Chapter Twenty-six – Twice in One Day
Jules lurked in the doorway of the medical room, peering out into the main room beyond. She was aware that she was being avoided, the glances the other fighters were throwing in her direction ranged from suspicious to wary to downright hostile.
She didn't know whether all new arrivals got this treatment. Perhaps it was because Samara had shown such an interest in her, they obviously feared and resented the justicar in equal measure, not viewing her as being one of them. Taking that into account, their suspicion became understandable; this probably all looked like some elaborate setup by Cadeyrn to get a spy in amongst them.
It was a shame, really. She doubted there was any love lost between the fighters and Cadeyrn. By putting his prisoners in an arena and forcing them to fight and train every day, he was basically raising an army in the heart of his own base of people who completely despised him. They could be good to have onside, if Jules could just figure out a way to earn their trust.
Inevitably at some point she was going to have to break out of this place, it was always good to get started on the escape plan early.
"Shepard," Jules jumped about three feet in the air and clasped a hand over her pocket with the communicator in as Samara's voice emanated from it. She checked quickly to see if anyone looked like they had heard and then ducked fully into the medical room and ripped the communicator out.
"Christ Samara!" she hissed angrily, "I could have been in front of one of the guards!"
"I apologise," Samara replied. She didn't sound particularly apologetic.
"Why are you calling me?" Jules demanded, "Where the hell are you?"
"In a shuttlecraft. I've stolen it from Eisheth, another gang leader in the city," there was a pause and what sounded like laser fire followed by a system overloading, "she's rather unhappy about it."
In a previous life Jules might have asked for explanations, by now she had learned it was easier just to roll with it, "Alright, what do you need?"
"Eisheth told me where Falere is, I'm going to get her now, before Cadeyrn has a chance to hide her from me again."
"What?" Jules checked over her shoulder to make doubly sure no one was listening in, "Samara, you've spent the last six years sitting on your hands while you tried to figure out a way to rescue Falere, what's changed?"
There was another pause and more gunfire, "Events have a habit of accelerating when you're around, Shepard. It must be a gift."
Jules grimaced, "That's one word for it."
"Falere is on one of Cadeyrn's space stations. It's the largest one in orbit, you can't miss it. I'll meet you there."
"And how the hell am I supposed to get up there from here?"
"Cadeyrn has a private shuttle at his base."
"Wonderful, I'm sure he'll let me borrow it if I ask nicely."
"Please, Shepard." Samara implored her, "I need your help. I… had little time to formulate more of a plan than that."
"You're winging it," Jules corrected her, grimly, "I was a bad influence on you, wasn't I?"
"Shepard…"
"Fine, fine. I'll figure something out. Just try not to take down the entire base before I get there, I'd like to claim some of the glory," she shut the call off before Samara could respond and slumped back against the nearest wall. It looked like her barely-formed escape plan was about to be brought forward and there wasn't even time for a quick power nap.
Sighing heavily, she reactivated the comm, "Liara? Change of plan, you need to get me out."
…
Liara grinned despite herself as she heard Jules' voice. She and Kyla were still struggling through awkward silences broken only by occasional, stilted conversation as they both tried to avoid the topic of their shared parentage. The thought of having Jules back with her brought more relief than she'd expected.
"I'd be glad to, should I send Kyla back to the sewer?"
"What?" Kyla's head snapped round to look at her, "No way. She had her chance, I'm not wading through those tunnels again."
Liara glared and was about to tell her exactly what she was going to do and how she was going to like it or get left behind on this planet, but Jules interrupted her, "It won't be as easy as that, Falere's on a space station. We need a ship."
"We've got one," Kyla stated bluntly, "it's called the Janiri. Remember?"
Liara cleared her throat, "We need environmental suits to get back to it and we only brought the three."
Kyla rolled her eyes, "Well that was good planning."
"There's no time anyway," Jules cut in, "Samara says Cadeyrn has a shuttle at his base. I think it's our best bet."
"You sure about that?" Kyla challenged, she wasn't letting Liara get much of a word in, "His base is under another city."
Liara looked up. The streets of the upper city criss-crossed above them but it was hardly a roof, there were plenty of gaps where a small shuttle could take off through and then you only had to reach the docking port and get out through the dome, "She's right," Liara muttered.
"Thanks," Kyla agreed, making Liara look at her sharply.
"Not you. Jules is right, crime lords always have escape plans and a shuttle is the most likely one."
