The tableau seemed to hang, perfect and sharp. Glass and water glimmered and shone in a million different neon colors, forming sheets, and shards, and pinprick diamonds. A rainbow runner from the lakes of Sur'Kesh fanned its multi-colored fins in a peacock display. A foot away from it, her outstretched hand glimmered with red, a perfect round ruby breaking off the tip of her finger to hang in the air with the diamonds.

Then time and speed rushed back into existence.

Her momentum tumbled her in a reverse somersault. Her trained reflexes put her into a typical skydiver's freefall position; stomach down, arms outspread. Something bright and pink flashed very close to her eyes and as her arm crashed into it, she instinctively grabbed.

Neon tubing and glass shattered and broke. Her teeth snapped together as her momentum was nearly jerked to a halt, then started again in a ripping tear of electronics and lights. She was yanked out of her position, her back and shoulders hitting the sign and sending her tumbling down its length. More shattering, a stinging waterfall of sparks.

For a moment, her fingers caught on the bottom edge of the two story sign but as her weight came down her grip didn't hold. Her hand slipped free and she was falling once more.

Ten feet, then she hit metal. The building here was sloped, sending her into a tumble toward another drop off. Over and over she tried to catch or stop herself, pain lashing in from every quarter. If she went over that final precipice there was nothing but darting skycars between her and a thirty plus story drop onto a mall avenue. Without her hard-suit, shields, or any biotics to catch her, she was dead. Her metal skeleton and skull might survive the impact without too much damage, but her still very organic brain and other vital organs would be turned into paste.

The image of it came to her mind so clearly it actually shook her- a third person view of her body hitting the mall avenue at fatal speed.

Just don't let me land on anyone, she thought, and then she was over the side-

-and hitting metal only five feet down, the direction of her tumble reversing. Something hard slammed up beneath her and she skidded, then drew to a halt.

She was on her stomach, on a flat surface. Pain was flaring through her from a dozen different quarters, but she was breathing. For a moment, all she could do was lie there, feeling that breathing, realizing she was still alive.

Then a horrible crash. She jolted instinctively, lifting her head and looking over toward the sound. Huge shards of glass and tangled of wires and metal- from the Ryuusei fish tank as well as the sign she'd hit- were raining down , crashing into the same platform she herself had hit and tumbling in a rain of shattered debris and shrapnel directly toward her. She ducked her head down, covering it with her arm.

Something wet slapped hard into her. Something else sang past her head. She felt a burn slash across her forearm, another across her side.

Somewhere below her, probably only a story or two, she dimly heard someone exclaim as they stood on a balcony or looked out their window- "Is it raining fish?"

Then it stopped again. After a few deep, shuddering breaths, Del risked a look.

She was laying against the wall in some sort of small back room or maintenance area. The 'platform' she'd hit was a shipping access. Normally, they were closed, flush against the building. This one had been left standing open, a broad sheet of metal and decorative glass that formed an angle away from the building. She'd hit it and then rolled along it into this room.

Water was all around her, her hair clinging wetly to her cheeks. She was soaked to the skin. Nearby, a few fish and small bay sharks from the aquarium writhed weakly or lay dead among a thick field of broken glass, neon tubing, and torn wires.

{Captain? Captain, are you all right?}

The voice was a distant hum in her ear at first, piping over her personal bud from her omni-tool relay. Shifting gingerly, she grit her teeth with a grunt as a dozen different painful points alerted her. Glass chips fell from her hair as she got into an upright sit, trying to figure out how badly she was hurt.

She had minor cuts from the glass all over the place. One larger one along her ribs had torn her shirt and was bleeding nicely, but seemed fairly shallow.

On her upper left arm she had a much deeper gash where the bullet that had struck Brooks had grazed her arm. It was bleeding fairly heavily. Lacking any medi-gel, she ripped off the bottom of her torn shirt and tied it up as tightly as she was able.

{Captain! Captain, please…speak up! Are you all right? Are you alive?}

This time the voice actually filtered through her ringing head, and she touched her ear bud with grunt.

"Brooks?"

{Oh thank God! Captain, are you ok?}

"I'm fantastic," she said tautly, gritting her teeth as she got to her feet. She didn't think anything was actively broken, but she felt like she'd been beat all over very nicely with something heavy and blunt. Her back twinged and pulled sharply as she straightened, her shoulders throbbed, and a delightful headache was pounding with full on construction equipment in her skull.

Both her arms were cut and scratched all to hell from her efforts to stop her fall with the sign.

As she looked around her surroundings, she shook away the last of the ringing in her ears and tried to concentrate. "Brooks, you were shot-"

{Yes! I was! It was so strange, I've never been shot before! Didn't hurt as badly as I expected it might. Funny thing. I have medi-gel, isn't that fantastic?}

Del paused a little, her brows knotting. Brooks was oddly and alarmingly upbeat…and Del had heard such a tone before.

"Brooks, how much medi-gel did you use?"

