Chapter 5: …Where Angels Fear to Tread
As it turned out, Grunt was just as much of a jinx as Liara was. Another wave of mercs ambushed us about eight seconds after we entered the ship. Thankfully, the corridor we were in had a couple handy alcoves just big enough to fit all of us—in threes and fours. Very tight threes and fours.
Note to self: institute mandatory showers before and after missions.
"More of them?" Liara gasped as a rocket whistled by us. "How many guards does the Shadow Broker have?"
A good man would refrain from saying something like—
"I told you so."
"I know, I know. I'm sorry."
Okay. Maybe I'm not such a good man. (1)
"Hold your position," a deep, guttural voice boomed out from the previously hidden overhead speakers, "no matter the cost."
"I'm gonna scout ahead," I told the squad. "I'll hug the right wall. Please avoid firing over there."
"Hang on," Miranda frowned. She launched an EMP at a merc. The one who was also hugging the right wall. Grunt hit him with a concussive round, one with enough velocity to send him bouncing off the wall and out into the open, where he was quickly mowed down. "Now you can scout ahead," she declared.
"You're too kind."
"I am, aren't I?"
Now that the social niceties had been observed, I activated my cloak and headed forward. After making my observations, I sent a couple commands to the squad using my HUD and pulled out my sniper rifle. I was cutting it pretty close, but if I'd timed things correctly...
...yes! The merc with the rocket launcher soaked up a storm of bullets just as a trio of EMPs exploded around her boss. Before he could react, I drilled a hole straight through his head and into the wall. That thing tends to happen when you fire a sniper rifle—that's intended to shoot over long distances—at point blank range. The bullet has way too much velocity to get slowed down—even when passing through helmets, skulls or brains—so it just punches right through instead of turning the ol' noggin into an exploding melon.
But I digress.
"Door at the end of the corridor's a bust," I reported to the squad, motioning to the door—and the bullet-ridden control panel—a few metres away. "Good news, there's a side corridor to the left."
"And the bad news," Miranda asked.
"Six or seven more mercs at least. Plus a lot of nooks and crannies for them to hide in, shoot at us..."
A small explosion cast a blinding light and a very annoying high-pitched whine into our area.
"...and toss the occasional flashbang grenade," I finished.
"What?"
"I can't hear you!"
"Speak up!"
Rather than strain my vocal cords in making myself heard—and announcing any plan or errant thought for the entire ship to hear—I relayed my orders through the HUD again. Once I was sure they figured it out, I activated my cloak again. Then I moved to the right side of the entrance into the side corridor, raised my sniper rifle and fired at the closest merc on the left. This time, my target's head did explode into a nice fine mist of blood, bone and reinforced metal alloy.
The rest of the squad unleashed a flurry of EMPs, biotics, plasma and bullets at the poor suckers on the right. Before the mercs realized that things had just changed, the rest of Team One had joined me. Now we had one team on either side of the corridor and could lay down a withering, criss-crossing hail of fire. Just like the mercs.
Unlike the mercs, however, we had received no orders to hold our position. This meant that we were free to advance down the corridor, one team leap-frogging ahead of the next. Not that we would have followed any order to stay put anyway—like the good little misfits that we were.
Team One got to advance first, mostly because of my suicidal tendencies. The merc who tried to get the drop on us got hit with Garrus's EMP. Then he started burning up, courtesy of Mordin. Jack used her biotics to turn him into a smear on the wall before he could pat the flames out.
Next, it was our turn. The sight of Garrus running around like a chicken without a head was too much for a rocket-toting merc to resist. (2) She only poked her head out far enough to swing her rocket launcher into position, but that was enough for Kasumi to burn out the launcher's firing mechanism—and the merc's shields—with a well-placed EMP. Samara, Thane and Grunt worked together to haul her out of cover, let her wriggle around helplessly in a biotic field, blow up said biotic field and send her flying down the corridor and into another merc. The loud crack and the awkward position suggested that the impact somehow snapped that other merc's neck—despite a fully intact set of shields.
While making sure that second merc was really and truly dead, I noticed one merc who was disobeying the boss's orders about holding position. Instead, she was moving forward. Probably because she had a shotgun fetish. And because she was one of those asari who loved getting up close and personal.
I wasn't the only one who saw her. "Shepard?" Miranda said.
"I saw her," I replied tersely.
"Plans?" That was Garrus.
"Same as before," I shrugged, setting another merc ablaze. "Only move faster so her biotics don't touch us. And anyone who doesn't have a clean shot at another merc do what they can to take down her barriers."
The modifications to my plan worked—to a degree. Much to my surprise, the asari actually helped us take out more mercs. The mercs clearly figured we'd be so freaked out about her—and the way she confidently strolled towards us without bothering about cover—that we'd forget all about them, thus giving them a golden opportunity to land a few free shots. They soon found out they were mistaken, much to their dismay. Their very, very, very short-lived dismay.
Speaking of dismay, I let that particular expression spread over my face when the asari got close enough to fire her shotgun. She gave me a cocky grin—just before a barrage of biotics and concussive rounds ripped the rest of her barriers apart and blew out her knee. Looking around, I grabbed my heavy pistol, activated my cloak and aimed at another seriously wounded merc. After taking that merc out, I looked down at the asari. She looked a bit confused. I gave her a bright smile, right before I beat the crap out of her. At least, that was the plan before one overenthusiastic punch snapped her neck.
Oops.
"Shepard," Garrus said. "Do you see that?"
At first I thought he was talking about the dozen mercs still guarding the corridor ahead of us. Then I saw what had caught his attention: there was a path running right next to the corridor. There were a few problems, though. One, it was completely open: no walls, no windows, nothing. Two, it was in a small cavity about two metres below us, which meant that anyone firing from above would have a definite tactical advantage.
Still, none of the mercs were using it. And if we moved fast, we could use it to flank the mercs and finish this fight. At the very least, we could split their fire. "Team Two, keep the mercs occupied. Team One: follow me."
