Location: Kepler Verge, Herschel System, SSV Normandy SR-1
"That was… satisfying," Garrus sighed.
"Good, remember that feeling, that's how it should be," I responded.
"I want to thank you Commander."
"What for, Garrus?"
"For everything. Taking me with you. Letting me be part of your team. I've learned a lot. I've thought a lot about what you said. About eliminating the threat immediately. Regardless of the cost. You were right. You were right about Dr Saleon, too. Killing him was the only solution. This way, we know he'll never hurt anyone again."
"Words mean nothing until you turn them into action, Garrus. What are you going to do about it?"
"I'm going to reapply for SPECTRE training. It will probably kill my father, but I've got to try. If that doesn't work, I'll do just about anything…. Except go back to C-Sec. I'm done with them. No more red tape. No more politics. From now on, I do things my way."
"I'm glad you see it that way. Keep that in mind when we meet Saren."
"Don't worry, Commander. I will," he said before leaving the decontamination chamber.
During the entire conversation I could feel a pair of eyes burning a hole through the back of my skull and I knew she was just dying to tear into me.
"Before you even say it. I know you don't like how I'm handling Garrus," I predicted.
Rylee had been in the chamber with us and bit her tongue during the exchange. Our personalities and beliefs tend to clash. She believes in law and order; I believe in an eye for an eye. I believe in retribution; she believes that justice should be handled by the justice system. I want to kill people who are a danger to those around the galaxy, whereas she wants them prosecuted and sent to jail. In some cases, sending them to prison is the best option, but a bullet can work just as well.
"You are making a mistake by letting him believe he can solve every problem with a gun."
"Not just guns, an Omni-blade works just as well, or grenades."
"I'm being serious Nate. In case you haven't noticed you are actually starting to exert some serious influence on this crew now."
"I'd hope so, I am their commanding officer,"
She made a fist and took a deep breath in an effort to curb her frustration. "You don't get it."
"Then explain it to me."
"Everyone is changing Nate and it's because of you. Liara is coming out of her shell, the crew is starting to embrace Tali, Kaidan isn't being so damn reserved, Joker isn't being so damn anti-social and he's actually interacting with the rest of the crew now."
"Hey, I wasn't anti-social. I was just busy being the most awesome pilot the galaxy's ever seen," Joker interjected.
"Whatever you say Jeff," I hollered.
"Pressley is starting to trust Garrus, Tali is speaking to people outside of engineering, Garrus is starting to crack jokes. But you are also turning him into a vigilante."
"What's your point?"
"My point is that this crew is starting to share your beliefs and if you're not careful, you could end up turning them into a gang of vigilantes who believe they know what the law should be and every other interpretation that doesn't align with theirs is wrong. Believe me Nate that could turn out to be a horrible idea."
I didn't respond to her but merely gestured her to follow me to my quarters.
"What you call vigilantism, I call doing whatever it takes. Do you know that there was a 40% chance the Dr Saleon could have walked away from this whole ordeal? It wouldn't be the first time he got away with it and I couldn't risk it happening again."
"If that was your call alone then I wouldn't be this pissed off. But you're encouraging Garrus to think along the same lines as you. Garrus is only 26 Nate. Believe it or not you are his role model. Someone who can dispense justice as you see fit, without regulation or red tape."
"Yeah and I'm using my status to save the galaxy from dangerous criminals like Dr Saleon, Darius, Dahlia Dantius, those crime bosses and Saren."
"You've also used it to free one of your gang buddies and start your own mob. And you know the biggest difference between Dr Saleon and everyone else on that list. They never gave you the option to capture them, they all shot at you first and you had no choice. Dr Saleon was unarmed and not a threat to your life and you let Garrus kill him in cold blood. That changes a person Nate."
She's right. I could have taken the Doctor in and I could have personally made sure he went down and served his time like the scum he is. I could have been the righteous champion of the justice system, and shown Garrus that you can have faith in the system. But then that would be making myself something I'm not. I'm not a champion of justice, nor am I a paragon of the legal system.
I am a man on a mission to save the galaxy in the only way I know how to. That means I am going to make sure that criminals are dealt, that they never harm another soul again.