{I had a standard ration kit,} she said, obviously delighted. {I think I used round about… all of it. It smells like cinnamon! And now everything is a little bit bouncy!}

Del resisted a groan. Goddamn desk jockey, she thought. A standard ration kit was enough medi-gel to treat at least two serious wounds- 'you just took a shotgun blast to the thigh' kind of serious wounds. It was enough to stop the bleeding on those kinds of wounds, and pump the blood full of a lot of hardcore antibiotics and painkillers. The painkillers were designed to moderate with adrenaline and other substances your body secreted when it was so wounded. This helped prevent shock, and it also mitigated the effect of the anesthetic, allowing it to stop the pain but also preventing it from clouding up your mind. In a high enough dose, absent enough adrenaline and the risk of serious physical shock, it produced a euphoric and even hallucinatory high.

If Brooks had sustained only a relatively minor wound, but used all of a standard ration kit on it-

She's high as a goddamn kite, Del thought.

"Brooks, I need you to listen to me very carefully," she said. "Are the mercs still there?"

{Nope. Nope. Uh…nope. When you fell they ran out. I think they're coming down after you maybe. My uniform is so blue!}

"Ok, what I need you to do is get C-Sec and tell them to lock down this entire area," Del told her. "Talk to a man named Bailey. Tell him Captain Shepard wants this whole area locked down. Tell him to contact my crew and let them know what's going on, that mercs raided Ryuusei and shot innocent civvies trying to kill me. My pilot hopefully has already alerted them but I can't assume. Can you do that, Brooks?"

{Oh yes. I have a wonderful memory. Tell Bailey to lock this area down and let your crew know mercs are trying to kill you. I so have it.}

"Good. Do you happen to know who these mercs are, by any chance?"

{I don't have the slightest idea!} she replied happily. {But they really don't seem to like you.}

"Yeah, I picked up on that."

{It's like…just weird. Has my uniform always been this pretty?}

"For fuck's sake, Brooks! Concentrate!"

{Oh! Yes, sorry. Where are you?}

"I'm not sure. Back room of somewhere. Looks like cooling equipment around me."

Moving over to the open platform she looked outside. "I can see…some kind of a platform with skycars on it across the way. Any thoughts?"

{Looking…I think it's a skycar dealership. Yes. Yes. Illustra Motors. If you can get there I can get a shuttle over to pick you up.}

"Great, I'll get over there."

{Oh, also, yes…one more thing Sheppy-}

Del blinked. Did she just call me Sheppy?

{-they've hacked your omni-tool and your comm as well, so please try and stay off this channel. They can use it to locate you. I mean, unless you're talking to me. It's kind of necessary. Though I guess if you shout really really loud I might be able to hear you, but then, they might too-}

"Brooks!"

{Yes, just like that!}

"Just get the lockdown in place and get the damned shuttle! Shepard out."

She debated getting rid of both her omni-tool and ear bud, then decided against it. They could pinpoint her location using them, but at the same time if she ditched them she had no computer and no communications whatsoever- even if those communications were only with a staff analyst high on a medi-gel overdose.

Moving gingerly, she limped toward the door of the room she had found herself in. As she did so, she noticed something on the ground that wasn't fish, glass, torn wire, or an organ or two she may have coughed up when she landed. Grinning slightly, she carefully stooped and picked it up.

It was the pistol she had taken off the merc.

"Things are looking up," she said to no one, checking the clip chamber and making sure the weapon wasn't damaged, before edging toward the door.

The equipment nearby definitely looked like industrial strength cooling units, so she was displeased but unsurprised when she got the door open and a blast of sharply frigid air hit her in the face.

She was in a restaurant freezer. Boxes of supplies were stacked against walls liberally frosted with ice, and slabs of meat hung from hooks or racks all around her.

She was hardly dressed for such cold- not especially now that half her shirt had been torn off to tie up her arm wound. She was also soaking wet thanks to the fish tank. The cold seemed to cut through her almost instantly, and she immediately aimed for the door.

Getting it open, she peered out carefully, pistol ready, then stepped cautiously out into the kitchen.

The kitchen that had, apparently, been hastily deserted. Food was still bubbling on elements that had been switched off but had not yet had the chance to cool. Meat and vegetables were in various states of preparation all around her, but not a soul was to be seen. A flashing alert scrolling across the kitchen's display screens pinpointed the cause- C-Sec had ordered the area locked down.

Restaurant owner probably panicked and had everyone leave to the public areas, she thought, moving as gingerly and silently as she was able. Or else those mercs are already here and cleared everyone out to set up an ambush.

Spotting a bottle of cooking sherry she watched the door as she took hold of it, spilling a liberal amount over her wounded arms and trying not to hiss at the sting. Then, she took a healthy swig of it, grimaced, and set it aside again.

A bit of rummaging and she found a small, electric crème brulee torch and slipped it into the waistband of her slacks, right beside a sturdy and sizable steak knife.

The restaurant was probably going for a bit of the old world charm, because the door between the kitchen and the seating area was old-fashioned, hinged and swinging. She edged it open ever so, peering through the crack. Seeing no one, she stayed low, and slipped through.

