The flight wasn't a long one- an hour tops. With the auto flight deactivated and Zaeed at the throttle, Garrus felt sure he was making the best possible time. Grunt sat in the passenger seat while Garrus wedged himself between Liara and Miranda in the back for one very important reason.
Volio Domiso, the turian Garrus intended to impersonate, fortunately had similar hide and plating as he did, but he sported the red facial markings of Vallum, the capital city on Taetrus. Not to mention the obvious lack of scars so, regrettably, makeup was a requirement for this mission.
Miranda, with her hands under the protection of latex gloves, smiled softly while she dabbed at Garrus' face with a tiny sponge, erasing his blue tattoos under a cover of metallic concealer. They had wrapped themselves in plastic to protect their clothes -and her skin- from the somewhat corrosive substance.
"You seem to be having fun," he commented, though he was beginning to worry that he had stumbled over a bump of inter-species awkwardness. He hoped he wasn't inadvertently participating in some kind of human mating ritual Shepard had yet to share with him.
"Sorry?" Her smile faded.
"You're smiling."
"Oh." Her smile hesitantly returned as she looked away to re-coat the sponge. "It's trivial, really."
'Good,' Garrus thought, relieved. 'Crisis averted.'
Miranda took a moment to sweep the sponge along his nose before she went on. "I was just remembering how much I wished I could do this sort of thing with Oriana."
"Is this a... human thing?" He was now certain this wasn't a mating ritual, but he was still curious. Maybe this was something he should do with Shepard, regardless.
Miranda's hand briefly hovered above his maxilla while she considered her words. "I suppose it is. Between close friends and... sisters. Well... some sisters. Obviously, not us. Ori's beyond needing that sort of help now." She puffed a laugh through her nose, but Garrus didn't miss the note of regret to her tone. "I'd say she's better at this than I am at this point."
"Should I hire her instead?"
"You could," she concurred, pausing to spread a new layer of concealer over his nose. Garrus could feel the substance slightly clogging the indents in this bridge. "Though, nanite technology isn't precisely her field of study. Shepard might not appreciate the results."
Garrus just stopped his mandible from flaring into a smile. He and Miranda never had a particularly warm friendship or... really any kind of relationship. She was always sort of distant, even cold towards him and, if he was being honest, he had never exactly 'welcomed her with open arms,' as Shepard would say. Yet, as the hard plates of his face stood in for her foregone sisterhood fantasies, he thought, just maybe, she could be thawing towards him now.
Once she'd finished erasing the obvious physical features that set him apart from other turians, she moved on to the red paint. He considered doing it himself, but applying colony markings was considered an art form, and one of the few respected in most turian cultures. He, to his private regret, was not an artistic turian in the traditional sense of the word. He painted with the blood of his enemies; his rifle was his brush.
So, with surgical precision and a holo template of the markings to draw from, Miranda dipped a brush into the corrosive paint and began to draw it over his face.
"Is that acetone you're smearing on his face?" Zaeed sneered from the front seat, nostrils flared and ringed by several prominent wrinkles.
"It does smell like it," Liara confirmed, her voice sounded nasal as a result of her nose being pinched between her fingers.
"I can bloody taste it!" Zaeed shot Garrus an appalled look.
"I like it," Grunt grunted.
"At least open a goddamn window!"
"Don't you dare," Miranda replied to the old merc's suggestion. At least she was making a valiant effort to hide the disgust from her face, though even she wasn't immune, evidenced by her grimace.
"Just keep her steady, Zaeed," said Garrus once the brush had moved a safe distance from his mouth.
"'Keep her steady,' he says," the grizzled merc grumbled, turning his attention back to the sky. "Be lucky if I don't pass out from the fumes."
It only took about twenty minutes before Miranda placed the brush back into its container and sealed the paint up. She then appraised her work with a satisfied smile. Garrus took it as his cue to raise his omni and run a scan on his face, closing his eyes when the orange light flickered over them. After a couple seconds, a holographic bust of his head appeared above his raised wrist.
It was a strange sight to see. It looked like him, but at the same time, it didn't. His scars were gone, and though the holo was orange in color, the familiar lines he was used to seeing when he looked in a mirror were too. He had lines sweeping over his fringe now, similar to that of Palaven tattoos like Victus', with some stark differences besides the red color. Where the Palaven tattoos continue from the crest over the nose and mouth, those of Taetrus leave the face, below the brow, completely bare of paint, instead framing it by lining the mandibles and chin.
