Neross: Well would you look at that? I love you all so much I'm updating ahead of schedule. ( My guess would be it was the all the wonderful reviews I received that helped motivate me :hint,hint: )
Warning: This fanfiction may contain foul language, violence, adult situations, and sexual situations. Enjoy!
…
It took two hours for C-SEC to collect their statements, clear their I.D.'s, and confirm their account. And in all that time Maria could not stop shaking. Jaksus tried his best to keep her calm, to assure her that the danger had passed. Too much had happened too fast for her and it seemed she simply couldn't handle any more stress. So Jaksus tried his best to speed up the interrogation process. And after those two hours were finally up the Turian bodyguard took turns carrying the distraught human back to their apartment with A'Garr. The Krogan was more than happy to help it seemed, having missed the action with the Batarians.
Somehow the big, indigo, merc even managed to lull Maria back into a calmer state, though she lay in their arms from that point on like a catatonic husk of her former self. Jaksus was worried but A'Garr assured him that the poor girl was probably just too tired to focus on what was going on…but too afraid to fall asleep. Somehow this did little ease Jaksus' state of mind.
The C-SEC bodyguard had her for the last few feet to the door so A'Garr took his leave of them there. He patted Maria on the arm, slapped Jaksus proudly on the back, and assured them both he'd be back to see how they were doing soon. Jaksus said his own goodbyes and somehow managed to safely get Maria to bed and, although fully clothed, the small woman seemed to fall asleep the second her head hit her pillow. The Turian was actually a bit relieved to see this and left her alone to secure the rest of the apartment. He found nothing out of place, no bombs hidden behind doors or under beds, and a scan of the apartment with his omnitool reveal nothing as well.
So Jaksus locked up for the night and collapsed into his own bed to enjoy a dreamless, exhausted sleep. He woke up later than usual and found the apartment still secure, and Maria still fast asleep. He left her alone and made himself a meager breakfast before he contacted C-SEC to find out more about the group that had attacked them the night before.
There wasn't much. The group was a standard bunch of lowlife guns-for-hire all except their leader, the one with the scar. Apparently he was an ex-Slaver who'd been driven out of business by the ever increasing presence of Alliance military in the Skyllian Verge. Not only that, he was known for loudly voicing his distrust and dislike for other races…humanity in particular. C-SEC was now running with the theory that the attack had been an attempt to scare Maria off her work to hinder human interests on the Citadel.
But there was something off about the attack that ate at Jaksus' gut. He couldn't quite place it, yet the feeling that something was wrong with what had happened simply would not leave him. He pondered over it as he cleaned up through the apartment, through his shower, and even through his lunch as he stood guard over his sleeping ward and waited for their Krogan acquaintance to drop by.
He waited four hours before A'Garr finally showed up and Jaksus. The Krogan seemed in a good mood, despite the harrowing events of the night before. But his arrival sparked an ember of worry in Jaksus' chest. Maria had yet to wake up, which meant she'd been asleep for close to eighteen hours.
Jaksus let A'Garr inside, explained the situation and frowned at Maria's silent door. The Krogan shot him an almost knowing grin. "Leave the small-pint alone. I doubt being threatened by Batarian scum is good for her nerves. I'd be more worried if she woke up and started looking for a gun to go chase down the rest of them with."
Jaksus' head perked up at A'Garr's comment and his brow furrowed, "Rest of them? What 'rest of them'?" he asked.
The Krogan appeared surprised. "I thought you'd read the C-SEC report."
Jaksus frowned and flicked his mandibles in impatience, "I did. There was nothing about more mercs than the ones I took out. What did you find out?"
A'Garr sat with a huff onto the couch and crossed his arms across his chest, "That Quarian mechanic of yours…Nava right? The one who said he'd introduce you two to the Captain of his ship."
Jaksus nodded and took a seat across from A'Garr, folding his hands on his knees before him. "Yeah. What about him?"
"I contacted a friend of mine who trades in information and she told me your Batarian boys caught him on his way back to the docks. Apparently they'd covered several routes they thought you and Maria might take and they caught the poor bastard off guard. Put up some kind of a fight before they got him too." A'Garr explained, nodding in an almost reverent way.
"Got him? The Quarian's dead?" Jaksus asked, horror and remorse flashing through him. It had been his insistence on sending the mechanic back that had forced Nava to go back on his own. Now it seemed as if Jaksus' dislike of the Quarian had gotten him killed. The guilt felt like a lead weight in his chest.
