A/N: Thanks for the reviews so far :D Just trying to build the story at the moment, next chapter we get to find out who is going to be the taking the place of the one eyed menace Elle Driver *Gasp* Dun dun duuun, ahh I joke, I joke. For those who are curious to know why I didn't choose someone like the Illusive man to take Bill's place, this is my answer: He was my first choice but after a lot of thinking, I realised that overall it really wouldn't work out. All I can say for now is, trust me on this (Y) Seeing as I'm here I have one more thing to say. You are entitled to your opinion, I respect that, so if you like this tell me, if you hate it tell me. But I beg of you, please please please don't bug me about how Garrus wouldn't be able to get Shepard pregnant in the first place. I am not completely thick :) I know that their DNA wouldn't be compatible and all that yadda yadda.
Without further yazoo I do not own Kill Bill or Mass Effect. Enjoy!
The troubled C-sec officer waited outside the crowded chapel for his boss to show up.
The young turian had been trying to tend to his hangover which stubbornly refused fade despite the amount of painkillers he took. The urgent 5am wake up call he received which ordered him to make his way down to the wards was not helping his pounding headache at all. Couldn't a guy just be allowed to enjoy his day off for once?
To say Haron hated his job would of been an understatement. His days usually consisted of mounts of paperwork and ass kissing. All he wanted was to see a bit of action, to actually use his assault rifle for once. He concluded that it would have began leaking dust from the barrel by now, however C-Sec regulations stated that every officer had to maintain and clean his weapon every three days. You couldn't let the public know just how much red tape prevented criminals from seeing justice now could you?
Haron was thankful for the fresh air at least. He didn't enjoy being cooped up inside with the forensics team. They all merged together like a superior dust ready to bury Haron with their logic and intelligence. The atmosphere inside was uncomfortable to say the least.
The young turian had wanted to see some action during his career but a wedding massacre full of humans wasn't exactly what he had in mind. The spirits worked in mysterious ways albeit fucked up ways.
The electric hum of a mauve shuttle shook Haron free from his pending thoughts as it became louder and aggressively docked beside the chapel.
Chellick strode out of the vehicle wearing a charcoal civvie outfit that put Haron's plain black and blue uniform to shame. The grey contrasted well with Chellick's piercing green eyes that were usually pinned on some of the less fortunate C-Sec officers when he reprimanded them.
The elder turian rubbed his fringe, followed by a weighty sigh and made his way towards an anxious Haron by the chapel's entrance.
The entire area had been cut off from the public as Chellick noted the turquoise laser barriers surrounding the popular human chapel. Finally someone had shown a bit of competence and followed the drill. Other crime scenes he had been dragged to were complete and utter chaos with suspects still un-cuffed and reporters lingering on the scene like a cancerous lump.
Chellick used to envy Pallin's position. These days he couldn't understand why he wanted to be C-Sec executor in the first place. He respected the now deceased turian greatly yet they rarely saw eye to eye. According to Pallin he took too many risks and yet it was because of those risks that Chellick managed to land his job.
It was times like these that the green eyed turian wanted nothing more than for Pallin to still be alive and kicking, running C-Sec like he used to. The appeal of being executor was that no one could tell Chellick what to do anymore or more importantly how to do it. However that ideology was proven wrong when the council made it distinctively clear who called the shots.
The bombarded executor was willing to bet that Pallin was with the spirits right now laughing his hide off. Smug bastard.
Chellick approached Haron outside the chapel with a look of aggravation. There the tinted brown turian was clutching an assault rifle, a weapon that could potentially end the life of someone and the kid had barely grown into his leg spurs. He could of only have been what? Thirty-one? Thirty-two? His name was Sergeant Haron now that he recalled. Chellick remembered his familiar facial markings.
In fact now that he thought about it what was Haron doing here? He was usually scanning newcomers on the Citadel for weapons and working under Bailey. If the council spoke the truth of how serious this particular incident was then surely he should of had some of his more trained investigators on the scene?
"Sergeant Haron." Chellick greeted him with a firm nod that the younger turian returned. "Care to explain why you are not at your original post?"
Haron gulped nervously under his boss' intimidating gaze. He wasn't used to dealing with Chellick personally. In fact the two turians rarely ever said more than two words to one another during his time at C-Sec.
