Chapter 18: The Twin Towers
Shepard took in the view of her new quarters now that it was furbished with her personal belongings and the pets. The fish were swimming to and fro happily, blissfully unaware of their new tank. Little Guy the tiny space-hamster was happy in his cage running on his silenced wheel unaware his shelf wasn't the same as it had been. He was still looking out on an array of model ships.
Sam looked at the ships, each of them were exactly where they supposed to... hang on! One was missing. "Where's the Normandy!" her voice rang out, causing Little Guy to meep, abandon his wheel and dash into the safety of his tiny hutch. "Where's my ship?" her voice barked out in a Commander's tone. "Why is my ship gone?" she was slightly cross. "I knew I should have handled the move on my own."
She didn't even flinch when a pair of blue arms slipped unexpectedly around her waist and the weight of a chin rested upon her shoulder. "It wasn't your crewmen that misplaced your ship, Melethril." She kissed Samantha's neck just behind the human's ear knowing just how it fluttered her love's senses. "I thought you might have understood the message."
Sam turned her head around to see Liara properly. "You have it." she smiled, "Well that's okay then, Angel Eyes." She spun in the arms that held her, "You keep her."
"So even little models are 'shes?'" the asari chucked, her breath tickling her bondmate's ear. The human's breath hitched in her throat as arousal caused her to become light-headed, but Liara's touch always had this affect on her.
"Of course," Sam nuzzled the delicate neck folds of her bondmate, inhaling Liara's scent, "especially that one."
The asari moaned softly at the touches. Her knees went positively weak when she felt her bondmate's tongue slip between her neck folds and licked upwards. Sam had to hold Liara upwards lest she crumble to the floor on her knees. A second swipe and Liara was very wet, her breath erratic—coming in great gasps. Her second moan practically undid Samantha. The human's own body reacted quickly, reciprocating her wife's arousal.
"You ha...ave..." Liara started trying to be practical, reminding Sam she had a duty, a job to do. But she couldn't finish the words as she felt more nibbles along her neck and lost all sense of the outside world. Her eyes now black as the void.
"Three hours" the raven haired woman interrupted with a purr, claiming Liara's lips in a deep languid kiss.
"Strip," came the asari's single demand.
In military trained fashion, Sam shed her clothes in under a minute. Liara had also quickly adopted the skills of dressing and undressing swiftly and in no time at all a textile pool lay at their feet, forgotten as the heat of their boiling desire took over. Biotics swirled to life, the link throbbing with a pulse of its own.
The bed was miles away, both too hungry to make the distance. Liara lightly shoved Sam down onto leather the office chair before she straddled her, placing her legs under the armrests for a more comfortable fit.
Sam surrendered herself completely and utterly to her Angel Eyes' dominance. It was a power-trip for both of them. One to wield dominion over the great and magnanimously powerful Commander, and the other to yield all control, all command and still feel perfectly safe, no not just safe- protected. It was a gift to both of them.
The raven haired beauty gasped when she felt the blue hand slip between her legs and teased the already very aroused bundle of nerves at the pink tip of her clit. It took little coxing for Liara to fully slip two digits within the warm depths, her middle finger slowly circling around the bud, with just enough pressure to hear her bondmate softly whimper.
The bond surged forward sending the lovers tumbling into a sea of pleasures.
"You're mine," Liara growled aloud and cooed within their melded minds. Her voice sent Sam plummeting into contractions as her first orgasm hit. Her core clenched around Liara's two fingers. Her groans were quieted by the deepening of the kiss they were sharing—their tongues dancing, tasting and writhing together.
Sam needed to touch, to feel the depths of azure while Liara's talented fingers were still within her. They groaned around passion filled kisses as the Commander's fingers begin their frenzied rhythm. In their link Sam felt Liara's craving for deeper, harder penetration. When they had first Joined the night before Ilos, it had been a strange alien sensation to feel the cravings that was no one's own. Now Sam relied heavily upon it, allowing herself to be guided by it.
Her body hummed with biotics, a micro-pulse of dark energy, like taking a deep breath blinked deep within Liara's core, stroking along the depths of azure. She curled them just at the right moment...
The Thessian beauty cried out, 'Sa...aa..mmm!'
Liara's body convulsed almost violently as her climax hit full force. She shuddered, falling heavily on to Samantha's torso, her mouth near the human's neck and shoulders and she actually bit down as another wave struck her.
The shock of pain, from the bite, the tantalizing writhing body in orgasm above her, as well as her churning in the erotic dance of love, the scent of it and Liara's cries sent Sam completely over the edge with her third climax.
'Fu...u...ck...'
Any more stimulation was unbearable. They had to stop. Hands and arms became untangled, their bodies clutched at one in together. The chair had been handy but was not conducive for post-clitoral cuddles. Yet they managed. They rested their foreheads upon one another drawing in each others breath and scent.
'I love you,' they sent in unison, smiling and giggling at the affirmation.
Soft kisses soothed overly-sensitive flesh. The kisses stopped when Liara tasted a coppery tang upon her lips. She frowned a little at the taste then saw the bite-mark on her bondmates' clavicle.
"Marking what's yours?" Sam snickered.
"I guess so. Must be that one-quarter krogan in me."
They snickered.
"You can be most aggressive when you want to be," the Spectre said approvingly. "I like it."
"Hmm...blame my arda."
"Which one?"
Liara snorted a half-amused sound. "Which do you think?"
"The one that has a mouth on her, and certainly doesn't sashay her hips but has more of a cocky saunter," Sam murmured as she felt Liara's own lips on her forehead.
"That's the one."
"She told me once that if 'it's all civilized I'm doing it wrong.' I chastised her being so crass."
"Hmm...I'm glad you took her advice," Sam said, nipping at Liara's neck.
"So am I." Liara's eyes were closed. "Admittedly at the time I shuddered thinking how...her and my mo..."
"Yeah, please don't go there. I don't want the full mental picture of Benezia slammed up against the wall as Althea has her wicked way with her," Sam muttered, her mouth continued the onslaught of tinny kisses.
"Esp...ecia...lly not now." Liara purred at the kisses that had sent them into a hurried fray of wonton passion.
"Ditto." The raven-haired Spectre shifted their bodies as she might look into the gorgeous eyes of her bondmate which were only now returning from the onyx to sapphire. She was once more struck with how much she was deeply in love with this woman, a sensation that could only be described as a 'squeee'. "I adore you," she said softly, meaning it with her full heart.
