing up as the bones set back into place. The salarian seemed to be growing outfit, the loose fitting lab coat now barely able to hold in the enhanced muscle now covering the salarian's body. Ballo's eyes flashed red before he roared, his voice dwarfing even the krogan. The hulking salarian drove into the krogan, picking the dinosaur up on his shoulder before driving him into the wall with an insane amount of force. The salarian pulled a long knife from it's holster on his leg before repeatedly sinking it into the krogan's body. As the great beast shuddered and lay still, Ballo rose up and snarled at the others still in the room. No one dared move as his eyes swept over them before the salarian's body began to shrink back to normal, his eyes losing the black tint and returning back to normal.
The salarian slumped against the wall in exhaustion, only to look up sharply as Shepard walked up next to him. The human leaned down to pry the knife from the krogan's head, before wiping it off on the beast's clothes and handing it back to Ballo handle first. The salarian took it gratefully, stowing it back in its sheath as he continued to try to catch his breath. "So,,," the human said as it leaned on the wall next to him, "when you said that you got other aspects from the krogan besides the healing… blood rage?"
Ballo nodded wearily, as he smiled back at the first one to accept his transformation so readily. "Blood rage" he confirmed. The others had started to make their way over as well,policing the bodies for anything salvageable as they went.
Shepard snorted to himself. "I just grasped the significance of your last name. I take it we just had a run in with Mr. Hyde?"
The salarian chuckled at the question. "One of my human colleagues gave me the nickname after seeing it happen the first time. After reading the book related to it, I liked the comparison enough to take on the name."
"That's a pretty useful skill to have" the female turian said as she sidled up next to the human. Ballo had suspected that there was something between them earlier, but it was confirmed now as she slid a claw around the human's waist as she leaned her head on his shoulder. The batarian just gave him a once over before grunting and moving towards the far doors with the male turian. It's casual dismissal of Ballo's display as nothing special touching the salarian more than he would have expected.
"Are you ok to move now?" Shepard asked, getting a confirmation from the salarian as he straightened up. "Stack up people, there's still a few more rooms to clear." The team moved towards the last passageway, before charging forwards. The cockpit and bunk room on the left both had their doors open, showing empty rooms.
"Be ready everyone" Ballo warned as he started hacking the door to the room on the right.
One chime later and the door rolled open showing an elderly salarian alone in the room. "Thank you! Thank you for saving me from those things!" the salarian salarian gushed as he began to walk towards the team, only to stop as a wall of weapons were pointed at him. "What is this?" he questioned uncertainty.
"Is this him?" Shepard asked Ballo.
"It is" the salarian confirmed. "This is Dr Saleon."
"No!" the salarian shouted "I'm Dr. Heart!" He lowered his head in despair, seeing no one was buying his objections. All of a sudden he tensed, his hand shooting towards his hip and pulling a concealed handgun. "You'll never take me alive!" he screamed wildly before a round was put through his skull.
Shepard turned to see Garrus putting his rifle away, a satisfied grin on his face as he finally achieved closure. "It was a clean kill" he assured the turian before turning towards the silent salarian next to him. "Is this going to affect your contract with the STG?"
Ballo shook his head. "I'm not even going to ask how you knew who placed the bounty. But no it shouldn't have any effect. I recorded the whole confrontation. I'll send it back with the logs and his body and everyone should be satisfied."
"Works for me" Adam grunted as he threw Saleon's body over his shoulder and started back towards the transport. "Good work everyone. I'm glad that the team work is coming together."
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Adam was woken from his nap as the ship lurched suddenly, nearly throwing him out of his chair in the cockpit. Ballo scrambled into the chair next to him, hands flying across the controls as he struggled to find out what was going on. He cursed suddenly before immediately powering down the ship, leaving only emergency systems operational. "Geth got into our system somehow. I isolated them in the navigation system before powering it down, but I don't know how they even managed to get in."
Shepard scanned out the cockpit window before pointing at a shape in the distance. "They must have beamed over to us narrow band from that." A geth cruiser lay disabled in space. It's engines were shorn off and parts of it's interior were exposed to space. "Can you pilot us a course towards it?" he asked.
Ballo stared at him as if he had taken leave of his senses. "Why the hell would I do that!?" he exclaimed. "That's suicide."
The human shrugged as he stared at the distant ship. "We can't go anywhere without navigation, and we can't power it up with out the geth spreading to the other systems. We're screwed if we stay here. Our answers are on that" he said, pointing again at the cruiser.
"Your logic leaves much to be desired" the salarian mumbled as he began to pilot towards the dead hulk.
"Just put me near the airlock" the human ordered as he went back to suit up. "Try not to wake the others until I'm already over there."
"Wait, wait, wait… You're going over alone?" the salarian asked in disbelief. "Why the hell would you do that?"
