I found that flying in the sky car the second time was a lot more traumatizing. Having a window seat this time did not comfort me either. In fact, I think it made it worse. I guessed that not many people visited the Citadel Tower as there were only a handful of cars that had headed towards the top with us back then. But apparently, traveling to the Presidium's Financial District was a different story.
Tens of hundreds of thousands of cars flit by us as we shot past them at something close to 100 mph. Traffic lanes seemed non-existent as vehicles jerked up at the last second to avoid head-on collisions, swerving wildly to barely avoid catastrophic crashes. I was glad most were driven by on board VIs as I couldn't imagine driving one manually. But the fact the VIs were most likely the one's driving like this did little to reassure me. One little bump and BOOM, you exploded 200 feet above the air taking every vehicle in your radius with you, not to mention the endangerment of the thousands below. It was madness.
I dug my nails into the seat.
We're definitely walking next time.
Kaidan and I were sitting in the back of the car together. Both of us deciding to bear the ride in silence. Awkward as it was, I was somewhat grateful as it gave me time to make up my next plan of attack. When Shepard had assigned him to watch me, it had really thrown a wrench in my plans. Or more like grenade.
When we meet with Barla Von, Kaidan's going to expect the Volus to recognize me as another agent straight away. Or if not, that I straight up tell the Volus that I work for the Shadow Broker. And if I did that...yeah. We're not going to do that.
I hadn't even planned to meet the Volus. I already knew where to find Wrex and Garrus. We honestly didn't need to talk to no one. But pretending to have resources and contacts made me valuable, someone they would want for help to take down Saren. Even if I wasn't the best shot in the world, and if the talent window was for real, I could get close enough to it. And with seemingly endless information on everything and decent enough abilities with a rifle, I'd become invaluable to the Normandy.
But of course with Kaidan tagging along, I would actually have to interact with Barla. I cursed my luck.
I should have just said that I knew where they both were.
But how would I explain Wrex then? God dammit. This sucks.
"Hey Kaidan-"
He turned his head away from his window.
I decided honesty is the best policy in this scenario.
"-I'm gonna be honest with ya. I don't know Barla personally. I only knew that he works for the Broker. And you know how I might have mentioned working for the Broker would probably get us a freebie?"
"Yeah?" he replied concerned.
"Well one of his rules for us is to not reveal that you work for him under any situation." I reflected on the statement. "Unless it's under extraordinary circumstances of course." Exhibit A for this lie.
"Uh alright. So how do you plan to get any information on Saren?" He paused to think over what I had said. "And how do people know that Barla Von works for the Shadow Broker then?"
I addressed his questions in that order. To the best of my ability anyway.
"Right now, I know for a fact that the Broker and Saren aren't on the best of terms. If we just ask about the Turian, Barla might cut us a deal since the Broker has it out for him. And there's a difference between his information brokers and information agents."
He seemed sated. "Alright then. Well in that case, I'll follow your lead."
Our sky car finally slowed and descended to our transit stop, conveniently coinciding with our conversation's conclusion. The first thing I noticed stepping out onto the walkway was that we were under a large patch of shade. Looking around, I suddenly found ourselves in the middle of a miniature forest, as a large swath of trees adorned the sides of the Presidium street we were on.
Nifty.
They really made this place with aesthetics in mind. As I got oriented with where we were, I told Kaidan to take a right.
If my memory serves correctly...
I walked towards the first door we came across, and as it slid open, thank the lord, I immediately found the Volus talking into one of his many computers. He seemed fairly preoccupied with whomever he was conversing with though. Kaidan and I had to wait a good amount of time until he finally finished his work and turned his attention toward us.
"Ones of the Earth-clan. For what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Barla Von?" I asked already knowing the answer. "We're here on the behalf of Commander Shepard."
"Ah," he cut in before I could ask him what I wanted. "The famous Shepard. The one at Torfan, correct? She led the final assault against the enemy base, if memory serves."
With Shepard's sunny disposition, I'm not surprised to hear that she's 'the Butcher'.
"Uh, yeah. That would be her."
"I noticed she had arrived. As a financial adviser to many important clients, I take notice when people of her stature come to the Citadel."
Blah blah blah, I have information on your service record, I know everyone who comes and gos, I know where you sleep at night, blah blah blah-
"Alright," I replied curtly. It was annoying how hard he was trying to flaunt his information.
Look at that, the pot's calling the tea kettle black.
...Shut up.
"We heard you work for the Shadow Broker, so I'm assuming you know some things. We're currently looking for some information on a Spectre called Saren."
"You are quite blunt Earth-clan. But you are right. I am an agent for the Shadow Broker. And I do happen to have information on Saren."
"Great, let's hear it."
"This information is usually worth a small fortune. But this is an unusual situation. So I'm going to let you have it for a small fee."
Alright now we just have to-FEE?! Dah Fuq!?
"How much?" Kaidan asked for me.
"Only one small favor. But I'll give you what you want to hear first as a show of good faith."
Well...I GUESS that's manageable if it's just a short chore...but why wasn't it free?! What the hell dude!