The intensity of the emotion's truth actually brought tears to Liara's eyes. "And I you Melethril." She lay her head down on her bondmate's shoulder, the one with the bite mark. Her blue fingers trailing small circles around Samantha's bellybutton. "Now that we have 'christened' the loft I think we should do the same to the living room in my new apartment, after all we already had the bedroom. "
"Ohh...I'm all for that!"
"After you collect your assassin?"
"It's a date, Angel Eyes."
They shared another giggle.
"And what of Samara?"
"Let her find her own romance," Sam said lazily. "Apparently the Code doesn't forbid it."
Liara playfully swatted the human's shoulder. "That is not what I meant. And you know it."
Sam chuckled offering one of her half-grins. "Yeah well...you left an opening. Do you mean my impressions of her? It's a given that she's very dedicated and very driven by her Code. And I saw her biotics first-hand, they're impressive. Actually I like her. I find her fascinating and ...a little intimidating... I'm really curious about this Code. I know it has five thousand sutras for any given situation but I'm intrigued. Can you get me a copy?"
Liara shook her head. "I fear not. At least not a full copy. But I can lay claim to an abridged form, one that any asari can ask for. It stems not just from the old Athame doctrine but covers the full pantheon of the Siari 'all-is-one' teachings as well. My mother had a copy. While it may not be as in-depth as those of the Justicar it has more than a disciple's. I'll send for it once I am settled. In the meantime any Siarist temple will have copies. I'll send a currier to go fetch one while you are recruiting this Thane person."
"You know I always thought your mother was a high-priestess of Athame."
Again Liara shook her head. "No she was a Siarist. She believed her role was to promote unity between disparate shards of the universes awareness." Liara smiled softly. "I can see your confusion, Melethril. When we swear 'by the Goddess' it is not reflective of our individual beliefs but more towards a cultural legacy. Though many, including Councilor Tevos, still hold to the Athame doctrine."
"But you don't. It's like you're balanced between the two."
"Is that so strange? Before you found, or rather rediscovered, your true roots did you not do the same between the spirit totems of your mother's Salish ancestry and the Goddess Danu of your...fath...of...your...da... of John?"
A shrug.
Liara knew better to push the subject further. She knew her bondmate would close up and shut down at the very mention of her convoluted linage and that was the last thing she wanted to do to end their pleasant time together. It was something they had very much in common. The question of their paternal linage.
In Sam's case it was a man who wanted to be her father but couldn't claim so despite the fact he was biologically hers. And a man who had never wanted her who had been saddled with the title 'dad'. Then there was the man who was neither but acted more like a father to her than any male in her life: Anderson.
Liara had just as many complications. Her mother had used a Triad to conceive, fearful that in her matriarchal stage she was beyond childbearing. So Benezia had used two very strong women; Aethyta her bondmate and Shi'ara the consort. Save for a few hand gestures and her walk Liara felt she had so very little in-common with the Consort. Perhaps it was as Aethyta said. She was Aethyta's daughter and any contribution Shi'ara had given was a distant resident chord of music one hears in a dream and little more.
"You know, I believe we have a half hour before either of us have duties to perform." Liara gave a suggested look. "I think we should break in the new bed."
"All right where's my Li and what have you done with her?" Sam said in a half-serious tone.
"I can be playfully when the occasion calls for it." Liara eloquently detangled herself from her lover's lap and in very 'Consort-like' way sashayed her hips as she practically floated on castors to the bed. "The occasion called for it, would you not say, Commander?"
Samantha's jaw dropped at the vixen's coquettish actions playing before her. She practically tripped over her own feet and a pile of clothing laying on the floor as she stumbled to get to her wife's side.
"Boy does it ever."
She thought to tackle Liara but the asari had plans of her own and more. With the flick of her wrist Liara embroiled both of them in a biotic field and once more Sam was laying on the bottom at the delicious mercy of her beloved.
Shepard groaned, "I love it when you get feisty."
Liara nuzzled Sam's earlobe, and she purred in a voice barely above a whisper, "I know."
MEMEMEMEMEMEME
Following Liara's lead Shepard led her squad towards the Cargo Transfer offices. This time her team consisted of Samara, Miranda and Garrus. Tali was left behind to oversee the final adjustments to EDI's new interface as well as instillation of a new QEC link to the Citadel Council Chambers and yet another directly to Anderson. As EDI had stipulated once before each pair set of quantum entangled pair was unique thus requiring separate links for each hub Shepard wanted, or rather needed, in order to maintain untraceable and reliable links. The Normandy now had three such links.
The Spectre knew that if the team she was gathering was going to work together as a cohesive unit they would need testing. Garrus was there as a trusted companion and though by reputation Samara could be trusted, her ability to work harmoniously with others was another question. And how would Miranda work with the Justicar? So far she worked well with Tali and Garrus but they were still reluctant to trust the operative and with good reason. There were too many unknowns.
As for herself, Shepard wanted to see how compatible she and the other biotics were. She knew she'd never be as in-sync as she was with Liara but then theirs was a special link. They could always anticipate each others moves without ever voicing them. To a lesser extent Shepard had that connection with Garrus, Ash and Tali when it came to firearms and tech. It would take time to hone those abilities between Miranda and the others as well as herself. It took trust most of all and that was even harder to hone, especially when one of the team was a part of a fascist supremacy party.
And no one trusted The Illusive Man, who ultimately Miranda still gave her allegiance to. The gray-eyed woman still held true to the teachings of the Cerberus ideals. She spoke such passion about them. And as far as the point of Cerberus, Shepard had some agreement to them in that humanity could not be left behind and that too many believed humans to be substandard and beneath them. She just abhorred the way Cerberus achieved their goals.
At Pinnacle Station, a training facility under the command of Admiral Tadius Ahern, there had been several turians present. Several of them held disdain for a man who had beaten their record soundly and took insult that a mere human, a talking monkey, had done this. When Shepard proved that the young lieutenant was innocent of tampering with holo-programming by beating the turian's record herself, it was a feat the males could not tolerate and proclaimed she had cheated as well. It was then that Shepard had realized Garrus was unique amongst his kind. He was open-minded when it came to human accomplishments and didn't underplay them nor dismiss them. Turians weren't the only ones to look at the new comers in the galaxy with skepticism or even disdain.
It was because of this that Shepard understood the pull for so many to go to Cerberus, especially now when the Alliance seemed to be doing nothing to aid the colonies out in the Terminus. But the organization's experiments crossed the line; their methods were harsh in the extreme. The fate of that quarian boy on Freedom's Progress was proof of that. Cerberus didn't waste what they could use and what they couldn't use they destroyed one way or another.
