A/N: Whoo, got another chapter out for now! Its for a damn good reason since this' my longest chapter ever yet. Here is when things start to steer a bit off from the original storyline I thought about. Also, Tali makes an entrance into the story, yay Talimancers!
Italics: Thinking
"Talking"
Also forgot to post disclaimers for my previous chapters, might as well start.
Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect and its characters. They are owned by Bioware. But however, I do own the OC, Dakkben Slade, along with some OC's I might put in.
Chapter 4: Evidence
All I could see was death, destruction and pain. That was all I could see before I blacked out.
I slowly open my eyes, seeing the familiar blue hue.
I must be in the Normandy.
I can hear Williams' voice as she spoke.
"Doctor? Doctor Chakwas? I think he's waking up."
While I was slowly getting myself up, Bloody headache..., I slowly put my head in my hands. Then I turned to face a woman in a medical uniform with silvery white hair.
"You had us worried there, Shepard. How are you feeling?" the woman, I recognized as Doctor Chakwas asked.
I simply shrugged and asked "How did I end up here? How long was I out?".
"About fifteen hours. Something happened down there with the beacon, I think" Doctor Chakwas replied.
"Its my fault. I must have triggered some kind of security field when I approached it. You and Slade managed to get me out of the way." Williams added with a tone of remorse.
"You had no way to know what would happen" I said to try to reassure her.
"Actually, we don't even know if that's what set if off. Unfortunately, we'll never get the chance to find out." Doctor Chakwas added.
"The beacon exploded, it was overloaded, maybe. The blast knocked you out cold. Slade managed to carry you back here to the ship." Williams remarked.
Huh? A man alone was able to carry me along with my armor and weapons? He might be handy to have around.
"Well then, I better tell him my thanks when I see him. And thank you, Williams for telling me" I said as I took a moment to observe Williams' posture. She seemed to lighten up from my words and offered a small smile in reply.
"Physically, you're fine. But I detected some unusual brain activity, abnormal beta waves. I also noticed an increase in your rapid eye movement, signs typically associated with intense dreaming." the doctor noted as she took a moment to observe her datapad.
"I-I'm not sure what I saw, death, destruction. Nothing's really clear." I sighed as I took the time to massage the back of my neck in an effort to soothe my headache. The doctor seemed to be interested in what I said and said "Hmmm. I better add this to my report. It may-Oh, Captain Anderson.". I quickly got to my feet and glanced over to Captain Anderson.
"How's our XO holding up, Doctor?" he asked, cautiously observing both myself and Doctor Chakwas.
"All the readings look normal. I'd say that the Commander's going to be fine." the doctor replied.
Captain Anderson Nodded before saying "Good to hear it. Shepard, I need to speak with you, in private".
Williams gave a brisk salute in reply as she said "Aye, aye, Captain. I'll be in the mess if you need me." She left along with Doctor Chakwas behind her.
"Sounds like that beacon hit you pretty hard, Commander. You sure you're okay?" Captain Anderson asked, a tone of concern noticed in his usually stoic voice.
"I'll live." I replied briskly, glad to see that Captain Anderson was concerned with my well-being.
"I won't lie to you, Shepard. Things look bad. Nihlus is dead. The beacon was destroyed and Geth are invading. The Council's going to want answers." Captain Anderson added as he glanced over the datapad he had in his hand.
"The Geth would have wiped out the whole colony if I and the others hadn't stopped them. " I said.
"I'll stand behind you and your report, Shepard. You and Slade are damned heroes in my books. That's not why I'm here. Its Saren, that other turian. Saren's a Spectre, one of the best. A living legend. But if he's working with the Geth, it means he's gone rogue. A rogue Spectre's trouble. Saren's dangerous. And he hates humans." Captain explained.
Wait, I understand why he thinks I'm a hero, considering what I did back then during the Skyllian Blitz all the years ago. But, what did Slade do to have Captain Anderson consider him as a hero equal to me?
I raised my one of my eyebrows in a curious thought in what exactly Slade did. Captain Anderson seemed to noticed what I was thinking and only offered a brief shake of his head "If you want to know what he did, ask him later, but...don't be surprised if he doesn't open up about it right away. What he went through was brutal, maybe the worst anyone in the Alliance had to go through." Captain Anderson replied as he seemed to glance down, his face momentarily in sorrow.
Wow, whatever Slade went though was that bad? Maybe I should be careful in how I ask him about whatever he did...or experienced.
"Anyways. He didn't come to Eden Prime because he hates humans." I said as Captain Anderson glanced back up to face myself, his face in almost thin veil behind anger and disgust.
"You're right. Saren has allied himself with the Geth. I don't know how, I don't know why. But it had something to do with that beacon. You were there just before the beacon self-destructed. Did you see anything? Any clue that might tell us what Saren was after?" Anderson said as he paced back and forth in the Med-Bay.
I only leaned back onto the medical bed before replying "Just before I lost consciousness. I had some kind of vision."