"I was told to help with the situation here Sir. No one else was available. The council's advisories were rather insistent on my presence."
Chellick exhaled a sigh of exhaustion. He had been deprived of his much needed sleep and was tired of feeling like the council's bitch. This was going to be a very long day indeed.
"I see," Chellick mumbled in a coarse whisper. "Fill me in on the details."
Haron shuffled subtly from side to side trying to form his words. He had a hard time admitting to himself what had occurred in the chapel only hours ago.
"Well Sir, to be honest it is a complete massacre in there..."
"How so?" Chellick prodded curious as to what was making Haron look so disturbed as he noted the turian's rapid eye movement.
Haron rubbed his fringe as a last minute outlet. "It would seem that nine of the humans died from multiple gun shot wounds. It looks like the bride was the main target, physically she is in bad shape, she took a rough beating before being shot in the head. The forensics team are still unable to identify her. All in all there were ten deaths...eleven if you count the child."
Chellick's breath hitched while his beige mandibles hung wide open loosely. "A child was murdered?"
Haron's voice dropped an octave as his shoulders tensed underneath his un-yielding blue uniform. "The bride was pregnant Sir."
The council was not lying about the sensitivity of the situation. No wonder they insisted on Chellick heading down to the crime scene.
"What was the bride's name?" Chellick questioned. It took every fiber in his body to keep his voice level after being hit with that kind of disturbing information. Years of experience at C-Sec never prepares you for atrocities like the one he was having to deal with.
"The forensics team doesn't know Sir. Her face is too swollen and bruised to confirm her identity yet," Haron shrugged in defeat.
Chellick flared his mandibles to speak when the chapel's doors behind Haron suddenly opened revealing a red headed human shakily clutching a cigarette in her right hand.
Haron instantly recognised the woman without having to refer to her name-tag.
"Chloe...I mean... Dr Michel," he greeted politely wary that his boss was still standing right in front of him. "Are you feeling okay?"
The doctor half smiled at the young turian ignoring Chellick's intimidating stare as he stood before her. "If I am honest...no. It's not everyday you see something like that," she stammered in her heavy French accent making it even harder for Haron and Chellick to decipher.
"Bet you wish you never joined the forensics team now huh?" Haron joked trying to ease the ever-growing tension that consumed the atmosphere around them.
Chloe gave a bitter laugh as she struggled to light her cigarette against the will of her shaky palms. With the help of Haron's sudden intervention, Chloe gladly took an excessively long drag of chalky grey smoke. She exhaled slowly before responding to what Haron had said.
"Sometimes I feel that I should of stayed at the clinic. Tending to the odd broken bone here and there or gunshot wound sounds delightful compared to this..."
"You're a doctor?" Chellick mocked as he intentionally eyed the burning cigarette between Chloe's fingertips.
The red head turned to face the elder turian and inwardly grimaced as she caught where his had gaze settled. Chloe blew the thick smoke in Chellick's direction causing Haron's eyes to widen at the awkward scene before him.
"I thought you were an executor not a judge," she challenged.
Chloe wasn't feeling too good which was affecting her performance inside the chapel. Not only was the crime scene highly disturbing but there was something else bothering her that she couldn't quite work out. Chellick's rough attitude was not helping.
"True as that may be, isn't it rather hypocritical for a highly valued doctor such as yourself being a smoker when you tell your patients to avoid that poison?"
Chloe wasn't sure whether to feel flattered or insulted. Chellick was a hard man to work out. He was just a massive chunk of oxymoron, making you feel high from a compliment then bringing you back down with a snide remark.
"You're forgetting that I no longer treat patients Chellick, I spend my time dealing with things like this." Chloe pinpointed her free hand to the chapel behind her. "Who knows," she continued playfully. "You may just decide to take up the habit after seeing what awaits you inside there..."
Haron suppressed a laugh while Chellick glared at the young doctor. She certainly grew more confident over the years he'd give her that. Standing up to Chellick was like signing your own death sentence, yet there Chloe was with an affirmative glint in her eyes.
"Sergeant Haron tells me that your team is unable to identify the bride?" Chellick questioned completely ignoring Chloe's comment with a change of subject.
