HOLOCAUST
CHAPTER SIX:
STOP THE CREDIT FLOW
June 3, 2186
1415 hours.
Main Entrance, Purgatory Night Club, Presidium, The Citadel.
The Reaper War.
Captain Marcus Lee Shepard, Second Lieutenant James Vega, Shadow Broker Liara T'Soni.
Purgatory, what in an insightful place it was. It had the throbbing music of Afterlife, the purple undertone of the Dark Star, and the population of Flux, all in one. But by a glance down below, he knew Purgatory was much bigger than it seemed; levels upon levels of bars, dance floors and more bars littered the coliseum sized structure, and it seemed to cover half a kilometer of land in its total surface area. From what he could see, the dance floor was littered with mostly asari, with the occassional human, turian or salarian dancer. Numerous alliance officers were located at the entrance, and the bar was occupied by even more. All in all, it wasn't that bad of an establishment. If only the music didn't give him such a headache.
Upon entering, he saw that they stood on a large platform that was segregated from the main club by a bridge. On the other side you had three paths; one leading up a flight of stairs to the upper bar and dance floors, off to the left where the lower bar and dance floor was located, and off to the right, where a VIP Lounge was located; a long, L-shaped sofa circumventing the edge of what looked to be a pretty high drop.
Luckily enough for him, finding Aria wasn't all that difficult. She was drapped along said couch; sitted firmly on it with her right arm draped along its edge, looking like she owned the place, whilst commanding an air of ruthless authority. He could see a few C-Sec officers around her, along with an angry looking human female officer, whilst Aria surrounded herself with a few of her mercs; an asari, a salarian, and a batarian. Sitting next to her was another asari, although her interest in whatever situation they were in looked menial at first; if her bored and exasperated expression was any indication.
"Nice place," James pointed out, and both Liara's and Marcus' eyes landed on the bulky marine wearing his casual attire, grinning like an idiot at the scenery around him, "I liked the bar back in Vancouver, but this one takes it to a whole new level."
"Then enjoy," Marcus stated simply, gathering both of his squadmates' confused glances. He decided he needed to ratify that, "I need to talk with Aria, which, really, is only a one man job. You guys wanted to tag along, so I let you, but it doesn't mean I need you for this meeting. So go ahead James, Liara, go have some fun. This meeting might take awhile, considering it's Aria I'm talking with."
"Whatever you say loco," James replied, waving Liara over to the lower bar, "Come on, bluey! I'll get you a drink."
Neither of them moved, merely staring at James. After a second, the marine stopped, turned to face them, and met their confused expressions. He frowned, "What?"
"Loco? Bluey?" Liara and Marcus seemed to say in tandem, "What?"
"Oh...they're just nicknames I gave everybody," James clarified.
"But loco? Bluey? What kind of nicknames are those?"
James gulped, squaring his shoulders as he seemed to look embarassed, "Well, for one, I call you loco because of all the crazy shit you do, and I call Liara bluey because...well..." he looked at the asari intently for a moment before rubbing the back of his neck, "Well, because you're blue."
Liara gave an audible sigh before facepalming, while Marcus just snorted, turning to walk away. As he did, James swore he heard the captain mumble, 'I do crazy shit? I didn't crash a shuttle with perfectly good guns on it into an empty shuttle. That's crazy.' Before the marine could retort though, the captain was already across the bridge and heading right to the VIP Lounge. Shaking his head, he turned back to Liara, a stupid smirk on his face, "Well, bluey, want to get a drink?"
Her expression became a mock look of ice, "Call me that again, and I shall flay you alive. With my mind," seeing that James' was as horrified as she wanted him to be, she let a sudden, warm smile cross her face, dispelling the ice from her features and nodded to the bar, "And yes, Vega, I would like a drink. Care to escort me to the bar?"
Shocked at her sudden changes in emotion, he shook his head from his shock and nodded, waving a hand in the bar's general direction, "Yeah, yeah of course...Liara!"
She giggled, moving to walk past him. As she did, she shook her head, warmth in her eyes as she met James', "Its okay, I was only joking. You can continue to call me bluey if you wish James. Its actually kind of...endearing, oddly enough." With that, she was gone, moving off towards the bar. He merely gaped at her, unable to comprehend her sudden change in moods. With a sigh, he shook his head once more, something he found himself doing far too often, and moved to follow her, long strides closing the distance between them pretty quickly.
Women.
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June 3, 2186
1417 hours.
VIP Lounge, Purgatory Night Club, Presidium, The Citadel.
The Reaper War.
Captain Marcus Lee Shepard, Mercenary Leader Aria T'Loak, Technician Ahz, Admiral Jarral, Lieutenant Bray, Mercenary Sata T'Loak.
"So you admit you and your thugs are here illegally?"
Marcus shook his head at the C-Sec officer's words, but merely stood at the edge of the lounge, arms crossed as he watched the exchange taking place. Aria sat on the couch, glaring daggers at the C-Sec officer before her, while also looking slightly amused. Bray looked to be on the point of drawing his weapon, while the salarian was too engaged in his omni-tool to care.
Aria let a ghost of a smile crease the edge of her lips, "Yes, and it only took C-Sec three weeks to figure that out."
"Excuse me?" The officer took offense, "Are you insulting...?"
"Yes, your fucking high-holiness got insulted. Get used to it, you aren't the friggin princess you think you are. So take your authority, and shove it up your fucking ass, and piss off," Aria growled, "I am swiftly done with C-Sec's padantics, and as fun as it is to see you reddening like a boiling teapot, I really do have war plans to pursue," she turned to face Marcus, their eyes' meeting, "Along with some words to exchange with someone vastly more important than you."
"I don't care who you are," the woman hissed back, clearly losing her temper as she took a step forward, "You're required to submit to processing like all the other refugees. So come with me immediately, or I'll use force."
"You clearly don't know who I am, do you bitch?" Aria hissed, not even bothering to stand, as if the effort shouldn't be wasted on the lowly officer before her, "I'm Aria fucking T'Loak, Ruler of the Terminus. I've killed mercenaries who were more powerful and intimidating then you. Touch me, or my daughter, or any one of my men, and I'll not only rip your arm off, I'll also sugar-coat it, wrap it up and give it back to you for fucking christmas and whatever you humans call that useless holiday of yours. So...fuck you, and fuck you. I'll wipe the floors with you, you fucking whore."
Marcus' widened at that. Aria has a daughter? Well there is a surprise.
"I will not be insulted-"
"I just fucking did. So are you going to do something about it, or quack like a fucking duck?" the asari growled back, clearly having enough of this, "Actually, don't answer that, because I won't waste my time. Ahz," she ordered, and the salarians' attention was on her in an instant, "Get me Tevos."
The salarian named Ahz keyed his omni-tool, bringing up a contacts' list. When he found the one he was looking for, he brought it up and turned up the volume on his omni-tool. The voice that came through was easily recognizable to Marcus; it was that of the asari councilor, Tevos, "Aria, I did not expect to hear from you again so soon. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Hear from her again so soon? Aria and Tevos have met before? I'll have to ask the councilor about that; Mrs. The Terminus Systems Are Full Of Bad People.
