MASS MISCALCULATION

Episode 10- The prodigal son and partner

Once the Normandy had docked with the Citadel, Aaron had two major issues- namely how to get into the Citadel without everyone shooting Aaron on sight. Apparently being the galaxy's most wanted space pirate tends to not let you move around freely within Council space. So after begrudgingly asking Shepard if he had anything that could help, he supplied Aaron with a full set of Kassa Fabrication armor, complete with blue paintjob. After thanking Shepard for the armor and assuring him he would return it when he was done with Thane Aaron left the ship, jumping above the security checkpoint and dropping into the middle of the Zakera Ward away from prying eyes. Hey, going through those scanners while being incognito was hard when you were made of pixels. Back with the mission, Aaron found Thane near the C-sec offices, and Aaron gestured to the assassin, prompting the two of them to walk up to the desk of the office… namely up to the captain of C-sec, Captain Bailey himself.

"Can I help you two?" the oblivious captain asked.

"Yeah, we're looking for my friend's son, also a drell, so if you could-" Aaron started, but Bailey cut him off.

"Aaron, what the hell are you doing here?" the captain asked coldly.

"What gave it away?" Aaron asked in the most innocent voice he could muster.

"After all the shit you've put me through, it's basically a religion for any C-sec personal to know your voice"

"By 'shit' you mean mountains of paperwork you've had to endure do to my antics?"

"Just tell me what the hell your doing here before I hit the button under my desk and have an entire battalion of C-sec here"

"You and I both know all that would do is kill a good battalion"

"…I'll ask one more time, what do you want?"

"Like I said, Thane's son, where is he?"

"Well, I can look in the registration files for any drell passing through, we don't get much drell here these days" Bailey explained, pulling up files at his terminal. "Ah, here we go. Says right here a drell was seen talking to a petty criminal, Mouse"

"Mouse?" Thane asked in surprise.

"Yeah, guy used to be one of those kids living in the ventilation shafts on the Citadel, but somehow through intelligence or luck he survived being spaced or mutilated like the other kids in the vents and wound up growing too big to fit in the vents, then he turned into a petty criminal. Says here he's selling illegal copies of Shepard VI's too, if your interested"

"Yeah I already have to deal with the jolly guy all day, I don't need a simulation of him yelling at me too"

"Fair enough, he was last seen on level 28 if that helps"

"It does, thanks" Aaron said as he and Thane walked away.

"And don't cause too much trouble, I'm still trying to finish the paperwork relating to the art project you did on the Citadel!" Bailey yelled behind them.


Level 28

Mouse, a average looking man, was checking the rosters of sales on the Shepard VI's when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around to see a peculiar and shocking sight- Thane and another man he's never seen before.

"Thane!? What the hell, I thought you retired! Who's this guy?" Mouse asked, pointing to Aaron.

"Your favorite geriatric homicidal virtual maniac and space pirate!" Aaron grinned.

"What the shit, Aaron!? What the hell are you doing here!?" Mouse yelled.

Thane placed a hand on Mouse's shoulder, saying, "Be still Mouse. You can change your pants in a moment"

Aaron let out a laugh before saying, "Alright -chuckle- alright, Thane you know this guy?"

"About a decade ago he was one of the orphans living in the ducts I paid to gather information on targets" Thane explained.

"You paid homeless kids to gather information on targets, what the fuck?"

"Sometimes the best informants are those you can't see"

Turning back to Mouse, Aaron went serious and said," Look, we know you hired Thane's son to kill someone, and we need details"

"What, that was your son!? Look Thane, I'm sorry, I didn't know, but I didn't hire him, I just told him who to go to for a job"

"Okay, and who would that be?"

"Look, you don't know this guy, this is one of those guys that will hunt you down and-"

"You realize who I am, right?"

"…Good point. Guys name is Elias Kelham, guy who is seriously bad news"

"I heard that he only got so bad after the geth attack"

"Yeah, but that's not the point, he hired your son for the hit, but I don't know who"

"Alright, well I guess we should get back to Bailey. And don't worry, I'll 'persuade' Elias not to hunt you down, chances are he'll know your behind this"

"Thanks… I think" Mouse said with uncertainty as the duo walked away.


After making their way back to the C-sec offices, Aaron immediately went to Bailey, the captain sighing.

"Damnit, what is it you want now?" the captain sighed.

"Well, we found out who hired Thane's son, Kolyat- guy named Elias Kelham"

"Well… this is awkward" Bailey said after a long period of silence.

"What?" Aaron asked.

"Um, Elias and I kind of have a deal going on; basically he send a bit of money at me and I look the other way"

"Oh, you crooked, crooked captain"

"Hey, I'm not crooked!"

"You just admitted you took bribes" Thane deadpanned.

"Look. I can incarcerate him for you, but if there's any information you need to get out of him, do it fast"

"Relax, I'm a pro at interrogation. Just don't expect there to be more than one piece left"

After Bailey made the call, Thane and Aaron saw C-sec pulling a man into the interrogation room, a C-sec officer calling Bailey to inform him that Kelham's lawyer was present, an alert VI most likely on Elias.

