Shepard strode quickly through the mess hall and towards the forward battery. Oddly, the lights were off, even though the door had been unlocked.
"Garrus?" she called softly. No answer. Huh. She looked at her omni-tool. A weird time for him to be asleep. The string of mysteries forced her further into the room. The Commander found him in the back corner of the gun, laying on his cot, facing away from her. She sat on the edge and touched his shoulder gently.
"Garrus, are you okay?" He didn't stir. Warnings went off in her head. "Garrus?" She shook him harder, and he took in a long deep breath.
"Mmhm?" The Turian turned over and regarded her blearily. "Shepard? What's wrong?" His mouth didn't form the words particularly well.
"Oh thank god, you were just asleep. Sorry to bother you, Garrus. Usually, the door opening would wake you up, so I got worried." She looked away sheepishly and stood up.
He sat up and grabbed her arm before she moved too far. "No, it's fine. I've been taking pain medication... you needed me for something? Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing is wrong. I just came to tell you we picked up a distress call from Haestrom, and you'll never guess who it's from."
Garrus blinked slowly. Answered too slowly. How many doses did he take? "Who?"
"One Tali'Zorah nar Rayya."
"What is Tali doing on Haestrom? Isn't that a Geth stronghold?"
"I've no idea, but we will find out. We will be there in seventeen hours. I guess be ready for anything?" She stood again. "Go back to sleep. Hopefully you can metabolize those drugs in time because you are really out of it." She couldn't make out more than his outline in the darkness.
His mumbled, unintelligible reply didn't change that conclusion.
"I'm not asking permission, Commander, my job is to protect Tali. This is our best shot!" The nitwit stood. Shepard saw red for a moment, grabbed the Quarian by his hooded suit, and dragged him sideways back behind cover. She took a nice couple of rounds that dropped her shields for the effort too.
"You fucking idiot! You can't protect anyone if you are dead! Stay here, stay in cover. We can more than handle that colossus." She moved right into his face, helmet to helmet.
"I will not sit here while you run into enemy fire! They killed my whole squad!"
"You are going to get ME killed if I have to go out there and worry about your injured ass while I fight!" she spat.
He darted his head around in obvious frustration. "Fine. We do it your way. Hit them for me, Commander. Keelah Se'lai."
Shepard hunched her shoulder to give him a view of her new favorite toy, the Cain clipped onto her back. "Don't you worry, soldier. I'm gonna hit them hard enough that they will feel it back in time." She winked before turning to her squad mates. "Okay, Garrus, you know the drill. Grunt you are with me, we go left. I will focus that colossus, you keep the rest of them off of me. Move out."
They spread out as instructed, and Shepard vaulted over the barrier where she'd found the lone remaining Quarian soldier hiding. Tali was on the other side of the courtyard, barricaded inside a building, so all they needed to do was plow through this regiment of Geth troops, and get her and her guard out of there before more drop ships showed up. The Commander couldn't be more proud of her Krogan; Grunt had done an outstanding job keeping his shields up despite the damaging sun. She'd seen him wait for them to recharge before darting back out into fire. He was a fast learner, and didn't need any training for the actual fighting. Just the team tactics portion. She and Garrus had settled once again into their usual comfortable routines together, but he'd been awful twitchy, he had even yelled at her once for charging into a group of Geth troopers. His lack of return banter and surly quiet had made her reel in her devil-may-care attitude a bit. She glanced up at him positioned high on the right hand side of the courtyard. He really would not like her next move.
She and Grunt traded forward position back and forth as they worked their way down the ledge, both shotgunning troopers. Move, shoot, cover, next person - move, shoot, cover. Her Krogan got into a nasty, too close for comfort situation with a Prime unit that uncloaked in front of them, but he laughed gleefully before Garrus took it down with a well aimed round. Their sniper had cleared the middle, where only a few stragglers remained - and Shepard had a perfect view of the colossus' ass from behind a crate.