Aria didn't even acknowledge Tevos' existence as a person, merely glaring daggers at the female officer before her, talking to her like she wanted their conversation over with, "I'm being asked," she let herself linger on that word with loathing, "to submit to immigration processing."
"I see. Well, let's see," Tevos' words trailed off, before suddenly returning, seemingly after typing something into her terminal, "There. You have been automatically processed, recognized and given instant Citadel citizenship. Is there anything else?" Marcus couldn't help a snort at seeing the officer's face at Tevos' word, like her world had just crashed around her.
Aria saw it, and savoured every moment of it with a smile, "No, that'll be all, Tevos. Thank you." The last two words were clearly her dismissal.
"Any time," Tevos' words lingered as Ahz cut the connection, and lowered his omni-tool, deactivating it as he stood there.
Aria gave the officer a fake, apologetic smile laced with smug undertone as she met her eyes, "Are we done here? Cause I've got alot of fuckin work to do, and I don't need you panting over my shoulder. If you have any quarrels, feel free to complain, and I'll relay them to the Councilor for you."
The officer simply shook her head and signalled the rest to follow her out, and she silently fumed. She shoved past Marcus as he walked towards Aria, who had noticed the grin on his face. The others were less forceful, recognizing him and giving him a free path as he walked by.
As he came to stand infront of Aria, the asari smiled, "Enjoy the show, Shepard?"
He nodded, chuckling, "I guess there's one rule on the Citadel too, huh?"
She laughed at his reference, before the smile dropped away, accompanied by the sound, "It would seem so," she motioned for him to sit, and sit he did, on her left, decidingly liking the comfortability of the couch before him, "I hate this place. So...sickeningly uptight. So pathetically colorful. Repulsively...secure."
The one question he had wanted to ask now came to mind, and he nodded, "So why are you here?" He asked it rhetorically, and Aria knew it. She stood up, coming to stand at the edge of the ledge as she looked down, her voice a low growl, and full of pent up fury.
"Cerberus stole Omega from me," her fists clenched at her side, and she seemed to bristle with a momentary biotic flash of light, "The Illusive Man is now squarely at the top of my shit list."
Welcome to the club. Before he could speak, Aria turned to face him, continuing with her short rant, "He will pay for every fucking second I have spent in this bureaucratic hellhole."
Now he got to the meat of the topic, "How did Cerberus defeat you?"
She sighed, shaking her head as she walked back to the couch, sitting down as she spoke, "Deceit, distraction, and a big fuckin army. They attacked my station with Reaper husks called Adjutants, then pretended to aid me and deny all involvement. Their leader lured me away and imprisoned. By the time I escaped, they had already laid siege. I managed to force them to evacuate, but then they threatened to destroy the station if I did not surrender. So I fled...like a fucking retard, I fled, and now Cerberus holds Omega."
He sighed, leaning back, "If it were me, I'd be asking for help, getting that help, and then taking it back."
"I'm glad we think alike," she deadpanned, nodding with agreement, "I will take Omega back, but that, for the time being, is a distant goal I can only entertain. I need to be able to regroup and rally new forces before I can pull off such a thing. Plus, I'll need a big fucking fleet. But that's for later," she turned to look at him, "I know what you're here for, because you certainly did not come here to ask me why I got my fucking ass kicked off my damn station."
"You're right," Marcus stated, also leaning back, crossing his legs, "I need your troops, Aria. You know what's here; the Reapers. They're here, and you know what they want."
"To fuck our cold, dead corpses, if I remember correctly," the asari stated coldly and bluntly, nodding in acknowledgement, "And I know you need my mercs and myself to lead them of course, and I will gladly give them to you. As far as I see it, if you don't stop the Reapers, we're all fucked. Won't matter where I'm sitting. Its...in my interest...to help you."
Marcus wasn't convinced, perking his left eyebrow upwards, "Its also nothing like you to just agree that quickly without something in return, so I know there's a catch to all of this. Name it, and you'll have it." I've stooped too low to do anything else now. I'll assassinate the Council and put you in charge if it means getting the troops I need. Besides, you'd probably do a better job than those fuckwits anyway. At least you know what's at stake.
She shook her head, grimacing, "You always were too inquisitive; but you're right. There is a catch, although it benefits the both of us, so its not that bad for you either," she twisted to face him, "My forces will be yours, along with all the ships I recruit, and the army I build. But first, I want the Eclipse and the Blood Pack. How does this benefit you, you ask? Well, what I get, you get, remember? Once the Eclipse and Blood Pack are devoted to me, they will be yours to command along with the rest of my forces. You'll get to kill three birds with one stone, won't you?"
He leaned back, whistling in impression. I have to say, she read me like an open book. She knows I want the Eclipse and Blood Pack as well as the Blue Suns, and that securing her and her forces basically ensures I have full control of the Terminus Systems; but the only way I can fully utilize them is to retake Omega; but we'll cross that road when we get there. Try now, Aria is practically offering everything I currently need on a silver platter. Question is, should I take it?
Yes of course I should. She knows what I need is what the galaxy needs to win. And that I'm her best option in getting Omega back.
Licking his lips, he responded, "You and I both need the Eclipse and Blood Pack, so you just need to tell me what I need to do to get them under your wing."
"Well, for Eclipse, its quite simple," she stated, "I'm sure you've heard of the Eclipse leader and founder, Jona Sederis?"
His face took on a dark tone, position tightening at the name, "I've...met her before, actually. Undercover work." He remembered meeting the asari at Donovan Hock's party in his mansion last year when he was launching a heist with Kasumi to acquire Keiji's greybox. The woman definitely hadn't been pleasant, and he swore she had been bordering on being a psychopath, "What about her?"
"She was arrested last year on Bekenstein after Donovan Hock's party exploded...literally," she laughed at her joke, before shaking her head, facing him with a determined look in her eyes, "She was deported here by the Bekenstein police force, and is being held by C-Sec in the Presidium Commons. She's being trialled for execution, actually. Apparently the Council aren't as cowardly as we thought," she waved a dismissive hand, "Release her, and because she owes you, she'll follow you."
He widened his eyes at the proposition, "The Executor would never allow that. The woman is fucking insane, and I'm not letting her loose."
"Do you want your fucking army or not?" she hissed, glaring at him, "I don't care what you do with Sederis short of killing her, but just make sure she's in fighting shape, can lead, and is indebted to us. Besides, her being a psychopath might just make her all the better soldier."
Or she could be another Vosque. "Fine; I'll see what I can do to get the executor to release her. What about the Blood Pack?"
