A Krogan misplaced: Chapter 6
The Afterlife - Omega - 1 standard week after the Turning Wheel vanished in transit
To the casual observer the famed Pirate Queen Aria t'loak was acting normally, well... normally by her standards at any rate. Of course seeing as how "casual" observers on Omega tended to disappear... and if they reappeared it tended to be in somebodies chop shop, the not so casual observers noted how the famed asari was acting outside her usual parameters.
She had exited her private quarters early in the morning, a slightly disoriented turian female with Fedorian markings leaving perhaps a half hour after that. The purple asari had then visited her de-facto command centre, apparently ordered a new cruiser, those listening had speculated it could be one of the Graceful Flare type light cruisers which were due to be decommissioned, but nothing further was known after that point by other parties, primarily due to the turian with the listening device having a sudden case of missing skull. Asari warp-swords tend to have that effect.
But the only person who was in a position to make a real judgement on whether or not Aria was acting strangely was her chief of security, and if Aerix Kuril had been asked, and possessed less in the way of self preservation instinct, he would have said yes.
He'd worked with Aria for the best part of twenty years, and in all that time hadn't seen her as agitated as she was now. The tics were subtle, she had checked her omni-tool more than usual to ascertain what her employees were getting up to, had actually bothered to decapitate the spy he'd uncovered personally, instead of leaving it to one of her lackeys, and perhaps most notably, Aria had summoned him personally when asking about the progress on operations, instead of just asking for a forwarded report.
And as Aerix stood in front of the couch Aria was reclined upon, waiting for her to ask him what she wanted rather than risk assuming something, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of fear at the unexpectedness she was exhibiting. At least normally he could tell exactly what would cause her to have somebody murdered. He should know, he'd done much of the murdering.
Eventually, Aria did glance up from her omni-tool, her voice deceptively calm as she spoke to him.
"Kuril, what's the status of the special projects?"
Aerix stood to attention before raising his omni-tool to show a series of graphs and statistics, keeping his voice in a tone reserved for business as he replied.
"The negotiations with Warcaptain Vrog are proceeding as planned, he should be agreeable to a compromise over the Tellix Belt palladium mines, if he isn't we have made some inroads with one of his subordinates by the name of Ymoosk. No Council patrols have made their way near our borders, though we keep hearing rumours of STG interference near the hierarchy borders, so its possible they're attempting to pull something. Barla has smuggled nearly fifty krogan off tuchanka, we're bidding for the contract, but Garm might also be bidding so its up to you whether or not we actually finalise it."
As Aerix pulled up the charts showing the increased production from Omega's eezo mines, Aria raised her clenched fist into the air, while to the average turian it would mean little, it was an asari sign for silence, and Aerix obeyed in an instant, his mouth clacking shut audibly. Aria simply sat up, leaned forwards, and spoke in a far harsher tone than before.
"And... what news of the investigation into the crash of Turning Wheel?"
Aerix clicked his mandibles lightly as he attempted to put the less ideal news of the day into a positive form.
"Our contact in the VDF reports as he did before, the ship went into the relay completely intact, stopped transmitting a signal halfway through transit, and didn't exit the other end of the relay. It's...possible that the ship merely hit a stellar body enroute, it would not be without precedence."
The scowl on Aria's face was something few people ever had the displeasure of seeing. Fewer people had the luck to see it twice, and this was only the seconds time Aerix himself had seen it. He was...worried.
"A well maintained ship with a paranoid captain, who is former STG, and with not only several associates of mine, but one of my few friends, goes missing in an event that has less than a million to one chance of occurring? I'll believe that when the tides dry in Armali and not a day before. Somebody, has caused that freighter to not make it to its destination, and until we find out who, that investigation will. be. continued."
Aria's scowl then turned into something even more terrifying. A small smile, albeit one which reached neither her eyes or crest, appeared on her face.
"Are. we. clear?
Aerix gave a submissive chirp and nodded, before walking out of the room.
-
Unknown Location
The being standing in the room's centre was, at least outwardly, a salarian. Yet salarians, most curiously among all sentient races, do not live for a long time. This being, for no one, perhaps not even itself, knew for certain its gender, had been around for a minimum of three hundred years. Not once had natural light touched its face, nor water its skin, nor indeed food its lips. Yet this being, unnatural and artificial, controlled the single greatest intelligence organ in the galaxy.
The STG master pondered over the action it should take in regards to the evident provocation directed at the Union. The death of a Wheel Priest was not unusual. Like all salarians with the exception of itself, they aged and died. But they represented an important asset to the Union, for few other beings could predict the future with any degree of accuracy. There were not many of them, a fraction of a fraction of the salarian population were born with the capability to become a Wheel Priest, and even then, the vast majority of those were useless. Capable of being nothing but scattered images of no relevance
And it was supposed to believe that one of the few who could predict actions with any great depth of clarity, had died in a million to one event? Preposterous. The target had been well chosen too, with one of the few remaining scions of Urdnot Tharx being aboard the ship when it went "missing". A potential hint that would lead many to denounce the act as being the product of the STG, and allow the true culprit to slip away undetected. It was a cunning plan, but the suspects for who it could be were few. The Nightwind were perfectly willing to sacrifice individual agents to achieve a goal, as was the Shadow Broker, but neither had motives. Perhaps it could be the hanar? The ever watchful Ascendancy was certainly not averse to sabotage when the need called for it. But not a single drell of note had been anywhere near the freighter for almost five years.