"Garrus, can you hit that thing with an overload on my mark? Grunt, switch back to disruptor and move up behind that crate in front of me. We will hammer that shield. Ready?" There were no protests, and Grunt passed by her to her left. "3, 2, 1, mark." Shepard jumped up first to draw its fire, and the three man team lit their target up. The machine's shields dropped a few seconds in, and it folded into its protective maintenance position. The Commander stood up on her tote to get a good angle, focused her biotics, and lunged through the air into the mechanical creature. She bounced painfully off of its shoulder plates with a cry. The plating dented and pushed inward, which forced the colossus to unfold itself. As it reared its hooked head, it fired at her. Shepard rolled to her side, took a few deflected rounds, and then stood to sprint back to the tote. Three steps in, and the thing already had her shields down. Four rounds hit their mark, burying into her armor plating, but she made it back behind her cover.
"What the fuck, Shepard?!" Garrus came over the com.
Yeah, she figured he'd have something to say about that. And this. "Grunt with me, fast!"
The colossus stepped forward, firing after them while they ran along the left side cover. Shepard pointed at some sturdy looking rock cover with a pile of metal crates in front of it. "There!" The Krogan obeyed. She turned to face the thing. Garrus's rifle chipped away at its armor. Sometimes, she missed the mako. A lot. She crouched half hidden from its turret and pulled The Cain from her back. She hit the priming switches, causing its end to open, spin, and glow. Perfect, whoever designed it had a flair for drama. Shepard shouldered it and focused down its digital scope at their target. The ready meter was slower than molasses, and she cursed as rounds flew by her. Agonizing seconds crawled by as the meter finally filled, and she let fly a silent round, even as the recoil jarred her harmed shoulder.
Well, it was quiet, right up until it hit the colossus. The enormous explosion sent a dust cloud rocketing a hundred meters into the sky, and even from this range, the sound garbled her helmet audio dampeners, and rang through her head. The wind it caused curbed hotly against her form. It burned a round ball of light into her retinas long after it dissipated to reveal a pile of metal scraps where the Geth had been. The courtyard went still.
"Holy shit," someone spoke. She vaguely registered that it was herself.
Grunt broke out in raucous laughter.
"Spirits," Garrus murmured.
Grunt pulled his helmet off to wipe his face. A tear? Did Krogan cry? "Can I have one Shepard?"
"I'm not sure there IS another one. But I'll let you fire it." She walked over and leaned an elbow on his hunched form, panting.
Garrus walked up a few minutes later, and without a word, dialed up her suit readout on her back.
"I'm fine. Just some grazing and a little medigel." She unlatched her helmet and pulled it free. He sighed in response.
The Quarian limped up to them. "What in the galaxy was that explosion?"
Shepard leaned forward onto Grunt. "I said we wouldn't have any trouble with that colossus." His glowing eyes widened behind his mask. "What's your name, soldier?"
"Kal'Reegar, Ma'am. Tali told me a lot about you, and it seems like you live up to your legend." He cradled his side with his arm.
Shepard waved her hand. "Ah, I get lucky with cool hardware and great teammates. Speaking of, let's go get our damsel in distress, boys." She clapped him on his shoulder harder than she meant to.
They all walked to the tower entrance together, keeping pace with the injured Kal'Reegar. Her Turian had removed his lid in the building's shadow and glowered at her.
"Come on Garrus, stop being a sourpuss and tell me how awesome that was." The Commander poked him in the side.
"Oh yes, so awesome. Those bullet holes are great decorations." He paused. "Though, the Cain gets you some style points." His good mandible waved in and out. Still agitated, but at least participating in their typical banter.
"I think it was brilliant!" Grunt slammed his two meaty fists together.
Shepard smiled as the door opened for them. "Ooh, death or no death, I still got it! Impressed someone at least." She stepped forward to scan the immobile Geth in the room for anything salvageable.
Tali stood at a terminal at the back of the room. "Just let me finish this download."
"Aw Tali, you wound me. This is the part of the story where the damsel leaps into the hero's arms!" She bent to pull a memory core and power core out of two exoskeletons.
"You Humans have the most questionable media," she snorted and turned. "Garrus!?" Her head swiveled to the form behind him. "Garrus, I'm so glad to see you, I was afraid you were dead! You should have at least answered an email! Shepard, how did you find him? He's been MIA for over a year!" She was obviously glaring at the Turian despite the fog of her helmet.
Garrus never got the chance to defend himself as Kal limped up next to him.
