Location: Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Upper Wards
After that skirmish in Chora's Den we went to Rylee's place in the Wards to armour up. Alenko and Williams had spoken to Barla Von and they were headed to C-Sec Academy to meet a Krogan mercenary called Wrex. I was actually hoping to stay out of his way after what happened in Chora's Den but it looks unavoidable now.
When we first arrived, we inspected my ribs. Neither of us were doctors so our first instinct was to slap some medi-gel on them to numb the pain. But that was having a limited effect.
While we were driving I instructed one of the crew members to bring my armour and weapons to Rylee's apartment. In retrospect, I probably should have requested for the doctor to come too, but it's too late for that now.
"Hurry Rylee, we don't know how much longer Garrus is going to be at the clinic."
"Don't get your panties in a bunch. I'm almost done I'm just strapping my sniper. It's not light like those itty bitty shotguns you tote."
"Funny Shepard, now come on, I would have left a while ago if I knew my way around the wards."
"The clinic isn't far from here. It'll take us like 2 minutes to walk there," she explained before forcing her helmet on. The pressurised lock hissed and the steam slowly disappeared
"It's been a while since we've done this," she acknowledged
"It's only been two years. You better not have gotten sloppy without me Shepard otherwise I will kick your ass."
"As if you could," she chuckled before stepping out into the wards.
She was right about the clinics location. It was just one level below her apartment, hell I could see it from her door. We were walking towards it when an Asian woman called for Rylee's attention. I decided to go ahead without her since we didn't know when Garrus was leaving, or if he was even there.
Upon opening the door, it was clear I was stepping into the centre of a hostile situation. Garrus was crouching on the floor, making his way into cover. "I didn't tell anyone I swear!" A frightened French woman pleaded.
"That was smart, Doc. Now if Garrus comes around, you stay smart. Keep your mouth shut or we'll…" The thug squinted his eyes trying to recognise me and instead of aiming the gun at me, he grabbed Dr Michel and used her as a human shield "Who are you!?"
"Let her go!" I commanded.
Garrus used this as an opportunity to get out of cover and he shot the thug in the head and the Doctor was perfectly fine. Shit that was amazing, that shot was almost impossible and he pulled it off like it was nothing.
The other thugs took notice and backed up. Once the doctor was safely behind cover and out of range, I threw a shockwave in their direction and they were sent crashing through the window and to their deaths. I love group kills; they make everything so much easier.
"Perfect timing, Anderson. Gave me a clear shot at that bastard."
"That was some shot."
"Sometimes you get lucky," he shrugged.
Rylee ran into the clinic, with her gun pointed at us "What the hell, I heard gunshots and got here as quickly as possible."
Garrus approached the area where Dr Michelle was hiding and helped her to her feet "Dr Michel are you alright."
"No I'm okay, thanks to all of you."
Whilst he helped her over to us I explained what happened to Rylee.
"Why were they threatening you? Who do they work for?" I inquired. Rylee nudged me in my stomach and gave me a pissed off look.
"I know those men hurt you. But if you tell us who they work for, then we can protect you," Rylee said.
"They work for Fist. They wanted to shut me up, keep me from telling Garrus about the Quarian"
"Does this have anything to do with the investigation into Saren?" I questioned
The Dr told us about a Quarian who had been shot but was too scared to state the reason why. She wanted to trade information with the Shadow Broker in exchange for a safe place to hide. She told her to talk to Fist since he was an agent of the Shadow Broker, but Fist betrayed the Shadow Broker to work for Saren. Real stupid move, unless what Saren gained from the beacon was worth doing anything for. Shit what is it that's in my brain?!
But for Saren to want a Quarian this bad, it must mean she has something huge on him, she may even have evidence that proves he's a traitor. Her information had something to do with Geth and that was enough for me. I am going to get that information out of Fist if it's the last thing I do.
"This is your show, Commander. But I want to bring Saren down as much as you do. I'm coming with you."
"I don't need a Turian shooting me in the back when I least expect it," I spat.
Garrus started shaking with anger "All Turians are not the same. I'm not like Saren. I couldn't find the proof I needed in my investigation. But I knew what was really going on. Saren's a traitor to the Council and a disgrace to my people."
