A/N: And we go off. It looks as if Art will help Wrex out with the family armor. So fun times shall be had with that, I am sure. Anyhow, this will be quite a bit of fun once we get in.

And of course, since it's on the Citadel now, this will make the investigation very, very different. So what will change? Quite a bit, such that it'll take a chapter to get it all done.

So there we go. Enjoy!

Chapter 10: Varese: Arcana

I slipped into my armor and stood outside the airlock five minutes before I was supposed to meet Wrex. I wrap my odd little head thing that Ash gave me around my arm right as I get there, and I think I'm getting the hang of it. It's kind of like me trying to learn how to tie a tie; I never thought I'd get used to it, but here I am.

It's too bad I learned how to tie a tie specifically for Phi Mu Alpha, but then wound up not needing it when I got launched many years into the future. Yep, the irony is definitely palpable.

Speaking of which, I wonder what's going to change about the Family Armor assignment now that it's not on Tuntau anymore. I imagine it might be in the wards somewhere. Or maybe not. We'll have to see what happens next and where we're going from here.

Either way, I'm excited about this. I seriously can't wait to see what happens with all of this. Because undoubtedly it will be awesome.

And right at the specified time, Wrex shows up. His eyes seem to light up as he sees me waiting by the airlock, fully armed and ready for combat. He nods, his expression a little lighter.

"You kept your word," he says.

"Yeah, well, I'm not the kind that likes to fall back on his word when certain things happen," I reply. "Especially to people I know well."

"Glad to hear it," says the krogan. "That kind of thinking can get you out of many situations in one piece."

I nod at this, smiling. "So, where to?" I ask as we step into the airlock.

"Apparently, he has some apartments in the Zakera wards," says Wrex as the airlock door closes behind us. "I don't know where he is, though. We'll have to find out where he is first."

"Yes, that would be smart," I reply with a nod. "And if he's keeping the family armor somewhere else, we'll need to get that passcode too. I think we'll want to steer clear of C-Sec, too... That would be a problem if we managed to get your armor only to get ourselves arrested for a count of theft and a count of murder."

"You sure you want to do this?" he asks. "You don't have to, you know."

Oh, this again? I look over at his armor. It's colored red... Hm...

"You know what red stands for with me?" I ask. Wrex raises a curious eyebrow. "Sacrifice. I don't have to, but I'm doing it anyway. So there's your answer."

"That... doesn't answer anything, actually," replies the krogan.

I shrug. I technically can't say much beyond that, so I'll shut up now. "It will in time," I say. "Either way, I'm not backing out now. I'm with you on this for as long as I need to go."

Wrex nods at this. "All right," he says. "I hope you're ready to kick some barefaced ass!"

I beam at him, my smile shining a little too much for even my own comfort. "As ready as I'll ever be!" I say.

"All right," he says.

And with this, the airlock door whooshes open, and I get to venture around the Citadel again. Wrex steps out first, followed by me as we both leave to find the Zakera Wards.

We move about, our weapons idle and my cloth still wrapped around my hand as we walk around. I see a turian, and I approach him.

"Excuse me, sir," I say, looking over to him. "Do you know where I can find a turian by the name of Tonn Actus?"

He eyes me briefly, and I can see the faintest hint of a glare in his eyes. "No," he says curtly before walking off.

I blink as I watch him walk away. Jeez, that was impolite.

"Fuck you too, asshole," I mutter under my breath.

I then turn to Wrex, who is also asking around for Tonn Actus. We're not having any luck. The turians I ask routinely turn away, usually just walking off and leaving me to my own devices. I get a polite reply sometimes-if I'm lucky. Wrex doesn't get much luck asking anybody else, either. We're just wandering around asking about Tonn Actus and not really getting anywhere. And it is really starting to get annoying. It really is. It's like we're trying to ask where the bathroom is in Italy and we don't know the Italian for 'how'. Only, hostility seems to be playing into it. This is not going well.

It takes me back to the days when I drank JRPG's like a vat of water. I would wander around the towns with no way of moving forward, trying to figure out what I was supposed to do but not really getting anywhere. And then, I had to sell my soul to Gamefaqs to progress the story. I was a little younger then and didn't quite get mission objectives, but still, it was an innocent time. I remember I stopped playing Skies of Arcadia: Legends for that reason, only to pick it back up a few years later and enjoy the hell out of its story. Either way, it feels like that.

And if we don't get it together... Oh, dear, I don't want to think about how pissed Wrex is gonna be.

"Hey! Excuse me, sir!"

It takes me a moment to realize that someone is calling to me. Oh, shit, I hate it when that happens. I see a rather astute man approach me. Wait... he looks familiar... Black buzz cut, stubble, slightly angular face, blue eyes...

Of course! It's the default M/Shepard model! I think I know who I'm talking to! Of course, he's a little... shorter than I remember him being. I guess that comes with being the younger sibling. Also, he isn't as muscular as he is in the game, but hey, what can you do, you know? Since this is Shepard I'm talking to, I might as well go and help him out.