"The Shadow Broker is quite upset with Saren right now. They actually used to do a lot of business. Until Saren turned on him."
I noticed Kaidan staring at me with concern after hearing that tidbit.
Great. Just add that to the list of reasons why I'm not making it to the Normandy.
"I'm guessing he bribed one of your lackeys?" I asked trying to speed up the conversation to no avail.
"I don't know the details, but the Shadow Broker hired a freelancer to deal with it. A krogan mercenary."
"That's not much to go on," Kaidan replied.
Dammit dude. Stop asking questions. I just want to get out of herrrrre-
"I just told you the most famous Spectre in the galaxy betrayed the Shadow Broker. Quite a bargain, considering the price."
"Alright, alright. Where can we find this mercenary?" I asked annoyed.
"Not so fast Earth-clan. If you want the rest, I'll need that payment."
Daaaaaammit-
"So...what do you want?"
"There's a man that goes by the name of Fist. He owns the night club called Chora's Den in the Wards."
I wondered what the hell he could want from his coworker.
We're headed in that direction any way dude so ask away. No skin off our backs.
"He has some information I would like to procure. He should keep everything I want on an OSD. He most likely keeps it in his office at the back of his club. If you were to acquire this device for me, I would consider that a sufficient trade for my information."
"Done," I replied although Alenko looked like he might have objections.
"Good...I heard the Krogan mercenary was paying a visit to Citadel Security. If you hurry you might catch him before he leaves the Academy."
"Why would-" Kaidan started before I cut him off.
"Alright thanks Barla, we'll head there right away. Appreciate the help. We'll be sure to keep in touch! Thanks again! Bye!"
I urged Kaidan out of the store, waving to the short round Volus behind us.
"My pleasure,*ksshh*, Earth-clan."
Once we were outside, Kaidan wheeled to face me. "Why did he just give us the rest of the information we wanted? We didn't even do what he had asked yet."
I decided just to feed him the first lie I thought of. "He knows that if you ever want to do business with him again, we would get him that OSD."
Although I'm pretty sure that might have actually been the real reason too.
I wondered to myself though why he had even asked us for a favor in the first place.
Was it because we had gone to see him instead of Shepard? What could be on the disc that Fist hadn't already told the Shadow Broker? Why were we deviating so far from the game's script already?! Oh god, why?!
"And did he say back there that Saren and the Broker used to work together!?"
...Well...I guess I can worry about all that later.
I took some time before answering his question this time around. Had to be careful here.
"Well...the Shadow Broker is a neutral party. He's a universal resource that everyone has at their disposal. He doesn't play politics, and he doesn't 'work' with anybody." Making quotations in the air with the word didn't seem to convince him. But I decided to keep laying it on. "Look, I had no idea they had done business. Obviously it was a bad decision too as we've all seen how insane Saren is. And past aside, the Broker just helped us with our case against him."
That seemed to placate the Lieutenant for now. "Alright, I believe you...do you want to radio the Commander or should I?"
"I'll do it," I said. But then I additionally begged, "But please...can you not mention that to her? If she heard that the Broker and Saren might have worked together once...she'd never trust me again. Ever."
He looked away before addressing me. "...No...I understand what you mean. It'll stay between you and me."
I smiled at him and simply said "Thank you." I then tapped the earpiece that I had become aware of when Kaidan fixed my translator and tuned it to the frequency Shepard had given me with my omni-tool.
"Shepard?"
"...what is it?" she replied curtly in my ear.
"We got a lead from Barla. Apparently Saren pissed off the Broker and recently hired a Krogan mercenary to deal with the problem he created. He's currently at C-Sec."
"...That's just where we we're headed. We'll meet you there."
What.
"Really?" I asked concerned.
Did Harkin not pull through?...Oh god...did she beat the shit out of him before he could spill the beans? Don't tell me that she killed-
"The drunk at Chora's said the Turian might be at C-Sec or a Doctor's office in the Wards. I'm betting on the former."
Oh, alright, fine. Time to continue playing detective then I suppose.
"You know what, while you go to C-Sec looking for Garrus and the Krogan, we'll check that Doctor out for you. Even if Garrus isn't there, we could still stock up on medical supplies."
"...Fine. Kaidan, I'll send you the coordinates. We'll radio you if we actually find anything."
"Same," Kaidan replied over the radio next.
"...Also, we were attacked by some Turians that were working for Saren on our way to check out Harkin. Keep an eye out. They might have an informant."
Oh my god. She REALLY doesn't trust me.
"Got it Commander, thanks."
And with that, radio silence.
I turned to Kaidan, in hopes of bonding with at least one person on the ship.
"Welp...I'm not looking forward to this."
"Why's that?" he asked as another sky car began to land beside us.
"Last time I visited a clinic, it just left me drained. Just really sucked the life out of me."
"Oh? How do you mean?"
"I had to donate some blood."
"..."
"..."
He sighed.
Team Shepard, Moments Earlier.
