Chapter 44
Comm Room – SSV Normandy SR1
"So, what the hell do we do now?" asked Williams as she sat with one leg crossing her knee.
Shepard looked around the room. Two of the seats were empty, meaning Wrex was probably in the gym destroying their punching equipment. She couldn't blame him. But at the same time, holding onto old grudges was something she was tired of seeing in the galaxy. Sighing gently, she reached up and rubbed her head in frustration.
"We got good information and bad news. We still aren't any closer to finding out what the hell Saren is doing, why he wants this key, what it does, and what his overall goal is," she said as she leaned back in her chair. "I refuse to believe that someone as smart as Saren is doing what he's doing simply because he's evil. There has to be some motive."
"What about the good information?" asked Ash curiously.
"We know that what Saren is looking for is on the other side of the Mu Relay, which we now have the location of. That narrows down our search immensely, but there are still too many places to search out there. It'd take years using the Citadel Fleet to try and search every area," she said as she opened her omni-tool.
Garrus blinked for a moment. "That's some… interesting news. I wouldn't call it good."
Nodding, the commander opened her omni-tool, allowing a small hologram of the ship from Eden Prime to appear. "Well, we know that Saren's followers aren't necessarily following him because he hired them, or because they believe him in some capacity as well. This ship, which Benezia called Sovereign, projects a signal to anyone who comes near it. This signal slowly chips away at their will, effectively brainwashing them into servitude."
Ash's eyes widened at the claim. She looked at the ground for a moment, as if remembering something, before locking eyes with the commander again. "Like those farmers said, that loud signal!"
"Exactly. As we all know, Saren isn't exactly the most charismatic person in the galaxy. This ship is why he has been able to gather followers. And this ship is why Benezia turned from an asari matriarch into… whatever she was," said Shepard, careful with her words around Liara.
"She was made a slave. My mother was one of the most powerful biotics in the galaxy and stronger willed than anyone! If she was turned, anyone can turn," said the asari as she clenched her fists.
"But… how do we destroy it?" asked Tali, who was now nursing her leg which had been patched up further by Doctor Chakwas.
Shepard shook her head with a deep sigh. "I don't know. It's massive, bigger than even our biggest dreadnoughts. And on Eden Prime it landed on the surface. The kind of engine it would take to pull a ship that colossal out of the gravity of a planet could have enough power to destroy the Citadel if it wanted."
There was an awed silence around the comm room as Shepard's foot bounced up and down in irritation. "So… about the rachni…" started Garrus from the side. She looked over at him sternly but nodded for him to continue. "I know we've had this talk a dozen times or so about not blaming individuals for the mistakes their species made in the past. But was it really a good idea to let a rachni queen loose in the galaxy without some kind of overwatch?"
"I understand your hesitation, Garrus. And believe me when I say that I thought the exact same thing. However, the rachni I spoke with wasn't like the ones we fought before. And if she was dangerous, she had plenty of opportunity to cook our minds when she was freed. I genuinely believe she just wants to help her people start over," said Shepard as coolly as she could.
"Alright then. I trust your judgement, Shepard. I just hope this doesn't come back to sting us," he said as he sat back with his hands on his knees.
"You and me both," she said as she rubbed her eyes.
"Oh Sheeepard!" came Joker's voice over the intercom.
"What is it, Joker?" she asked as she looked up at the comm on the ceiling.
"A call from the Council is coming through. They seem eager to chat with you," he said jovially.
She could hear the smirk in his voice and couldn't tell if his uplifting tone annoyed her or made her want to laugh. "Everyone, dismissed. Tali, get some rest for your leg. Liara…" she said as she turned to the asari who was about to leave the comm room. Liara turned to her curiously. "Tell me if you need anything."
Giving Shepard a glowing smile, the asari nodded. "I will, Shepard. Thank you." Squeezing Shepard's hands gently, she turned and left the room with the others.
Sighing heavily, Shepard stepped up to the comm. "Give the go ahead, Joker. Let's get this over with."
In a matter of seconds, all three of the councilors appeared in holographic form in front of her. Right off the bat, a flustered Tevos began the conversation. "Is this report accurate, Shepard? You found more rachni on Noveria?"
Without letting Shepard answer, Sparatus cut in. "And then released the queen!? Do you have any idea what you've done!? How many generations until they overrun the galaxy?" he snapped angrily.