"Yes?" I ask, glancing to the side to see Wrex asking an asari (to no avail, I'm sure).

"I... I'm a little lost," he says. "I have to report to the docks in twenty-four hours, but I'm not sure where I'm supposed to find them from the Zakera ward."

I blink. Well... I don't exactly remember the map of the Citadel, so...

"Well... I can't help you there," I reply. "I don't really know the Citadel all too well. Sorry."

He nods, glancing to the side nervously as backs away slowly. "Well, thanks for trying to help," he says.

"Actually, I'm looking for something," I reply quickly. He pauses where he is, and gives me a look. "Well, someone, really. Do you know where I can find a turian by the name of Tonn Actus?"

At this, the... well, stranger... raises an eyebrow. "Tonn Actus?" he says. "I think I've got some intel on him. Why?"

I let out a breath I hadn't known I was holding. "Oh, thank goodness!" I say. "I've been out all over the place for this guy. What do you know?"

"Not much," he says. "But he likes to hang around... well... questionable places..." At this, he seemed to get a little nervous. Aw, the nervousness carried over from Al Makar. How cute!

I cross my arms. "Look, all you have to say is that he's a deviant and that will be that," I reply. "Do you know anything else?"

The man nods at this. "Enough, anyway," he says. "I've pinpointed a location he likes to hang out at." He types a few things on his omni-tool. "I'll download it to your omni-tool right now. It's in the Zakera wards, so you won't have to venture far. You may want to hurry, though. It's getting close to that time."

I nod, crossing my arms. "I see..." I say. "How do you know all this, and why are you helping me?"

"C-Sec's been trying to get this guy as far as I know," he replies. Oh, lovely. Not only does he get in bad with a krogan, but C-Sec too? Well, that'll solve that dilemma, I'm sure. "And also, because I know C-Sec doesn't have too much to go on, given that all their attempts to search his appartment come to nothing. I'm sure you have a better reason than I do to hang on it."

I nod, gesturing over to Wrex where he's all but fuming in rage at his ill luck. "My krogan friend here has more than a couple of reasons to hunt him down," I comment. "I'm helping as a favor to a friend."

He nods. "I see," he says. "And as for how I know that? I'm training to be an infiltrator. N7 training can come in handy when you least expect it..."

Well, he mentions N7. So I guess now would be as good a time as any to mention it.

"Wait, N7..." I say. "Your name wouldn't happen to be Albert Shepard, would it?"

At this, his eyes widen, and he very nearly falls back. Aha! "Y-yes, yes it is," he replies. "How do you know who I am?"

I smile, crossing my arms in front of me. "Your sister is my commanding officer!" I say.

He nearly balks at this, leaning forward as he looks at me. "Wait..." he says. "You're under Joc's command?"

Wait, what? Oh, don't tell me... "Joc?" I ask.

"Short for Jocelyn," replies Albert. Wait... Albert and Jocelyn... Al and Joc...

Oh, shit! This kicks ass! Wow, RoyalFanatic would be so flattered right now that the real name of the Shepard siblings was equivalent to her soul twins from the Shooting Star saga. Jesus Christ on a pikestaff, that's cool! Now if only she were here to see it... That would be something. Maybe it'll add some fire to the soul twin idea? Hm... I dunno. Either way, this is still pretty damn awesome!

"You're on the Normandy?" he asks.

I nod at this. "Yeah," I say. "I'm the Earthborn kid that saved the quarian."

"I... I see..." he says, rubbing the back of his head. "Joc and I tend to talk a bit... and she's mentioned the crew of the Normandy a lot. You guys sound like a really odd bunch."

"Probably because we are," I say with a shrug. "But hey, that's the beauty of it, you know? She's mentioned you a couple of times, actually. Says pretty good things about you."

Al nods at this. "I see..." he says. "Well... it's funny running into you because you need help... Wow... this is a little awkward..." He rubs the back of his head as he thinks about this.

"Oh, nonsense," I reply with a smile. "It's always nice meeting people. So... the pleasure is all mine, Albert."

"Please, call me Al," replies the male Shepard sibling. "And I'm glad I was able to help with the Tonn Actus guy. Let me know if you get him."

"I'll let... er... your sister know," I say. Man, it's so wierd thinking of her as Jocelyn Shepard. If her middle name was Marie, it would make the coincidence so much more awesome.

He nods. "Good luck."

And with this short sentence, he leaves, and I see him exit. So he's an infiltrator. Huh. F/Shepard is apparently the vanguard, and Al is the infiltrator. Most interesting... That will certainly be fun to see once part 2 rolls around. Pity I won't be around for that long. Still, at least I got to meet Albert. That was certainly fun. I wonder how similar he is to the singer who wears a purple mask.