"Their leader is a krogan named Weyrloc Ferturk, and he's currently on the Citadel. Apparently he's looking to kill a turian general named Septimus Oraka, and is planning to, the fucking fool he is, assassinate the turian in the middle of the Zakera Ward. Kill him, and put a vorcha named Kreete in command; he's a vorcha, and therefore controlling him will be as easy as pulling the strings on a puppet. If you do that, you will have your mercenary companies under your command, as well as mine. Sound like a deal?"
"You're so full of shit," the asari next to Aria spoke finally, and all eyes landed on the asari, who lay there with her arms crossed.
Aria glared at her with vicious intent, "The fuck did you say, bitch?"
"Oh, you heard me. Don't play the dumb cunt," the daughter raged, standing up in fury, "Getting people to do your dirty work like you always do. And then ordering him to kill one person, and release another. Why don't you just do it your fucking self?"
"Listen here you fucking brat," Aria spat, "You'll sit your ass down right-"
"Oh, fuck you mother!" Sata yelled, practically spitting in the asari's face, "Dad told me you were a ruthless bitch, and I know it for certain. You always get people to do your dirty work for you, and now you don't have a space station, and you're just going to use Shepard to get it back. I'm almost insulted to have grown from your womb."
"Yeah, well fuck you!" Aria shouted back, waving at the doorway, "I don't care! You were a fucking accident, a mistake, something I will always regret! Your father was a fucking traitor and wasn't even there when I needed her; so why the fuck should I respect her child? Get out of my sight."
"Gladly," Sata cursed her, and stormed from the lounge, leaving in a frenzied storm of rage without even looking back at once. Marcus just sat there, glancing between the retreating Sata and Aria with rapidfire glances, shocked by the exchange he just saw. No child deserves to be called an accident. That was just cruel, even for Aria. But who was the father? No, better not ask that. Aria looks pissed off enough as it is. Best leave it be. Having decided to take his leave, he stood up and moved to back away.
"Thank you for the information Aria," he said, remaining his professional self, "I'm going to go to C-Sec Headquarters and hopefully get Sederis released. I want this over with."
Aria waved a dismissive hand, merely looking at the ground with a dejected look, "Yes, of course, whatever. Just make sure I get my mercs."
Turning away, his face became ice once more as he approached the bar, where James apparently was telling Liara a joke, as the asari could be seen laughing. His thoughts landed on Aria's parting words, and he grimaced slightly, knowing he could not do it, but he would get it another way. Releasing Sederis is unacceptable, even as leader of the Eclipse. But that doesn't mean she won't have a replacement. He nodded, as if agreeing with his own thoughts as he arrived at the bar, taking a seat next to James on his right. I'll find her second-in-command and talk to him. If I can gain his loyalty, then I will release Sederis...but not to freedom.
He cringed, knowing what he must do to prevent her escape. He knew Aria, and he needed to make sure a person like Sederis never saw freedom's light. No, I will execute Sederis myself. She's a scumbag, a psycho, and wouldn't hesitate at murdering innocents or stabbing me or Aria in the back if she got the chance. No, I'll have her assassinated. But C-Sec will never buy into that, so I'll need to make Sederis believe she's been freed. I won't be able to take her out myself; people might believe I was behind it. So that means I need someone else to do it...to snipe her...
Zaeed. He hasn't yet left the Citadel.
Just one more favor, you old bastard. One more.
"Loco?" James' voice suddenly derailed his train of thought, forcing him to look at the marine, "You alright?"
He inhaled and exhaled, nodding as he did, "Yes; just going over Aria's words," he turned to Liara, "Liara, when we return to the Normandy, could you pull up the Eclipse database and get me the name of Jona Sederis' second-in-command? Aria wants me to release Sederis, but I can't risk unleashing her upon the public, so I need to take my chances with whoever is next on the chain."
She nodded, smiling, "Of course, Shepard. Whatever you need." She quickly brought up her omni-tool, and got to work. He didn't object, and merely nodded as the bartender gave him his drink, and he took a long sip.
"So what did you get from Aria, loco?" James asked, sipping his own drink, "Any useful intel we can use?"
Marcus merely shook his head.
"No James we don't," he declared, "None is needed."
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June 3, 2186
1435 hours.
C-Sec Outpost, The Presidium Commons, Presidium, The Citadel.
The Reaper War.
Captain Marcus Lee Shepard.
The Presidium Commons was crowded today, Marcus thought. Crowds of people went back and forth, going about their daily lives, while skycars whizzed by up ahead, and the artificial sun of the colossal space station beamed brightly up above. Marcus pushed on through them, deciding he would have time to enjoy the scenery later when he had the time. I have no time. All that time must be devoted to finding ways to destroy the Reapers. Until Hackett relays anything concrete on this superweapon, we have to rely on old conventional firepower, and hopes it sustains us. And then hope to God that the superweapon is the hope we're looking for.
He wore his casual attire; the Alliance had forwarded him some credits, but he hadn't needed to spend it on clothes, because apparently Hackett had gone to the trouble of retrieving his old clothes. So instead he had bought back his Terminus Armor, along with a new assault rifle; a mattock heavy rifle, similiar in model to Garrus', but with a golden tint to it; and it was a much better choice than that shitty avenger, anyway. And it was good knowing he had his Terminus armor back.
But now he moved through the Presidium, unarmoured except for the clothing he wore, and the Locust SMG strapped to his side. He kept his N7 cap tilted so people wouldn't go peeking to see who he was, and moved forward with determination, pushing through the large crowds. Vidscreens nearby relayed news on the war effort, which was apparently looking pretty bleak. Images of Earth and Khar'Shan usually accompanied the reports, along with a reporter spouting 'dramatic dialogue' to accompany it. Hell, he might have been imagining it, but he swore he heard the word 'Reaper' mentioned.
He entered a long corridor, and then turned left onto the main Commons, and just in time as well, as he watched a C-Sec squad of armoured SWAT troopers move past him. Nodding to the commander of the unit, Marcus steadily moved past them and moved down the stairs and towards the C-Sec Outpost which, thankfully, was not that far away. He also knew that a certain mercenary's crosshairs were likely hovering over him at that current moment.
He had managed to catch Zaeed just as the bounty hunter was preparing to leave the Citadel, asking him for one last favor. The mercenary nodded, and was glad at the chance to eliminate some of his 'compeitition.' The man now rested on the other side of the Presidium, likely prone, his Incisor Sniper Rifle extended before him and aimed down at Shepard, ready to cover him. With a quick glance over at that 'other side,' Marcus had to whistle. The other side was at least a kilometer over the main lake that seperated the two sides of the Presidium ring itself. That was quite a distance.
Finally, Marcus reached the C-Sec outpost, finding its entrance to be guarded by two officers, both of them turians, and armoured from head to toe in medium combat armor, and wielding vindicator battle rifles. Upon moving inside, he gave both of them a brief nod, and then moved within its confines. The outpost itself wasn't very big; it was square in shape, and at least four meters long and wide. A couch sat on the left, along with another along the right wall, with a bench infront of it. In the upper left corner was a desk, where the supervisor obviously sat; datapads were stacked on his desk, with anothe turian C-Sec officer sitting behind it, and looking incredibly stressed by the amount of work dumped upon him. Vidscreens hung on the wall behind him; security cameras from inside the the numerous cells of the outpost.