The doctor dotted out her cigarette and gave Chellick her full attention while Haron listened attentively.
"Her files say that her name is 'Delilah Stalland'. But I'm afraid that is a fake. We have also tried analysing her blood but we have found no matches on the system. It's like she is a ghost," Chloe explained slowly so that Chellick could understand her through the accent.
"This just gets better and better," Chellick breathed. "I suppose I better go and see the situation for myself..."
Haron gestured towards the chapel's entrance allowing Chloe to enter first before being followed by Chellick. From the looks of it the human chapel must have been quite peaceful and delicate before bullet holes penetrated the walls and the guests. The walls were of a beige colour and matched the marble floor that was mostly drenched in thick red blood.
"Where was the groom in all this?" asked Chellick as he continued to walk down the aisle towards the still bodies near the stained alter.
Chellick never understood the deal with humans and their religions. They had so many it was ridiculous, humans just couldn't make their damn mind up. Another reason why he disliked them.
"The groom is dead Sir. We confirmed his identity as a Kaiden Alenko: A biotic who served with the Alliance. He died from gun shot wounds, he didn't get it as bad as the bride did. Seems like she was the one the bastards were after."
Normally Chellick would have a field day yelling at one of the younger officers for inappropriate language, telling their gullible faces how he could fire them with a click of his talons. But not this time. In his sights a body was sprawled out in the middle of the floor that stood out among the rest. That had to be the bride.
Chellick was certain that the lace dress the human wore must have been a pearly white before the bloodbath occurred, however it was now a dark and ghastly red. He couldn't stand seeing human blood. The chapel reeked of it and it was plastered everywhere no matter where he looked. Humans weren't exactly a race Chellick particular liked, but seeing the bride in a pool of her own blood, her face cut up and abnormally swollen…well that's something he wouldn't wish on any human.
Chellick did his best to keep his expression neutral. Haron would probably be able to read the horror on his face but Dr Michel wouldn't. The executor took delight in the little things such as humans being unable to read turian facial expressions. It was a blessing considering some of the scenarios he had found himself in back in his investigator days.
The beige turian knelt down beside the human's punctured body. "So this is her?" he stated mostly to himself.
Both Haron and Chloe nodded weakly in response behind him, no matter how many times the pair had seen the body it didn't ease how uneasy it made them feel.
Chellick examined the human's face closely, she was beaten beyond reason. Her left eye was bulging out from her face, her lips oozing with more distasteful blood while the rest of her skin was pigmented blue and purple from the bruises.
"All the other guests were shot with assault rifles," Haron said suddenly. "She was shot with an M-9 straight to the head. My take on the matter is that whoever did this had a massive grudge to settle. Kill all the guests, the groom, spirits even the priest... saving the bride for last." The young turian shook his head in disgust.
Chellick never took his green eyes off the bride before him. Every couple of seconds his pupils trailed over to her round stomach where her unborn child nestled. A terrible tragedy.
There was something about this woman, something he couldn't put his talon on. Chellick was raised to trust his gut feeling, and his gut was telling him there was more to this woman than met the eye. He moved in closer to her face, taking in every detail. Scanning for anything that might have given him a clue as to who she was.
Suddenly the bride spat right into his eye, making him leap into the air with shock, startling both Chloe and Haron. He quickly looked back at the bride, she was lying there completely still with the same uncomfortable expression on her face. Chellick angrily looked back at Dr Michel.
Her mouth was shaped like and 'O' as her eyes frantically shot back and forth between the bride and Chellick.
"Are you planing on standing there all day?" Chellick growled and before he knew it Dr Michel was knelt down before him checking the bride's stained wrist for a pulse.
"Jesus Christ," she muttered under breath when she found a weak pulse. How did her team manage to miss that?
Chellick and Haron both took a step back from the bride as Chloe called some of her team over and began attaching a breathing mask to the human's swollen face swiftly.
Chellick observed the scene before him with sincere curiosity. He couldn't work out whether this bride was lucky to be alive or not. She could have brain damage, her unborn child was likely dead and so was her groom and friends. It was hard to get hold of the situation.
Suddenly one of the doctors shoved some of the bride's red matted hair out of her face, in order to adjust the oxygen mask over her sliced mouth properly. That's when Chellick's eyes widened and he saw a very distinctive scar on the bride's neck.