The Wards were very different from the Presidium. And that was quite the understatement. Dark alleys and dim lighting seemed to be the norm here, trash littered around every turn. Shady dealers and merchants offered deals for products and equipment they shouldn't have. Alien vagrants begged for handouts across the streets, latching on to the first person that paid them the slightest attention. And in every corridor, it was nigh impossible for one to escape from the closely packed, bustling walkways filled with mobs of transients and civilians, making it difficult for her and Williams to make any sort of head way toward where they needed to go.
The lack of progress they were making, in addition to the amount of aliens knocking into her caused Shepard to quickly lose her patience. And they had just gotten out of their sky car not moments ago.
"Williams, how far away are we from this club?" she growled.
"I just saw a sign for it when we got out Commander. It should be straight through this area and on our right."
"It better," she muttered. "I could use a drink right about now."
She continued her pace as Williams' eyes simply followed her in disbelief. Every offhand comment Shepard had seemed to do that to her. After Williams caught up, they eventually came to an empty alley way that seemed to stretch on forever. It was swathed in long shadows cast by dull crimson lights.
"Hey Commander...I'm getting a real bad feeling about this place."
"Anyone would be stupid to pick a fight with two heavily armed Alliance marines Williams."
"All the same Commander..."
But as Shepard predicted, there was nothing of interest there, and Williams' intuition was proved unfounded as they exited the other side of the alley without encountering the smallest instance of trouble. And upon exiting it, they walked through a doorway on their right that emptied out into an large open chamber (by the standards of the Wards at least). A chest high barrier separated them from a large rectangular pit in the center of the area, and a large neon sign depicting an Asari flashed above them. Shepard had just began to make her way towards the bar before she made eye contact with two Turians leaning against a wall across the pit from them.
"That's her."
Her instincts kicked in as she immediately took cover. Williams wasn't as fast, having her shield take a couple hits before she was able to follow suit.
"What the hell!?" she shouted over their volley.
Shepard wasted no time.
She popped back up after deploying a barrier to absorb the incoming fire, immediately emptying her Kessler into the Turian across from them. It lost its shields before it quickly decided to get back to cover. Then Williams took that as her cue, standing up to return fire now that one of them was cowering behind the wall. Wasting no time, Shepard ran past the marine and took a left around the corridor's waist high divider, taking several steps before turning another left into the corridor where the two aliens were currently taking cover.
Her hardsuit had just popped it's epinephrine stores, so they couldn't react fast enough when she shot a single bullet into the head of the Turian that had just lost its shields, and then sent a mass effect field at the one behind it. Without a misstep, Williams immediately riddled it with bullets as it floated up into the air helpless. After her gun overheated, Shepard's biotics dissipated, and it's body fell down into the abyss at the center of the room.
"Those were Saren's men," Williams said.
Shepard grunted in affirmative as she holstered her weapon and approached the entrance of the bar. They were on to something here. And she was going to find out what.
Surprisingly, not one person in the club had seemed to notice the gun fight outside. But that was probably just due to the deafening music booming throughout it, and the scantily clad women drawing the attention of those that still had their wits about them.
"A million light years from where Humanity began and we walk into a bar filled with men drooling over half-naked women shaking their asses on a stage. I can't decide whether that's funny or sad."
"Maybe they're just here for the food."
As the Chief was left speechless, Shepard decided to walk towards the bar scanning the room. She was looking for the description of the drunk that Anderson had given her. A Caucasian male, balding, grey goatee, ugly smile. Unfortunately for her, she heard him before she saw him.
"Hey there, sweetheart. You looking for some fun? 'Cause I gotta say, that soldier getup looks real good on that bod of yours."
But wait, he had more.
"Why don't you sit your sweet little ass down beside old Harkin? Have a drink and we'll see where this goes."
She paused where she was, and then, very slowly, turned to face him. She stared him down for all of a second before flitting her lashes back.
"I just might."
She took a seat across from him, and behind her, Williams just stood there aghast.
"Harkin? I was told you could maybe help me find someone. A Turian C-Sec officer named Garrus?"
"Garrus? Ha! Forget him sweet cheeks. You should stick around and have some fun with me instead."
"I just might," she sweetly cooed back. "But I should really tell my CO where he could find him first."
He looked her up and down. "Alright...on one condition."
"Oh?" Shepard said with interest.
"You buy us a couple drinks. That way, we'll be nice and loose for later." His face was accompanied by a wide grin.
Turning her head, she motioned to a waitress. The erotic dancer quickly nodded back and approached the bartender for them.
After this, Harkin started to talk. "Alright, looks like we're having fun now!...Yeah, I know where Garrus might be. But inste...wait...if you're looking for Garrus, you must be with Anderson's crew. Poor bastard's still trying to bring down Saren eh?" He ignored her eye twitch and continued to run his mouth. "Hey, before he told you to come, did the Captain let you in on his big secret?"
"What are you talking about?" Williams actually asked humoring him.
An even larger grin grew across Harkin's face now. "The Captain used to be a Spectre. Didn't know that did you? It was all very hush-hush. The first human ever given that honor. And then he blew it." Shepard's stepford smile had now completely disappeared as Harkin chuckled at what he perceived to be a joke. "Screwed up his mission so bad they kicked him out. 'Course he blames Saren. Said the Turian set him up."