"Reegar, you made it!" The Quarian rushed over to the soldier's hunched form and began scanning him with her omni-tool.
"I'm okay, Ma'am. No need to worry. Your old Captain is as good as you said. That colossus didn't stand a chance," Kal interrupted.
Tali's eyes met hers. "I assume that explosion was you?"
"Guilty as charged. Now, mind telling me what are all of you doing out here?" Shepard plugged a dropped Geth pulse rifle onto her back.
Tali shook her head violently and blew out a frustrated breath. "This entire mission has been a disaster. I wish I had joined you back on Freedom's Progress, but I won't let anyone take my place on anything this risky." She pulled up a scan on the system's sun and displayed the holo. "Haestrom's sun is destabilizing. Back when this was a Quarian colony it was a normal star. This shouldn't be happening this quickly."
"Any idea why?"
"If I had to guess, I would say it is dark energy affecting the interior of the star. But Haestrom's sun is far too young for this to be natural."
"I passed a lot of bodies. Was the data worth it?"
"I don't know, Shepard. It wasn't my call." Tali wrung her hands. "The Admiralty board felt the information here was worth sacrificing all of our lives for. I have to believe they know what is best."
"I didn't ask what some Admiral thought. What do you think?"
Tali hummed. "The price is too high. Too many died here. Some were my friends and all of them were good at their jobs."
"Well, whatever the reason I'm glad I came to help. I could still use you on the Normandy, Tali. Her engine isn't the same without you," Shepard said.
"The Normandy?" Tali must have thought she was nuts for a second because she looked over at Garrus, who nodded.
"SR2. Cerberus rebuilt her, good as new and bigger this time. Plenty of room for another engineer." Shepard crossed her arms.
"I promised to see this mission through, and I did. I can leave with you and send the data back to the Fleet. If the Admirals have a problem with it they can go to hell. I just watched my entire team die." Tali's shoulders slumped.
"I'll tell the Admiralty board what happened and make sure the data gets back, Tali." Kal'Reegar intoned. He turned to Shepard. "Keep her safe, Commander."
"That's my intention. Do you need a ride back to the Flotilla?"
"The Geth didn't damage our ship. As long as I leave before more reinforcements show up, I'll be fine."
Shepard stuck out her hand to him. He peered at it hesitantly, not quite understanding, before offering his own. "Take care and good luck, Kal."
The crash was coming. Every muscle ached, even his plates hurt. Garrus was sitting at a weapons bench in the armory cleaning Shepard's beloved shotgun. Maybe it was more accurate to say he was sitting at the bench staring at the disassembled pieces of Shepard's beloved shotgun. He ran a hand over his bandage as the door to the hall hissed open. He figured it was Jacob coming back, he didn't turn to look. Lighter footfalls broke him out of his concentration. A scent of salt, soil, and an overlay of something sweet and musky filled the room.
Shepard.
He twisted his head to watch her. She stood in the doorway looking about as shocked as he felt, wearing her under suit. He couldn't stop it, even though he was already mentally chastising himself - his gaze dropped to her waist for a moment. Garrus tried to recall how many times he had seen her in it. More than he could count on the SR1; before and after missions; on assignment addressing injuries (She'd had some nasty burns from the thorian's thralls. Why Humans possessed such unprotected skin made little evolutionary sense. Even Salarians had a hardier dermis.) Had she always looked like….that? His detective instincts pushed through the crashing stimulant mist as he eyed the ratio between the apex of her hips and the thinnest part of her waistline, comparing and contrasting to SR1 Shepard.
Wait, what was happening here? Had he gotten so desperate? Up to this point, he'd been a man of only Turian tastes. Sure, he'd had more important things on his mind over the last few years. Death, honor, justice, disease, and now Collectors, to name a few. But just because his life had been a wreck didn't give him the right to think of his best friend that way. She stood there, shifting her weight back and forth between her feet. That's a nervous thing for Humans. He was making her uncomfortable! He was making himself uncomfortable. Shepard had a new habit of spinning that ornament of hers, too. He saw her tongue working the silver hoop from behind her lips. It wasn't his first time seeing facial jewelry, most species wore some form of it. On her though? Where it sat in the very middle of her bottom lip and dimpled into the pillowy skin? Somehow it was endlessly distracting. Damn, how long had his sub-vocals been doing that?! It was impossible to remember she could hear them now. He squelched the noise.