They wanted Samara, Thane and this warlord Okeer—what they wanted they took by any means necessary even if it meant 'allowing' Shepard to take them. But what then? TIM was insidious, his machinations were years in the planning all for the goals of uplifting not all humanity but Cerberus's chosen. It was clear he means for ShpeardShepard to collect these people and to stop the Collectors but there was more to it than that. There had to be. TIM wanted something. Collector tech? Probably. More? Defiantly. Trying to understand his plans had become a coy thing: it avoided her when she needed it and stalked her when she didn't want it to touch her mind.
MEMEMEMEMEMEME
"Seryna?" Shepard said approaching the desk closest to her in the small glass enclosure
The asari glanced up, a mask of disinterest and a tinge of annoyance slid across her face. "Who wants to know?"
"The name is Shepard of the SSV Normandy, Council Spectre: Commander. Liara T'Soni said you might have information on a man named Thane Krios."
The irritation on Seryna's face washed away in peeked curiosity. A Spectre? Then she looked at the elder asari in the Commander's group and recognized her immediately. ...And a Justicar? This just got a whole lot more intriguing then the paper work she was digging into. Glancing over her shoulder to her fellow desk-jockey she said, "Tana, cover for me." She got up and moved away from the desk, indicating Shepard should follow her. "Over here." Once they were out of ear shot from the cubical she nodded. "Yeah I know where Thane is, but I didn't hire him. What do you want to know?"
"Maybe you can help me find him."
"Ha! I can tell you but you won't stop him." She cut a glance to Samara. "Not even you, Justicar. When he contacted me I checked up on him. The man never gives up on a job. I ran security for Nassana Dantius. Then I found out she was having people killed to cover up her dirty secrets. She fired me when I confronted her." Serena shrugged superiorly. "Her loss. I might have been good enough to stop Thane from taking her down."
The corners of Samara's lips thinned into a frown. The Code would have her investigate these allegations against this Dantius woman, and if proven true she would be complied to intervene. However her oath to Shepard superseded any action on her part unless Commander gave leave to investigate further.
Garrus mangles twitched in a turian frown. "Why does that name sound familiar?"
"She was a representative on the Citadel a few years ago," the asari explained.
Shepard nodded. "You remember Garrus, she's the one that had me kill her sister. Well sorta. Remember she said her sister had been kidnapped by slavers, but in fact her sister was the slaver she wanted me to end."
"Oh yeah. Real family woman that one," Garrus snorted.
Seryna's eyes widened. "I thought that was just a rumor." She shook her head. "Well then you know what she's capable of . She has even more power here on Nos Astra."
"I bet," Miranda added.
The asari nodded. "She uses it to keep her friends in check and her enemies dead."
"If you worked there you must have an idea of what his opposition will be," Shepard referred to the assassin.
"Eclipse mercs, high tech killers, undisciplined, very well equipped. They don't very much care who they kill as long as they are paid for it." Serena cut a glance over her shoulder to the city's skyline. "Thane has quite the reception waiting for him. I told him all I knew. He didn't seem worried"
"So where do I find Thane?" Shepard said nonplussed.
"Dantius Towers. Penthouse level in tower one." Seryna pointed to the twin towers across the bay.
Shepard followed the pointing blue finger and nodded. Even from here she could see the scaffolding of the construction crews used.
"The second tower is under construction. If Thane is smart he'll go in from there."
"Doesn't sound like Nassana will just let me in."
The asari nodded. "She is as smart as she is paranoid. No one is getting in or out of there without a fight. I can get you in but you will only get one shot. You better be ready."
"Noted." Shepard took a hard look at the second tower as she formed the next line of questions. "You know anything else about Thane?"
"Not much." Seryna shook her head, her face contorted into an expression of confusion. "He did say he's not doing the hit for money. Nobody hired him. I wanted to know who I was helping and he said he was doing this job on his own, that he had to restore the balance of his life." She gave one of her indifferent shrugs. "I don't know. I'm not the religious kind. Maybe he's crazy. If he takes down Nassana I don't care why he does it."
This intrigued Samara. It wasn't often she heard of assassins attempting to restore order in their lives by taking a life. Shepard too seemed fascinated, more so because the young woman had had a history however brief with this Nassana. And if Dantius had used the Spectre to kill her sister, as well as had her own employees executed to cover up her secrets, then there was surely far more to this assassin than a hired cut-throat and the sorted topic of coin.
"You're just offering your help, no strings attached?" Shepard was sceptical. No one helped anyone on Illium without an agenda.
"You're going to look for Thane and Nassana's mercenaries will try to stop you. At the very least you will distract her guards." Her meaning Nassana "Take a little fire, give Thane a clear shot. I didn't hire him to kill Nassana but I won't shed any tears when she gets what's coming to her."
Shepard nodded. "Let's go then."
"Good, I'm tired of this crap." Serena waved off the conversation with a flick of her hand "We'll go tonight as soon as the shift workers clear out of Tower Two."
MEMEMEMEMEMEME
Later in the evening .
"You'll find the tower heavily guarded the closer to the top we go," Seryna said as they all climbed into her red skycar. "Sooo… this assassin. You planning to stop him?" she cut a glace to her passenger.
Shepard shook her head, "I'm just here to make sure he survives."
"Hmm…." Seryna said noncommittally. She was unbothered by the heavy traffic. In fact she was able to zip in and out of the lanes like a pro taxi driver. "There we are, the Dantius Towers. You're best shot is to go through the second tower to the top then across the bridge to the first tower. The mercs will fight you at every step but it's your best chance."
"Why don't we just save time and take the shuttle up?" Shepard bent low in her seat so she could look over the hood of the car to the top most section of the tower looming before them.
Seryna shook her head. "She's got mercs with rockets just waiting for you to try it. You'd be maybe half way up before they shot you down. Besides, your assassin won't go in that way. Best to go in low."
Shepard nodded, taking the former security chief's word for it. "Any last minute tips about the Towers?" It'd be stupid not to ask because after all, the woman had known them best.
"Only that the Eclipse mercs will be well fortified by now and they won't want to disappoint Nassana. There is no way to get there without a fire fight. The best option is just to focus on anything moving."
Shepard nodded. "Alright. Let's do this."
"Hold on." Seryna took a hard left. She parked outside the lea of the building and as three clambered out she offered one last bit of advice. "Don't linger here too long. They'll be sure to know something's up soon. Good luck, Shepard."