"How do you wish to do this?" Thane asked outside of the interrogation room.

"Well we're on a time crunch with the guys lawyer being stalled by C-sec, but if you want we can just go back to the ship and get Gat and throw him in there with him, should only take a few seconds"

"We don't have time"

"Alright fine, I'll get the information out of him, give me a minute" Thane nodded as Aaron walked into the room, closing the door behind him. The room was dimly lit, a single light held above a restraining bed with a struggling Elias in it.

"Bailey, I swear when I get out of this… who the fuck are you supposed to be?" Elias asked Aaron, prompting the virtual being to shrug and take his helmet off, revealing his face while he channeled fire in his hand.

"I think you know who I am" Aaron said with a devious smirk.

Kelham's eye's widened as he started to pant slightly, sweat appearing on his forehead. "Aaron! W-what are you doing here?" he asked nervously.

"Oh, well, you happened to have hired a friend of mine's son to be an assassin and I want to know who the target is. And just remember torture here is a option"

"I ain't sayin' shit, you and I both know you ain't got the balls to- AGH!" Elias screamed as Aaron activated his lazor razor and plunged it into Elias's left knee, twisting it a few times.

"I don't have time for you to diss me, I need a name" Aaron said calmly as he twisted harder.

"Rgh, your fucking dead when I get out of here- AUGH!" Kelham screamed again as Aaron plunged the sword into the other knee.

"I would do this all day, but with your lawyer coming, I have a timeframe I have to follow, so I'll ask again, name"

"You-you think you can just-MMPHMPH!" the criminal shouted as Aaron grabbed his face, channeling fire into it.

"You want me to burn your fucking face off!? Name!" Aaron screamed, releasing his grip after ten seconds, revealing Elias to now have a charred face.

"Alright, a-alright, I'll talk- AGH…" Elias barley screamed as Aaron plunged the blade into his right shoulder.

"I'm listening. Name" Aaron commanded, starting to whistle nonchalantly.

"H-hired the kid to take out a turian… diplomat… Joram Talid…" Elias barely was able to utter, beginning to lose consciousness.

"There, that wasn't so hard, was it? Tell anybody it was me that did this and what I did will fell like a bump in a door compared what I'll do to you" Aaron finished as he pulled the sword out and deactivated it, pulling his helmet on just as the door to the interrogation room opened, Elias's lawyer running in towards Kelham's unconscious body.

"My god, what did you do, you animal!?" Aaron sighed, holding a hand to his head. It was idiots like this that always made him mad, not to mention always saying he was the bad guy. So what if he just brutally tortured the guy, Elias was a criminal! With this in mind Aaron stepped behind the lawyer and hit him in the back of the head, knocking him out. With his business concluded, Aaron walked out of the room, two turian C-sec officers and a human officer giving him a deadly glare, but when he stuck a thumb back into the room and they looked inside they immediately stopped glaring.

"It was in my experience that you hated mindless torture" Thane said as he stepped up behind Aaron, coming out from no-where.

"I do, but I didn't exactly have time for eloquence, what with the lawyer" Aaron explained. It was true that he didn't usually approve of interrogations involving torture, he often found them to be crude in nature, and usually he tried to shy away from doing so, but if the situation ever called for it, he would still commit it. And Aaron didn't like Elias.

"Point"

Captain Bailey walked up to the two, looking into the interrogation room and sighing. "You know how mad Kelham is gonna be at me?"

"He won't be able to move for awhile, so that gives you time to get a good excuse going. And if all else fails just say you could always call me and have me come back"

"Alright, so did you get what you needed?"

"Yeah, Apparently Kolyat was hired to kill a turian diplomat, Joram Talid"

"Joram? Damn, this just gets worse and worse…" Bailey muttered.

"Oh don't tell me you take bribes from him too"

"No, it's just I don't like the guy, he's running a campaign against humans"

"Seriously, a anti-human? Just when I thought the galaxy couldn't get any uncooler with racism…"

"Well than you know the resulting political shitstorm if he gets killed"

"…-sigh- Thane, can't we just let Kolyat kill the guy, no-one likes racists" after getting a glare from Thane, Aaron sighed again. "Fine, we'll save the asshole, where is he?"

"He's in the 800 Blocks, I'll arrange transport for you" he turned to a female human officer. "Lieutenant, get these boys to the 800 Blocks!" Bailey commanded.

"Sir, yes sir!"


Shuttle car

Thane and Aaron were now in a C-sec vehicle heading to the 800 Block, the two sitting in the back while an officer sat in the drivers seat. suddenly a question popped into Aaron mind, and he looked over at Thane. "So, why did you as me to do this and not Shep-" looking over at the C-sec officer, Aaron corrected himself, "You know who"

"I have seen his actions, heard his words, know his motives. I do not think anyone who thinks the way he does should carry out this ordeal" Thane explained.