She gave him the usual 'I have better shit to do' look. "Had you read the rest of the report, Councilor, you'd have noticed a bit more important information relating to the rachni."
This time, Valern stepped in. "I noticed that. You said here that the cause of the attacks in the Cerberus facility and within Peak 15 were because the individuals involved removed the eggs from the queen before she could teach them anything," he said as he looked up from the report. "You believe that had these lesser rachni not been separated, they would have been more amenable to talking?"
"I can't say for sure. I don't know how intelligent the lower ranking members of the rachni are. They may not talk with us at all. However, they wouldn't have attacked us had those scientists not separated them from the queen. She can speak to us, and was sad, but understanding about why we had to wipe out her children," said the spectre as she placed her hands on her hips.
"And what about the Rachni War? Hmm? Did she also understand why that was necessary?" asked Sparatus scathingly as he tapped his talon against his folded arm in anger.
"When she tries to see into the memories of those during the war, all she sees is darkness and shadows. She believes that her kind were infected with something she described as a sour, yellow note," said Shepard as she faced the turian. "She also said that Benezia had the same note ringing in her head as well."
"What is this note she spoke of Spectre?" asked Tevos politely.
"I can't say for sure, but as you read in the report, the reason why Benezia went rogue is because Saren's capital ship emits a signal that slowly erodes your free will. Benezia was one of the most powerful minds in the galaxy, Councilor. If she could be turned by this indoctrination, it's not too far-fetched to believe that it could turn the rachni," she explained casually.
"But that would mean Saren's ship has been around for at least two thousand years. That's impossible! No ship could last that long!" snapped the turian.
"The Citadel has. And all the relays have. They are proof that constructs built correctly can last a lot longer than we are capable of now," she said smartly before shrugging. "Regardless, I released the queen because I thought the rachni deserved a chance to make things right."
"That is not your decision to make!" growled Sparatus as he pointed to her. "You should have contacted us immediately! And then, IF we decided to free her to breed again, then we would do so under our supervision! They are a dangerous species and cannot go unchecked!"
"See, normally I'd agree with you Councilor. But I also know that Citadel Space has a bad habit of holding grudges much longer than they are necessary," she said as she aimed an icy stare at him. "Tell me, Councilor, what kind of restrictions would you have put on the rachni? Perhaps infecting them with a gene-altering plague that lowers their birthrate, resulting in millions of miscarriages a year? Or maybe you'd take their rights to colonize away and leave them floating in space with nothing between them and death except the hull of a two-hundred-year-old ship."
His eyes narrowed dangerously at her. "Choose your next words carefully, Spectre."
"My words have been chosen. Had you spoken to the rachni, you'd have understood. But I know you better than that. I know Council Space and its allies better than that. I know how they would have reacted to a live rachni queen. She would have been put into another cage with tests, needles, and a backup protocol that would have killed her on the spot if she tried to defend herself against being some science experiment," she said as she snorted. "That is why I released her."
"And what if the rachni repopulate and do end up waging war on the galaxy again?" asked Valern with concern on his face.
Shepard shrugged, giving a half smile to the salarian. "Well, then I guess the Council will have to actually solve their krogan problem instead of running away from it."
"Hmm…" responded the salarian absentmindedly as he looked down at the report. She wasn't looking at him, but she had to keep herself from laughing as Sparatus walked out of the holograph entirely with his hands thrown up in frustration. "What about this Mu Relay. You said that whatever Saren is looking for is on the other side," he read before looking up at her. "You are certain of this?"
"Certain? No. But it's what Benezia told us is the case. To be honest, it could be a goose chase to keep us off of Saren's tail. But if it is, it's not a very good one," she responded as she scratched her head.
"Why is that Spectre?" asked Tevos curiously.
"Because the other side of the Mu Relay could have hundreds of systems with lord only knows how much crap in between them. Whatever he's looking for could be anywhere in that region, and nobody with any brains is going to pack up and go looking without some kind of clue of where to look," she said, her tone now much more polite now that the turian had left.
"I see. Well, we've more than covered the topics of the report, Spectre. I hope to hear more progress soon," said Valern as he gave the salarian greeting. Then, he too vanished from the holograph.
Tevos looked away from Shepard, seemingly watching Valern leave before finally turning back to Shepard. "I don't know if humans and turians were divinely designed to be complete opposites or if it was some kind of galactic chance that did it, but I feel like you and Sparatus are going to be gnawing at each other's throats until the heat death of the universe."