Anderson seemed curious so he replied "A vision? A vision of what?".
"I saw synthetics. Geth, maybe. Slaughtering people, butchering them." I replied.
He seemed to be taken aback at what I said. "We need to report this to the Council, Shepard." he said.
I sighed as I replied "What are we going to tell them? I had a bad dream?".
"We don't know what information was stored in that beacon. Lost Prothean technology? Blueprints for some ancient weapon of mass destruction? Whatever it was, Saren took it." he replied.
His words gave me chills to my spine. "But I know Saren. I know his reputation, his politics. He believes humans are a blight on the galaxy. This attack was an act of war! He has the secrets from the beacon. He has an army of Geth at his command. And he won't stop until he's wiped humanity from the face of the galaxy!" he continued.
"I'll find some way to take him down" I reassured him.
"Its not that easy. He's a Spectre. He can go anywhere, do almost anything. That's why we need the Council on our side." he said with a sigh.
"We'll prove Saren's gone rogue and the Council will revoke his Spectre status." I replied.
"I'll contact the ambassador, and see if he can get us an audience with the Council. He'll want to see us as soon as we reach the Citadel. We should be getting close. Head up to the bridge and tell Joker to bring us in the dock." He said as he gave a soft pat on my shoulder before he left.
I only sighed as I was left alone with my thoughts in the Med-Bay.
Maybe I should check in on Slade and thank him for getting me onto the Normandy. Maybe I can convince him to stay on the crew considering we have room since...
I only grimaced as I remembered the death of one of the new recruits for the ground team, Jenkins. The fresh recruit was recently killed on Eden Prime when they had encountered the Geth Drones. He only sighed as he left the Med-Bay, he walked into the mess hall, noticing Williams at one of the tables.
She was staring into her rations with a disgust as she forced the grey goop into her mouth before spitting it back out. Only to try to shove it back in again. I cleared my throat, catching her attention as she turned to my direction while still trying to eat the rations.
"Know where Slade is?" I asked.
She managed to swallow the horribly tasting food before replying "Saw him went down to Engineering after he brought you to the Med-Bay." I nodded my thanks as I walked away towards the elevator...
xXx
"Allright, boss. I'm avoiding the doctor like the plague, but, she's sure as hell as persistent as krogans are angry in the middle of a bloodrage." I said to my boss, careful to keep my voice down.
The voice over the other end of my secure link only sighed as it replied "Good, now, we have plans in place to explain your...unique physique and shadowed past."
He means to explain how I ended up being capable of taking a shotgun blast standing and survive, that and I worked for Cerberus while being in the Alliance several times. Hmmm, might make it easier on me to keep my lies straight than trying to bullshit my way out. Hope he got a good one set up.
"Allright, what is it?" I said as I glanced around the Engineering Deck, making sure I was truly alone.
"First, when you arrive at the Citadel. Find a way to get yourself alone and change into the civilian clothes we have hidden at the provided location. Then we will contact you with further details." the voice replied as the link ended with a click. Strangely enough, I could picture the smug face of the Illusive Man from the other end of the link knowing that he practically had my future at stake.
Well, considering that he could plaster my face all over the extranet about my connections to Cerberus.
I heard footsteps coming from behind as I turned my omni-tool off, I made sure to maintain a casual stature as I turned to the source of the sounds. I recognized the man as Commander Shepard.
Looks like he wants to talk, hope I didn't do anything wrong, well, yet anyways.
"Hey, Slade. I, uh, wanted to say thanks for carrying me all the way to the Normandy after I was knocked out." He said as he glanced over to myself. I noticed he seemed curious about me, like he wanted to ask something personal, but was barely holding back.
I formed a grin as I replied "Well, its no problem, sir. After all, leave no man behind, right?"
"Yeah. Slade, you don't have to do all of those formalities. I like to get to know my crew. You can call me Shepard. Although I like to keep John reserved for the 'ladies'." He replied as he put an emphasis on
ladies with a suggestive eyebrow gesture. The both of us ended up laughing in a uproar as Engineer Adams walked in, he nervously looked at the both of us as if we were on drugs. That nervous look only led to the both of us laughing even harder, barely being able to breathe.
As the both of us was able to calm down from the laughter, I was able to collect my thoughts as I realized what Shepard said before. "Wait, Com-I mean, Shepard. You said you like to get to know your crew, does that mean..." I asked.
He nodded with a soft smile before answering "Yes. I'm having both you and Gunnery Chief Williams transferred onto the crew of the Normandy, so welcome aboard." as he offered a hand.
I took the offered hand and gave a firm handshake, noticing his soft smile momentarily flashing to one of curiosity before changing back again. "Well, thanks Shepard. I could use a change of post, considering what happened on Eden." I said as he gave a knowing nod.
"Well, we'll be coming up on the Citadel shortly. I'll be taking both Kaiden and Williams to meet the Council. So everyone else will have a short shore leave for now until the meeting is over." He replied.
