Authors Note: Okay, thank you to all the favorites and followers. I do hope you are enjoying this. Next few chapter are completely original now that I have collected everyone. Mija002: I'm sorry...I knew going in I was probably going to kill him off but the rest of my Mass Effect stories have him alive and kicking. One of them is even a Shepard/Nihlus romance. :) That one will be posted in time.
Once again I apologize to the Nihlus fans...I had to kill him.
Now, I give you Chapter 3: Rogues, Mercs, and Cops
Mass Effect
"Foreign Relations"
Chapter Three: Rogues, Mercs, and Cops
In all the time Sidda spent in the Alliance and growing up on ships she could firmly say she'd never been to the Citadel. The station was an impressive hub of transport, commerce, and culture. She leaned on the railing in Udina's office looking over the view of the Presidium. She'd only said about six words since they'd showed up at the Citadel and looked royally pissed off; the image of Nihlus being shot was burned into her brain along with whatever the Beacon had left behind. She felt different since the Beacon ensnared her. She felt several emotions that she didn't know where they came from, the rage and guilt she attributed to losing her friend but the sick feeling of dread she couldn't place.
Udina had managed to get them an audience with the Council but she got the distinct impression that the Council wasn't going to help them put their most decorated Spectre in the brig even with the proof that she had. He murdered another Spectre right in front of her and she was damn sure going to make him pay for that.
Sidda, Kaidan, and Ashley stepped off the lift and made their way down the corridor that opened up into a giant room. The Citadel tower was impressive, an eye opener at no mistake. Sidda spied two Turians at the end of the corridor having a loud discussion that drew her attention.
"I need more time." One of them stated. Sidda paused seeing the colony markings on his face. The Palaven blue that matched Maridus' she had no illusions though, this wasn't Damar. His skin tone was much lighter and he had cleaner, sharper features, his voice was different, and his eyes were a crisp blue. The fact that he was wearing C-Sec blue was a clue also.
"Let it go, Vakarian, your investigation is over." The one stated, firmly. His markings were powder blue and he had a deep voice.
"Sir, I know Saren is dirty, just give me more time." The other one pleaded. Sidda's attention was peaked to his statement. This officer was looking into Saren, to her he was a potential ally and at the very least she wanted to pick his brain.
"Garrus, I am ordering you to let his go." He stated and walked away leaving the other one obviously frustrated.
When the other Turian departed the one he called Garrus turned to the human audience he had attracted. "You're investigating Saren?" Sidda inquired and Garrus stood up straight looking her up and down.
"You must be Cdr. Shepard." He stated. "Garrus Vakarian, C-sec." he introduced. "That was my boss; Executor Pallin…so to answer your question, Commander, I was investigating Saren."
"Why?" she asked.
Garrus was still figuring her out, everyone had heard of Sidda Shepard, the Hero of Elysium and the accusations made by the Alliance were damning. "Because your government filed the complaint." Garrus replied. "I found small things but not enough to condemn him…I know I'm close to something big though I just need more time."
"Commander, we should find Capt. Anderson." Kaidan stated and Sidda nodded to him. Garrus might just be a treasure trove of information.
"Don't go far. I'd like to talk to you later." She stated and Garrus nodded slightly unsure how to take that. He didn't have much experience with Humans beyond C-Sec business.
The Council chamber was enormous, it even had trees; Sidda did a 360 taking in the sheer size of the room. She'd never seen anything like the Citadel. "Wow." She stated and as Kaidan and Ashley had to agree with her. Sidda's attention was brought back to the Council, three members of the powers in the galaxy; Turian Councilor Sparatus, Asari Councilor Tevos, and Salarian Councilor Valern. As Anderson, Sidda, and Udina approached Kaidan and Ashley held back off the bridge walkway. Sidda looked from the Council to the giant holographic projection of Saren.
"The Geth attack is a matter of some concern but there is no evidence to support that Saren was involved in anyway." Tevos stated and Sidda came to a stop looking from the Asari then over to Saren.
"The investigation by Citadel Security turned up nothing to support your charge of treason." Sparatus added and Udina scoffed as did Sidda. So far she kept her mouth shut but her glare was focused on Saren.
"We have an eyewitness who saw the whole thing." Udina stated and Sidda was prepared to back that up 100%. "Cdr. Shepard.
"Yes, we've read the Eden Prime report." Valern stated. "The statements from your own people say that you were very far away when you witnessed Nihlus' 'execution'."