"So you think he's turning evil too?"

"I suspect it has to do with his 'augmentations'"

"Yeah, I thought the same thing. Think we could do anything?"

"At this time it is impossible to say, though I highly doubt such a thing is possible"

"Well he wasn't always bad. When I first met him the guy was as good as a good guy could get. Then the… 'thing' happened and he spent two years under. So yeah, the augmentations likely turned him. Anyway, why'd you pick me, I mean we do have a certain former C-sec officer who could have helped with this"

"As I recall he has a problem to deal with too, and also asked for your assistance, for the same reason I have"

"So he thinks the guy is turning evil too?"

"Yes, but he had a harder time coping. They are friends"

"… I'll talk to the bird when we get back. So I'll ask again, why'd you pick me?"

"We are long time partners, as you have said, 'friends'. You understood when I told you of my… spouse"

"Not to mention saving your ass time and time again"

"Yes, that too. I feel next to him, you're the most suited to carry my wishes out"

"Well I feel honored. Plus I'm not just gonna leave a homie hanging"

"Likewise"

"We're here" the officer said, landing the vehicle. The two occupants got out and inspected the 800 Blocks, people milling about at the small corner.

"Alright, so we got a plan here?"

"Remember Omega?" Thane asked.

"Ah, alright, I scout on the catwalks while you follow them, got it" Thane nodded and clasped his hands together, saying a short prayer as someone walked in front of him, disappearing as someone walked in front of him.

Aaron looked bewildered for a moment before he muttered to himself, "I have got to figure out how he does that. Or learn to teleport" with that, Aaron jumped onto the catwalk above, walking around until he sighted Talid talking with a salarian and asari, a helmeted krogan in red armor near.

"Do you have the target?" Thane asked over the comm.

"Yeah, he's with a salarian and asari, and he has a krogan bodyguard, how do you want me to proceed?" Aaron asked.

"Just follow them, give me updates"

"Got it" Aaron looked back at Talid, who had just finished talking with the couple.

"It's been wonderful talking with you people, I hope you'll come out on election day!" the turian diplomat said, flashing the turian equivalent of a fake smile before he and the bodyguard left. The next few minutes were spent updating Thane on Talid's whereabouts, while Aaron had to listen to Talid spread slander and hate about humans.

Interestingly on one occasion Aaron watched as the diplomat entered a store while the krogan waited outside, and after a minute or two the diplomat left the store, the two running away. 'That bitch just robbed the store. With a bodyguard waiting outside. Man… if Thane's son doesn't kill this guy, I am, you don't just rob a store with a guard waiting at the door, that's low' Aaron thought as he followed the diplomat as him and the bodyguard ran into three more krogan in the same armor as his bodyguard.

"Do you have an update?" Thane asked.

"Yeah, he ran into a group of krogan, same armor as his bodyguard. Pretty sure Talid just robbed a store, probably have been to collect money to pay these guys, might have borrowed his guard from 'em"

"Doesn't matter, just keep me updated" Aaron cut the mic and watched as the two targets left the krogan group. Aaron went through a door to try to follow them and entered a small room, but was immediately stopped by a human stock boy.

"Hey, what do you think your doing, you're not supposed to be here!" he shouted.

"Um, there was a leaky pipe, and I needed to fix it?" Aaron weakly lied.

The stock boy crossed his arms and said, "A leaky pipe? Then does being a repairman explain why your in battle armor?"

"Uh… I forgot about the armor, oh to hell with this, hey look! A six-legged keeper!" Aaron shouted suddenly. The stock boy turned around, only to be hit on the back of the head by Aaron, causing him to crumple to the ground. "Sorry guy, gotta keep up" Aaron simply stated as he exited the room and spotted his two targets walking down a street, a drell similar to Thane but with bluish skin and the same coat but with a blue outline eyeing the two.

"Damn, nice coat… ah shit, that's Kolyat!" Aaron shouted suddenly as he leaped down to the street and started sprinting towards the group, Thane not far behind. Kolyat took a pistol and shot the krogan bodyguard, wounding his as he chased Talid into his apartment. When the two entered, they found Talid on his knees, with Kolyat holding a gun to his head. Aaron looked behind him to see Bailey and a turian C-sec officer running towards the apartment, and closed the door behind him and locked it before they could enter. 'Last thing we need is a cop and a captain messing things up for us' Aaron thought as he turned to Thane. "I bought us some time, but not much. You want a father-son moment, do it now" he then turned to Kolyat. "Kolyat, look, your Dad just wants to talk to you, put the gun down…"

"This… this is a joke. Now? Now you show up?" Kolyat spat.

"I don't know who you two are, but I'll do whatever you want" Talid pleaded.

"Kolyat, let the blithering idiot go, it's not worth it" Aaron said.

"No! I'm coming out, and he's coming with me. Your not stopping me"

"No he's not" Aaron corrected as he took Thane's gun and shot Talid, killing him.

"Oh my god…" Kolyat gasped as the turian's body slumped over.