"Your lying. How do you even know the Captain?" Williams snapped back.
"Met him a few times over the years. One of those hard core military guys. Yes sir! No sir! Can't have any fun with a stick up your ass sir!" he sneered. "Probably why he climbed the Alliance ranks so fast. The military loves brown nosers."
"Where can we find Garrus," Shepard didn't ask so much as command.
"Last I heard he was sniffing around Dr. Michel's office. She runs a med clinic on the other side of the Wards. But he's probably back at C-Sec by now." Then he bent over the table. "Now I get to ask you somethin'," he said grinning. "How wide does that pretty little-"
Shepard immediately ripped the table aside with freakish strength, sending it flying back toward the bar in the middle of the room. And as Harkin took a step back from where the table had just been in sheer terror, he next found her right fist meeting his face, encased in a biotic field. A sickening crack accompanied it as the blow connected with his jaw. Several molars were sent flying. And then, after the man immediately hit the floor, she bent over him and picked him back up by the collar of his shirt. Without a break, she slammed the degenerate back against the club's floor, and then took a knee over Harkin's limp body, whispering into his ear.
"You were right. This was fun."
Harkin was already unconscious when she lifted him up one last time and proceeded to fling him over her shoulder toward the bar. His head collided with their table that was already lying across the counter.
Leaving him where he had landed, she motioned to Williams. "Let's go."
"Damn Commander," she could only mouth as they walked back towards the entrance. The patrons they passed wisely averted their eyes or completely turned their heads in the opposite direction.
The Krogan bouncer had almost made a move to confront her before it decided to back down once she gave it a side wards glance.
And once they had exited the club, their radios received a call from none other than Shield and Kaidan.
"Shepard?"
Team Shield, Back to the Present.
The sky car had dropped us both off right outside Dr. Michel's office. And as we exited the car, I wasted no time in giving Kaidan one last heads up for the scene we were about to walk into.
"Hey, Kaidan, be on your toes. Those Turian mercenaries Shepard mentioned might be here too."
Although he didn't quite seem to take my warning to heart. "I'll be sure to keep an eye out."
That's not something you say to let someone know you're going to take their advice to heart. That was something someone says to let you know that they heard you but don't really care enough to actually listen to what you had to say. Or actually, it was something someone says to let you know that they were listening, but that they didn't really hear what you had to say. Actually, I think it REALLY might be what someone says when you-
"I didn't tell anyone I Swear!"
"That was smart, Doc."
I saddled up next to the LT who had just taken a few steps into the clinic before pressing himself against the wall, realizing shit was going down like I had just warned. He listened, but he should have heard me. Or rather, he heard me, but didn't-
"Now if Garrus comes around, you'll stay smart. Keep your mouth shut or we'll-"
It was at this point Kaidan decided to no longer listen, and instead, jump into action. Be a big goddamn hero, leap from the shadows, announce our presence kind of deal. The whole shebang. And I decided to follow him out against my better judgement. Of course in response, the thug spun around to face us, tightening his arm around the Doctor's neck while shouting.
"WHO ARE YOU?!"
"Your worst nightmare," I said gruffly to play the role, fingering the gun at my hip.
In return, Kaidan gave me a look. Apparently not the image he was going for.
In any case, the thug didn't have time to register the threat as Garrus immediately turned the corner and popped the guy right in the head. Poor bastard hadn't had any kinetic shields. The others were too overwhelmed to act with how the odds had just turned against them. They practically froze in place as three heavily armed gunslingers apparated out of thin air right before them. And after it was all said and done, the bad guys all laid dead, and the C-Sec agent turned to thank us for our good work.
"Perfect timing. You two gave me a clear shot at that bastard."
"Nice shot," I shot back to him. "But, uh...weren't you afraid that you might've hit the Doctor?"
"Yeah, you could've killed her!" Kaidan agreed angrily.
"There wasn't time to think. I just reacted. I didn't mean to-Dr. Michel, are you hurt?"
We all turned to her as she got up from where she had just been hiding. And she slowly spoke, obviously still rattled.
"No. I'm okay. Thankz to vou...Thankz to all of vou."
And she was actually hella cute. Bright red hair kept in a bobcut, fair skin, heart faced shape...and her French accent definitely didn't hurt. Really hit that damsel in distress role well. In fact, she actually kind of, maybe resembled the Command-no, sorry, I take that back. They were similar to each other so far as the color of their hair. The biggest difference between them...what separated the two were their eyes.
The Doctor's were soft, gentle...and maybe had just a tad dash of caring.
Shepard's were the complete opposite. You'd be lucky to even find a microgram of caring in them.
As I admired the doctor's face, Kaidan was the first to begin our game of twenty questions. "Who were they? Why were they threatening you? Who did they work for?"
And in return, the Doctor took a breath before answering. "They said they worked for Fist. They wanted to shut me up, keep me from telling Garrus about the Quarian."
"What Quarian?" Kaidan asked.