"I may be human but my eyesight's sharp as ever." Sidda fired back. "I saw that son of a bitch shoot Nihlus in the back of the head." She snapped and turned her glare back to Saren. "And you know it. Me and my squad chased your ass all the way to the Beacon where you set bombs to destroy it and the whole colony."
"I resent these accusations." Saren stated maintaining his innocence. "Nihlus was a fellow Spectre and a friend."
"That only let you catch him off guard." Anderson chimed in and Saren shifted his look toward him.
"Ahh, Capt. Anderson…you always seem to be around when Humans levy false accusations towards me." Saren stated and Sidda scoffed loudly.
"False accusations…that's rich." Sidda hissed. "I saw you!"
"Cdr. Shepard…Nihlus spoke highly of you, I see he over estimated your talents." Saren stated, his insult obviously designed to infuriate her by insinuating that she wasn't good enough to protect Nihlus.
"How about you get your ass down here and we'll see who's underestimated my talents, you son of a bitch." She snarled back.
"That's enough, Commander, you will conduct yourself in a professional manner or you will be escorted out." Tevos stated sternly and Sidda had to force herself to be quiet.
"Nihlus died because you were not capable of watching his back, the Beacon was destroyed because you are just as incompetent, your people are not ready to join the galactic community…you're not even ready to join the Spectres." Saren stated, his pointed tone did well in pissing off the humans before him.
"He has no right to say that!" Udina barked.
"Cdr. Shepard's candidacy for the Spectres is not the issue here; we are here to ascertain the truth of what happened on Eden Prime." Tevos stated. "The Geth attacked a colony, a Prothean Beacon was destroyed, and a Spectre was killed."
"While the loss of your colony is regrettable, there is no evidence to support that Spectre Arterius had anything to do with this. Our logs indicate he was nowhere near Eden Prime at the time. Spectre Arterius has been cleared of all charges." Sparatus stated and Sidda's temper flared.
"Are you kidding me?" she snapped. "Come on, Sparatus, you read Victus' reports on me for damn near a year…you know I wouldn't lie about something like this!" she roared stepping forward and doing away with the 'professionalism' that Tevos warned her to conduct. "That son of a bitch put a gun to Nihlus' head and pulled the trigger, I saw it with my own eyes! My squad saw him running from us on the platform, what do you think…we're all lying?"
"Commander, stand down." Anderson ordered and she barely had enough sense to heed his command. "What about Shepard's vision, the images that she saw when she contacted the Beacon?"
"Are we allowing dreams into evidence now?" Saren asked his condescending tone was enough to fuel her anger even more.
Sidda was growing more and more aggravated by the second, the Council was a waste of time; Anderson was right when he said they wouldn't believe her. "You can shut up at any point or come down here and see me personally."
Saren had to admit she was a tenacious one. "If there's nothing else…" Saren stated and Sparatus nodded to him as he shut down the comm link and his image disappeared.
Sidda roared a frustrated growl and stormed away from the Council. "Fucking waste of time." She growled.
"I can't figure out which one of you to blame for how badly that went." Udina stated and Sidda glowered at him. "I should never have brought you in there, Captain, your history with Saren colored the meeting."
Sidda snorted. "And my hatred for that bastard didn't?" she questioned and Udina turned to her.
"As for you…you should be thrown in the brig for the way you conducted yourself in there." Udina stated and Sidda ignored him.
"So what's the next step?" Sidda asked ignoring Udina and directing her question to Anderson.
"What about the C-Sec officer…the Turian, Vakarian?" Kaidan asked and Sidda could see what he was getting at.
"Right." She nodded and looked from Kaidan to Anderson. "What's this history you have with Saren?"
"Its old history, Commander, I'm not getting into it right now." He stated and Sidda narrowed her eyes at him.
"What kind of history?" she asked ignoring the fact that he just said he wasn't getting into it now.
Anderson shot her a glare that told her the thinness of the ice she was skating on. "Not now, Commander, continue your investigation. I'll be in Udina's office, let us know when you have more leads while we run down others."
Sidda still wanted to know more and turned toward Kaidan and Ashley. "Alright, let's go find Vakarian." She stated and left the meeting still fuming that the Council was eating up Saren's bullshit line. She needed to talk to Garrus. She told him to wait and was arguing with the Council for about 15 minutes before they shot her down.
"Where'd he go?" Kaidan asked and Sidda scoffed.
"Typical Turian…" Sidda began. "tell them to wait and they wander off." She stated sounding annoyed. "Alright, Kaidan…you've been here before…you know anyone in C-Sec?"