My reverie is interrupted when I hear a huff behind me. Turning, I face Wrex, who doesn't look to happy. He gives me a glare that sort of knocks my good mood out of me.

"I didn't have any luck," he says. "Seems nobody likes to help a krogan. What about you?"

I look to my left arm, where my omni tool rests. I bring it up, and then access the information Albert downloaded to the tool.

"Much luckier," I reply. "If you can believe it, I actually bumped into Shepard's brother asking for help."

Whatever sour mood Wrex was in was instantly gone, as his tense posture suddenly takes flight. I don't know how he does it, but he somehow manages to look shocked. Huh. A krogan looking shocked. That's not something you see every day. It's only mild shock, but still.

"Oh?" he asks, looking down on me as he shifts his weight on his feet. "And what did he tell you?"

I bring up the information that was downloaded to my omni-tool.

"This," I reply, gesturing to the information that was displayed there.

He looks at the information on my omni tool. He seems concentrated on this information, and then he looks to me. Crimson eyes seem to get... well, different. Maybe more relaxed.

"That sounds about right," he says. "Figures. I should've known he would pull something like that. Let's go find this place."

With this, I nod, and the two of us head over to the place that Al directed me to.

We head to a rather stony looking area of the Zakera wards before we finally show up at the place where Tonn Actus is supposed to be. And we look at it, glancing over. It looks like a rather seedy bar, with a half-functioning neon sign overhead. It's kind of like the older bars on movies about Brooklyn and stuff. Kind of like that, only in the future. Jeez, I didn't know neon signs could fail in the future. Wow... That is certainly an unexpected discovery.

Wrex gives me no time to comment on it. "Here we are," he says. "Looks exactly like the kind of place he would hang around."

Oh, boy. The game definitely didn't bring this up. He sells krogan artifacts and he's a criminal. I wonder what he does aside from that...

"Right," I say. "Now, if my calculations are correct, you probably know what he looks like."

"And he for me," replies the krogan. "I'm not going in there."

I blink. Wait... Oh, shit... "What's the drinking age on the Citadel?" I ask.

Wrex gives me an odd look. "For humans?" he asks. "18. Why?"

Oh. Phew. That was a close one. "Oh, good," I say. "I can enter then. Good thing, too; I wouldn't want to wait a year and two months to turn 21 like I have to for the Earth bars..."

The krogan gives me an odd look. "We should still wait for him to enter first."

"Right," I say. "Find somewhere to hide and let me know when he gets here. I'll keep a comm link open. If you see me walk out, follow, with or without prior words."

"Got it," says Wrex. He walks a short ways off so that he's inconspicuous. Huh, an inconspicuous krogan. I never thought I'd see the day.

All right. I stand in front of the bar, pacing around. Almost as if I'm debating whether or not I should enter. That looks pretty convincing I should think. Yes, this will work. I pace around for about a minute before the comm unit in my ear cackles to life.

"Okay, I see him," says Wrex over the line. "He's the greyish turian with the green suit."

I look around, inconspicuously, and I notice him on as I turn around. He doesn't pay much attention to me, but seems to pause briefly before he walks in. I swear his gaze is lingering on me.

Oh, dear. This is going to be wild and crazy. I don't know whether to feel disturbed that he's... no, I know that I definitely should be disturbed. The bastard's probably older than I am. So yeah. Bisexuality definitely doesn't figure into this one. Oh, no, sir.

I bring my hand up to the comm. "I saw him," I say. "We'll have to ad lib this one."

"All right," he says. "I can see all angles of the entrance. I'll try to follow you if you leave."

With this confirmation, I look up at the name of the bar. After staring at the disjoint neon, I venture inside.

And I step inside, and see the bar all inactive and stuff. It's definitely seedy, and I have a feeling I stick out like a sore thumb. My PC in Dragon Age was a goody two-shoes for a reason, you know. Well, aside from using blood magic to save Connor, of course, and that was because I hadn't done Broken Circle beforehand.

Man... This is starting to get more like Samara's loyalty mission by the second.

Well, I should probably order a drink. I walk over to the bar, looking over to the bartender. He's a turian, with black facepaint on one part of himself. I nod to him as he turns to me.

"Good evening, sir," he says. "How may I help you?"

I look briefly at the menu that's there. Oh, okay, it's a holographic projection. Phew. "Eh... what's the lightest thing you've got?" I ask.

He blinks. "Well, the screwdriver isn't too bad for humans."

"Right," I say. "I'll take a shot of that please."

He nods, and goes under the table briefly. "One screwdriver, coming right up," he says. "You're 18, right?"

I nod. "19," I reply. "Going on 20 pretty soon. Just thought I'd chill for the night. Get out of a rough patch. You know?"

He nods at this. "Five credits," he says.

I work with my omni tool briefly, transferring my credits to his account as he set the drink before me. "There you go," I say. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," he says.

And with this, he turns his attention to another person.