"Look, C-sec is gonna get here any second, they will take you in unless you listen to us" Aaron explained.

"Why? Why are you doing this?"

"…Your old man just wanted to see you before he dies"

"What, so you came to get my forgiveness? So you could die in peace or something?"

"I came to grant you peace" Thane said. "…Your angry because I wasn't there when your mother died"

"You weren't there when she was alive, why should you be there when she died?"

"Your mother… they killed her to get to me. It was my fault"

"What?"

"After her body was given to the deep, I went to find them. The trigger men. The ring leaders. I hurt them. Eventually killed them. When I went back to see you, you were… older. I should have stayed with you"

"I guess it's too bad for me you waited so long, huh?"

"Kolyat… I've taken many bad things out of the world. You're the only good thing I've ever added to it" the two drell's reunion was cut short when Bailey and the officer opened the door, the two running in. Aaron stepped in between them. "Look, they could use some private time, give them a room to work out their differences" Aaron explained.

"This kid just committed a crime and you want me to give him and his old man a room?" Bailey asked. When Aaron gave him a glare, he sighed. "Fine… I guess I'm not the only man who's ever made a mistake like he did. C'mon, I'll give you a lift to the precinct"


C-sec office

"Man, how long are they gonna be?" Aaron asked as he paced the office. They were now back at the C-sec offices, with Thane and Kolyat given some privacy in a separate room to work out their differences.

"Eh, the kids been through a lot" Captain Bailey said from behind his desk. "I ran some searches in the C-sec archive, about ten years back a bunch of real bad people were killed. Like someone was cleaning house. The prime suspect was a drell. We never caught him"

"But your gonna let him go because I said so" Aaron warned.

"…Fine, dammit" at that moment the door to the room Thane and Kolyat were in opened, Thane coming out and walking over to the two.

"So, it go well?" Aaron asked.

"Our problems… they aren't something I can fix with a few words. We'll keep talking, see what happens" Thane solemnly explained.

"Your boy shot some people, nobody I feel sympathy for, but there it is" Bailey said, hinting towards Kolyat's inevitable prosecution.

"Well technically I killed Joram, so I think that charged should be dropped. What your going to do is give him community service to steer him in the right direction" both the assassin and cop looked as Aaron in shock.

"Community service for attempted murder, what judicial system would agree to that?" Bailey asked.

"They ain't gonna know, because this is gonna stay at C-sec. Capiche?"

"I'll… think about it" Bailey said, getting up from his desk.

"Thank you, captain" Thane said, shaking the police captain's hand.

"Can we go now, I'm pretty sure someone's gonna recognize me even with this armor if I just stand around. Plus I think Kelham's lawyer is waking up" Aaron noted.


Normandy- Thane's room

One short trip to the Normandy later the two immediately went to Thane's room.

"Just wanted to thank you for helping me" Thane explained.

"Yeah, sure thing. How you two doing anyway?" Aaron asked.

"It's… a work in progress. We decided to keep in chat on the extranet, I can see he is already making an improvement" the assassin noted.

"Well… good, I guess. That your son is getting better…"

"Something the matter? You seem to be in a hurry"

"Well it's just Garrus had a thing he wanted to do as well, so I wanted to do if before the ship left, so you know… plus I wanted to do something with the Boss"

"Very well, I shall not keep you"

"'Kay, so see ya" Thane nodded as Aaron left life support and walked into the mess hall, which had business as usual. Crew eating. Crew making disgusted faces. Cook cooking disgusting food. Aaron being thankful he didn't have to eat. Surprisingly, he found Garrus at a table, which was rare considering all he usually did were calibrations.

"Yo! Garrus, can we talk?" Aaron asked the turian, gesturing to the end of the corridors of sleeper pods. Garrus nodded and followed him to the end of the hallway, Aaron starting the conversation.

"So, I heard that you had a personal problem, and you wanted to take care of it"

"Yeah, but…" Garrus mumbled, shifting his feet.

"But you wanted Shepard, but he's busy doing god knows what. Plus your worried I won't get the job done"

"I need to kill someone"

"…Garrus… do you realize who your talking to?" Aaron asked in a shocked voice, gesturing to himself.

"Good point. There's this turian, I used to be in a squad with him and a few others. He got them killed, and by the time I found out he already took the money offered to him and ran. I found him, but he's gone underground, being protected by a forger named 'Fade'"

"That the short version?"

"…Yeah, I'm not exactly comfortable with the topic…"

"Well, in truth I know what your going through. Or actually, Boss would, what with Julius…"

"Julius?"

"Yeah, he used to run the gang we were in. You know what that means, right? I can't say much with the damn surveillance bugs…"

"Yeah, 'gang', why?"

"Well, Julius betrayed us. First he planted a bomb that put me and Boss in a coma, though I didn't wake up long before he did. Turns out Julius betrayed us, planted a cop in our midst, got Lin killed, and eventually Boss shot him"

"Damn… did he ever explain why?"