The Spectre only nodded and she barely shut the door to the car before Seryna zipped away.
The asari was right. No sooner was she gone then they heard the ricochet staccato of gun fire. Weapons were slid out of harness and holsters and biotics flared to life. Their heads turned to see a group of mechs, both LOKI and FENRIS models, hunting down fleeing salarians in construction coveralls. One was killed outright by a LOKI as it shot him in the back.
Shepard spun around and sprinted towards the lobby, giving no orders to her fellows, only expecting them to follow. Before any of them had slid came to bare with their weapons Shepard fired into the group of clankers, winging the shoulder area of one of the K9 units.
"This will slow them down!" Miranda called out, sending a shock wave into the clustered mechanoids. Garrus popped the head off one of the second K9 units that leapt up to tackle a terrified worker. Samara and Shepard tore into the others with pull and slam combinations that resulted in a biotic detonation.
The panicked salarian, the only survivor of the assault, slumped against the wall. He was in bad shape, green blood pooled around his lower body.
"He's still alive," Garrus said amazed as he had seen the man take a FENRIS blast directly to his spine which had snapped back before propelling the poor slob a meter ahead.
"I can't feel my legs." He coughed up more emerald blood. "My chest is killing me."
Acting swiftly, Shepard stabilized him with a swipe of her omni-tool administering medi-gel. "Who did this to you?" she asked in a concerned whisper "And why?" She continued to monitor his bio-readings with her omni-tool.
Behind her Samara was using her own to call in the NAPD as well as an ambulance for the wounded man's extraction.
The salarian gave a hopeless shrug. "We're just night workers. Nassana sent them after us, but we didn't hear." He was shivering, though whether it was from fear, pain, lack of blood of all three was difficult to tell. "She sent them to round us up. They just started shooting."
This made no sense. "They just attacked you?" Shepard asked incredulously.
What dirty little secrets could night workers hold? For a small moment her mind flashed in a very Liara like way to archaeology: Of course there were thousands of workers in Earth's ancient history that had been slaughtered after finishing off sections of hidden passages, escape routs and hidden rooms if only to keep those places secret. Was that what was going on here? Kill the workers after they had finished construction in hidden areas of the Towers?
Assassin or no, the testimony of this man and the evidence before her would have Samara act and take the life of this Nassana Dantius. And should Thane fail, she would do so herself. Of course she wondered whose bullet would strike first, hers or the Spectre's.
The man nodded. "We were too slow. It was horrible! Everyone screaming. The mercs said there was no time. Nassana wanted us out of the way-immediately." His voice was getting raspier and thinner with each syllable. "Then the da." -cough-"the da..." cough-"dogs...my friends, co-workers slaughtered. People jumping off ledges to escape the dogs..." He fell into another coughing fit. More blood seeping out of his mouth.
"He's not going to make it," Garrus said.
Shepard administered another dose of medi-gel. "That should help with the pain and keep you alive until help arrives," she said softly.
There was instant relief in the man's faceted eyes. "Thank you." He sounded better, the wheezing rasp in his lungs had abated a bit. "I think I'm better. Find the other workers," he pleaded, taking Shepard's hand into his own thin bony ones. "Help them."
"I will. But I need information. I need to get up to the penthouse level, any suggestions?"
As if it were a simple solution and self-evident the man made a shrugging motion. "Take the service elevator. The bridge between the towers isn't finished but if you're careful..." He nodded. "Watch out for the mercs. They're everywhere."
"Any idea how many mercs Nassana's got?"
He shook his head. "A lot. Dozens of them were wandering around here all day. You'll find more of them the further up you go."
"Nassana's killing her own workers?" It has been differently phrased but the question was fundamentally the same as when she had asked the first time. It was a tactic that had served the Spectre well in the past to elicit further information. Both Garrus and Samara recognized the technique as they had used it themselves in their integrations and investigations.
"To her we're expendable." The salarian shook his head. "But I didn't realize she was that ruthless," he explained.
Shepard put a hand on the man's bony shoulder. "I promise you I will do what I can."
"Thank you," he said hoarsely. Then looking at her he frowned as if he was trying to place her face but couldn't. "You're familiar."
She smiled. "Shepard. Council Spectre."
He relaxed a bit more knowing now Nassana would get what was coming to her.
Behind them was the sound of vehicles arriving; four squad cars and two first-responder ambulances pulled up. The asari cops approached cautiously, their boots crunching on the shattered glass, their weapons raised when they saw the group at the unfinished entrance to the tower but they lowered them as they spotted the Justicar.
"Justicar Samara?" one of the cops asked respectively. The other cops continued to keep their eyes focused on the two humans and the turian. Then recognition blazed in the young officers eyes when she spied Shepard. "Spectre Shepard?!" the young lieutenant looked more apprehensive. Normally no asari, let alone a cop, questioned the judgment of a Justicar's investigations, but to add a Spectre on top of it! Spectres never answered questions about what they were investigating because most of the time their cases were highly classified.
Both working together? Nassana Dantius must be in something very, very deep to have both on her tail.
"How can we officer assistance? We were responding to an emergency call." The lieutenant looked from one face to another. She didn't know who the other human female was, but she recognized another cop when she saw one: the turian was probably C-Sec. Despite the fact C-Sec had no jurisdiction out here, Spectre authority did. Barely.
"Yes." Samara took the lead. "And I thank you for your prompt response to my call. Nassana Dantius, for reasons unknown, has issued execution orders for her workers. There is one in there that needs your aid immediately. There will be more inside."
The cop looked at the building, scowling. Her expression clearly transmitting the thoughts that she always knew something was wrong with Dantius but could never do anything about it. "We can call in for heavy reinforcements."
Even as they were talking the ambulance crew darted from their van and dashed to the fallen salarian to be gingerly placed upon a stretcher.
"No, the offer is appreciate but unneeded. The Spectre and I, with our two companions, will be enough to deal with the Eclipse mercs."
Shepard finely spoke up. "The workers, however, will need your help in extracting them. We'll clear the area in a sweep then transmit nav-points of any survivors we find that can't make it on their own. We shouldn't miss any hostiles in the sweeps but be advised the clankers' IFF has them targeting any non-Eclipse, and they may have sniper units in place."
"Noted," the lieutenant said. She looked again from Justicar to Spectre. "And of Dantius?"
"I shouldn't think she's coming out of that tower alive," Shepard answered crisply.
Again the look of back and forth between the two formidable law enforcers. "No I shouldn't think so," the lieutenant nodded dryly.