"Not sure actually. Footage cuts out before it's clear if he made it or not. But he hasn't shown up on his ship or to the docks since last night. And C-SEC found a lot of Quarian blood in the alley he was cornered in when they went over it themselves a few hours ago." The Krogan shook his head, his expression grim and Jaksus felt the weight in his chest grow heavier.
He hung his head, sighed, and ran a hand over his fringe, trying to decide the best way to handle this situation, especially since Maria had been attached to the Quarian Mechanic. "How likely do you think it might be that he's still alive?"
A'garr frowned, "You want an honest answer?"
Jaksus simply nodded.
The Krogan let out a deep, uncomfortable rumble and steepled his digits before him as he observed the Turian sitting across from him. "Not very damn likely. Those Batarians were pretty well-armed and well trained for a bunch of rat-hole mercs. Something about this smells but I can't put my damn finger on it."
Jaksus' mandibles flickered in contemplation, "I agree…but I'm not sure were to start looking."
"I do…" a soft voice uttered behind him.
A'Garr jumped to attention, his face guilty, and Jaksus swung around in surprise to see Maria standing just outside her door behind Jaksus' seat on the couch. He was cursing himself for never hearing her come in. Her face was pale but her eyes were determined…in a most bizarre way the girl looked like a vengeful spirit of her former self.
"We start with the hospitals." she said in a soft, determined voice.
Jaksus felt his guilt and fear for her safety rise to the surface once more. "Maria-" he began, but she only held up a hand and shook her head. As she did he could see the tiny way her hands shook.
"No….I want to. Nava was…he would have been a good friend."
…
"Damnit! That's the third one!" In his fury Jaksus tossed a glass across the room with a wave of his hand and an extension of biotic power. Maria jumped in surprise and for an instant was distracted from her single-minded feelings of distress as she stared in awe at the display of biotic potential. She'd had Jaksus take her to one of the special biotic 'gyms' that were designed to test and train those with biotic power…but she'd never witnessed her bodyguard use his own biotic abilities. Maria was quite impressed.
She shook her head however as A'Garr intervened told Jaksus to calm down and take a break as he tried the rest of the numbers on the list. And once more Maria sank into despair. They'd checked over half of the med-clinics and hospitals at the docks and surrounding the restaurant where she'd had such a pleasant dinner just the night before. Yet there was no sign of Nava. What was worse was due to the news about the attack the Flotilla was leaving sooner than they originally planned.
Many of the Quarian ships had already moved on. And the Haedra was scheduled to leave early the next day.
Maria had contacted the Captain of the Haedra, begging him to stay just a bit longer in case Nava was still alive…however the Captain was not only convinced…but also had the safety and security of his crew and it's civilians to think about.
So somehow the trio's tiny little search-party had become the desperate act of the guilty and the hopeful.
And although it had been her suggestion Maria had to admit they were getting absolutely nowhere. She swore to herself, fisted her hands in her hair and forced herself to think. What did she have? What did she know that could help?
First, the Batarians were after her, she'd stopped worrying about what that implied for her own safety. But that meant that if they'd come across Nava on his own they'd probably want to take him alive…use him to lure her out somehow.
Second, Nava's attack and video. A'Garr had gotten the video through an information broker. Information Broker's bought and sold information as if it were an actual physical commodity. The better the information broker, the better the information. The security vid would have been hard to access. Which meant A'Garr's friend was very…very good.
Third, Nava was a Quarian. Maria had learned last night how resourceful they were. How some had redundant measures in their suit meant to keep them alive or had false life signs masks built into their suit's systems so as to fool enemies into believing they were dead. Nava had admitted to keeping a stash of security measures hidden away in his own suit. He'd joked about it. Said he'd prefer to lie on his back than to die standing up.
Maria calculated, and bit her lip. She knew Nava was alive. Which meant they just had to fight him.
Maria released her grip on her hair, stood abruptly and turned to the Krogan sitting in Jaksus' chair, going over their list of hospitals. A'Garr perked up as she came near, dropped his omni-tool to give her full attention and seemed honestly impressed by the look of stern determination set into her features. "Your contact…the one who got you the information and the security vid? Can you set up another meeting with them?"
The Krogan grinned and leaned over his knee in a display of casual arrogance, "Thought you'd never ask short-stuff. Better gird your loins though…this particular friend has a rather nasty way with words."