"Good," Jules agreed, "so, you up for an assault on the base?"
"I thought we'd already established, that's suicide," Kyla protested.
"Not if I find a way to help you."
Liara waited, "What are you thinking?"
"Get everyone together and get ready, then contact me."
The call shut off before Liara could question her further, not that she needed to. Kyla looked at her and shrugged, "What does that mean?"
She grimaced, "It means she hasn't thought of anything yet."
…
Paige glared at the door to Cadeyrn's throne room as the guard outside opened it for her. She stepped through and found Cadeyrn hunched forward in his throne as usual, his elbows resting on his knees as he gazed pensively at the floor.
His braids framed his face squarely as he glanced up at her, taking a moment to just stare quietly. He was probably gaging her appearance, judging whether she was well-dressed enough to consider herself one of his people. Apparently she passed as he leaned back and spoke.
"Ah Paige, do come in," he gestured in front of him and she stepped further into the room.
"You wanted to see me?" she asked.
A smile flashed in his eyes, "Yes. Connor says that you had a chat with our new guest."
Paige resisted rolling her eyes. Connor had always been particularly bad at keeping his mouth shut, his tendency to run to Cadeyrn with every bit of information and gossip was making him increasingly unpopular in the base. Paige couldn't tell whether his boneheaded loyalty was because he admired his uncle or because he was shit-scared of him.
Paige herself had never found Cadeyrn to be particularly intimidating. The worst he ever did to anyone was to throw them in his arena, more concerned about making a profit off his enemies than actually punishing them. In the days when the old gangs had ruled Piares, Cadeyrn had been the one least likely to get you killed if you worked for him.
Paige knew she was more use to him as a merc than in the arena so all-in-all she wasn't too worried as she answered him, "Yes. I was curious about her."
"Did you discover anything useful?"
"No. She still won't explain how she got here, or why she came."
"Mm," Cadeyrn turned away, his pale eyes lingering thoughtfully on a towering stone asari who was gazing down on them, her painted eyes cold and accusing. Paige had no idea who the statue depicted. She'd never been that interested in Thessia's history, personally; she had always found Cadeyrn's fascination with it hard to understand. It wasn't even his planet.
"Do you still believe she's the real Shepard?" he asked softly, his voice deceptively gentle.
She hesitated, sensing she was being led into a trap, "I'm… not sure," she lied, "she's not what I expected," that bit was true, at least.
A grim smile ghosted on Cadeyrn's lips, "She can't be the real Shepard, it's impossible. But she is from outside the Athena Nebula."
"That's hardly unheard of. People do come through from the Terminus."
"Into the Vernio System, yes. How many of them end up here? This close to Thessia? Do you think she could be a spy?"
Paige frowned, "A spy who got herself captured and talks like a mad woman?"
"But fights like a champion," Cadeyrn stood and wandered over to a display case full of his ancient trinkets, Paige wondered idly how much money and lives he'd spent retrieving them from Thessia's surface, "she could have beaten Samara today, I'm sure of it. It's made me think, having only one champion whom no one can match seems wasteful. We should have a league of champions, people will pay double to see them fight each other."
Paige watched him indolently as he outlaid his latest scheme. She had no interest in it, she was happy enough to get paid and not die, she didn't need to care about her boss's pet projects.
"Speaking of Samara," he looked suddenly back at her, forcing her to stifle the yawn she had been about to indulge in, "have we heard from her since she left for Eisheth's base?"
Paige straightened up, feeling her spine tingle uncomfortably at Eisheth's name. There was someone who was worth being scared of, "Not yet. Was sending her really a good idea?"
"Eisheth isn't the power she used to be," Cadeyrn said dismissively.
"She's getting stronger though, our people are encountering her squads all over the city and they're attacking on sight. We're losing good men to her. I think she might be planning something."
"If she wants a war, she only has to ask," Cadeyrn stated, "she's no threat, Paige. I assure you."
Paige didn't comment. It was often hard to tell whether Cadeyrn really cared about his empire, he so often seemed to dismiss the threats it faced then at the last moment he would spring into action and remind his enemies who held the power. It was equally hard to tell whether that made him stupid or subtly clever. Paige had no choice but to trust that he knew what he was doing; if Eisheth managed to overthrow him, the whole city would suffer for it.
Cadeyrn looked back at her with a frown, as though he'd forgotten she was there and was now wondering why she was in his throne room. He was erratic like that, Paige was used to it.
He blinked at her and then said, "You can get back to your duties now."