I'm not sure whether or not it was my need for allies, his speech or Rylee staring daggers into the back of my head but I actually believed in what Garrus was telling me. The passion which he displayed was admirable, he had convinced me that he was genuine. I get it from his point of view, if there was a human who was sullying the name of our species, then I would have to kill him.
"Welcome aboard Garrus."
"You know we're not the only ones after Fist. The Shadow Broker hired a Krogan bounty hunter named Wrex to take him out."
"Aren't Kaidan and Ashley meeting him right now?"
I used my omnitool to tell them to hold Wrex up until I got there, but from the sound of things he was being detained by C-Sec for making threats at Fist. Garrus said he'd deal with that and get Wrex released.
Location: Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Wards, C-Sec Academy
When we got out of the elevator, Alenko and Williams greeted us and led us to where Wrex was being released.
"Witnesses saw you making threats in Fist's bar. Stay away from him."
"I don't take orders from you," the Krogan dismissed.
"This is your only warning, Wrex."
"You should warn Fist. I will kill him."
"You want me to arrest you?"
"I want you to try," a reptilian smile donned the bounty hunter's lips.
The C-Sec officer began to cower as the size of Wrex truly dawned on him. He was soon relieved when the mercenary walked away "Go on. Get out of here!" he hollered.
He was about to walk past us before I put an arm forward. "Do I know you, human?"
"My name's Anderson. I'm going after Fist and I heard that you might be interested"
"Anderson? Commander Anderson? I've heard a lot about you. We're both warriors, Anderson. Out of respect, I'll give you fair warning. I'm going to kill fist."
"I'll let you do that after I'm done with him."
"How do I know that you're not here to help him escape?"
"Because I need Fist to take down Saren. He has information critical to my mission about a Quarian."
Wrex appeared pensive. He was pondering what I had just told him "Saren… hmm I guess it makes sense. The Broker told me about his involvement with the Turian."
"Saren was responsible for the attack on Eden Prime. We can't let him get away with that," Alenko piped in.
"That would explain why I was told to watch out for Geth." Wrex was piecing together what he was told to complete the puzzle.
"Why would you take the job if you didn't understand all of the details?" I wondered.
"In my line of work the less you know the better. It makes completing the job a lot easier."
Rylee pushed past me and approached the big Krogan. I subtly reached for my pistol and readied myself in case this became bloody. It doesn't look like we're getting any closer to convincing him to help "Fist knows your coming, he probably has 20 mercenaries protecting him," Rylee explained.
"How can you possibly know that human?" Wrex asked Rylee.
"I hacked the C-Sec communication network a couple of hours we met in Apollo. Anderson said we needed to communicate in secret so I gave it a shot. I honestly thought it would be a lot harder to get into their communications network."
"Did you get into anything else?" I asked.
"No. It was just the communications network."
"Shit it's like I thought. Someone in the Communications sector is being paid off. We've been receiving less intel from intercepted communications and now I know why. I'll have to tell Pallin about this…"
"Next time he should spring for better software. As I was saying, that C-Sec officer you scared off is on Fist's payroll. I just heard him tell Fist you were coming, and Fist responded that he had 20 of the best mercenaries money could buy"
"Then he's obviously lying" Wrex stated
"Why?" Rylee asked
"Because he doesn't have me!" Wrex responded proudly.
Whilst his eyes were focused on Rylee I holstered my pistol.
"You'd be better off coming with us that on your own" Williams suggested
It didn't take long for Wrex to weigh up his options. "My people have a saying. Seek the enemy of my enemy, and you will find a friend"
It brought a smile to my face hearing Wrex say those words, from them I could tell the kind of person I was dealing with and I knew we could work together. "I think we're going to get along just fine, Wrex"
"Let's go. I'd hate to keep Fist waiting"
"By the way, Anderson. The next time you reach for a sidearm with the intention of shooting me. I'll rip you in half," the Krogan snarled.
I chose not to respond to him and just headed for the elevator.
Location: Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Wards, Chora's Den
During our approach of the grungy night club it was becoming obvious that Fist was ready for us. People were leaving the club in droves trying to get back to their own homes. The Wards were almost completely empty, and with C-Sec on his payroll I wouldn't be surprised if some of them are protecting the club.