All right, keep your eye on Tonn Actus. I sip on my shot of screwdriver, thinking about that. It's true, really; I don't hold my alcohol well. The last time I drank socially, I ended up getting extremely dizzy, such that a friend had to walk me home and I began to exhibit my habit to laugh way too hard when I get drunk. Fortunately, I wasn't drunk enough that I forgot what had happened when I woke up the next morning, but I think I came pretty close to that. That, and it was late at night, and I also don't go past 11:30 all too well unless I'm playing on my PS3 or composing. So I think a screwdriver is a safe bet myself. I've had the good fortune of consuming alcohol in places where my family or friends could help me monitor my progress, and also that I'm more aware of things than most people when the dizziness sets in.

As I sip on my screwdriver, I hear someone get into the seat next to me. I hear the glass get plunked down on the table. Okay, that gets my attention. I turn my head and-

O-ho-ho-hoooookaaaaaaay... This is getting uncomfortable. Tonn Actus is sitting right next to me, giving me a look as I give a glance. Oh, shit. Yeah, this is uncomfortable. Don't tell me this guy preys on younger people... It'll be like O-Ren Ishii getting her revenge all over again.

"I noticed you outside," he says. "You paced around here."

Shit... I think he's hitting on me. Or trying to. Either way, this isn't entirely comfortable... Shit... Swallow it in.

"I just wasn't sure what to think," I reply. "This is the first time I've ever gone to a bar alone."

At this, I see his mandible flex slightly. Oh, dear, I think he's got some lewd thoughts going... "You don't have to do it alone," he says. "Here. The least I can do is buy you a drink."

Okay, Tonn... Shit, this is creepy as fuck. Man, I'm in this way over my head. Shit... No, Art, focus. You're doing this for Wrex. If this is the kind of depths you have to fall back on, so be it.

I turn to him. "All right, sir," I say. "I'll take that. Uh...?"

"Tonn," he says, holding out his hand.

I look at it briefly, my mind working. Well, I can't give my actual name, because that would tip him off that something is wrong. So... What to do... what to do... Pseudonym... But who...? Ah! I've got just the guy!

"Aranai," I reply, taking his hand and shaking it. "Zevran Aranai. Zev to my friends."

"Very well, Zev," says Tonn. "Some more of that?"

I look down at my shot, seeing the glass half-empty. Hm. Well, if it helps me keep track of him... I might as well.

I down the rest of my glass, shaking my head. Damn, I'm still not used to the taste of vodka in the evening. I look to him with a smile. All right, time to play Sexy Boy.

"Sure," I say.

He gives what I can only assume is the turian equivalent of a smile, and he calls it out to the bartender. I get a new screwdriver, and then we end up talking. A lot. I think we talked for about twenty minutes. He talked about his entrepreneur expertise. He's definitely very self indulgent, if a little lewd as well. Something about him reminds me a lot of Paco Mendez. I give myself a false history, although given that I myself am living under a false history that shouldn't be so hard. About how I'm training to be an Alliance soldier, how I love to go barhopping with some guys, and... well... dropping hints about interest. And I must say, I've shocked myself with some of the things that came out of my mouth. I was raised as a proper Roman Catholic, and I still hold on to a few things from that even if I no longer actively practice the religion. Some of the things I'm saying would be enough to make the most hardcore prostitute blush slightly. So yeah.

Towards the end of the twenty minutes, I'm on my fourth screwdriver and still doing relatively well for myself. At any rate, I'm not overly dizzy. Yet. But he gets more animated as he downs whatever turian ale he's having. And then, he looks at me.

"You know, you seem awfully lonely tonight," he says. "Down here in the Zakera wards. You need a lift home?"

I sigh, not sure what to tell him. "Well, I'm due on my ship in about... Hm... I'd say twenty hours," I say. It's true, too. We're staying here briefly and then heading off to see about that geth thing we found out about on the terminal at Feros. "But I don't really feel like going all the way back to the ship right now."

Tonn nods at this. "That's too bad," he says. "But... you could probably rest up at my place for the night... If you don't mind, that is..."

I look. All right, he's taking me to his place! Wrex shall find his armor soon! I of course don't say anything, biting on my lower lip and pretending to contemplate it. After a while, I nod.

"All right," I say. "That doesn't sound so bad. Lead the way."

The turian stands up, and then nods to me. I stand up myself, but not before he pays for our drinks via omni-tool. The two of us then leave the bar, exiting away. I can feel Wrex' stare behind me as he follows me with his eyes. I can just imagine the krogan sneaking around.

And so, Tonn and I head over to his place. Somehow, he doesn't suspect that there's a huge-ass, scarred krogan that he knows, but hey, I'm already far enough in this. I'll just play this for all it's worth.

About fifteen minutes later, we arrive at his apartment. I step inside...