Just because the mercs weren't using this opportunity, didn't mean they were stupid. As soon as they saw us go down the short flight of stairs and enter the cavity, they immediately opened fire. If they couldn't mow us down, they could at least stall us. Unfortunately for them, they played right into their hands. Two bright flashes told me that Team Two had used that distraction to knock out several shields. Another series of flashes—accompanied by flames and floating mercs—suggested that some of those vulnerable mercs had become victims to plasma or biotic attacks.
Not wanting to squander this opportunity—besides, I didn't have any popcorn to snack on while this show was going on—I continued through the path, gunfire and screams echoing behind me, and ascended the stairs on the other side. Activating my cloak, I raised my sniper rifle, only to realize where exactly the mercs were. Specifically, there were eight mercs in the corridor—Garrus and Team Two had been busy—and one just beyond it. I decided to take out the straggler so we wouldn't get flanked ourselves. One shot was all it took.
The sound of the sniper rifle firing drew a lot of attention—those things can be really noisy in close quarters—but that just divided the mercs' attention. More importantly, by the time they reacted, it was already too late. Miranda and Kasumi fried three sets of shield generators. Liara yanked those unlucky souls into a singularity. Grunt, Legion, Samara and Thane opened fire on the remaining mercs. Judging by the pattern of fire from the other side, Garrus must have split Team Two's fire between the mercs in the singularity and the mercs who still had their feet on the ground. Thankfully, none of us had to be told to be careful with our gunfire—it would really suck for us to go to all this trouble and fight through all these mercs, only to succumb to a bout of friendly fire.
Speaking of trouble, thanks to my tactic of flanking the mercs, it didn't take long to finish the fight. Better yet, there didn't seem to be any latecomers, which meant we could take the time to plan our next move instead of making it up. "Liara, Tali, Legion; hack into the ship's database and try to figure out where we need to go," I ordered.
"Got it."
"Understood."
"Miranda, Grunt; take up firing positions and make sure we aren't interrupted," I continued, pointing at the end of the corridor where we flanked the mercs. "Garrus, Zaeed; cover our rear. Everyone else, fan out. We've used up quite a few thermal clips. Time to restock."
"And find some loot," Kasumi added cheekily.
"That, too."
Apparently, the mercs weren't big on hauling loot in their pockets. They did have plenty of thermal clips, so it wasn't a complete bust.
"We finished downloading the ship's layout," Liara reported. "If we continue past this corridor and up the stairs, we'll head towards the prison block... and Feron."
Definitely not a bust.
We followed her lead until we reached an intersection. There was a corridor ahead of us and another to our left. On our right, another set of stairs. Liara pointed towards the latter. We were only halfway up when my HUD started picking up signals. More mercs.
I poked my head around the corner and down a corridor to get my bearings. There were two passageways to my left. At the far end of the corridor was a locked door—the prison block—with a bored asari guarding it. Unfortunately, I couldn't see any other guards. Which meant that there was no way we could get the jump on all of them. The best we could do was move some people to another position, let everyone else take out the asari and hope that that would open up some new targets of opportunity or lure the other mercs out into firing range.
I activated my cloak and snuck ahead—just enough to spot two more mercs guarding the door. While I blew one of the mercs's heads off with my sniper rifle, Samara, Thane, Mordin and Zaeed attacked the asari.
"Marks in the interio—agh!" the asari managed before succumbing to the flames.
"D-point, regroup!" the surviving merc yelled out, entering a code into the control panel and diving through. "Regrooooooup!"
"Team One to the prison block! Team Two: first corridor on the left!" I yelled. "Go, go, go!"
Team One charged towards the prison block, howling all the way. Well, Grunt charged and howled. The rest of us just charged.
The entrance to the prison block was comprised of a single small office, sporting nothing but light panels, a desk and a computer. And six guards, all of whom were huddling behind the desk. Must've been a tight fit.
"Don't shoot!" one of the mercs yelled. "There's sensitive data here! You wouldn't want to damage anythiiiiiiiiiiing!"
At least, I think that's what he was saying before the EMPs launched by Miranda and Kasumi fried their shields, disabled their weapons and probably did some serious damage to whatever data was stored inside the computer. Liara's singularity had them spinning in circles before I could ask why the data in that particular computer was so darned important. Given that the merc was probably bluffing—and even if he wasn't, it was too late—I just shrugged and set a couple of them on fire.
The continued gunfire echoing outside told me that things hadn't settled down yet. "Miranda, Grunt, Samara, Legion; finish the mercs off. Everyone else: let's see how Team Two was doing."
As it turned out, Team Two wasn't doing too badly. None of them were seriously injured, though I did see a lot of shields at half strength. There were a lot of merc bodies littering the ground. At the moment, they were focused on a team of five mercs, plus one merc who was trying to stem the blood oozing from a couple bullet holes in his abdomen. Jacob, Mordin and Tali were busy sneaking through a side corridor to spring a nasty surprise while Garrus and the others kept them pinned down.
Speaking of surprises, I spotted a salarian leading a trio of goons. If we hadn't come out when we did, they could've gotten the jump on Team Two.
"Shepard: deal with the mercs behind us."
Or not. Looked like Garrus knew they were coming. Now that I had blundered in, he could leave them in my supposedly capable hands.
"Kasumi?" I prompted.
"Uh... gimme a second."
"Miranda?"
"I'm not ready yet, Shepard."
Not what I wanted to hear. Guess they needed a little more time to charge up another EMP. Which meant we'd have to do things the old-fashioned way: "Open fire!"
By that, I meant we should open fire with our guns. I didn't mean for the salarian to hose us—or, to be more precise, me—down with plasma. We returned the favour, of course. But the slippery bugger still had a sliver of shields left when he ducked out of the way, leaving behind a nice little combat drone.
By that point, Kasumi was ready to fire off an EMP. Zap the mercs or zap the drone: which would be more fun? She wound up zapping the mercs. I had a similar conundrum but, like Kasumi, I wound up targeting the mercs with a well-placed fireball. We could always take out the drone with bullets. Or, if you didn't mind getting electrocuted, you could do what I did: scowl, bite out a couple choice words and pummel the drone into submission.
While I was having my fun, Thane took out one merc with his bullets before finishing off a second merc with his submachine gun. Kasumi kneecapped the last merc before emptying her thermal clip into his body. That left the last merc for me. I activated my cloak and silently crept forward. Sneaking around the corner, I saw the salarian. Shields still damaged, head nervously bobbing around.