Having been duly dismissed, Paige nodded and left. She found Connor waiting in the corridor outside, fidgeting restlessly. He looked up when she appeared, eyeing her warily.
"Hey," he stated, "did he want to talk about Shepard?"
Paige raised her brow, "Yes, he did." she waited a moment, then aimed a sharp slap at his head, "Prick. What did you tell him for?"
"Oi!" he snapped as he ducked away from her hand, she still got the hit in though, "Why shouldn't I have told him? You don't have anything to hide do you?"
"Just because something I do isn't criminal, that doesn't mean I want my boss to know about it! You ever heard of privacy?"
"Not in this base," Connor shrugged, "what did she say to you, anyway?"
"That's not your business any more than it is his."
Connor watched her for a moment, probably unconvinced. She didn't care, she wasn't the type who regularly felt the need to explain herself.
"What are you doing here anyway?" she asked, "You weren't waiting for me, were you?"
He shook his head, "I'm here to see the boss, some kind of fight's broken out in the fighters' quarters."
…
Jules dodged to the left as a locker came flying in her direction. It hadn't been aimed at her. At least, she didn't think it had. It was hard to tell what with all the fighting and the yelling and the fact that all the fighters were trying to kill each other and the guards who were trying to pull them apart.
Cadeyrn was right about one thing, most of them did seem like criminals rather than innocent prisoners. Jules had soon realised that getting them onside would have taken time and patience – two luxuries she couldn't afford. Getting them to turn on each other, however. That had been easy.
She couldn't quite remember what had actually set it off. She'd thrown a few insults around, goaded a few people and the rivalries that had already existed between them had become obvious. Then all she'd had to do was manipulate them. Ten minutes later, chaos ruled.
It was a good distraction, probably good enough to let her slip out unnoticed. The unfortunate downside of her plan was that there was now a large, very angry horde between her and the door, bad planning on her part really but she was having to think on her feet.
She surveyed the scene, trying to find a gap she could slip through. A heavy set turian was making the most trouble, beating back anyone who came within his reach. She was pretty sure it was him who had thrown the locker. He was starting to piss off the others enough that they were all turning on him. Some of the guards were trying to get between him and the horde but they were only in danger of getting themselves crushed.
The door opened and more guards appeared, pausing to get a look at the mayhem before joining the fight. There seemed to be very little strategy in their approach but they had armour and weapons which gave them the advantage.
Jules recognised Paige amongst them but unlike the others she didn't dive into the fight, instead hesitating as she glanced around the room. Jules hadn't really expected to have to call her in on the promise she had made, but she was low on other ideas and figured she had nothing to lose.
She jumped up onto a bench and used the height to cross the room without getting caught up in the fighting. She hopped back to the floor beside Paige and pushed the asari back against the wall, startling her slightly but she didn't resist.
"You still grateful I saved the galaxy?" she asked sharply.
Paige cast a glance around the room, "I'm starting to wonder. Is all this your doing?"
Jules ignored the question, "Are you still willing to help me?" she pressed.
Paige eyed her uncertainly, "Why?"
"Cadeyrn's private shuttle, where is it and how do I get there?"
She frowned, "It's on the roof, but it's protected by a security system, you'd need Cadeyrn's codes to fly it."
"That's alright," Jules grinned, "I know a girl who's good at hacking computers, we just need to get her inside."
Paige seemed to wince internally, "Shit, Shepard. When I offered to help you, I wasn't expecting…" she trailed off, her eyes wandering down to her holster. She groaned when she saw it was empty and her own pistol was instead in Jules' hand, angled upwards towards her heart.
"I told you to make sure you were on the right side when the fighting started," Jules warned her softly, "now, who do you think has the better odds here? Cadeyrn, in the heart of his own base with an army of mercenaries at his command, or me?"
"Is that a serious question?"
"Deadly."
When making threats like that, there was a fine line between sounding convincing and sounding stupid. Jules must have fallen on the right side of it as Paige closed her eyes and thudded her head back against the wall, "What do you need?"
"The turrets at the main entrance, can you disable them?"
The asari opened her eyes again and sighed, "Maybe? I mean, I've never tried."
"But you know where they're controlled from."
"Yes, but-"
"Good enough," Jules looked behind her. Stirring up the fighters had seemed like a good idea at the time but now it wasn't making her life any easier. Most of the guards were in the middle of it, shouting above the noise as they beat back anyone who got within reach. A human man made a grab for one of their weapons and got a broken nose for his trouble, no shots had been fired yet but Jules assumed it was only a matter of time.