Shepard chuckled lightly at the remark. "Honestly, I feel like I'm a bit hard on him sometimes. He's very emotional and that's easy to take advantage of. But at the same time, he's in a seat at the height of galactic power. If someone can't control their anger when confronted with bad news, then I don't know why I should have to tip-toe around him."
"Your motives behind everything you do betray someone much smarter than you're letting on," said the asari with a small smirk. But her smile vanished an instant later. "So… how did Doctor T'Soni take it?"
Shepard sighed heavily and shook her head. "She cried from Peak 15 all the way back to the ship, and even cried some more in her room. She said before that she and her mother weren't close, and that she knew what had to be done, but every second she spends mourning I feel more and more guilty for putting her in a position where she had to do it herself."
Tevos nodded wisely before clasping her hands in front of her. "Grief is much easier to deal with when there's closure, Jane," said the woman as Shepard looked up at her in surprise. "Had you left her on the ship, or not taken her to meet Benezia, she would have lived every day of her life wondering if she could have saved her. You gave her that closure in not only taking her to see what she had become, but in allowing her to do what had to be done herself."
"I… see…" said the spectre, the weight on her shoulders feeling a bit lighter.
"She will mourn of course, but once she has come to terms with it, she will be happier knowing that you trusted her, and allowed her to handle it," said the asari.
Shepard was silent for a second before pointing at the asari. "Hey, Councilor, have you ever thought about becoming a psychotherapist?"
Tevos giggled in a way Shepard had never seen before, making even her smile widely. "It had crossed my mind. I do have a degree in psychology, as well as osteopathic medicine. However, as you know, politics runs in the family."
"Of course. Wouldn't want to disappoint the judge," said Shepard with a smile, knowing that she was guilty of the same thing with her own mother.
"Indeed," said Tevos as she nodded. "Well, Shepard, I hope future missions are kinder to you and your crew. After the injuries you reported, I'd say you deserve a rest."
"Thank you, Councilor," said Shepard as she bowed her head.
"Send the schematics you took for that geth weapon to Valern as soon as they are completed. It'll cheer him up as well," she finished before finally fading out of existence.
Inhaling deeply, Shepard let out a heavy breath before turning around and leaving the comm room.
Citadel Security Headquarters – Presidium – Citadel
Despite her heavy activity during the last mission, the young quarian felt almost bored on the ride back. She received further treatments from Doctor Chakwas when she had gotten aboard the Normandy again, but other than that and a few small conversations with Val'eda, she had little to do besides sit in her bunk and watch some holovids or exercise.
Joker would occasionally make conversations in the mess hall, and she had to admit, he was fun to talk to. His nickname implied he was supposed to be someone who makes people laugh, so she understood why he was funny. But she even found her conversations with him to be a bit distant. It took her a while to realize why, and she felt herself flushing in embarrassment when the reason slapped her in the face.
She missed his stupid, handsome, rugged face. Ever since Shepard had freed the Alliance representative from their biotic kidnappers, the lieutenant had been on the Citadel working to make sure the man did his job in helping those who needed it. She smirked as she wondered if he would someday be standing before the Council, trying to get them to help her and her people as well, but she pushed the impossible fantasy away as she grew annoyed with herself.
She'd had crushes before. When she was ten cycles old, she found herself following around a young quarian that was preparing himself for marine training. It would aid him in his pilgrimage, he would say constantly, and she would visit him in the gym frequently to see him lifting weights. She offered to help him, and he thanked her frequently. But her father had specifically told her not to get attached to anyone until after her pilgrimage. A warning that was well thought out, she found, after he left for his pilgrimage, and came back months later. She messaged him excitedly, welcoming him back, but his responses showed a minimum of interest, and eventually stopped coming all together.
It was disappointing, and she was hurt by his lack of effort. But she grew out of it eventually and began focusing on her own pilgrimage to come. As she too began to prepare her body for the journey, she found another young girl following her the same way she followed him. She felt her ego swell slightly, but knew better, and instead gave the girl the same warning her father gave her.
Now, she couldn't help but feel like she was falling into the same trap. She found herself wondering what would happen after her pilgrimage was over. Would she return to the Migrant Fleet immediately? Would Kaidan come with her? She shook her head at the question. She could never ask him to do such a thing. Not only would he be wildly out of place, and potentially mistrusted by the other quarians, not because he was human, but because he was courting an admiral's daughter. He could never leave his suit on the Fleet, wouldn't be able to see his family for years at a time, and the admiralty could very well send him on another ridiculous mission to keep him away from her. She knew that admirals had a bad habit of doing that when they found someone courting their children that was less than desirable.
