Chapter 19: The Assassin
Shepard repressed the urge to answer the intercom and tell Nassana that her men were unable to come to her call, instead she just allowed the woman to continue to screech.
*Damn it what's going on down there? Answer me.*
"Should we let her know her guys are dead," Garrus jibbed echoing the Commander's earlier thoughts, "or just let her rant?"
Shepard gave a dismissive shrug, "Let her rant. We should go; we still have that bridge to cross."
The three followed her to a corner of the building up a flight of stairs. On the top most floor of the second tower they found a few crates of eezo and three Eclipse weapons lockers.
"Check them for thermoclips," Garrus suggested. "We can always use more."
Shepard nodded at the good idea. "Open it up, see what we can find."
Scrounging the locker took relatively no time at all but the pause had been worth it as the team came away with nearly a dozen thermoclips each which they stored in their hardsuit cargo pockets. They also discovered two cobra missile launchers which would be perfect for the bridge assault to come. Once their new acquisitions were stowed, Shepard placed two fingers together, circled them before her face then pointed towards the duroplastic seal that blocked off the main floor to the bridge. Military hand signals for: 'Everyone round up. Head out.'
The wind assaulted the bridge access with fury, battering the towers and shrieking along the makeshift ramparts of the building materials. Even in the inner fastness along the topmost floor, its voice formed an uneasy backdrop to the tumbled darkness of Illium's nightlife.
Humans had a tendency to unofficially call any highly-dangerous construction work 'widows' work of obvious reasons. The pay, however, being generally on the higher end was enough for many people, even those with families, to take the risk.
Judging by the number of safety harness lined up on a makeshift 'coat-rack', plenty of people were risking the danger. But it seemed Nassana wouldn't dole out the credits needed for maglock-boots for her workers. Thus they were forced to either use the safety lines if they didn't wish to plummet to their deaths or buy their own safety gear.
Fortunately military hardsuits all came equipped with maglocks. A quick command to the armor's onboard computer caused the boots to hum to life-allowing the flagship ground team to walk the open air bridge without the threat of the wind pushing them to certain death.
Before they passed beyond the sanctuary of cover to the bridge proper, the team scoped the opposition using the helm's HUD that automatically responded and zoomed to five-times magnification.
"Two rocket drones on the overlook. Five- no make that... six snipers below them. We have fifteen bogies baring five meters. Looks like commandos using tech-armor, vanguards and LOKI mechs," Shepard reported. "Confirm."
"Confirmed. Three rocket drones, six snipers, fifteen troopers" Garrus repeated. "Targeting rocketeers with heavy weapon's fire. Waiting for your mark, Shepard."
"Copy. Miranda take out those snipers, use the second Cobra launcher. Samara with me, we will neutralize hostiles behind the bunkers. We advance up the right side, it has the most cover. They'll hit us with volleys, make sure your barriers and shields are up fully.
"Assume the mercs have maglocks; hit them with flares, shockwaves, lifts, warp-fields. Try to get them off their feet, let's use this wind to our advantage. They'll have heavy biotics in play; hit them first if you can. You can sure as hell bet they'll be trying to get us off our feet, if they can. Watch your cover. Just remember; don't die for this. Make those poor dumb bastards die for it. Move out."
Miranda and Garrus hung back using the targeting systems in their visors to lock on to enemy positions. Once the green light flashed, they lunched their missiles. The ammunition was limited so each shot had to count—had to hit.
The flagship groundteam used the right cover-keeping low as the Commander advised. Shepard and Samara simultaneously deployed a combination of shockwave and flare into the main body of the mercenaries. Their biotics crashed into four of the enemy, lifting them high enough into the air for the wind to take hold of their bodies and cast them about like so much litter. Their screams became lost in the echoing thunder of missile fire and the explosions from the right side turret and sniper nest. The blast scattered the other snipers making them abandoned their posts and go for deeper cover.
The strike was effective enough to allow Shepard's team time to advance behind another stack of construction crates. Just in time to avoid volley of enemy fire.
Lawson poked her head just above crates, levelled the Cobra and squeezed the trigger and her last rocket soared into enemy cover. Shepard gave a look to Samara, seizing the opportunity provided by the operative. Their shockwaves ripped into mercenaries lucky enough to avoid the rocket blast. Their death knells were lost to Garrus taking out the last of the drones. The explosion was spectacular.
The way to Tower One was now clear. Shepard paused looking at the bodies of the dead. Any pity she may have felt for their deaths withered as she recalled the terrified night workers, Telon and his brother as well as all the others. "No one interrupts the assassination." She looked directly at Samara. "Dantius ordered the deaths of numerous innocents. We don't exactly have her testimony on this to determine her guilt, though. As a Spectre I have two options; bring her in or kill her for her crimes. What does the Justicar Code say?"
"That I must first determine her guilt on this case and judge accordingly. If guilty there is only one answer. Her death. But you know I swore the Oath to you. You're decisions are my decisions."
"You also said you'd give me your input."
"This Thane Krios seeks balance in his life from Nassana Dantius's death. This act is one of a spiritual nature for him. In all that we have bore witness to today there is no dishonor in allowing the assassination to proceed."
Shepard gave a slight respectful nod to the Justicar, to the others she said. "If any of you have issue of what's to come, you're dismissed. Return to the Normandy." Saying nothing more she walked though the threshold of the tower. She did not walk alone, not even a heartbeat passed before she was accompanied by her full team.