…
"You want me to find one fucking Quarian while the whole damn Flotilla is making a bleeding mess out of the docks? For nothing? Fuck that shit. I like you A'Garr but I got a damn business to run here." the foul-mouthed reply was spoken so casually Jaksus almost thought he'd been hearing things at first.
The…creature…that was A'Garr's contact was called Scarab and that was about all Jaksus could tell about…her? She seemed female enough, her torso shaped in the alluring curves that a asari, batarian, or human female might have. And as far as Jaksus could tell she had five fingers and arms like those same races as well. But that was where the similarities mostly ended. She was dressed in armor, according to A'Garr no one but her inner circle had seen her outside of it. And the armor was of Salarian make. STG quality to be accurate made for stealth and to take hits in the worst way.
Her helmet was of a Quarian design however. The red visor blurring her features until all you could tell of her face were vague shadows. What was worse, and most worrying under the current circumstances, was that the female spoke with evident Batarian body language. Either way Jaksus found it hard to trust the …chimera of a creature sitting across from them. And Scarab, it seemed, was just as reluctant to close this deal as he was.
She waved a black and red gloved hand in refusal, the beetle insignia for which she took her name, flashing with every movement from her palm. "I don't do charity. You know that you old Krogan gun-jockey. "
A'Garr simply seemed amused by the woman's response, crossing his arms over his chest. "Don't be like that Scarab. Next to the Shadow Broker your my favorite shadowy, skulking eavesdropper. Besides, you owe me for that job on Illium. Or should I just tell Nasana why she had to postpone her building plans for the next ten or so years?"
The information broker made an unhappy sound at A'Garr's insinuation and the Batarian and Turian bodyguards to her right and left both subtly reached for their concealed guns. Jaksus was about to reach for his own when Scarab reached her hand up in a silent symbol and had her flanking guards relax. She tilted her head and danced her fingers across the smooth, black, bar table that sat between the two groups. "You implement me in that you'd be signing your own bleeding death warrant…don't treat me like a some green-nosed brat A'Garr. Still…you make a good point. You've done some good work for me in the past and it's been a damn long time since I've had anything I could consider a fucking challenge."
There was a tense silent moment as Scarab's fingers danced across the table, dancing out some sort of tune. Finally she nodded in ascent, "All right. I'll do it. But you owe ME after this one A'Garr. Don't think we're even by any long stretch."
The Krogan mercenary chuckled and stuck out his hand for the information broker to shake in a show of cementing the deal. "Wouldn't dream of it Scarab."
The handshake lasted less than a second and the instant it was over the trio across from them were pulling away and heading for the door as if their feet were on fire. Jaksus rose his brows in surprise and turned to A'Garr in grim curiosity, "So we just sit back and wait? I don't like the idea of trusting…her…"
Maria let out a long breath and bit the tip of her thumb in a show of anxiety, "We don't have any other choice. In the meantime… we should get back to the list."
…
They finished the rest of the list in two hours and moved on to calling the hospitals and med clinics on the rest of the Citadel…which Jaksus reminded them all was an insurmountable task. But Maria refused to give up and truly Jaksus didn't seem to want to either. It was A'Garr who finally told them to stop sometime around three in the morning. Both Turian and human were reluctant, but eventually gave in.
Maria did not sleep well. She tossed and turned all night, her mind plagued with images of crazed eyes watching her from all corners and the sound of gunfire. She woke gasping, shivering, and utterly frantic, trying to wrap her mind around the concept that she'd heard nothing, felt nothing, seen nothing, that everything had truly been just a collection of dreams. But it was a hard thing to do, every time she turned her head she would see four eyes glaring at her at the corner of her vision.
The image of the scarred Batarian was burned into her mind…haunting her. And she hated it. She wanted…needed to be strong. Like her sister. Like her brother. Like her father. Like Gene…
At the thought of her niece Maria always calmed, the familiar sense of lonely acceptance and longing burning through her. She shook her head, cleared her mind, and forced herself from her bed. She clambered back into the shared living room, and started on the list again, hoping things had changed, needing to focus on something other than the horror and despair in her life.
She'd only been at it for an hour when Jaksus emerged from his own room, began a pot of coffee, and then sat down to join her in her endless pursuit. They'd called nearly a fifty hospitals by the time A'Garr finally showed up again, this time accompanied by a tiny, scruffy, and rather irritated looking human teenager.
