10: Justice...
The asari laughs, her body glowing blue. A human woman lies before her, broken, beaten. She points his way. "You, come here."
The viewpoint moves forward, reluctance pouring from the vision. The asari takes off her shotgun, forcing it into her hands.
Or were they his hands?
Eyes shift, darting between the weapon, the broken woman, and the asari. A cruel smile splits her face as her biotics dialed down. Without the blue aura, the yellow Eclipse logo was easily visible. The merc pointed at the helpless form before her, her voice imperious as she barked a single word.
"Kill!"
His eyes shut.
When he opened his eyes, he wasn't sure what he would see. His dreams had gone on overdrive, with vivid flashes that seemed so familiar, yet unknown. His mind had shown him memories, visions of lives past. Lives as alien to him as some of the others in his ship were in comparison to humanity.
Lives he had taken.
For once, he was glad to see the quiet expanse of the White.
"Commander."
He looked around, feeling both nostalgic and wary as a human approached. "Commander?"
"Remember who you are."
Commander John Shepard. Human Systems Alliance. First human Spectre. Hero of Elysium. Savior of the Citadel. Born the 11th of April, 2154 on Mindoir. Died the 20th of July, 2183 near Alchera.
Tali.
Reborn the first of August, 2185 aboard a Cerberus station.
"Kaiden?"
The man smiled. "That's right. I need you to focus now. Remember."
He stands on Aeia, the man in front of him holding a gun. The man yells in defiance, the pistol pointing at the men behind him.
"I... Reaved him."
Kaiden nodded. "Why?"
"He was going to hurt them."
"No."
"No?"
The dead soldier grabbed his shoulder. "All it would have taken was a Pull, or a Throw. You Reaved him." He shook his head. "Humans aren't asari. Our minds aren't meant to hold so many memories."
Memories? Jacob? Son?
Guilt.
Failure.
Disgrace.
"Snap out of it!" He felt the sting of a slap across his face. "Hold on to who you are!"
Commander John Shepard. Human Systems Alliance. First human Spectre.
"That's better. If nothing else, remember this: Animal minds are simple, and Reapers all force the same non-existence on husks, so they're fine. But don't Reave sentients who are still whole unless you have to."
"I won't."
"Remember it, Shepard, or you might wake up someone you're not."
John dropped out of the White, the soft light of the aquarium casting a bluish glow across his cabin. He slowly sat up, trying to make sense of the dream.
It was all a haze. Then something in the White.
He checked his chrono. We're still three hours out. Maybe I should start getting ready, go down to the armory- His thoughts drifted to the man who kept the squad's weapons in working order.
Jacob.
Guilt.
Fail- NO!
It all flooded back at once, the memories of his most recent trip to the White, the visions that had plagued him in his sleep. Memories and realities tore at his mind, making him feel as if the room around him was just another illusion. He could remember Kaiden's concerned look, the slap as he jogged the commander's senses.
"Commander John Shepard. Human Systems Alliance. First human Spectre."
It stopped.
Jacob?
He could see the Cerberus soldier in his mind's eye. A comrade-in-arms, a friend and ally.
Not his son.
The Eclipse?
A merc band, full of biotic and tech experts. He didn't know any of its members personally.
Shepard breathed a sigh of relief, heading to the elevator to get breakfast.
I won't forget it again, Kaiden.
"Good morning, brother."
Tas and Firn stood side by side at the ship's prow, both looking at the waves as the sun peeked out from under the horizon from behind them. Tas barely caught a murmur from Firn. "So today's the day."
"Yes," the navigator replied. "Based on my calculations, we should reach where the island was within the next few hours. Judging by the position of the moon, the eclipse shouldn't be too long afterward."
"That isn't what I meant," the archer replied in a hushed tone. "After today, we'll be relying on fish for the rest of the trip. I hope we find what you're looking for, brother."
"We'll know where to go soon enough."
The two stood there for over an hour, the clear and calm day not being a threat to their course. Tikkun glowed high in the sky, though the moon, Ilasca, was right behind it.
"Tas!"
The navigator and his brother looked behind, seeing Draam and Alarei walking up from belowdecks. "Tas, we may have a problem."
"According to his men," Alarei replied, rolling her eyes. "I say a hot bath would be good for them.
"Alarei..." Tas replied, his voice chastising.
She turned and walked away, hands raised in surrender. "Just a suggestion, Captain Bosh'tet."
"You were saying, Draam?"
"The waters here are much hotter than usual," the Idennan continued. "It's gotten to the point that you could slow-cook a dhelka in the lower decks."
"Damn it," Firn murmured. "We're already in a bad enough state without adding dehydration to the mix. We should turn around, stay in cooler waters."
"Belay that." The other two looked at Tas as if he was insane, but he paid no notice. "We should furl the sails, be ready to drop the anchor."
"And why is that," his brother asked. To their astonishment, Tas drew his sword, tying his realk into a knot around its hilt. "Brother, what are you-"
Tas threw the weapon into the scalding water, gripping tightly to his realk with both hands. Even through the fabric he'd covered the grip with, he could feel the heat seeping through its threads and threatening to burn his palms. When he could take no more, he tugged on it, hauling the blade back aboard the ship. "Keelah," he breathed.
The weapon had been crusted over, its blade coated with a reddish-brown substance. Careful not to touch the hot object with his bare hands, Draam chipped at the coating with his own dagger. A thin sliver of rusted metal flaked off of the larger blade.