"Garrus?" She spoke softly.
"Hm?" Scholarly answer Vakarian.
"I apologize. You spend all your time locked up in the battery. I am just surprised is all. I didn't mean to insult you."
Damn, he had totally missed whatever it was she'd said. And she thought his rumblings had meant it upset him. "It's fine Shepard. You can't out-do 'cockatiel' anyway. I'll have you know I looked that up afterwards and I'm still offended."
Her mouth pulled into a sideways smirk that showed a row of small flat teeth. There we go, back to normal.
"Aw, sorry not-sorry Big Guy. Turians are totally cockatiels."
He huffed. "If by cockatiel you mean a large, scary, intimidating, ruthless, naturally armored, and dashing sniper who is not at all like a fluffy, talking pet - then yes. You are right. Totally like your planet's cockatiel."
"Okay, I concede. I shouldn't make fun of you when you are so kindly working on my weapon there. You know Jacob takes care of that though, right? I don't expect you to be pulling double duty in the battery and the armory." She stepped forward to get a better look over his shoulder.
"I'm aware, but I'm more at ease if Cerberus isn't the only one touching our weapons. Just being cautious." He picked the barrel up and resumed pushing the round brush through it. She leaned against him. At this angle he couldn't see her face without tipping his head up.
"Since you are still wearing that, I assume you haven't even showered yet? What are you doing in here?" He asked.
"I came to bring Jacob my chest piece again. The seals still arn't right after that big damn bug got me. Annnd I figure since seals got me killed once I'd better be picky about them. The gear I burned up in was Kassa Fabrications - I want a new set by them. I wonder if I should contact them to do an endorsement? That Cerberus had any remains to retrieve is just a testament to their craftsmanship. Everyone should wear it!"
Garrus tilted his head to give her a very unamused stare. "That is not even remotely funny Shepard."
"I'm being serious! I'd gladly do it. Imagine it, my picture on all their packaging, 'I'm Commander Shepard, and I blazed through atmo and sorta lived to tell about it! Buy Kassa!'"
"Spirits, Shep. Really," he gave an exasperated sigh and set down the pieces in his hands. She stayed silent for a few minutes so he resumed his task.
"Garrus, what happened to you down there?" She spoke so quietly his translator did not pick up half the sentence. He dropped the shotgun barrel, and it clattered loudly as it rolled across the table."Don't answer that. I won't pry. I wasn't going to say anything as per her wish, but now I feel like it's not fair if I dont. I received an email…" She moved a few steps behind him and turned her back towards him. "From someone named Nalah Butler."
He slid his stool back and stood abruptly.
"Garrus," she began.
"Shepard, there's nothing you can say to fix it." His tone lowered, warning.
Like usual, Shepard ignored all warnings and forged ahead. "Garrus, stop beating yourself up. There's no way it was your fault!" She turned towards him.
"You weren't there. You know nothing."
"I know what I saw when I pulled you out of there: I saw my best friend resigned to his death. I saw the sheets. I know what I'm seeing now."
"I've got diagnostics I should run." He didn't look at her before abandoning the workstation and striding out the door.
He was definitely abusing the stims and now the pain killers too. Shepard sighed and stretched her arms above her head before leaning them on the railing in front of her. Not that she didn't understand. Not that she herself hadn't had to get clean. Past the railing she looked out over the pearlescent capital city of Illium, Nos Astra. The metropolis sprawled away from the spaceport in all directions, a line of buildings unbroken all the way to a green mountain range in the distance. A translucent fog was rolling along to blanket the silver and white skyscrapers. The setting sun lit the rolling clouds a magnificent gold, refracting up from the ground to illuminate the intermittent raindrops beginning to fall over the city. The sky car traffic whined above her, vehicles darting back and forth. The Commander lifted her face to the meandering droplets and closed her eyes. She tried to focus on what they needed here, pushing away the memory of Garrus's tense expression as he stormed out of the armory, and what his using had dredged up of her own past memories. Somewhere planet-side was an assassin and a Justicar, ripe for the picking. So to speak.