"One or two." Kaidan replied with a nod.
It took about 15 minutes for Kaidan to get some information on Vakarian, the person he knew in C-Sec pointed him the shady side of the Citadel. Chora's Den was a slice of sleaze ball heaven in the lower wards. A hot spot for every crime imaginable but they had it on good authority that Garrus was sniffing around Chora's doing exactly what he was told not to, investigating Saren. Sidda was really starting to like this Turian.
They could hear the beat of the music from the alleyway and went through the second doorway to the ramp that led up to the club. As soon as she crossed the threshold she felt the barrel of a pistol pressed against her right temple. She froze, not seeing many ways out of the hole she just stepped in. The fact that she still had a head told her that the person holding the gun didn't want to kill her on the spot, her peripheral vision saw her 'attacker'.
"Commander, I hear you've been looking for me." Garrus stated and lowered his weapon. Sidda let out a breath and nodded, she finally tracked the bastard down after his disappearing act in the tower but she didn't think he'd put a gun to her head for tracking him down.
She cleared her throat and moved out of the doorway to talk to him. "I told you to stay put…you don't listen very well do you." She stated and Garrus chuckled to the bluntness. He already liked her.
"Turians have a hard time standing still." Garrus replied putting his pistol back where it belonged and Sidda chuckled, that she knew. "What can I do for you?"
"I want Saren." She replied bluntly and Garrus nodded.
"Join the club. There's a man named Fist in Chora's Den that has information we both could use." He explained and Sidda nodded sharply. Garrus was a goldmine…having the cop investigating Saren on her side was going to be quite handy.
"Lead the way, Vakarian." She said and Garrus nodded.
"Garrus. Please." He said and Sidda allowed Kaidan and Ashley to walk ahead of her as they followed Garrus. After a few minutes they were passed by a Turian with very dark, nearly black skin, and the white half skull face paint. At first Garrus thought nothing of it but something suddenly felt off then it hit him…he knew who that Turian was and he abruptly spun. "Commander!" he warned as the Turian raised a pistol trying to line up before Sidda moved. Garrus drew his pistol and fired faster than anyone Sidda had ever seen putting a round between his eyes. The cop was good, she gave him that.
Sidda yelped hitting the deck as soon as he warned her. "What the hell was that?" she demanded scrambling back to her feet and looking from Garrus to the now dead Turian.
"I know him, Commander," he stated. "one of Saren's known associates. I came across him during my investigation of Saren. He's an assassin, Commander."
"Assassin?" Ashley questioned. "If you knew that why wasn't he arrested?"
"I know Saren's dirty too but I can't prove it to the Executor…which means they won't do anything." Garrus explained.
"So Saren just tried to assassinate me…swell." Sidda stated with an obvious annoyed tone in her voice.
"Looks like you're getting under his skin, Commander." Ashley said and Sidda scoffed.
"I saw him execute a Spectre in cold blood…I'm a danger to him and he knows that." She replied and spared a lingered looked to Garrus, she was sizing him up more than she did when she met him. He reminded her so much of Maridus that she actually missed that damn sniper. "So who's Fist?"
"Fist runs the crime around this end of the Wards. Really bad guy, been in and out of jail but we were never able to make anything stick. A buddy of mine told me that Fist has ties to the Shadow Broker and that the Broker's agents hired him to do some work for Saren." Garrus explained.
"The Shadow Broker's a myth." Ashley scoffed and Garrus paused shaking his head.
"Oh no…he, she, or it exists but no one has ever seen them." Garrus stated. "There's whole divisions in C-Sec dedicated to the Broker, movements, whereabouts, capers, all of it and they've turned up squat but whoever it is does exist."
"So what did Fist do for the Broker?" Sidda asked.
"I have a friend in the Wards who runs the Clinic; she told me that she patched up a scared Quarian who said she had proof that a Spectre went rouge. No one at the embassy would help her so my friend sent her to Fist to help get her off the Citadel and avoid those trying to kill her." Garrus explained and Sidda didn't like where that was heading.
She nearly laughed to the run around that she was glad Garrus did and not her. "But Fist is working for the Broker." She stated putting it all together and Garrus nodded.
"Well, let's go save a Quarian, shall we." Kaidan stated and Sidda nodded to the man who took the words right out of her mouth.
Garrus gestured for Sidda to walk first. "After you, Commander…or…what it is your people say: ladies first?" he asked and Sidda and Ashley snorted as they looked to each other.
"Such a gentlemen." Sidda stated.