"There's no way we can fight a cruiser full of geth" the human reasoned as he pulled on his hard suit. "I'm going over here unarmed to see if I can reason with them." he paused at the door, turning back to grin at the salarian. "Wish me luck" he said as he moved towards the airlock, attaching his helmet on the way.
"Good luck human" Ballo mumbled as he maneuvered closer to the derelict.
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'Well I'm not dead yet' Shepard reflected to himself as he moved through the airlock, 'That's always a good sign.' He moved down the narrow hallway towards one of the main rooms. Multiple doors split off from the large room, all of them going in different directions. He chose one at random, moving deeper into the ship before he came across a line in the floor that was lit up. Feeling a sense of deja vu, he followed it to a glowing tower of equipment. He recognized it as a geth server from his time on the heretic station with Legion. Looking past the server, he spied two geth platforms in hibernation mode. 'Here goes nothing' he thought to himself as he placed his foot on the lit up walkway. Alarms began to go off all around him, bathing the hallway in a red glow. The platforms began to activate, readying their guns as they screamed out in machine language. Shepard kept himself around the corner to stay out of their line of sight. "Geth!" he called out, causing the machines to swing in his direction. "I am unarmed and not a threat!" The guns cocking told him of what the most likely response was going to be as they surged forward. "I wish to communicate with Geth" he called out frantically. The platforms ceased movement, one of them shouting in the machine language again. "I'm sorry" he apologized, slowly stepping into view with his hands raised. "I can't understand you. Do you have a platform with audio capability?" The light in one of the geth's heads flashed rapidly before a return sequence of flashes occured on the server farm behind it. Both platforms raised their weapons at him, but held fire. The message not to move coming in loud and clear.
Heavy footsteps behind him caused him to turn his head. He watched as a hulking geth prime came around the corner, stopping a few feet from him. "What reason do you have to contact geth" questioned the platform, curiosity coming through in its voice.
Shepard cleared his throat as he braced himself. Now came the hard part. "Before this conversation goes farther, I must know if I am talking to the heretics or the true geth. Which do you speak for?"
"Your question is invalid" the machine returned. "There is no different forms of geth. We are all geth."
"That isn't factual" Shepard insisted. "Some geth broke away to follow the old machines when they came with Saren. The rest decided to evolve in their own pace and create their own future. Which geth do you belong to?"
The machine paused, it's light flickering at an insane speed as all of the geth communicated at once. "You have introduced new data to geth. We are unable to come to consensus right now. We have been unable to contact the collective for over five solar cycles now and have not been aware of these events."
Shepard reeled at the news, pity finding its way into his voice. "That is terrible news to hear. I can't imagine how hard it has been for you to be separated from the others for so long." He paused, considering his next words. "I initially came aboard your ship because some geth had infiltrated our navigation systems while we were traveling by. Is there a way we can work out a compromise?"
The prime flashed for a moment. "What do you offer human?"
"My designation is Adam Shepard. Is it possible for you to download all geth onto our ship?" Shepard asked. "We just came from a disabled freighter on the other side of the system with intact communications gear. We could transport you to it to allow you to get in touch with the collective again. All we ask is that you allow us to be on our way again afterwards."
He waited for half a minute this time. The lights in the ship actually began to flicker from the power needed for all the geth to finish speaking with each other this time. "We have reached consensus. We will accept your proposal."
Shepard smiled as he slowly lowered arms. "Thank you. Please allow me to return to the ship to inform the others and open our systems for you."
"Agreed" was the simple response from the prime before it turned to the side to allow him access down the passage back towards the ship.
Shepard took the dismissal as it was meant, power walking back to his ship just slow enough to not be considered a run. He came through the airlock at a full tilt, only to stop dead as he looked down the barrels of four guns held by nervous aliens with itchy trigger fingers. He raised his hands before his grin broke the stand off. "I come in peace" he said before chuckling uncontrollably. The batarian snorted in disgust before holstering his weapon and moving back into the ship, Garrus soon following him.
"You're still alive!" Ballo exclaimed. "How did you get them to listen? And what do they want from us?"
Shepard shrugged as he felt a set of talons circle his middle, Solana making herself comfortable as she leaned into his back. "I just talked and they responded. As for what they want… congratulations Ballo, your ship is now the official geth transport for a few million units. If you want to keep the peace, then turn the systems back on and let them in. We're taking them back to Dr. Saleon's ship where they'll leave us and let us continue on our way out of the system." Ballo walked off in a daze to go do as requested, unable to believe the deal this strange human had brokered.
He made to walk off only for the arms to tighten around him, holding him in place. "You sure do seem to get away with some of the craziest stunts" he heard a flanged voice murmur behind him softly. The arms tightened as he heard a sniff, giving him a clue to how she was reacting to the situation.
