I don't own either Mass effect or AvP

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Upper wards, approaching Chora's Den.

"No music," Garrus said softly. "That's a first. Chora's Den never closes, and you can always hear the music from here."

"I guess it's a surprise party," Shepard shrugged. "They're all quiet now, but the moment we walk in, the lights come on, everybody cheers, the music starts, and an asari stripper jumps out of a cake." She looked up to find both aliens were staring at her. "Sorry. It's a human thing."

A krogan and a turian, for once in perfect accord, looked at each other, then decided that it wasn't worth the time or effort to understand.

"Anyway," Shepard continued. "I would assume from the lack of music that Fist has shut down his bar, waiting for the shooting to start. I guess we should oblige him."

"Straight through the front entrance, then?" Garrus asked.

"Not much of an alternative from what I can see. Unless you know of a back door that we can exploit?"

"No." The turian shook his head briefly. "There is a supply entrance at the back, but it has heavy doors. By now it will be locked and we'd need breaching charges to get through. Even if we had them, we're already on the edge of what's legal Shepard. If we start blowing up the station... No, the front door is the better option. Besides, we'll have to deal with Fist's goons anyway. Better that we do it before we catch Fist himself than that they interrupt us while we talk to him."

"Much better," Wrex grumbled. "No point in skulking around."

"So," Shepard said. "Frontal assault it is. Just remember. I really need to talk to Fist, so try not to kill him."

-0-0-0-

Upper wards,

What's happening? Why is this taking so long?

Just a few hours, the human had said; and she had had little choice but to believe him. So, here she was, hiding in an alley, waiting for the Shadow Broker to show up. But hour after hour had passed and nobody showed up. What if no one shows up? Or if they show up too late? Tali'Zorah, lately of the ship Rayya, swore under her breath. Not for the first time, she questioned the wisdom of her actions. It had seemed so simple. Contact the Shadow Broker and trade her information for passage off the station; a simple exchange. But that was then, and this was now. The longer she stayed in one place, the more likely it was that her pursuers caught up with her. Even though she'd managed to hack the Citadel's internal surveillance network to keep from showing up on anyone's monitor, it was not as though her trail was impossible to follow. The human doctor knew that she had gone to Fist and Fist knew she was in, or at least near, this alley and while the doctor might refuse to talk, Tali had little doubt that Fist could be bribed to tell anybody anything. To make matters worse, this alley was the worst possible location to be caught. There would be no witnesses around. Not even the generally quarian-unfriendly witnesses that one might find in the rest of the Citadel. It would be a simple matter to gun her down and dump her body in a waste-disposal unit and the fact that she might be able to take a few of her pursuers with her was a rather cold comfort.

One more hour. Then I'm gone. The doctor said there was a Volus in the financial district who could also contact the Broker. At least that way, I'll be in the open where everyone can see me. Even C-Sec would object to having a quarian murdered in the middle of the Praesidium.

Her decision made, Tali relaxed slightly. One more hour and the waiting would be over, one way or another. Just as she sat down behind an empty packing crate, the sound of gunfire echoed through the corridors.

-0-0-0-

Chora's Den

Two down, three down. This is ridiculous! Shepard ducked back behind the bar, then rolled sideways to get out of the line of fire and looked in amazement as someone fired a submachine gun over the bar, the bullets passing harmlessly overhead. You do realize you can actually shoot through things, right? It's furniture for God's sake, not armour plates. Whatever else was going to happen, the whole experience was proving to be quite an eye-opener. Nearly two decades of military service had not quite prepared her for dealing with amateurs on this pathetic level. Clearly, a lot of people watched far too many vids. She came out from behind the bar, staying low to the ground. God, the moron is actually using an upturned table for cover. Three shots went through the table and through the fool behind it. Check ammo. What Fist's people lacked in training, experience, and just plain common sense, they made up for in numbers and she was in serious danger of running out of bullets before he ran out of thugs.