Holy shit! All these artifacts! There are artifacts hanging on the wall, on the ceiling, in display cases, by the windows... Holy shit, they're everywhere! There's enough of them here to make an entire archeological expedition figure out the culture of whatever civilization they're digging up! This is insane! No wonder Al wanted to help; this guy must be holding back a lot of information! I wonder how much trouble C-Sec has getting into this place; he probably jacks up the security! Really, the only other furniture in the room is a couch and a sitting table.

"Whoah!" I say. "I knew you sold artifacts, but... wow, I didn't think you'd decorate your home with them!"

"They are my pride and joy," says Tonn, going over to one of the artifacts posessively. "These things bring me so much happiness. You know what they say about the krogan, do you?"

I raise my eyebrows, playing along. "Not really," I say. "What?"

"The brutes don't know their own culture." Oh, the nerve of the racist son of a bitch! If I wasn't trying to preserve my cover, I'd have just shot the son of a bitch! "There is even a special suit of armor I keep in the vault that I only let myself see..."

Oh. The vault. That must be Wrex's armor. "I see..." I say, looking around as I enter the apartment further. "That's interesting..."

The turian gestures over to the couch. I think I see where this is going... And I am not looking forward to it as he moves over to the couch. I follow along, allowing the cloth to come undone from my hand.

He looks over at that as he sits on it. "So, Zev," he says. "I hear humans have odd fascinations..."

"Don't we all?" I ask, shrugging. "It's nothing new, really."

"Oh, I think you know what I'm talking about, my friend," replies Actus. Yes, yes I know what you're talking about... And I don't like it one bit. It's not even that I'm allowing myself to get seduced by a guy; I've got no problem with that given my bisexuality. It's just that he looks old. Very old. A 19 year old guy and an older turian... Shit, I'm gonna have to ask Wrex how old Tonn is later. If he's as old as Sturge was when I left home, I'm going to freak out. Horrifically. I can't believe I'm letting myself get seduced by an older male turian to get some armor for my friend...

After this, he owes me a lot. And if someone asks me to do something like this again, I am not agreeing to it. Granted, I couldn't see this coming, but still...

"I..." I begin. "... I think so... I've heard turians have strange ways of making advances on people, at any rate..."

The turian's grin is wider and more lecherous than I have ever seen, and now it's taking me biting on the inside of my mouth to avoid giving away that I'm horribly disgusted by this. "So you do know," he says. "Like playing hard to get, eh?"

I chuckle nervously. "More like 'I've never done it with a turian before'," I reply, using my nervous voice to hide my disgust with this arrangement. "I... get around, if you know what I mean..."

"Then you'll have no problem stripping for me, then," he says. "I hear humans do that. I want to see it for myself..."

Okay. This is turning more into the Sexy Girl chapter from Heavy Rain by the second. And it's milking every disturbing second for all it's worth. Shit... I don't know how much longer I can do this without cracking... I'm already having a hard enough time shielding my disgust... Now I have to somehow knock him out and get Wrex's armor before I lose my virginity to some lecherous nutcase who makes too much profit on krogan artifacts.

"Well... are you sure a striptease would work?" I ask. "There are many, many ways that humans do stuff. And I can't give a good strip in this armor."

Tonn looks over my armor briefly. He then nods. "All right," he says. "Get down to your shirt and pants, and I'll be back. I'm going to go check on my vault. I expect you'll be ready in five minutes."

Almost too quickly, I nod. With this, he graciously stands up. "Very well then," he says. "I'll be back, dear boy!"

With this, he turns around and heads off into a different part of his apartment. Looks like his vault is in the bedroom. Right. I better get ready.

I take off my magnetic weapon rack, looking through my assortment. Let's see... Shotgun is too big. Assault rifle isn't any better. Pistol. All right, I'll go about it with the pistol then. I take the pistol off, dropping the magnetic thing on the ground carefully and with the weapon side facing the ground. I can't risk him knowing that there's a hidden pistol somewhere. Okay, where do I hide it? Oh! There's a pillow that's just small enough to hide it. With proper placement, I can probably hide it! With this, I look around the pillow, realizing I can also partly hide it in the cushion. I wedge it in there, covering the handle with the pillow. Okay, I think I know what to do.

With that, it's only a matter of stripping my armor. And I've only got three minutes to do it. All right. Off goes the chest plate, and then everything else. Gotta hurry! Gotta hurry!

Before long, I've got all my armor off, and I'm in my shirt and pants. Good thing I still wear underwear. Futuristic underwear, too, which is more revealing than I would like it to be. What can I do?

As soon as I take my boots off, I hear the door open. My heart skips a beat, and then Tonn Actus walks out... naked. Shit, he's direct, isn't he? I'm beginning to lose my cover, I know it.

He walks over to the side, and he drops some kind of wireless key over to the side. Oh, hey, it's probably the vault key. I see where this is going.

"All right," he says, laying himself on the couch as suggestively as he can for being a turian. "I'm ready for your little strip show..."

Shit. All right, Art, keep it together. Don't break your cover until you reach for the gun. You can do this. You can pretend to play along.