"Men are such chicken shits." Ashley added making Sidda laugh out loud as she lead the way into Chora's Den.
"Are you armed, Commander?" Garrus asked and Sidda paused and looked back to him
"Yeah…" she answered in a drawn out suspicious tone. "Why?"
"Just checking." He replied but realized that his explanation wasn't going to fly with her. "Be on your guard…anything can happen in here."
Sidda sighed at the sight of Chora's Den, typical club. Lots of Asari dancers but that was expected, what she didn't expect was the number of human females dancing. "Well…it's good to see night clubs are pretty much the same where ever you go." She stated and Kaidan raised his eyebrows to the appealing scenery.
"It's got a nice view." He stated and Sidda chuckled.
"Focus, Lieutenant, you can play when we're done." Sidda stated.
"You're too kind, Commander." Kaidan replied with a chuckle.
Sidda also chuckled. "I try." She replied.
Ashley shook her head to Kaidan, she wasn't offended by his statement, how could she be…she'd spent years around men so she knew the way the male mind worked. "Typical man…as soon as they enter an environment like this they start thinking with the small brain."
Sidda allowed Garrus to take the lead, hell he was a cop and he knew this place as well as the boundaries he could push.
"We need to see Fist." Garrus stated to the obvious guard.
By the body language Sidda could tell that Garrus was familiar with him but it wasn't friendly. "He's busy. Come back with a warrant, Vakarian." He replied rudely and Garrus brushed it off.
"How about now?" Sidda stated and the Guard gave her a disgusting once over look.
"Ain't you a gorgeous little bit." He stated. "You can stay honey."
"Fuck off." Sidda replied coolly.
"Fine…" he stated and retuned his attention to Garrus. "Answers' still no. Now take your hot little bitch and leave before you end up like that other C-Sec officer who stuck her nose where it didn't belong." He threatened and pushed Garrus back lightly with his right hand.
Garrus' temper flared, that C-Sec officer was a friend of his. A young Asari who'd been on the job about 3 years, one of her cases forced her to cross paths with Fist, after serving a warrant and searching one of his haunts she was found beaten and raped. Raped by several men and of several different species. Garrus knew it was Fist and his thugs but couldn't prove a damn thing to Pallin so he walked. Garrus snatched the guards' right arm and slammed him face first into the wall with his right hand bent around his back in a precarious position so if he moved his arm would break. "We're gonna try this again and this time you're gonna do as I say or the last thing to go through that head of yours will be this bullet."
Garrus forced the guard to walk over to the door leading back to Fist's private office. Sidda snatched his access card and swiped it to open the door and the lot of them headed in. Kaidan hit the only guard inside with a neural shock dropping him instantly.
Garrus shoved the guard into Ashley. "Keep an eye on him." He said and zeroed in on Fist.
Fist looked around at the commotion at the other end of the room and recognized the tall Turian. "Vakarian, have you lost your fucking mind? Where's your warrant?" Fist demanded.
"You Fist?" Sidda asked and Fist looked from Garrus to Sidda and looked her up and down.
"Who the fuck are you?" he spat back.
Garrus was more than happy to answer Sidda's question. "Yeah, that's him."
Sidda looked Fist up and down sizing him up, he looked like a tough guy; strong jaw, relatively young, well-muscled, and had a flat top. The way he carried himself screamed that he was thug and she really didn't like him. "My name's Shepard, Alliance Navy…we need to talk, Fist." She stated and Fist scoffed.
"I don't have to tell you shit, Navy." Fist hissed but was smart enough to stay out of reach.
"You do with me." Garrus growled firmly.
Sidda was finding Garrus easy to team with, kind of like working with Maridus or Ruvvak. "What do you know about Saren?" she asked before he had a chance to defy Garrus and stepped closer to him.
"I don't know shit, Bitch, now get the fuck out of here." He snapped in her face and moved to shove her back. That was all Sidda needed to give Fist a wakeup call. She grabbed his right arm and wrenched it around before driving her right knee into his abdomen as hard as she could. Fist coughed to the hit and held his abdomen with the other hand as Sidda let him go. "You can't do this." He grimaced.
"I'm not C-Sec, so you can be reasonably sure that I don't give a damn and as for him…" she said gesturing to Garrus. "I don't think he likes you very much so don't bet on any help from him."
"We know the Broker hired you to do a job for Saren so spill it." Garrus stated.
"I'm not telling you anything, so get the fuck out of here." Fist replied and his defiance was pissing her off more and more.