Well, that takes care of the being alone problem. Now, I better get to my civvies, change and get outta here before the good doctor finds me.
"Thanks Shepard. I could use a bit of a break for now. I'll catch ya later." I replied with another grin.
He only nods as he turns back around to leave me alone with Engineer Adams. I noticed Engineer Adams glancing back and forth between myself and his console. "Don't worry, it was a bad joke. See ya." I said to Engineer Adams, he only replied with a slight nod before looking back to his console.
Poor guy, he could use another engineer to help out around here, he seems swamped in work.
Shaking my head, I activated my omni-tool, the orange glow illuminating against the blue hue of the drive core. I opened up the note I received from the boss with a sigh.
'Located under assigned Sleep Pod. Code: Sten'
Huh? Sten? Better get to my Pod then.
I casually walked over to the elevator and pressed the button for the Crew Quarters where the Sleep Pods was located. I was only glad they gave me a Sleep Pod instead of putting me on the Hot Bunking. Personally, I wished they gave me one of the private quarters on the deck, but probably not. The elevator was surprisingly slow as well.
You think that on the most advanced ship that ever exists in both Alliance and Turian ship technology, that they would have a much more efficient method of moving the elevator? Nope.
The elevator doors opened with a hiss as I cautiously peeked my head out, checking for any silver-haired doctors waiting to ambush me. After confirming I didn't see any, I quickly made my way out of the elevator and checked over the Sleep Pods' names.
'Alenko' Nice guy, bit too by the book, but certainly someone you want on your side.
'Adams' Seems a bit nervous, but that's just probably me.
'Pressly' A bit stern, seems to be a bit xenophoic. Reminds me too much of Cerberus, and I don't like it.
I noticed another Sleep Pod that had a name tag with 'Jenkins' on it, but there was a note posted onto the name tag. 'Jenkins was KIA at Eden Prime. Until for further notice, this Sleep Pod will remain vacant in respect for the man's sacrifice.'
I only sighed, taking a moment to mutter few words of compassion. Even though I never met the man, it always hurt to hear about a fellow soldier die in battle.
Not especially since-
I shook my head before I could complete my thoughts. I didn't want to remember what happened back then all the years ago. I only sighed as I pushed ahead to search for my Sleep Pod.
'Slade' Yup, found it.
As promised, the Sleep Pod had a medium sized crate underneath it, I noticed a datapad attached on the side. I pressed in the given password and the crate popped open as the datapad beeped in affirmative tone. I opened the crate fully and gave myself a soft chuckle. I took my uniform off as quickly as I could, making sure to put them into the crate as I pulled out the civilian clothes out along with a small pistol and a shield belt. I put on the darker blue jeans along with the shield belt onto it. I noticed that the white tank top was larger than my size, realizing that it was so it could cover the shield belt.
Crude, but clever.
So I put the white tank top, its fabric loosely clinging onto my skin as I swung the black leather jacket on. I noticed the black leather jacket had a built in holster on the left side for the small pistol.
Good, don't want to go out unarmed.
I picked up my worn dog tags from my working in the Alliance under Cerberus control, and I took the time to look at it.
Worn, faded, but always refusing to perish. Just like me.
I placed it over on my neck, letting it dangle over my tank top. Making sure I had everything on before I closed the crate and returned it under the Sleep Pod. I made my way back to the elevator, carefully positioning myself so I could quickly hide if Doctor Chakwas was in the elevator. The doors opened with a hiss and I sighed in relief.
No doctor, better hurry now.
I quickly made my way into the elevator and pressed the button for CIC, internally thanking that the Med-Bay was located under the CIC. However with every passing, slow, tortuously slow second in the elevator did well to whittle away at that confidence I had only moments ago. The doors opened to reveal the CIC, there was several of the crew workers around the CIC, either working on the various consoles or chatting around. I took a slow breath and walked past various Alliance members, some of them taking the time to glance over to my direction, and I noticed something in their glances, signs of respect?
It must because that I carried Shepard back here, he is their 'hero' after all, how often does one have the chance to help out the Lion of Elysium?
I could hear various voices talking ahead near the airlock, a firm, commanding voice, Shepard. A slightly firm, yet softer voice, Alenko. A blunt, yet feminine voice, Ash. But the fourth I didn't recognize, it was sarcastic, deep, mature yet childish at the same time.
Must be their pilot.
As I made my way to join the others, I noticed Ash looked back to me with a huff. "What, Ash? You jealous that I get shore leave while you gotta bust your fine ass for the Council?" I remarked. I could see her cheeks turn slightly pink as the pilot cracked up in a loud cackle of laughter, Kaiden was snickering while holding his stomach. Shepard, however was glaring in my direction. Worried that I had gone overboard I was about to apologize before I noticed that Shepard was barely able to keep his laughter in with one hand clamped onto his mouth and the other pinching the bridge of his nose. The pilot afforded a glance back to reply "Damn, that was good. I like him already. Anyways, Shepard. we're docked aboard the Citadel.". Shepard nodded as he motioned for both Kaiden and Ash to follow him with Kaiden nodding in my direction and Ash blowing a raspberry in my general direction as Shepard left through the airlock.