Two more enemies popped up in her peripheral vision, moving to get around the circular bar and flank her. Neither made it as Vakarian gunned them down the moment they broke cover. So nice to be working with competent people.

One of Fist's krogan bouncers came at her, roaring. He took one bullet, two, but just kept coming. Not good, I really need a bigger gun. Shepard threw herself aside to get out of the way, but she could have saved herself the trouble. A blueish wave rippled through the air, and slammed into the krogan from the side, throwing him of course. It was followed by a shotgun blast, which made him stumble, then followed by the armoured bulk of Urdnot Wrex, which flattened him completely. Thank you Mr Wrex. Thank you twice, in fact, for letting me know you're a biotic. Shepard paused for a moment to look on in pure appreciation as Wrex pounded his fellow krogan into the floor. More bullets came flying out of the doorway at the back, bouncing off a Wrex's biotic barrier before he moved off to the side, denying them further shots.

Silence.

Shepard looked around, checking for more targets, but the bar was empty, except for the corpses.

Vakarian moved up and joined her behind the bar. "Three of them are holding at the back door. We'll need to get past them."

Shepard chanced a quick look, but the area behind the doorway was cats in shadows. "You sure about the numbers?"

The turian tapped against the visor that covered his left eye. "Heat signatures. Problem is, one of them is a krogan."

"Fuck."

"Yes, and there is no way he's coming out. Not, after the way Wrex flattened the first one. You want to take on a krogan in a confined space, Shepard?"

"Not unless I get to soften him up with a couple of grenades."

"That's what I thought."

"Wait a second." Shepard looked around. "This handgun isn't going to cut it. I've got a backup, but it doesn't have any more firepower. Can you keep their heads down for a moment?"

Vakarian nodded.

"Okay. On my mark... Now!'

As Shepard dove out of cover, she heard Vakarian open fire. She moved flat on the ground, to the corps of one of Fist's men. Shotgun! She grabbed the weapon lying beside the dead man's hand, then rolled away into one of the alcoves beside the wall. Let's see. It was a pretty standard human shotgun: pump-action, short-barreled, medium calibre; a design that hadn't changed much in three centuries for the simple reason that it worked fine as it was and any attempt at improvement would have increased its complexity and cost to a degree that the concept simply didn't warrant. Not really heavy firepower, but a significant step up from her handgun. Perhaps even more important, it had a clip of spare ammunition attached to the side. Okay.
She waved at Vakarian, who was still firing the occasional shot to keep the defenders' heads down as she moved slowly along the wall toward the open doorway. From the other side, Urdnot Wrex was approaching as well, his own shotgun at the ready and a big grin on his face. Glad to see someone's having fun. As they approached the corner, Vakarian ceased fire, obviously worried that he'd hit either of them. Shepard looked at Wrex, who lifted a massive hand. As she watched, the blueish light of his biotics rippled along his arm.

Shepard held up her own hand, fingers spread out. Five. She dropped one finger. Four. Wrex nodded. His grin broadened. Three. Her other hand tightened on the shotgun. This was going to be ugly. Two. She glanced back at Vakarian, who was watching intently, his pistol still aimed into the shadowed doorway. One.

With a speed that belied his bulk, Wrex turned and once more the air seemed to ripple as a biotic shockwave slammed through the door opening and into the defenders who had huddled there for protection. There was a cacophony of noise as people and objects were thrown backwards. Shepard didn't wait. She turned, lifting the shotgun, and blasted away.

Like Vakarian had said, there were three of them, all close together, hiding behind a stack of packing crates. One krogan and two humans. One of the humans was down, thrown to the ground by Wrex's shockwave. The second had kept his footing and was levelling his weapon, but Shepard's first blast caught him right in the face, putting an end to his part of the fight. That left-