Sidda took a step toward him and got into his face. "Listen to me, you son of a bitch, Saren destroyed a human colony and shot my friend in the back of the head, you don't tell me what I want to know there are going to be pieces of you all over the Citadel, now talk!" Sidda barked in his face. "Where's the Quarian?"
"What did the Broker hire you to do?" Garrus asked.
Fist grumbled looking over the room, Ashley had the outside guard at gunpoint and Kaidan was standing guard on over the one he nailed on the way in, he needed to pay more for his guards. "Someone wants the little Quarian dead; she's got damning information on someone the Broker likes more than the rest of us."
"The Quarian came here, what'd you do with her?" Garrus asked and Fist glared at him.
"Fuck you." Fist answered.
That was the wrong answer and Sidda drew her gun. "Tell me or I'm gonna give you a new hole to breath out of." Sidda ordered emphasizing her order with hit from her pistol.
"You wouldn't." Fist defied and Sidda hit him again.
"Try me. Talk!" she barked again and Garrus looked over at her for a moment. Nothing like learning about someone on the fly, this was the best way to get to know someone; during an interrogation.
Fist had the feeling that this officer wasn't fucking around. She just might kill him. "Alright, alright…I set her up to meet with the Broker."
Garrus narrowed his eyes, that didn't make any sense. "The Broker? No one deals with the Broker…only his agents."
Fist scoffed, and looked at her with a smile. "Yeah, but she doesn't know that." Fist replied and Sidda punched him again for good measure and to wipe that smile off his face.
"Where?" she ordered her tone raised and firm.
Fist spit blood out of his mouth and glared at the brunette who wasn't afraid to kick his ass. "Why should I tell you?"
Sidda was tired of playing games with this bastard. She had two reasons to hate him, working for the Broker and by extension Saren and for the attack on the C-Sec officer Garrus mentioned. "Because if you don't I'm gonna start blowing pieces off of you until you do." Fist called her bluff and Sidda pressed her pistol into his palm and pulled the trigger. "Next is an appendage…how many do you want to lose?"
Fist screamed, loudly. "You fucking bitch!" he shouted and Kaidan was pretty sure that everyone in the Club heard that…they were now on a clock. Sidda grabbed his bloody hand and pressed the barrel to his thumb and he decided not to call her bluff again. "Alright, alright, I sent her to the maintenance ally next door…but odds are you're too late."
"I know it." Garrus replied.
Sidda hit him hard in the face with her pistol knocking him to the floor and turned to Garrus. "Get C-Sec on him. Kaidan, neural shock him so he doesn't go anywhere." She ordered. "You're not gonna go anywhere are ya, Fist? Because if you do I'm gonna pull you apart a piece at a time." she stated to him and Kaidan did as ordered and the last thing Fist saw was Sidda.
"Now it's time to go save the Quarian." Kaidan stated as Sidda hit the other guard hard enough to knock him out.
"Let's go." She said as Garrus called in C-Sec for back up. There was no way C-Sec would arrive in time to get to the Quarian before time ran out. "Where's this place at, Garrus?" she asked as the four of them headed back out in the Club.
"Look out." Kaidan warned quickly as he snatched Sidda away from the doorway. The keen Sentinel yanked her back just as a barrage of gunfire peppered the threshold.
"I think our secrets out." Sidda stated and looked down at the arm encircling her waist. It had been a long time since she'd been in the arms of a human man. She'd be lying if she said he wasn't attractive, he was and he was just her type but her heart belonged to Adrien. "Had enough there, Lieutenant?" she asked her tone friendly and light but she could feel his puzzled expression through the back of her head.
"Huh?" she heard from him and giggled when figured it out. "Oh…sorry, Commander." He said and released her.
"That's alright, what girl doesn't want to be saved by a handsome, strapping, young man?" she teased and Kaidan's face turned about 10 different shades of red as he blushed from head to toe.
"Could we get back to the firefight, please?" Garrus asked.
"Of course." Sidda replied and saw the club patrons cowering on the floor and under tables as Fist's men laid siege. "Check fire; civilians."
"Commander, we don't have time for this." Garrus stated and Sidda agreed with that whole heartedly.
She scoffed and flattened two thugs with a well-placed throw that knocked one into the other. "Yeah, no kidding, why don't you ask nicely…maybe they'll stop."
"Why don't you and Williams ask nicely, you're prettier than we are." Kaidan chimed in and Sidda snorted.
"No more playing…I am not losing this lead." She replied and tossed out a singularity that created an explosion after Kaidan dropped a warp on it, that was big enough to flatten three bad guys.