"A few days ago-"
Blah blah blah blah.
None of this was new to me. So instead, I turned my attention to the next most interesting thing in room. Which happened to be Vakarian. He still looked like he was coming down from the fire fight. His eyes seemed restless, moving around shiftily, and the Turian still gripped his gun fairly tight. Admiring the Turian from afar, my attention to him was only broken when I next heard Shepard's voice over my ear piece.
"Shield, what's your current situation?"
I walked back towards the entrance so I didn't interrupt the Doctor's exposition for the two.
"We just found Garrus at Dr. Michel's. Some of Fist's thugs were threatening her. We have reason to believe the guy is working for Saren." Coincidentally, I turned around when I heard something related to my imaginary boss.
"-an agent for the Shadow Broker."
And as I did, I saw that Kaidan was peering at me again.
Fair enough. But why's the Shadow Broker got to be such a shady guy? He's making this really hard for me.
Shepard responded, "Good to hear you reached the same conclusion. We met the Krogan mercenary at C-Sec and he just told us the same thing. We're nearing Fist's now. Head over here as soon as you can."
"Will do," I replied as she signed off.
Even after that back and forth, I came back to find the Doctor still talking.
"Saren must've made him quite the offer..."
"That Quarian must have something Saren wants. Something worth crossing the Shadow Broker to get."
"Well then. I guess we should go find her," I suggested.
Acknowledging my response, Garrus continued his grandiose epiphany. "She must have something linking Saren to the Geth."
"Well...let's go find her then," I repeated.
Again acknowledging my response, Garrus continued his grandiose epiphany. "In fact, it must be evidence! There's no way the Council can ignore this!"
"She must be at Fist's right now. How can we get to her?" Kaidan asked the Doctor and Turian next.
He had apparently turned his earpiece off so her story wasn't interrupted. Or for some other reason I wasn't aware of. In any case, I decided to mention that Shepard had already left to assault his hideout. And of course, THAT's what got everyone's attention. Even though I had already suggested it a dozen times by this point already. When it was Shepard suggesting something, OH, suddenly it's the best move in the world.
"What?! We have to get there!" Kaidan immediately panicked.
But the young C-Sec agent stopped Kaidan right before he turned to leave. "This is your and Shepard's show. But I want to bring Saren down as much as you do. I'm coming with you!"
"The more the merrier," I replied in his stead. While Kaidan seemed to want to say something else, he decided to keep it to himself in the end.
As we made our way for the door however, Garrus seemed to have an afterthought and stopped our group one more time. "Actually, those thugs also mentioned something about you giving your supplies to someone Doctor. Or they would reveal your secret. What were they talking about?"
As attention was suddenly brought upon herself once again, Doctor Michel looked quite uncomfortable. And I could identify with that. Because-
What? That whole thing didn't start until, like, the second Citadel visit. Right? ...Definitely! And with a Krogan. Not Fist's thugs-
"I...a long time ago, I had been caught giving out medical supplies to small clinics much like this one. When my employers found out, they fired me. Never filed any charges. They just wanted me to leave without any fuss."
I still didn't really follow that logic when told in person either. "That's pretty admirable doctor," I told her. "Wanting to help the less fortunate? Not exactly something you should be ashamed of."
"Thank you," she said. "But if word ever got out that I gave away medical supplies, I could lose my license, I could lose my clinic!" she elaborated distraught.
Oh. Right.
"If I didn't give their contact what they wanted, they said...they said they'd expose my secret..."
She seemed to be on the verge of tears now.
"So they were extorting you too. Doctor, after we're finished with Fist, I'll take care of it for you," Garrus said with vindication.
She only looked up now with a sad smile. "Thank you," she choked out, wiping a tear from her eye. "This is the store clerk they wanted me to go to."
Glancing over the slip taken from her, Garrus replied, "I know him. I'll check it out."
"And we'd be glad to lend a hand too, wouldn't we Kaidan!"
He didn't seem to share my enthusiasm.
"We should really get going to help the Commander."
"Right," Garrus replied.
"Oh, good luck!" Dr. Michel shouted after us as we then decided to book it out of her clinic.
And we three silent heroes set off in the direction of Fist's club.
Kaidan turned to me as we began jogging through the district.
"..."
"..."
"...your worst nightmare?"
Team Shepard, Back to the Club.
"Williams!"
"I see him Commander!"
The marine quickly sniped the thug that had been taking cover on top of the bar.
The fools in this room seemed completely unprepared, as that was the fifth one lacking any kind of kinetic barrier.
The Krogan mercenary that accompanied them was now wrestling with one of Fist's own to her right. A quick headbutt followed by a biotic field told her the two were on completely different levels. And a subsequent shotgun to the face of Fist's Krogan confirmed it.
As the last two guards were blown away by the grenade they had just ignored, Shepard cautiously lowered her weapon.
"Fist had a good thing going here...too bad he got greedy," the Krogan seemed to say to no one in particular as he returned to their company.
Ignoring him, Shepard continued to Fist's back room. They didn't have time to waste on chatting.