The four headed back into the building. Miranda thought of what had just happened. Had she been leading this mission she might have stopped to question the salarian to reaffirm what she had learned from Seryna. After all she could never trust a person that didn't want or gain something in return for doing a favor for another. Affirmation of information was necessary. It was a practical calculating reason. Miranda might have even administered the first dose of medi-gel but she would have never had stopped to insure he lived, nor called for the authorities or medical first-responders. After she gained what she needed she would have left the salarian to his own devices, if he died or survived was of no further consequence.
That decision might have seemed a bit-cold blooded to some but stopping to help every trapped civilian was a pathetic waste of time and resources. But Shepard was a bleeding heart, an idealist-the hero of the Skyllian Blitz- so of course she would have a compulsion to save everyone she could. It was a reason The Illusive Man was positive the Spectre—the Savior of the Citadel- was the very one to defeat and conquer the secretive race known as the Collectors.
Miranda herself admitted that no one would listen to Cerberus but Shepard would be followed. They would follow her into hell if needs be and that was exactly what going beyond the Omega 4 relay would be.
Her musings were halted abruptly as they entered into the fray of battle. Eclipse mercenaries and mechs tried to push back the companions but they gained no ground. In fact they were losing it. Replacements took the place of their dead comrades. Mechs were obliterated as they were caught in overcharges and biotics, and even though they outnumbered their organic counterparts their numbers were not enough to stop the Spectre's group. Soon the bodies of the dead lay littered on the floor or slumped against crates that proved to be ineffective barricades.
The floor had been cleared. Thermo clips were taken from the dead. During the whole of it Samara had kept a weathered eye on the Spectre. She knew the human was a biotic, but just now she discovered how powerful. She seemed to be very adaptive to the situation. When the mercenaries were cluttered together behind barricades she preferred shockwaves, biotic slashes and flares. It was a very practical and effective method to root out the dug-in adversaries. Against mechs, slams and lifts were used. Samara was impressed by the way the Commander moved, she danced across the battlefield as if she were not a human soldier but an asari huntresses.
There were times when Shepard seemed to have a preternatural ability to counter enemy fire even before they took a shot. Only those well versed in the asari echo-game could do that. Shepard also seemed to be far stronger and faster than her fellow human and Miranda seemed to be a superior example of humanity.
Shepard also seemed to tune her attacks to Samara's own so that their attacks created biotic eruptions. In answering this Samara started to time her own attacks to complement the Spectres. Since becoming a Justicar, it had been a very long time since she had co-opted her biotics with another but it was soon coming back to her. This silent agreement seemed to relieve the human and no wonder, for nearly two years Shepard's nearly constant companion on the battlefield had been her bondmate. And of course their attacks were perfectly in-tune with one another.
The group continued their ascent to the second floor. Shepard held up a gauntleted fist stopping them as soon as a human male voice was heard.
"Hey... I think he went in there." The unfinished cavernous building distorted the voice so that it was very difficult to discern where it was coming from. Even the tactics of the echo game was of little help to pinpoint its exact origin.
The answering voice came from either an asari or human female, *Well go get him.*
"You go," the male answered back.
*Get your ass in there,* the female demanded. *Nassana's not paying you to stand around.*
"Fine, but I..." there was a huffed groan. There was bit of shuffling of metal against metal—then silence.
Four faces turned to one another. It was obvious to them the Eclipse merc had been taken out by the drell assassin. Swift, nearly silent. No shots fired-probably a snapped neck. The four moved forward and as they turned the corner they were confronted by a new wave of mercs.
"Take out the biotic!" a voice of an asari lieutenant called out. Both Samara and Miranda ducked for cover, then ruefully smiled as they came to the same conclusion that the asari merc was talking about the Spectre. The mercenaries scattered, finding cover behind several stacked metal wall panels and dozens of crates. They had superior ground and cover.
Shepard insured her team-mates were in well protected cover before she edged forward, not wanting them to follow her. She wanted them protected. "Samara! Bubble, now!" she ordered, then ducked behind a wall of crates and building materials. There was no hesitation within the Justicar as she summoned a barrier bubble to cover the rest of them.
Having seen it before Garrus and Miranda both knew what was coming.
Garrus stood behind Shepard for she needed to be outside the barrier for the tsunami to work without harming her team-mates. Miranda and Samara watched as Shepard pulled in a reave, harvesting energy from the organics. The team offered cover fire for both Shepard and Samara as they were unable to attack or defend themselves. Precious seconds ticked by. Then: a wall of condensed power rolled out, catching any in its wake. The cries of the dying rang out then were suddenly silenced.
Garrus noted Shepard wasn't as exhausted as she was when she first tapped into the power of the tsunami. He realized she was learning to control the outburst as not to tire herself out completely as she has been in the past. He spied her taking several healthy sips of the canteen at her hip which contained a highly concentrated electrolyte-protein drink that all biotics tended to carry to rejuvenate them.
"What, may I ask, was that?" Samara whispered, clearly impressed of the show of power.
"Tsunami. A Prothean adept's ability. I can explain later," Shepard answered with a commander's tone, proclaiming she would not touch on it now. Her short answers would suffice. She moved forward slowly, silently signalling the others to follow her.
Samara realized that during all of the battles they had had so far, Shepard always insured that the team was protected, that she protected them. It was a long time since the Justicar had someone to cover her six or in fact take point. All Justicars were self-sufficient because they had to be. And for four hundred years Samara had been so. It was strange to have others to rely upon, especially one as protective as Shepard. In a way it was refreshing. Was this Shepard's innate protectiveness or was it the way of all Alliance soldiers? Judging Miranda by this standard was frankly useless since she did not have Shepard's instinctive protective nature nor was she in the Alliance military. She was Cerberus. And they had a different school of thought altogether.
The four came upon a locked door. Shepard frowned curiously then waved her omni-tool over the locking mechanism and utilized its hacking tools that Tali upgraded almost weekly.
The door slid open revealing four salarians. She relaxed in spotting the bedraggled bunch. More of Nassana night workers. Had they fled in here to avoid the purge? No. The door was locked from the outside.
"Please don't kill us!" one of the workers pleaded, stepping forward. "We'll go, we'll go!" Panic filled the voice that spoke.
A voice from the back became louder as the owner pushed forward. "Hey, look... they're not Eclipse." It should have been apparent to the others but their fear had overtaken their minds. His tone was still uncertain yet hopeful. "You're here to help us, right?"
"It's one of the reasons I'm here. Come on out, it should be safe enough," Shepard offered.