Adjusting his cap, he moved over to the officer's desk, coming to brace against it, which gained the officer's attention. Looking up, he met the man's eyes and nodded, leaning back, "Ah, hello sir. How may I help you?"
"I'm here to release one of your prisoners," Marcus declared, motioning to the door at the back, which was currently locked with a red holopanel, "One of high importance."
"I don't believe you have the authorization to do that sir," the turian stated, narrowing his eyes at the human, "Only the Executor or the Commander on the Presidium can authorize a release of a prisoner, or one of the Councilors and/or one of their spectres."
"Then that sorts that, doesn't it?" Pulling up his omni-tool, bringing up his old credentials and practically shoving the display in the man's face, "I'm Spectre Marcus Shepard, and I'm here to authorize the release one of your prisoners."
The man looked at them, nodding, and Marcus mentally sighed in relief, glad the man hadn't decided to check if his credentials were up to date and he brought up his terminal display, looking back at Marcus as a prompt. The N7 nodded with an exhale, "Jona Sederis is her name."
The man's eyes widened for a second, and he seemed to freeze at the command, just looking at him. Marcus chuckled, somehow amused by the fear in his eyes. Believe me, I know, "I know she's insane, but she's of high priority to the Council, and I need her alive and able to lead to be of any use."
The man nodded slowly, before turning away and looking at his terminal, inputting the commands he was given. With a silent, unnoticed nod of consent, Marcus stood up and crossed his arms as he came to face the door. He heard the turian giving orders to one of the cell guards to release Sederis, but Marcus didn't hear the words; all he could think of was if what he was about to do was right. You didn't hesitate with Vosque, so why hesitate now? Sederis is dangerous, and you can't seriously let her live just because you want the Eclipse. You've already secured the deal with Sayn; kill Sederis and the Eclipse are yours. Just be done with it. Sayn was Sederis' second-in-command, and a salarian at that, but he wasn't without merit. He had been initially scared of the wrath Sederis would wreak on him if he did assume control, but at the assurance that she wouldn't be around to do anything like that, he took control immediately, saying that the Eclipse was Aria's to own, and in turn, his to command. He just had to rid the world of Sederis; and now he was here.
After a few moments, the door shot open, and out came a grinning Jona Sederis, followed by the poking avenger assault rifle of the C-Sec cell guard. Pulling out his SMG, he gave a nod to the officer, letting him know he had this. Nodding, the man saluted, one Marcus returned, before entering the cell block again, door locking behind him. Sederis was just as he remembered her; face pale, teeth milky white, and a look so amusingly feral it disgusted him to the core. If there was ever a definition of bloodthirsty psycho, it was seen in the face of the Eclipse founder and leader.
Ha. Come to think about it, I think I've killed all the main mercenary company founders. Technically Zaeed killed Vido, but I did help catch him, and I killed Weyrloc Guld of the Blood Pack, and now I'm about to kill Sederis. I guess I could be called the 'founder-killer.' Actually, that sounds like a oxymoron. Oh, fuck it. Who cares anyway?
The asari, dressed in casual attire, approached Marcus, swinging her hips from side to side. Her breasts were of ample size, and she was quite attractive by asari standards, but all he saw was a woman he was about to have sniped. Who cares? She's a murderer. How many people has she brutally killed just for the promise of credits? You're doing the galaxy a favor.
"Well hello there," Sederis swooned, laughing drunkenly, "Have we met before? I'm glad you released me, its about time I got out. I've alot to do; heads will roll. I don't like it when people...fuck with me."
"Yes we have," he practically hissed, grabbing her arm and practically dragging her out into the open Presidium to give Zaeed a clear shot. The mercenary wouldn't fire unless he got the signal, which Marcus needed to give before he could end Sederis' life. The asari growled at the contact and ripped free of his grip just as they got outside, causing him to spin to face her, ice in his look. She returned it in full, and her look was feral; like something off a rabid beast.
"Who the fuck are you to presume to touch me?" she hissed, throwing a hand at him in a dismissive gesture, "Do I need to add you to my list of people to fucking kill? Because I've barely known you, and I already want you dead."
Believe me, you wouldn't last five seconds. And that's without Zaeed in the picture. He could imagine his sights landing on Sederis' forehead at that moment, just waiting for the signal to shoot and splatter her brains along the pavement. He fixed Sederis with a look of frosty reckoning, not backing down from the bitch before him, "Threats won't be doing you any good, Sederis. I thought you'd be alittle more warm to the person who just busted your ass out of prison."
"Could have done it myself eventually," Sederis spat, moving towards the stairs, but stopping as she whorled to face him, "I don't need you, whoever the fuck you are. Seriously, who are you? Cause you look awfully fucking familiar."
"Like I said, someone you met, but don't know," he replied.
"What are you, fucking retarded? Just give me freakin answer before I reduce you to a pile of dog shit," her biotics bloomed around her body, and she stood forward into battle stance.
He rolled his eyes, bringing his own biotics to bear as he barely moved an inch, "Like I also said; threats won't do you any good. I'm a Spectre, not to mention top of my class in special forces, which means I could deck you in the space of a couple of seconds and not even think twice about it. You're a fucking merc, and therefore mean nothing to me. The only reason you're even out of jail is so I could deal with you personally."
"Spectre...?" she trailed off, eyes widening in a brief moment of shock, before it became ice again, her teeth clenced and bared, growling like an angry dog, "Well Commander Shepard, it is a pleasant surprise. What does the great commander what this lowly pit of scum?"
"Its Captain Shepard now," he hissed, "And your only use is the Eclipse. But I guess I don't really need you anymore."
"You need the Eclipse? I founded the Eclipse. I own them. I am their leader," Sederis spat at his feet, "You think I'm scared of you? You want my Eclipse? Well fuck you, because you aren't getting them. Actually, I'd grab your quarian slut and start running, because I'm going to hunt you down, and I will kill both of you. Noone fucks with me, some Spectre fuckwit or otherwise."
He ignored the insult and implied threat towards Tali, knowing they were moot and answered with steel, "I don't need your permission to take control of the Eclipse, Sederis. I already have control of them."
"Fuck you," Sederis growled, shoving her middle finger in his face before spatting in his face. She closed his eyes and mouth, using a hand to casually wipe away her saliva from his face and splash it on the ground. Many people had gathered around, watching the exchange quietly, and even the guards at the outpost had been roused, "You think because you released me that I'm going to just blindly pledge fealty to you? Well go fuck a varren, because that ain't happening. I will wreak just revenge for my imprisonment, and I will start with you."