"What's wrong?" Alarei asked, interested in the commotion. "And why did you ruin a perfectly good sword?"
Draam laughed as a smile came to Tas's face. "It means we're here."
The Neeman soldier was perplexed. "I don't see a mythical land of bounty."
As she spoke, the space around them began to darken. Tas responded, the grin still lingering as he cast his eyes skyward. "It means we're where we need to be."
Ilasca had begun to cover Tikkun, stealing the light from the sky as it overtook the fiery orb. Tas pointed in the air, barely containing his excitement. "The cross should be directly overhead, which means the Mother would be right... there." He swiveled his arm, pointing at an expanse of empty sky.
Alarei squinted, searching for something she missed. "I don't see anything."
The four of them searched the region around where Tas had indicated, but the minutes began to tick by as Ilasca drifted over Tikkun. Draam said nothing, his own head drooping. Firn stepped up alongside his brother. "It's okay, Tas. We'll have to find another way... Maybe the Famine will be over by the time we get back?"
"No. We wait."
Firn gave Alarei a pleading look, and the soldier walked up to the navigator. "Look, Bo- Tas... If we can't find anything here, we'll have to turn back."
"But we can't give up."
"No..." she breathed. "We can't give up on Neema. But we can't give up on ourselves either. We'll die if we don't reach shore soon, but I guarantee I'll make sure Neema doesn't die without a fight."
Tas shook his head. "And what about Idenna? Should we give up on them, too?" Draam raised his head, surprise at the Neeman's words evident from the look on his face. "We're not the only ones who are depending on this. They need this as well."
Alarei's gaze flitted between the navigator and her Idennan counterpart, unsure what to make of Tas's words. At the look on Draam's face, she began to laugh. "Someday, I'd like to see this world you live in, Bosh'tet."
Tas tore his gaze away from the sky, murmuring so only Alarei could hear. "I'd like that."
The woman forced her own eyes skyward. She gasped, her eyes widening. "That wasn't there before!"
The others all looked up, a glimmering spot glowing faintly in the dim light of the eclipse. Another star began to glow out of the darkness after it, then another.
"Well I'll be damned," Firn mumbled, "an invisible constellation."
"And they're all following a straight line," Draam added, tracing the path above them.
It was Tas's turn to laugh, his voice ringing in the still air as he ran to the ship's stern. He took the helm, spinning the wheel to change their heading. "Loose the sails, gentlemen. Let's follow those stars!"
Alarei, back at the bow with the others, snorted with laughter.
"Couldn't the bosh'tet have said it without sounding so corny?"
"I didn't know that word existed in Khelish."
"Well, the original word doesn't translate well. Figured I'd throw in something you'd understand."
"Miss Goto and Miss Zorah."
Kasumi and Tali sat a little straighter on the couch, turning to where the AI's hologram had appeared in the observation deck. The quarian was the first to respond. "Yes, EDI?"
"We have docked at the Citadel. Commander Shepard has requested that the two of you accompany him on the ground team."
Kasumi watched her friend's reaction, looking for any signs of hesitation or unease. To her surprise, however, the engineer showed neither. "We'll be at the airlock in five minutes."
As the quarian stood up and walked toward the door, the thief could've sworn one of the woman's steps had included a slight bounce. She smiled.
Now that's progress.
Shepard stepped out of the aircar and into the throng of bodies surrounding Teyseri Ward's security station. Garrus kept in-step with the soldier, his stride building into a purposeful march. However, the human came to an abrupt stop before the C-Sec checkpoint, eliciting a growl from his turian counterpart.
"What are we stopping for, Shepard? Every second we waste is another chance for this bastard to get away."
"Thane's talking to one of his contacts about his son's hit. And besides, we need to wait for Kasumi and Tali to get here before we-"
The turian pressed an elbow to the Spectre's chest, pinning him to a wall and surprising an alliance drill sergeant and his recruits. Garrus's voice rumbled in his ear as their eyes locked. "There are ten people in unmarked graves on that godforsaken asteroid because of Sidonis. He's already escaped once, and I'll be damned if he walks again."
John could see the officer at customs reach under her desk from the corner of his vision, but he waved her down. I hope it wasn't a mistake to bring him here. He took a slow breath, making sure the former C-Sec detective could hear it as well. "We'll get him, Garrus, but Thane's son is a priority as well. If anything, I'm sure he would help track down Sidonis. Besides, going without backup is just going to get you killed."
Garrus snarled his displeasure, but broke his gaze as he stepped away. "Fine, we'll wait. But Fade's my only lead on him. It's already been hell setting up a meeting with the guy."
Shepard took a step toward the officer's desk, prepared to explain the incident away with his Spectre status before Garrus could get hauled off for disturbing the peace. A shadow moved from within the crowd, catching his eye and halting his advance. "I think we won't have to wait too long."
Sure enough, his comm buzzed in his ear. "By the Blasto adspace. Too many witnesses in customs."
He got the turian's attention with a short whistle, and the two of them made their way to the named billboard. Thane came out from around a corner soon after, his grey-black suit blending in with the low-level lighting. An additional sound of footsteps announced the arrival of the last two members of the ground team.
"Just touched down and saw you walking away," Kasumi explained. "What did we miss?"
A pissed-off turian. He didn't mention Garrus's transgression aloud though. Thankfully, neither did Thane.
"Mouse didn't know the identity of Kolyat's target, but he gave me the name of the man who hired him. Elias Kelham, a human crime boss on Teyseri Ward. We need to find him soon, the hit's supposed to happen sometime today."