The hall was clear of opposition. Had there been anyone present previously they had all long since fled during the explosions out on the bridge or fell back into the penthouse proper.
Shepard gave a tilt of her head; weapons were drawn, fingers flagging triggers. Garrus hit the door lock with his omni-tool initiating Tali's newest hacking program. In microseconds it bypassed the security protocols and forced office doors open.
The office was large and relatively open, as well as fully furnished with sofa, coffee tables and potted plants. An impressive desk, with the top inclining at a forty-five degree angle and inset with computer terminals, dominated the center of the room. The office was both spacious and functional. Behind it stood the ex-diplomat Nassana Dantius, she was flanked by an asari and two human males, one of which stood behind her.
As for the asari developer, she had her back to the door, her eyes watching the setting sun shinning its last dimming rays through the slats of the blinds covering the trio of floor-to-ceiling windows. She turned as if she recognized a familiar presence, her eyes widening when she spotted the Spectre.
"SHEAPRD?! What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be tilting at windmills?" she stabbed her finger in the air at Shepard's position.
"A human idiom? I'm impressed. And hey I'm good at tilting windmills." Shepard's tone was dry and darkly sarcastic. "I've become very good at killing monsters."
"And now you're here with a Justicar, no less, to kill me."
"Wow you really are paranoid, aren't you?" Shepard's humour became more wry. "And for the record you know you just inferred yourself to being a monster right?"
Nassana scowled. "Don't patronize me, Shepard."
"Charming as ever, Nassana," the Spectre shot back just as snidely
"I'm sure you find this all ironic. First you take care of my sister and now you're here for me. Well you made it this far. Now what?" she kept looking back and forth to the Spectre and Justicar. Even if she thought she could buy off Shepard like the last time with her sister there was no way she could do the same with the Justicar.
Shepard leaned her weight on her fight foot as she folded her arms over her chest, her lips curled into a cocky half smirk of amusement. "You really think I'm here to kill you?" she asked.
"You have a better reason for destroying my tower and decimating my security?" She turned her back the Commander and looked out of the window once more.
"I'm just looking for someone." Shepard completely ignored the mercs who had their weapons trained on her and her team.
Nassana spun around her face contorted into a sneer. "You really expect me to believe that?" the asari spat angrily her hands emphasising each of her words as she spoke. "What is it you want? Is it the credits? Just name your price; we can make this problem go away."
There was a rumble in the ducts, Shepard looked up and the smirk grew wider. "All the credits in the world won't will make this problem go away, Nassana."
"Who the hell gave you the right to play goddess?" She approached Shepard pointing another accusatory finger at her "I may not be perfect, but we both kill people for money. What's the difference?"
"You kill people because you think they're beneath you or because you think they're in you're way." Shepard's voice dropped an octave. Like the rumbling warning growls of a lioness. She dropped her arms and took a step forward, meeting Nassana's glare with one of her own. "I kill people because they leave me no choice."
"No choice? You accepted blood money for my sister's death," Nassana chortled humorously.
Shepard snorted then shook her head. "You played me well back then, hitting on my sympathies and sense of justice for your poor 'kidnapped' sister. And if you recall I didn't accept your money."
"No. Instead you charmed a favor out of me, even a trade licence to purchase prototype asari armor, weapons and mods. I can do the same now."
"No." Shepard repeated her rejection of the bribe.
Another metallic rumbled in the overhead ducts. Thane was now, by the sound of it, directly above them all. Even some of the mercs were reacting to the sound now.
"What?" Nassana snapped at the asari merc.
"I heard something," the Eclipse Sister replied.
Nassana slammed her fists down on the surface of the desk. "Check the other entrances!" she pointed to the right of the room. She spun around on Shepard. "You!" she stabbed a finer at her, "stay put." It took all of four them substantial self-control not to react to a drell dropping, almost dripping, soundlessly from the ventilation shaft in the ceiling. So this was the assassin. He cracked the neck of the human, even as Nassana continued talking completely oblivious to his presence. "When I'm done dealing with this nuisance, you and I are going to..." Thane whipped around with a spinning heel kick putting the second male down and shot the asari returning from her perimeter check.
"Who..." Nassana managed to utter before Thane grabbed the asari, pulled her into his embrace as a lover even as he thrust the barrel of his pistol into her stomach and pulled the trigger. Her body muffled the shot. She let out a gasp of surprise, pain and death. Thane gingerly laid the body down upon the surface of her desk and softly crossed her arms over her chest. Her still seeping wound was discretely covered by her arms.
He bowed his head and began, of all things, to pray.
"Impressive. You certainly know how to make an entrance," Garrus muttered watching the drell. His comment gained him no answer.
Shepard looked to her team then back to the drell. How curious to pray over one's target. Her curiousity gained the better of the Spectre. "I was hoping to talk to you. I'm Commander Samantha Shepard, Council Spectre of the Normandy."
"I apologize but prayers for the wicked must not be forsaken," the drell's voice reverberated in a gentle tenor.
Shepard looked down to the dead body on the desk. "You really think she deserves it?" She looked up to Thane.
"Not for her, for me," Thane shook his head. "The measure of an individual can be difficult to discern by actions alone. Take you, for instance: all this destruction and chaos." He walked around the desk. "I was curious how far you'd go to find me. Well here I am. "
"How did you know I was coming here at all?" Shepard watched as Thane carefully came to stand in front of her.
"I didn't. Not until you walked through the front door and started shooting." He stood at parade rest. "Nassana had become paranoid. You saw the strength of her guard force. She believed one of her sisters would kill her. You were a valuable distraction."