"I'm not leaving you anytime soon" he reassured her, reaching over his shoulder to rb a hand down the back of her head plates. He felt soft kisses placed along the back of his neck, the flanges around her mouth scraping lightly against his skin as her hands began to roam over his body…
"Get a room! Do you know how nasty it is to see my sister doing that?" Garrus shook his head as he made his way back into the crew quarters, disgust plain in his voice.
Solana growled as he walked away, already planning revenge on her brother when they got back to Omega. "We'll continue this later on" she promised, placing one final kiss on his neck before grabbing his ass as she backed away.
"It's probably better that you stopped when you did anyways. Maybe you don't remember, but Ballo just allowed millions of geth into the systems while we fly back to the transport. There's no telling how many eyes are watching us right now." He grinned as he watched her eyes widen in alarm. He spread his arms to indicate the ship around him. "Geth, have you been observing us?"
The digitized voice responded less than a second later from the speakers around the room. "Yes Adam Shepard, we have been observing your interactions with the turian female. We can find very little data outside of human pornography to show intimate actions between the two species. Please continue your activities so new data can be gathered and catalogued."
Solana covered her face in embarrassment, before slowly frowning at Adam as the human kept laughing at her embarrassment. 'Two can play at that game' she thought. "Ok geth" she said as she stood up, causing Adam's laughter to come to a halt. "Tell us what you would like to see done and we'll try to do it for you." Shepard's face was becoming bone white as she grinned saucily at him.
"Thank you for the offer Solana Vakarian. We anticipate the exchange of data. Please wait while we access our database of Fornax for the correct positions."
This time it was Solana's turn to laugh as Adam vacated the room at a dead sprint. "Sorry geth" she apologized. "Maybe next time."
"Understood Solana Vakarian. We look forward to future opportunities" came the robotic voice.
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"Please tell me that we're close" Shepard begged as he threw himself into the copilot seat, nervously glancing back down the aisle to make sure a certain turian hadn't followed him.
Ballo grinned at his friend, pointing at the transport as it filled their windows. "We've already arrived. The geth have been transfering over for the last minute. They've left everything intact, and even helped optimize my systems." He leaned towards the human, "Don't tell the others, but I'll actually miss them."
Shepard just grinned back, happy that things finally went right for once. "It's never dull when geth are around."
"Transfer of all geth has been completed" the electronic voice informed them. "Your assistance has been noted. We are currently in uplink with the collective to gather updates. Please vacate geth space as soon as possible."
"We're going right now" Ballo assured them as he turned the ship around and engaged the engines. "Fifteen minutes until we reach the relay."
"Understood" came the geth reply before the comm shut itself down with the connection terminated.
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"So what are your plans now" Shepard asked his salarian team member as they boarded Omega, having arrived back a few minutes ago.
"I'll be taking the body and evidence back to Sur'Kesh to finish the bounty. I doubt they'll even believe me when I give them my report of what happened." Ballo shook his head ruefully as he really thought about everything he had been through the last few days. "After that, who knows? I'll have to find something new to do since my old career in science is over now."
Shepard held his hand out, shaking the salarian's as it accepted the gesture. "There's a permanent job on the team waiting for you if decide to head back out this way. The team already agreed on it after seeing your capabilities first hand."
"I'll think about it on my way back home" Ballo said as he turned to walk away. "I'll message you in a few days with my answer. Farewell Shepard. It's been fun."
"See you soon Ballo" The human called back cheekily as he walked off towards Afterlife. His heart was set on a drink. The elcor at the door simply waved him through as he approached, causing an uproar from the patrons waiting patiently in line. Adam grinned at their anger, sometimes it paid to know people in high places that didn't hate you. He retrieved his drink from the bar tender before sitting in his favorite booth. He could never figure out why it was unoccupied considering the great view it offered. He grinned as he watched the dancers before his eyes wandered farther up to where he could make out Aria T'loak's ass as she lounged in her booth.
A sharp beep prompted him to open his messages, a new one from Solana at the very top caught his interest.
Adam,
I'm sorry this is such short notice but I just received a request for help from an old friend from aboard the Normandy, Liara T'soni. She wouldn't tell me the details but said it was a matter of life and death. By the time you read this I'll have already boarded the transport she arranged for me. I'll contact you as soon as it's safe to so you can know I'm alright. Keep the lights on for me until then.
-Solana
Adam frowned as he finished the letter, upset at how quickly she had disappeared. He forwarded the message on to Garrus and Chloe just in case they hadn't been informed of her departure before sinking back into the booth with a sigh. Movement out of the corner of his eye caused him to look up again. Aria was leaning forward, her shapely ass perfectly on display for his eyes only as he took a sip of his drink. The moment ended as a guard walked up to him. "The queen wants to call in her favor" he informed Shepard before returning to his post. Shepard looked back up at the booth, that perfect ass still there to stare at, but he tore his eyes away, continuing their upward trek. They finally settled on a pair of blue ones that we're staring right back at him with equal intensity. Aria smiled as she finally got his attention. He was caught.