Shepard turned to rest her elbows on the railing and flicked open her tool. No return message yet from Liara. Hm. She was also somewhere here in Nos Astra. A cool breeze coiled over the city from the mountains and the sunlight glinting off the wet hull of the Normandy pulled her from her messages. The ship was a beauty. Bigger than the original, but with the same sexy curves of the bow and wings. Some of her crewmen were ambling along the dock, talking animatedly, making plans for their two day shore leave, no doubt. Her lip corners turned up as her date emerged from the Normandy and hurried down the ramp from the airlock.
"There's my favorite shopping partner! What took so long?" Shepard called.
"I'm sorry Shepard! I got a last minute requisition list from Abby." Tali's lilting, modulated voice washed over her.
Movement caught the Commander's eye. She swiveled to watch an Asari with two security mechs in tow walk up the docking platform towards them. The woman was a periwinkle blue, wearing the typical long bodycon the Asari so liked. She came to a halt in front of them.
"Commander Shepard, welcome to Nos Astra." She bowed. "I've been instructed to waive all docking and administration fees for this visit. My name is Careena, and if you need information about the area, it would be my pleasure to assist you."
Shepard stood up off the railing. "Who instructed you to waive the fees?"
"The order came from Liara T'Soni." Careena pulled up her omni-tool. "She also asked me to direct you to speak with her at your convenience. Her office is near the trading floor at the markets."
The Commander's tool pinged with the info packet. "Thanks for your help. I'll go see her."
The Asari bowed a second time. "Again, welcome to our city Commander, it's an honor. Please enjoy your stay."
As the women left, Shepard turned to her friend. "You up to saying hi before we get to the provisions?"
The Quarian nodded. "Of course! It's been years since I've seen Liara."
"Liara!" The grin that split Shepard's face was large as her friend whirled around from the holo vid terminal in her office.
The pale blue Asari's eyes were enormous. "Goddess! Shepard, it's really you!" She jumped at her suddenly as she stepped close. The Commander caught her with a laugh. "Shepard, I'm so happy to see you, I can't believe it!" Liara buried her face in her shoulder, sniffing, arms wrapped tightly around her neck.
The soldier leaned, lifting her friend from the ground slightly. "Hey now, no tears. I'm sure you already did plenty of that, right?"
Liara pulled her head up and wiped her face with the heel of her hand. "More than plenty," The woman snapped her gaze over the N7s back. "Tali!" she breathed.
The Quarian stepped up and threw her arms around them both with a giggle that was contagious. "Yes! The girl group is back together again!"
Ah, the nickname Shepard had given them back on the SR1. All here, except for Ashley. Her absence still tugged at her stomach, causing a sinking feeling.
"Shepard even found Garrus!" Tali spoke happily.
"And you didn't bring him with you?" The Asari fixed her azure gaze on the Commander.
You could hear the smirk Tali repressed. "Oh, they are having a fight at the moment."
Shepard rolled her eyes. "Why is that so amusing to everyone?"
Liara folded her arms. "Because you've never fought before. You are always on the same page, attached at the hip, in perfect formation,"
"Okay, okay I get it. That's what happens when one of you spends too much time dead and the other spends too much time on Omega." Shepard grumbled.
"Goddess, he was on Omega…" Liara paused then gasped. "He was Archangel!"
Shepherd's brows raised. "Huh, you heard about him? Yeah that was his handy work."
Liara shook her head. "How could I not? Shipments between here and Omega for the gangs were a wreck for a while. I figured they had killed him when things started running smoothly. It certainly fits his MO." She shook her head again. "He was Archangel, and you are here. I still can't believe it." She motioned to the chairs in front of her desk. "My sources said you were alive… but it was so hard to believe. I half suspected it was a cruel prank and I was messaging some bot this whole time."
Shepard quirked an eyebrow. "You have sources now?"
The Asari nodded with a soft smile. "Yes, sources, contacts, even a little hired muscle. I've been working as an information broker since… well, for the last two years."
It wasn't hard to notice how her friends tip-toed around the subject of her death.
"But now you're back, gunning for the Collectors with Cerberus. If you ever need information, please ask." Liara leaned back with her palms splayed on the desk.
