Chapter 5:

Another night's sleep later, and we were back by the Citadel. Kasumi had come to me, saying the party would be today, this evening, so we'd come all the way back- it would be her only shot at this. Whatever this was.

And her plan included a statue of Saren, hollowed out at the base for my weapons and armor. She'd originally wanted me to play the part of a leader of mercs in the Terminus Systems, but I'd nixed that idea- everyone knew who I was. She'd pouted, but agreed, saying that my reputation as a hardass would come in handy, now that she was thinking about it.

So, really, I would still be playing a part.

...

The party itself went off without a hitch. It was whatever that had alerted Hock to what we were doing in the trophy room, that was the issue. And if I never had to fight another gunship ever again, it would be too soon.

We were sitting in the shuttle, which was taking us back to the Normandy, and she was staring at the black box.

"Kasumi." I called out softly.

She blinked, looking over at me. "Sorry, Shep. I-"

"It's got all his memories, right? That's what you said?"

She nodded, a sad look on her face.

I pursed my lips for a few moments, thinking. "People will come after you, you know. For the information in it." I pointed out. "But I've got faith in you. You'll be able to outmaneuver anyone who tries."

A slow smile spread across her face. "Yeah."

She held it against her chest, before sinking back into the memories for the rest of the trip.

...

We stayed at the Citadel for the rest of the day through to two days after. I wanted to make sure that my crew was refreshed and happy. This was, after all, a suicide mission we were on. I wanted to make sure that no one was too stressed about the upcoming situation, whenever that may be. Kelly was doing her part, and this was the only thing I could think of that I could do.

I spent the time holed up in my quarters, at my desk, looking up amnesia- my search leading me to traumatic brain injuries. It made me wonder if there were any scans of my brain from before the incident.

Toward the end of the first day, EDI announced that Garrus was here to see me.

I quickly minimized the browser, before turning to the door. "Let him in."

He walked through the door, glancing around before his eyes landed on me.

"What can I help you with?" I asked, when he didn't immediately say anything.

He held up a large bag full of water and... fish?

"Kelly said she wanted to put these in your tank, that she would look after them, if you wanted, but she was too busy. So I offered to do it."

"Oh." I jumped up, taking the bag from him and going to the tank.

Pressing a button, the left side opened up- closest to EDI's platform- and I poured the fish into it. When the panel retreated, the fish were introduced to the actual tank. They took to it like... well, like fish to water. The thought made me chuckle.

He opened his mouth, but a ping from his omni-tool interrupted him. His whole body stiffened as he read the message, whatever it was.

"It's a lead on Sidonis." He growled.

"Where is he?"

"I don't know, but there's a guy on the Citadel who made him a new identity. Fade is his name."

"Can we set up a meeting?" I asked.

He looked up at me, surprised. "Yeah."

"Good. Do it." I nodded sharply. "Just let me know when it's done, and I'll join you."

He typed furiously on the keypad, seemingly holding his breath while he waited for an answer. When he got it, he relaxed- only slightly- and told me it had been set up for an hour from now, down in the warehouse district. We hurried on our way.

...

The volus wasn't answering Garrus' questions and was starting to annoy me. And Garrus, too, apparently, because he raised his gun and aimed at one of the krogan bodyguards. As he was getting ready to pull the trigger, I knocked the weapon from his hand, shaking my head. Crouching, I brought myself face to face with the volus.

"Clearly, my associate wants to kill you. If you want to stay alive..." I trailed off, expectant.

He stuttered out where we could find Fade. Harkin, as it turns out. Someone who'd been in C-Sec previously but had been kicked out. So he was now using his knowledge of C-Sec against them to create new identities for people.

Fun.

...

Harkin put up a fight. Rather, he sent mechs and mercs to fight his fight, but it was all good. They went down easily between the two of us. We cornered him, Garrus demanding to know where Sidonis was. Harkin said he'd worked with him and, when threatened enough, went ahead and set up a meeting for us with him. Garrus didn't kill him, thanks to me, but he did kick him really hard where it hurt as we left.

...

I walked toward the turian, who was sitting on a bench. Garrus wanted me to get him out in the open enough for him to line up a shot.

Instead of waving Sidonis over, I approached him, leaned over him a bit to keep him shielded from Garrus.

"Hey, there." I greeted as he looked up at me. "I'm the only thing standing between you and death."

He spluttered incoherently, before trying to push to his feet. I put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him back down.

"You're not going anywhere, until we talk."

"Dammit, Shepard." Garrus' voice filled my ears. "Move, so I can take the shot."

I rolled my eyes, keeping my focus on the man in front of me. "Look. Garrus is here, and he's not all that happy with you."

His eyes widened. "Garrus? Spirits, I've got to get out of here."

"Nope. You're staying put." I smiled. "We're going to talk about what you did. Well. You're going to talk, we're going to listen."

He swallowed hard, before diving into his version of events. And, for his part, he really did look and sound regretful. Like he was suffering. Especially when he spoke of the nightmares that plagued him every time he closed his eyes.