Shepard considered this. "You used me so you could kill her." She had used similar tactics herself in the past. She was, however, a little pissed about being used without being consulted.
"I needed a diversion. You needed to speak to me. You certainly did your end of the bargain, what would you like to discuss?"
"Someone has been abducting entire human colonies. We're going to stop them. We already know the culprits," Shepard supplied. "A race known as the Collectors."
"I've heard of them." Thane walked back to the desk and looked down to the body, "Going after them would require passing through the Omega 4 relay. No ship has ever returned from doing so." He craned his head so he might look at the Spectre.
"They told me it was impossible to get to Ilos, too," Shepard pointed point out, walking towards the assassin who was now looking out the widow.
"A fair point." Krios smiled, though it was fading from his face as much as the light of the evening sun was fading below the horizon. "You've built a career on performing the impossible. This was to be my last job." He watched the sun for a moment, longer. "I'm dying. Low survival odds do not concern me. The abduction of your colonies does."
Almost by unwanted reflex Shepard took a half a step back. "I didn't know that. You're dying?" she frowned at the indelicacies for her next inquires. "Forgive me for asking but I must. Are you contagious? How long do you have?" You think that would have been something Liara would have fished up in her research on his file or TIM, for that matter, would have passed along to Miranda. Why wasn't this fact in his dossier?
There was no offence in the drell's face. "If you want we can discuss it back on your ship. The problem isn't contagious and it won't affect my work."
The half a step back was retaken. "Is there anything I can do?" The question was asked without hesitation yet filled with sincerity. It was a tone Garrus had come to know well. It was what made her unique amongst the humans, even amongst her own kind. He chanced a look to the two other females. Both were watching the Spectre, one with approving respect and the other scratched a spot just under her clavicle and bore the expression of rising appreciation and re-revelation.
"Giving me this oppositely is enough." Thane turned so he was now face to face with the Spectre. "The universe is a dark place, I'm trying to make it brighter before I die." He caught the eye of the Justicar who nodded her head in regal agreement. "When the innocents died today, I wasn't fast enough and they suffered." Guilt lay heavily in the man's voice, thick and congealed.
Shepard knew exactly how the assassin felt. She hadn't been fast enough either. The image of the dockworker being shot in the back still played in her mind. She gave another look to the woman on the desk, her purple blood a stain on the otherwise pristine eggshell white tiles of the floor.
"I must atone for that." He held his hand out in the human gesture of greeting and agreement. "I will work for you, Shepard. No charge"
"Welcome aboard, Thane." Shepard grinned, then chuckled softly at a sudden thought that popped into her head. I have a monk like assassin and an assassin like monk. Damned if the universe isn't a strange place.
Shepard looked behind her to bodies of the mercs and the woman who had employed them. The authorities below already knew about the strike force. Fortunately they knew that both a Spectre and a Justicar was on the premises, thus the inevitable death of Dantius would not be looked into too deeply. Thane's involvement would be arbitrary.
Shepard activated her com-set and radioed her ship. "Normandy, Shepard. We need extraction at the Dantius Towers."
*Roger, Commander, shuttle dispatched,* Joker's voice answered the call. *ETA five minutes.*
Reasonable time given the traffic and what had no doubt become a restricted fly zone. With the battle commencing the authorities the team had called in would have closed off the area, insuring no bystander was harmed by stray weapons fire or falling debris, which included the fallout from the battle on the bridge.
As they waited the Commander gave introductions all around and paused only a little when she came to Miranda.
Thane nodded a little. "I am unsurprised Cerberus has chosen to involve themselves in this mission. What surprises me most is that your organization chooses to work with nonhumans or in fact a Council Spectre with an asari bondmate."
Miranda looked first to Shepard then to her XO and the Justicar. Her words were carefully chosen. Diplomatic speaking wasn't one of her strong suits, nor was trying to relate to aliens. But, one thing Lawson was extremely good at was adapting to situations. She knew Shepard was watching her, judging her responses. Wondering what she would say or how she would spin it to make Cerberus a shining beacon of light in the cold night, a last bastion of hope for the forgotten.
"Cerberus has a very dark reputation, I know that. And it's too full of those who joined our organization out of xenophobia. Many joined just after the First Contact War. Fear and anger can be great motivators. A lot of us wish only the advancement of humanity, not its supremacy over other species. It is in our best interests to create cordial liaisons with the other species, not alienate them," Lawson winced inwardly at the accidental pun. "We wish only to keep peace with the Council and other Citadel races.
"This issue with the Collectors needs to be resolved quickly. The mission requires the best. It's why we needed Shepard, and she needs the best for this mission. It's why Cerberus tapped you, Thane, and Justicar Samara and made dossiers for several others like Professor Mordin Solus when the Council and Alliance took away their support. Cerberus gave these dossiers to the Spectre in good faith and a show that the xenophobic reputation of my people's organization has been vastly overly exaggerated. We're not as evil as people think we are." She repeated the phrase she had been telling Shepard over and over. Lawson was no naive fool like Kelly Chambers. Lawson knew words alone would never convince anyone, at least not in this regard and not by her. It was, however, a few bricks more in the bridge the operative was trying to construct between Cerberus and the Spectre and her alien allies.
"It appears this mission is a journey for redemption not only for myself," Thane uttered, looking at Miranda so deeply she felt her soul was bare to for all to see.