The krogan bouncer knocked Shepard aside, sending her flying as he aimed his shotgun at Wrex, who presented the bigger threat in any close-quarters fight. Vakarian got a shot in that tore a gash into the krogan's skull, but it didn't even slow him down. His shot took down Wrex's barrier, but Wrex got a shot in as well as he charged through the doorway. The two krogan collided with a noise that could probably be heard all the way to the Praesidium. Shepard shook her head as she scrambled to her feet. From the corner of her eye, she saw Vakarain vaulting over the bar. She lifted her shotgun, but there was no way to get a clear shot at the two grappling krogan. Behind them, the second human was getting up as well. She fired, putting him down permanently. At that moment, Wrex slammed his opponent back into the wall, with a force that actually left a dent in the wall plates. For a fraction of a second, the two krogan were standing apart. It was all vakarian needed as he rapidly fired his pistol into the bouncer's skull. Even that seemed insufficient to put him down, but Wrex had managed to get his shotgun levelled and fired a final blast into his opponent's chest.

"You alright?" Vakarian asked while he tossed out his overloaded thermal clip.

Shepard winced, then nodded. "Cracked ribs. I'll live."

"Good," Wrex looked up. "Because we aren't done yet."

They were standing in a short corridor, not much more than a hallway, with the club on one end and a door on the other. Vakarian checked the electronic lock.

"Trivial. My C-Sec authorization code can override this."

Shepard's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Fist didn't lock you people out?"

"That would have been illegal and this door is in view of the club. Fist may be dumb but he isn't dumb enough to pick a fight with C-Sec over something as stupid as a door lock." He activated his omnitool. "Got it." The door slid open.

"Stay back, or we'll shoot!" a panicked voice came out of the corridor beyond the door.

"Oh, for..." Shepard shook her head. "Listen up, anybody in there! I'm Commander Shepard, United Systems Military. Some of you fuckfaces may know me as the Butcher of Torfan and I'm well on my way to becoming the Butcher of the Fucking Citadel. Now, in case you hadn't noticed, the three of us just shot our way through the bar. It's a fucking slaughterhouse. Now, you got a choice. Either you put whatever weapons you have down and walk out of here alive, or we're coming in to get you. You got five seconds!"

Vakarian looked at her and she had the strong suspicion he'd be raising his eyebrows if he had any. Shepard shrugged. "It's worth a try."

They could hear muttering from the corridor, then came a voice. "Alright, don't shoot! We're coming out."

Two men walked slowly out of the corridor, their hands raised. Shepard looked them over, they had no visible weapons.

"Smart choice. Tell me, where's Fist?"

The two men looked at each other, hesitated.

"Screw it," one of them said. "I ain't dying for Fist." He looked at Shepard. "He's holding up at the back. Got a safe room that's locked down. He went in when the shooting started and he hasn't come out since."

"Guess we'll just have to knock and ask him politely to come out," Shepard said. "Get out of here. And do yourself a favour. Stay away from people like Fist. They're too ambitious for their own good and then you end up with situations like this."

The two men practically tripped over their feet as they ran out.

Wrex snorted. "You getting soft, Shepard?"

She shrugged. "No point in killing them. They aren't worth the bullets. Now, let's have a talk with Mr Fist."

-0-0-0-

There was no one else waiting or them as they made their way through the corridor. At the end, the corridor made a sharp turn, then ended with multiple doors. Vakarian checked the locks.

"That's the loading entrance. Locked from the inside, so he hasn't gotten out. The other-" His flanges twitched. "Nice lock. Definitely non-standard and my C-Sec override doesn't work. Give me a moment, Shepard and I'll see what I can do." His omnitool lit up as he started cycling through a series of commands. Shepard looked around. Next to the door stood a tall closet with an old-fashioned mechanical lock. She smiled.

"Weapons locker. Eh, Wrex, would you mind?"

The locker had been designed to keep out human thieves. It wasn't designed to keep out a krogan. It took Wrex a couple of attempts, but then the lock burst off and the metal shrieked as he tore the door off its hinges.

"Huh. Human stuff." He dumped the door.

Shepard moved up and took a look.

"Well, well." She reached inside. "Surprise! I got a feeling that C-Sec didn't know about this, Vakarian."

"What?" The turian looked up.