I tapped him on the shoulder. He whirled around, looking around in confusion. I waited until he was looking the other way before tapping him on the shoulder again. Again, he whirled around. This time, he swung wildly. He missed, of course. Then my cloak disengaged.
The salarian's jaw dropped as I shimmered into view. "Hiya!" I said brightly. Miranda picked that moment to fry his shields—and, judging by the way he was rubbing his eyes, temporarily blinding him. While he was distracted, I delivered a punch of my own. I didn't miss, of course. Then I just pulled out my heavy pistol and started shooting. Didn't take long.
As the din of my pistol died down, I noticed a distinct lack of gunfire. Could it be? Could the mercs all be dead? Could I start looting now? (3) I joined the rest of the squad and, to my delight, found out the answer to all my questions was yes.
"Thanks for covering our backs," Garrus said as I started searching for goodies.
"Anytime," I replied, swiping a med-kit.
Inside the prison block, I managed to recover a stash of credits from an account buried inside one of the computers—the one in that some mercs were hiding behind—before turning my attention to one of the doors. Only took a few seconds to crack it.
We entered another room overlooking a large chamber. Looking down, I saw a lot of monitors, most of which were facing a chair.
And the drell strapped into the chair.
Liara lowered her submachine gun. "Feron!"
Feron came too, groggily looking around. "Liara?" he whispered in disbelief, his voice ragged from lack of use.
"Hold on—we're getting you out of here!" Liara told him, running towards the nearest console. I followed her, albeit at a slower pace. Something didn't add up.
Feron watched her reach the console and start tapping away. "No," Feron managed.
A tingle fluttered over the back of my neck. "Liara," I cautioned. "Wait a—"
I was interrupted as a surge of electricity ripped through Feron. His entire body jerked, arcing out of the chair and shaking back and forth. If it wasn't for the shackles around his wrists and ankles, I don't know what might have happened. Liara jerked her hands away from the console and stepped back. "Feron!" she cried out. "I'm sorry!"
"I knew this looked too easy," I groaned.
"The equipment is... sensitive to tampering," Feron confirmed.
That would be one way of putting it. "How do we get you out?" I asked.
"This chair plugs into the Broker's info network," Feron replied. "You have to shut off the power. Pull me out now, and my brain cooks."
Liara activated a program on her omni-tool. Judging by the humanoid that started spinning in place above her omni-tool and the light highlighting different body parts, I wagered that she was running a medical scan on Feron. "Do you know where we can cut the power?" she asked.
"It won't be easy," Feron managed. "You'll have to go to central operations."
"What's the point of all this?" I wondered out loud. "A standard prison cell would take up less room. And what's with all this equipment?"
"I don't kn—aaagh!" He writhed in agony as another blast of electricity crackled through his body.
"It's a neural grounding rod," Miranda realized. "Probably set to activate on command or when it detects prolonged activity in the portions of his brain associated with speech."
"I also see medical equipment," Liara added in despair. "To make sure he doesn't... expire. We have to shut this place down, Shepard!"
"Agreed," I nodded. "Feron, what do you know about the Broker?"
"He did this to me."
"No doubt," I said, "but I was hoping you'd know a little more about who he is. Or what he is."
"I never got a good look, but he's big," Feron replied. "The guards are terrified of him."
"A krogan?" Garrus asked.
Feron managed a shrug. "I don't know, but not everyone who visits his office comes back out."
Even Grunt shuffled his feet at that comment.
"I don't suppose you have any idea how many mercs are kept on this ship?" I asked hopefully. "Or where the Broker got all of them?"
"Numbers, no. But he raises his own private force. They're completely loy—AAAAGGGGGGGHHHH!"
Liara glared at me as Feron got electrocuted again. "Shepard, we really don't have the time for this!"
She was right. If Feron had been strapped in here for two years, any intel he might have was probably out of date. And that neural grounding rod thing meant that extracting any useful intel would require more time and a lot of unnecessary pain.
"Don't worry, Feron," I assured him. "We're all getting out of here."
"Don't underestimate him!" Feron warned, his voice trembling with fear. "He prepares for everything."
"We've yet to meet the adversary who has adequately prepared for Shepard," Miranda said. (4)
"I hope you're right," Feron sighed. "Central operations is down the hall. You know the Shadow Broker's waiting for you, right?"
"I'm counting on it," I grinned.
"We'll be back for you, Feron," Liara said.
Feron glanced at his shackles before looking at Liara. "I'll try not to go anywhere," he said dryly.
"I want all teams to outpost C," the Shadow Broker ordered as we left Feron's prison cell/torture chamber.
That was our cue to pick up the pace, before—
"Get an LOS! Paint the marks!"
Aw, crap.
Two asari met us just as we were about to leave the prison block. They had excellent barriers and powerful shotguns. Neither of those were adequate compensation for fourteen fully-upgraded guns. Both asari were taken out before they could get a line of sight on us, much less think of using biotics.
Charging outside, we were met by four mercs. They looked around, did the math and ducked for cover. One of them had the presence of mind to toss a flashbang grenade. I kicked it aside before it could blow up in our faces and blind us. There was nothing I could do about the high-pitched deafening whine, though. Wincing as the noise pierced my ears, I motioned for Team Two to advance while Team One stayed put. As Garrus led his team forward, I activated my cloak.
Sure enough, one of the mercs took the bait. He popped his head up, hoping to take out Garrus, only to lose it a split second later. Thanks to my trusty sniper rifle.
Spying another merc, Miranda dropped an EMP right on top of him. Samara yanked him out of hiding, which allowed Grunt and Thane a clean shot. Two mercs down.
A scream rang out, quickly dying down to a gurgle. One merc left.
That last merc suddenly came running out, arms flailing as flames eagerly ate through his hardsuit. I sent another fireball to put him out of his misery.
Seeing no other mercs in the immediate vicinity, we decided not to wait around. I led the squad through a door at the end of the corridor, up a flight of stairs, around a corner, down a hallway, up another flight of stairs and into a corridor. A pair of guards gawked as we came barrelling towards them. "Outposts A to F are down!" one of them yelled.