"Boss was pretty vague, just saying he was a 'coward who didn't know better'"

"Clean version?"

"Yeah" Upon hearing talk of Julius from across the mess, Boss happened to be there and immediately went over to the pair.

"What are you guys talking about?" Boss asked.

"Julius. You know, ya could better explain the details about what happened. Just saying" Aaron pointed out.

"With him?" Boss asked, sticking an armored thumb at Garrus.

"Hey, bird brain's cool, just… the last conversation you had with him, before ya, you know, shot him…"

"A'ight, look, Julius was on a rant. Sayin' that I turned the Saints into sociopathical killers and that we did more harm to where we went than good, said we just turned into purple Vice Kings"

"And… was that true?" Aaron asked, starting to get slightly uncomfortable.

"Well so what if death tolls on pedestrians got higher? So what if we made money off drugs? We were a gang, hell we turned into social media icons!"

"Damnit, I want the whole story Boss, now!"


Years ago, Saints universe, attack on the church

Boss and Julius, a dark-skinned man in old timey Saints wear, were holed up in the ruins of and old amphitheatre, having just fended off all of Masako's forces, including attack choppers and assault vehicles. In the end, Julius chuckled. "Just like old times, playa" he remarked upon seeing the countless dead Masako forces.

"Yeah…" Boss said as he whipped a gun out, shooting Julius in the stomach and causing him to fall to the ground.

"Jesus, I thought we were past this!" Julius yelled as he tried to hold the blood in.

"Not by a fuckin' long shot" Boss spat.

"Don't you get it? The Saints didn't solve a goddamn thing. Drugs were still being pushed, innocent people were still getting killed… all we did was turn into Vice Kings that wore purple…"

"Jesus Christ, you sound like a pussy"

"I sound like someone who's not a sociopath"

"You wanna be the killer with a conscience? Fine, drop your flags and write a book like King, but you never shoulda come after me…"

"You tellin' me that if I woulda asked you to walk away, you would have said yes?"

Boss scoffed. "Fuck no, this is my city"

"Jesus, you haven't learned a goddamn thing" Julius sadly stated.

"Wrong. I've learned that bein' in charge is better than bein' a bitch who keeps his mouth shut and does what he's told. Your time's over, old man" Boss finally said, aiming his gun at Julius's head.

"What happened to you?" the former leader of the Saints asked.

"I woke up. My friend didn't" Boss said simply.

"You owe me, playa, you both do- if it weren't for me, you both woulda died at that street corner"

"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been in a goddamn coma, and Aaron still wouldn't be in one"

"That blue-haired kid would agree with me"

"Bullshit, he'd be aiming a gun at you too"

"…Then I guess that makes all three of us even…" Julius said as Boss shot him in the head, killing him.

"Not really" Boss said as he walked away from the corpse.


Normandy

Aaron and Garrus looked at Boss with a shocked look, Aaron's mouth open and Garrus's mandibles twitching.

After a long silence Boss asked, "What?"

"Boss… why?" Aaron asked after the long silence.

"Why what?"

"…Look, I need to think some things over. Just… Garrus, can Boss do this with you, I… need to think"

Garrus looked at Boss and nodded. "I think he's perfect for the job" Boss looked at Aaron, only to see the virtual being retreating into his room.

Aaron didn't know what to think. When he first met Julius, he saw him as a second father, someone to look up to. And he was mad for the coma, sure, but he could forgive that, he wouldn't have killed him like Boss. By the way Julius made it sound, it sounded like Boss was a psychopath. Sure, Aaron killed when it proved necessary or to relieve the occasional stress, but when the way Julius said it made it sound like Boss killed bystanders everyday for the hell of it. Aaron needed time to think, and he would need to talk to the Boss when he came back.

"What the hell did you do while I was under, Boss?"


C-sec precinct

The first thing the captain noticed when he saw the turian and the strangely armored human, batarian or drell was the Saints fleur on the armor.

"Goddamnit, that better not be you in there Aaron" Bailey warned.

"Who?" Boss asked, pretending to not know what the captain was talking about.

"Oh, I thought you were someone else. Why the hell do you have that symbol on your chest?" Bailey asked.

"Eh, the armor was a… present. Anyway my pal here has a problem he needs fixed"

"-sigh- What problem does he exactly have?"

"There's someone he needs to find, goes by the name of Fade. Ring a bell or two?"

"Yeah, I know him… the alias, anyway. He's been a thorn in the network division's side for the last year. He works with the Blue Suns"

"Where can we find him?" Garrus asked.