Shooting their way out of Chora's became a little easier with the arrival of C-Sec, ordinarily Sidda would have stopped and thanked the responding officers but she really didn't have time for that. According to Fist they didn't have much time to track down the Quarian and stop Saren's men from killing her and she wasn't about to lose this lead because of an asshole like Fist.
The four of them pushed their way past panicked bar patrons now heading for the exits since the shooting stopped. "Nice timing, guys." Garrus praised as they finally got to the door.
"Garrus, clocks ticking…lead the way." She barked as she and her team bolted from the Club. Sidda jogged behind Garrus as he wove them through a few corridors before entering the maintenance ally that Fist told him about.
With their side arms drawn they hugged the walls as the vibe of the area shifted to uneasy. "Contact." Ashley whispered with Kaidan behind her on the right wall. She was the first to lay eyes on the scene as Sidda and Garrus' view was obstructed. "One Salarian, two Turians, and the Quarian." A moment after those words left her mouth a loud explosion went off causing the Salarian to be blasted into the wall.
Garrus and Sidda both cursed at the same time as they advanced on the mess ahead of them. Another grenade went off as Kaidan put a shot through the head of the Turian that got blasted off his feet by the first grenade. The other Turian spun to the shot behind him and went to fire on Sidda and Garrus. Ashley and Kaidan heard two shots ring out at the same time and saw both Sidda and Garrus put a round through the Turian's head.
Sidda looked up at Garrus who never took his eyes off the target; she really liked him and wanted him on her team. If she was going to track Saren she wanted him there also. "Williams?" she questioned managing to take her eyes of the cool Turian.
"Clear, Commander." The Chief replied as the Salarian caught in the blast died of his injuries.
Sidda eyed the Quarian and kicked the body of the Turian that had been leading the assault. "Garrus, same colony markings as the one you shot earlier." She stated and Garrus looked down at him.
Garrus looked down at him and nodded. "Another one of Saren's assassins." Garrus stated and Sidda narrowed her eyes to him and looked up at him.
"What the fuck did Saren do, buy them in bulk?" she asked and holstered her pistol. "How many more does he have?"
"Depends on how much of a pain in the ass you are to him." Garrus replied and Sidda snorted.
"These two are extremely dead, Commander." Ashley stated as she and Kaidan checked the other Turian and Salarian merc.
"What's your name?" Sidda asked the Quarian who looked a little confused by what just happened. By what Sidda had observed the girl was pretty good with tech. The grenade she set off kicked off the fight and showed that she could take care of herself.
"Tali." She replied quickly.
"Are you okay?" Garrus asked and she nodded to the very tall Turian that towered over her.
She nodded and asked the obvious question. "What is going on?"
"These men were assassins sent by Saren." Sidda stated as she searched the body of the one she shot. "My name is Shepard and this is Garrus, Williams, and Alenko…we're investigating Saren."
Tali was even more confused. "But I-…" she began then stopped herself, as far as she knew she was meeting with people that could protect her and get her out of this mess. "I thought-…"
"We have a lot to talk about, Tali." Sidda stated. "But you're safe with us."
Sidda nearly smirked as Tali played the recording for the record to the Council; Udina had already sent the Council a copy of the recording to let them satisfy their own authentication. Just being able to stand there and do the classic neener neener to their face was totally worth it.
The Council shifted uncomfortably as they had been proven very wrong. Sparatus sighed and looked down before placing his hands behind his back and looking directly at Sidda. "My apologies, Commander, you were right." He said and Sidda raised her eyebrows, Sparatus seemed to have a magic power that sucked the sense of victory right out of triumph. The larger implications about this were extremely heavy. This was a highly trained Spectre that had gone rogue. "Saren will be stripped of his Spectre status and all resources revoked."
"The other voice on…the woman…its Matriarch Benezia, one of our most influential leaders." Tevos said and Sidda looked from her to Sparatus and then back again.
"Looks like she found a new game." Sidda stated and earned a glare from Tevos. She could hear the tongue lashing coming but she never said anything, maybe the fact that they had a Spectre out there killing their own and now a rogue matriarch quelled the high and mighty attitude.
"So how do we find Saren?" Garrus asked and Sparatus shifted in place.
"Saren is a Spectre, Officer Vakarian, he's highly trained and experienced…if he's gone under you won't find him." He stated and Sidda raise her eyebrows.