She looked over to the door, two heavies were standing in front of it, blocking any attempts to leave. Jules glanced down at the pistol she was holding, weighed up her options and then, when no better ideas occurred to her, she raised the gun and fired twice. She hit one in the neck, sending him choking to the floor, clutching the hole at his throat. The other one she got in the shoulder, not enough to kill him but she staggered him at least.
There was a moment of confusion as the guards tried to figure out where the shots had come from, more than enough time to give the prisoners their opportunity. They may have been half-naked and unarmed but they fell upon the guards like a swarm of rats, fighting with teeth and claws – and the odd well placed punch – to break free.
The noise became calamitous as the guards fell beneath them and Jules was able to duck around the edge of the room until she reached the door. It had been barred from the other side but a swift kick sorted that out and a cheer went up from the room as the prisoners rushed to claim their freedom.
Jules had to dive aside to avoid being crushed and watched as the startled guards outside were overpowered. The fighters continued up the stairs until they broke out into the arena and their cheering became a distant roar, echoing through the base.
As Jules listened, she realised grimly that she had just freed a bunch of criminals to fight a bunch of criminals. Probably not her finest moment but when needs must…
She looked around the now empty and eerily quiet room and saw numerous guards strewn about the floor, occupying various states between unconscious and dead. Paige was the only one still standing, staring down at the aftermath in mild disbelief.
"If Cadeyrn finds out I had anything to do with this," she muttered, "he'll rip my fucking throat out."
"I wouldn't worry," Jules dismissed, "doesn't seem like his style. He'll just throw you in his arena and let someone else rip your throat out."
"Thanks," Paige glowered, "are you this supportive to all your allies?"
"Allies?" Jules raised an eyebrow, "you work for a crime lord, we are a long way from being allies."
"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realise your standards were so high. There was a rumour in the old days that you were friends with Aria T'Loak."
"Friends might be overstating it," Jules told her.
"Well, either way, maybe you should wait until after I've helped you escape before you start criticising me on my life choices."
Jules was too used to being threatened for Paige's words to have much impact. She raised the asari's own pistol and levelled it neatly at her head, "Turret controls. Now."
Paige blinked and didn't move, "I offered my help willingly, you don't need to point a gun at me."
"You can never be too careful," Jules stated, "you strike me as the type who switches sides the moment the odds look bad," she indicated to the door, "move."
Paige frowned as though annoyed at Jules' character evaluation of her, then she sighed at stalked out of the room. Jules followed her, keeping her close as she pulled out her communicator.
"Liara," she started, making Paige frown at look round. She looked momentarily surprised when she saw the communicator but she didn't say anything, "where are you?"
"Outside the main gate with the others," Liara's reply came back, "we've managed to stay out of sight. Do you have a plan yet?"
"Yes. Kinda. Half a plan. It probably won't work."
"Fucking hell," Jules heard Kyla mutter in the background, "this is the woman who united the whole galaxy against the reapers?"
Liara softly cleared her throat, "She used to be better at motivational speeches."
"I used to lie a lot, if that's what you mean," Jules agreed, "how many guards can you see?"
"Five. There were more but some of them just ran inside, they looked worried."
"Yeah," Jules dismissed, "I might have started a riot."
"Deliberately?"
"Sorta. How many turrets are there?"
"Too many, even with biotics we'd struggle."
"They're about to go offline, when they do, make your move. I'll meet you inside the main door."
…
Liara shut off the call and heard Kyla huff beside her, "Does she never explain a plan in full?" she grumbled.
"She expects people to trust her," Liara said, "with good reason."
"Yes, I know, 'saviour of the universe'! blah, blah, blah," Liara tensed, resisting several retorts as she peered out from their cover to keep a close eye on the front of the base. Pushing Kyla to the back of her mind was becoming increasingly difficult.
"There's no shame in showing respect, Kyla," Maia stated coolly "no one will think less of you," the whole team seemed to brace for Kyla's response but she stayed quiet, "no scathing retort?" Maia inquired, "You seem a little out of sorts, has something happened?"
"How is that any of your business?"
"We're about to fight alongside each other, I'd like to be able to trust that you won't get any of us killed by being distracted."
"None of us are getting killed," Liara muttered, "now be quiet and stay focussed. All of you," Kyla snorted and she was aware of Barbet and Egret exchanging a look but thankfully no one argued with her. Perhaps after two hundred years, Jules' knack for command was finally rubbing off on her.