"We need reinforcements!" the other cried out.
We made our move before they could say anything else. Garrus and Kasumi stripped them of their shields. Jacob pulled them up into the air where the squad could take potshots at them. While they were being turned into floating pincushions, I took the opportunity to empty another medkit and another bank account.
Then we went through the door and down another corridor to another door. How many of them did this place have, anyway?
Liara went through first, eager to get things over with. Miranda and I were right behind her. As I passed through the doorway, a sudden sharp tingle danced over the back of my neck.
Then the door hissed shut, cutting us off from the rest of the squad.
Whirling around, I saw the control panel suddenly turn red. It had been locked. Something told me I wouldn't have the necessary peace and quiet to hack it open. So I slowly turned back.
We were in a large circular room, illuminated up by a giant circular ceiling panel that looked like a shallow pool of light. Computer terminals were placed at regular intervals along the walls. In the middle, a series of columns stood tall, joined by the occasional console. Near the back, a set of stairs—running along either wall—led up to an elevated platform, filled with additional computers and consoles.
What drew our attention was the desk stationed just below the platform. More specifically, the large... figure who sat behind it. As Liara, Miranda and I approached him, guns at the ready, he casually deactivated the programs he was running, their holographic interfaces blinking out or receding into the desk. He was sitting in the shadows, so I couldn't see much. But it was pretty clear who he was.
As I got closer, I could see a little more. He seemed to have horns on his head and a set of small flaps along his jawline—both of which ruled out krogan. More importantly, Feron was right: he was big.
The Shadow Broker looked at us curiously. "Here for the drell?" he rumbled, his voice a deep, deep bass. "Reckless, even for you, Commander."
"Says the guy who blew up a trade centre," I snorted. "That bombing on Illium wasn't exactly subtle."
"Extreme, but necessary," the Shadow Broker replied.
"No, it wasn't!" Liara snapped, her body positively vibrating in fury and anger. "Neither was caging Feron for two years!"
"Dr. T'Soni," the Shadow Broker greeted her. "Your interference caused all this. Feron betrayed me when he handed you Shepard's body. The drell is simply paying the price."
"And all of your mercs paid the price for everything you did to Feron," I said. "Don't you think it'll be just a little tricky running a ship this size with no crew?"
"They're replaceable," the Shadow Broker dismissed. "Your arrival is barely an interruption."
All heart, this guy.
"Yeah," I grinned. "Especially since we trampled over everyone you threw at us. I'm surprised you didn't train a better reaction force. Somebody was bound to come after you for working with the Collectors."
"A mutually beneficial partnership," the Shadow Broker replied. "The loss of my soldiers is merely a temporary short-term loss compared to the benefits I can glean in the long run. The Normandy's IFF, for example, will give me sole access to salvaging the remains of the Collector's base."
"You think you can get to the Normandy?" I snorted.
"I think this talk has gone on long enough," the Shadow Broker said. "My operations are too crucial to be compromised by a traitor... or a self-styled hero."
"You're quite confident for someone with nowhere left to hide," Liara seethed.
The Shadow Broker barely spared her a glance. "You travel with fascinating companions, doctor."
"Was that a Doctor Who reference?" I asked, just to throw him off-balance. And maybe just for the heck of it.
"You know about Doctor Who?" Miranda asked.
"Yeah."
"Who's your favourite Doctor?"
"There's more than one?" (5)
"Didn't you know that?"
"Nope. I only know about Doctor Who from an article on the extranet."
"At least you brought me both Shepard and Ms. Lawson," the Shadow Broker continued, pretending we hadn't had that little side conversation. "The two of them present a wellspring of information... when they're not finishing each other's sentences."
I'm flattered?
"Alternatively, I could sell them to the highest bidder. Their combined knowledge offers a wellspring of information. And there are many groups who would relish the opportunity to cripple or eliminate Cerberus."
I'm… really flattered?
"You're not putting a hand on anyone," Liara burst out.
"It's pointless to challenge me, asari. All your minor successes have been possible because I permitted them. So I could lure you into my grasp. I know your every secret, while you fumble in the dark."
"Is that right?" Liara asked, calming down for the first time. Her head tilted, as if she was observing something.
"You're a yahg," she said at last, "a pre-spaceflight species quarantined to their homeworld for massacring the Council's first contact teams."
I had no idea how Liara knew that, but the way the Shadow Broker's flaps twitched suggested that she was right. The part about the fate of the first contact teams was a bit worrisome, though. As if the part about random guys not coming out of here alive wasn't bad enough.
"This base is older than your planet's discovery," Liara continued, "which probably means you killed the original Shadow Broker sixty years ago before taking over. I'm guessing you were taken from your world by a trophy hunter who wanted a slave..."
The Shadow Broker's flaps twitched again...
"...or a pet," Liara finished, her lips curving into a cruel smile. "How am I doing?"
His flaps were positively vibrating. Guess she struck a nerve. I waited for the Shadow Broker to say something. Instead, he got to his feet, rising to his full height...
...and...
...um...
...holy crap, he was really big!
...
And his flaps were still vibrating. It was entirely possible that pissing him off was a Really Bad Idea.
With a guttural bark, he slammed his fists on the desk, breaking it in two. He picked up each half, one in each hand, and hurled them at us as if he was tossing a baseball. I instinctively moved to my left, only to get clipped by one of the desk halves. Spinning around awkwardly, I collided with Liara and fell to the floor. Propping myself up on one elbow, I looked around...
...
"Miranda?"
She didn't respond. Apparently her reflexes weren't enough to compensate for the sheer velocity with which the Shadow Broker had hurled the remnants of his desk. She lay still on the floor, partly buried by the desk.
"Miranda?!"
She was really still.
A trail of blood trickled from her forehead.
My eyes narrowed as I grabbed my submachine gun. I loaded a fresh thermal clip, never taking my gaze from the Shadow Broker.
This fucker was going down.
As I emptied the thermal clip into the Shadow Broker's shields, I noticed a couple things. First, yahgs apparently indulged in facial tattoos, like the red one smeared over this one. They had four pairs of eyes and a triangular mouth filled with needle-sharp teeth. And they were a testament to the adage that a tuxedo could make anyone look good.