"If you felt so strongly about it then why didn't you stop him?" I asked. "There were 3 of us there and if you wanted to stop Garrus then all you had to do was speak up and try to convince him. It may have worked, or it may not but at least you would have tried. But you didn't, and instead you watched as he shot Saleon. If you ask me, then I think you wanted him dead. You knew what we knew and you agreed. Now you've got a guilty conscience and that's why you're here giving me your diatribe on justice."
As my words hit her I could see her slowly faltering as the jarring reality of the situation slowly came to light. Rylee's belief in law and order wasn't as iron clad as it had once been. And it's because of me. I'm changing her into a cynic and a more ruthless person. This mission has forced her to be a part of certain events that she normally would be completely against for the sake of the mission. She's been forced to do things my way and its wearing her down slowly. She's slowly becoming a renegade.
"How do you deal with these decisions... how do you kill a person in cold blood and live with yourself," she whispered.
"Life hasn't exactly been fair to me Rylee. When you spend years watching atrocity after atrocity. When you've seen children burned alive. When you've killed those closest to you… with your own hands then killing a complete stranger doesn't seem so unspeakable."
Her eyes didn't soften but instead widened. "When…"
"A little while before I was freed. It's not the easiest thing to talk about."
She looked to the ground, ashamed to have brought the memory back into my mind. "I'll stop bothering you."
"Dammit Rylee that's the exact attitude I don't want from you."
She looked up at me with confusion rich in her eyes. "I need you to challenge my way of thinking. I need my second in command to have a mind of her own. I don't need a yes man. I need someone who can show me that my way isn't the only way to do things. You handled Jeong perfectly on Feros, same with Emily Wong, the preaching Hanar, the consort, Wrex and the rest of the crew. That's because you have a style that works. You are the proof that my way isn't the only way. I need that otherwise I could end up believing that I have all the answers."
She looked to have regained her confidence after my speech. She smiled, nodded and exited my quarters. Rylee is a strong one, she'll be herself in no time.
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Location: Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Huerta Memorial Hospital
"I'm glad to see you're getting better Talitha."
"I'm starting to remember more of me. It still hurts but the anim- Dr Çalhanoğlu is helping,"
"Good, you deserve to have a normal life one day," I assured.
"So do you Nate. Maybe one day we'll both stop going there."
"Let's make a deal right now," I offered her my hand. "One day before we die, we will be able to dream, the slavers won't have any hold over us, and we will be happy."
To my delight she grinned at me, showing her abundance of missing teeth, and shook my hand. "Deal,"
"I'm afraid visiting hours are over Commander, time to go," Dr Çalhanoğlu interrupted.
She had already given me an extra 15 minutes and I wasn't going to try my luck with this hospital. "See you later Talitha."
"Thanks for coming Nate. I hope I see you again," she smiled.
The Doctor escorted me out of the room, wearing a warm, inviting smile on her face. As soon as we were out of the room she hugged me.
"Thank you for visiting, Commander. She looks forward to these visits a lot, you clearly have quite the influence over her."
"I just want her to get better,"
"She will with our help Commander. As long as she knows that there are people who care about her she will try to get better. Friends and family are powerful motivators, Commander,"
"Speaking of friends. I've been looking into your past, Doctor and I seem to have found a mutual friend between us. Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko."
At the mention of Kaidan's name she froze, her eyes grew slightly wide and her jaw tensed slightly. I guess the fear is alive.
"Kaidan… how do you-"
"He's on my crew. I invited him to come with me but he told me that you wouldn't want that. Is that true?"
"Kaidan-" she sighed. "I want to stop being so afraid of him but I can't."
"He told me about Vyrnnus and how he killed him. It sounds like he made the right call to me."
"He was defending me. The worst part of it was that I knew that at the time but I couldn't get over it. I'd just watched him kill a man and I took my shock as disgust and said things. Horrible things that I wish I could take back."
"If you feel that way then I'll just call him down."
"I highly doubt he'd want to talk to me. Otherwise he wouldn't have said that. He would have just come with you. He's avoiding this just like me."
"Well that's changing now. The mission we're on is dangerous and you never know what might happen. I'm calling Kaidan down now so you can talk," I decided.