"Maybe," Lawson muttered coldly. Personally she felt as if she had nothing to atone for. But grudgingly as she spoke to others, she knew the reputation of Cerberus needed a great deal of help in the PR department. And in her hindbrain there was that nagging inescapable 'thing'.
As they were talking, one shuttle and two skycars approached: one, a white and yellow Cerberus shuttle, that was closely followed by two white and blue NAPD squad cars.
"Nearly forgot about those," Shepard said, watching as the shuttles landed. She had given the order for the shuttles to be repainted to reflect the Normandy's new ownership as it were. However the priority had been the frigate, not the shuttles, so it was understandable that they had been overlooked. The appearance of a Cerberus vessel on an asari dominated planet rose alarm bells.
The police car barely landed before Detective Anaya jumped out and walked with a purposeful stride towards the Commander's team. "When I got the call that a Spectre and Justicar hit the Dantius towers, I knew there was going to be a lot of deaths. Figured Dantius was a dead woman. I even heard a rumour there was a drell assassin in the mix as well. Nobody was willing to confirm that though. I suppose you're not going to either." She looked at Thane, knowingly.
Shepard shook her head. "No one else here but my ground team, Detective, everyone here is a part of the Normandy crew," came a coy, honest answer. Behind Shepard, Samara ducked her head to hide the smile for the Commander's duplicitous truth. "And as you said, this is an act of a Spectre agent and a servant of the Justicar Order. Any civilian casualties lay solely on the former owner of this property. The merc deaths, however, lay at our feet, including that of Nassana Dantius."
Anaya smirked a little as she knew the truth. "Indeed. Any more acts of the Spectres or Justicars here on Illium?"
"Hard to say, really. But I'd wager we're nearly done here and out of your hair...er...crest." Shepard's face grew hot with a blush for the slip-of-the-tongue.
Anaya offered a half smile. "Funny, Spectre.
The human shrugged helplessly as if to say 'meh and sorry' at the same time. "I didn't think the business area was within your district."
"Officially it isn't," Anaya answered in an official tone. "I'm on the dirty, dank, industrial side. But seeing as I had dealings with both a Spectre and a Justicar, the Police Commissioner felt it prudent I be the liaison between the two of you and the NAPD. So she sent me out."
"Sorry about that," Shepard muttered sheepishly.
The asari gave a very human 'meh' shrug to her shoulders as if to say 'What can you do when your bosses bark, and expect obedience?' "Anyway, on another note, Commander, if you want to avoid suspicion or harassment, I'd get your engineering teams on a new paint job for your shuttles soon. And sooner rather than later. "
Shepard nodded, "Yeah, no kidding," She rubbed the back of her neck, "that's the next thing on the agenda. Fortunately it's something that can be done during transit. I assume that's why you sent the escort?"
The asari nodded. "The appearance of a Cerberus diamond makes people nervous. Their actions don't endear them much to others. The escort was more for the protection against people's own stupidity and less for your shuttle, Spectre." Unconsciously most eyes fell upon Miranda. She defiantly stared back at them. The contest was disrupted by the hatch opening in the cockpit of the shuttle.
"Sorry, Commander," Gunnery Chief Phineus Ragnos muttered quickly as he clambered out of the shuttle. "They were rather insistent."
"It's quite alright, Chief, their caution is understandable." Despite the fact Illium was in neutral territory between Citadel Space and the Terminus Systems it was dominated by one of the Council races. It was naive for Cerberus to believe that just because Shepard was in command of one of their ships it would be given a guarantee of safe passage in Citadel Space or it's allied governments.
"Detective," the Justicar stepped up. "Of the civilians-the former night crew, how many of them were evacuated?"
"Twenty-three in total. Several of them were treated on the spot for minor injuries and sent back to their homes. Several were taken to hospital as their injuries were too severe." The cop took a breath and smiled a little. "Thankfully due to your intervention and preventive call to the EMTs and the local precinct the workers were alive to go to the hospital rather than the morgue. Take heart in that, Justicar, Spectre," yet her gaze was drawn to the drell. "Some saved is better than none."
In response Thane dipped his head as did Samara. Shepard offered a half-hearted smile. Twenty-three souls saved. It was wonderful but somehow it still felt like a hollow victory for all of them. But as Anaya said, some saved was better than none.
"I'll leave you too it then, Spectre. I just hope you're done here soon," she chided. "You create a hell of a lot of paperwork," she looked heavily to the human. "Did everyone ever tell you explosions follow in your wake?"
A small half-smile slipped on Shepard's lips. "Once or twice."
"Just try to keep the explosions down on low key; I happen to like this city."
The raven-haired woman dipped her head. "Noted. And thank you, Detective." She didn't necessarily know why she thanked the asari police woman but she felt it was needed. The good detective was doing her job: protect the city and its inhabitants. Often times it put them at odds with Spectre and apparently the Justicars. It was so strange how people on the same side of the law could be at odds. But that was always the case with joined and crossing jurisdictions. Still, no need to burn bridges when it was unnecessary. The honorable detective had been nothing but professional and respectful. Commendable virtues.
MEMEMEMEMEMEME
Back on the Normandy, Shepard made introductions between Thane and the rest of the ground teams and command crew. The welcome he gained was not necessarily warm but it was at least cordial. Shepard understood. It was something she felt, changing the team in the middle of a mission, was tactically unsound. You go in to battle with a united team; a single platoon coalesced into a single body. Now it was like a body that had cloned or cybernetic prosthetic replacements and one had to learn how to adapt to the changes or remain forever crippled.