I then think of the Dance of the Seven Veils, and set a rhythm to that for a striptease. Just think of the Dance of the Seven Veils. All right, I think I can do it. After I seem to do that, I turn and wave my ass at him. I look behind and see him get a little too enthralled for my own good. He seems to stare on as I move it to the couch.

I think I should take off an article of clothing. I'll go with my shirt for now. I turn around, my knee on the couch as I pull my shirt up slowly. When I am fully shirtless, I feel him run his talon along it. His touch is icy, and I really don't like it. Lecherous men are creepy indeed. I feel his touch get... more exploratory...

I can't do this. Not like this. I'm gonna have to make this quick.

I work on my pants next, slowly lowering them as his eyes trail along. My legs are in full view as I discard my pants. I then kneel towards the pillow that the gun is hidden under, slowly crawling towards it as I wave my ass. He makes some comment about human asses, and then I feel his face staring right at my ass even as my hand is reaching under the pillow.

I look behind me one last time. Okay, he's distracted by my ass. Now's the perfect time.

With a harsh yank, I come flying around, whacking him on the head with the pistol. I see his expression register surprise before I leap back and shoot the man a few times in the stomach. Blue blood spills out onto the couch, his naked form conveying shock at getting shot. He's still breathing harshly as I walk over to him. I frown as he gives me an angry look.

"You son of a bitch...!" he says weakly. "Zevran Aranai, I will have my mercenaries hunt you down!"

I reach for my pants as he says this, putting them back on. "Go ahead," I say. "Zevran Aranai isn't a real person. Or do you purposefully disregard human fantasy fiction?"

He very weakly stands up. "What the-?"

I shoot him in the stomach, causing him to fall back down. You deserve it, you disgusting son of a bitch. "I'm not one to give myself to older men," I say, picking up my shirt. and walking over to him. I point my pistol at his head, a scowl forming on my face as I point the barrel at him.

"Urdnot Wrex sends his regards."

He barely has time to jolt up before I pull the trigger. His eyes still wide in anger, he slumps to the ground. I don't think that will be the end of it, though; he's a turian, it'll take more than one shot. I shoot him at least two more times in the head before I pause above his body.

After the fact, I look down at the body of Tonn Actus, my mind racing as I realized everything that has just happened. Wow... I almost got raped.

"Jesus Christ on a pikestaff..." I say aloud as I step back from the corpse of the artifact dealer. "I am never doing that again."

With this, I put my shirt on. I get my armor and my magnetic weapon rack back on as well before holstering my pistol back there. I see the key he left on the table. I look to my comm unit, and insert that into my ear.

"Wrex, you there?" I ask into it.

The krogan replies back. "I'm having a bit of a hard time getting in," he says. "There are mercs everywhere! They seem to be defending Tonn from me."

I look down at Tonn's body before shaking my head. "Too bad for them," I say. "I managed to get Tonn. And he's dead, so yeah. There's a vault in this apartment; I think it's where the armor is. I'm gonna go check it out. Just sit tight with those mercs and I'll get the armor."

"Make it quick," he says. "I don't think I can hold out much longer."

I roll my eyes at this, chuckling. "Right," I say. "I'll make it as fast as I can!"

With this, we cut the comm link, and then I look down at the wireless key. I grab it and head deeper into the apartment. The bedroom should be the key...

I enter, and am surprised by just how barren the bedroom is in comparison to the artifact. I look around and the only confirmation I get is that there is some kind of painting on the far wall. I look at it, and... Well, it's always behind the painting, right?

I hold up the key to the light, and then I see a button. I press it, looking over at the wall. As soon as I do, the wall opens up, the painting rising as some lights come on within the vault. All right, I think I've hit the jackpot! The lights come on, and I see all manner of krogan artifact. There's ancient weaponry. There's a musical- holy shit, a musical instrument! I'm totally going to steal it, especially since it's small! I take the instrument. Hm... looks like some variation of a recorder. Except for the fact that the bell goes off in two parts, with three fingerholes each. Wonder what this does. Well, the mouthpiece is too large for me (naturally), so I just store it under my armor. It's made of bone, it'll be fine. There's all manner of artifact around the place, and it's... well, startling really. If I was not in a dealer's home, I would be extremely giddy right now.

And then, on a pedestal in the center of the room is the family armor. I look over it briefly. It's white, with the ceremonial circles above. It's certainly grand, and definitely befitting of clan Urdnot. I smile as I look at the armor. I run a hand across it, and I think I know that everything will be all right. I mean, in the game it looked awesome enough... but in this room in real life, there's something incredibly regal about it. Like I could play a Pomp and Circumstance march to just seeing this thing.

I slowly bring my arms around and lift it, surprised by how light it is. All of the armor is within the chest and hump plate, and surprisingly I can lift it all without too much of a problem. It's light, looks very durable, and is incredibly regal. No wonder Actus wanted to sell this thing; it's the ultimate krogan armor.