"There are police cars and medics below," Garrus added.
"Thank you," the bolder one spoke. "We are in your debt."
"Maybe you can help me. I'm looking for someone, not a merc. A drell," Shepard interjected before they all filed out. "He's on his own."
"Well whoever sealed us in here..." the fearful one said.
Bold One nodded in agreement. "I thought we were dead. But he just closed the door and locked us in."
"Strange behavior for an assassin," Garrus muttered, "Assuming it's him."
"Sounds like our assassin was trying to keep them safe," Samara spoke. She would have done much the same to protect innocents from her quarry. Better they were out of the way than become targets or used as living shields.
"Assassin?" the first salarian questioned.
"Here for Nassana, I bet. She's got it coming," Bold One exclaimed "You treat people like this. It always comes back to bite you in the ass."
Shepard couldn't help but smile. "The fastest way up is the cargo lift?"
Bold One nodded. "It's the only way up right now. They are still working up top. Watch your step. Some of the walls aren't in and it's a long way down. Cold too. I hate working up there."
Shepard needed an accounting. "How many more workers were working in the tower? Are they many more of you?"
Bold One shook his head and blinked several times. "Not a lot. We were lucky."
A third offered up his own information. "Well a few got out before the dogs attacked. Maybe a few are hiding somewhere."
That was a distinct possibility. "Did you see the one who locked you in? Do you know where he might have gone?"
"He's no salarian I can tell you that," Bold One answered. "But I have no idea where he went. Sorry."
Third nodded. "But if he's after Nassana, he'll be headed for the upper levels."
Despite the events going on now Shepard felt a strange compulsion to ask the most elementary of questions. "Nassana isn't exactly you're favorite person, is she?"
Fear paused. "Nassana is...a hard woman to work for," he said diplomatically as possible.
"That's an understatement," Bold said. "She works us long hours. No overtime. And this is what you get in payment."
Third nodded. "She's unpleasant to say the least."
"Why not just quit?" Garrus asked, thinking the salarians were a bunch of whimpering weaklings if they had not the courage to stand up for themselves.
Bold snorted. "We would if we could."
"What's stopping you?" Shepard echoed her 'archangel's' comments.
Third came in with an explanation. "Our contracts. We're stuck until the job is done. Quitting for any reason can be hazardous for your health."
Fear's eyes blinked a few times before he spoke. "We hear of people disappearing."
Third interrupted, seemingly worried they might be overheard. "Probably just a rumor. But who wants to find out for sure."
"Thank you. Like we said it's safe in the lower floors, you should leave," Shepard directed. "There are cops below that will help you."
"I was just thinking the same thing," Bold nodded vigorously. The three others started to pass by. He paused "Tell your assassin to aim for her head, because she doesn't have a heart!"
Shepard snickered at his words.
"Come on!" Third waved to the salarians, ushering them to follow him as quickly as possible. "Let's go!"
Silently the companions watched them depart. "I am intrigued by this assassin," Samara voiced her thoughts. "And more so by this woman Nassana."
"Her I can answer on or at least a little. She was pretty ruthless a year and a half ago. She was pretty convincing when she had me go after her sister. Said she had been a hostage of a bunch of slaving mercs. Truth was the sister was the slaver and I killed her thinking she was one of the pirates. Turned out Nassana's planned exactly that-for me to kill her, to rid herself of the 'black sheep' of her family. Apparently it's bad for diplomats who have sisters in the forbidden trade of slavery. She's only more ruthless now. And like her worker said, heartless. What kind of woman kills her own family, even if they are a criminal?"
The Spectre's attention was drawn away by a sound coming from the far end of the room before she returned her gaze to the Justicar. It had been a fraction of a second long enough for her to have missed the bitter look in the eyes of the asari or her inward flinch towards hearing her last words.
They went deeper into the complex and found the cargo lift the salarian workers had mentioned. The Spectre glowered at the doors. "Take cover," she ordered, doing so herself behind a stack of metal wall-plates. "I bet you anything we have a welcoming committee on that lift."
Samara and Garrus took opposite flanking positions on either side of the elevator doors. Miranda flanked Shepard's right side, the place that once belonged to Liara. The Spectre didn't know how she felt about that; it felt alien and strange to have another there. Not that others hadn't taken that place: there had been Garrus, Ash, Wrex and Tali, but never another biotic that wasn't Liara. Shepard rejected those feelings, pushing them aside; the battlefield was no place to suddenly second guess her team-mates. After all wasn't that the whole point of this exercise of mixing the new members of the flagship ground-team?
"Samara, Miranda: singularities," came the Commander's second order-a breath after her first. She placed her own purple-black orb of dark energy directly in front of the doors. Two others followed hers.
The orbs were placed just in time for the doors to open. Two asari Eclipse lieutenants were caught up almost immediately in the gravitational pull of the singularities. Acting like micro black holes the opposing orbs pulled the mercs into opposite directions. It was effectively drawing and quartering them. Samara flung a wall of warp energy into the fray adding to the singularities power. Their cry of pain ended abruptly as they began.
The third merc was a krogan warlord. He was charging, his mind caught up in blood-rage. The power of the orbs touched him, slowed him, but did not stop him. The barrage of bullets from Garrus from behind and Shepard and Miranda before him cut through the warlord's shields and pierced his armor. It did little to stop him, he was dead only that his body hadn't caught up to the fact what his mind already knew.
Shepard instinctively belted out a flare; the power of the dark energy was second only to the tsunami. At the same time Miranda flung a throw into the mass of krogan flesh. While the two powers were not compatible enough to create a biotic explosion it was still effective. There was a loud tang! The room seemed to vibrate from the impact. Abruptly the krogan warlord's body was a hunched pile along the bulkhead near the cargo lift. The mercenaries had intended to surprise and overcome the intruders but they had not expected an ambush on themselves. The underestimation had been their downfall.
The four filed into the elevator and rode it all the way up to the bridge level. When the doors of the lift opened they saw a human male in heavy Eclipse armor pacing before a large plate glass window with his back to them and looking outward.
"Don't worry, my team is always ready to go," he reassured whoever was on the other end of the line. "I don't know where he is, not yet." He continued to pace facing the great window. Shepard motioned for the team but to stay within the shadows so that their reflection may not appear on the window pane. The man shook his head, a silent answer to a question given to him, "Don't worry about it, we don't need reinforcements." Shepard edged forward. "I'll take care of it," His voice was cold and argumentative. "It's under control." He became more and more insistent. "I'll take care of it. I'll go down there myself."