Shepard and her team had become very good at adaptation.
Because of his condition he was given the most arid section of the ship which, according to EDI, was life support. There was an opportunity here to test the sincerity of Yeoman Kelly Chambers's dedication to her nonaggression towards aliens. It was left to her to give Mr. Krios the tour of the Normandy. However before that was to happen, there were a few things the Commander needed to clear up.
"Thane, I'd like a moment if you don't mind. The rest of you are dismissed. Oh and Garrus, tell Chambers I'll need her to report here in five minutes."
"Will do, Shepard. And Thane, I for one am glad to have another sniper on the team. Have to say, that was some impressive shooting back at the towers."
"It comes with the training," Thane said dryly, accepting the compliment.
Without waiting for the others to completely leave the war room, Shepard jumped into her line of questioning. "When we first met you said you were dying." She folded her arms under her breasts and leaned against the conference table in the middle of the room.
Thane nodded. "Yes. I thought you'd like to know more. You don't have to worry about the rest of the crew; my illness is not communicable, even by other drell. Your physician can confirm that if necessary." He stood before her at parade rest. It seemed to be a comfortable stance for both of them.
"You said as much back at the tower. If it were communicable I wouldn't have allowed you to board my ship." Her tone was authoritative without being detached or cold which softened a little with her next words. "Is it a ?"
Despite the advancements in in-utero medicine and genetic enhancements there were some who either opted not to have corrective treatments or could not afford it. Shepard and her team had met a couple back when they were pursing Saren who were arguing over a certain procedure to correct a possible congenital heart failure on the woman's unborn child due to the fact her husband had died from it. Her brother- in-law was insistent on the procedure while the woman was hesitant because of unforeseen complicates she had read about on the extranet. In the end Shepard had told the man to do as the mother wanted, it was after all her child, her decision. If he was any kind of would-be-father to the unborn then he should act like it and support the mother.
There might have been a similar instance when Thane was still within his mother's womb, or the illness manifested later in life like cancer or it was altogether inoperable like the genophage. The Spectre's mind palace also dragged up recent personal history. Thane was a biotic, an L3 from his dossier, and he could suffer from the same debilitating illness—cyan syndrome- that took Shepard (despite being an L5) not four months ago. Before she had treatment it could have killed her, but only after it had caused her to go quite mad as it had so many L2s in the past.
"It's called Keplar's Syndrome. It is not a condition that is passed through genetics but is rather conditional."
"Conditional?" dark eyebrows shot up, that was not a response she was expecting.
"My people are native to an arid world. Most of us now live on Kahje, the hanar homeworld. It is very humid and it rains every day. Our lungs can't deal with the moisture. Over time our tissue losses its ability to absorb oxygen. It becomes harder to breath. Eventually we suffocate."
Shepard unfolded her arms and used them to brace herself against the table she'd been leaning on. Her face rippled with compassion and very carefully hidden horror at the idea of suffocating to death. The Commander would rather take a bullet to the chest and bleed out than suffocate to death. Being spaced was a lingering fear of the Commander's.
Obviously she had passed the initiation into the N7 program but it had been brutal. She recalled being given basic gear and separated from the rest of the squad on a lone asteroid with no nav data. The test ended when the last person ran out of oxygen. That had been her. The best N7s can survive alone, but work together to survive even longer. It took all the strength she had and more to make it to the end. Deep in her gut the Spectre had the feeling—a soldier's intuition that said Thane had this kind of strength.
"Can't they do something about that?" she asked, nevermind who 'they' might be. There would always be a 'they.'
Thane gave no sign, no indication the conversation made him uncomfortable. Rather his words were clinical. "The hanar have funded a genetic engineering program. They should be able to adapt us."
Shepard scowled something about this didn't sound right. This 'something' ticked the back of her hindbrain that screamed exploitation. But was that right or just projected thoughts of half-known facts?
"The project has only been running for a few years. I don't believe my body will still draw breath by the time it bears fruit." It was as if he were giving a weather report or talking about the rise and fall of the stake market rather than his own mortality.
Shepard might have found his detachment queer, even unnerving, if she had not considered the fact he was a religious man. Perhaps his deities sustained him, helped him accept his fate. She was a soldier asking her people to go on a suicide mission. A soldier accepted the inevitable fate that they may well die in the battlefield whether it was in the trenches or in space. But that is a soldier's choice when they enlisted. But to accept a death when it shouldn't be a problem was madness.
"Then don't live on Kahje, or use breathers." Blue eyes narrowed a bit as she took in the black orbs of the man before her. It seemed a simple enough solution. Quarians were forced to live in their environmental suites because of their weakened immune system. It wasn't a perfect life, definitely not one Shepard would choose for herself or her family, but if the choice was robbed from her, it would be better then the inevitable acceptance of allowing debilitating illness to take hold.
"Drell have a close relationship with the hanar. We rely on each other. The best we can do is to keep our homes very dry."
Once more Shepard got the sick feeling the hanar were gaining the better deal out of this relationship. It reeked of indentured servitude. How better to take hold of race than to save them and use that gratitude as collateral to suppress them? Gratitude can make better slaves than any control chip planted in the brain. Deep gratitude and willing servitude created a second class citizenship- a slave race. And yet technically it wasn't slavery anymore than 'indentured servitude' on Illium was.
"Is there anything we can do here?" Shepard said, trying to readjust her line of thought, not liking where it was talking her. "The Normandy has a state of the art medical bay."