"If I knew that, he'd be in a cell. I could help you, but this is a C-sec matter, I can't just have mercs going into a criminal case"

Boss leaned closer to Bailey. "You know, I'm real close with who this symbol belongs to. I could call him now if I wanted…"

Bailey's eyes immediately widened. "Alright, fine! There's a warehouse in the middle of the market place, some of Fade's contacts work out there. Go ask them some questions. Gently, of course" the captain said. The Saints leader and the former C-sec nodded as they made their wau to the market district. The trip wasn't that hard, for once Boss didn't have someone shooting him wherever he went. Of course when it came to the Saints becoming an icon, gangs stopped trying to kill him. Mostly it was just government and cops. Then the Syndicate and S.T.A.G. ordeal happened, but they were quickly dealt with. And finally being the president only made him targets were terrorists. Then came the aliens, which was a weird chapter in Boss's life, but he was an Emperor now… unless they couldn't find a way back. In that case the Saints would just start from scratch in this universe again. Back to finding the warehouse, other than the odd glares Boss received due to his armor, and the symbol, he finally found an entrance leading to a set of stairs going down, a human and salarian arguing near it.

"This looks like the place" Garrus noted. Boss wordlessly descended the steps, opening the door into what appeared to be a storage room. Two krogans in green armor gave both of them a shifty look as a volus in a green suit appeared from behind a crate.

"So what's with you, shorty?" Boss sniggered as he saw the round alien.

"What are you doing here?" the volus asked.

"We be looking for a guy named Fade. You wouldn't happen to be Fade, would ya?"

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not, that all depends on which one of you two wants to disappear"

"I'd rather see you make someone reappear" Garrus growled.

"Uh… t-that's not the service we supply" the volus said, growing tense.

"Make an exception. Just this once" Garrus said in a demanding voice, pulling a unfolding a pistol and aiming it at the volus.

"Damnit, quick! Shoot them1 Sho-" the volus yelled, but was cut off as Boss grabbed two alien pistols from his waist, aiming each at the head of a krogan, firing the alien magnums as the lasers put holes in the lizards heads, causing them to drop.

"You really outta consider hiring bodyguards with helmets. Just sayin'" Boss recommended as he aimed the two guns at the volus.

"…Why do I even bother?" the volus sighed as he breathed a breath through the helmet.

"Anyway, we're looking for a customer of yours-" Boss started, but was cut off when the volus started waving his small arms.

"Not mine, I'm not Fade! I just work for him… sort of"

"Well then where is he?" the volus was startled as Boss shot one of his pistols, creating a black scorch mark on the ground next to the informant.

"H-he's in the factory district, works out of the old prefab foundry"

"I know the place" Garrus informed.

"Oh, he's got a lot of guards there. Blue Suns. Harkon thinks they're protecting him"

"So the guys name is Harkon?" Boss asked, the volus cringing at his slipup.

"He used to work at C-sec, but got fired awhile back. He used his knowledge of C-sec an their systems to help people disappear. Then he made himself disappear, and Fade was born… so to speak." the volus explained.

"Interesting, but it changes nothing, we still need to find him before we can get to Sidonis" Garrus said.

"Ah, first Dex, now this guy. Well let's go, we got Suns to kill." Boss said with enthusiasm.

"Yeah, I'm sure he'll be real eager to see me… we'll need to go to the transit station, I can get us to him from there" the turian explained.

"So I, uh… I can go?" the volus nervously asked.

"Sure, but if we don't find Harkin, we'll be back for you" Garrus said, flashing his gun.

"Oh… good…" the volus said dejectedly as he walked away. With the new information the two had acquired, they immediately set out to a transit station, a glowing orange terminal, one of many scattered around, and ordered a cab as Garrus got in the drivers seat, the hover car driving off.

"Why can't I drive?" Boss asked.

"One, I'm the only one that knows where this place is. Two, Aaron told me about your driving"

"I'm not that bad…"

"He told me about the V-TOL"

"…Man screw you, Aaron"


Factory district

The factory district, in layman's terms, was basically a district full of shipping crates, and also means of construction. The only difference was a lone balding man, Harkin, standing in a clearing, along with multiple blue suns around him. Upon hearing the sounds of a hover car, the mercs and Harkin looked up to see a car drop down in front of them, Boss and Garrus stepping out.

"Holy hell, Vakarian!?" Harkin shouted in surprise before he ran off, the Blue Suns getting in a defensive position.

"Run all you want Harkin, we'll find you!" Garrus yelled behind the fleeing forger as he readied his sniper rifle, Boss readying his alien rifle. The turian got into cover while Boss just stood there, the mercs shrugging as the slugs hit him.

"Hey, take cover!" Garrus shouted as he took pot shots at the mercs.

"Nah, the mass field thingies on the bullets aren't powerful enough for this armor, and the bullets themselves are grain-sized, these bullets ain't doin' shit!"

"What the hell is that thing made of?"

Boss smirked under his helmet. "Zinite" he said simply as he slammed his foot down, creating a shockwave that threw the mercs back, allowing Boss to pick them off with his laser-spewing rifle as the two pursued Harkin.

"So, you have all of Aaron's powers?" Garrus asked.