At the main entrance, three of the guards were chatting hurriedly to each other while listening to reports being relayed over a communicator. She couldn't hear what was being said but the other two were watching on with worried expressions. Whatever Jules had done it must have been causing a stir.
The turrets, meanwhile, were still hungrily scanning the area, their barrels moving steadily back and forth, awaiting any intruders. Liara watched and waited, acutely aware of the rest of the team around her all doing the same.
Minutes passed and Kyla became increasingly restless, shifting position and grumbling softly. Liara felt the temptation herself but resisted on principle. The last thing she wanted was to prove that they were even remotely alike.
Eventually, there was an audible drain of power and the turrets stopped moving.
"Now!" Liara hissed and in unison they raised their weapons.
Liara's shot missed and sent the guards scattering into cover. Barbet took out one with a headshot as the others opened fire. The guard with the communicator began screaming into it, loud enough for Liara to hear this time.
"The main gate is under attack! We need-" he squealed as the communicator was shot out of his hand, Liara glanced behind her to see Maia calmly reloading her sniper rifle.
"Hmph," Kyla muttered, "nice shot."
Maia's only reply was a keen twinkle that lit up her eyes.
Liara planted a singularity above the guards, dragging them out of their cover so that they hung in the air as easy targets. Egret went one better, yanking one of them forwards with such ferocity that he was drawn out of the singularity's pull and came flying at speed over their heads. Kyla shot him as he passed, chuckling as he landed in a crumpled heap behind them.
The guard's message must have got through to someone as the main doors opened and a dozen more guards rushed out. Liara withdrew her singularity and the three caught in it promptly fell into the middle of the reinforcements. It caught them off-guard for a second and Liara made to break cover, planning to take the fight to them.
As she leaned out, the crack of a sniper shot forced her back and a bullet ricocheted off the ground barely a foot in front of her.
"Dammit," she hissed, scanning the upper windows for the sniper, "stay in cover."
She strengthened her barrier and fired a few shots into the guards, she hit at least two though not fatally. Barbet snatched a grenade from his belt, tossing it into the cluster of targets, "Heads down," he advised. The ensuing explosion sent the guards scattering and left a good number of them dead in the centre of the courtyard.
"Good work," Liara told him, then ducked back down as another sniper shot whistled past her head, "Maia, you need to take out that sniper."
"Yes," the matriarch agreed casually, "the thought had occurred to me."
They continued exchanging fire, peering out from cover for only a few seconds at a time before the sniper forced them down again, "In your own time, Matriarch!" Kyla yelled sarcastically as she nearly lost her head to another bullet.
Maia's reply was a single shot of her own. The sharp crack echoed around courtyard, briefly silencing the team until Maia confirmed: "He's down."
"Go!" Liara ordered and led her team forward into the fray.
…
Jules watched Liara and the others advance on a view screen in the security office. Two guards lay unconscious at her feet as she leaned forward over the controls she had used to shut down the base's turrets.
She looked behind her to where Paige was watching the corridor outside. Distant fighting could be heard further into the base but nearby all was quiet.
"They're about to get inside," Jules told her, making the asari look round, "I should get to the main entrance."
Paige watched her for a second and then nodded, "You can get to the roof through the elevator. There'll be no guards up there, only turrets. With them disabled you'll just need to crack the codes. Where will you go?"
"Why don't you come with us and find out?"
Paige snorted, "Cos I'm not stupid. In all the chaos, no one will know I was helping you, if I go with you there'll be no going back."
"Is working for Cadeyrn really that great?"
She shrugged, "No. But he looks after the people who are loyal to him. Or profitable. There are worse people who could have ended up in charge."
"So I've been told," Jules said with a sigh, "fine, you'd better go before someone spots you with me."
"Can I have my pistol back?"
Jules glanced at Paige's pistol holstered at her belt, "There's plenty of weapons in this base, I'm sure you'll find one."
She heard a soft chuckle, when she looked back Paige had gone.
She didn't encounter anyone as she moved through the base, the fighters seemed to be more interested in causing chaos than actually escaping and none of them had made it to the main door. The entrance lobby was deserted, all the guards having responded to one of the two crises. Jules heard fighting going on outside before the doors burst open and Liara and the others emerged, guns raised.