Shepard turned lifted the weapon so he could see it.

"This. M41A1 Mk2 assault rifle. Compact version of the original Pulse Rifle. About a century old, but it looks to be in good condition." She worked the action. "Definitely still functional. And this one even comes with the U1 under-barrel grenade launcher. This is military grade stuff, Vakarian. Not legal to own for a civilian anywhere in the United Systems. Probably from a batch that was marked for destruction, or lifted from an old militia depot somewhere." She took another look in the locker. "He's got the ammunition for it, too. We were lucky. If Fist's goons had known this was here or had the keys for it, for that matter, we'd have been in a world of trouble back there. Problem is, there is one missing from this locker."

Vakarian nodded. "You think Fist has it."

"Almost certainly. And a grenade launcher, in these tight quarters? That's bad news. I'm afraid our chances of taking him alive just went down. Unless..." Her voice trailed off as she dug through the locker again. "Never mind. I misspoke. This might actually work out just fine. How's the door coming?"

"Almost there."

"Good." Shepard started loading rounds into the grenade launcher. "Okay. This is going to be a little tricky. Nothing about what we've seen so far makes me think that Fist is a competent soldier. If he had been, he'd have been back in the club, leading his people. And he would have given them these rifles, instead of hoarding the good stuff for himself. But that rifle is a huge force-multiplier. Depending on the magazine he can dump 40 to 60 rounds full auto in one salvo and there is no telling what kind of a grenade load he's got. Even heavy armour is no guaranteed protection. If he's got the armour piercing variety, they'll go straight through."

"So, how do you want to play this?"

"Get me one clear shot." Shepard tapped her new rifle. "Non-lethal rounds. They come as part of the ammo package. Just get me that one shot and Fist is ours."

"Your choice, Shepard." Wrex nodded. "Just keep in mind, Shepard. You need him alive. I don't."

"Fair enough."

"It's unlocked." Vakarian shut down his omnitool.

"Great, here goes nothing."

-0-0-0-

The door slid open and Shepard braced herself, but there were no shots from the door opening. She chanced a quick look. The door didn't actually open into the room itself, but, rather on another hallway, which opened onto the actual room. because the room was not in line with the door, Fist -and whoever else might be in there- could not shoot them until they moved across the hallway.

Wrex moved first, followed by Shepard, with Vakarian bringing up the rear. The krogan moved up to the corner. One step further. He turned, shotgun in hand-

"Back!"

Shepard jumped back. Wrex himself, instead of following his own advice, kept going and almost jumped the entire distance across the opening to the other end of the hallway, where he was in cover again behind a wall. That probably saved his life as multiple automatic weapons opened up. Even so, multiple rounds slammed into him, stripping his barrier and tearing into his armour.

"What the hell? That's no assault rifle!"

Shepard came in low, took a quick glance around the corner, then ducked back as another volley streaked past.

"Damn!"

"What is it, Shepard?"

She turned around. "Looks like those rifles weren't the only military hardware Fist picked up. He's got a couple of Sentry guns. Basically an automatic weapon on a self-contained mounting. They can be used manually, but from the speed that they react, I think Fist's got them in independent mode. They carry their own sensor package. Anything moves that doesn't wear the right ID tag and they open fire.

"Spirits. How much ammunition do they have?"

"Too much. I couldn't get a good look, but if they're from the same era as this rifle, they should be from the UA 571 series. Those could take up to 500 rounds. So, yeah."

Vakarian nodded. "Any chance of deceiving the sensors?"

"No way. There's no telling what Fist's security codes are, so we cannot fool them into thinking we're friendly. As for the sensor's themselves, they got a mix of mid-infrared, visual light, echolocation, and lidar. No way to fool them all."

"I see." The turian thought for a moment. "Shepard, if those were our weapons, I could probably hack them remotely, or overload the system. But we were taught that with human guns-"

"It doesn't work, because they aren't operated electronically. Yes. But..." Shepard grinned. "These are. Not the gun itself, that's a gas-operated machinegun. But the platform runs on electromotors and the sensors are electronic as well. Also, there should be a remote console with a datalink." She thought for a second. "Those things are from before my time, but they should shut down when they lose their sensors. Don't shut down the operating console. There is no telling how they'll respond to that. Especially since they're already in automatic mode.