Of course, I was more concerned with how ridiculously powerful his personal shield generator was. I'd used up a full clip, as had Liara, and his shields were still at 50%. The M-76 Revenant he was toting didn't help. Somehow, he was able to fire it on full auto. With one hand. (6) Thankfully, the console I was hiding behind was bulletproof.
I quickly reloaded, noting that he was slowly marching towards me as he fired. At least, that was until he charged towards me. I braced myself to run, expecting him to vault over the console.
Then, with a bone-rattling roar, he smashed right through the console!
Another thing I noticed: pissed-off yahgs made up for their lack of vocabulary with sheer force and way too much muscle. "Liara?" I called out, scrambling for another piece of cover. Any cover would do. "A little help here?"
"This should slow him down," Liara replied, coaxing a singularity to life behind the Shadow Broker. It didn't get him off the floor and spinning around, but the gravitational pull did slow him down enough to buy me a few extra seconds. Raising my submachine gun, I fired again. A second thermal clip managed to drain his shields a little more.
Taking a gamble, I sprinted across the room, switching weapons on the fly. Sure enough, the Shadow Broker turned to follow me, giving Liara a perfect target. Noting that his shields were now drained, I activated the warp mod on my chosen weapon. Ducking his relentless weapons fire, I slid into cover behind another console. Closing my eyes, I listened as the gunfire grew louder. I waited until I could hear the Shadow Broker's steps.
Then I activated my cloak.
The Shadow Broker came to a halt. As far as his sensors could tell, I had just disappeared. He sniffed around, to no avail. Then, with a shrug, he turned his attention to Liara, who ducked as a sudden storm of bullets came pouring her way. Popping up, I centred on his head and fired a shot from my sniper rifle.
To my surprise, he simply staggered. Either the Shadow Broker had some kind of super-tough skin or that was one very thick skull. Whirling around, he stomped towards my position, gun blazing.
Liara hit him with a biotic blast, deflecting his aim long enough for me to scramble to one of the support columns. Loading in a fresh thermal clip, I waited as the Shadow Broker pursued me, shrugging off Liara's shots like they were nothing. I kept a steady eye on my HUD, watching my cloak recharge. Once it was ready, I turned it on, stepped out of cover, raised my sniper rifle and fired again.
The Shadow Broker roared again, his left hand flexing. That was what I thought, at first. Then I saw his fingers tapping rhythmically on his left palm. He must have been entering in a command of some sort.
Sure enough, a shimmering white field coalesced around him. His movements slowed to a halt as the energies both flowed around him and wafted from his body. Liara snapped off several shots, none of which had any effect. She ran a quick scan with her omni-tool and shook her head in frustration.
"Some kind of stasis field?" I guessed, judging by how stationary he was.
"No, just a secondary shield of some sort," Liara reported. "These readings indicate that it's kinetically sensitive. Its strength is directly proportional to the amount of kinetic energy directed at it. Energy and projectiles just bounce off."
That meant we needed something slower than a bullet. And the only thing I had at hand were, well, my own two hands. Which meant getting up close and personal with something that was four or five times my body weight.
Aw, crap.
"Then we do this the hard way," I said, masking my trepidation with the cracking of knuckles.
Surprisingly, I managed to land several free shots to his ugly kisser. The Shadow Broker roared—either in pain or in annoyance—taking a few steps back. Encouraged, I rushed in.
The Shadow Broker gave me a toothy grin. The back of my neck tingled.
Then he swung his arm at me. A bright orange flash and a loud hum were the only other warnings I got before getting knocked on my ass.
Looking up, I saw a hexagonal shield covering his left arm. It was generated from his omni-tool. Probably a structure produced by the omni-tool's mini-fabricator, sheathed in a mass effect field.
"That's different," I coughed, getting to my feet.
And to top it all off, the Shadow Broker's shields were fully charged again.
"Oh, come on," I groaned. "This is so unf—ack!"
My rational and completely understandable complaints were rudely interrupted as the Shadow Broker raised his assault rifle and started firing again. One-handed. With disgusting accuracy. Another unfair point to complain about.
"Liara," I said over the comm. "Split up and start hammering at his shields!"
"Got it!"
Liara headed to the left side of the room; I got the right. The Shadow Broker came after yours truly, because that was one of the many unwritten rules of the universe. Yet another unfair thing to complain about.
It didn't take long to realize that the Shadow Broker's flashy omni-shield wasn't just for show. (7) I wasted several shots without even denting the damn thing. Naturally, the damn thing shut down just as I stopped firing. Of course, the Shadow Broker generated a new one immediately and had it in place long before I raised my gun again. I used up the rest of my thermal clip, this time aiming for whatever parts were protected by the disgustingly powerful yet relatively conventional shields. I found myself wishing for the rest of the squad to show up. Maybe a couple people with EMP-generating omni-tools.
Hell, even a bit of breathing room so I could drag Miranda into cover, see if she was all right and administer a little medi—hey! I'd almost forgotten about one of the little perks of being the boss: I could use my command override codes to tap into Miranda's suit and tell it to deliver a full dose of medi-gel. Surely that would get her up and going again! Especially with her genetically enhanced—and down-right gorgeous—physiology. Ducking behind a support column, I pulled up the appropriate functions on my HUD and—
**Error: Unable to connect to hardsuit server [Lawson, Miranda]. If this error persists, please contact technical support at—**
"Oh for crying out loud!"
"Shepard?"
"Never mind. Just keep firing!" I called out. I leaned out to re-acquire my target. Seeing how the Shadow Broker was a couple metres away and charging towards me, I did what any reasonable person would do: I turned around and ran like hell. (8)
Behind me, I heard a thunderous crash as the Shadow Broker ran right through the support column, turning it to another heap of debris. The hammering of bullets against my rear shields told me that the impact hadn't even slowed him down. I dove for cover, turning towards him as I slid across the floor and emptying the rest of my clip. His shields held constant at the 66% mark.
My shields blinked out.