"Sounds like we came here just in time," the Spectre thought aloud. "We should contact Bailey for any intel, then spread out. See if we can-"
"With all due respect, Shepard, that option's out of the question."
Everyone's eyes shot to Garrus. The turian had been leaning against the wall, arms folded and head down. "My meeting with Fade's supposed to happen in just over an hour. If I'm not there, the lead dries up and Sidonis walks. Besides, I've heard of Kelham. Bastard tended to bribe anyone he could, and we never figured out how high his influence went. We don't have time to play hide-and-seek with him."
"Even so, we must try." The drell's typically-pensive facade had hardened, his dark eyes cold. "Shepard's a Spectre, outside C-Sec influence. Bailey will have to respect that, even if he can only give provisional support."
Garrus let out a low growl. "This is my one chance to take out the bastard who betrayed my squad. I won't have you take this away from me, Thane."
"And we have a chance to stop my son from becoming a killer." The drell's voice had chilled, the warm warble replaced by grinding ice. "He may not be strong enough to awaken from his battle sleep on his own. I may not have been there for him previously, but I cannot stand aside and let him fall into dissonance just because he found out about my profession."
The turian stepped forward. "Well whose fault is-"
"ENOUGH!"
Shepard stepped between the two men, his arms held out to keep them from advancing on each other. "Thane, you'll need me to get Bailey's help, so I'm going with you."
The turian's eyes shot open in alarm. "But, Commander-"
"Garrus," he interrupted, as if the man hadn't spoken, "Will need backup in case things get hairy in the meeting with Fade. I'm sending Tali and Kasumi with you. Once you've gotten Sidonis's location, AND Thane's son has been stopped, we'll link up to get him." The human fixed the turian in a glare as his hand pressed harder against his blue-armored chest. "Are we clear?"
"Understood," Thane replied.
"Crystal," came Garrus's strained answer.
"Good," the human replied, fishing a credit chit out of his pocket. "Put the taxi ride on my account. I'm hoping we won't need to grab a second one."
Garrus grunted and took the chit as he marched off to the aircars marked for public use. Kasumi was hot on his tail, but Shepard held out a hand to stop Tali from following. The quarian looked between the turian and human for a moment, confused.
"I thought you said I was going with Garrus."
"You are," John replied, his breath pouring out in a slow exhale to calm himself. "I'm worried about him, though. He's acting like Zaeed."
Her head cocked slightly to the side. "I don't follow you."
"Before you came aboard, Zaeed had us on a mission to track down and kill his former partner, Vido Santiago. He was reckless, and set a factory on fire in the process of chasing him down. I made the call to save the workers instead of following Vido. Vido got away, and I was lucky to talk Zaeed down enough to stick with our mission. He doesn't let it bother him as much nowadays, but I know he still dreams of taking down the guy."
He shook his head, casting a sad look in the turian's direction. "He's let his obsession with revenge rule his life, and I don't want to see it happen with Garrus, too."
The quarian nodded. "That sounds terrible. But what do you want me to do? I doubt he'll let anyone get in his way if it's as bad as you say."
He took hold of one of her hands. "I know, but try not to let him do anything he'll regret. For me."
"I will," she promised with a voice of determination as she looked into his eyes. The orbs drifted downward, and he heard a squeak of surprise as she looked at her hand. Tali gently pulled away, her eyes suddenly downcast as she twiddled her thumbs. She shifted her weight back and forth, as if some massive debate was going on within the darkened mask.
"Tali?" Her head shot back up. "Is there something you wanted to say?"
"I, ah..."
Her eyes flashed to his face, then drifted back downwards.
"I..."
Her voice choked up a little, and she shook her head. "Just stay safe, John. For me." Her eyes widened for a moment, and she made an exaggerated coughing sound. "And the rest of the crew," she amended, quickly looking away.
"I will," he said with a smirk, though she didn't look up. As she nodded and began to turn around, an idea sprung into his head.
"Keelah se'lai, Tali."
The quarian froze, her head whipping back toward him at the sound of the Khelish saying. Her eyes and stance softened, something he hadn't seen in days.
"Keelah se'lai, John."
She continued to walk away, and the drell began walking toward the customs desk. As he followed Thane to the security checkpoint that would open to Bailey's office, one thought stuck in Shepard's mind.
It's nice to see her smiling again.
Applause?
It had been ages since he'd heard the sound, but it was far from unwelcome as he strode into the building. Ten people, arrayed across the living space, had come down all at once, glasses of various beverages close at hand as they clapped, cheered, or (in Krul's case) grinned approvingly with a rare hum that didn't signal murderous intent. For a moment, he even forgot about the fatigue that had been plaguing him for the past few days. A rough laugh escaped his maw as a burly human stepped forward, his glass held high in the air.
"To Garrus, for finally taking down that volus extortionist, Har Urek. The Eclipse has lost their best racketeer on this station tonight, and shopkeepers can rest easier knowing their wares will never again be booby-trapped by the bastard. Hear-hear!"
A chorus of cheers and tinkling glasses sang in the open-aired living space as they toasted him. His own laughter, now greased with a mouthful of brandy, joined them as he swelled with pride. All of his squad had worked themselves to the bone lately, but the results were astounding; even his former C-Sec allies would be shocked at their progress. The weapons smuggler who played both the Blue Suns and the Blood Pack for fools, the Blue Suns' most notorious non-batarian slaver, a quarian serial killer, an Eclipse dealer who functioned as the head of one of the largest red sand distribution networks in the terminus, and now an elusive Eclipse saboteur had all fallen within the past two months.