The STG master finally made its decision less than ten seconds after it had started analysing the problem. It then sent a series of instructions to cells on what to do next, while planning the next moves in the ever present silent conflict with asari interests.
As its mind turned to other things, the STG master gave not a thought to the lives which would no doubt be quashed by its actions. It was of course programmed so such thoughts would be impossible.
The Broker command vessel - Halagaz
Nearly fifty seperate screens made up every single second of the life of the Shadow Broker. It was necessary, when one commanded the most powerful information brokerage in the galaxy, to be well informed at all times. Ever since the Broker had appeared as a distinct force in the underbelly of the galaxy, not once had the Network been truly ill informed on a subject. And if there was such a situation? It was rectified, and swiftly.
Only the strongest and swiftest of minds could handle the position of Broker, and many had over the years failed to be swift enough. As such, the true identity of the Shadow Broker, the most fearsome demon of the night to intelligence agencies throughout known space and beyond, would come as surprising to many.
"With clinical interest: Agent Ziphu, your report on the Turning Wheel situation?"
The asari in front of the Shadow Brokers desk was a matron, a veteran of seven different conflicts, and discharged from the Republican Guard with the highest honours. The scars which covered her face gave one a hint as to her off the book experiences. One did not get scarred by hanar bioweapons on official business after all.
Yet to Zeltan, fifth highest of the Dekkuna courts, "he whom has memorised the lore of the ancients with pride", it was not particularly impressive. The Network possessed more unusual people by far.
The asari gave a swift formal bow in elcor style before speaking, her distinctive Illium accent colouring her speech.
"As you know sir, the official story is a load of shantha dung, exactly who blew up the freighter is unknown, especially given the variety of targets present. One of Urdnot Tharx's descendants, a high ranking Priest of the Wheel, two different clanless agitators. Even a former planetary primarch. I wouldn't be averse to suggesting that it could have been an accident that Agent Pyjak was onboard the freighter when it was hit."
The loud grumble of disagreement from the Broker silenced Agent Ziphu's voice in a heartbeat.
"With overwhelming scorn and disappointment: Are you suggesting that one of our primary coordinators was targeted by accident? This network does not deal in assumptions ms Devir. Contact Agents Ilios and Maw after we are finished, and inform them to retaliate against the Special Tasks Group within a solar cycle. I do not care how many cells we must eliminate to get the point across."
Agent Ziphu gave another bow before the meeting continued as normal. After she had left, Zeltan turned his attention once more to the numerous screens which demanded his attention. The requests were as varied as they were numerous, ranging from a corrupt C-sec officer requesting a higher cut of pay to let cargo onto the Citadel. He would be killed, you didn't make demands of the Network. To the Migrant Fleet's High Admiral inquiring as to the possibility of purchasing a New Liveship without council knowledge or interference. She would be acceded to, for a price.
It was almost two standard hours later when the Broker actually exited his quarters to relieve himself, something which he only needed to do rarely, and came upon a surprise in wait for him.
That surprise being a Disciple class shotgun pointed directly at his face. In the following two seconds, Agent Ziphu pulled the weapon's trigger. A thousand highly propelled shards of white hot metal the size of sand grains exited the barrel of the shotgun and flew towards him.
They all hit his personal shield and disintegrated. The look of shock on Ziphu's face, at seeing a weapon specifically designed for piercing shields, to fail so utterly, was to the Broker, hilarious. It was so hilarious that he actually took three seconds to laugh out loud while Ziphu attempted to short out his shields with warpfire hot enough to melt the hallway around him into a smoking mess.
It was an often overlooked fact in warfare. Size. Sapients tended to assume that the big one was slow and an easy target. The fools who had the misfortune of fighting the elcor military soon regretted that decision. After all, if you can equip a frigate scale barrier to yourself, why wouldn't you? The same applied to weapons. And the VI controlled dual barrel particle-packet minigun Zeltan kept hidden in his cybernetic arm was no exception. The storm of bullets hit Zephu like an aircar, pulverising her flesh and shattering her bones and internal organs before she was fully aware of what had occurred.
Zeltan, the Shadow Broker, simply turned around and called inwards to his quarters.
"With amused disinterest: Glyph, add another tally mark to the totem."
AUTHORS NOTES
Concerned Statement : The previous chapter has been causing a degree of strife amidst the readership
Hopeful observation : Perhaps if I put out another chapter, people might accept the story for its merit in continuing?
Determined Declaration : Lets do this!