Scrambling on my hands and knees, I managed to get behind another support column. Unfortunately, I knew that would only protect me for so long. I debated whether it was worth waiting until my shields started regenerating. Screw it, I decided. Time to cloak.
The Shadow Broker paused as I dropped off his sensor grid. He spent a second looking around, hoping he could see (or hear or smell) some trace of me. Giving up, he turned his attention to Liara, who had somehow found a couple thermal clips to replenish her stock and was making the most of it. Letting her have a bit of fun, I made my way up to the platform behind what used to be the Shadow Broker's desk. Before my cloak shut down, I fired another eight or nine shots at him.
Letting out a mighty roar, the Shadow Broker swung around, finger firmly pressed on the trigger. I ducked as he strafed the room and mentally urged my shield generator to kick in. Of course, it didn't listen.
"Liara," I called out as calmly as I could, "I think I have his attention."
"It would appear so."
"Feel free to pitch in anytime."
"For your information, I happen to be doing all the shooting while you just hide."
"I am not hiding," I retorted. "I am waiting for my shields to regenerate. Somehow, I highly doubt—"
"Shepard—"
"—that I will be able to help—"
"Shepard, you need—"
"—you take that sucker's shields out and try to put the hurt on him if—"
"SHEPARD!"
"WHAT?!"
"He's right behind you!"
What—aw, crap. While we'd been arguing, and my shields had been regenerating, the Shadow Broker had been climbing up the stairs. Just as my shields were starting to regenerate, too! I quickly scrambled to the other stairway. Shields took a pounding, but at least I had some shields back. More importantly, the Shadow Broker's shields were almost depleted. I raced to one of the support columns at the far end of the room—right next to the console that he had smashed through. Sure enough, the Shadow Broker stomped down the stairs, guns blazing.
Liara fired several shots while I made sure my cloak was ready to go. It would've been nice if my shields were at full strength too, but beggars can't be choosers. Besides, trading a little bit of shield strength for loot is a no-brainer in my book, even if said loot was another pair of thermal clips. Actually, given the situation, especially if said loot was another pair of thermal clips.
Loading one of those thermal clips in my sniper rifle, I activated my cloak, carefully aimed through my scope, waited for that stupid omni-shield to get out of the way… and…
…fired! Perfect headshot. This time, I knew how thick his skull was, so I was switching to my heavy pistol even as Liara hurled a biotic wrecking ball right into his ugly mug. Made every shot count. Then I abandoned my cover before the Shadow Broker could trample right through it—and, more importantly, me.
I played a little more tag with the Shadow Broker—and thankfully never became 'it.' (9) After a minute, I had enough time to cloak, grab my sniper rifle and shoot him again.
In response, he tensed up, tapped his palm and encased himself in the third kind of shield he had at his disposal. Or maybe that was the second. Whatever—he slowed to a halt, like a big ugly statue wrapped in a shiny, swirling energy field. Peeved, I holstered my weapons, ran over to him and started wailing away. Sure felt good, especially when I saw the wisps of energy waft around as I hit him, but I don't think it helped. My sensors could track his shields—the conventional type, that is—as they regenerated. Hell, any damage I did by shooting him or punching his lights out seemed to heal.
Before I knew it, the shield disappeared in—I swear I'm not making this up—a puff of smoke. With a harsh grunt, the Shadow Broker raised his left arm and generated another omni-shield. Great. Back at square one. I pushed against the omni-shield, hoping I could somehow slide around or slip under him and, I don't know, do something. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Liara run over to help me.
The Shadow Broker let out another throaty roar before shoving back against me. Hard. For a moment, I was off-balance. Not long, but enough that the next shove sent me flying across the room, bowling over Liara. We rolled across the floor, but somehow slowed down before we crashed into the wall. Propping myself up, I looked at Liara. "You know, this is getting ridiculous."
She didn't answer, her attention caught by something. Her gaze moved down towards the Shadow Broker, then back up again. "If you can get him to bring up that shield again, I've got an idea."
I followed her gaze, not following her train of thought at first. Then it hit me. If she was right... "You got it," I nodded, reaching up to my sniper rifle and swapping mods.
Activating my cloak again, I moved around to his right. Sniper rifle wasn't quite the ideal weapon to use against shields, but the disruptor mod would help. Besides, it would deal more damage.
Of course, there was another downside, which I promptly discovered when my cloak collapsed and the Shadow Broker whirled around to face me.
If this was some comedy vid, the next scene would involve me running—back and forth, here and there, and round and round in circles—desperately firing off shots at the giant, bellowing behemoth hosing me down with gunfire and bulldozing through any obstacle in his path.
Of course, from my perspective, the comedy aspect kinda flopped because that was exactly what was happening!
I finally managed to make my way up the stairs to the platform, where I could keep my head down, creep to the other set of stairs and hope that my shields would regenerate. Even just a little. Because it would suck if I had to cloak and shoot the Shadow Broker again, only to find out that I was now naked. Not literally, of course. God, what did people do before they had kinetic barriers?
"Hey, ugly?" I called out. "Is that the best you could do?"
The Shadow Broker let out another roar.
Activating my cloak again, I lined up a shot and hit the Shadow Broker again. Liara pitched in, but I did most of the work. (10)
"Is this why you became the Shadow Broker? Work behind the scenes so you don't have to talk a lot?"
Another grunt, almost painful in its violently short intensity.
"'Cuz I gotta tell you, your social skills suck."
The Shadow Broker charged up the stairs. I charged down the other stairs just as fast. "You know, some people say stuff instead of barking or grunting. Giving orders, calling out offers of surrender, even the odd threat or two."
While I was taunting the Shadow Broker, Liara finally drained the last of his shields. I waited for him to pull up that special kinetically-sensitive shield thingy.
He didn't take the bait.
So Liara and I took turns hitting him with biotics and plasma.
Not biting.
"Geez," I yelled. "You'd think after all that info broking and data mining, you'd pick up a few good lines. What happened: too busy sifting through celebrity gossip?"
Still didn't take the bait.
"I'm not asking for much. Keep it short and sweet. How 'bout 'I will destroy you!' Well?"
The Shadow Broker let out another unintelligible roar, but that was about it.