At this point, I'm even liking my odds for a rematch against Garm.
He shook his head as he chuckled at the thought- the krogan had taken enough punishment to put down half a platoon and still kept charging back when they had last met.
We're doing the impossible... We've actually made a difference on Omega, of all places.
I hope you're proud, Shepard.
He cleared his throat, lifting his own glass a little higher. "I can't take all the credit for this one, though."
The voices around the room hushed as heads turned toward him. Their leader. Their moral compass. Their savior.
The Archangel.
"As most of you know, I'd have put a bullet in the guy and been done with it. But that wouldn't have been right. Not after what happened to Sensat's family."
Heads bowed in respect for the drell, who croaked back a response. "He made sure the gas would kill them slowly. A quick death wouldn't be just in this case."
"Agreed," he hummed, directing their attention toward the garage door. "Which is why I'd like to recognize the real man of the hour."
Right on cue, the portal opened, admitting a second (and possibly even more surprised) turian.
"Asphyxiation due to an envirosuit malfunction. This man thought up what I have to say is the best example of poetic retribution I've ever seen. To the man who sabotaged the saboteur: Lantar Sidonis!"
"To Lantar!"
"Hear, hear!"
"We're here."
Garrus's eyes popped open to find himself the sole remaining person in the aircar. He looked out the open door, where the girls were standing: Tali looking uneasy about something as she glanced between him and something out of sight, and Kasumi frantically waving with a smirk on her face. "Didn't take you for someone who'd sleep on the job, Gare."
The turian growled softly as he pulled himself out of the car, taking in his surroundings. They were in the middle of a large marketplace, shops and restaurants stretching for several units in all directions. He followed the quarian's gaze to a squat building, the only one in sight left untouched by neon or glass. A simple (unlit) sign served as its only identification above a spartan entryway: Commercial Storage Warehouse 2319.
"This looks like the place," he acknowledged. He discreetly checked his pistol, making sure the armor-piercing mod he had acquired from one of his contacts was working properly. In case I can't go for the bastard's head.
He felt a three-fingered touch at his elbow, bringing him back to earth. No, I can't go in looking for a fight. He relaxed his stance, trying to look more collected. The turian led the group through the doorway.
The interior of the building was just as unremarkable as the outside, a pair of folding chairs along a wall signifying that it was supposed to be a waiting area. Unlike most waiting rooms, however, its walls were made entirely from storage crates. A table was set up on the opposite "wall", a human sitting behind the makeshift desk and sipping coffee as he played a game on his omni-tool. He hurriedly shut it off as the three of them entered -one of them invisible- and cast a wary eye over Garrus. The guard appeared to relax as he noticed the quarian standing behind him, his mind clearly jumping to conclusions from her stance. The human cleared his throat.
"Can I help you?"
The turian spoke, allowing some of the edge into his voice to give some credibility. "I'm in need of some paint."
"Trelik's home improvement emporium is three units over." The human's tone signified that he wasn't simply shooing them away, however.
"I found their selection lacking. Besides, that stuff doesn't last very long. I need some clear-coat so things don't fade away."
The human nodded, satisfied. "You must be the three-o'clock." He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder, toward a gap in the boxes. "Go straight back. Take the third right, then the next left. Follow the path to the end."
Garrus nodded, walking past the desk. As they followed the human's directions, the quarian moved a little closer to him.
"Are you alright?"
"I will be soon."
"You weren't sleeping."
The turian growled, but didn't comment.
"I just don't want to see you doing anything... rash."
"He isn't going to be here, and I doubt the man I came here for is, either."
Her voice was hushed. "A trap?"
"No, not good for business. He probably deals through contacts, like your friend from Chora's Den."
His words earned him a swift elbow to the chest, but she didn't pursue the subject any further as they walked through the maze of shipping crates. Eventually, they came upon a dead-end area, a table with five chairs left unattended in front of them.
"You requested *wheeze* my services?"
Garrus suppressed the urge to draw his gun as he heard the voice from behind him. He spun to find a volus, flanked by a pair of krogan. My contact said he was a human. "Fade... not quite how I imagined you."
"Looks *Wheeze* can be deceiving." The squat alien gestured toward the table. "Shall we get down to business?"
He nodded, and both turian and quarian sat in two of the seats. The volus followed, his waddling gait much slower than the others. His bodyguards, however, stood at by their seats. Garrus noted, however, that they trained their eyes not at the two "customers", but at the path they had come from.
Volus for business, krogan to show strength and the ability to protect. Not bad.
The volus leaned over the table, his hands clasped together. "So, *Wheeze* you want to disappear?"
The turian gripped his gun under the table. "I'd rather see you make someone reappear."
Krogan and volus alike bristled at his words, but the two guards attempted to look like they hadn't heard him. Clearly, their job was just to look the part. The volus, however, struggled to control his easily-audible breathing. "*Wheeze* That's not *Wheeze* the service we provide. *Wheeze*"
Garrus drew his pistol. "Make an exception, just this once." Beside him, Tali drew her own firearm. The turian could tell that her grunt was one of displeasure toward him, but he had no desire to tell the volus that.