Garrus couldn't even recall the last time he'd seen his nose and maxilla without paint streaked across it. He wished Shepard was there to see him. He couldn't help but wonder what she would think so he took a moment to send the holo to her omni-tool. He received his answer within seconds.
S. Shepard [Hades Nexus, Hekate System]
19:21
Wow. Who's your friend, Garrus? ;)
G. Vakarian [ Location blocked, location blocked]
19:21
Down, girl. Don't embarrass me.
He smiled as he hit 'send' before regarding the artist.
"It appears to have passed the Shepard test," he informed her.
"I'll take that," she nodded.
At thirty minutes from their destination, it was Liara's turn. She and Garrus had to awkwardly shimmy themselves over and under each other so that she could take his place in the middle of the seat. In hindsight, Miranda should have been the one in the middle, but that couldn't be helped now. Once settled, Garrus turned his attention out the window. It was hard to tell in the dark, but every now and again they'd pass a lit sign or the rare working streetlight that showed that the sand below had begun to transform from a rusty orange to a deep purple.
Garrus thought it was probably a sight to see in the daylight. Maybe he'd bring Shepard back here someday. When Ta'relle is rebuilt, of course. And when they weren't working. Maybe they could even retire here.
When would they retire?
"I'm bringing her down here," Zaeed informed. "Should be just outside the radar."
Garrus glanced at the coordinates at the dash and agreed. They were far enough away that the sand dunes would render their car -and their krogan- invisible to anyone looking. Once landed, they all climbed out and took a moment to stretch their limbs and crack their necks. Grunt looked especially appreciative for the chance to move. He always looked cramped in any vehicle he rode in.
"What do you think?" Liara asked him as she pulled the white mining uniform over her battle suit. Out of the three of them, she required the least amount of work. The asari she was imitating had the same skin and eye color, only differing in that she lacked facial markings.
It was strange to see Liara without the speckling under her eyes and over her nose. And the lack of- Garrus had to think of the word- 'eyebrows' was a little jarring as well.
"Well, you don't look like you anymore."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
They took a few more minutes to go over the plan again, much to Grunt's dismay. Garrus, Miranda, and Liara left the car to journey over the dunes toward the facility, using the cover of night to hide where they were coming from. He felt fairly confident in their disguises. Factories, like the one they were about to enter, typically had more employees than anyone could keep track of without a database, which their badges would see to. As long as they didn't talk directly to any one inside, they should go relatively unnoticed... assuming the place wasn't infested with raiders, using it as a contraband ring.
In that case, they'll stick out badly, but at least the course of action would then be made clear; put the pirates down and search for survivors.
Garrus' hand fingered his shield generator nervously. His armor was too bulky and noticeable under the mining uniform so he, unfortunately, had to leave it behind. In its place, he just wore his undersuit, which still offered some protection with his shields plus a synthetic weave, but nowhere near the amount that his hardsuit provided.
As they crossed the dark desert and approached the entrance, it quickly became clear that something was very wrong. Vehicles, both sky and ground, were strewn everywhere with dusty, undisturbed steering wheels. The vehicles built solely for ground travel sat with their tires half buried in the sand and any sign of tire tracks, which they would have left behind to get to their current spots, had long been wiped clean by the desert winds. The sand around the entrance was much the same- completely undisturbed, which meant that no one had entered or, perhaps most disturbing, left in days. Though, Garrus suspected it had been longer than that.
One male human and one asari came into view, housed behind a pane of glass and dimly lit by the consoles they sat in front of. They didn't even look up as the trio approached them. Garrus spared one look with his ground team before he raised a knuckle to tap on the glass. The sound garnered the human and asari's attention, but not in the way Garrus expected. Their heads raised slightly and their eyes swiveled, at the same time and speed, slowly to him.
"Can we help you?" The asari droned, void of emotion and Garrus was suddenly slammed with images of the mining facility on the Mahavid asteroid. He exchanged a quick look with the only member of his team that was with him and Shepard when they were looking for Garneau. The concern Liara met him with confirmed his suspicions.
Victus was right.
"No," Garrus replied outwardly.
'I'm the one that needs to help you,' he thought internally.
Garrus briefly considered going back for Zaeed and Grunt, but ultimately decided against it. They still needed to enter the facility in order to find the artifact these people had come into contact with and destroy it. To that end, they still had to blend in lest they draw attention and anger the hive.