In desperation, I cloaked again. Hadn't switched back to the warp mod. Didn't care. Because Miranda still hadn't woken up and I couldn't even patch into her hardsuit systems to see if she was just unconscious or whether she'd suffered a concussion or maybe she was bleeding out internally or...
...this fucker really had to die. (11)
Decloaking, I slotted my sniper rifle back in its slot and ran straight towards him. Lowering his head like a bull, he raised his omni-shield and charged. Created the perfect blind spot for me. It was a piece of cake for me to dive at the last moment and somersault past him. Somehow, I didn't get trampled on. Even managed to kick him in the groin.
Glaring at me, the Shadow Broker let out another roar before activating his little shield trick. As the white sheaths of energy wrapped around him once again, I glanced to my right. "Liara! Now!"
You see, all those wisps of energy I saw the last couple times weren't a trick on the eyes. It was a visual trail leading back to the circular ceiling panel above us. The panel that wasn't a big bright light, but an actual power source that the Shadow Broker could tap into whenever he wanted. That was how the Shadow Broker could wrap himself up in an impenetrable, kinetically-sensitive shield while regenerating his other, more conventional, shields. Hell, maybe it prompted some hidden med-systems to synthesize medi-gel and heal any injuries.
It's a really nifty trick if someone, like the Shadow Broker, had the home field advantage. It could definitely get people, like us, killed if they charged in without any recon. But there was a catch. As Liara fired a devastating blast at that ceiling power source, I think the Shadow Broker figured it out:
It was only helpful if you could channel that energy in a controlled manner.
I watched as biotic energy rippled through the glass, spider web cracks radiating out ominously. That same biotic energy flickered around Liara like little wisps of blue flame as she gripped the glass. With a cry, she thrust her arms downward and the glass shattered. Suddenly released, the energy poured down like a thunderstorm, each droplet saturated and supercharged. All that power; unleashed, unchained, uncontrolled.
And all of it poured into the Shadow Broker.
He froze, quivering as that energy gushed into him in a sudden violent surge instead of the gentle, nurturing streams that he was used to. The sheer force of it all sent him toppling to his hands and knees. With a visible effort, he forced himself up. His eyes met mine, positively glowing with pent-up energy... and rage. His mouth opened in a silent roar as he lurched towards me, his body suddenly lighting up as the energy he'd absorbed coursed through his body, having overloaded whatever mechanisms his suit might have held. He grew brighter and brighter, glowing like a newborn star come to life.
And then he exploded.
The energy burst out of him in a blinding supernova. I caught the edge of the shockwave, which sent me flying. Once again, I landed on my ass, skidding across the room.
Dazed, I looked up. The entire ceiling—not just that power source thing—was riddled with large cracks, lit up by all the lightning that was crackling around. Liara walked over to me, holstering her weapon on the way. Silently, she reached out towards me. I caught her hand and let her pull me up. We looked at each other, panting as the adrenaline slowly seeped away.
Then I turned away and limped towards Miranda.
By the time I got to her, she was already awake. "Easy," I warned as she propped herself up on one elbow. "You took a nasty blow."
"And missed an equally nasty fight, from the looks of things," she murmured, her eyes taking in all the damage.
Ignoring her, I activated her omni-tool and initiated a full medical scan. "You don't have to do that," she protested.
"True," I conceded. "But I'm gonna do it anyway."
"I'm perfectly capable of doing it myself."
"I know you are."
"Then why are you—"
"Because..."
...
...
"Because?" she prompted.
My mouth opened, but the words just froze. I don't know why. I knew what I was going to say. But they just wouldn't come out. "Because I want to help you," I managed at last. It wasn't the words I'd intended, but it would have to do for now. "You don't have to do everything by yourself, you know. Not anymore."
Her gaze softened. "All right," she relented. "Go ahead."
True to her word, she let me finish the scans. The results were encouraging. Between Miranda's genetic enhancements and her suit's medical systems, she'd survived with nothing worse than a minor headache and a few cracked ribs. No damaged organs, no internal bleeding, not even a concussion.
"So about Doctor Who," I said as I helped Miranda to her feet. "How many Doctors are there anyway?"
A hiss interrupted us before she could answer. The three of us pulled out our weapons and pointed them at the door as it opened. To our surprise—and relief—the first face we saw was Garrus. "Whoa!" he said, understandably startled.
"Oops." I sheepishly lowered my pistol. "Sorry."
"Don't worry about it," Garrus said, looking around, noting all the bullet holes, the various things that the Shadow Broker had smashed, and the ashes that were the only remnants of that monster. "Under the circumstances, I think—"
"Shadow Broker. This is Operative Murat."
Everyone turned and stared at a series of computer monitors. One of them had begun receiving a comm transmission. A blue line suddenly turned red and began pulsing in time with the speech patterns. "We had a momentary connection failure," a male voice said. Can you confirm status?"
I guess breaking that ceiling power source had more of an impact than I'd thought.
"Operative Shora requesting update," another voice, female this time, announced. A second monitor turned red. "Are we still online?"
Then a third monitor. "Shadow Broker, I've lost our feed," another male voice said. "We are online and awaiting instructions."
"Shadow Broker, do we have a go?"
"What are your orders, Shadow Broker?"
"What do you want us to do?"
One by one, monitors came alive, each with its own transmission. Each from another of the Shadow Broker's minions. Each confused, cut off, waiting for orders. Liara's eyes darted around, trying to catch all the messages, before closing her eyes. She was clearly overwhelmed. I couldn't blame her. All I could do was try and offer some support.
Before I could say or do anything, Liara lifted her head and slowly opened her eyes. She'd come to a decision. With a calm, almost lazy, grace, she walked towards the monitors. Reaching forward, she activated a holographic interface. She only paused long enough to decipher the controls before tapping a few keys and expanding the interface.
She took a deep breath and then started to speak.
"This is the Shadow Broker. The situation is under control."
Say what?
"We experienced a power fluctuation while upgrading hardware," she continued, making up her story on the spot.
Was this actually happening?
"It disrupted communications momentarily."
The door hissed open again. The squad whirled around, guns raised towards our latest guest...