So, that answered that question. But then came the question, would she leave the Fleet for him? Could she even leave? She knew there were special occasions in which quarians were allowed to be outside representatives. Such was the case with Yasa'Pari, who was gifted a permanent leave because she contributed to the fleet more outside of it than she ever could have inside. But what could she offer the Fleet that would allow them to treat her with the same reverence?
Sighing to herself, she exited the Normandy with the others onto the docking bay and stepped into the elevator leading down to C-Sec Headquarters. She knew that Kaidan had put some measure of thought into this as well, given their conversation before they were both arrested. She found herself appreciating his forethought more than ever before, despite the fact that she had brushed it aside.
As soon as the elevator door slid open, however, all thoughts of the Fleet vanished in a puff of smoke as she saw his handsome face waiting on the other side for them. "Well, Shepard. I heard you made some hell for Binary Helix on Noveria," he said, his eyes almost immediately zeroing in on the quarian.
She couldn't help the smile that split her face as he did. "You're not wrong. And I'm going to make even more hell for them back here," said the spectre with a smirk as she stepped off the elevator and into the bustling headquarters.
As soon as she stepped up to him, he looked down at her with a grin. "Heard you had some fun too."
"I'm not sure what this… raising hell is. But I assure you, they won't be underestimating quarians ever again," she said with a glowing smile as she looped her arm around his strong bicep.
Shepard turned to the others and gave out the orders. "You have twenty-four hours to get your orders in affair before we head off for Thessia. Watch your comms," she said to the entire crew before heading off with Ash chatting her up as they went.
Kaidan turned to her and nodded towards the door. "So, want to go get something to eat?" he asked pleasantly.
She stopped walking for a moment and began to fidget. "I-I was actually hoping to do something else," she said, finding it hard to look him in the eyes.
He apparently noticed the change in her tone before he turned to face her, then reached out and grabbed her hands to keep her from fidgeting. "What is it?"
She took a deep breath, then exhaled loudly as she tried to prepare herself for whatever answer he gave. "I…" she started as she looked around to make sure nobody was listening in. Finally, she leaned up to his ear and whispered it as quietly as she could. His eyes widened as his mind processed her request. She pulled back and lowered her head immediately. "If… If you don't want to, I can under- ah!" she squealed in surprise as he gripped her hand and began walking her towards the exit.
Shal'Dorei Hotel – Presidium – Citadel
The entire car ride over, the awkward conversation with the receptionist, and the entire elevator ride up felt like the gravity had been cranked to twice the standard. Her fever had cleared up on their way back to the Citadel, but her face was radiating so much heat she wouldn't be surprised if he was blinded the next time he looked at her. She unlocked the door to the room and stepped inside with his hand in hers.
He opted to take one of the hotel's clean suits rather than wear his own armor to the building. Admittedly, they were a lot less bulky, and she was almost certain he wouldn't need the kinetic barriers. As she closed the door behind her, she immediately walked over and sat in one of the seats placed near the holographic window. He followed her and took a seat on the opposite side, allowing him a full view of the quarian.
She knew she was safe at the moment, given they decontaminated before they even stepped into the elevator. But she was still nervous and fidgeting wildly. She had done this before, so she wasn't sure what exactly was making her so hesitant now. But it didn't take her long to piece together the difference of circumstances. Shepard and Liara were friends, the best she'd ever had. So, when she showed them her face, there was no expectations. She found herself wondering if Kaidan had any. Would he like how she looked? Would he be disappointed? Did he want more than just her helmet to be removed? She didn't know, but she had to find out before she continued.
"Sooo…" she started nervously as she finally looked up at him.
"Sooo…" he mimicked, his eyebrow raising on the other side of his face shield.
She giggled lightly at his response before she stared at the floor again. "What exactly do you know of quarian anatomy and biology?"
He tilted his head as he searched his mind. "Well, I know a great deal about the chemistry involved with Rannoch, and why your suits are needed. I… stayed away from anatomy though," he said awkwardly as he looked away from her.
She donned a curious look. "Wait, why did you avoid anatomy?"
He shrugged lightly. "You want the truth?"
"Always," she replied with interest.