"Now that you mention it, I could use some. I've got dossiers for people to round out my ground squad, and two are here. Samara, a Justicar -whatever that is - and an assassin named Thane Krios. Oh, and last but not least I'm looking to fill an Asari archeologist sized hole on the ship, know anyone?" Shepard slouched into the chair, knees akimbo.
Liara smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. That was gonna be a no. "I'm sorry Shepard, as much as I want to go with you, I just can't abandon what I'm doing right now. I'm working hard to find someone. I can tell you a bit about the other two though. Justicars are extremely rare, and even more so outside of Asari controlled space. Her presence caught my eye. She arrived and registered with Tracking Officer Dara. Be careful, Shepard. Justicar's serve a moral code that is very black and white, and they are powerful. They pursue and kill their perception of evil with no hesitation. Dara is located at the transportation hub. As for Krios, I haven't received information under that name, but sources tell me there was a Drell that recently passed through the docks inquiring about Nassana Dantius."
Shepard cringed. "Good God, that woman is here?"
"Mm, yes, she is a corporate executive, running her company from the Dantius towers. If he is the assassin you seek, Nassana is likely his target. The Drell was seen speaking with a woman named Seryna at her office in the cargo transfer levels. Perhaps she will know where he is." Liara hadn't even pulled up her omni-tool for reference on all of that.
"That was all off the top of your head?" The Commander asked.
Liara smiled widely. "Im a very good information broker."
Tali leaned forward with her elbows on her knees. "How did you get into this anyway? Seems like a long way from Prothean archeological sites."
The Asari's face dropped. "Circumstances… being what they were…"
Shepard steepled her fingers. "I imagine it has something to do with the information Cerberus has passed me, to give to you."
Liara jumped up from the desk. "What did you receive?!"
The N7 handed her a datapad. "I didn't pry."
The blue women hastily scrolled through the documents. "It looks like a leaked transmission between Shadow Broker agents... hints to his location," she sucked in a loud breath. "Feron! He's alive!"
"Feron?" Shepard bent forward, eyebrows raised.
Liara let out a long sigh. "I might as well tell you. Feron helped me recover your body from the Shadow Broker."
The soldier balked. "What?"
"Keelah, you had a hand in all of this?" Tali waved her hand towards the Commander.
Liara sat back on her desk, palms on her cheeks. "Yes. That is how I got into information brokering. When I found out the Alliance had listed you as MIA, and that your casket was empty… I couldn't… just... stand by and let them pretend that was normal, pretend that Geth had attacked the Normandy! It was so wrong. So infuriating." Tali nodded slowly, sympathetically. "So I went searching for you."
Shepard stood, pacing the office.
Liara continued. "And I found out the Shadow Broker had recovered your body from Alchera."
The Commander threaded digits into her hair. "So I hit the ground after all… What the fuck did the Shadow Broker want with my body?"
"He was going to sell it to the Collectors, but Feron and I stopped him. He sacrificed himself to give me time to get you out." Liara stood and faced out her office window.
"How... how did I wind up with Cerberus?" She whispered.
"They were the ones who gave me the intel to recover you. Feron was a Shadow Broker operative who turned double agent. It was Cerberus who linked us together. After I got you out… I couldn't stomach giving you to the Alliance. After they undermined everything you'd said and done, it felt like I would be betraying you, and Cerberus told me they could bring you back."
"Jesus… Liara…" Shepard was reeling, struggling to process this information.
"I figured it was nothing but a dream, or maybe it would merely make a clone… but if there was even a remote chance..." the Asari trailed off.
"God, it was you," the Commander murmured, trying to control her breathing.
"Shepard," Tali stood and put a hand on her arm.
She jerked away. "NO! Her obsession has done this!" Shepard smacked a gauntlet loudly on her chest piece. "This…" She couldn't bring herself to admit outloud what she truly feared she was, deep down. "God, you should have left me dead, Liara!"
Liara turned around, panic etched into her features. "Please, Shepard,"
"No, no don't. I don't want to hear justifications." Shepard scrunched her eyes shut, trying to will her patience back to the surface. The Asari might have been older than her by eighty-ish years, but her emotional fortitude was that of a young adult to her long lived people.
"My obsession has done… what exactly?" Liara eyed her, her brow furrowed. When the Commander refused to answer she sighed. "You are here. All my efforts were worth it, Shepard. I regret nothing. Feron's sacrifice was worth it."