"So, what's your name, eh?" the pilot asked as he turned around in his chair.
"Ahh, Slade." I replied as I glanced over my shoulder, checking to see if Doctor Chakwas found me yet.
"Slade, eh? I'm Joker and I'm the best damn pilot in the Allia-no, the whole damn galaxy!" Joker replied as he waved his arms around for dramatization, drawing a chuckle from myself.
"Really? All the women must be lining up for a piece of the best pilot in the whole galaxy, then?" I quipped.
He only sighs as he shakes his head. "eh, you don't notice do you?" he asked.
"Notice what?" I replied, curious of what he meant.
"I got Vrolik's Syndrome, can't do much without breaking every damn bone I got. And don't treat me any different, got it?" Joker said as his voice turned stern, which was surprisingly different from his previously carefree tone.
He sure doesn't like being treated like he is different.
Deciding to play along with Joker's advice, I replied "Sure, as long there is one bone you'll never break, there is hope, eh?" along with a suggestive gesture using both my hands.
Joker only laughed as he turned back around to do whatever he was doing before I talked to him.
"Allright, I'll be going now, see ya later, boner." I said as I made my way to the airlock.
I could hear Joker reply back "Yeah, yeah. At least I could keep it in my pants long enough to finish downloading my good stuff"
Damn it, Joker. I don't need that image right now!
Mentally cursing to myself as I walked down the ramp onto the Citadel, taking a moment to absorb in the scene of the Citadel.
No matter how many times I've been here, this place never ceases to amaze me. Now where do I go? Flux sounds good.
So then I made my way to the instant transit console and was about to get a cab when my omni-tool beeped, realizing it could be the boss calling about the plan he got set up. I took the moment to run into an alley I noticed, making sure that there was nobody around to eavesdrop. I opened my omni-tool and completed the link.
The familiar cold voice of the Illusive Man rang out "Operative Slade. I will make this brief. The Council will not believe Shepard until we get hard evidence into his hands, however our sources indicates that a Quarian by the name of Tali'Zorah nar Rayya had come into sensitive information linking Saren to Eden Prime. She had contacted our friend, the Shadow Broker for protection. But she doesn't know that Fist is working for Saren. She is currently in Chora's Den, waiting to contact Fist. Find her first, protect her from Saren's assassins. Also, as for the plan we discussed earlier, you must send her to the Human Embassy and get yourself captured by the outside mercenary group we sent after you, don't worry, we have made specific instructions to them to not kill you. However, expect yourself to be roughed up before being rescued. It will help explain everything involving your physique and past. Make sure you don't give away more unnecessary information than you require. Oh, also, yes when you are done with the mercenary group we sent after you, you may exterminate them. Godspeed"
The link was cut out before I could even utter a single word, sighing, I quickly made my way to the instant transit and got a cab. I gave the order to transport me to the nearest location to Chora's Den. I flinched as I realized how the Illusive Man said 'exterminate', as if the mercenaries were vermin. I shook my head softly as I noticed the cab had landed near the Chora's Den. I paid the driver several credits as I left the cab. I took a slow breath as I made my way to the entrance of the Chora's Den, but before I could get in, the krogan bouncer stood in my way.
"Human, go elsewhere" the krogan snarled while I was unfazed. I noticed a Quarian across the bar, looking around nervously.
That must be Tali.
"Any chance I can change your mind?" I asked the krogan.
He snorted before opening his omni-tool "100 creds or I throw you out." he growled at me.
Sighing as I opened my omni-tool to give him the credits, he snorted again before moving out of my way.
Good thing the Illusive Man pays well.
I calmly made my way to the bar, keeping casual behavior as I ignored the asari dancers. I motioned the turian bartender to approach.
"What do you want?" the turian bartender gruffly said as he cleaned out one of the glasses.
"Surprise me." I replied.
Since I'm here, can't hurt to grab a drink, might help me to blend in.
The turian only turned around before giving me a glass filled with some kind of greenish fluid in it. I also noticed there was blue fruits floating around in the glass as well. I raised the glass to my lips.
Down the hatch.
And I drank the liquor, the taste was fruity, and surprisingly, it also burned my throat. I only chuckled to myself as I put the glass down at the counter. Thanking the bartender, I paid him as I leaned forward, pretending to act slightly buzzed.
After all, after what Cerberus did to me, I could hardly could get drunk. Only one thing that could get me even slightly buzzed was Ryncol, and I hardly think they wouldn't be suspicious of me if I downed a whole gallon of it and not end up puking my guts out.