"Found this kid prowling around outside your building. I was going to throw her to the curb when she said she had information from Scarab." A'Garr told them, smirking as he squeezed the girl's shoulder.
The golden-eyed blue-haired girl growled in irritation, pulled her arm free from the Krogan's grasp and shot him the most disrespectful glare she could muster. "Don't fucking man-handle me man. I'm just doing what I was fucking told alright!" she spat, straightening the rough-looking black jacket she wore. She reached inside her pocket and pulled out a data-pad which she handed to Jaksus before beating a quick retreat out the door, giving them all a rather rude hand gesture on her way out the door.
Maria stared after the girl, cinching her brows in thought, "Did she seem…familiar…to you guys?"
Jaksus simply huffed and rolled his eyes, "It was probably her foul mouth. Somehow I'm sure all her hired help probably end being hired on how creative they can be with their use of foul language."
The Turian brushed the rest of the conversation off and focused no the datapad in his hands, his expression falling it seemed with each word he read. "Well…our…'friend' managed to track Nava from the alleyway to some med-clinic not far off from the Prisidium. But it seems the Doctor's assistant Michelle caught him sneaking out late last night and Scarab doesn't mention whether or not she managed to pick up the trail from there."
"Is that who that second group of Batarians belonged to?" a familiar voice said from the door.
Maria rounded and felt all the air leave her gut. Tears of relief sprang from her eyes and she ran to hug the green-clad Quarian standing her door, holding his arm in an awkward sling. Nava hissed in pain and Maria quickly released him but couldn't help smiling in relief. "You're alive! Everyone was sure you were…Oh my God! Nava! What are you doing here? You need to go to the Haedra, it's going to leave in less than an hour!"
The Quarian gave a somewhat resolute gesture and a half-hearted chuckle, "I couldn't leave without getting this to you first." he told them, pulling a small disk from his belt and holding it out for her to take. "I snatched it from one of the Batarians who attacked me. I did not get a good look at it before I spotted that second group and fled the med-clinic however. But it looks like it is instructions from whoever sent those men to kill you."
Jaksus took the disk and frowned over it glancing up at the Quarian as if in disbelief. But Maria knew they had no time to discuss how Nava had gotten the disk or even how he'd managed to escape. They had to get him to the docks. Maria pushed the Quarian toward the door and pulled Jaksus along with her as she went. "Forget about that right now! We have to get you to the Haedra before it leaves!"
…
Jaksus stared up at the empty dock where the Haedra had been with a growing pit of anger and dissent in growing in his gut. Quarians…they talked so much about family and the unity of their damned Flotilla…
The Turian sighed in frustration and turned to the miserable Quarian in a sling standing to this right, and the deflated human next to him.
The Haedra had left in the middle of the night. Apparently they'd been given confirmation that their missing crew member had been found dead and left immediately after. Which left Nava'Sh'Var vas Haedra…stranded on the Citadel. Maria turned to the Quarian and hesitantly placed a comforting hand on his uninjured arm. "Is there no way to catch them? To get you back to your ship?" she asked.
Nava shook his head and hung his head in utter defeat. "No. I do not have the credits to book passage on a shuttle… and even if I did…I have no idea where the Haedra was headed. I was not in the Captain's plans to leave this soon… we had planned to be docked here for at least a month." The green-clanned Quarian shook his head and sighed. "This is like my pilgrimage all over again. I suppose I should start looking for a shelter to spend the night in."
Jaksus felt a sudden urge of dread as he spotted Maria's look of sympathy and selfless acceptance slowly slide into place. "Maria-" Jaksus began, his tone a warning.
But the human cut him off, her grip on Nava's arm growing more firm to force the Quarian to look at her and regard her seriously. "Stay with us."
Jaksus slapped his palm to his face and bemoaned not only his terrible luck, but the utter comedy his life had become. Without a doubt he knew he'd half to either share his bed with the damn Quarian…or else he'd have to start sleeping on the couch.
And all because he'd told the damn mechanic to go home.
…..
Neross: Well my dear and faithful readers there you are. I hope you've all enjoyed this latest chapter and I hope you're eagerly excited for the next one. What's more I hope you all enjoyed the addition of Scarab to our little menagerie of character's. Sadly she won't be showing up much more after this. HOWEVER, if you'd like to see more of her you can talk to her and even ask her questions at .com. You can even ask her questions about Maria and Jaksus' story for news or clarification if you feel like it. So check her out!
And until next time, keep on rocking out!