"Garrus." I murmured. "It would be a kindness to kill him." I paused, letting that sink in. "He's suffering far more alive, than he ever will dead."

There was silence, and it stretched on for an eternity- though it was probably only a minute or two.

Finally, he spoke, voice tight. "Just... Let him go."

I patted Sidonis' shoulder. "He's letting you go. Don't let this go to waste."

"Thank you." He looked over my shoulder, at the rafters. Not directly at Garrus, but still. "Thank you, Garrus. I won't forget this."

He walked away, and I watched him until he stepped through the door separating between this section of the floor and the next.

When I got back to Garrus, he was not happy, and did not want to talk about it. Understandably, I kept my mouth shut, splitting from him the first chance I got. As I was going to my quarters, Thane stopped me. Told me he'd gotten a message saying his son was at the Citadel, potentially acting as an assassin, and he wanted my help to find him.

I agreed immediately, of course, and we went to find his contact, which then led us to the C-Sec precinct. Captain Bailey was more than willing to let us interrogate the guy who'd hired Kolyat- the son. So long as we were quick about it.

Elias was dragged into the interrogation room, and Thane pulled me aside to ask how I wanted to do this. I winked. I had this covered and asked him to trust me.

When we walked in, I moved to the head of his chair, leaning in to whisper. "Elias. Do you know what Spectres can do to people?" He froze. "I could do whatever I want to you, and no one would say a word against me. Now. Do you want to just give us the name of who you put the hit out against? Or do I have to relocate you somewhere more... secluded for me?"

"Joram Talid!" He all but shouted.

I pulled back, patting his shoulder. "Thank you so much for your cooperation." Undoing his bindings, I smiled brightly. "You're free to go, now. Buh-bye."

Thane looked at me curiously as we left the room. "What did you say?"

I shrugged. "Just threatened him with how Spectres can do whatever they please, when they please."

...

Kolyat told Joram to get on his knees, before putting his gun to the back of the turian's head. The bodyguard stood off to the side, unable to do anything without risking Joram's life.

"Thane, head back to the precinct. I've got this." I took a deep breath and dropped down from the rafters in front of the duo.

The drell startled, but the turian let out a breath of relief.

"Shepard. Stop this-"

"Actually." I smiled sweetly, sauntering up to him and crouching. "I'm not sure you deserve to live."

"What- But- You can't-"

"Oh, honey." I chuckled. "If he decides to kill you, I can just say he was acting under my orders. And Spectres can get away with anything, can't we? If I were you, I'd either start pleading for my life or start praying to wind up somewhere good."

Kolyat was watching me cautiously, a hint of curiosity in there. I saw the moment he let his guard down, and I took the chance- hitting the gun from his hand. Standing, I patted Joram's shoulder.

"Go on. Get out of here."

He didn't need to be told twice, sprinting from the room a moment later.

The drell was not happy with this turn of events.

"Yeah, you're not happy, and neither is your dad." I quipped, raising an eyebrow at the kid.

"My dad?" He blinked, before scowling. "What? What's he got anything to do with this?"

Walking up to him, I threw an arm over his shoulders, pulling him out the door with me. "Oh, he's got everything to do with this. This whole thing- getting to you, stopping you, saving you from a life of prison or being on the run- was his idea. He doesn't want you following in his footsteps. And before you give me some spiel about how it's your choice, your life- remember that I fight guys like that all the time. And they usually wind up dead. Do you want to wind up dead, with a life that was lackluster because you were always running from place to place?"

He was silent the whole walk, until the precinct came into view.

"No." He finally said. "No, I don't want that."

"I didn't think so." I murmured softly. "Why don't you and your dad have a chat? It won't fix anything, not for some time yet, but it might be good to get a start."

Slowly, he nodded, and we stepped into the room.

"Bailey, can you set up a room for them to chat?" I asked.

"Yeah, I can do that." He waved over another officer, telling them to get an interrogation room ready for pair.

...

When their talk was done, I asked if they wanted to grab dinner. Kolyat declined, but Thane agreed. We watched him walk away, before heading to a restaurant.

The meal was good, the conversation quiet and short. He was mostly in his own head for it, and I didn't blame him. The last few hours had been full of excitement, that's for sure.

As I went to get into the elevator, ready to go to my room, he stopped me. Thanking me and letting me know he was fully invested in the mission. I assured him that if he needed anything else, to just let me know.

Once back in my quarters, I let out a tired sigh and sat at my desk, getting back to the tabs I'd opened earlier. Various brain scans against "normal" ones. More definitions of amnesia, the different types. What could cause them, and how long they typically lasted.

The one that fit me the most was Generalized Amnesia, and it could last anywhere from minutes, to hours, to days, to weeks, to- in extreme, rare cases- months. So, no, it wouldn't be like in media, where the person just needed a good old hit on the head to jog their memory. This was something that affected the brain itself. The only way I'd know for sure, though... would be a brain scan. Which would mean I had to talk to a doctor about why I wanted it done. Even if I didn't give a reason, one look at the results would tell them everything they needed to know.