"I'm not sure that's true. Not from where I am standing, Liara," the soldier murmured. "But what's done is done. I've gotta go. I'll message you later." Shepard strode from the room.
Tali shot Liara a sympathetic look before turning to follow.
"Miranda, I've got the Asari Justicar en route to the ship, be prepared to welcome her," Shepard spoke into her com.
"Roger that, Commander. I'll roll out the red carpet," the XO replied.
The N7 leaned back in her seat in the sky car. It was night now on Illium, and with her head resting against the window, she watched the lights of the city stream by outside. Samara was a biotic hard hitter for sure, but her whole code thing was worrisome. Shepard was a 'means to an end' kinda girl. They might come to odds at some point. Remembering the 'biotic god' Volus in the Eclipse hideout brought a smile to her face though. Poor little dude was so high on that Minagen x3 stuff he had entered another plane of existence. Not that she could blame him. The mercenaries in the warehouse had forced her into cover in a cloud of the stuff and she still kinda felt like a biotic god herself. A god with a massive migraine, but a god. She'd even yanked that bitch Eclipse leader out from behind her hiding place with her biotics before she slammed into her full force with a charge.
"So, are you trying to stop the assassin, Shepard?" Seryna - her Asari contact that had met the Drell assassin - said from the driver's seat of the sky car. She was ferrying Shepard and Kasumi to Dantius towers, the last place anyone knew Thane Krios to be headed - with Nassana as his target. Karma was alive and well in the universe! Shepard could still recall vividly how Nassana had tried to get her to kill her sister, Dahlia Dantius.
"Not my plan, I just want to meet with him. Although if he succeeds, it'll be no skin off my nose. Nassana is a real piece of work." Shepard yawned and rubbed her head. Man, this was blooming into a killer headache.
"You doing okay, Shep?" Kasumi called from the back seat.
"I'm not that old yet. I can stay up past my bedtime." She waved a dismissive hand.
"You did just spend all day plowing through an Eclipse base with Tali and Garrus," the thief intoned.
"I do kinda wish this Krios guy could have waited twelve more hours for this hit, but, well you know. Gotta do what ya gotta do."
Seryna was peering out of the corner of her eye. "Nassana has Eclipse employed, the higher up you go, the more there will be. She'll be well fortified by now."
Shepard sighed. "I'm hoping we will find him before we get that far."
"You'll need to go up the second building and over the bridge to the first tower to get to her. At least you'll know where he is headed." The Asari swung a wide loop and brought the car down just in front of the entrance to the building. "Here's your stop. Good luck Shepard."
Both Humans hopped out of the vehicle and began checking their weapons. Shepard turned back. "Thanks Seryna, get outta here and stay safe." The driver waved and took off.
"Okay, team stealth is a go." Shepard pushed her helmet on.
Kasumi gave her a skeptical look.
"What? Just because I enjoy shotguns and titanic explosions doesn't mean I don't also possess finesse of the stealth variety. I am an N7." Shepard pulled the silenced SMG off of her back. "Look, no shotgun."
"There's an assault rifle there too," Kasumi pointed.
"Emergencies only. I promise." The sounds of shooting interrupted the Commander. Past the entrance a few Salarians ran by followed by Loki mechs and dogs. One of them swiveled to get a bead on her. So much for stealth.
They had snuck past some mercs on the path up, but Shepard couldn't help rescuing Nassana's few remaining night workers. No one deserved to die just because they were employed by a paranoid bitch. Well, rightfully paranoid at least. Meanwhile, Shepard's headache was reaching epic levels. Even her molars hurt, so she hoped this would wrap up quick. She hit the control panel for the door. They'd made it up through the whistling wind and half-constructed building to Nassana's penthouse, just behind the assassin the whole way. He must be using the vents. Inside, the Asari in question was pacing around in front of the bay window, surrounded by a small team of Eclipse mercenaries who had their guns drawn on her.
"Shepard!? But… you're dead!" Nassana's eyes were huge, her voice high.
"A minor setback. I just reaaaaally missed you."
"Screw you, Shepard!" The Asari turned back towards the window.
"Charming, as always." Shepard cocked her gun and the mercs did the same.