She raised both hands in mock surrender – and strengthened her barrier just in case – as she greeted them with a grin. They quickly relaxed and Liara jogged forwards to meet her, dragging her into a one-armed hug. She smelled of gunfire and sweat, like she used to after a mission on the Normandy.
"I swear you're getting captured more often than you used to," she muttered as she pulled back.
Jules shrugged, "Well I'm not as young as I used to be."
Liara brushed a hand across Jules' forehead, moving back the hair that hid some of the cuts and bruises she had gained in the fight against Samara, "Are you alright?" she asked, frowning, "Goddess, was she trying to kill you?"
"Erm," Jules gave a nervous laugh, "maybe? I don't think so. It's hard to tell with Samara."
Liara looked away, giving the floor a cold scowl that was doubtless intended for the justicar.
"Promise me you won't get violent when you see her?" Jules ventured hopefully.
Liara glanced at her, "I'll do my best."
The sound of distant gunfire and an explosion drew Liara's attention and she frowned, "What have you done, exactly?"
"Just organised a small prison break," Jules dismissed, "that's two in one day. Impressive even for me, right?"
"The first one was more of a team effort," Kyla called, "where the hell are we going?"
"The roof. Follow-"
She was cut off by the crack of a shotgun as Liara pulled her down behind the cover of a desk and hurled a biotic attack at someone behind her. The rest of the team scattered and Jules peered over the desk to see Connor leading several more of Cadeyrn's men into the room.
She saw a glint of gold and recognised the shotgun he was holding as the one Grunt had given her, the one he'd taken off her in the freighter, "Bastard," she muttered, swiftly loading Paige's pistol.
"You won't escape, Shepard!" he called, making her roll her eyes in disgust.
"The amount of times I've heard that," she muttered in an undertone only Liara could hear, "after two hundred years of being taunted by bad guys, I really wish they'd come up with something more imaginative, it's getting boring."
"Imagine how Maia must feel," Liara replied dryly. She squinted over the desk to get a look at their attackers, "there's only six of them, we can handle it."
"Make it easy on yourself and come out!" Connor added. Jules grimaced.
"Oh now he's just embarrassing himself."
She leaned around the corner of the desk and aimed a shot; it deflected harmlessly off Connor's barrier, alerting him to where she was. It was the exact distraction the rest of the squad needed.
As Connor ordered his men forward, Maia and the others opened fire from the other side of the room, catching Connor neatly between the two of them. Jules could hear Barbet shouting orders, there was the crack of Kyla's shotgun, a burst of biotics and several seconds of gunfire before the room fell suddenly quiet.
Behind the cover of the desk, Jules and Liara looked at each other. They waited a second more, then peered out cautiously.
Three of the six lay motionless on the floor while the others must have made a run for it. Connor was still there, groaning softly but seemingly unable to stand. Barbet emerged from cover and walked over to him, nudged him experimentally with his foot, then bent down to pick the shotgun out of his hands.
He tested its weight curiously and then turned to Jules with a smile, "Yours, I believe?"
She stood as he tossed it casually towards her and caught it neatly, "Thanks, Grunt would have been angry if I'd lost this," she slipped Paige's pistol back into its holster, she much preferred the weight of a real gun in her hands again.
"There'll be more on the way," Liara said.
"Isn't there always?" Jules agreed, "C'mon."
The nearest elevator was in the next corridor, "I've been told there's no guards on the roof," Jules said as she led them through, "but the shuttle's systems are locked behind Cadeyrn's codes. I said I knew a girl who was good at hacking computers."
"Well," Liara reasoned as they entered the elevator and let the doors slide shut, "I'll do my best."
"Ah," Jules gave her a sheepish smile, "I was actually thinking of Egret," Egret's computer skills in the HTA prison had been impressive. Jules wanted to test just how good she was, and make sure it hadn't been a fluke.
Behind her, Kyla snorted, "Wow, awkward."
Jules hadn't expected Liara to react badly but she felt the asari bristle next to her and glanced over to see her face was set in stone. There was something odd in the air, a tension that hadn't been there before. Liara wasn't petty by nature, she certainly wouldn't have felt threatened by Egret's hacking skills so it must have been something else that was bothering her. The others had picked up on it too and everyone made a point of staying quiet.
A few long seconds of awkward silence later and the elevator came to a stop. The doors opened and they stepped out onto the roof. Jules had almost expected to feel the wind in her hair before she remembered this was a domed city on a toxic planet.