"Yeah, but I don't have the dark-eezo thing, or a super sword or O.M.G., just these things and all the other powers" at that moment a troublesome blue shipping container decided to open, two LOKI mechs walking out, more mechs and mercs not far behind. Garrus blew the heads off of the two mechs and Boss said, "Kill the other bots, I'm goin' for the mercs!" Garrus nodded in conformation as Boss sprinted up to the group and impaled his fist in the chest of a human merc, tossing him to the side as Boss laughed mercilessly. A turian merc decided to try and hit him with his assault rifle, only for Boss to kick the merc in the groin, sending him skyrocketing several feet while Boss jumped up, grabbing the turian as he screamed in high-pitch pain as Boss threw him on the ground, landing on his head and smashing it. LAstly, he sprinted at a batarian merc, grabbing him and rolling on the ground with him before he grabbed the alien's feet, throwing him into a mech, causing the robot to explode and the merc to die.

Garrus ran up to the Boss and said, "Damn, that was amazing"

"And all without a gun… I kind of did that in my old universe in the simulation, just sprinted around and beat people up with super powers"

"…"

"Hey, they were just simulations, chill"

"…Okay then" Garrus shrugged as they continued along, Harkin shouting profanities at them. "I'm gonna shoot this fucker's mouth off when we find him…" Boss growled as he sighted two more mechs coming out of a container, getting an idea and switched over to the mind control element on his blast. Back in the simulation, he used this to hack and control the programs in the simulation, though he was told be Kinzie it would likely not work in the real world on organics. When he asked Aaron, he said he had tried once, but all it did was cause a headache to the victim. But mechs were synthetic, so with this in mind Boss fired a green pixilated blast at the two mechs, the blast exploding and causing the two mechs to twitch before the light on their bodies and visors turned from red to purple, and walked into a position that would support the two.

"Huh, well that's handy. I can hack mechs!" Boss stated proudly.

"How long will that last?" Garrus questioned.

"I dunno, five minutes?" Boss guessed. They both shrugged as they came to a new clearing full of shipping containers.

"Harkin's here. I can smell him" Garrus said.

"…What the hell does he smell like?" Boss asked, emitting a small chuckle.

"Sweat. And fear. Mixed with a fine blend of garbage" the turian spat.

"That… is really weird, dude" Boss commented as more mechs and mercs arrived. With the new information about his hacking power, Boss hacked any mech he saw, the mechs killing the mercs. Garrus was slightly in awe with the Saint. Usually when someone, like Tali, hacked a synthetic it usually didn't last long, and only one could be hacked at a time. With Boss, he could hack as many as he wanted, and they seemed to last a extremely long time. The process of hacking mechs and just watching as mercs were killed continued for a few more waves of enemies, Boss and Garrus growing quite bored, Boss busy hack-blasting and Garrus passing the time by trying to find and shoot the speakers Harkin's voice was coming out of. Alas, they eventually hit a snag: a YMIR mech fell from the ceiling of the giant complex, the giant mech stomping towards them.

"Well that's not good… oh, I am so hacking that thing" Boss said.

"You can't with that shield…" Garrus retorted.

"We'll see 'bout that!" Boss shouted and sent a green blast, only for it to have no effect.

"Oh… you got something that can take care of that?" Boss asked.

"Yeah, I'll overload it" Garrus explained, proceeding to overload the shields of the giant mech. The YMIR sighted Garrus and fired a rocket at him, the ex-cop taking cover, while Boss sent another blast, hacking the giant mech as it's lights turned purple. The mech turned around at the twenty mercs behind it… before it opened fire, the mercs deciding to cut their losses and retreating.

"Aw man, you see the looks on their faces… well, the non-helmeted ones. Run! RUN! No one imagines perishing at the hands of their own giant robot!" Boss laughed crazily, before he broke out into song as the YMIR started slaughtering the mercs. "He's my favorite robot pal! CID was okay, but he didn't do shit! It's a pretty cool party, come and see! You can get a robot and come killin' with me" Boss's song was cut short when all the mercs were killed, and the hack wore off, the mech exploding. "-sniff- I named him… McSplodey McKillington… but I never got the chance to tell him that… he will be remembered…"

"Can we just get Harkin?" an annoyed Garrus asked.

"…Killjoy" Boss grumbled as he followed the turian into a small warehouse, a window overlooking the remaining part of the district and the building Harkin was in at the very end. Boss noticed there was a datapad with a forged ID on a desk next to the window, and pocketed the device. Boss saw that Garrus was looking forlornly at the window, and went over to his side.

"Thinking about why your doing this?" Boss asked.

Garrus sighed. "Yeah. I just… I just don't know. Is this really worth it?"

"Garrus, if you don't do this, your going to regret not doing this. This is one of those things that we have to do"

"But why?"

"Hey, do you want your revenge?"

"…Yes"

"Then that's why we're doing this. Plus we're already far enough that we can see him on the other side over there, so we might as well. Look, I didn't wuss out when Julius betrayed me. You shouldn't either"

"Yeah… yeah, your right. C'mon, let's go" the two left the building, the only thing standing between them and Harkin being Blue Suns and mechs, so many mechs…

Hackable mechs.