I quickly take the armor and step outside of the vault, the thing closing when I leave. I look behind and then back down to the armor before setting it down on the bed. I activate my comm unit as I lay the armor down.

"Wrex, I've got the armor," I say. "I don't think I can lift it and shoot at the same time, though! We'll have to come back for that!"

"You won't have to worry about that," says a voice I don't recognize from the other side of the unit.

Oh, shit. No... No no no... Not Wrex...

"What have you done with him?" I ask. "Where is he?"

"Don't worry," he says. "He's cooperating. For now. We only ask that you come down quietly. When you do, hand the armor back over to us, and we'll let you both go. With your lives."

Shit... There's always a catch with that. They're just going to kill him when I get there, and then me. I can't give them what I want. Shit, what do I do?

"We will wait ten minutes for your reply," he says. "If we haven't heard from you, he dies. This starts now."

Oh, shit. Not before Virmire, you sons of bitches. I run back into the main room with the armor in tow as I look over to the window. I've gotta take another way out if I want to avoid being seen. Where...

I suddenly notice that the apartment isn't that high up. It's only one story, I think it is. An apartment of this size on a lower floor? Blasphemy! Oh, well, it's the only thing I've got right now. I'll have to make this quick.

I take my shotgun off my pack. The windows are likely going to be really tough, if only because the breathable air cuts off at around the halfway point of the window. I grab my cloth and tie it around my head before grabbing my shotgun.

Here goes nothing.

I bang the butt of the shotgun against the glass, the thing barely even cracking. Okay, that doesn't work. I step back, and prepare the shotgun. I let out a yell and rush towards the glass, and as I approach, I stab the shotgun against the glass. That gets it to crack. All right, we're making some progress here. That is always a good thing. Maybe a little more should do it. I bring my shotgun up against the glass, and it cracks some more. Okay, one more should do it. I breathe in and out twice for a bit, and then I take a huge breath and hold it in before finally shattering the glass.

The glass shatters, and it falls out. The almost-vacuum that I'm in now nearly takes the breath out of my lungs, but I duck down quickly and find I'm able to breathe a little easier. Okay, out of the vacuum. Now I need to get out of there before I die. Heh. Entering vacuum. All I need is the counter behind my armor counting down how much air I have left before I die and it'll be just like the USG Ishimura. Quickly running back and grabbing the armor, I sling the hump and chest plate so that the entire armor set is left dangling around my left arm before kneeling down on the ground.

I quickly get on the ground, hang over the ledge, and look down. Okay, it's not too far. I can probably make it if I'm careful. I look around and suddenly see something I can grab onto so I can make my fall a little shorter. It's along a wall that is just standing there as decoration for the entrance of the building. Aha! If I can get that, I should be all right!

I swing a little bit on the sides so that I can get it on. And- Oh, shit, I lost my grip with my right hand! Oh, Christ. It's up to my left hand now... Yeah, I think I got it, even with the added weight of Wrex's armor. I slowly bring my arm back up, and then I manage to grip the ledge safely. All right let's try that again. I swing a little bit to the sides, feeling my feet go side to side. All right. I've got enough momentum now. One, two, three.

I leap off the edge, hoping to catch the next ledge. But I just slam against the wall, my fingers not even close to it. Ah, shit, I should've taken different gravity into account! I slide against the wall briefly before I realize that it's close enough that I can just vault off the wall back onto the apartment. I do that, and I slide back down to the ground, mostly unharmed except for a slight tingling feeling in my arms from holding up my body weight plus Wrex's armor. Fortunately, Wrex' armor doesn't look scratched, and I can sense that I'm all right.

Okay, I'm alive. Now, to get Wrex out of there.

I pull out my assault rifle, sidling up along the wall to get a better look at the situation. It's looking pretty bad. They're still looking out into the building. I guess the sound doesn't travel as well in an almost vacuum. They're holding Wrex at gunpoint, his guns all being held by some turian mercenaries. Shit... there are ten of them. How am I supposed to take all ten of them down? This isn't good.

"Need some help?"

I nearly jump there. I never expected I'd hear him again. "Al?" I ask as softly as I can manage while startled.

"Hey," he says through the comm link that he's started up without my knowledge.

"Al, what the hell are you doing here?" I ask. "Didn't you have a ship to go back to?"

"I didn't feel comfortable leaving you and the krogan to your own devices," he replies. "So I followed you here and hacked into your comm lines."

I frown at this, looking around the place. "How the hell did you do that?" I ask. And almost as soon as I say it, I realize it's a stupid question.

"I'm an infiltrator, remember?" asks Al, and I can suddenly see a red dot dancing on one of the mercs. "It's what I do."

I nod at this. "Right," I say. "Okay, you get a few of them," I say. "I'll wait until the first shot is fired. And don't hit the krogan in red armor. We'll sort of make up the rest as we go."

