Chapter 2
Target: Dr. Samos
Lilandra Coreit had been processed and now sat in prison waiting to be tried for her crimes. She would then be sent to the Citadel's new prison on the planet Maitrum.
Ventius now focused on his next target. He pulled out the file pertaining to the doctor known only as Samos.
"Name: Doctor Samos
Gender: Male
Height: 5'5″
Average Weight: 131 lbs.
Eye Color: Green
Occupation: Former Surgeon
Known Crimes: Illegal Drug Smuggling, Illegal Organ Smuggling, Medical Malpractice
Known Associates:
Lilandra Coreit, Asari/ Employer
Doctor Quaru, Salarian (deceased)/ Partner"
Didn't say where he had worked or where he would have gone after Omega. But that was his job. To find those who did not wish to be found.
Dr. Samos had been his medical license revoked after allegations that he was experimenting on patients, using illegal drugs. Now, there were new allegations that he was now illegally obtaining patients and using illegal drugs on his "patients" and harvesting their internal and vital organs for "research" purposes.
Ventius sat aboard his new ship, the Aequitas on his way to the salarian homeworld of Sur'Kesh to find any information he could on "Dr. Samos."
Sur'Kesh the salarian homeworld, compared to the jungles of Earth by humans: pretty to look at, teeming with life, uncomfortable to live in and dangerous to the unwary. The technophilic salarians had significant pollution and waste problems early in the development of their society. They also embraced social solutions just as quickly, and through complex breeding rules, Sur'Kesh now maintains a crowded but sustainable population. The planet tends to be wetter than Earth, and salarian cities spare no expense to collect and provide fresh water, as one might expect from an amphibious species.
Ventius looked through the ships front visor and saw the planet Sur'Kesh as his ship approached.
Waiting at the landing pad were a few Salarian diplomats and scientists. Ventius would have to play diplomat for now, just long enough to get information about the "good doctor" before he hightailed it out of there.
He wasn't a big fan of the salarians. They thought themselves better than other races because of their scientific and technological skills and background. He had worked with a salarian once. He had forgotten his name, but remembered the whole time he had worked with him, the salarian did nothing but brag about all the times he won awards and medals for his "ground-breaking" work in the salarian medical field.
"Welcome Spectre Ventius. I am Dalatrass Huimer. I believe you are here to gather information on Dr. Samos. This way." The Salarian diplomat said, motioning for Ventius to enter his household.
They entered a large hall, a large dining table sat in the middle of the room. They entered a small room off to the side, while everyone else waited outside.
"So, what do you wish to know about Dr. Samos?" the Dalatrass asked Ventius.
"His whereabouts." Ventius quickly replied.
"Well that is something I do not know. I apologize, but I cannot help you. All I have for you is some files on his previous work here." The Dalatrass said handing Ventius a number of files.
Ventius got up from his seat and angrily stormed out of the office.
"I see you are quite angered. The Dalatrass and our government would have no knowledge of Dr. Samos. However, we at the STG have been investigating him. I do believe we may have a possible location where he could have gone." A salarian said as he approached Ventius.
"Well, where is he?" Ventius quickly asked as he made a grab for the file in the salarian's hands.
"Ah ah ah! That is not how this works. You promise to bring me with you to capture Samos and then I give you his location. Understood?" the salarian said to Ventius.
Ventius had an aggravated look on his face, but he knew he would have to bring the salarian along if he wanted to capture Samos.
"Fine. You can come. But you alone. No one else. Get your gear ready. We leave immediately." Ventius said as he made his way back to the Aequitas.
The salarian STG agent brought his gear onboard and they got on their way.
"So, where is Samos?" Ventius asked him.
"Samos? He is on the Erinle." The STG agent said to Ventius.
"Understood." Ventius said as he set course for the salarian world of Erinle.
Erinle was a garden world, currently in its last stages of habitability. While its soil still supports agriculture, its animal biodiversity has fallen to record lows, and the most successful remaining life forms are toxic blue-green algae and insect-like pest species. A large salarian colony was currently trying to restore biodiversity to the planet, but setbacks are a fact of life. Mineral and fuel mining remains lucrative, however, and Erinle has a thriving spaceport that refuels many ships passing through the Terminus Systems.
Ventius pulled the Aequitas into the spaceport and grabbed his gear.
"We believe he is located in the outskirts of the colony. A structure has been seen out there that he may be using for his work." The agent said as they exited the ship.