"No, thank you," Thane answered politely, "It's being attended to." Though the pitch of his words hadn't changed his tone had, just a little. "If the finest medical minds in the hanar Illuminated Primacy can't solve the problem, I doubt your ship's medic could." It was dismissive, insulted and condescending without being so. "Trust me, this will not affect my performance."
"Will you be alright until the end of the mission?"
"I should be fine for another eight or twelve months. The more time I spend in humid environments the faster it progresses. I think it's safe to say by the time my body is incapacitated we'll be victorious or dead. Either way I won't be a burden to you."
What was there to say to something like that? 'You're not a burden? I'm not worried about that? That wasn't my concern'?
"The life and welfare of the ship's crew is the burden of her captain. It's a responsibility of the CO to have a care for those under her command, Thane. That now includes you. I know you're accustomed to working independently, but being part of a team means we watch out for each other. I trust you when you say your illness will not be a burden on the mission or the team but I had to ask. And personally, when a person signs onto my crew, I get concerned about them not just as their commander but as the type of woman I am.
"Right now I'm putting together a team of ardent independents and then I have to get them to work together as a functional team. You have an illness, Samara has her Code, Mordin has his research, Zaeed has his vendetta, and Miranda has her loyalties to a fascist organization. Who knows what the thief and convict I have yet to proposition have as a guiding force or blockade to resolve.
"As the ship's CO these are concerns. The more I know about my crew the better I understand them, the better I can lead them. As a person I'm simply interested but that goes with being a commander. I like to know about those I work with."
"I understand," Thane said more congenially than his previous tone, despite the fact the inflection hadn't shifted, "And I thank you for your concern, Commander."
"I'll have my yeoman show you around, if you have any questions she can't answer direct them to me, I'll clear it up if I can. Unless you have any questions now?"
The assassin shook his head. "No questions."
"Very well. Oh one more thing. For some reason when Cerberus built this ship they had the dumb-ass idea to put the armory on this deck rather than its proper place on the shuttle deck. If you want to keep your weapons and gear in a footlocker in your quarters I'll authorize it, otherwise you'll have a locker assigned to you in the armory behind the CIC."
The door slid open admitting the young redheaded human. She saluted, her face alight with a warm smile as she first looked to Shepard then to Normandy's newest crew member.
Shepard returned the salute. "Kelly, I need you to show Thane around the ship. He'll be quartering in life-support. Make sure he has a cot to sleep on and bedding."
"Aye-aye, Commander. We should have plenty of groundside base camp supplies," the younger woman smiled. "Good thing, too. I think we'll need them if the rest of the team we're recruiting wish quarters of their own or don't wish to use the sleeper pods."
"Good idea, Kelly." Shepard nodded her approval. "By my experiences with a krogan I know for sure Okeer will want his own place, even if he has to bunk in one of the shuttles. And it's safe to say it will be the same with our convict, which is to say if I decided to keep him on the roster."
When the drell left the war room along side Miss Chambers, Shepard inclined her head addressing the ship's AI. "EDI, monitor and record Chamber's tour. Send the recordings to the secured channel in my quarters."
"Affirmative, Commander. Recording now," EDI's disembodied voice responded. "Permission to ask a question."
It felt strange to grant a request to an AI, nevertheless: "Permission granted."
"You went though extensive procedures to insure there were no Cerberus monitoring devices left on the Normandy and yet you wish for me to monitor Yeoman Chambers. Is this not a contradiction?"
Shepard grinned. "Yes, it is. But I need to see how well integration is progressing. Monitoring Miranda in the battle field is easy, I have first hand knowledge. But Chambers in a non-combatant and her interaction with the crew, especially the nonhumans, is nearly as vital as that of Miss Lawson's. Chambers is serving as a councillor now that most of my crew has been disbanded or transferred and I lost the use of the clergy who also served as therapists.
"With such an integrated crew it was necessary to have someone they could go to as a sounding board. Chambers now holds this role. I have no doubt in her abilities, TIMmy wouldn't have placed her in such an elite position on the Lazarus Project if her abilities weren't top notch. She wasn't tapped just because she has a friendly face and a pleasant demeanor. TIMmy might have thought she'd be able to turn me against my wife. I need to know I can trust her with my crew. And I need to know how my crew, this team, is reacting to Cerberus personnel, and how in turn they are coping in a ship run by Alliance regs. Can't be easy for them"
"Understood, Commander. And may I say a prudent one."
"Hmm. I didn't know AI's could suck up."
There was a pause. "I am not equipped with vacuum functionality, Commander."
"It was a human idiom, EDI. It means trying to curry favor"
"I assure you, Commander, that was not my intention." The AI sounded as if it was back-pedalling quickly, if it was even capable of emoting that kind of response.
Shepard merely grinned as if enjoying the punchline to a joke only she knew. "I figured as much, EDI. Just see it done."
"By your order, Commander."
MEMEMEMEMEMEME
"This is an impressive ship," Thane said as he and Chambers stepped into the elevator from the shuttle-deck which they were taking up to the crew deck.
"She is, isn't she? The Illusive Man wanted to insure Commander Shepard had the best available to her for this mission. The SR-2 was based completely on the old Normandy. It's a tribute to that ship and to Commander Shepard. He has a lot of faith in her, we all do."
"So the very organization that was unable to hunt Shepard down and assassinate her family now tempts her with a ship that is superior to the one that gained her victory over the rouge Saren and his Sovereign master?"