The turian only gave me a slight nod before resuming to his duties, attending to other customers. I took a casual glance over my shoulder to the Quarian. I noticed she seemed to be still nervous, constantly glancing back and forth from the exit out of the Chora's Den and to several krogan bodyguards standing post near some double doors.
Must be where Fist's offices are, it doesn't matter. I'm not here to kill him anyways. Lets see how I'll do this...
Option 1: I could just waltz right up to Tali and tell her I know everything and I'll get her to the Embassy to Shepard so he could present her 'evidence'. Problem with that is that if I tell her I know who she is, chances are, she'll try to blow my head off with that shotgun she got.
Option 2: I could follow her around and run in to rescue her if Saren's assassin's shows up. Hmmm, too risky, and it might take too long.
Option 3...
xXx
I nervously look around the dirty, filthy, scum covered bar, flinching in disdain at the sight of nearly naked asari dancers as I waited for a reply from Fist. I noticed a human at the bar drinking a glass, he seemed to be out of place. While the others were either busy drowning in liquor or staring lecherously at the asari dancers, he just simply stared into his glass. I continued to watch him before I sighed as I glanced away from the human, only to realize he glanced back to me.
Keelah...Did he notice that I was watching him?
The nervousness I felt had skyrocketed when the human got off his seat and made his way to my booth, he calmly sat down across me.
Keelah! Is he going to do something? Is he going to threaten me?
The human just glanced up to me, making eye contact as he was about to say something as he froze. His stare wasn't just a stare of disgust or anger, but curiosity...and something else. Compassion? In his moment of hesitance, I noticed the human had deep silver eyes, an unusual trait amongst humans, and he had a faint scar underneath his left side of his jawbone. The human only offered a soft smile before saying "Don't worry. I'm...just tired that's all. I just needed someplace to sit that isn't near scum." as he glanced downwards.
The human isn't angry, or disgusted with me? But, I'm a Quarian...
"erm...I'm sorry, but why are you tired? I mean uh...you could sit anywhere else. Why sit in a booth occupied by a Quarian?" I asked the human.
The human only chuckled softly as he glanced back up to me, looking at my visor, no, not my visor, but into my eyes. "Well, for starters. I've learned that races, species, religion, whatever, it all means nothing. I know better than to judge an individual by their stereotypes. Hell, I don't scream thief every time I see a Quarian. Unless of course that Quarian DID actually steal something from me."
I gasped in surprise from the human's kindness and apparent wisdom, before I knew it, I was leaning over the table to get closer to the human. He doesn't seem to mind as he glanced over to my right, in the direction of Fist's office. "Well, since I'm here. Might as well introduce myself, my name's Dakkben Slade, Serviceman of the formerly active 212 unit." He said as he took out a hand.
Remembering the human custom from many observations of human behaviors I've noticed, I took his hand, the feel of five fingers instead of three made it feel foreign and embarrassingly enough I liked the feel of his strong hold against my gloved hand. "T-Tali, I mean. Tali'Zorah nar Rayya." I managed to stutter.
The stutter didn't seem to faze the human as he smiled to me as I felt heat rise up to my cheeks, he didn't seem to be bad enough after all. "Pleased to meet you, Miss Zorah. I presume that the Rayya was the ship you were born on, right?" Slade replied.
I could only gasp in shock again, not only was this human, this Dakkben Slade was treating me as an equal, but he had knowledge of Quarian culture. I could only release his hand after shaking it, he gave a sheepish grin before saying "Yeah, I know, it not every day that you meet a human on your Pilgrimage that knows more about Quarians than your average bosh'tet." along with a soft chuckle,
I could only gasp further in surprise, and strange fascination with this human.
He did say he's a Serviceman, does that mean he's part of the Alliance? And what does he mean by formerly active?
"So...Slade..." I began.
"Dakkben, Miss Zorah, you can call me Dakkben." Jack interjected with a smile. That smile sent flutters back into my stomach.
Keelah...
"Dakkben, what did you mean? Formerly active?" I asked, observing his face. As I noticed he seemed to glanced down in sorrow, his handsomely chiseled face that would make any woman me-Keelah, focus!
"I'm sorry, did I offend you?" I added, worried that Dakkben was insulted.
"Ahh, don't worry. Its just that...By formerly, I meant, everyone else is dead. You got the Geth to thank for that. The damn bastards hit us hard, took everyone out. Me and the Gunnery Chief, Ash barely stayed alive to be rescued by Commander Shepard." He said as he glanced back up to meet my eyes.
Shepard? The Lion of Elysium Shepard? We've studied his methods to protect our Flotilla from slaver attacks!
"Keelah...I'm sorry, about what happened. If it wasn't for the Quarians, nobody would have died at Eden Pr-" But before I could finish my words, Dakkben had placed his index finger onto my mouthpiece, making a soft shushing sound.
"Don't worry, Tali. I don't blame you. The only Quarians I blame for Eden Prime have been dead for almost three hundred years." He said with a smile, a true smile of compassion. I could feel myself blush furiously as I thanked Keelah for my visor so he couldn't see me blush.