Knowing he'd gain no useful information from the desk clerks, they proceeded passed the glass booth to approach a metal door. It opened with a whir to admit them inside without resistance.
Stepping past the threshold, they found themselves in a stark white lobby, surrounded by idle workers and mind-numbing workplace propaganda. Holo-screens dotted the walls from one end of the room to the other, looping through an endless spiel of the company logo (~*LCMF*~™), the current safety record, and most obnoxious of all, a vid of an overexcited asari that spouted a reel of recorded pep talks and safety precautions on each rotation.
~*LCMF*~™
946 DAYS SINCE LAST INCIDENT
"Don't be hard-headed! Wear a hard hat!"
Metal and chrome lined the walkways, causing their footsteps to emit a light staccato of noises as they moved.
~*LCMF*~™
946 DAYS SINCE LAST INCIDENT
"Whether you're pleated or plated, failing to hold the handrail could leave you incapacitated!"
"I'm going to shoot every screen in here," Garrus growled at an octave only his team would hear.
"Don't you dare," Liara hissed, though she quickened her pace all the same, just as eager to put the lobby behind them. This was simply where big-shots and investors met to discuss funding in the eezo that was mined. Behind closed doors, however, the effort to impress visitors would surely subside.
~*LCMF*~™
946 DAYS SINCE LAST INCIDENT
"Here at Le'mela Corp Mining Facility, we love all our employees like family!"
Garrus spared a pitying thought to all the so-called 'loved' employees who worked here and had to endure this looping monologue day in and day out, ad nauseum. It was its own kind of torture. Spirits, Leviathan taking control of their minds was probably a reprieve from it all.
They certainly didn't appear to hear it anymore as they stood around, staring off at walls or at each other, unmoving and unresponsive. Occasionally, some would slowly turn their heads to look at them as they walked by, but they watched with dead, unseeing eyes.
"No wonder there hasn't been any 'incidents'," Liara observed, her eyes set on a mindless turian who stood alone, participating in the very safe activity of watching a fake plant.
Miranda, who had no previous experience with the Leviathans' work, looked around with confusion etched across her face.
"What's wrong with these people?" She asked, careful to keep her voice low.
"You'll see," Garrus replied, his voice equally low so as not to draw attention.
Garrus picked a corner and led his team around it and away from the bureaucratic hub. He could hear the cheerful asari's voice mercifully fading behind him. Then he ducked into an empty office and he heard it no more.
The room was as white and uninteresting as the rest of the building outside. Fake plants adorned the corners and the only desk stood with a layer of dust dulling the shine of the wooden finish.
He looked at Miranda and tilted his head in a silent order: Keep watch. As she moved to do so, Garrus and Liara took the time to scan the room for bugs and cameras. When they were satisfied with the afforded level of privacy, Garrus raised his omni-tool to download a building layout via satellite feed, confirming his Spectre status for clearance when prompted. When the download was finished, he raised it on his arm, waved Liara to his side, and activated his earpiece so Miranda could hear their discussion.
"I doubt the artifact is on this level," Garrus told them. His free hand rose to touch the lower levels of the holographic outline, highlighting the subterranean floors in a teal blue. "They'll want it hidden somewhere lower. Somewhere safer."
"The mining tunnels." Liara frowned. "That could take days of searching." She looked past his shoulder to the computer lying dormant on the desk. Its only company was a picture frame, depicting a long forgotten human family. "Maybe we can find a lead in here."
Without further invitation, Liara crossed the room and sat down at the computer- she had to dust off the seat first. She then dipped to insert a chip into the computer. The act had the effect of sharpening her focus on the screen and her too many fingers went into motion, flying across the interface. The Shadow Broker had emerged.
While he waited, Garrus swiped the building layout away in order to open up communications with the Normandy.
"Shepard," Garrus spoke into his omni.
"Don't tell me," came Shepard's voice. Undoubtedly, she picked up on the gravity of his tone.
"If you insist."
"It's not."
"It is."
"Damn it!" Garrus pictured Shepard with her eyes turned up toward the ceiling, tempering her anger while she searched for words.
"It's just like Mahavid," he informed her. "Dead-eyed staff, monotone responses, and I don't think it has anything to do with low moral due to poor working conditions."