The city did feel different from up here though. Above them, the noise from the upper streets was loud and crisp as the crowds bustled close by overhead, oblivious to their presence. Below, the alleyways were laid out like a blueprint and it was immediately obvious just how much of a rabbit warren it was down there. The neon lights of bars and clubs gleamed on various corners while other, shadowy areas could hardly be made out at all.
Here and there gunfire flashed and distant shots and cries could be heard.
"There's a war brewing in this city," Barbet mused grimly.
"You give them too much credit," Maia told him with a smile, "This is a petty feud about to get out of hand, nothing more."
"Should we be worried that the first city we've encountered is run on gambling and crime and the closest they have to politics is gangs trying to overthrow each other?"
"That's how politics works everywhere," Liara said, "eventually they learn to dress it up behind procedure and red tape, but it's still the same principle."
Maia looked at her curiously, "You're very cynical for one so young."
Liara shrugged, "I've had an unconventional life."
Jules looked past them as they continued to gaze down on the city. The shuttle was on a landing pad in the centre of the roof, surrounded by turrets that were all powered down. As promised, there were no guards in sight.
"C'mon," she said, "before they get the turrets back online."
They headed for the shuttle at a jog. A basic keypad protected the door, easy enough for Liara to override. Once they were inside, Jules followed Egret into the cockpit; the young asari sat down at the controls and took a moment to look around.
"What do you think?" Jules asked.
"The security isn't too advanced, give me a few minutes."
"Can you fly this thing?"
"I think so. I can fly most shuttles."
"Hmph, that's quite an eclectic mix of skills you have there," Jules muttered. Egret gave her a nervous laugh, probably trying to figure out if it was a criticism or a compliment. In truth it was neither, Egret did have a remarkable mix of skills for one so unsure of herself.
She didn't say anything though, it was better that Egret learned not to care so much about other people's opinions of her.
Something beeped and Egret frowned, "Someone's calling the comm," she glanced back, waiting for Jules' order. Jules stared at the flashing comm light warily for a moment.
"Answer it," she decided. Egret obliged.
"Shepard," Cadeyrn's voice filled the cockpit, gentle and melodic despite the underlying threat in it. He reminded her of Aria in that way, she had the kind of voice that could tempt a fly into a spider's web.
"You've found me," Jules gave Egret a meaningful look; she took the hint and promptly got to work.
"I hear you disabled my defences. I'm impressed. Was that little rebellion your doing?"
Jules watched Egret's hands flying across the controls as she worked through the codes, "Well, maybe if you looked after your fighters better they wouldn't be so easy to rile up."
"You got a lot of them killed, you know? Just so you could escape."
"I'm not the one who locked them up in the first place, but I'm sorry if I've put a dent in your profits."
There was a pause, long enough to make Jules worry, there must have been guards on the way up to them by now.
"Who are you?" Cadeyrn eventually asked.
"Take a look around your base, I think I've made it abundantly clear who I am."
"I refuse to believe that Commander Shepard has returned from the dead."
"Why? It wouldn't be the first time."
Another pause, shorter this time, "What are you planning on doing with my shuttle?"
"You'll find out soon enough," around her the cockpit lit up and Jules heard the engines come online, she glanced down at Egret who nodded silently, "I'll be back, Cadeyrn," she stated, "soon."
She shut off the comm, "Take off as soon as you can," she told Egret.
"Where are we headed?"
"Biggest space station in orbit, that was all Samara gave me. Call Ereba and tell her to get the Janiri up there too. Tell her to stay cloaked but nearby, just in case we need a quick getaway."
"Yes, Shepard," she hesitated, "are we really coming back here?"
"Yes. But I'm not on some crusade to overthrow Cadeyrn if that's what you're thinking. He has freighters that can get past Thessia's defence grid and I want to know how he does it."
She turned away and headed back out of the cockpit as the engines warmed up fully and Egret urged them into flight. Jules caught hold of the doorframe as the deck shifted beneath her and a burst of speed sent them on their way.
In the back, the others had settled themselves on the plush leather sofas Cadeyrn had back there, more luxurious than most people would have in their living rooms let alone the back of a shuttlecraft. It was roomy for a shuttle too, bigger than the Kodiak had been. Just like Cadeyrn's throne room, it was crammed full of treasures and trinkets, none of which complimented each other and made the whole place feel garish and distasteful.
A fur rug covered the floor, skinned off some kind of large mammal, presumably from Thessia. The pattern was similar to a tiger but the colours were a mix of pinks and purples. Drapes covered the metal walls, too lavish for such a small space. The whole scene was an uncomfortable clash of colours and patterns.