Ventius looked around and saw a number of yellow armored men walking around the spaceport.
"Eclipse mercenaries. Figured as much. Samos was working with a group of them led by an asari woman named Lilandra Coreit on Omega." Ventius explained.
"Lilandra Coreit? Never heard of her. We should go before we get caught." The STG agent said as he led Ventius to the shuttle which would take them into Erinle's outskirts.
The shuttle shot out of the hangar and brought them a few miles from Samo's suspected location.
"This is it. Be ready for anything." Ventius said as he exited the shuttle and sprinted in the direction of the hideout.
The STG agent followed closely behind. Keeping at just about the same pace as Ventius, but a few feet behind.
Salarians weren't a fast people, but this one seemed to be able to keep up with him. Probably just for show and in fear of embarrassment.
Ventius took point and entered the hideout first, with the agent following behind to cover the rear.
"The place looks empty. All of the cobwebs and dirt seem to suggest, there hasn't been activity here in years." Ventius said as he made some observations about his surroundings.
Ventius heard the sound of a gun, its safety being turned off.
"All right Turian! Hands up and turn around!"
Ventius knew just who had their gun on him.
He turned around to see the STG agent pointing his pistol at him, with his finger on the trigger.
"I had a feeling it was you…Samos. Taking on the guise of an STG agent and luring me out to a secluded location to "remove" all loose ends who asked too many questions." Ventius said as he slowly brought his hands above his head.
"Don't speak! Just don't speak! Those fools didn't know a thing. They still don't. My research. My experiments. They would have changed things. They would have completely reshaped the way we conduct medical procedures. What we use to perform them and how we perform them. But they deemed my work, too radical, too extreme. But I will show them. I will remove you from the equation. I will return to Sur'Kesh and be the galaxies greatest medical mind!" Samos said as he pulled the trigger.
A clicking sound brought a look of confusion and shock to Samos' face.
"What?! What happened? What is going on?!" Samos angrily yelled, as he began pounding on his weapon.
Ventius smiled and slowly began approaching him.
"Looks like your gun is out of rounds Samos." Ventius said as he grabbed the weapon from his hands.
Samos turned to run, but Ventius grabbed him by the back of his collar and dragged him to the ground.
"You will pay for this! Eclipse mercenaries are on their way now to eliminate you!" Samos screamed at Ventius.
"Shut up!" Ventius said, taking the butt of his gun and striking Samos across the face, knocking him unconscious.
A sound from outside, signaled to Ventius that the Eclipse mercenaries had arrived.
He pulled out his rifle and prepared for a fight.
A mercenary entered through the hideout door and was quickly struck down by a shot from Ventius' rifle.
Another mercenary made an attempt to enter the hideout, but he too was quickly struck down.
Ventius could hear a voice shouting commands to the mercenaries, telling them to move in or find another way in.
Ventius knew the place only had one way in and one way out, so the mercenaries would have to attempt to charge in at full force. But he knew they weren't that bold and would try for as long as they could to wait it out and have him use up all of his rounds before charging in. Sending decoys or scouts in as they gathered more reinforcements.
Ventius pulled a pack of grenades out of his bag and began setting them to detonate on impact.
He quickly ran to the entrance and tossed them outside.
A large explosion and loud screams told him that he had hit his target.
He grabbed Samos unconscious body and began carrying him outside.
The Eclipse mercenaries were attempting to regroup and recover after the unexpected offense from Ventius.
He pulled out his pistol and began firing on the unsuspecting mercenaries.
One mercenary tried to get up from the aftermath of the blast, but Ventius fired a round, striking the mercenary in the left side of his head.
Another tried and got a round in the chest for his efforts.
Ventius sprinted the best he could with Samos on his shoulders and tossed him into the shuttle the mercenaries had used to get to the hideout.
"Ventius to control. I have Dr. Samos in custody and need a detachment sent to Erinle in the Hourglass Nebula, Osun System. Eclipse mercs on site." Ventius said to the operator.
"Understood Spectre Ventius. Sending detachment now. Fifth Fleet is in the area. They will be there for extraction and clean-up." The operator replied to Ventius.
He returned to the spaceport and left Samos with the local authorities where Fifth Fleet would pick him up.
Ventius boarded the Aequitas and left the spaceport.
"Control, what are my new orders?" Ventius asked, ready to move on to a new assignment.
"Your presence is required on the SSV Aradonis." The operator replied to Ventius, giving him his new orders.
"Understood control."