"Who said I needed you to have the Eclipse?" he shook his head, wiping away the remains of her spit and casually wiping it on his sleeve, "Any dickhead can lead a bunch of tech-wannabes in yellow armor. Take your second-in-command, Sayn, for instance. He seems like a reasonable man, more rational than you for instance, and with him in command, he's assured me complete control of the Eclipse, and all on one guarantee."
"Sayn? Are you fucking serious?" She laughed, shaking her head, pointing a finger at him, "You're a good joker, Shepard. Sayn is a weak-willed toady; he'll never fuck with me, he knows better. Nice try," she grinned at him evilly.
He resisted the urge to grin back in equal measure, and stood firm, "You see, that's what Sayn was worried about. But when I said I'd take care of the problem, he seemed much more willing to help me. You see Sederis, he won't need to fuck with you, because you won't be around to fuck with."
Her eyes widened once more, but she forced them to narrow, her breathing becoming more menacing, "Are you...threatening me? What part of 'noone fucks with me' didn't you get? Fuck you! You aren't even armed!"
"You must be pretty blind," he pulled out his Hurricane SMG and levelled it at Sederis' face, shaking his head, "Its over Sederis. You know that; don't make this any harder than it has to be." She'll knock my SMG aside with her biotics, but that's why Zaeed's here. Enough playing around; let's end this.
"I'll kill you Shepard!" She yelled out, lashing out with a biotic attack that knocked away his weapon wielding arm, just as he predicted and she began to charge forward, wreathed in biotic light, "I'll kill you, then I'll kill your fucking suit-rat, then-"
He turned to the other side of the Presidium and gave the thumbs up. Sederis simply kept charging, and he spared her one last glance.
The next second, her head exploded as a high-velocity round entered through the side of her head and exited out the other side, purple blood painting the ground as her momentum carried her forward and into the ground, biotics dying out as she died. He merely looked down at where her head tapped his right foot, purple blood collecting around her head, her face contorting from her raged expression to one of tranquility; a deathly peace.
People screamed at the sudden death, and the C-Sec officers quickly converged on him weapons raised. He gave another thumbs up in Zaeed's general to confirm a good kill and then turned to walk away, only to run into the barrel of a battle rifle.
"That's far enough," the officer declared, "On your knees, hands behind your head, now. You're under arrest."
"I'm a Council Spectre. As of now, I'm advising you move out of the way, before you end up like her," he ordered, not backing down, "Besides, you really going to defend her? She was on death row anyway; she was insane, and wasn't going to risk letting her continue to live. I did what was necessary, got me? And if you don't, that's too bad. Move, before I do something I seriously regret."
The man fingered his trigger for a second before rapidly lowering his weapon and stepping aside, snapping a salute, "Of course, Spectre. Sorry to bother you Spectre."
He nodded, motioning to Sederis' dead body behind him, "Better contact the morgue and have them collect her body; don't want to just leave it lying there. Isn't good for public consumption."
The man merely nodded as Marcus pushed past him and left. Just as he reached the foot of the stairs, his omni-tool began to beep with a call from Zaeed. Accepting the call, he watched as his scarred face popped up on his omni-tool vidscreen, the man shaking his head, "Beautiful goddam kill, Shepard. That Sederis bitch was fuckin crazy; glad you took her down. Going to make relations with those fucking Eclipse pussies much more enlightening."
He nodded, shaking his head grimly, "It was necessary, Zaeed. Sederis really was crazy, and needed or not, I couldn't leave her in that cell to only escape later. I dealt with a potential problem, and I feel better for it. Have you informed Sayn yet?"
"Message just got sent. I sent a similiar one to Aria in turn," the mercenary growled, "If that's all Shepard, I really must get the fuck off this station and back to Zorya. There's only so much goddam trust I can put in one turian."
Despite the situation, he couldn't help but laugh, nodding with a falling smile, "Thanks Zaeed. I'm going to go deal with the Blood Pack leader."
"Sure you can handle him yourself?"
"I've handled worse. I can deal with one krogan," Marcus replied bitterly, making it to the elevator and hitting the icon for Docking Bay D24's Cargo Center, which had been retrofitted into a makeshift refugee camp. Apparently that's where Weyrloc Ferturk would be, along with his Blood Pack cronies and Aria's puppet leader, Kreete.
"Whatever you say, you smug bastard," the bounty hunter replied, "See you around, Shepard. Happy Reaper killin."
He nodded, and cut the connection. Seeing he was about to reach the refugee camp, he sighed inwardly, realizing just how stupid it must seem taking on a heavily-armoured Blood Pack krogan in just casual clothes and with only a SMG as armament. But if he returned to the Normandy, Liara, James or Keeling, or all three, would insist on coming with him, and he was having none of it. He had already turned his crew into trained killers, he wasn't turning them into assassins either.
No, that was his damnation to walk.
{Loading...}
June 3, 2186
1456 hours.
Docking Bay D24 Refugee Center, Shalta Docks, Shalta Ward, The Citadel.
The Reaper War.
Captain Marcus Lee Shepard.
His ears were almost immediately assaulted by noise when the elevator doors slid open, omitting in the harsh sounds. He walked down the hall and moved towards the C-Sec Security Checkpoint that was in place; a blue field, the same as that on the Normandy, blocked his entrance, and on his left was a desk that was bare all except for the terminal resting ontop of it, and the human standing behind it. Seeing Marcus standing there, he looked up, nodding, "State name and identification, please."
He held up his captain's credentials this time, knowing they'd check up to see this time if his spectre ID was up to date. The human saw this and typed it into his terminal, nodding as he did, before turning to look at him once more, motioning towards the bay, "You've been checked through. You may proceed, Captain Shepard."
Marcus nodded and without a second glance moved through the detector, which immediately set it off. Before the man could even speak, Marcus held up his hand to stall him, pulling out the SMG he had strapped to his hip. The man gave him a questioning brow, to which he merely shrugged, "Gotta have protection everywhere I go."
The man nodded, motioning for him to go through, "You're military, so I guess its allowed. Have a good day, sir."
Marcus turned and walked through the field, silently berating the man for his poor choice of words. He literally just said as I walk into a refugee camp. How insensitive and ignorant can you be? Despite the man's words, Marcus pressed on, determined to get this over with. Of all the things I could be doing, I didn't imagine chasing people around the Citadel was one of them. How many people are dying while I'm killing three people? He gulped, shaking those dangerous thoughts from mind, entering the main refugee camp.
Overcrowded to the point of chaos, is how he would best describe it at the moment. The bay was lined with C-Sec officers on patrol, trying to keep the peace. Observation windows on the walls to the left allowed anyone a view of the many ships that were almost constantly flowing into the docks, likely packed with refugees fleeing the Reapers as their relentless harvest.
As he looked around the bay, he saw four main sections of camp; each one was full of containers that had been turned into makeshift homes. Most of the refugees milling about were batarians, some soldiers while others were civilians, but at least a quarter of them were humans as well. He could hear the sounds of children crying, of mothers weeping for their lost loved ones, and fathers desperately trying to get extra rations and living space for their families. Soldiers argued with officers for weapons, while the voices of ship's captains asked for permission to dock. He heard the occassional scream of agony or sorrow, and sometimes even heard the shouts of officers breaking up fights. No, chaos best described what he was looking at.