"Okay people there are 6 of us and 20 of them. We can do this, I know how capable all of you are and I know we won't lose a single man. We've gone over the plan, Wrex and I charge at them to throw the off guard, Williams and Alenko follow shortly after and finally Garrus and Rylee watch our backs"
"This should be fun" the Krogan Warlord, cheered whilst cocking his shotgun.
"Kaidan, Wrex! SHOCKWAVE"
On my queue we each sent a shockwave in three directions, this would have hit anyone capable of rushing for the door so all we'd have to worry about was long distance fire.
From what I remembered the Den looked like in my first encounter with Harkin, I slid into cover. The only problem with this cover was that it left my back exposed. Vakarian had better be as good as he claims to be.
I sent a surveillance drone out to give me an idea of my surroundings. There were currently 13 active hostiles and 10 of them were being engaged by my squad. The only mercenaries that weren't currently engaged were in the back ranks looking for a headshot.
"Vakarian's on my six," I roared. The Turian changed his aim and the sickening crack of a sniper rifles fire rung through the air. Okay, that's 12 left.
With Vakarian's focus now on the snipers, it was now up to me to entertain those he abandoned. Rylee had an asari biotic and a Krogan pinned down behind the entrance to Fist's private lounge. But if I go out there now to take them out, the snipers will blow my head off.
I activated my Barrier and ran behind another crate with a better vantage point of the battlefield. This allowed me to get a good look at the biotic. I through a Pull field in her direction and threw the asari straight into Wrex's path and let him deal with her. That left the Krogan to me. "Shepard, sit-rep on those snipers."
"Vakarian, Williams and I have dealt with them."
"Good," and with that I charged straight at the Krogan. The impact sent a shockwave that cracked the glass table. The hit caused the him to stumbled backward into the wall.
I looked up at him with a smirk and he looked down with fear. We both knew that he was going to die and I quickly obliged. A slug at point black range into his chest caused him to slide down the wall, completely devoid of life.
I received an update from the drone. All hostiles had been terminated but only 19 bodies were counted. When I called it up there were 12 dead and 7 unconscious. That means one is either in hiding or cloaked.
I turned sharply to the rest of my squad. Before I could say a word a grenade latched itself to the wall which I had just turned away from. Williams was the only one to spot it and was already making a beeline towards me. She pushed me across the room, but the momentum wasn't enough for her to get out of the blast radius. She was launched through one of the stripper poles and slid back down the wall she crashed into.
"Deploying wide-area overload," Rylee declared. She must have seen the grenade being thrown as well. When the electric pulse was sent through the other half of the club, the last hostiles cloak got shorted out. Wrex managed to deal with her quickly enough.
I ran over to Williams to inspect her condition. Thankfully, she was still breathing, albeit uncomfortably. Her shoulder was dislocated and from how she was breathing, I'd say she had a few cracked ribs. She's tougher than I initially gave her credit for.
"I guess we're even Commander, you pulled me out of the beacon. I pull you out of the blast range," she laughed.
"I guess we are. Thanks Chief," I chuckled despite myself.
"I would say anytime. But I really don't want to make this a habit."
"One of us is going to have to take her back to the Normandy," I suggested.
There was no way that Wrex would listen and a Turian showing up with a wounded human at the Alliance's doorstep may not go over too well. I need someone I can trust so Rylee stays. "Alenko take Williams back to Normandy. Radio Captain Anderson and update him on our situation."
"Yes Sir!" he picked Williams up as carefully as he could and left the den
I opened the door only to find two more people aiming guns at us. The only difference being that they were wearing civilian clothes and their guns were standard issue instead of the customised shit the mercs were carrying.
"Stop right there! Don't come any closer" one of them barked,
"Warehouse workers. All the real guards must be dead" Garrus whispered
"Stay back or we'll shoot"
"Shepard, handle this" I ordered
"Gladly" she smirked "Look behind me and you'll see the corpses of the twenty top of the line mercenaries your boss hired. Each and every one of them was killed by us. Do you really stand a chance?" she maintained the same arrogant smirk and confident body language.
They promptly took their opportunity to ran and escaped through the front entrance. "Nicely handled Shepard" Garrus complimented
We continued through to Fists office. I skirted along the walls of the room, just as I was about to turn, a turret began firing at me. The battle didn't take long. All Rylee had to do was lay another wide area overload and the turrets were disabled.