By this time Shepard was now in the threshold of the doorway. "Turn around very slowly," her order chilled.
Garrus had heard this shift on occasions, it was apart of her theatrics, even Miranda had heard the frozen tones during her interrogations, but the coldness in her voice startled and disconcerted Samara. The Justicar seemed to peer at the Spectre for a moment with an unworldly gaze before she blinked, seemingly satisfied with what she saw. Only another asari would know the Justicar had been peering at the Commander's aura.
The man did as ordered and took a long hard look at the new-comers. "Damn," he cursed.
"Have you seen the assassin?" Shepard said, taking a step with each word she spoke.
For each step forward the Spectre took the man took one back. "Why are you looking for him? You're not one of Nassana's mercenaries. Who are you?" He tired to sound as in command as she.
Shepard continued to force the man backwards until his back was up against the window. Her tone was now as sharp as it was cold, it had dropped an octave. "Answer my questions and I will let you go."
Defiantly he folded his arms over his chest, and though they could not see his face it wasn't hard to imagine it was contorted into a sneer. "Look, pal, even if I knew where he was I wouldn't tell you." As hard as he tried he could hide the nervousness that laced his voice.
Sick of this dance, Shepard snarled but she lazily scratched the side of her face. "Not the answer I'm looking for."
"I have nothing more to say to you..."
Shepard snorted. She could easily have used her abilities and silver tongue to charm what she wanted out of him. The Commander suddenly had the image of an Eclipse Sister being flung out of a window by a Justicar and it inspired her. She'd had enough of this pissing contest on who was the bigger badass.
Suddenly the urge to push the man out the window overwhelmed the Spectre. The next sound was not a boast of a man threatening them with his team but his scream as he was plummeting several stories down to the ground far below after she kicked him in the chest and out of the window. Shepard leaned out the broken window and spat. "How about goodbye?"
This action shocked even Garrus. He imaged another scenario entirely. Miranda and the Justicar were equally as shocked for the cold-bloodedness they had just witnessed. But what shocked them even more was a flash of biotic power and soft grunt as Shepard flung a pulse of power out the window and the man was hulled back up by a biotic lift.
"I could have allowed you to fall to your death. You're alive." Shepard's voice continued to be completely frozen, "Is the knowledge I want worth dying for? Is Nassana worth dying for? If it is you're going right back out that window."
The man shook his head frantically. "No!" He swallowed hard. The acrid scent of ammonia and feces permeated the air. He had soiled his own suit. "No..."
"I will let you go free if you tell me what I want to know," she said in a hard narrow voice.
"Okay! Okay! Can you... put me down?" His voice was a weakened squeak.
"You will speak." Shepard lowered her hand so the man was now on the solid ground with a heavy thump.
"Look...um last—last we heard the assassin was-was in the mezzanine. But the teams on the bridge think they might have spotted him. Nobody knows for sure." His words had been broken up with gulps for desperate hungry air.
"Good. Now leave."
"You're not going to kill me?" He stammered looking at the window then to the woman who had very nearly killed him.
"I said you can go. I keep my word. Get out."
The man scurried away, nearly tripping over his own feet as he tried to flee.
"You nearly killed him, saved him, and then let him go?" Miranda asked, trying to understand the unfathomable depths of the Spectre's mind.
"An interesting strategy," Samara voiced. She recognized her own tactics when dealing with targets unwilling to divulge information. "And the fact you let him go directly into the hands of the awaiting police?"
Shepard offered a lopsided grin and then sobered. "Last night we both admitted we are willing to kill when necessary." Her face was now soured. "As a Spectre, shoving the man through the window is allowable if the reasons are deemed necessary. But by Alliance Naval law it would have been construed as murder as the man had not fired upon us. Even if they made me give up my commission, I'm still an N7 in my heart. I always will be."
"You were acting!" Miranda gasped, then her eyes blazed in realization as she has seen the younger woman do something very similar before. "You wouldn't have killed Jacob would you?"
Shepard looked at the woman. "It was enough that both of you believed it so." She gave no further explanation.
Samara readjusted her thoughts on the Spectre once more. Finding herself approving of the young woman's tactics. Shepard was willing to kill or show temperance as the situation arose. Samara was constantly re-evaluating her opinion of this human.
"We should keep moving if we mean to catch up to Thane before the mercs do." The Spectre led her team along the hallway towards the right most doors past the elevator they had come up in.
As they got closer to the doors, Garrus spotted a data pad on the floor seconds before Shepard saw it, but it was she who picked it up. Looking at it she scrolled through the contents and shrugged then handed it to her XO. "Got an idea what this is?"
He scrolled through the data and nodded. "Seems to be salarian genetic information for the Kirosa family." He handed it back to Shepard. "Pretty valuable, they use it to negotiate breeding contracts."
They thought of the salarians they had helped so far. This must have been dropped by one of them or one of the dead victims in their attempts to flee. Then recognition flashed across Shepard's blue eyes. "There was this guy near the stairs to the lower shopping center. I overheard him talking on a communicator about losing this to someone. Now that I think about it he even mentioned Nassana's name. At the time I ignored it, didn't seem relative to anything."
"Do you think he was one that had gotten out earlier?" Garrus asked.
"Has to be," Shepard said as she slipped the data pad in one of the hidden cargo pockets on her thigh.
"You're keeping it? Why? If it's that important they'll have dozens of back-ups and redundant back-ups," Miranda said.
"Maybe. Still..." the Spectre didn't finish the comment. 'It's the right thing to do' was the unfinished statement which the other three seemed to have said for her in their own minds.
They went though the doors that opened into a vast room filled with pallets of construction materials and supplies which were scattered about making the place somewhat labyrinthine. Massive pillars supported the walkway that presumably led out onto the bridge that linked both towers. There were a couple of inactive mechs. A LOKI and a FENNRIS were stationed in the middle of the room and further beyond were more pairs of LOKI that were all shutdown.
"He's all over the place," the voice of another male Eclipse was heard before its owner was spotted.
*What do you mean?* came an angry female voice. The cadence marked her as asari, presumably Nassana.
"We've got reports of him on multiple levels. We think he's traveling through the ducts," the human informed his boss.
*I'm not paying you to think!* Nassana screeched, *Just find him. NOW!*
The man took a look at his fellows. "Come on, she'll be throwing us to the dogs next."
"Garrus, Miranda, target the mechs," Shepard ordered. Both had the tech skills to overload the electrical workings within the mechs and make them ineffectual. "Samara, hit the mercs with a reave then a shockwaves and lifts. As fast and as powerful as you can." Shepard activated her omni-blade on her left-wrist and unsheathed the asari-katana.