And as his eyes scanned the room, he saw them. Six Blood Pack mercenaries at the back of the camp, obviously conspiring with one another; four vorcha, two krogan, one of them wearing the exceptionally large armor of the leader; their insignia of a battered skull extremely hard to miss. They seemed to be unarmed; clearly their weapons had been confiscated. He straightened his posture and then pulled his shirt over his SMG, hiding it, as he approached the lone group. He passed numerous refugees and police officers, and noticed the hopelessness in their features, the fear, and some...the anger and sorrow. Some faces were of dried tears, others of fresh ones.
Like a cold machine, he ignored them, offering no comfort as he moved towards his target. I cannot show weakness. If the Hero of the Citadel and Destroyer of the Collectors shows fear and sorrow, then what hope is there left for galactic morale? None. I'm the last strong one left. That, and my inconquerable squad. So he continued to move, going through the movements without hesitation, and eventually found himself behind the krogan leader.
One vorcha noticed him immediately and pointed a sharpened talon at him, screeching in the squeaky and harsh growling noise that vorcha made when they spoke, "Ah! Human behind you!"
The krogan stopped and turned to face Marcus, easily towering over him. Even as the krogan began to speak to him, Marcus was already analyzing the krogan's entire body; weak points, strength, and where to hit to take him out. Knowing that most of his body weight lay on his legs, he prepped his omni-blade as the krogan spoke, "Human? What the hell do you want? Unless you're here to pay us for something, I've got things to do. Piss off."
His hands clasped behind his back, where his omni-blade silently came to life with a low whoosh of energy and the silent crackling of fiery heat, "Nothing, just here to assume control of the Blood Pack that's all. Do you know how I can do that?"
The krogan laughed, shaking his head as he eyed the human with a glare of intensity, "I'm the leader here, human. Which means I own the Blood Pack."
"Incorrect," he stated, pointing a finger at the vorcha he knew was Kreete from Aria's dossier on him; he was recognized by the red choker around his neck, "Kreete is. You've been dismissed."
"What? How-"
Marcus was as quick as lightning, and was already moving in a flash. He ducked down low, his omni-blade slamming into the krogan's left kneecap and then dragged upwards with a sizzling pop. The krogan roared in a mix of pain and anger as he fell onto the one knee; without even thinking, Marcus leapt behind him and raked his blade across the back of the same knee, which crippled the krogan for good as he fell face forward onto his belly, howling. The other mercs looked ready to attack, but something caused them to hold back, and merely watched as Marcus came to stand facing the krogan's wreathing body, SMG folding out into his hands.
The krogan quickly rolled onto his back, meeting the captain's eyes with hatred glowing in their pits, "Who the fuck do you think you are? I-will destroy you. I am Ferturk, of Clan Weyrloc, Leader of the Blood Pack!"
"And I'm Captain Shepard. Or, to you, Commander Shepard," he growled, Marcus' tone hinting at danger to all who heard it, "And I just happen to need your troops for this war, Ferturk. Which means you need to be removed from the picture."
"Men!" the krogan growled, turning to the five mercs standing beside him, "Kill this wretched human, don't just stand there! I want him dead, right now! Whoever gets the kill gets a promotion!"
Marcus stopped his approach, raising his SMG to aim at the krogan's face as he met their eyes with cold ferocity, "I wouldn't even bother doing that. Remember Weyrloc Guld, and how he...met a gruesome end?"
They slowly nodded, and there was glint in his eye, "That was me. I've killed many of your mercenaries in the past, and most of them decided to get in my way. I killed them, and I will kill you if you so much as move an inch to help him."
"You're just a human," the leader on the ground coughed, he turned to his band, shaking his head with a snarl, "Are you varren to be scared of a fucking human?" he turned to the remaining able krogan in the group, "Kill him! Show him the strength of the krogan."
"I've killed many of your kind in the past as well," Marcus declared, meeting the second krogan's eyes solely, "I killed Garm, leader of the Blood Pack on Omega. And Guld. And many more. Heard of Urdnot Wrex? He once served under my command, and has taught me many and more about krogan hand-to-hand, not to mention all the weak spots," he nodded to the leader's evicerated knee, "Like so."
This caused the krogan to back away, and he continued his speech, speaking to all of them, "I'm forming an army of unimaginable size to destroy the Reapers, and the Blood Pack will be part of that army, whether you like it or not," his eyes met Kreete's, "And Aria has chosen you to lead them. Ferturk could not be trusted, and you were appointed. You will serve Aria, and me, and answer our call when we see fit. Do you understand, Kreete? I want the Blood Pack. Are they mine? Are they Aria's?"
"Both!" the vorcha hissed happily, nodding his head like an ecstatic child with razor-sharp canine teeth, "Aria own Blood Pack! Shepard own Blood Pack! You both own it! Yes yes! All yours! Will serve! Yes yes! Can count on me!"
Good. That secures the Blood Pack. "Then go speak to her yourself; give her the Blood Pack and proclaim your loyalty in person. You will find her in the Purgatory night club; it is on the Presidium. Now go; and be ready for battle when I call for it. Go."
Kreete nodded, and hissed at his new men to follow. The three other vorcha did so without hesitation and, before he knew it, the krogan was following as well, which caused Ferturk's eyes to widen in shock as he watched his mercs file away into the crowd, disappearing. As he watched, crowd members began to observe and before he knew it, everyone was watching. He ignored the eyes boring into his skull and faced Ferturk, who had now rolled back to face him, a new emotion his eyes; fear.
"Wa-wait! C-c-can't we-we figure this out?" he begged holding out a hand to forestall him; he must have looked menacing with just an SMG in one hand and sizzling omni-blade in the other, "I've heard the stories about you!" the blade edged nearer, "You're merciful! Mercy! Fucking mercy! Please! I'll give you the Blood Pack! I'll be of more use than Kreete; he's a fucking vorcha! Dumb as a rock!"
"All men sing the same tune when faced with death," Marcus stated, crouching next to the krogan so they were close enough to hear each other, "And that's exactly why Kreete's in control; we didn't recruit him for his wits; we did it because he's easy to manipulate; he's merely a puppet to make controlling your Blood Pack easier. You? You would stab us in the back they first chance you got, and no less or more. No, you must be ended. Mercy is for the deserving. For the worthy. You are despicable; making money off of the misery of others. If it weren't for needing your organization, I would burn it to the ground. But I do; but you? I don't need you. I have Kreete. A puppet is better than one wielding a knife, but with a different puppeteer."
He moved to open the man's throat, but the krogan was too desperate; in a last ditch attempt to protect his pathetic life, the krogan lashed out and grabbed his omni-blade arm, trying to snap it. Predicting the action, Marcus charged his biotics and let forth a warp field, which slammed into the krogan's gut. The attack atomized his heavy armor and stunned the krogan from its close-proximity, allowing him to bring up his SMG, ram the barrel into the krogan's mouth, and then pull the trigger until the spent clip was spat out.