"Because it didn't really matter to me what quarians looked like. I did the research into biology because if there ever came a time when you had needs you wanted me to fulfill, I wanted to be able to do that safely without harming you. But with anatomy… and mating, I avoided those because…" he said as he hesitated.
"Because?" she asked, her heart pounding rapidly now.
Finally, the lieutenant sighed. "Because Tali. I didn't want to presume," he said as he reached up to scratch his hair before realizing he was in a sealed and pressurized suit, making him give up. "I don't know how your people mate. I assume you do as humans do given the sexual dimorphism. But I don't know if mating has anything to do with attraction."
She sat back in her seat a moment as she added his words up in her head. "Wait, so you don't know what we look like, you don't know whether we mate because of attraction like humans do, and…" she said, her heart practically melting at the idea.
He simply nodded. "And, if you never wanted to mate, or never wanted to take off your helmet, I wasn't going to put you in a position that made you feel like you had to."
She almost gasped at his words. "You… you intended to date me even if I never wanted to remove my suit for you?" she asked, her hands trembling on the arms of her chair.
"I told you before, Tali. I like you because of you. You could literally be a cocoon of spiders using voice projecting technology beneath that suit and it wouldn't change a thing," he said, then he smirked as he looked over at the false window. "That might actually be kinda cool."
She picked up one of the decorative pillows on her chair and threw it at his head playfully as she tried to hide her own giggle. He grabbed it out of the air and laid it over his lap with the smirk still on his face. "Well, sorry to disappoint. I'm not a bunch of… erm… spriders, or whatever you called them. But…" she stopped as she reached up and released the pressure holding her face mask in place. Grabbing the plate, she removed it, before her hands reached inside her hood and activated the separation for her mask. It came apart in two chunks, leaving her with nothing covering her face. Her neck was still covered by the suit's external layer, but from chin to her hair, she was bare. "I hope what I actually am doesn't disappoint you too much."
He smiled widely as she revealed herself to him, her hands reaching up and pulling her hood down, revealing a short mop of black hair. Her, and all quarians hair really, had to be short. Long hair interfered with the suits far too much to be an available option outside of retirees. When she found out that there was another species in the galaxy with hair, she did plenty of extranet searches to see what theirs looked like, and she was awed to see humans with so many different kinds of hair, as well as the astronomical amounts of styles they put them in.
Knowing she had to wear short hair, she asked the Fleet barber if they could give her what the humans called a pixie cut. It had not grown much since she first got it, so she hoped it was still as fashionable as it looked before. But, as her luminescent eyes gazed over Kaidan's visage, she figured out he probably wasn't looking at her hair. He sat silent with a small smile on his face and just stared. "Say something, bosh'tet!" she snapped playfully.
"Hmm… I'm sorry, I was just stunned there for a minute," he said, his tone returning the playfulness. She glared at him and reached for another pillow but realized she didn't have any more. After a moment though, the silliness left his voice, and he stood up. Stepping over to her chair, he held out his hand, then pulled her to her feet. She stood in front of him now, and without the helmet, her head just made it up to the height of his chin. "Tali, you're the most beautiful woman I've ever met."
She lowered her head to keep him from seeing her blush. Normally, her helmet would hide it for her, but she didn't have it on. But he gently reached up and used a single knuckle to lift her chin so that she was staring at him once more. "Okay, be real with me. No more romance movie talk," she said as she built her courage up.
He chuckled lightly before leaning the forehead of his face mask against hers. "No joke, Tali. This mask is the only thing keeping me from wanting to kiss you right now." She wanted to squeal in embarrassment and melt into a puddle on the spot at his words. Instead, she reached up and gently tugged on the suit's seal, venting the atmosphere inside it, and releasing it into the room. His eyes widened slightly as the helmet slipped further down onto his head without the pressure holding it up. "Tali, are you sure-" he started, but she pulled the mask off his head and put a finger to his lips.
"Even if this is all I can give right now, I want to give it. So please, shut up," she said with a small smile before jerking his head down. In an instant, their lips met for the first time.
Zakera Ward Markets – Zakera Ward – Citadel
"So, what's the rush?" asked Ash as she followed Shepard through the markets.
The spectre bobbed and weaved through the crowds of people as she made her way through the markets with Williams close behind her. "Captain Anderson said he had something important he wanted me to check out. It didn't sound like it was a new bar, so I figure I better see him and find out what he wants," said the woman was she turned and headed up the stairs to the next floor.