That would have earned him at least a smirk, he knew, if her mood hadn't been so soured by the current news.
"Any ideas where the artifact is?" She asked.
"Assuming it's just one, Liara's working on it."
"Garrus," the aforementioned asari beckoned. "Come look at this. You too, Miranda."
Miranda cast one last furtive glance down both directions of the hallway before she turned to join Liara at the desk. She bent to place her hands on the surface and stared intently at the holo-screen.
"I've got to go."
"Keep me informed?"
"You know I will."
"Garrus?" He knew that tone.
"Hm?"
"Be careful."
"'In like Flynn,'" he quoted her. "I know the drill."
Miranda's eyes were glued to the screen, too enraptured to even glance at him when he stepped up beside her. Garrus bent to get a better view, but all he saw were a list of names that meant nothing to him.
"Friends of yours?" He asked, directing the question at both the asari and human.
"Perhaps too strong a word," Miranda answered, still without looking at him. She then reached across Liara to tap her finger on a single name. A picture of a dark-haired, female human popped up along with a very detailed profile of her background. Garrus only needed to scan the screen for a second to understand what had Miranda so enthralled with the name.
Dr. Akari Saitō
Age: 41
Height: 157.5 cm
Weight: 49.90 kg
Under the former employment of Cerberus, Dr. Saitō accrued an unprecedented number of hours researching both VI and AI development. While the status of Dr. Saitō's former employer is troubling, as of 2186 she has passed our patent pending Le'mela Corp. Psychiatric Evaluation for Soundness of Mind (LeCPESM) with flying colors. Of course, her former studies in AI development do not, in any way, reflect the beliefs or ambitions of ~*LCMF*~™, but her knowledge of such matters has made Dr. Saitō an invaluable member of the Le'Mela family.
"'Does not, in any way, reflect our beliefs and ambitions," Liara parroted the text with a tone steeped in skepticism.
"Meaning, that's exactly what they hired her for," Garrus replied darkly.
Looking at the time-stamp of the profile, Dr. Saitō was hired shortly before Shepard was incarcerated. She must have been one of many Cerberus staff to defect when Shepard did. Garrus watched as Liara pulled up the doctor's reports that she had typed herself. Garrus scanned through the files quickly until he stumbled across something that caught his eye, dated just a few weeks before the start of the Reaper invasion.
"Today the miners pulled up something remarkable. I've never seen anything like it. I hypothesize it's some sort of ancient device, maybe prothean, though I suspect it's older than that. It has to be. I want to study it as much as I can so I'm going to put in a request to have my office moved, as a matter of convenience, to be closer to it."
Then another entry, dated just four days after the previous one.
"Success! Not only am I moving down to the subterranean levels, but they're actually going to allow me to keep the device in my office. I know moving down in floors is typically considered an unfavorable result, but I couldn't be more excited for this opportunity."
Liara opened up a third entry, dated during the height of the war.
"Well, they're finally calling for evacuations off Asteria. I know I should go, but I'm so close to cracking the code on this thing. Leaving it just seems so wrong. Maybe it's the old Cerberus mindset talking, but this thing could put humanity on the map if I just had a little more time. I don't want to leave it behind. It helps with my anxiety. It's so calming."
Garrus' mandibles pinched against his face as he watched the doctor seemingly decline further with every entry. The next entry was dated after the war, around the time the relays reopened. The shortness of it sent a chill up his spine.
"I'm where I belong."
Garrus reactivated the building layout on his 'tool and scrolled to the subterranean levels, still highlighted teal blue. He then poked his finger at the office as pinpointed by the doctor's profile.
"Here," he said. "At least we have a start."
"Garrus." There was a hollowness to Miranda's voice that grabbed his attention instantly. She finally tore her eyes from the screen and looked up at him with an ashen face. "Dr. Saitō was at the head of the department that worked on EDI."
Garrus froze as a million questions and implications raced to the forefront of his brain. If there was information about EDI's development somewhere in this facility, surely he couldn't leave without it. Then again, obtaining the how-to on an illegal AI was definitely not his mission's prerogative and if he did waste time to pursue this, and it turned out to be nothing, what sort of message would that be to the Council, to Victus, of what kind of Spectre he is?
Yet... if he failed to look into this, how could he look Joker in the eye again, knowing he was willing to put his own record over his happiness? He probably missed EDI just as much as Garrus had missed Shepard.