"Dammit. *Wheeze* Quick! Shoot th-"
One of the guards simply stood there in shock, but the other began to lift his weapon. Garrus felt the pistol buck in his hand twice, the armor piercing shots going clean through its skull and eliciting a squeak from a shadow behind it. A human phased into visibility, her cloak dropping as some blood landed on her suit. Her fist was raised, punching at air formerly occupied by the fallen krogan. Quick as lightning, she recovered, drawing her SMG and pointing it toward the remaining guard. She shot a quick pout at the turian instead of firing, however.
The remaining krogan slowly placed his weapon on the table, glancing nervously between the three armed assailants. "I don't want any trouble."
"Get moving," the turian grunted, focusing back on the volus. He heard a scampering of heavy feet and the sound of weapons being holstered as the alien fled.
"Why do I even bother? *Wheeze*"
Garrus could feel a flash of anger at the creature. He was a delay, a road block keeping him from reaching his objective. Before he could speak, however, Tali found her voice.
"We need to find a client of yours." She glared at her squadmate. "For your sake, I'd suggest you cooperate."
The volus squealed in terror. "Wait! *Wheeze* I'm not the one *Wheeze* you want to talk to. *Wheeze* I'm not Fade!"
I knew it. He rose to his feet, flipping the table out of the way as he crossed the short distance to the contact. The turian stooped down to his eye level, pointing it toward the impostor's neck. "Then maybe you'd like to tell us where to find him."
"*Wheeze* Y-yes, yes of course. *Wheeze* He's in the factory district. *Wheeze* Works out of the old Greenwich Prefab foundry."
A human company- that sounds better. Garrus rose to his feet, pocketing his gun. "I know the place, it's on Kithoi Ward. We'll need to grab another taxi."
The volus, realizing that nobody was pointing a gun anymore, decided to test the waters. "Um... *Wheeze* Can I go?"
"Depends..." the turian growled. "Is the information good?"
The squat creature held its breath, but frantically nodded.
"Let's hope it stays that way."
Shepard quietly stood by a wall as Thane paced in front of him. The human made no attempt to stop him, barely resisting the urge to join in the nervous act.
I don't blame him. It's already been over an hour. I wonder how much longer it'll take to-
The door opened, a pair of officers dragging in a human wearing what looked like a particularly expensive suit. They passed by the duo, moving into one of the rooms further down the hall. No sooner had the door closed behind them than did the door open once more, admitting a familiar face.
"It wasn't easy, but we got Kelham in here for you," Captain Armando Bailey said, nodding as the other two officers returned from the room. "He'll be expecting me to get him out of this."
Thane's hand twitched, but he masked it by folding his arms behind his back. "Not today, I think."
Bailey raised a hand to his ear, clearly getting a communique. "Damn it."
"Something wrong?" Shepard asked.
"His lawyer's already here. I'll stall him, but you have to do what you need to now." The officer abruptly left, sprinting to head off the named attorney.
"We don't have much time, Shepard." The drell gestured to the door, and they began walking down the hall. "We should work together, keep the pressure on. Your thoughts on how we approach it?"
Kolyat could be making his move right now, for all we know. "We'll need to break him fast. Only surefire way to do that is to put the fear of God in him." He stopped by the door, noting the state of the man on the other side through a two-way mirror next to the entrance. He appeared to be mildly bruised, but otherwise unharmed as he yelled words they couldn't hear from outside. He was, however, restrained on a table. At least that'll help with the illusion.
He took a deep breath, then continued. "Convince him we'll put a bullet in his head if he doesn't talk. Once he's scared, he'll cooperate."
Thane nodded. "Very well. I'll pretend we're ready to kill him. We can't push too hard though, we need the information more than we need a corpse." He touched the interface, opening the door.
"-of these restraints, Bailey!" Elias looked over to the door as the two entered the room. Thane took a stance in front of the human, cracking his knuckles before standing at attention. Shepard moved behind, taking a more relaxed stance by the wall.
"Who the hell are you two?"
He cleared his throat, stepping into better view of the prisoner. "My name's Shepard. I'm a Spectre."
"Ha, pr-" The man's aloof image fell as the name registered. "Shepard? THE Shepard? The one from the vids? But you're dead!"
He shrugged. "I got better. Question is, do you think you will?" He calmly drew his pistol, making a point of brushing some dust off the weapon's housing as he held it in the air. "You're here because you know something, and I can do anything I want to get you to spill. Do you know what'll happen if you come out worse for the wear? What your lawyer will be able to do?"
Elias gulped. "No..."
Shepard fixed him with a stare. "Not a damn thing. Are we clear?"
"Crystal."
"Good." Shepard put away his weapon, folding his arms. "Fortunately, it's not you I'm after."
"Oh, thank Go-"
"You contracted an assassin," the commander continued, ignoring the interruption. "I want to know who the target is."
The man looked away with a scowl. "Joram Talid, turian. He's an anti-human politician, lives in the 800 blocks."
Thane caught John's eye, and tilted his head toward the door. He nodded, and the two started walking away. "Thanks. Stay on the up-and-up, and maybe you won't see us again."
As the door closed behind them with a solid snap, the two of them exhaled. The drell suppressed a laugh, prompting the commander's attention.
"What's so funny?"
"That may go down in history as the second-shortest interrogation ever."
"Sorry," the Spectre said with a shrug. "I must be a little out of practice."
"Garrus, wait!"
As soon as the vehicle had settled down, the door had popped open. Before the engine had even spun down, the turian had leapt out of the driver's seat.
Keelah, how am I supposed to get to him?