Sliding open the door, she found two more guards aiming their weapons at her.
"Stop right there! Don't come any closer!"
"Warehouse workers. All the real guards must be dead," the Krogan surmised behind her.
"Stay back or we'll shoot."
Annoyed, Shepard simply decided to stare them down. "I just killed fifty bodyguards to get here...what do you think I'll do to you."
"Uh..well...uhhhh.."
"Aw, screw Fist. He doesn't pay us enough for this."
Gladly following his companion's lead, the two men both dropped their weapons and in return, Shepard let them pass by.
"Hm. Never would've thought that would work," Williams remarked.
"It would've been quicker just to kill them," the Krogan humphed.
But that's because neither of them were N7. The Alliance trained their soldiers well enough to distinguish between civilians and those with the actual intent to kill. And the N program taught that additional step of discretion on the field, which including conserving ammo when necessary. Those two stooges weren't worth the time contrary to what the mercenary beside her thought.
As they reached his office, Shepard was able to catch sight of Fist right before he dived behind his desk. "Why do I have to do everything myself!" he didn't fail to shout from behind. But the turrets he activated were no match for the two trained Alliance marines and Krogan Battlemaster. With their destruction, they now approached the desk Fist was cowering behind with ease. And they found the man to be as pathetic as he seemed. "Wait! Don't kill me! I surrender!"
"Tell me where the Quarian is and I won't have to shoot you in the kneecaps," she threatened.
"She's not here!" he whimpered. "I don't know where she is. That's the truth!"
She frowned. "Wrong answer."
She lowered her gun and shot him in the foot.
"AGH. What the f-OKAY. OKAY. I'll talk. Unnh...please no more."
"Talk."
"Okay! I...I don't know where the Quarian is but I know where you can-AH." He gripped his boot in pain. "...she...she said she'd only deal with the Shadow Broker himself."
"Impossible. Even I was hired by a third party," the Krogan scoffed.
"That's what I said. But she wouldn't have it. So I lied to her. Told her I'd set a meeting up...but when she shows up, it'll be Saren's men waiting for her."
Shepard only hated one thing more than Batarians. And that was those who went back on their word. Those that had no sense of duty. Or loyalty. Those most would call traitors.
"Tell me where that meeting is before I blow your head off," she growled.
He practically pissed himself with the remark. "Here in the Wards. The back alley by the markets. She's supposed to meet them right now. You can make it if you hurry."
"Shepard-" the Krogan started but she held a hand up.
"Too many people died her, Fist. You don't get to walk away."
"What! But I did everything you asked!"
"You did. So I won't be the one to do it."
Then she nodded to the Krogan. He smiled in return.
"NO, Wa-"
A data chip was knocked off his table as Wrex had taken care of him. Curious, she picked it up as the Krogan did the same with Fist's body.
So Fist had worked for the Shadow Broker. And then Saren. So...this disc might have information on one or both of them. And if it does...it might even have information concerning Shield's connections to both-
"That Quarian's dead if we don't go now!" Williams sputtered.
She was right.
"Alenko!"
No reply.
"Alenko!"
Nothing again. Annoyed, she tried radioing the other.
"Shield!"
"...*krsh* little busy here *krsh*-pard!"
She could hear the sounds of bullets flying in the background.
"...but we got *krsh* Quarian. Some back-up would-"
And then his radio cut out.
Team Shield, Moments Earlier.
"Hey guys did you hear that?" I lied to them.
"...Hm? I didn't hear anything," Kaidan replied as he walked past the alley way. The particular alley way adjacent to the room leading to Chora's Den. The particular I knew we needed to go down as of right now.
"There!" I lied again now rushing towards the alley's door, hoping they'd follow my lead. Kaidan had been instructed to keep an eye on me after all.
Because if you both don't, the mercenaries meeting Tali will totally kill me.
"Shield where are you going!"
It did cross my mind that Kaidan might consider me a threat and do the same too. But I knew Fist was already getting taken care of, and I didn't want to risk anything by going there only to have to double back and find ourselves too late. And as the door slid open in front of me, I saw what I wanted. There was little Vas Normandy meeting Saren's goon squad at the bottom of the stairwell.
"Did you bring it?" the Turian asked, stroking her helmet.
"Where's the Shadow Broker? Where's Fist?"
Luckily, my two compatriots had decided to follow me and saw what was going down.
"They'll be here. Where's the evidence?"
Now he was bringing his arm down along her waist.
And as it was, I quickly came to realize this was kind of creepy to watch.
"No way, deal's off."
He looked back at his Salarian entourage and then back to her.
"What?"
"YO, She said the deal's OFF!" I decided to kick things off by shouting.
The Turian and his Salarians looked toward us in bewilderment, where they were then subsequently blinded by Tail's flashbang. I then did my regular routine of rolling to cover. Bullets had already started whizzing by. Kaidan put up a barrier and was returning fire at them in the middle of the stair well. Our own Turian was now hidden behind a pillar, leaning out of it to fire at Saren's men.
"Alenko!"
What the...
It was a woman's voice.