"Alright." Vakarian's omnitool lit up. "I've got... I've got a lot of electronics here, Shepard. Looking for sensors."

"Focus on the lidar. The infrared is passive and your omnitool won't trace the sonic."

"Working on it."

Shepard ran back toward the corridor and came back holding a second assault rifle. "Status?"

"Almost there. Shepard, I can overload the sensors, but it won't last. Besides, if Fist can run those guns manually-"

"He won't." Shepard grinned. "The big problem with those Sentry turrets is that they lack protection. "They're vulnerable, even to small arms fire. Normally I wouldn't bother and just blow them up with grenades, but with Fist in there, I cannot risk it." She looked across the gap at Wrex and lifted the second rifle, making a throwing motion. She wasn't sure he'd understood, but that as alright. He was experienced enough to see an opportunity when t happened. "Anytime, Vakarian."

"Get ready... Now!"

The turian detective entered a final command. Shepard tossed the rifle into the opening. Nothing. She turned on the corner, rifle raised and send a short burst into one of the Sentry guns, then dove flat on the ground into the room, rifle moving to track the second target before Fist understood what had happened. She could have saved herself the trouble. Wrex was already moving. His shotgun barked once, twice, and the second Sentry cracked open. Shepard crawled forward, hiding behind a couch. Rifle fire, presumably from Fist passed overhead, but by now Vakarian had moved forward as well, his pistol fire keeping Fist from taking aim.

A little further. She knew where Fist was now. All she needed was one opening. His fire shifted. Toward Wrex or Vakarian, Shepard didn't care. It was the opening she needed. She stood up. There! The first shot went out from the grenade launcher. Shepard worked the action, fired again. Fist screamed as he went down. Before he had any chance of recovery, Wrex was in the room, kicking a chair out of his way as he grabbed Fist.

"The Shadow Broker says, 'hello'!"

"Easy, Wrex." Shepard moved up. "Alive, remember."

"Right." The krogan dropped Fist to the floor.

"Interesting result," Vakarian joined them. "Is this standard practice for humans, when they need someone taken alive? Just what did you hit him with?"

"M230s" Shepard levered the last round out of the grenade launcher. "Rubber bullets for riot control. And, no, not really. We prefer ultrasound and flashbangs for that. These are just a non-lethal means of dispersing a crowd. But, hey, it worked. Anyway, Vakarian, now that we're here, why don't you take a look around. I'm sure this room has plenty of interesting stuff that'll keep C-Sec busy for a long time. Meanwhile, I'm going to have a little talk with Mr Fist, here."

"I'm not talking!" Fist was trying to get to his feet. "I know my rights. You cannot just-"

"You don't have any rights," Shepard said coldly. "Rights matter to cops and judges, and to two-bit goody-two-shoes political activists. I'm not a cop, I'm not a judge, and I don't give a damn about politics. And my new friend, Wrex over there, he's got a contract to tear you in half, courtesy of your old boss. In fact, the only reason he hasn't killed you yet is that I asked him not to. So, start talking."

"You're going to kill me anyway."

Shepard shook her head. "Fist, or whatever your real name is. Why would I kill you? I don't care if you live or die. I kill people because they're important enough to kill, or because they're in my way. This may come as a shock, but you're not nearly as important as you think you are, so stop getting in my way. Now, start talking. Saren. What's the deal?"

"The Spectre?" Fist seemed to be regaining a little courage. "I work for him, yes. And he won't be happy to hear-, Ow!"

Shepard had grabbed his right hand and started twisting the fingers backwards. "Saren's happiness is low on my list of priorities. Stick to the facts."

The fight seemed to go out of Fist and he started over. How Saren had approached him, making a deal where Fist would feed Saren the same information he gave the Shadow Broker, and, more importantly, allow Saren to decide whether to pass the information on to the Shadow Broker at all.