As he took his index finger off my mouthpiece, I began to think about what he said.
If he had survived Eden Prime, does that mean he might want to find evidence for the ones responsible of the invasion in the first place?
"Dakkben...erm, why are you still here? I mean...you say that you survived Eden Prime, right? Why not go to the Council and try to get their support?" I asked.
Dakkben only sighed as he leaned back into his seat before replying "Well, knowing the Council. I highly doubt that the testimony of a shell-shocked dockworker and a human whose mind that had been screwed over by an ancient Prothean beacon would be enough to get them to revoke Saren's Spectre status. Hell, the bastard's probably grinning to himself while Shepard and Captain Anderson's trying to convince the Council. We need hard evidence, which we don't have. Plus, Shepard gave me shore leave until the meeting's over. So...yeah.".
Wait. He needs evidence to prove Saren's behind Eden Prime! It'll be better to give him the evidence than risk handing it over to the Shadow Broker for sure.
"Dakkben..." I whispered in a low voice as I leaned forward onto the counter. Dakkben seemed to be piqued with curiosity as he leaned closer to me. "What would you do if...I told you I had evidence you need?" I asked quietly.
His eyebrows shot up in surprise as he seemed to take a moment to think through what I said. "Well...I would get you to the Human Embassy so you could give the evidence to Shepard so he could prove Saren's link to Eden Prime." He whispered back, his tone had both caution and concern.
"Well...then...lead the way..." I whispered in reply. Dakkben seemed to understand what I meant as he nodded slowly before replying again "Allright. Don't worry, I'll make sure you get through this alive, Geth or no Geth.".
I nodded back as we both got out of the booth before we made our way towards the exit of Chora's Den. I could hear loud commotion from the direction of Fist's office, as I turned to face the office, I gasped in surprise. Fist was shouting orders at the krogan bodyguards and I recognized his orders was to capture me and bring me to Saren.
Keelah! That bosh'tet worked for Saren! I hope Dakkben can-no if he could survive the Geth, these krogan shouldn't be much of a problem. But...he isn't even armed!
"Hurry! Fist's sending his men to take me to Saren!" I whispered to him as I got closer to him. He nodded in confirmation and only replied "Stay close Tali, its about to get rough."
But before I could reply, one of the krogan bodyguards charged at Dakkben. Dakkben quickly sidestepped the charging krogan and tripped him before axe kicking him directly to the throat, a loud crunch rang out as the krogan was almost instantly killed in mere moments.
Keelah!...keelah...
"Anyone else wants a turn?" the soldier remarked, his voice turning from his previously compassive into his more serious, intimating voice. Nearly all of the other mercenaries including the bouncer took a glance at each other before taking a step away from Dakkben. "Thought so. C'mon" Dakkben said as he motioned for me to follow him as we both left Chora's Den and its occupants stunned.
As soon as we were both safely away from Chora's Den and deep into the alleys with Dakkben leading the way. "Wow...I've never seen anyone, let alone a human take down a krogan in hand to hand, let alone that quickly!" I exclaimed as I walked up alongside him to match his pace. He only shakes his head as he seemed to ponder something.
"Yeah...I guess..." He only replied as he led us down an alley to the left.
"How can y-I mean, how were you able to do that just back then?" I asked. Dakkben suddenly stopped before taking a deep breath.
"Tali...it's a long story. I...will try to explain to you when we have time" he said as he gave a small smile, but instead of compassion or kindness, it was almost sad, not at me, but as if the mere memory of his tale made him sad.
"I...allright. I trust you, Dakkben." I replied as I smiled at him, initially cursing to myself that I momentarily forgot I had my suit on, like always.
Seems like just having him around makes me forget that I even had the suit on...
He seemed to understood my thoughts as he softly patted my shoulder before gesturing me to follow him as he led us through the alleys. After taking seemingly countless turns through the alleys, we finally managed to get into what seemed to be an open, yet vacant cargo area. I noticed there was a elevator on the other side of the area.
"There. The elevator will take us to the Presidium, from there, we can get to the Embassy." He explained as he pointed towards the elevator. We both jogged over through the cargo area, noticing several abandoned cargo crates nearby. "Allright, this elevator needs some time t-" but before he could finish his words, several gunshots rang out as bullets ricocheted off the floors behind us. I quickly took cover behind one of the crates as I noticed that Dakkben pressed one of the buttons next to the elevator doors before running up to take cover next to me.
"Shit. The elevator needs at least five minutes to get down to the level, keep your eyes on the left." He said as he pulled out a pistol he had hidden in his jacket. He quickly popped out of cover to fire off several shots, loud screams of pain could be heard as he popped back into cover as blue shimmers surrounding him faded away. He only grunted as he squeezed his muscular form behind the crate, the sweat making his tank top cling to his skin, I could only stare at him in wonder.