Kaidan accepted the invitation and said he would be arriving within the hour so that was sorted.
"This may not go exactly as you planned Commander."
"I'll keep that in mind. Do you happen to know where Corporal Toombs is, Doctor?"
"Ah, yes. The Alliance picked him up for questioning a few days ago."
"What! I said that if anyone was to try and move Toombs I should be informed immediately."
"It was okayed by Ambassador Udina, there was nothing I could do, and I was told that any communication with you regarding the matter was grounds for termination and revoking of my license."
"Shit!" I cursed.
For all I know Udina could be in TIM's pocket and he could be returning him. Or one of TIM's agents could very well intercept him during transit. What the fuck is Udina playing at.
Location: Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Human Embassy
I immediately made a beeline towards the human embassy to see just what Udina was playing at, especially after I explained to him the situation with TIM. More importantly why didn't David tell me about this, surely he would've given me some form of warning.
"UDINA!" I shouted as I entered his office. Inside were two asari in smart dress and appeared visibly annoyed by me interruption.
"Anderson, as you can see I have guests. If you wouldn't mind, please get out," he responded diplomatically.
"No, we're talking about this now."
He then gave me a look that could make someone's blood run cold, but I was simply too angry to be affected. Udina sighed before excusing himself from the room.
"Commander, you cannot just barge into me-"
"Cut the bullshit," I interrupted. "Where is Corporal Toombs."
To his credit his expression never changed. "He's in Vancouver where he is being questioned. We never had the opportunity to question him thanks to you."
"I already gave you my report, something I did out of courtesy, which told you exactly what he told me."
"And we're supposed to take you for your word. Especially after what you did to Dr Wayne," he accused. His voice grew slightly more aggressive and he was leaning in more. He feels like he's in control.
"You failed to tell us anything about him, and now that you've killed him we'll never know now will we. You cannot expect us to give you our full trust, when you go behind our backs to cover your tracks and hinder our progress."
"The Doctor had nothing to say. All he told me was that everything he was involved with would be burnt and deleted."
"I'd rather have heard that from the Doctor's mouth," he hissed before returning to his office.
Fuck! I feel the need to go back to earth and make sure that Toombs is safe. But what would doing that accomplish? If I arrive and try to use my SPECTRE authorisation to get him out of that situation then that pretty much freezes me out of the Alliance, and it could effectively end the military careers of those aboard my crew. Knowing the Alliance, they probably expect me to show up guns blazing anyway so they probably have him in a secure location.
I'll have to make some calls and see where he's being held before I can act. For now, I'll have Blake send people to Vancouver and see if Toombs is there or not. If he is then I want him monitored until his release back into Huerta Memorial. If they won't release him then I'll take him myself.
"Commander!"
I heard someone shout and it turned out to be Liara. She was wearing a tight fitting dress that stopped just short of the ground. I would have noticed what colour it was if it wasn't for the fact she just looked so beautiful and sexy. It highlighted her curvy figure and ample cleavage tastefully. It would be difficult for any man to honestly think anything other than this could be the most beautiful woman they've ever seen in their lives.
I found myself dumbstruck and endowed by her presence, so it wasn't exactly the most opportune moment for this. The worst part is she probably doesn't even realise what she's doing to me.
"Liara what are you doing here?"
"I just had dinner with Sha'ira. She wanted to speak to me regarding Benezia and our personal family estate."
"Why?"
"Given her status as an accomplice to Saren, the asari government wants to strip her of her lands on Thessia and her holdings in certain companies such as Serrice. Sha'ira was explaining that instead of Benezia going through that, it would be much simpler to simply have me take claim of her estate and holdings."
"Are you going to do it?"
"I need some time to think this over, for now my main focus is you…" she said. She must have spotted my cocked eyebrow and immediately amended her statement.
"I meant your mission, yes that's what I meant."
She's an alien and I'm a human. Her race spent years tormenting me, using me, abusing me and even tried to sacrifice me. That sort of memory doesn't just go away. I know she wants me back, but every time I ever imagine being with her, that monster posing as Samara pops into my head, or the asari who almost killed me when I was her sex slave comes to mind.