As soon as she saw the face that was coming down towards her, she stopped immediately, looking for any way to get away from the situation. Unfortunately, the stairs were relatively closed off. She knew it was too late when she saw a smile wide enough to brighten the entire stairwell crease his face. "Shepard!" shouted the man excitedly as he pranced down the stairs towards her.
"Woah, hold up, Goldilocks," ordered Ash as she stepped in front of the spectre with her arm up. He stopped and stared at the gunny for a long moment before turning back to the redhead.
"Spectre! It's good to see you again!" he said excitedly as she groaned from behind Ash.
The gunnery chief turned and looked at Shepard curiously. "You know this guy, Skipper?"
"We've… met," said Shepard as she finally looked up at him. "Conrad, right?" she asked as she stepped out from behind Ash and began walking up the stairs.
"That's right! I can't believe you remembered my name!" he said, practically squealing with glee in his nearly monotone voice.
"Look, Conrad, I'm a bit busy right now…" she started as she finally reached the top of the stairs and turned to him.
"Right, right! Spectre business! I know how it is," he said, giving her a sly look. She wanted to snort in laughter at the man, wondering if he actually knew how it was or if he was trying to slide one past Ash. "Umm, before you go, I was hoping I could get one more picture. Maybe an action shot?" he asked hopefully.
Sighing, she reached up and rubbed her head impatiently. "Fine. Ash?" said Shepard, causing the chief to look over at her. "Take the picture."
"Oh, but…" started Conrad. But his mouth closed, and his eyes widened as she grabbed Ash's pistol from her side, then stepped up next to him and held it up in a pose. He almost gasped loud enough to burst his lungs before taking up a pose of his own, using his fingers as replacements for an actual gun.
Ash covered her mouth as she took the picture, then sent the file over to him with a flick of her wrist. Turning to the now ecstatic Conrad, Shepard smiled. "There you go, Conrad. One for the scrapbook. Now, no more pictures, ever. Please."
He nodded frantically as he received the file and opened it on his own omni-tool. "Y-You got it, Spectre!"
Turning back to Ashley, she nodded, handed her the pistol back, then walked back into the crowd. Ash followed her, still covering her mouth. "Say a word of this to Joker, I'm docking your rations for a year," said Shepard threateningly as she aimed a glare at Williams.
Ash lifted her fingers and dragged them across her lips in a zipping motion. "Not a word, Commander," she said, still barely containing her laugh.
Shepard sighed in annoyance. "You're still gonna tell him, aren't you?"
"How can I not!?" asked the gunnery chief exasperatedly. "You literally have a fanboy asking you for pictures! Joker would eat that up like sushi!"
"Yeah, and he'll never let me hear the end of it for the rest of my life," she groaned in return as they finally made it to the Citadel rapid transit. Signaling a car, she turned and groaned again at the unbearable grin on Ash's face.
Human Embassy – Presidium – Citadel
Shepard entered the embassy's main office where Captain Anderson was waiting for her. Ash stepped inside as well at Shepard's command and the two took their seats across from him, who was sitting in Udina's chair while the ambassador was out.
"Shepard," he said as he nodded to her. He then reached over the desk for Ash. "Williams, good to see you again," he said, shaking her hand as she returned the gesture. Sitting back in the seat, he smiled at the gunnery chief. "So, what's it like working under the Commander?" he asked with a cheeky grin.
"Oh, you know, it's great aside from having to protect her from all the fans she has," said the chief with a mischievous grin on her face.
"Ash…" said Shepard, already rubbing the tips of her fingers across her forehead.
David chuckled at them both before he nodded his approval. "Sounds like you fit right in, Chief. I'm happy to hear that."
"Thank you, sir," she said with a small smile.
"Now then, I assume she's here because you've approved your crew for classified stuff?" he asked curiously.
"They're all Class 4 with Class 5 special restrictions. They're all allowed to know anything and everything I know as it pertains to them helping me do my job," she said, her tone returning to business as usual.
"Glad to hear it. You shouldn't be working with a team you can't trust," he said with a grin. It was then that he turned his omni-tool on, allowing a projection of six faces to pop up in front of them. "These are Alliance scientists. They all specialize in multiple fields, but they really only have two things in common," he said as he tapped a button on his omni-tool. "First, they all spent time working on a project on Akuze before it was destroyed by all those thresher maws," he said as the hologram changed to the aftermath of Akuze's destruction. "Even with the highest clearances, I still can't get a straight answer on what exactly the goal of this project was."