Tali climbed out of the aircar after him, her hand resting on the handle of the shotgun at her hip. She soon spotted her quarry, marching toward the factory's back entrance.
At least he's not in a firefight yet. She sprinted after him, an echo in the sound of her footsteps the only sign of the thief that made the tail end of the group. She caught up with Garrus just as the turian rounded a corner.
And nearly ran into the group of mercs right in front of the entrance.
"They haven't seen us, yet," Tali hissed, hoping her vocalizer was set low enough. "We should let Kasumi take care of it, or just look for another-"
"Harkin... or is it Fade now?"
Garrus stepped forward, ignoring Tali. A human amidst the group jumped at the flanging voice, turning nervously toward the speaker. A spark of recognition glimmered in his eyes as half a dozen hands went to hips around the area. "Garrus?"
Damn it.
The quarian drew her shotgun, following the turian around the corner.
Tali swept her eyes around the area, a narrow space right in front of a doorway. Blue Suns? I thought they were unwelcome outside the Terminus. Thankfully, none of them had raised their weapons yet, looking nervously between the two former C-Sec officers and the quarian wielding a plasma shotgun. As the seconds dragged on, she began to realize that the only reason they hadn't fired was because they didn't know what her weapon would do.
Keelah, saved by geth tech... What would Father think?
She kept her weapon pointed in the mercs' direction as Garrus and Harkin stared each other down. The tension was palpable as the two hovered their hands over their weapons. Tali couldn't tell which was louder, the sound of her breathing, amplified ever so slightly by her mask, or the sound of a salarian merc's heartbeat from several meters away. The two former officers didn't dare to breathe, as if the air between them was toxic.
Silence settled in.
Just a few more moments, and Kasumi can-
A freighter took off from down the street, the sound of its engines piercing the silence like a bullet through toilet paper. The group collectively flinched, eyes moving involuntarily toward the source of the sound.
Bang!
Tali jumped at the sound, momentarily lifting the nose of her weapon away from the mercs.
"Don't just stand there- Stop them!"
The quarian dove behind a crate to her left, just as several weapons started firing in her direction. The staccato clamor of weapons fire violently crashed down on her. She waited for a lull, the telltale clink of an overloaded heat sink being dropped on the ground before taking a peek.
One of the mercs had already been downed, and another fell victim to Garrus's pistol before the turian took cover. The other four mercs had bunkered down, while she barely caught sight of Harkin sprinting away before the doorway shut behind him. "Run all you want, Harkin!" Garrus called as he switched to his vindicator. "We'll find you!"
A merc tumbled out from behind a crate, grunting as he sprawled on the ground. Tali ended him with a ball of plasma. She ducked back down, shots ringing off the metal case she'd taken refuge behind. [i]Thanks, Kasumi.[/i] The thief, however, clearly wasn't done yet.
"Peek-a-boo!"
"What the- Gah!"
"Watch out, she's cloaked!"
Garrus and Tali worked as one, dishing out death as two mercs scrambled away from the human that had appeared in their midst. The sixth one was ignored, already knocked out cold by Kasumi's surprise attack.
"All clear, Gare!"
The quarian stepped out into the open, making sure to meet the turian before he marched through the factory door. "Stop right there!"
He huffed, his eyes towering over her. "We're on a schedule, Tali. Harkin isn't going to wait for us."
"No, but he is going to ambush us if you keep rushing off like this."
Garrus gave a harsh harrumph, trying to push his way past her. She stood her ground, her hand on his chestplate. "Damn it, Garrus, you're better than this!"
The turian stopped, his eyes boring their way into her visor. Tali pushed her advantage. "He sent us with you to keep you alive. What do you think would have happened if I didn't have my shotgun drawn already when you yelled at Harkin?"
He looked away, his mandibles making an audible click as he thought it over. He shook his head, then stood straight. "Tali, form up on the door. Kasumi, be ready with a flashbang. I want a drone in there as soon as they're done yelping. We're going in quick and dirty. Breach on my mark."
The quarian nodded and went into position. Garrus took the other side of the doorway, the hand holding his rifle hovering over the door control as Kasumi stood back with the grenade ready. His other hand was raised in a silent countdown.
Now that's better.
He made a fist, and hit the switch.
A photograph. Brown plates. Paler near the nose. Barefaced. White suit, likely custom. Single stripe down the front. He asks if I could recognize the man. It will suffice.
"There he is."
Thane barely tilted his head in the direction of his target, careful not to tip the turian off. "That's Joram Talid."
He saw the Spectre in front of him nod, barely registering the motion as he focused on the reflection in the human's eyes. "How do you want to play this?" the human asked.
Thane searched the turian's immediate vicinity in the reflection, analyzing the possible approaches. The crowd is too thin here for me to stay close; that bodyguard's too vigilant. I'll have to keep my distance. Still, the ceilings are open...
He blinked. "Follow Talid from the maintenance catwalks up above. Tell me what he's doing. His krogan bodyguard will make him easy to follow."
"The Blood Pack logo does stand out," Shepard noted. "Where will you be?"
The assassin shut his eyes. "The darkest corner with the best view."
He was dimly aware of the commander's footsteps as the human left. He softly began to murmur, his breaths measured.
"Amonkira, Lord of Hunters..."
Strong winds. Moisture on my face. It always rains on Kahje.
"Grant that my hands be steady, my aim be true, and my feet swift."
Her face slips under. The waves wash over her form. Soon, there is no trace left of Irikah on the water's surface.