I need to explain to her why wanting to be in a relationship with me is a terrible idea. I need to tell her now before it's too late.
"Nathan Anderson, they told me it was you but I couldn't believe it. You grew up and turned into a soldier."
I turned to the source of the voice and found a well-built human male. He stood slightly shorter than me and he was shadowed by 3 cronies. He can't honestly believe that he's going to mug me.
"Do I know you?"
He chuckled slightly at my question. "You probably don't even remember me, but we ran together in the Tenth Street REDS. You travelled a lot but I spent most of my time in Los Angeles."
That would explain why I don't remember this guy at all. REDS were based all over Earth, my crew spent most of their time moving from place to place so the Feds never caught us.
"Maybe you don't remember it yourself, running in a gang. None of the vids mention it when they're talking about you."
He spoke with such bravado and confidence, due to the fact he had back up, and that seriously pissed me off. He's also talking about the same thing that all the new blood talk about.
Anderson is too good for the set. Anderson forgot where he came from. Anderson is a snitch. Anderson isn't welcome around here no more. It's on sight when I see Anderson. Fuck Nathan Anderson. He thinks he's better than everyone just because he's a soldier. SPECTRE my ass, the second he steps here I'll pop him in his eye.
They say the same sort of thing about Aldis. Why do they always hate whenever someone gets out of the life and hasn't become a drug addict or isn't on an RIP shirt.
"My life with the REDS is public record. I've got nothing to hide."
"Really? What if someone gave an interview talking about Commander Anderson's history in the gangs?" He threatened.
"You may not know me well Finch. But those who threaten me die!"
He still had that same smirk on his face and seemed amused by my threats. Let's see how amused his is when he's staring down the barrel of my pistol.
"We're not trying to cause you trouble, Anderson. We just want a favour, for old time's sake."
"One of the REDS, Curt Weisman, got picked up by turians. We'd like you to talk to the turian guard in the bar and get Curt out."
I turned to Liara, her face remained fairly static but I could tell she was having de-ja-vu. "What was this guy arrested for."
"Some stupid minor offense. Maybe he had a little red sand. You know how turians are. They declared him a problem, and they're shipping him back for a trial."
"What the fuck was a RED doing in turian space?"
"Since your days, the REDS have expanded. We do some salvage a little shipping here and there, that kind of thing."
"I'll speak to the Turian and see what I can do."
"Thanks, Anderson. I knew you'd remember your old friends. The guard's over Chora's Den. Take care of this, and you'll never see me again," he informed whilst shaking my hand and then disappearing into the shadows.
"Commander-" Liara began but I put a hand up to silence her. Finch and his guards were still listening to us. In fact, they were just around the corner. I used the rapid transit terminal to call a car to take us to Chora's den.
Once we were inside the vehicle she let me have it. "What in the world were you thinking Nathan? Honestly, I just don't get you. One moment you look like you're changing for the better, then the next it looks like you're reverting back again."
"Liara-"
"I'm not finished!" she asserted and for the first time, I was legitimately intimidated by Liara. "That moron Finch is not telling the truth about Weisman. He knows exactly what he did, but it's too reprehensible for him to tell you himself. At least Jaden had the decency to tell you up front about what Tyrell did. And that line about you'll never see me again, you know damn well that's a lie…"
I stopped paying attention to the rest of what she was speaking about and just stared at her. She seems so different from the other asari I've had dealings with. She actually cares about others wellbeing, she wants peace and she wants people to be safe. She wants me to be a better person. Maybe that's part of the reason I've developed these feelings. She's helping me become more than just an escaped slave, turned gangbanger, turned soldier. She wants me to become a hero.
When she finished her rant I said, "Liara, I have no intention of letting Curt Weisman loose. I just said that so I could go to the turian and see what Curt actually did. I want to know just what the REDS are up to nowadays, and I wanted to buy enough time to find the ideal way to deal with Finch."
"Oh," she replied, her face suddenly turning a few darker shades of blue. I had to resist the urge to smile at the fact she went from vengeful, fear inducing asari badass, to shy nerd in a matter of seconds.
"Besides after the way you chewed me out I highly doubt I'd be dumb enough to cross you again," I chuckled.