"What's the other commonality?" asked Ash curiously.
Shepard sighed as she leaned her head into her arm. "They're dead… aren't they?"
Anderson smirked as he slid the next picture up. It was the same one as before, except that five of them had red slashes across their portraits. "I've been digging, but I can't find anything they have in common with each other since Akuze. And over the last two months, five of them have turned up dead by homicide."
"Any clues on the killer?" asked Shepard as she cocked an eyebrow in interest. It had been a while since she actually had to solve a mystery. Well, besides the Saren one, of course.
"Nothing," he said as he closed the hologram and threw his hands up. "We can guess human male by the size of a single footprint outside of a club where the first victim was murdered. Beyond that, whoever's doing this knows what the hell they're doing. Every camera that any of the men appear on shows nothing, with them always walking off camera before they're killed."
"How are they killed? The same, or different?" asked Ash curiously as she took the file from Anderson as well.
Inhaling slowly, the captain let out a breath before he answered. "Both," he said, getting a confused look from them. "Different method of application, same weapon," he said as he took some physical pictures that he had printed out and tossed them across the desk. "Thresher maw acid." Ash's face twisted in horror as she saw the disfigured face of a man who looked to be screaming even after death. "He was the first. A lieutenant found him on a bench in the park on an Alliance base back on Earth."
"This… this isn't…" started Shepard as she stared at the different pictures. "Captain, there's no way in hell that someone is just randomly picking up people from the same project, hitting them with thresher maw acid, and then dumping them to be found."
"I'm well aware of that, yes," he responded.
"Why leave them out in the open? Why not try to hide the bodies?" asked the gunnery chief as she squinted her eyes before looking at another one.
"Because whoever is doing this is trying to send a message," said Shepard as she tossed the pictures aside. "Maybe to the other five, maybe to someone else entirely. But it's plain as day. They used thresher maw acid on five people who worked a project on Akuze. They knew they would be linked by the Alliance immediately and knew that the others from the project would see it and know he was coming."
"Wow… what the hell did they do?" asked Ash as she too set aside the physical pictures.
"Don't know. Still working on that," said Anderson as he looked from Ash back to Shepard. "So, Commander?"
"The last one is still alive, isn't he?" asked Shepard, getting a nod. "You want me to find him?"
"Oh, we've found him. Questioned him too. But he kept telling us that he and the team were working on unknown seismic readings while on Akuze. Said that they ended up being the thresher maws," he said moved his hands to his head and made the gesture as if his mind was blown. "Never saw them coming, he said."
"Riiight…" said Shepard as she stood up and flexed her arms. "Where's he at?"
"Hidden. I've kept his location private. Need to know basis and anyone with knowledge of his location is in danger," he said as he looked at them both.
"Is the secrecy really necessary? Couldn't the Alliance protect him?" asked Ash as she gave the captain a serious stare.
Anderson sighed and ran a hand over his faded haircut. "The last time the Alliance tried to protect one of these men…"
"No…" said Shepard with an awed expression.
"Yes," said the captain with another heavy sigh. "We had him at a safe house, only known to Alliance brass. And whoever is doing this came right in, knocked the Alliance out and tied them up, took the mark, and we found him a few days later dangling from the modern art display in front of the nearby Alliance base looking like that," he said as he pointed at one of the pictures.
"So, we're not dealing with an amateur," said Shepard, knowing what she said was redundant after he had explained the assassin's skills. "Welp, looks like we have some work to do."
"I'll send over everything I can to help you out, Shepard. I appreciate you doing me this favor," said the man as he looked down at the table. Shepard noted the conflicted expression he wore. "I don't doubt that whatever these guys were doing on Akuze was shady, but we absolutely cannot have a rogue assassin killing off Alliance personnel."
"Don't worry, Captain. We're on the case," said Shepard as she reached across the desk and shook his hand. He went to look down at his hand, but she yanked on it slightly until he looked back up at her face, where she wore a knowing smile.
"I appreciate it, Shepard. You and your team are the only ones I can count on," he said as he got up and saw them out of the embassy.
"Once we're back from Thessia, I'll start investigating," said the spectre as she headed out the door with Ash in tow.
Anderson watched them go before finally opening his palm and looked down at the small device.