"Shield!"
I realized it was my radio. Then an energy blast from someone's gun hit my cover.
JESUS!
"I'm a little BUSY here Shepard!"
But I decided to fill her in.
"We got the Quarian but some back-up would be really nice right about now!"
Or that's what I would've said if another carnage blast hadn't hit my cover. The impact of the shot had actually knocked me away from where I was crouching. Strong enough force to rattle my cover and pop me off it. Now, it wasn't of my own volition but I subsequently popped up from where I had just been knocked over. Then quickly resting my Predator on top of the crate I had been hiding behind, I lined a shot up at the Turian responsible. And he too happened to be lining a shot up. At my head.
But he crumpled to the ground first. Head taken clean off.
"Nice shot!"
"...Thanks," I replied to Garrus, staying where I was kneeling. Head currently reeling.
I just blew that Turian's head off...that thing popped like a balloon...oh my god...did I really just do that?...because that...was freaking AWESOME!
I then bent over and vomited on my feet. It was the color of the small meal I had eaten back on the Normandy. Reddish brown.
"Uh, you okay there Shield?" Kaidan asked as he looked over. Thankfully Garrus hadn't seen it as he was already approaching Tali. If Garrus thought I was lame, I didn't know what I'd do.
"Yup," I shot back grimacing. He didn't seem to believe me. And I wouldn't either with how my hands were trembling. And the vomit on the ground. The throw-up probably had the most to do with it. I looked back at the ground.
Grody.
I was still coming to terms with taking my first life when I next heard Tail fuming.
"Fist set me up! I knew I couldn't trust him!"
I spat once more before finally approaching the trio at the bottom. And lo and behold, I could hear Shepard and Co. just arriving on the scene after me.
Ah the gang's all here.
Turning back to address them, Shepard flew down the stairs quicker than I could blink.
"You've got proof Saren is working with the Geth. Hand it over."
Shepard really did have no bed side manners.
"Woah Commander. First, you're welcome that we kept her safe for you. Second,-" I turned to our Quarian. "-are you okay Tali?"
I felt the Commander glaring at me before Tali piped up.
"How do you know my name?"
Oh dammit.
I scrambled for an answer.
Kaidan was with me the entire time so I couldn't lie and say Barla or the Doctor told me...shit.
"...You're technically royalty where you come from," I decided to answer. "I tend to be well-informed about important people."
"She's a princess?" Williams asked incredulously.
"Well I guess I can cross rescuing one off my bucket list," Kaidan remarked.
"What? No I'm-," Tali started before Shepard told us to quiet and asked for her evidence again.
Tali, I assumed, stared back at her indignantly. And she quickly dropped my slip-up. "I'm grateful for your help but not so fast. Who are you?"
"Friends," I told her.
"We don't have time for questions," Shepard told her. "I need this evidence you have against Saren."
"I guess I owe you. But not out here in the open. We need to go somewhere safe."
"The Ambassador's office," Kaidan spoke up. "It's safe there. He'll want to see this anyway."
Ashley scrunched her face. "What smells?"
In turn, Shepard barked at us all to get a move on for the Embassies. And that's when I noticed our Krogan for the first time. I quickly averted my eyes from the eight foot tall monster carrying a corpse on his shoulder as any sensible person would. The guy was simply monstrous.
And so, the seven of us left the alley and called for two sky cars to take us to the Embassy Suites. Wrex decided he wanted to drop Fist's body off first though and called for his own taxi. And so our investigation had come to an end.
Team Normandy, Back to the Future.
As we entered his office, Udina was less than pleased with us.
"You're not making my life easy, Shepard. Firefights in the Wards? An all-out assault on Chora's Den? Do you know how many-" His eyes practically popped out of their sockets when he saw our motley crew. "Who is this? A Quarian? What are you up to Shepard?"
"This Quarian can help us bring down Saren. I would've told you that if you hadn't jumped down my throat."
I had to agree with her there. Apparently Udina did too.
"I apologize, Commander. This whole thing with Saren has me a bit on edge. Maybe we should just start at the beginning Miss-?"
"My name is Tali. Tali' Zorah nar Rayya."
Aaand this is where we get our boring Quarian exposition.
Our group was getting pretty large. I was more used to only having two companions at a time. Shepard was at the fore, left hand on her hip, probably glaring at Udina or at some pedestrian way off in the distance. Williams and Alenko were to my right, listening attentively to our guest. Garrus was behind me, probably twitching his mandibles or something as he sat through the lecture too. Glancing over my shoulder at him, I realized he was a lot taller than I had thought. He had at least half a foot on me. The dude was like Shaq.
And deciding to lastly glance to the far right of the room, I found that Tali was also a fairly interesting individual. The intricate patterns and different hues of violet on her exosuit really drew your eye. I would've just thought someone was wearing a fancy space burqa though if it wasn't for her three toes and fingers. The only thing that really bothered me about her right now was her distinct-
Russian?