"And should the worst come to pass..."
He shrinks away from my touch. Yells. Accusations. Blame.
All of it deserved.
"...grant me forgiveness."
The other turian accepted a bottle from him, surprise still evident on his face. The man eventually mirrored his visage, smiling back at the group.
But it doesn't reach his eyes.
His own grin melted off as the others echoed his toast, their cheers quickly dissolving into a din of talk and music as the celebration got underway. He gestured, motioning toward a door on the opposite side of the room. The other nodded. They walked in, the door closing with a quiet whoosh.
"What's wrong, Lantar?"
The other sat on a chair, talons drumming restlessly on a knee. "It's... something big."
He pulls up his own seat. "How big? Did you find Garm?"
"No..."
He waited.
And waited.
"What did you find, Sid?"
The other turned his head away. "Sorry, I had to so something I didn't want to in order to get the info."
A flash of memory. A burst of sound. The bullets would have been enough. The exploding gas tank, however...
He clears his throat. "Was it like Harga, the slaver?"
"Not so explosive..." He finally looked up at his leader, still waiting. His head bowed once more. A deep breath and a nod. "Anyway, I found the location of a weapons stockpile. A primary armory, belongs to one of the Big Three. Blue Suns, if the intel's good."
His eyes widened. "This is huge... We could effectively kill off half of their ops all at once." A smile began to spread across his face. "I should round up the others immediately. I'll need Butler, Krul. Vortash, of course- never know what sort of security net these mercs are going to use next."
"NO!"
He stopped, his ramble cut off as the other turian's eyes glared at him. "No. We should recon the area first."
"Okay... We'll get together with Mierin and Melanis tomorrow, set up a grid. They'll cover the ground while we watch from above."
Still, the other turian shook his head. He sounded exasperated. "We can't wait that long, Garrus. For all we know, they could leave tomorrow."
He got out of his own chair, reaching to his second-in-command's shoulder. "Do you really believe they'll be gone that soon?"
The seated turian stared at his own talons, which had just stopped their drumming. "Yes. I'm almost certain they will be."
"Alright," he conceded, standing erect once more. "Mierin and Melanis will have had too much to drink already, so they won't be available. I trust I'll still have you watching my blind spots?"
"Don't I always?" A nervous laugh. What did he have to do to get the info? "Of course I'll come with you."
Garrus strode across the small office, hitting a switch to open a window. Through the glass, he could see a small storage warehouse, full of crates stacked at various elevations.
A lot of cover. And a couple of choke points as well. He was disrupted from his assessment by a slightly-distorted voice.
"So, I take it Harkin wasn't exactly a model officer."
"Understatement of the decade," the turian scoffed. "Drinking on the job, dealing under the table, messing around with all the wrong people. I say it's about time the man left the force. But I'm tired of chasing his ass down. If he doesn't cooperate, I'll just have to beat him within an inch of his life."
And then I'm coming for you, Sidonis.
"You still seem a little... tense, Garrus."
He looked at the quarian this time. "Harkin may know why Sidonis wanted to disappear. If so, he knows why we're here, and I don't want to give him the chance to tip Sidonis off."
Lots of high ground. If Harkin's guys aren't using it already, it would be a big help.
"Kasumi," Garrus barked, "try to get to the top of one of those stacks of crates. Stay cloaked if you can. 'Nades and overloads onl-"
A shadow moved near the peak of one of the metal mountains.
His reaction was instant, drilled into his instincts by years of service, both with the Hierarchy and C-Sec. The turian dived to the ground under the window, wary of snipers.
"Did you see that?" the thief whispered over the comms, already invisible.
"I saw something," the turian replied, cautiously sliding past the window. "We need to move now, before they finish getting ready."
"Got it, Gare," Kasumi answered, the door to the warehouse seemingly opening of its own accord. "I'll wait for your signal."
Before Garrus could follow her, however, he felt a three-fingered hand on his shoulder. "And what if Harkin doesn't want to come quietly?"
He shrugged off the hand. "He's a real criminal now, Tali. We should just shoot him on sight. But I need him alive, so I won't do anything permanent, so long as he's reasonable."
"And Sidonis? Are you still going to kill him?"
He sits next to the balcony, his last crate of water bottles close by.
How long has it been since I got back? Hours? Days?
He shakes his head, trying to clear out the thoughts. There was no future for him, he knew that. But he still had now.
A deep breath. The soft pressure of the scope against the plates around his eye.
He sees a turian leading the next wave. A part of him knew that the man's orange clan-paint wasn't the mark of his former friend's colony.
It didn't stop him from imagining that the merc had His face.
He holds his breath, sighting on the skull of the one who betrayed him. The one who'd left them all to die.
You're not getting away this time.
"That's the plan," he deadpanned. "It'll be quick and painless." The turian checked the heat capacity on his rifle's thermal clip as he continued. "Unlike everyone he betrayed, he'll be spared the agony of a slow death." Half-full. That won't do. He ejected the clip, reaching for a new one. "It's more than that scum deserves, but as long as he's dead-" The new clip slid into place with a solid click. "I'll be satisfied." He took a step toward the door, but the quarian evidently wasn't done yet.
"Are you sure that's what you really want, Garrus? Shepard thinks-"
"He thinks? The man helped me kill Saleon two years ago, no questions asked. This is hardly any different."
"Saleon was still a threat to those around him, Garrus. I was on that ship with you. I saw what he did. You were obsessed, yes, but it wasn't as bad as right now." She stepped in front of him, blocking the door. "You're letting what happened with Sidonis get to you. You need to get past it."