The human's body hummed with her biotic powers and in an instant a blue blur flashed across the ground covering several meters in a blink of an eye. She had gone through, not around, the stacks of building materials. The charge gave her the ability to phase though solid matter; in a scissor action her blades had sliced though the body of her target. One fell then another. She flipped and spun as an asari huntress in the echo game.
Samara stared incredulously. It took year if not decades to master so many skills of biotic ability. How had a human only in her third decade done so? Was it this Cipher she had spoken of-had the visions she gained from it given her this power too?
As soon as it began the Eclipse fell. It was as Seryna said; heavily armed but undisciplined. Had the mercenaries been properly trained or coordinated the outcome of the battles may have been very different because the Eclipse had superior numbers and firepower.
*Where is everyone!* came the demand from the intercom. *Will someone please give me a report!* a snapping tone belied the 'politeness' of her words.
Shepard ignored the intercom and headed for another pair of locked doors. She motioned for Garrus and Samara to flank her in case what she believed to be inside (salarian workers) turned out to be mercs instead. She wasn't the only one to have such thoughts.
The doors slid open revealing three salarians and an Eclipse merc, though the latter was dead. Four breaths escaped. It was salarian workers.
"Are you guys alright in here?" Shepard took a half step forward.
Surprising them all, one of the salarians picked up the merc's pistol and pointed it at them. It was evidently clear this was the first time he had ever held a gun. His terror and inexperience made him shake as he struggled to steady his aim. "Get back!" he yelped in his fear. "Get back! I'll shoot!"
Shepard made no move for her pistol, nor did Garrus or Samara. Reluctantly Miranda lowered her gun. Her instinct was to shoot the blathering amphibian in the head and be done with it. It was a waste of time—to try and save…no, she chided herself. She couldn't think like a Cerberus Operative when in Shepard's service. Especially if she meant to prove to the Commander that Cerberus wasn't as evil or xenophobic as their reputation perceived them to be. Shooting an innocent and petrified salarian would not be conducive to changing Shepard's opinion of her or the organization.
It was Samara that made the first move. "Be at peace," she said gently. "No one will hurt you."
"I… I don't want to hurt you," the man said, making the others believe Samara's calming voice and words had worked. Until, "…but I will! I said get back!" he was crying, his breath came in quick gulps as he tired to point at one head then another, his trembling increased. "Please don't make me do it."
"Hey I'm not the bad guy here." Shepard tried another approach. Samara slipped aside allowing the Commander to move in "None of us are. What's your name?"
"I…I'm Telon." His eyes blinked several times. "Don't! Don't come any closer." His voice wasn't as hysterical as it had been but still wavered in uncertainty.
As if she was speaking to a terrified child. Shepard spoke slowly and slowly and softly "Telon. I am Commander Shepard. I don't work for the mercs and I don't work for Nassana. I'm a Council Spectre. And I don't want to hurt you. I'm here to help."
Her calming voice even had an effect on Miranda and Samara, both of whom found it soothing and easy to believe. Telon hesitated; his shoulders slumped as he was drawn in by the calm in the human's voice. It promised safety-protection. "We've already helped a few of your co-works. The way down is safe. We're here to stop Nassana and her mercs for harming anyone else. Trust me, Telon. I am here to help you."
"I…alright…Here." He handed her the gun, clearly grateful to be rid of it.
Samara's lips curled into a smile. She knew she could not have done better. It was rare for her to came across someone threatening her out of sheer terror as Telon did. The Code would have her make attempts to calm him down and disarm him. It was not unlike taking a weapon away from a petrified child who clearly meant no harm but was desperate to protect themselves. In the past any asari she came across that she did not have to eliminate because of their crimes trusted her completely because she was a Justicar. Dealing with aliens again was… a reawakening.
"I don't…" the young salarian began to teeter on his feet, "feel…so good." He toppled to the floor.
"Telon!" another salarian exclaimed, dashing to the fallen man's side and kneeling beside him, taking the pale gray hand in his own. "He's my brother," he explained. "I just want to see if he's alright." Fear and worry laced his voice as well. He seemed to almost to be asking permission to comfort his brother's fallen form. He looked up to the Spectre. "Are you the one that shot the merc?"
Shepard shook her head. "It wasn't me." She looked at Telon. "Your brother didn't do it?"
The brother shook his head. "No. Telon was standing here with me. The merc shouted at us to move. We panicked. He shouted more. I thought he was going to kill us. Then… his head just exploded. Telon picked up the merc's gun. But we were too afraid to leave. Then you showed up."
"Perfect head shot," Garrus answered looking at the body. "With no collateral damage. Very impressive"
Shepard looked over her shoulder to her 'archangel' and nodded. She agreed completely. This assassin was extremely good. "How safe is that bridge out there?" she gestured with a head tilted to the room beyond the store area the salarians had bunkered down in.
"The bridge is stable," Telon's brother answered. "But the wind is the real problem. If it doesn't throw you off the mercs will defiantly try. There are a lot of them out there."
"Is the bridge the only way to the penthouse of the other tower?" she asked, hoping for a different answer to the one she had in her head.
The bother nodded. "From here, yeah. It won't be easy. Mercs are controlling the other side. Whatever Nassana is hiding from must be pretty scary."
"It is. He's the man I'm looking for. Probably the one who killed this merc. A drell. Have you seen him?" Shepard asked.
"Telon thought he saw someone. But he's been a bit on edge." Brother shook his head. "I haven't seen anyone but the mercs, and certainly no drell. They're either human or asari and a couple of salarians."
"Thank you. There are sill mercs around here so you should get to the lower levels," she advised them as she had the others. "The medics should be able to see to your brother. If I hazarded a guess he's suffering from mild shock."
"No need to convince me, Spectre" he smiled. His hand reached behind his brother's back. "Telon—come on get up." He helped the younger salarian to his feet.
"Can we go home now?" Telon pleaded in a very child-like voice making Shepard wonder just how old he was. She didn't know relevant salarian ages but she thought he might be around the same age as a human in their late teens.
"Yeah." Brother nodded and rubbed his brothers lower back. "We're getting out of here." He turned back to Shepard and dipped his head. "Thank you, Spectre."
Shepard returned the respected nod with a half-smile. "You're welcome." Sometimes it felt really good to be the good guy. With that reassuring thought she turned towards the entrance to the bridge and readied herself for more battle.