-accent as she droned on and on. I actually almost dozed off a couple times. After the shenanigans in the Wards, I definitely deserved a chance to kick back. There had been way too much craziness for me to not just simply collapse from exhaustion. But I realized we weren't quite done yet as I heard Saren's voice suddenly boom across the room.
"Eden Prime was a major victory! The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit."
"That's Saren's voice," Anderson said pointing out the obvious. "This proves he was involved with the attack!"
"Saren won't get out of this one," Shepard said gruffly.
Shepard WOULD ignore one of the most important plot points of the game.
I was about to point out the Conduit before Tali spoke.
"Wait there's more. Saren wasn't working alone."
Eden Prime, Victory, Beacon, Blah blah blah...
"And one step closer to the return of the reapers."
Benezia's sultry voice was very distinct.
"I don't recognize that other voice. The one talking about Reapers."
I decided to spill some deets. It couldn't hurt. In fact, it'd just make me look better. "That sounded like Matriarch Benezia," I replied.
"Who?" Anderson asked.
"She's a very well known Asari...uh...I guess you could say spiritual guru? It doesn't make sense for her to be involved with Saren though."
Shepard was focused on what the voice had said rather than whom it belonged to.
"I feel like I've heard that name before."
"Benezia?" I asked knowing that was the wrong answer.
"No. The Reapers."
Tali piped up. "According to the memory core, the Reapers were a hyper-advanced machine race that existed 50,000 years ago. The Reapers hunted the Protheans to total extinction, and then they vanished. At least, that's what the Geth believe."
"Sounds a little far-Fetched," Udina scoffed.
It really does looking at it objectively.
Then Shepard gasped.
"The vision on Eden Prime. I understand it now. I saw the Protheans being wiped out by the Reapers!"
"Oh Shit," I accidentally said aloud.
I had meant to repeat it sarcastically in my head.
But with the slip up, everyone turned to me.
Whoops...let's see what I can cook up...
"According to some archaeologists I talked with on Therum-" I lied.
Hopefully the mention of the planet leads Shepard there first.
"-all the cultures existing around the time of the Protheans shared one particular story. A story of one specific boogeyman. The Reapers. If the beacon wasn't some kind of Prothean prank...then the Reapers...could be more than just myths."
I let the thought hang in the air.
Nice save.
"The Geth revere the Reapers as gods, the pinnacle of non-organic life. And they believe Saren knows how to bring them back," Tali added.
"The Council is just going to love this."
"Might not be wise to mention the part about the 50,000 year old killer robots," I threw out there.
"No matter what they think about the rest of this, those audio files prove Saren's a traitor," Anderson stated.
"The Captain's right. We need to present this to the Council right away."
"What about her? The Quarian?" Williams said bluntly.
"My name is Tali," the 'Quarian' sassed back. "You can ask your squad how I did in the alley, Commander. They know what I can do. Let me come with you."
"I vouch for her abilities Shepard," I blurted.
She didn't turn to face me. I decided to continue arguing Nar Rayya's case.
"Even if she didn't know her way around a gun, she would obviously be helpful in getting us more intel from the Geth we run into."
We luckily got Garrus and Wrex into the gang, so I was going to be damned if we didn't recruit Tali too.
"...I'll leave it up to the Captain." She turned her gaze toward him.
"If what Shield said was true, we could definitely use someone of your expertise."
"Thanks. You won't regret this!" Tali chirped.
With Udina finishing his address to Shepard and leaving the room with Anderson, we were left among ourselves.
And Shepard went to work.
"Turian, Williams, I want you both to catch up to Anderson and the Ambassador."
"Uh, you can just call me Garrus Commander," the 'Turian' replied.
The Chief voiced her concern. "Why?"
Ashley had me asking the same thing.
"Because Saren already tried attacking us once in front of Chora's Den and then later in that alleyway. With us getting the information we needed-"
"Say no more Commander."
They left to catch up with them.
"Tali, you'll obviously be a target too so I don't want you out of my sight."
"Of course," she replied.
"The rest of you, stop waiting around and get a move on. I want to get this over with."
And that makes two of us.
Shepard, Kaidan, Tali, and I wedged ourselves all back into a sky car again to get to the Tower.
I personally found the ride long, silent and awkward. But once we arrived at the top of the Tower, Tali couldn't hide her excitement.
"Wow...I'd never thought I'd get to see the Citadel Tower," the girl gasped in wonder.
"Yeah, it usually takes seven months to get a meeting here for us regular folk," I remarked.
"That's what the Citadel's VI told me."
We weaved our way through the same obstacles as before, eventually reaching the steps of the Council Chamber. Anderson was waiting at the top for us once again, only this time he had Vakarian and Williams beside him.
"Come on. Udina's presenting the Quarian's evidence to the Council."
Author's Notes:
Just for future reference, whenever you see line breaks in the story, think POV change or time lapse. Perhaps even both!
Also, shout out to that one dude who reads this from the Ukraine!
And lastly...just so I know I'm not insane...did any one else see an ad for a ball gag on the main page...
In the Next Chapter: Saren's not sane? Shepard's a Spectre!? We don't have to pay?!
Tune in next time on Mass Effective: A Hero Made!