Fist dropped his weapons and surrendered. "Wait! Don't kill me! I Surrender"
"Tell me where the Quarian is and I won't have to shoot you in the kneecaps"
"She's not here. I don't know where she is. That's the truth!"
"He's no use to you now. Let me kill him"
"Wait! Wait! I don't know where the Quarian is. But I know where you can find her. The Quarian isn't here. Said she'd only deal with the Shadow Broker himself"
"Face to face? Impossible! Even I was hired through an agent"
He took the opportunity to get back to his feet "Nobody meets the Shadow Broker. Ever. Even I don't know his true identity. But she didn't know that. I told her I'd set up a meeting. But when she shows up, it'll be Saren's men waiting for her."
"Tell me where that meeting is, before I blow your lying head off" I threatened by aiming my gun at his head.
"Here on the wards. The back alley by the markets. She's supposed to be meeting them right now. You can make it if you hurry."
That looks like all of the useful intel I'm going to get out of him. "Wrex" was all I needed to say and the Krogan obliged. Fist was dead within seconds.
"Nate what the fuck!" Rylee shouted "We didn't need to kill him."
"He had two of the most dangerous people in the galaxy coming after him. First the Shadow Broker and now Saren since he just gave up information that's gonna fuck him over. He is going to be dead within 24 standard hours. Now gather any important information in this room and meet us by the markets," I explained.
"Fine, but this isn't over" she warned.
"On the double, that Quarian is as good as dead if we don't hurry."
~o~o~o~o~o
After dealing with Fist and the rest of his forces, that flooded the den whilst we dealt with him. We rushed over to save the Quarian. Thankfully, Saren underestimated her abilities and she managed to blindside his forces by throwing a grenade. We managed to clear out the rest of his forces and get her out of the area before C-Sec arrived.
I was impressed at how she had conducted herself in that environment, her shot gun kept anyone from getting close enough to do any real damage. She looked incredibly young, I'm not good at guessing alien ages, but I would say she's in adolescence, if not a couple of years older.
She was called Tali'Zorah nar Rayya and she had evidence of Saren's treachery. She had fought some geth during her pilgrimage and removed its memory core and she snagged a recording of Saren implicating himself. Apparently he had an accomplice in his invasion of Eden Prime.
I allowed Tali to join us since she wanted Saren dead as much as the rest of us. She also proved useful in the back alley. The only downside was now I had 3 aliens in the squad with me. It's not exactly the most comforting feeling in the world. But if these Reapers Saren's talking about are half as terrifying as my visions show, then I need all the help I can get.
Location: Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Presidium, Council Chambers
Saren: Eden Prime was a major victory! The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the conduit.
Female: And one step closer to the return of the reapers
"You wanted proof. There it is" Udina announced
"This evidence is irrefutable, Ambassador," the Turian councillor begrudgingly admitted. "Saren will be stripped of his SPECTRE status and all efforts will be made to bring him in to answer for his crimes."
"I recognise the other voice, the one speaking to Saren. Matriarch Benezia", the asari councillor said.
"She must be working with the geth too," I speculated.
"Matriarch Benezia, is a powerful biotic, and she has many followers. She will make a formidable ally for Saren,"
"I'm more interested in the Reapers. What do you know about them?" the Salarian councillor asked.
For fucks sake couldn't they just let one thing slide? Now it's time for them to disregard the vision and dismiss them as myths. The Turian councillor took the opportunity with open hands and slammed the theory down. And of course the other Councillors agreed; there are times that I honestly believe that the three of them all share one mind. Udina tried to convince the Council to protect the human colonies but of course they didn't care.
"I'm sick of this council and its anti-human bullsh-"
"Ambassador, there is another solution. A way to stop Saren that does not require fleets or armies" the asari interjected.
"No! It's too soon. Humanity is not ready for the responsibilities that come with joining the SPECTRES."
"You Turians must have a funny definition of responsible. your best SPECTRE led an attack on an innocent human colony." Rylee countered.
"She's right! It was a Turian SPECTRE who betrayed the council. And it was a human who exposed him. I've earned this."