It was Feron. That 'power fluctuation' must've disrupted more than just the Shadow Broker's communication feeds. The neural grounding rod that he had been strapped to must've gone offline, just long enough for him to get out. If I had to guess, he was probably making an escape run when he heard the 'Shadow Broker's' transmission, at which point he turned around and headed back. He'd probably assumed the worst, that the Shadow Broker had killed us all, and had come to exact revenge. Hence the pistol that he almost fired. (12)
His mouth dropped as Liara kept talking. "However, we are now back online. Resume standard procedures. I want a status report on all operations within the next solar day.
"Shadow Broker out."
With that, she tapped another control. All the monitors went dark. Blue. Whatever.
That was...
...well...
...unexpected. To say the least.
"Goddess of oceans," Feron croaked, finally lowering his pistol. "It's you. You... how?"
Liara took a tentative step back from the monitors. "Well, after this rescue, everyone who's ever seen him in person is dead. So..."
"...you're the new Shadow Broker," Feron finished in a stunned whisper.
"It'll be nice to have access to intel I can trust," I said. "But is taking over as the Shadow Broker really such a good idea?"
"It was either that or lose everything: his contacts, his trading sources. They could all be really useful. With the Shadow Broker's information network, I can give you... I can..."
She trailed off. I think it was finally starting to sink in what she had done. The sheer amount of information and power that she had seized. And just how overwhelming that could be.
I wasn't the only one who thought that way. "I'll, uh, check the power systems," Feron coughed.
"I'll help you out," Miranda chimed in.
Most of the squad left. Garrus and Tali stayed behind with me. We walked towards Liara. Her head was in her hands, shoulders shaking. I put a hand on her shoulder. She turned around, eyes wet with the tears that were streaming down her cheeks. "It's over," she whispered raggedly. "It's finally... for two years..."
I got it. She'd spent the last two years consumed with guilt. Feelings of inadequacy. The need for atonement. The burning thirst for vengeance. She'd never really come to terms with my demise. Or Feron's capture. Never really had a chance to grieve. I pulled her into my arms and gave her a gentle hug. "Hey, there," I said softly. "It's all right."
Garrus and Tali shuffled over to join me. I was grateful that I didn't need to prompt them for a group hug or anything.
Eventually, Liara stopped sobbing. Pulling away, she wiped her eyes—not very effectively considering she was clad in a scientist's hardsuit, but I guess it was effective for psychological purposes. "I spent two years mourning you and Feron," she smiled. "And now I've got you both back. I... let's see what we've got."
After a minute, she turned around. "No safeguards or user restrictions," she said, a bewildered look on her face.
I thought I was heard her wrong. Maybe I'd finally gotten one too many blows to the head. "No passwords? No encryption?" I asked.
"Nothing," Liara confirmed. "It's like he never anticipated anyone but himself being here."
Rather presumptuous and arrogant, but I guess it had been a safe bet for the last sixty years. It was a team effort to fight through all his minions and take him down, and even then it wasn't a sure thing.
"And it's all ours," Liara finished, looking like a kid in a candy store.
"What kind of information are we talking about?" I asked.
"I'm not sure," Liara admitted. "Economic reports, technical schematics, political analyses... I'll need to go through his files. Come back later, and I'll try to have something useful for you."
"Fair enough," I conceded. "How're you doing?"
Liara looked at me helplessly. "I don't know," she confessed. "All I wanted was to avenge Feron. Or rescue him. But now... is it wrong that part of me wants this?"
"Depends," I shrugged. "Are you trading one obsession for another or are you moving on?"
Liara opened her mouth when I said 'obsession.' The fact that she didn't say anything suggested she was seriously considering my question as opposed to immediately dismissing it. Which was good—she'd spent far too long focused on how to fulfill her vendetta and not enough time considering why she should do so. Encouraged by that, I continued: "If it's the former, maybe you should consider walking away. If it's the latter…"
"…then maybe I could help you," Liara finished. "With the Shadow Broker's network, I can provide more intel and resources than I ever could back on Illium. Maybe I can turn this operation into something better."
She was looking overwhelmed again. Couldn't blame her. A lot had changed in the last few days. "Maybe," I nodded. "But there's no rush. Just take your time."
"Yes," Liara nodded. "Take my time. I... you're right. I should do that."
"In the meantime, I should go," I said. "You know, give you some space."
"Of course."
"Liara?"
"Yes?" she said, turning towards me.
"Don't be a stranger this time."
Liara smiled again. "Come by when you have a chance," she invited. "The doors are always open."
Now that was the Liara I used to know.
(1): Most people who met Shepard would disagree. At the very least, they would say he was good enough.
(2): A human idiom for doing something quickly and without thinking about it. I believe Shepard used this phrase because of turians' avian ancestry.
(3): Only Shepard would ask that last question.
(4): While true, voicing this vote of confidence out loud was uncharacteristic of Miranda. Yet another sign of how much she had changed since I handed Shepard's body over to Cerberus.
(5): A human science fiction program beginning in 1963, revolving around the titular Doctor, a time-travelling humanoid alien and a rotating cast of human 'companions' who accompany him on his many adventures. The Doctor had the ability to deal with injuries that would be fatal to most sapients by a 'regeneration' process that transformed his physical appearance, which often had the side effect of subtly altering his personality. This allowed the opportunity for multiple actors to play the same role without suspension of disbelief.
(6): An extremely impressive feat considering the notorious recoil issues associated with the M-76 Revenant.
(7): While it never became official, it was as good a term as any, considering the term used for the more offensive omni-tool-based weapons that were deployed within the year.
(8): As I recall, he also screamed something along the lines of "Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!" and "Why does this always happen to me?" Shepard claimed that my memory was faulty.
(9): A human childhood game where one individual is selected to be 'it.' He or she must chase the other players, with the objective of touching or 'tagging' one of them, who will then become the new 'it.'
(10): From anyone else, that would be egotistical exaggeration. But Shepard was self-confident enough that he didn't need to resort to such behaviour. Besides, he was entirely correct.
(11): I should note that Shepard was not the sort to resort to such language, even in his innermost thoughts. The fact that he did so—twice—speaks volumes.
(12): Shepard's guess was spot-on.