Kyla was busy trying to crack open a gold-rimmed drinks cabinet while Maia was curiously examining a small metal sculpture, depicting two asari dancing, "I remember this artist's work from my childhood," she mused with a smile, "I was very young when she died, this could be over one thousand years old. No doubt Cadeyrn considers it an ancient treasure."
"Do you think he stole it from Thessia?" Barbet asked.
She answered with a gentle shrug, "Stole is a matter of opinion. Does anyone truly own art or history? You could say that Cadeyrn is preserving these treasures."
Kyla snorted, "Yeah, I'm sure he's doing it out of the goodness of his heart."
"Even if his intentions aren't sound, if the result-"
But Kyla was having none of it, cutting Maia off with an exasperated sigh, "Listen babe, me and you are going to get on a lot better if you stop trying to drag me into pointless philosophical arguments. Now why don't you make yourself useful and help me get this thing open?" she gestured to the drinks cabinet. The lock was dented from her attempts to prise it off but she was making little progress.
Maia blinked at it, then sighed and gave a wave of her hand. Biotic energy shimmered around the cabinet before the entire door abruptly came loose and fell to the floor with a crash.
"Hmph," Kyla commented, "thanks," she grabbed a bottle of something and joined them back at the seats.
Throughout all of this, Liara stood apart from the others, leaning back against a jewel-encrusted cabinet that was probably priceless. Her eyes occasionally wandered to Kyla; she would watch her for a while, then frown and stare at the floor, conflict creasing her features.
When the others were distracted enough by their own conversation, Jules wandered over and settled against the cabinet alongside her. Liara didn't react so Jules pressed their shoulders together, nudging her softly until she was eventually enticed into making eye contact.
Jules offered her a smile, "What's happened?"
She frowned for a moment, almost like she was trying to remember – or trying to decide how much to say, "It's nothing."
"It's something," Jules countered, she glanced over at the others who were laughing at some story Barbet was telling, "it's alright, they're not listening."
Liara sighed and relented, "There was a human boy, he was only about seventeen. We found him dying in a back alley. I melded with him to block out the pain," she paused, rubbing at the bridge of her nose like she could erase the memory, "It's proving difficult to forget him."
"I'm not surprised," Jules agreed, "he's part of you now. You must have known that when you decided to do it."
She nodded, "It's been so long since I melded with anyone but you, I'd forgotten what it felt like to touch a stranger's mind. I thought I'd be able to handle it better than this."
Jules rubbed a hand across her back, "Do you regret it?"
"Of course not. He was alone, he needed someone."
Jules smiled and shook her head, "You are something special, T'Soni. You know that, right?"
She caught Jules' eye to return the smile, then looked away again, "He thought I was an angel," she laughed but there was no humour in it, "he didn't really understand what was happening."
"Well," Jules reasoned, "you were in a way. A benevolent presence watching over him when he needed it most? That's practically the definition of an angel."
"Mm," Liara agreed distractedly, "angels only appear in human mythologies. Aspects of human culture must have survived through the generations out here, even though they've been cut off from Earth since the war. Fascinating."
Jules sighed. Liara always reverted to archaeologist mode when she was trying to avoid something, "There's something else, isn't there?" she asked, "Something to do with Kyla?"
Liara's expression dropped as she looked back at the other asari. Her brow creased again and Jules could practically see the indecision dancing behind her eyes. For a moment she looked like she was about to lie, then she just shook her head, "Not here. I'll tell you later."
Jules watched her as she fell into silence, the others were still laughing and bickering and whatever was bothering Liara, she clearly wasn't going to say anything in front of them. After a moment she draped an arm around the asari's shoulder.
"We'll be back at the ship soon," she muttered encouragingly, "we'll get Rhys to patch us up, raid the mess hall and then sleep for twelve hours and we'll be ready to face anything again."
Liara forced a smile, "Sounds nice."
"And all we have to do first is storm one more hostile base."
A genuine smile crept in this time, though Liara tried to hide it, "Is that all?"
"And get out alive," she added, "and not get captured again."
Liara's expression sobered and her gaze fell to Jules' mouth. She raised a hand to the cut at her lip, brushing her fingertips over the wound. Jules winced and Liara let her hand drop, "Do you really trust Samara?" she asked.
"Yes."
She waited for a moment, then resigned herself to a nod, "I suppose we had better help her then."