With Ferturk dead and lying in a growing pool of orange blood, Marcus came to stand, aware of the eyes currently focused on him. With an inhale and exhale, he looked up, and met them, watching their accusing gazes. Some looked at him with disgust, while others, largely the batarians, gave him murderous gazes. He ignored all of them though as the crowd parted and three C-Sec officers; a female turian leading two salarians, suddenly appeared, rifles raised at him. They looked at the krogan however, and noticed the red armor, and quickly lowered their weapons, the female turian fixing him with narrowed eyes, "Self-defense or initiator?"
"Initiator," she looked about ready to raise her rifle again when he continued, "But only because I needed the Blood Pack for my war against the Reapers, and he refused to cooperate. I had to...sort him out."
Sighing, she lowered her weapon, nodding, "Very well. Please step away from the corpse."
He did so without argument, holstering his SMG and slipping his shirt and jumper over it as both salarians crouched beside the body, the turian placing her hands on her hips as she looked at the body. Shaking her head, she faced her salarian subordinate, nodding, "Contact the morgue; tell 'em we've got a dead krogan mercenary down here that needs extraction. And clean the damn thing up and cover it; we don't need kids seeing this."
With a nod of affirmation, the officer turned towards him, all professionalism, "ID please."
He nodded, pulling up his omni-tool and showing her his credentials. Her eyes widened as she saw it and she quickly snapped a salute, obviously awed by his presence, "Comman-Captain Shepard! I did not realize it was you, sir. I wouldn't have held you up like this. We were told you would be on the Citadel, but we didn't think you'd be down here. My apologies."
He held up a hand to forestall her, shaking his head, "No need to apologize, officer. You were only doing your job. And I hate to just leave like this, but I really do have things I need to do. Its important."
"Right back at you sir," she smiled a turian grin, "No need to apologize; I'll let you go." With that, she turned and left, and he did the same, moving through the crowd and ignoring the looks they gave him before dispersing. With the Blood Pack, along with the Eclipse and Blue Suns, firmly under Aria's wing and his, and the entire Terminus Systems under his belt, he now had a foundation for his strike force. And now that he had nothing else to do while the Normandy's retrofit was being completed, he decided he would visit Kaidan in the hospital; see how he was going. He hoped the marine would be alright.
Suddenly, a familiar voice shouting out at him stalled his movement, and he stopped, turning to the source.
"Shepard, stop! Shepard!"
As he turned to the origin of the voice, he felt an entire body slam into him, wrapping its arms around his neck and his sight covered as long, fluffy ginger hair filled his face. He felt a pair of medium-sized breasts press against his chest as well, and the woman's hair confirmed she was human. If the color of said hair didn't confirm who she was, he didn't know what did.
She pulled away, a shining smile of relief on her face as she pulled away, "Shepard! Its so good to see you again."
"Kelly," he greeted back with an equally warm smile, "I can say the same. I didn't think I'd see you here." Yeoman, or who had been his yeoman, Kelly Chambers no longer wore the Cerberus uniform she had on the old ship, or the new clothes they had gotten after parting ways with said organization. She wore a simple civilian garb, much like that of the colonists he met on Feros three years ago, and simple blue jeans. Her body was curvaceous, and her face showed just how attractive she was. But the red rings under her eyes showed that the woman had not gotten much sleep, and he knew why.
She smiled back, laughing slightly, "Neither did I. I guess, when I boarded that shuttle, I just didn't know where to go. So when Kasumi and Garrus got off, I got off with them, and found a shuttle for the Citadel. I was helping out for C-Sec, but then the news reports of Earth started coming in...and I thought I could help the refugees..." her cheery smile was suddenly replaced by one of sadness as she cupped her mouth, looking at him with horror, "Oh my god, Earth! I saw the reports and the images! I was wandering if you had-"
He came in and began rubbing her back, offering calming words, "Its okay, Kelly. I got out okay, but not everyone did. We lost alot of good people, and Anderson voted to stay behind to lead the resistance movement. Many people are still dying as we speak, but I know I'll stop them. I have to."
She nodded, wiping away the few tears that escaped her eyes, "I know you will. In the end, I believe the entire Normandy crew really did, and still does, believe you can stop the Reapers. I miss the crew, the ship...guess I got attached. A bit of seperation anxiety."
He grinned, stroking his beard, "Looks like you're in need of a shrink."
She laughed, shaking her head, "I do not appreciate being called a 'shrink', Shepard. Its not very polite," with a sigh, she shook her head, holding her head. He frowned with concern, gripping her shoulder with his but she shook him off, shaking her head as she did, "Its nothing, just a minor headache. Been getting alot of them lately; comes with being in a noisy place. I've gotten some tablets from Doctor Michel at Huerta; she's a really nice person. Apparently she also knows you. Something about rescuing her," she raised an eyebrow inquisitively, smiling, "Anything I should know about, Commander?"
"Actually, its Captain now," he corrected, rubbing the back of his neck, "Sort of a unofficial battlefield promotion. Anderson...gave it to me when I was leaving Earth. It was basically his last words to me."
"I see," solemnity filled the scene upon his final words, but Kelly quickly shook her head, crossing her arms as she narrowed her eyes at him, "But do not avoid the question; who is Doctor Michel, and how do you know her?"
"You could say she's how I met my lovely wife," he grinned, the thought of her not bringing any melancholy and loneliness this time, "She's also how Garrus came to join my team. It was during our time on the Citadel, just before the official outbreak of the Eden Prime War; we were trying to gather information to prove Saren was a traitor, and it just so happened that Garrus may have been on to something. We went to Chora's Den, and that's how I met both Garrus and Wrex. They joined us and we stormed Michel's Clinic in the Wards, and rescued her from some of Fist's thugs. And that's how we met."
"Very dramatic," she giggled, shaking her head, which caused another smirk to arrive from Marcus' lips, "But she commanded a clinic three years ago? She really came a long way."
"What do you mean?" He asked, genuinely curious.
"She's the hospital administrator for Huerta Memorial now," she stated with praise, "She does a really good job."
His eyes widened at this revelation, laughing half-heartedly before pinching his nose, "Well...well damn. Yeah, she certainly has come a long way. I think all of us have, really. Except you," he teased, poking at her shoulder, "You're just a psyche. What's the saying? Once a shrink, always a shrink."
"Actually, its 'once a marine, always a marine,' but I'll allow you your simple interpretation," she waved with a mock hand of dismissal, smiling all the way.
"Very well, Mrs. Philosophy Professor," he grinned back, sighing, "This is good, Kelly. I don't think I've really smiled all that much since leaving Earth. Poor Liara's had to put up with my crap; you know, stone-faced asshole and ruthless bastard I am."