After parsing through it all, he locked eyes with Liara and asked, "Is there anything worth pulling from her file pertaining to that?"
"I'm not sure," Liara told him, but she was already pulling up folders.
Garrus knew they couldn't sit there all night, staring at the screen for some small hope that the good doctor had left a crumb trail for them to follow.
"Download everything that's there," he found himself saying. "And send it to Shepard. She can look through it while we look for the artifact."
"Got it," affirmed Liara.
"Two artifacts, actually." Garrus, Liara, and Miranda instantly flew into motion at the unfamiliar voice. Garrus drew his pistol while both Miranda and Liara's hands rose and crackled with dark energy. Their eyes shot up to the doorway where they discovered a thin, green-haired, male human standing with his hands raised high in the air in surrender. "Whoa, whoa! Easy, man. Be cool. I just want to help, that's all."
Garrus said nothing in response, choosing to let his pistol speak for him by keeping it trained on the human's unprotected forehead. His lack of reply was all Miranda and Liara needed to keep their biotics at the ready as well.
"Look, I'm stuck here!" The human earnestly declared. "Everyone here is acting like a zombie except me, but they won't let me leave. I've been here for weeks!"
"Why are you here?" Garrus asked, knowing he wasn't an employee.
"You might be familiar with some of my work," he cried, fear beginning to color his tone. "'W-what the Dalatrass Knew'...?"
Garrus did not reply again, which made the human even more anxious. Beads of sweat sprung from the pores of his forehead and went trailing down his face.
"'What the Drell Don't Know: And the Hanar Won't Say...?'" More silence. "Uhh... 'STG: The Forbidden Files?'"
"Bernard Plim," Liara informed, though her biotics remained active. "He hacked into the Alliance News Network during the war."
A shaky smile broke across the human's face, relieved that someone in the room could identify him. His eyes shifted uneasily between Liara and Garrus. "That's right. Founder and president of the Conspiracy Accountability League."
"You never answered my question," Garrus growled, his sub-harmonics rumbled the sound clear across the room. He didn't miss the way the human's fingers seemed to tremble harder in the air.
"I'm here for the exact same reason I hounded Hackett for answers!" He blurted, his chest rose and fell with his rapid, shallow breaths. "For the same reason I hacked ANN. I'm looking for answers on Leviathan."
"Why?" Garrus asked, keeping his voice level, but with a hint of warning that the human better keep talking.
"For the same reason you are, I bet. This thing's serious business and I'm tired of the Council and the Alliance trying to cover it up. The people deserve to know they aren't safe. We're never safe!" The human- Bernard- chewed on his trembling lower lip. "That's why I'm here, but like I said before, I can't leave now. Every time I try, Bonnie and Clyde out there won't open the door. I'm willing to bet you're stuck in here too." He chanced a tentative step forward, hands still high in the air. "You're the first people I've seen in weeks that aren't acting crazy."
"How long have you been here?" Garrus countered.
"Uh... three weeks now... I think? Look man, I just want out and I think I can help you. I found information on both artifacts from-er... hacking the computers." Sheepishly, he added, "Not like I had anything else to do."
"Then tell us what you know," Miranda chimed in. "We'll sort this out and come get you on our way back up."
Bernard shifted his weight nervously from foot to foot. "No offense, lady, but the way I see it, you need me and I need you. If I just tell you, who's to say you won't just leave me in here? If I have to listen to that asari rhyme 'plated' again, I'm gonna lose it!"
Garrus could see his point. He was obviously a sneaky little worm, prone to irritating people, and likely had past experiences of getting ditched. Spirits, Garrus couldn't deny the temptation of trying his luck without Bernard's help if only to save himself the time of having to speak with him more. Then again, he could sympathize with the poor guy when it came to not wanting to listen to that awful safety spiel again. Getting stuck listening to that, on repeat, was a fate worse than death.
After the course of five seconds, Garrus lowered his gun, which prompted his team to dissipate their biotic energy.
"Alright, Bernard." Garrus wrapped his vocals around the name. From past experience, that often had the effect of temporarily unbalancing humans. It scared some, enticed others, but all the same they were more likely to cooperate. "You have my attention."
A/N:
For those who don't know, Bernard Plim is a canon character. It's been a while since I last played the Leviathan DLC so, while researching the lore, I learned about him and I just had to find a way to incorporate him somehow. I hope you all like what I have in store.
As always, thank you for reading.