He wasn't never unarmed in the first place! He even had a shield hidden on him! This human isn't a soldier, he is a warrior! A hot, handsom-keelah no! Focus, focus, FOCUS!
I shook my head in an effort to shake away the thoughts I had of the human next to me. I leaned out from behind the crate with my pistol and noticed a turian in strange armor, the turian saw me and motioned two other turians behind him to attack before I fired off a shot. The shot slammed into the turian's head, easily jerking his head backwards, surprisingly in the turian's sudden death, he had fired off his assault rife which had been pointing to the salarian next to him priming a grenade. The salarian only shrieked in pain as he dropped his grenade, the explosion easily taking out the two other turians along with the wounded salarian.
"Nice shot. Remind me to not piss you off." Dakkben's remark made its way into my audio receptors.
I could only blush as I could barely hear the faint beep of the elevator, confirming it had arrived.
"Allright, this' going to be close. When I say go, you run in front of me as we both get to the elevator, got it?" He said as he checked over his belt, which I noticed had the shielding system attached to its, what was it called? Buckle.
"Ready..." He began.
I could only nod.
"Set..." He said as he got into a crouching position.
I mimicked his position as well.
"GO!" He roared as I ran up as he pressed himself onto my back, shielding me from the gunfire. In any other situation, I would have blushed or smacked him, but he was putting his life on the line to protect me.
Me, a Quarian...NO, FOCUS, KEEP RUNNING OR HE WILL DIE!
I kept running as he encouragingly pushed me ahead as the elevator doors opened with a hiss as we both made it in. I could only sigh in relief I noticed we both made it in without our shields failing. He quickly made his way throughout the elevator, trying to work the console. "Shit, this isn't good. Years of disuse left the console unusable, the only way to activate it is..." he began.
"Is to go outside." I finished.
No! I can't have anyone die for me! Not him!
He sighed as he made my way to get out, only to have me cling onto his waist. "W-wait! P-please don't go. Y-y-you'll die!" I sobbed as I refused to let go, my strength betraying my smaller Quarian frame.
"Tali...listen. I promise you. I'll be fine. You are more important, and..." he began as he pulled some kind of silver necklace off with rectangular tabs on it and he put them onto me, the larger necklace dangling on my neck. "...I will be back. I promise you this." he continued.
I hesitantly released his waist as I slowly moved away from him.
"Remember, when you get to the Embassy, ask for Commander Shepard of the Normandy. Tell him Dakkben Slade sent you. Then from there, you can explain everything else, allright?" He said as he walked up to the door.
I pressed myself to the side as I held back sobs. He glanced back to me over his shoulder and gave me a soft smile again before adding in "Besides, I owe you a story sometime, eh?".
And then he opened the doors, the gunfire poured in as he ran out before the doors closed again. In moments, the elevator started moving to what I assume would be the Presidium.
He said he'll be back. He'll make it, he survived the Geth after all. He'll be fine...
I was so deep into my thoughts, I didn't notice the elevator had stopped as it reached its destination. I cautiously stepped out and I was surprised. The Presidium had lakes, gardens, even various statues around! The sight of the lakes especially was so fascinating I nearly forgot why I was here in the first place. Mentally cursing to myself as I quickly made my way towards the Human Embassy I noticed ahead, ignoring the dirty looks I received from others.
If Dakkben was here, he probably would mop up the floor with them...I hope he's no-NO, DON'T THINK THAT! HE PROMISED! HE WILL BE FINE! FOCUS, TALI! FOCUS!
I made my way into the Embassy, I noticed a human female secretary sitting behind an office as she typed away at her holoboard. I cleared my throat to get her attention, the human lazily glanced over to my direction and said "Humans only. No Quarians allowed."
I only sighed as I replied "I know, but I'm here to talk to Commander Shepard of the Normandy, one of his friends sent me."
The human woman only replied "And who would be that friend be?"
"Serviceman Dakkben Slade of the formerly active 212 unit from Eden Prime" I snapped back.
The woman sighed as she pointed a finger down the hallway to her right. "Third door on your left, no stealing, Quarian." she said as she returned back to her work.
Already, I'm missing Dakkben's kind attitude...
xXx
As I ran out of the elevator, I quickly turned to face the console. Ignoring the warning blares of my shield's failing strength as I furiously typed away at the console. I could barely hear the affirmative whirring of the elevator moving as my shields failed. I felt intense pain of bullets hitting my back as I landed on the ground, I could taste blood in my mouth, but it wasn't the first time I was shot, and I've survived worse. Several of the mercenaries approached me slowly, I would have used my pistol, but the bullets tore through my pistol and damaged it.