She huffed, crossed her legs and looked away. "Good."
Now, I need to tell her now that it would be a terrible idea to get with me. Come on it's a couple of words it shouldn't be that hard to tell someone to give up on you. Just say it already.
"Liara."
"Yes Nate," she responded.
I made eye contact with her, immediately spotted the dilation of her pupils, and my purpose faltered. I want this as much as she does but… I need to think about this before doing anything rash.
"You know what, don't worry. It's nothing important."
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"Can I help you,"
"I hear you've got a prisoner called Curt Weisman"
"Yeah, and what's it to you SPECTRE."
"I just want to know what he did to get imprisoned then I'll be on my way."
"He attempted to poison medical cargo being sent to a turian colony to treat the outbreak of a dangerous disease. If he had succeeded, millions would have died. This human is a dangerous xenophobe," he said passionately.
Holy shit. I knew the REDS had become more xenophobic but I never expected them to go this far off the deep end. When I was running with them, we never went out of our way to go and kill people unless they'd killed one of our own; and we certainly never tried to kill millions. We were just trying to survive and build up our reputation. The new blood seems more interested in being terrorists. Whoever this backer is, they're trouble.
I rubbed the bridge of my nose and sighed. "Keep the bastard. The galaxy is a safer place without people like him. I won't take up anymore of your time."
Just as I had predicted, Finch had been following us and listening in on our combination. Did this idiot really think he could trail a SPECTRE without getting noticed.
"I knew you didn't have what it takes, Anderson. Everyone's right, you are just a bitch, a snitch and you've forgotten where your ties lie. If you can't be useful, you'll be publicity. When we're done telling our story, the aliens will all know what the first human SPECTRE really is."
"His bio is public record. Everyone knows he ran with gangs as a child," Liara interjected.
"They don't know that the REDS target aliens specifically. We've got backers to handle off world missions. So shut up bit-"
"If you even so much as think about finishing that sentence then I will leave a hole in your skull," I threatened. From the corner of my eye I could see Liara smiling.
My threats made Finch's men to raise their gun, but he ordered them to drop their weapons. But one still had his pistol trained on me.
" The REDS are a gang not an Earth first movement."
"They're a human movement now. You think the vids will make that distinction? I can find a dozen REDS who'll swear they saw you kill aliens for fun. Who's going to believe you then? Your alien friends won't like you much when they hear what your gang did."
I'm not sure if it was the stress of the mission I'm currently on or if what Finch said was inherently funny, but when he finished his sentence I started laughing. Rather hysterically in fact, it drew confused looks from all those involved.
"That's your big threat. You're going to make the aliens not like me," I said before laughing again.
"They don't like me now! The Council doesn't like me. The batarians hate me. The krogan aren't too fond of me and neither are the turians, volus or the salarians. If I was in this for popularity, then I would be a fool. And besides I'm a SPECTRE, they can't touch me," I finished. My laughter quickly turned to fury. How could this insignificant little twerp actually think he could use me to further his stupidity? I'm going to make an example of him.
I wiped the tears away from my eyes and reached for my gun. "You see Finch," I began before shooting the guard who was still targeting me in the head. The bullet whizzed right past Finch's ear, causing some flesh to burn.
Once the gun shots were heard people began screaming and running out of the club, including Finch's other guard. "I can do that in broad daylight and get away with it. I can do whatever I want and the Council can do one of two things. Bitch about it. Or like it. You're smear campaign won't do a thing to my credibility or my SPECTRE status. So you can fuck off out of my life. Because if you or any other RED other than Jaden approaches me, I will not hesitate to end their lives on the spot."
Needless to say he ran away with his tail between his legs.
"Looks like the first human SPECTRE won't be a disappointment after all," the Turian guard praised before walking out of the club.
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Dear Dr Çalhanoğlu
We are very sorry to hear that Huerta Memorial Hospital has recently terminated your contract. They clearly don't know talent when they see it. I represent an organisation looking for people of your skill and aptitude to work for us. I am perfectly willing to answer any questions or concerns you may have regarding the role we are offering you. If you are interested, please meet me at the location specified in the attachment.
Yours Sincerely,
Miranda Lawson.