"So here comes the process of me hacking mechs as they take care of the mercs for us" Boss explained as he flung out his mind-control blasts, the mechs turning purple as they turned on the blue mercs. While the mechs were busy slaughtering all of the Blue Suns, Garrus and Boss decided to just keep moving forward, Harkin continuing to yell at them over the loudspeakers. The two reached the building, perched on a platform and only accessible by climbing the large stairs. Boss saw Harkin in the building and saw he was at a control terminal, retracting the stairs as two cranes on the ceiling carried two massive objects towards the pair.

"Oh, crap! Two heavy mechs!" Garrus warned as the cranes dropped two YMIR mechs, the mechs laanding and unfolding, Boss being between Boss as Garrus took cover. Thinking fast, Boss ran to the mech on the left, jumping on it's shoulder as he ripped it's head off. The second mech fired a rocket, but Boss grabbed it with telekinesis, throwing the rocket back at the YMIR, dropping it's shield. With this in mind, Boss dropped behind the decapitated mech, activating electric buffer as he grabbed it's gatling gun arm, shorting it out and forcing it to fire on it's fellow mech, the damage forcing the second YMIR to explode. Boss gestured to Garrus as the stairs rose again, Boss jumping up them and Garrus climbing up them as the first mech shorted out, then exploded.

Meanwhile in the building, Harkin was freaking out as he attempted to do anything he could to delay the duo, but it was useless as the door opened, Boss walking through. With no other plan in mind, Harkin attempted to run, only to be upercutted by Garrus, sending him to the floor in a cry of pain.

"Hello, Harkin. Or should I say Fade?" Garrus hotly asked.

"Ugh, Vakarian, what are you doing?" Harkin asked, his head throbbing.

"I'll say it in a way you'll understand, there's a guy we're looking for, Sidonis. Where is he?" Boss questioned.

"Sidonis? I can't just tell you where he is, it's be… bad for business" the forger explained. anger welled up in Garrus as he put his foot on Harkin's throat, saying, "You know what else is 'bad for business'? A broken neck"

"Agh, alright, alright! I'll make a call, just get off of me!" Harkin pleaded as Garrus removed his foot. Harkin got up and went over to a terminal, pressing a series of buttons as he contacted someone.

"Hello?" a voice said from the other side.

"Yeah, it's me. Your position is compromised, I'm sending someone to pick you up. Rendezvous is outside the Orbital Lounge, noon"

"Alright" the voice said as the connection was cut. Harkin turned to the two and said, "Well, I guess I'll be taking me leave now-"

Garrus relentlessly grabbed Harkin and said, "I'm afraid not, Harkin. You're a criminal now, and do you know what I do with criminals?"

"Huh… terminus really changed you, didn't it Vakarian?"

"No, it didn't change me. It showed me the light" Garrus concluded as he set Harkin down, only to aim a pistol at his leg.

"Garrus, wait!" Boss interrupted, only to take his alien pistol out, shooting Harkin in the jaw, the force ripping the lower appendage off, Harkin rolling on the ground in pain as he emitted a guttural gurgle. The two took their leave, Boss saying as soon as he saw Garrus's glare, "What? I said I would"


Lounge overlook

After dealing with Harkin, the small squad went back to the car, Garrus driving them to a area that overlooked the lounge Sidonis was supposed to be in. Garrus sighed and Boss looked over at him.

"Second thoughts?" Boss guessed.

"No, we're doing this. Sidonis will pay for what he did"

"Your right. So, what's the plan?"

"You just draw him out, I'll take the shot"

"…We damn, that seems simple. Alright, let's do it" Boss got out of the car as Garrus got into position with a sniper rifle, Boss hopping down to the lounge level and sighting a turian in blue formal wear. The turian spotted him and walked over to him. Garrus contacted Boss over a headset and said, "That's him. Just keep him occupied"

Sidonis walked in front of Boss and asked, "You the contact?"

"Almost ready…" Garrus relayed.

"Um, well not exactly. More of a guy that needs to relay a message to you"

"Message?" Sidonis asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Yeah. It's from Garrus. He says 'hey'"

Sidonis's eyes widened in shock. "Garrus? Oh, shit…" he whispered to himself as he turned around and briskly walked away.

GArrus exhaled as he looked through the scope of the sniper rifle, the reticule trained on the back of Sidonis's head. Finally, after so long he will have avenged his squad mates. His revenge. "Eye for a eye, Sidonis" Garrus whispered. Then he pulled the trigger.

A/N- So, sorry for the long wait. Had to do more stuff, but I will never abandon this story. You have my word! Anyway, we did two loyalty missions, so we're making progress. Next chapter will have less story progress, and more… Saint-related stuff.

don't really have much to say this time, except for the usual reminder that if any of you have recommendations on how to improve my writing or just general questions, feel free to PM me.

Oh, before I forget! I'll do something special since I kept you all waiting. During Boss's song when he took over the YMIR mech, if anybody can identify which game it came from, I'll do something special for them. And I will give you a hint, the game begins with a 'B'.

Anyway, I need to post this, so cya!