"Got it," says the Shepard sibling as I see the scope dance. From the dot, I look around, and... well, there he is, on a maintenance shaft. "Standby."

And with this, Al fires the first shot. The rifle is surprisingly silent. Huh, they must have silencers in the future. But no matter what, one of the turians drops dead, and then the other mercs slowly look down. They don't even consider using Wrex' comm unit to contact me! How idiotic!

I look over to the maintenance shaft as he prepares another round. When he shoots, I see the turian holding Wrex at gunpoint fall to the ground. All right, great move Al! That will get things out of the way.

Okay, I think it's time I actually did something for once. I come out of cover briefly, and then fire my assault rifle at another turian mercenary. It's when I manage to get him killed that they finally activate their shields. But by that time, I'm already working at another turian, and I've already got him in the face by the time he activates his shields. I see Al fire a shot into the mercs, and then I keep tabs and follow up with assault rifle fire. That goes pretty well, and the turian drops own.

I see Wrex, and also see that he's got his hands tied up behind his back. But, he's gotten most of the knot loose, so that's a good thing. Plus, his shotgun isn't too far away, so that is always a good thing. As Al shoots at another merc, I see Wrex suddenly stand up and reach for his shotgun. After a dive, he manages to get it, and he turns to the panicking mercs and fires one right into the one that Al had just shot at. This sends it flying, and then I grin.

"Glad to have you back," I whisper to myself.

I come out of cover then and concentrate some fire on a turian just at the edge of the crowd. After that... well, I don't know. It's just general pandemonium as sniper rounds, shotgun blasts, and assault bullets whiz about them. I don't even think they put up that good a fight. Grunt would be disappointed.

When the mercenaries are down, I peer up, and come out from behind cover. Well, not before I take a hold of Wrex' armor first. I run over to Wrex, holding out the white armor.

"Here it is," I say, extending it to him. "Looks regal, if I do say so myself."

Wrex looks at the white armor before nodding. Taking it from my hands, he holds the armor and looks inside to see that yes, all the pieces are still there. He touches the white armor, his finger almost seeming a little nostalgic as he looks at it. Wait... Wrex isn't getting misty, is he? No way! Wrex never gets misty! Does he?

"White as the sands of our grandest desert..." says the krogan. "Exactly as I remember it. Even right down to the insignia on the armor."

He turns to me, and I see something sparkle in his eyes. Something... Oh, shit, he is getting misty, isn't he? "Thank you, my friend," he says. "You don't know how much this means to me."

"Well, if you're going all eloquent on me, I'm guessing it means a lot," I say.

Wrex nods. "I would say that, yes," he comments. "But still... You kept your word. I owe you much for this favor."

Oh, Christ. "Yeah, I would agree with that," I say, nodding nervously. "I allowed myself to get seduced by an older man for that!"

Wrex looks down at me. "Wait..." he says. "So he tried to...?"

I nod. "How old was he?" I ask.

"Seventy-three," he replies. "At least, the last time I checked. Also, he carried stuff that humans could get." He pauses for a moment, and then glances to the side before continuing. "Yes, I do owe you a lot, now that I think about it."

Uh... Shit... Seventy-three... And he has about 10,000 different kinds of AIDS... Shit... That's...

I'm sorry, I have encountered an error and will need to shut down. Have a nice day.

Fortunately, I recovered from my shock pretty quickly. And one set of introductions, two tram rides, and three C-Sec officers later, we're finally back at the Normandy's airlock. Al walked with us all the way back here, and now, we're just talking a little bit about needless things. His N7 training, my soon-to-come sniper rifle training, all that good stuff.

And when we get to the Normandy, Al nods to us. "Okay," he says. "And that should take care of your problems, Wrex."

"Thank you for your help," says the krogan.

"You're not gonna say hi to your sister?" I ask him.

He shakes his head. "I have things that need to be taken care of before my ship leaves," he says. Oh, well that sucks. It makes me a sad panda... "Besides, you can probably adress her with her first name. She'll know you met up with me almost immediately, because I'm the only one who calls her Joc on a regular basis."

"I see..." I say. Oh, boy, these next few days are gonna be fun. "Anways, it was nice meeting you. Thanks for all your help!"

"Hey, if you're ever on the Citadel and need something, let me know!" says the infiltrator. "I'll see you around."

And with this, the infiltrator leaves us at the airlock. I wave to him as he walks away, a smile coming to my face. He disappears within the crowd, leaving Wrex and I standing there with the krogan carrying his own armor. He seems to look out into the crowd as well, and I can hear victory music swelling somewhere in the recesses of my mind. I nod to Wrex.

"Well, we've got your armor back," I say with a smile.

"Yes, we have," he says. "Thanks. This means a lot to me. More than I think you know."

"Hey, anytime," I reply. "Let's get back into the Normandy."

And with this, we enter the airlock. Mission accomplished!