"Then turn me loose on him." Sidda suggested. "I'll track him, figure out what he's doing, and drag his ass back here kicking and screaming to answer for what he's done."
Sparatus believed her, after reading the reports from Victus; someone he knew personally and respected, he knew that she was the one person who could probably track down the best Spectre in the galaxy. Victus' description came to mind…tenacious and the best soldier he'd ever seen. He looked to Tevos and caught the look from Valern as well then nodded slightly to them both. Tevos looked away from him and tapped a few keys on the console in front of her.
"Cdr. Shepard, step forward." Sparatus stated and Sidda blinked as she realized what was about to happen. "Holy crap…I'm being inducted as a Spectre." She thought and did what he asked stepping toward the end of the walkway. She could hear everything that the Council was saying but it didn't sink in, those in the Council chamber on its many levels stepped closer to witness history being made. Races waited decades and sometimes centuries for even a seat on the Council and even longer for a spot in the Spectres. Spectres were even more selective than the Council was about their members, to have a human, a race that's only been in the galactic community for 30 years, be accepted in to their ranks was a huge deal. Garrus looked at Tali, he didn't know if Tali knew how big of deal this was but he certainly knew.
"This is a great accomplishment for you and your entire species, Commander." Tevos said and Sidda blinked out of her little trance. She didn't know what to say, somehow saying 'thank you' wasn't it, Nihlus was the one that gave her this and it was a pity that he wasn't here to see it. Without him she would never have gotten this opportunity…the only thing she could do for him was avenge him and that was something she planned on doing. When she told Sparatus she'd bring Saren back kicking and screaming she lied, she was going to return that Turian bastard with his head in a box.
For her the rest of the meeting was a little bit of a blur, she heard that Tevos had a lead on Benezia, the high and mighty Asari that was apparently on Saren's side, she apparently had a daughter that was a Prothean expert and might be able to tell her about the Beacon that nearly fried her brain.
Garrus broke into a jog to catch up with Sidda; he liked her, a lot, how she handled Fist was a dream come true. He was so tired of the Citadel's bureaucracy and was refreshed to see someone who set the rule book on fire. "Commander." He called and she paused in mid stride as she made her way to the Weapons requisitions officer.
"Garrus." She greeted. "Glad you found me; I wanted to thank you for your help." She stated and Garrus nodded.
"My pleasure, Commander." He replied and Sidda revisited the idea of keeping him around.
"Hey, why don't you come with me?" she asked and Garrus stopping making her stop as well.
His expression said it all. "Are you serious, Commander?"
"Call me Sidda." She stated looking up at him with a smile, if she was flirting she wasn't intending to but given her attraction to Turian males now she couldn't help herself. "And yeah…you're a hell of a shot, quick on your feet, and I kinda miss having a Turian around. Wanna come hunt a rogue Spectre with me?"
Garrus thought about it for a moment, there was no way he was saying no to that, a change to get away from C-Sec red tape and actually do some good for a change. "If you operate the same way that I saw today…the answer's absolutely."
Sidda smiled to him and his approval of her methods although she had to admit, she was a little more brutal that she usual was. "Welcome aboard, Garrus." She stated and kept walking and he waited a moment before jogging to follow her. He followed her into the Spectre requisitions weapons locker and eyed some of the toys that C-Sec could only dream of using. Top of the line rifles and a Spectre sniper rifle he'd kill to use just once. He could hear Sidda being granted access to the Spectre stock and Sidda saw him eyeing the sniper rifle. "Hey, you know what the benefit about coming with me is, Garrus?" she asked smiling to herself and Garrus continued to look but not touch.
"What's that?" he asked and Sidda's smile broadened.
"Spectre clearance gives me access to anything we see…and special order from Councilor Sparatus gives me a weapons shipment of whatever I want." She stated and Garrus blinked not really sure what she was driving at until she walked over and pulled the rifle off the rack and handing it to him. "Thanks for saving my life, Garrus." She stated and his face was visibly shocked.
"Thank you, Comm-…Sidda." He stated sincerely. He'd never had someone just give him a weapon that cost more than he made in a year even with the maximum overtime that C-Sec would allow. Her smile was nice but to be completely honest he didn't know what to do with her. He wasn't overly experienced in dealing with humans.
"You're welcome…now…we're tracking a former Spectre so let's arm up so we have a few gifts for him." She said and Garrus set the rifle down as he helped Sidda rummage through the extensive ordinance that they now had access to. Being given free rein to grab whatever he wanted was a dream come true.