One of the mercenaries was a turian in red face paint as I noticed he smirked slightly before giving orders to the others to pick me up. As they dragged me by my arms towards the turian that I assumed to be their leader. "Hello, Mr. Slade. My name is...Duron, our mutual friend, Saren decided to eliminate you since he figured out you were sent in to help Commander Shepard against him. As for the outside mercenary group? Eh, lets just say they aren't around anymore." He said with a cackle as one of the turians behind me took out his pistol and fired a bullet into my leg. "Something to make sure you don't get away, IF you do manage to break away. Now, lets give your friends a demonstration..." He said as his voice took a ominous tone...
That can't be good
xXx
I made my way to the door that the human secretary told me to open, I noticed the writings on the door said Ambassador. I also noticed some voices coming from the room, sighing as I took a moment to gather my courage and opened to door to get in.
I noticed there was a whole a lot of armed people in the room, there was a massive krogan in red, he had vertical scars on his right side of face. There was also a turian next to the krogan, the turian had the blue uniform of a C-Sec officer, the turian glanced over to me and his eyes widened in surprise. I glanced over to the five other humans, one of them was darker skinned and had the dress uniform of a Alliance marine. The female in pinkish Onyx armor folded her arms as she whispered to the male marine in a blacker Onyx armor. The taller armored human had an N7 stripe on his right side of his chest piece.
Must be Commander Shepard.
And the last human seemed to be extremely pissed at Commander Shepard as he continued to shout at him. "And on the top of it all, you lost the Quarian!" the extremely aggressive man shouted at Commander Shepard.
"Don't you mean, THIS Quarian? Oh, and I do have a name, its Tali'Zorah nar Rayya!" I snapped.
My angry voice seemed to have drawn everyone's attention as everyone turned to look at me, even the krogan seemed to take interest.
"Its her! The Quarian Dr. Michel was talking about!" the turian exclaimed.
"Yeah...I'm here. Serviceman Slade sent me here." I said with a heavy sigh as I glanced downwards.
The man I identified as Commander Shepard took a step towards me and spoke in a soft voice "Well? What happened? Why isn't Slade here?"
I only gave another sigh as I began to explain everything to everyone, watching as his eyes widened in surprise...
xXx
I grunted as I ignored the pain throbbing in my legs and back, even though I could manage to regenerate my wounds, they would just shoot me again, starting the pain all over again. They continued to drag me through the alleys, I noticed they were dragging me into a warehouse, glancing around as much as I could afford, I noticed the warehouse was abandoned. The leader turian, Duron signaled the other turians dragging me to bring me up to my feet as both of my feet were still wounded, the constant wounds taking its toll on the regeneration, and I became even more hungrier every time I regenerated. Barely able to stand as they clamped some shackles onto my wrists behind my back and dropped me to my knees. "Comfortable, freak?" Duron coldly said as I glanced over to the chains connecting my shackles to the floor. "Don't think about it, these chains have held krogans, I doubt even a freak like you can break them, you would more likely break your own bones instead." Duron added as he gestured the others to bring up something I recognized as a camera drone used for live feeds. They also had brought up a type of holoscreen underneath the camera drone. One of the other turians gave an affirmative nod as he returned to his position to my left behind me pointing his assault rifle to my head. Duron activated his omni-tool, I noticed the camera drone and the holoscreen both powered up and a slight bar confirmed the sync between the camera drone, holoscreen and Duron's omni-tool. "Now smile for the camera!" Duron cackled as he pressed activated an unseen command on his omni-tool.
xXx
"This meeting of the Council is ad-" but the Asari Councilor didn't finish her words as a loud buzzing flared from one of the holoscreens. The Councilors seemed to be confused as the holoscreen momentarily buzzed in screeching noise before making connection to the unknown invading link. "Not if I have anything to say about it." the cold voice of a turian rang out as the figure of Duron appeared on the holoscreen.
"What is the meaning of this!" the Turian Councilor questioned as he glared at the offending turian on the hacked holoscreen.
"Ahh, I'm just here to congratulate the human on his promotion on the behalf of my boss, whose you have just 'demoted'." the turian replied as he coldly stares at Commander Shepard.
I fidgeted nervously with my hands as I watched the event unfold.
"You! What have you done with Slade!" Commander Shepard roared as he pointed accusingly at the turian.
"Ahh, no introductions? I'm wounded, human. My name is Duron, as for your friend, well, lets say he's a bit...tied up" Duron said as he stepped to the side, revealing the battered form of Dakkben Slade for everyone to see.
KEELAH!
A/N: Looks like Slade finds himself captured by Saren's forces instead of the original mercenary group he planned. What is up with Slade's past he refuses to remember? And, will the Councilor Velarn dismiss the claim of needing to rescue Slade?
Also to explain Slade's regeneration, it would burn up his energy to regenerate at speeds beyond even Krogan is capable of. Meaning that he is capable of burning more calories than a biotic could due to his modified physique. Also, every time he regenerates, it would take its toll, especially if he is constantly wounded which why Duron had his men constantly wound Slade to wear him out and make his regeneration slower.
Sidenote: Updated this due to noticing several errors. Might consider finding a beta writer willing to put up with my antics. Also, Review!