"You must find this all very ironic. First my sister, and now me. Not afraid to be a common hired killer, are you?"
"If you think I'd waste my time chasing your ass across the galaxy, you are more delusional than I thought. I've got much bigger fish to fry than some corrupt bitch with family issues."
"Then what do you call this? You've practically destroyed my towers."
Shepard heard a knocking noise above her head. "Not looking for you. I'd call it a parting gift though." Two of the mercs were jerking their rifles around at the sound.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Nassana shook her head. "Just tell me your price and we can make this problem go away." She hadn't seemed to have heard it. As the Asari moved closer to Shepard, a form dropped out of the vents behind her. In a blur the assassin had broken one merc's neck, punched one in the throat, and used that poor suckers gun to shoot the last remaining Eclipse soldier across from him. Nassana jerked around at the commotion but they were all already dead. And within a second, so was she, with one round through the stomach. The Drell laid her down gently across her desk and set the pistol he had taken down next to her body. He bowed his head and clasped his hands over Nassana in what looked like... prayer? The hit had happened so quickly that this was the first look Shepard got of him. Immediately she realized that she'd never seen a Drell before. Heard of them, sure, but they were rare after a homeworld catastrophe. She had been laughably under prepared for how similar to a human he would be. She put her gun away and stood waiting for him to raise his head.
"I apologize, Commander, prayers for the wicked must not be forsaken." His voice was gravely and deep, almost dual toned like Garrus's.
Shepard's eyes darted to the Asari. "She doesn't deserve them. Not by a long shot." She pulled her helmet off.
"Not for her. For me." He looked up. Wow, Drell had black eyes, sclera included. Huh. "The measure of an individual can be difficult to discern by actions alone."
Shepard sighed internally. A preachy type was not something she needed on the ship.
"Take you, for instance. All this destruction… chaos. I was curious how far you would go to find me." Behind him, the sun was peeking over the horizon. He dawdled along the desk, running his hand along the surface. Krios moved with the precision of hard, long training, powerful muscles, and the serene confidence of someone whose life was not in danger. Kasumi cocked her gun as he neared and kept it trained on his head. "Well, here I am."
Shepard dug a finger into her temple in an attempt to relive her headache. "So you know who I am. I assume you also know why I am here."
"I didn't. Not before you walked through the door and started shooting." He meandered over to the thief's outstretched gun and stood an inch from the barrel with his arms behind his back. "Nassana had become paranoid, you saw the strength of her guard force. She believed one of her sisters would kill her." He was peering at her. "You were a valuable distraction."
Shepard couldn't help feeling just a little miffed. They had snuck by some of them. "Let's cut to the chase. I need you for a mission."
"Indeed?"
"You are familiar with the Collectors?"
Krios slowly crossed behind her. "By reputation."
What was this? An intimidation tactic? Was he sizing her up? He came to a stop in front of her again, looming over her from his slightly taller height. Shepards mouth corner twitched up. Such a typical male thing, amazingly universal across all species. They sure loved looming.
"They are abducting entire human colonies. Freedom's Progress, Ferris Fields, Horizon. All their handy work." She kept her gaze steady into his. He would realize soon enough intimidation wasn't in her vocabulary.
"I see." The leather of his outfit creaked subtly as he moved. His eyes dropped lower on her face.
"We are going after them."
His gaze jerked up. "Attacking the Collectors would require passing through the Omega 4 relay. No ship has ever returned from doing so."
A lopsided grin spread out across her features. "I have a nasty habit of making the impossible, possible."
"A fair point. You've made a career out of it." He turned his back to her and was silent for a few beats. She thought for sure he would decline. "This was to be my last job. I'm dying," he paused. "Low survival odds don't concern me. The abduction of your colonists does."
"You're dying? How long do you have?" Shepard moved to stand next to him.
"Long enough for a suicide mission. It isn't contagious and it won't affect my work."
"Is there anything I need to do?"
"Giving me this opportunity is enough. The universe is a dark place. I'm trying to make it brighter before I die." He faced her. "Many innocents died today. I wasn't fast enough, and they suffered. I must atone for that." He stuck out his hand, and she took it. Huh, he was well versed in Human customs. "I will work for you Shepard. No charge."