The three councillors each exchanged looks and tapped their terminals. They then proceeded to bore me with a rehearsed, impersonal speech which they probably dole out to every SPECTRE; before giving me my assignment which was to stop Saren no matter what the cost. Afterwards Udina and Anderson said they were going to make arrangements for me to get my own ship and crew.
Location: Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Normandy Docking Bay
I got out of the elevator with Rylee, Garrus, Wrex and Tali to meet up with the Captain and ambassador.
"I've got good news for you Commander. Captain Anderson is stepping down as commanding officer of the Normandy. The ship is yours now," Udina announced.
"She's quick and quiet and you know the crew. Perfect ship for a SPECTRE. Treat her well, Commander," Captain Anderson added.
"This is Bullshit! The Normandy belongs to you." I argued.
"You needed your own ship. A SPECTRE can't answer to anyone but the Council. And it's time for me to step down."
"I want the truth Captain, you owe me that much."
"To be honest I volunteered the Normandy to you. The Normandy is the best ship the Alliance has and the most suitable for your mission. Procuring another ship and assembling another crew would waste valuable time; time you could use to hunt Saren."
I couldn't really argue with his logic, finding another ship as good as this one would waste too much time, but it doesn't feel right robbing David of his ship.
"Saren is going to die for what he's done," I promised.
"Saren's gone. Don't even try to go after him. But we know what he's after; the conduit. He's got his geth scouring the Traverse looking for clues."
"What about the Reapers?" I asked.
"I'm with the Council on this one Commander, I'm not even sure they really exist." Udina said.
"But if they do exist, the Conduit's the key to bringing them back. Stop Saren from getting the Conduit and we stop the Reapers from returning" Anderson countered.
"I'll stop him" I declared. In response Captain gave me a nod of approval.
"We have a lead for you. Matriarch Benezia, the other voice on the recording. She has a daughter, a scientist who specialises in Protheans. We don't know if she's involved but it might be a good idea to try and find her. See what she knows. Her name is Liara. Dr Liara T'Soni. We have reports she was exploring an archaeological dig on one of the worlds in the Artemis Tau cluster."
"Looks like I'm going to find me a doctor. Do you have any clue what planet in the Artemis Tau cluster she is or even the system."
"Unfortunately no, that's going to be up to you to find out," Udina stated. Fan-fucking-tastic. That system is huge, searching for her will be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
"It's your mission now Commander. You're a SPECTRE now. You don't answer to us."
"But your actions still reflect on humanity as a whole. You make a mess and I get stuck cleaning it up."
"I'll handle Saren; the political blowback is your problem."
"Not exactly the answer I was looking for Anderson. Remember; you were a human long before you were a SPECTRE. I have a meeting to get to. The Captain can answer whatever questions you may have," were the last words the ambassador said before heading into the elevator.
Now that Udina was gone, we could have an actual conversation. "How are you holding up?" I asked. Even if he volunteered the Normandy, it must still sting to be in his situation.
"To be honest this isn't how I pictured my career coming to an end. Pushing papers really isn't my thing."
"David we both know one thing. If you hadn't given me the Normandy, they would have taken it from you."
"Yeah… but the only reason I'm so comfortable with it is because I know you can stop Saren. You're the best damn soldier the Alliance has son. Make me proud."
"I will David," I offered my hand.
"Thank you Nate," he took my hand and shook it before pulling me in for a hug. It was then his turn to head back to the elevator.
"All aboard!" I instructed and the aliens proceeded to board the Normandy.
I faced Rylee and she stood there awkwardly. "Congratulations SPECTRE Anderson. My mum would be proud of you."
"Thank you Lt. I really appreciate that."
"Well I guess this is goodbye," Rylee said.
"Goodbye my ass. You're joining my crew," I smirked.
"But what ab-"
"But nothing. I'm a SPECTRE now so I don't answer to the alliance. I want you on my team Shepard. I did some research and I found out that I can 'reassign' up to 5 officer rank personnel to my Command at any time."
"Don't you think my mom is going to be pissed if you do this?"
"Once you explain the situation I doubt she'll be that mad. And if she's still pissed then I'll talk to her myself."
"Fine… What are your orders, sir!" she saluted.
"Board the Normandy. We have a rogue SPECTRE to kill."