"Stupid," Wrex grumbled. "Did you really think the broker wouldn't find out? You had a good deal. Why screw it up for a few credits?"

"Credits?" That seemed to anger Fist. "You think this was about credits? Do you know how much power the Broker has? How much influence? He can start a war. He can bring down governments! Saren's a Spectre. He wanted to put an end to it and I would have been the one to make it possible. Do you have any idea what that would have meant? What I could have done with the Broker's organization, once Saren took him down?"

"Jack shit," Shepard answered. "Because Saren would have squashed you like a bug. Or do you really believe that a rabid anti-human turian was going to stand by while a human becomes the new Shadow Broker? You're delusional. No, don't bother. I don't care. Now, what about the quarian."

"The quarian?" Fists glanced from Shepard to Wrex, then to Vakarian who had stopped searching the room to join them. "That bloody doctor told you. I'll-"

"You will do nothing. You will only talk. The quarian. What does she have?"

"Information." Fist snarled. "Wouldn't give it to me. Wouldn't even let me look at it. Only told me that it was about Saren. She said she wanted to trade it for passage off the station. But she would only give it to the Shadow Broker himself."

"PersonallY?" Shepard had little experience with krogan, but even she could tell that Wrex looked and sounded incredulous. "Noone deals with the Broker in person. Even I was hired through a go-between."

"I know," Fist snorted. "But she didn't. She believed that I could set up a meeting, so I told her I did. She's waiting for him right now."

"And let me guess," Shepard said. "Then you made a call to Saren. Where is she now?"

Fist said nothing.

"I remember a batarian governor. He didn't want to talk either. Guess what? He talked. Want to find out why?"

"In the alley." Fists courage did not last long. "There is an alley that runs from the Transit station to the Lower Wards. I told her to wait there."

"And then you called Saren to make sure she wouldn't have to wait long. Is that right?" Fist nodded.

"Then I guess we have no time to lose. Vakarian, you know the place?"

"I do." The turian looked grim. "Few people pass through and there is little to no surveillance. It's the perfect place for a quiet take-down."

"Well, then. You done here?"

"I am. C-Sec can send specialists to take the computers apart, but that's not my job. But what do we do with Fist?"

"Fist?" Shepard looked at Wrex. "I believe you had some unfinished business with Mr Fist, isn't that right?"

"That's right." Wrex lifted his shotgun.

"But you said-" Fist's voice rose to a shriek.

"I said I didn't care if you lived or died, Fist. And that's God's honest truth. I really don't care. I also said I wouldn't kill you. That's also true. I won't. Wrex on the other hand, well, he does care. And he didn't make any promises."

Shepard turned and walked away. She didn't even blink when she heard the shot behind her.

"Damnit, Shepard!" Vakarian caugt up with her in a few strides. "How do you suggest I justify that back at headquarters?"

"He resisted arrest."

"Seriously, Shepard?"

"Look around you. Two automatic weapon stations, an assault rifle in his hands, a club full of thugs with guns. Has anyone ever resisted arrest this much in the history of C-Sec? Let it go, Vakarian. It's one useless waste of life less on your station. Is anyone here going to care? And I can guarantee that the human embassy won't give you any problems over it. Besides, you heard him: He was going after the doctor again. We couldn't let that happen, now could we?"

"That makes a nice excuse, Shepard. Really nice."

"I know, right?" Shepard shrugged. "I don't believe in leaving living enemies behind me. Besides, it gave us a guarantee that he told the truth. If he'd lied about the quarian, he would have traded that for his life right now."

Vakarian nodded slowly. "The Butcher of Torfan. I'm beginning to see what they meant."

"No, you don't. Trust me, Vakarian. You really don't. Now, ready to save that quarian?"

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A/N So, one more appearance of the iconic Pulse Rifle. The Sentry guns are canon as well, though you have to watch the Director's cut of Aliens to actually see them.