After sending Garrus and the weapons shipment to the Normandy, Sidda head down in the C-Sec lobby to get to the lift. She had wasted enough time letting Saren get an immense head start now it was time to track his ass down and put a bullet in his head.
"You Shepard?" a deep voice asked as the owner, an enormous Krogan, stepped in her path.
Sidda blinked unsure if she wanted to identify herself to 6 foot, 800lbs, Krogan. "Damn." She stated looking him up and down. "I thought Turians were fucking huge."
The Krogan mused. "I'm bigger than a Turian in every way, Little Girl." He replied and Sidda chuckled. "Now, are you Shepard?"
"Who wants to know?" she asked.
"Name's Wrex, I hear you're responsible for turning Fist over to C-Sec. You cost me a lot of money." He said and Sidda eyed him as he eyed her. This little human was ready for anything and Wrex applauded her for that.
"Bounty Hunter or Hit Man?" she asked.
"Depends on the pay." He replied and Sidda chuckled to that answer.
"He had information I needed and C-Sec needed him to answer for some stuff." She replied.
"You cost me a lot of money, Little Girl." He repeated and Sidda sighed, she didn't know many Krogan and hoped to hell he wasn't stupid enough to start something surrounded by C-Sec.
"I tell you what…I could use a bounty hunter, you come work for me and you can have anything we come across that you deem valuable and if Fist gets away from C-Sec I'll pay you double if you get to him before I do…triple if you get to him before Garrus does." The Krogan seemed surprised by her offer and looked as if he was thinking it over and looked down at her extended hand. "Deal?" she asked and Wrex nodded engulfing Sidda's tiny hand in his giant hand.
"Deal." He replied.
Sidda nodded. "Bay 14, SSV Normandy, we leave in an hour."
Since arriving on the Citadel, Sidda had acquired Spectre credentials and three new recruits to track Saren, a Quarian, a Krogan, and a Turian. Having a Turian and a Krogan together in a box flying through space was suicidal in the eyes of any other sane person out there. She didn't care about their bad blood, they were there to do a job and if they had personal issues she'd throw them off…docking port was optional. As she made her way to the docking bay she was met by Anderson who eyed the giant Krogan that passed him and then looked to Sidda who waved him off. "That's my bodyguard." She replied and Anderson confirmed that her sense of humor was intact; he wasn't sure about the rest of her though. He saw what she was like when she woke up and how she more pissed off about what happened to Nihlus then what happened to the colony. "I'm keeping the Quarian and the Turian too." She stated and Anderson narrowed his eyes further.
"Sounds like quite the recipe for disaster, Shepard…pity I'm gonna miss it." He stated and Sidda's brow furrowed.
"What do you mean?" she asked and Anderson sighed.
"I'm giving you command of the Normandy." He stated and the confusion on her face was evident. "You're a Spectre now, Sidda, you need a ship that you command… you can't answer to me."
"I'm not taking your ship, Anderson." She replied and Anderson shook his head.
"This not up for discussion, you go find Saren and make him pay for what he's done." He stated and his tone ended her protest. Sidda didn't know what to make of the fact that she was now not only a Spectre but a Spectre with her very own prototype war machine that left every other ship in the galaxy in the dust. The Normandy hummed to life next to them indicating that the departure time was nearing. "Good hunting, Commander." He finished extending his hand to her.
She shook his hand and felt that there was no way she was talking him out of it. "One thing before you go, what happened between you and Saren?"
"A while back I was considered for the Spectres. It was about 20 years ago and I was evaluated by Saren. Long story short he caused an unnecessary explosion that killed hundreds of Batarians and then blamed me for giving away our mission. He roasted me in front of the Council and destroyed any chance I had of becoming a Spectre. He hates humans, his brother was killed in the First Contact War and he blames all humans for the galaxies problems." Anderson explained and Sidda heard another loud whir from the Normandy that gave Sidda her cue to load up. "Saren's dangerous, Sidda, watch your ass."
Sidda nodded and sighed looking him up and down. "I will." She said. "And I'll try and keep the Normandy out of trouble…I know she's brand new."
They crew parted ways as she walked through the ship; Joker piloted the ship out away from the Citadel. The Alliance crew and her non alliance crew, it was going to be interesting trying to get all of them to work together. Just getting a Krogan and a Turian to work together was going to be a feat but her mission was simple. She was going to hunt down Saren and bring him in or more than likely kill him. The images from the Beacon disturbed her and seeing Nihlus be killed was another thing that was going to haunt her until the day she died. She could only imagine what Deliah was feeling right now.