The restaurant was just as deserted as the kitchen. Little more than a seating area and a tiny ordering station, it was more of a food stand than an actual restaurant. Through the open areas she could see what looked like a small food court area, with more food stands and open air grills. Staying in a crouch, pistol ready, she edged up to the archway leading from the seating area of the stand to the open corridor of the food court.

There were two mercs there.

Both held rifles. Their distinctive armor told they were of the same group that had attacked her in Ryuusei. One, the one nearest her, had taken off his helmet and was looking back and forth along the court, one hand to his ear as he no doubt listened to orders. His other hand was holding his rifle only half-ready.

The second merc, much further away, had his helmet on and his rifle up. He was going from stand to stand, checking them. Del lingered in the shadows, taking careful aim at the bare skull of the first merc with her pistol.

{Captain!}

Brooks' voice suddenly shouted in her ear. Biting back a curse, Del quickly turned back around the corner of the stand seating area, putting her back to the partition between her and the merc, slapping her ear to turn off the bud.

Holding her breath, she counted off her heartbeats. When no bootsteps headed her way, she let out a slow breath. The helmetless merc had not heard.

Cautiously, she peeked around the corner again.

He must not have heard, because he hadn't called an alarm to his compatriot, but as she peeked he suddenly turned and headed her way.

My goddamn luck, she thought, and ducked back again. Then she grinned wryly.

He was still not wearing his helmet.

As he stepped into the stand, rifle partially up and head turning as he looked around, Del stood up, and jammed the steak knife firmly and decisively into his neck, just under his ear. He jerked, then started to collapse. Catching his weight and trying not to grunt as it renewed the pain in her arms and shoulders, she lowered him silently down. Not bothering to tear the knife out again, she relieved him of his rifle.

Tucking the pistol into the waistband of her slacks beside the crème brulee torch, she tugged the merc a few inches until his feet were no longer hanging out of the stand, then checked over the rifle.

Peeking over the edge of the stand, she saw the other merc-none the wiser about the fate of his partner- clearing another stand about thirty feet away. Pausing a moment she contemplated, then rose and strode boldly into the open.

"Hey!"

The merc, startled, looked over at her, and was met with a face-full of full auto rifle-fire. His barriers flared, the impact staggering him back a pace and throwing off his own aim. His rifle fired in a loose stutter, bullets pitting along the floor beside him as he tried to catch himself. She didn't let up, walking forward as she continued to fire.

His shields flared, then flared again, then finally gave up. He let out a barking grunt as bullets slammed unimpeded into his chest plate, then through the face plate of his helmet.

He collapsed, and went silent.

Getting to his side, she made sure he was out of the game for good, then glanced around. Putting her back to a wall, she turned on her ear bud and started searching him.

{..ptain!}

"Stop shouting, Brooks," she said in a low voice. "You nearly got me killed doing that."

{Sorry!} She said loudly, then repeated in a dramatic whisper. {Sorry! I just wanted to tell you C-Sec has got the area locked down-}

"Yeah, I figured that already. Now where the fuck are they? This place should be crawling with uniforms by now."

{I don't know! I mean, I know, but I'm not sure what's going on,} Brooks told her. {I talked to Bailey. He said he was on his way with a whole platoon of C-Sec, then contacted me a few minutes later to say you had messaged him calling everything off.}

"What?"

{I know, it wasn't you, but like I said, they're hacking your things. All the things! They sent him a text under your name with your ident to call off the lock down. Fortunately Bailey seems a bit brighter than that, and contacted me to verify. I told him bollocks and-}

"Just get C-Sec here now," Shepard said impatiently. "Tell Bailey to get this area swarming with officers right now!"

{I will! I mean, I did! I-I-I am! Wh-where are you?}

"I can't tell you that, especially if my communications are hacked. They can track me by my coms but I'd rather not just hand them my location on a silver plate. Just get C-Sec in here, and get me that evac! I'm keeping my bud open but don't shout through it again, and only call me when vitally necessary. Shepard out."

Nothing on the merc was useful. There was nothing to indicate who he was or who he worked for. The only thing she knew now that she didn't before, was that the mercs were human. At least, the one she'd stabbed was, as was this one. Both human men.

Taking spare thermal clips off of him, she checked his overloaded barrier generator. Unfortunately it would do her no good until it was repaired and recharged…but she hadn't overloaded the other one.

Returning back to the first stand and her stab victim, she unhooked his barrier generator, checked it, then attached it to her waist. Both men were far too big to be able to use their hard-suits, but the barrier was something at least.

Risking her omni-tool, she pulled up a map of the area, spying a bridge that would lead her across the gap to the skycar lot. Her end joined to a public area not too far from here, but of course both sides were fully locked down.

I can get the doors open easily enough but it'll set off every alarm in the place, she thought, heading toward the end of the food court with her rifle ready, looking around for every possible advantage.

She spied an access ladder in one corner behind a food stand, and looked up toward the maintenance catwalks. It would give her both the advantage of height and position, and she could work her way over the catwalks to the near end of the bridge.

Doing her best to put her still aching head and body out of her mind, she reached the ladder and started upward.