She stopped laughing, her face becoming neutral as she nodded, "I know that feeling; although I'm glad I wasn't there. I don't think I could bare to see the birth place of my species...just..." she shook the thoughts from her head, "Let's not think about the war. We haven't talked in a while."
"Kelly," he began, knowing he needed to warn her about something, and he only just remembered what that was, "You need to know something. Cerberus...the Illusive Man...they've gone insane. It isn't safe around here anymore; anywhere, really. They attacked my team on Mars and...well, they've gotten an upgrade. The Illusive Man is using Reaper tech to turn his soldier into monsters, and we...I...may think he's...indoctrinated." There's no other explanation for why he could want to change his plans so suddenly. He always has been too obsessed with the Reapers...now I'm certain its indoctrination.
Kelly looked at him, nodding her head slightly, "I knew this would happen at some point...the Illusive Man's insanity, I mean. I just..."
"You need to stay safe. You need to hide," he licked his lips, bracing himself for his next deliverance of words, "Kelly, I'm offering a chance for you to return to the Normandy crew. To help me."
Her eyes seemed to widen in terror, and she seemed to go insane in that instant, switching from laughing to sobbing, back to laughing again. Finally, she began to hold herself, shaking her head, "I...no...no no no I can't go back there. I...feel safe here. I feel safer here."
He sighed, seeing she was she suffering from the events of the Collector abduction of the Normandy crew that had happened months before. She had never recovered from the attack, and had complained of horrific nightmares, waking up in cold sweats, and sometimes screaming loud enough for the whole ship to hear. Kelly Chambers had never been the same.
But he couldn't let that fear of stepping onto the Normandy scare her away from her duty. The truth is, he needed Kelly. He needed her to serve on his ship. He valued her as a member of his crew, and needed her to keep the morale of his crew up; to make sure they were alright. Her gripped her shoulder, and turned her to face him, words soft and sympathetic, "Look, I know you still have nightmares of what happened. I know it still haunts you. I know how you feel, because the same happened to me after Elysium. After Torfan. But worst of all, after Akuze. Now, of course, I had noone there to comfort me during those times. I had constant nightmares of Akuze after the event, but it did get better. But I had noone," his eyes became piercing and full of determination, confidence, "Trust me when I say there is nowhere safer in this galaxy than the Normandy. The Collectors caught us offguard last time, but did it happen again? No. EDI is better than that. And unlike me, you have friends who are there for you. Joker's not the most comforting guy, and EDI's certainly no comfort at all, but I'll be there if you need a shoulder to cry on, and I'm sure if anyone messes with ya, Garrus will beat him up for ya," if he were here, "And Liara's not the most social person, but she's grown, and she's there for you."
"I feel safer on the Citadel Shepard," she said, pushing him away, and shaking her head, the fear palpable in her eyes, but he could see the temptation, the want she kept hidden, "I do. The crowds are calming, and I know the Citadel is the safest place there is."
"Wrong Kelly. You know damn well this place is as about as safe as Earth is," he stated strongly, "The geth laid the Citadel under siege with Sovereign three years ago. And that was one Reaper. With the entire Reaper fleet baring down on us, do you really think the Citadel will be safe? Especially when it itself is Reaper technology, and bends to their will, not ours? Trust me, the Normandy is much safer. We miss you Kelly. Everyone does. I...I need friends on my crew," he added the last bit as almost like a plea, "I'm fresh out of friends to talk to, Kelly. Garrus is on Palaven somewhere, my wife won't answer my messages, I met Zaeed briefly, Liara's been trying to be my personal shrink, and Kaidan's hospitalized. The new crew members are nice, but are they my family? No. The Normandy SR-2's crew was family, not the SSV Normandy SR-2's. If you won't do it for your safety Kelly, then do it for us. Do it for me. Because the Normandy is feeling very lonely without some friends, Kelly."
There was a long, drawn out silence that seemed to last for hours on end, when in fact, it only lasted a couple of moments. She gazed at him, using her abilites in psychology to measure his posture and calculate lies from truth, and she saw the truth in what he said; the slouch of his posture indicating exhaustion, eyes giving away loneliness. Those eyes disturbed her the most. How blank and pleading they were. The Hero of the Citadel, Lion of Elysium, Butcher of Torfan, Survivor of Akuze, Destroyer of the Collectors, Geth Slayer and Bane of the Reapers was missing one thing in his otherwise invincible statute and that was that he wanted companionship. The man was lonely, and not even his best friends, family or even his own wife were there to support him.
She felt sorry for him.
How could she say no?
"You've got me Shepard," she gave a sigh of defeat, her posture slacking, "Where's the Normandy docked? I'll grab my things, say goodbye." She looked terrified at the prospect of returning to her 'torment,' but she knew she could see it through.
He patted her shoulder in appreciation, "Thank you, Kelly. You're doing the right thing. Joker and EDI will be thrilled to know your back. The Normandy is docked in Docking Bay D24; literally right above us," he pointed at the Normandy hovering outside, smiling as he turned back to her, "Just ask Samantha Traynor, she'll be at your old station, and she'll get you some quarters."
A sudden look of mischief crossed her features, and for a moment, he saw a smile as she began to walk away, a look of mock evil, "At my old station, did you say? Well that's just unacceptable..."
"Play nice," he stated with mock harshness, laughing, "We'll talk later, Kelly. And...its good to have you back."
"Touche," she returned, and like that, she was gone. Marcus shrugged, squaring out his shoulders before turning around and beginning to head back to the elevator, a smile on his face as he did. I've met a friend and now she's rejoining the crew; maybe this day isn't so shitty afterall. Speaking of old friends...better see if my old crew made it off of Earth or Arcturus...see if they're safe...
Just as he prepared to hit the checkpoint, another familiar, ableit annoying voice, ruined his day for him almost instantly. He groaned as he turned to deal with the perpetrator.
"Join Cerberus! If its good enough for Shepard, then its good enough for us!"
Another groan.
"Oh, fuck me..."
"Meeting another friend must have been nice."
- Tali'Shepard pav Rannoch.
"It was a nice change from watching people you know die. Plus, all the chaos of the past three days started dying off, making it better to stand."
- Marcus Shepard.
"So what occurred next?"
- Reia'Inas pav Earth.
"Interrupt again, and this interview is over."
- Tali'Shepard pav Rannoch.
"Fine. Just be quick about it."
- Reia'Inas pav Earth.
"Now, Shepard, what did you do next?"
- Tali'Shepard pav Rannoch.
"I went to Huerta Memorial. Where I ran into more friends...and a new recruit."
- Marcus Shepard.
A/N:
Out so soon? I do believe so.
This marks the end of what I call the very short 'Mercenary Arc' of the story. Marcus now has the Blue Suns, Eclipse, Blood Pack and Aria's troop under his belt, which means he's set the foundation for his ground forces and some of his naval force. Next chapter will be mostly conversations before the Normandy heads to Palaven.
Keelah Se'lai!