Kelly's eyes widened. "What? No, oh no! It's not like that. Not really. I mean, maybe a little or...or it might seem that way. But... it's a tribute not a bribe" she sighed dejectedly. "I know Cerberus has a bad reputation because of some of the zealots amongst us." She looked away a little ashamed. "And I know what happened to that quarian boy a Cerberus team took from Freedom's Progress but not all of us are like that. I'm not and either is Operative Lawson, though I know she can come off a little cold. That's just her way. And we're trying to do good here for those lost colonies because no one else will: only Cerberus, only Shepard. And now our new allies." She smiled at her last words looking up at Thane's alien yet captivating countenance.
"It is a worthy cause. This is why you joined Shepard?" Thane asked. It wasn't curiosity that prompted his inquiry but a need to understand the motives of Cerberus's people and why there was an alliance between the human Spectre and the organization that half a year ago made efforts to kill her and her family.
Kelly shook her head. "Yes! Well no, not exactly. It's complicated. But I will serve her because I believe in her. If anyone can stop the Collectors, it's the Commander." The yeoman's tone carried a cacophony of hero-worship. "She saved me," the words were now softly spoken and again shame tainted her voice, "from my own people."
Kelly went on to give the narrative if not overly dramatic recount of how Shepard came into possessing the SR-2, her own rescue and recruitment and Jacob Taylor's capture. As they emerged from the lift Chambers went on to speak of how Shepard planned to go after the Collectors using Cerberus resources to do it. She spoke of the tentative alliance that was created between the Spectre and The Illusive Man in order to stop the menace to human colonies.
Thane drank in all he had heard, letting fermentation take hold of the words. He needed to understand the commander. Not because of the mission that was forthcoming, but in order to fight along side a person, knowing their lives and yours lay in each other's hands there had to be an understanding, perhaps more than trust. It was an old hanar saying that 'without understanding no trust can be born and no future created.' It was one of the few philosophies they held that did not directly come from the Enkindlers. It was a philosophy many of the drell had adapted when the enigmatic jellyfish first rescued them from their dying world.
"You know, Thane you are the first drell I've had the opportunity to speak with. I've seen a few on the Citadel but I've never spoken with them."
"Understandable. Many of my people do not care for interstellar travel. Most that do, do so on at the behest of the Illuminated Primacy or the family there are adopted into."
"Adopted into?" Kelly repeated the last phrase. "I didn't know there were that many drell orphans. I guess it makes since though on account that you're people live on the hanar home world right?"
"Yes." Thane answered. "But the adoption of a drell into the family of the hanar is not because we are orphaned. I suppose sponsored would be a more apt term."
Kelly frowned. "I don't understand."
"I know many people think the hanar are very difficult to understand. It's just that they are very formal with those they don't know. We know them quite well. If you ever get close enough to a hanar for them to tell you their soul name, you would find them quite warm."
"I thought hanar only let very close friends know their soul names," Kelly stated still a little confused. "Is this part of being adopted?"
"Partially. As for me, most of my contracts were for the hanar. I grew very close to my contacts. Soul names tend to be poetic. A hanar known for its cynicism might take a name that means: 'Illuminates the Folly of the Dancers'."
The human soaked in the new knowledge with vigor. She knew the hanar could be poetic. "They communicate using bioluminescence don't they? That's more of an obstacle than their politeness."
Thane nodded. "True. Many drell have had their eyes genetically modified to perceive the higher frequency flashes. I had the treatment." There was a note of inner pride when he revealed this. "I can't tell the difference between a dark red and black but I see ultraviolet light as a silver color."
"Wow, that's fascinating," Kelly responded with eagerness. "If you don't mind me saying it, you don't seem like an assassin to me."
"Your Commander has spent too much time fighting thugs who think wearing custom painted armor makes them professionals," Thane said dismissively. "The hanar trained me for this role since I was six years old."
Kelly looked positively horrified. "You've been killing sense you were six!?"
"Of course not," Thane chided her. "I didn't make my first kill until I was twelve."
The horror remained on the young woman's face. "They were training me. I wasn't to be used or thrown away. I was an investment."
"An investment? That's so cold! You were a child, not an investment." Kelly didn't hide her disgust. "God how could they use you like that? A Little kid, too!"
It was the same disgust on Shepard's face when she was reviewing the impromptu interview in the privacy of her quarters. That nagging feeling she had when she spoke to the man back in the war room came back... the bloody hanar were defiantly getting the better end of the deal: indentured servants and their own assassins guild.
"I've given you the wrong idea," Thane said quickly. "They valued me. Yes, as a resource, but also as a person. They... regretted their need of me."
Pft, I don't buy it. The Spectre folded her arms, scowling at the vid-screen wishing, for the moment, that she was there and not Chambers asking the questions.
"The hanar? The excessively polite, worship the Protheans, hanar? They don't seem the type to train assassins," Kelly stated. "They always seemed so nice, fragile even."
Thane's head shook ever so slightly at Kelly's naiveté. "Every species trains assassins. The hanar are only unusual because they need another species to do the killing for them."
And take the blame for it. And the scars on the soul for each kill Shepard snorted at the screen. Killing for a living changes you. It can make you dead inside, so all you are is a weapon.
Thane went on to explain the hanar's motivations for training him, ignorant that he and Chambers were being recorded for Shepard evaluation. "They have a strong grip and natural toxins, but have you ever seen one move quickly out of water or fire a gun?"