The bride's condition was as stabilised as it was ever going to be. Chellick trusted his gut feeling.
"Everybody leave except you Dr Michel," Chellick ordered curtly keeping his eyes on the blood splattered human struggling for her every breath.
Chloe looked up from the bride's body, turned her head towards the beige turian and frowned. "You cannot-"
"In case you have forgotten Dr Michel I call the shots here, I want everyone to leave now!" he ordered as he cut the doctor off.
The forensics team and Haron shot uneasy glances at one another and hesitantly made their way towards the chapels exit. They quickened their pace when they heard Chellick growl in disapproval.
As the chapel's door sealed shut behind the concerned crowd all that could be heard in the blood stained chapel was the bride's un-even breaths.
"I take it you have a good reason for doing that," Chloe fumed as she held the transparent breathing mask to the bride's injured face.
"I have a good reason for everything I do Dr Michel," Chellick shot back. "You said you couldn't identify her? That her blood didn't match anyone on the system?"
The turian clapsed his hands behind his back as he awaited an answer from the red-headed doctor.
"Yes, what of it?" she asked confused.
Chellick clicked his mandibles in anticipation. "I want you to see if her blood is a match under those on the system who are missing in action."
Chloe blinked twice at Chellick and grunted before bringing her omni-tool to life.
"Hold the mask to her face while I do this." She wasn't asking him, she was telling him.
The turian opened his mouth to refuse but opted for doing as she said. He would get results much quicker if he played along.
He leaned forward and knelt down next to the bride while Chloe began her search.
The omni-tool's beep echoed inside the chapel startling the young doctor.
Chloe read the readings twice. She was unable to comprehend the results. They were 100% positive, yet the doctor had doubts.
Chellick kept his gaze on the bride beneath him as he held the mask delicately to her mouth. He noted the doctor's silence with a sigh. "Shall I save you the trouble of saying it and just assume that this is Commander Shepard?"
The red-head was lost for words. The bride looked nothing like the women she met in her clinic years ago, it was surreal.
"How did you know it was her?" she demanded.
Chellick still kept his eyes on the beaten human as he spoke and gently trailed his talon along the scar on her neck. "I remember her having this distinctive scar when I first met her..."
Chloe shut her omni-tool off and rubbed her temples. "This complicates things..." she breathed.
"Indeed," Chellick agreed letting the doctor take over and hold the mask to Shepard's bloodied face.
He stood up from the pair swiftly and went into to deep thought. He couldn't let this news become public and he most definitely could not tell the council about it. It would look bad on them if something like this was allowed to happen to one of their spectres. Chellick was almost certain that they would much rather have her dead then spend taxpayers' money on keeping her alive when she would cause more trouble than good.
Chellick had to made a decision.
"You are to tell no one about the information you have learned today. This is between you and me."
Chloe stood up from Shepard's bruised body abruptly and came face to face with Chellick.
"I do hope that you are joking," she seethed through gritted teeth.
Usually Chellick would be impressed with someone who had the balls to stand up to him, but not today.
He towered over the tiny doctor and coarsely whispered, "If anyone finds out about this there will be a political outbreak, if anyone gains knowledge of her identity then the council will find out. I for one am not certain that they will want someone like Shepard alive after all the time they have put into dismissing her claims."
Chloe refused to be intimidated and held her ground. "So you want me to lie?"
"I want you to keep this to yourself," he replied as a matter of fact.
The doctor took a deep breath and looked back at Shepard on the chapel's floor still drenched in her own blood. She didn't like this one single bit, but she couldn't help but wonder what would happen if what Chellick said rang true. Chloe owed Shepard. She saved her life all those years ago, now she could finally return the favor.
"What do you want me to do?" she whispered in defeat.
Chellick's tensed muscles finally relaxed. He was glad the do-gooding doctor was able to see sense.
"I want you to ship her body over to a hospital that is not within the Citadel and list her under the fake identity she used."
Chloe pondered on what Chellick said and nodded. "I will do what I can."
On that note the turian turned and headed towards the chapel's exit, hoping he had made the right decision. He wasn't one to ever question himself, little did he know he would be questioning this moment for years to come.