"Well there's Blasto..." Kelly went on to say, then stopped, feeling foolish for mentioning the fictional Spectre. Truth be told he looked very odd holding a gun in his tentacles. And they always just appeared out of nowhere, where did he keep them? It wasn't like he was wearing a holster or anything. "Um, nevermind," she finished lamely. "Why did your parents agree to this?" she shifted the focus to recover from her embarrassment.
Shepard wanted to know that too.
"The agreement was made under the Compact. It was an honor for my family."
Ah, here we go... the Spectre thought. That 'special relationship' in play. I just bet it was an 'honor'. I'm sure the hanar made sure your people believe it to, didn't they?
"The Compact?" Kelly frowned a little.
"We live on the hanar home world because they rescued us - some of us - from extinction. We own them our lives. This is the Compact."
"What exactly are the terms of the Compact?" Both Kelly and Shepard said in unison despite being separated by two decks.
"There are many things the hanar cannot do even with mechanical aid. They ask the drell to assist them," Thane explained neutrally.
"This can't be legal! They made your whole race into slaves!" Kelly spat, disgusted at what the hanar had done.
"Good girl," Shepard praised the yeoman on the screen.
"Don't insult me, Miss Chambers," Thane said in equal anger. "Anyone can refuse to serve. Few do." His voice grew calmer after a few heads had turned towards the slightly raised voices of the two. "We owe our whole existence to the hanar. We are proud to repay the debt."
Shepard snorted; she was not so easily swayed as Chambers was. The way Thane was describing it; he made the hanar seem like weaklings at best, opportunistic jackals at worst. Preying on the gratitude of another race, planting them on a world that poisons them and turning their children in to killers and making them believe it was something to take pride in. After all, the hanar had saved them and the drell owed them, did they not? No doubt the hanar were constantly reminding them of this fact every time the Compact was invoked.
"They kind of sound like wimps," Kelly said, nearly echoing the Spectre's thoughts.
"Out here they are. But if you could see them in the Encompassing—the oceans of Kahje- you would see them differently." Thane was practically defensive.
Something in his demeanor changed. It was as if he was gone elsewhere, leaving behind his physical body. His voice was clipped and short, a staccato of sound like the speech patterns of a salarian.
"A stream of silver in the dark. Looping, diving. So fast they eye can't follow. Laughter like the squeals of children vibrating in the water. They fly over the black seabed like birds plumed with the light of heaven."
Kelly gasped; Shepard narrowed her eyes not in anger, but in an attempt to make sense of what she had just seen. It sounded as if he was flashing in a memory, not unlike her own experiences when the visions of the Cipher crept upon her and took her mind in her sleep, giving her dreams a vivid visceral tang of nightmare.
"My apologies. Drell slip into memory very easily." Thane seemed to be embarrassed.
Kelly reached out and touched his arm. "No. No it's okay. I...I know what it's like. To slip into memory like that." Her voice grew quiet. "I thought I was the only one. I didn't know others were like that. I try not to let it happen," she shrugged helplessly. "Most of the time it takes something big to trigger it. Is it the same with all drell?"
The assassin merely nodded. He seemed reluctant to speak to speak further. "Thank you for the tour, Miss Chambers, I'm sure you have a great deal of work to return to, I should not keep you from it any further."
"Oh." Kelly smiled bashfully, "Of course. I'm sure you want to get some rest too. Oh and the mess times: breakfast is between 0600 hours and 0800. Lunch is between 1200 and 1330 and dinner is 1800 and 1930. Make sure to tell Mess Sergeant Gardner if you have any special requirements or allergies."
"I have neither. Whatever human food is served will suffice."
"Oh, okay then..."
MEMEMEMEMEMEME
Back in the loft Shepard turned off the viewer and hit delete. She had what she wanted. Chambers had preformed as a perfect ambassador to the Normandy. She was as she seemed-eager, willing to cooperate with other races, converse with them in her bubbly almost nauseatingly so way. Instinct told the Spectre to keep her well-away from the convict and Okeer and probably Zaeed just to be sure. Kasumi Goto would probably be fine with Miss Sunshine bouncing about like a cocker spaniel puppy but she didn't want to push the young woman's luck with the harder personalities they had yet to collect.
How Thane interacted with Chambers had been very telling on his part as well. In a way he was almost as polite as the hanar were. Mostly likely due to the fact they had raised him since he was only six years old. His answers to Kelly's questions intrigued Shepard to the point where she wanted to ask several of her own. But they would have to wait. There were three more people to collect yet. And there were others the Commander needed to check up on. Namely Mordin and Zaeed, both of whom would be next on the roster when she went to recruit Jack. Shepard thought to bring Miranda in on this one as well after deciding to keep the four person team she had set up. It was working rather well, especially when one of the four was another biotic.
Now, however, it was time for an inspection. The Commander wanted to see how far Tali had progressed in altering EDI's holographic interface. And of course check in with Liara, that one of course was to be savoured like rich decedent chocolate. There was, after all, an apartment to christen. The very thought brought a wide smile to Sam's lips.
Oh yeah. Save the best for last and bask in it as long as possible, she thought, her smile turned into a coyly wicked grin as her mind's eye paraded a gloriously naked asari sashaying her delicious blue hips before them. "Definitely something to bask in," she said to her empty quarters. "Alright, Shepard, enough goldbricking," she chastised herself. "Get to work so you get to play." She mockingly saluted her distorted reflection on the model ships display case. "Aye aye, ma'am."