The turian scoffed. "Hello, pot. I'm kettle."
"I'm serious, Garrus. You need to find a way to let it go."
A tense silence followed. The two stared each other down, only ending when the turian looked away. He roughly shouldered his way past her, his assault rifle held at the ready as he moved into the warehouse.
"I'll let go after I'm done pulling the trigger."
"Kolyat's on the move!"
Thane could see the other drell across the plaza, hand held to his blue-green forehead as he spun around. He began to sprint, but his son was already reaching for something in his jacket. He was still over twenty meters away from Kolyat. The boy, on the other hand, was right behind Talid and his bodyguard.
There was no way he would miss.
Please, no-
"KOLYAT!"
The young drell looked up toward the voice's source, the Spectre on the catwalks above. Unfortunately, so did Joram and his companion.
"Move it!" the krogan roared at his employer, turning to face the armed drell. Talid rushed into an apartment building, the door slowly closing behind him. The other alien placed his hulking form between the turian and Kolyat, drawing his shotgun.
The boy was faster, raising his pistol to his armed adversary. He fired.
Pop
Kolyat...
Pop
Pop
Irikah, please forgive me.
Pop
Kolyat rushed by the crumpling bodyguard, replacing the thermal clip as he entered the apartment. Thane continued to run after his son, joined by Shepard as they passed the krogan's limp form.
Sloppy. No vitals hit.
Thane shook his head. What am I thinking?!
They burst into the apartment. Lights off. Panoramic window eight meters away, likely safety glass. Police lights visible. Two people standing by a chair in the center of the room. Turian, hands behind his head. Unarmed. Drell, armed with a predator pistol, pointing at the turian's head. Lamp two meters behind drell. Hallway four meters left. Possible emergency exit. Shepard covers it.
"Not a step closer, officers. You're going to get out of my way and-" The drell stole a glance around his hostage. "No..."
Thane stepped forward. He could hear the sound of several sets of feet scrambling outside, along with the unmistakable tones of several weapons activating. "Kolyat."
The boy shifted around Talid slightly, keeping the turian between himself and Shepard's gun. From his new position, the father could see the anger spreading across his face. "This can't- Now? Now you show up!"
"Help me, drell," Joram whimpered, his legs trembling. "I'll do whatever you want."
"Shut up!" Kolyat yelled, pressing his weapon into the back of Talid's skull. He stole another glance at his father. "This is sick. Do you think this is funny, do you?!"
"C-Sec," a voice called. Thane was dimly aware of Captain Bailey's entrance, along with four other officers. "Put the gun down, son."
"Get out of my way." Kolyat began to back away, trying to keep the turian between himself and the now numerous guns pointed his way. Even so, he was still defiant. "I'm walking out, and he's coming with me."
"Kolyat," Thane pleaded, stepping in front of one of the officers. "Stop this. They'll have snipers outside."
The other officers began to move around him, slowly advancing along the opposite side of the room from Shepard. The boy moved away again. "Why should I listen to you? You weren't there when I needed you- when WE needed you." He took another step backward. "I don't need your-"
Shepard fired, popping the light bulb on the lamp beside Kolyat. The drell jumped away, shielding his face from the flying glass. "What the hell-"
The boy glowed a light blue color, his speech cut off midsyllable. One of the officers moved in, taking away his pistol while he was frozen in place.
"Nice Stasis, Denari," Bailey commented, nodding at another officer. The named asari put away her weapon, quietly leading Talid out of the room. "Take the boy into custody." The others swarmed around Kolyat, putting him in cuffs as soon as the biotic freeze wore off. The boy struggled as he regained his senses, but it was to no avail.
"Dammit! It's all because of you!" He continued to roar at Thane as the officers moved him toward the entrance. "You son of a bitch!"
Shepard stood next to Thane as the boy came closer, his gun holstered. He waved the officers down, checking with Bailey that it was okay. When the captain nodded, he spoke. "Your father doesn't have much time left, Kolyat. He's trying to make up for his mistakes."
"What?" he yelled back, wrenching a shoulder away from one of the officers. The others quickly reaffirmed their hold, stopping him from escaping. "So you came to get my forgiveness? So you can die in peace or something?"
Thane closed his eyes. The words roll off his tongue. I find none of my own. My spirit writhes. What could I have said?
"I came to grant you peace, something I never found for myself." He exhaled, looking at the furious face of his son. "You're angry because I wasn't there when your mother died."
"You weren't there when she was alive!" he spat. "Why should you have been there when she died? When they forced me to watch her do it?"
"It was my fault. They killed her to get to me."
Kolyat's eyes widened. "What?"
"After her body was broken, I hunted them. The trigger men, the conspirators, the informants. I hurt them, eventually killed them. When I returned to Kahje, you were... withdrawn, damaged. I should have been there. I shouldn't have let it change you like this."
The boy averted his eyes. "I guess it's too bad you waited so long, then."
"Kolyat, listen to me," he pleaded. "I've taken many things out of this galaxy, done things that made me wish I wasn't a drell. But you are the only good thing I've ever added to it. This is not the life I wanted you to live."
From behind him, Bailey cleared his throat. He motioned to the officers, telling them to take Kolyat away. "This isn't the sort of conversation you should have in front of strangers."
"But it's something that needs to be said." Thane watched as they put him in the back of a larger squad car, a transport vehicle.
"I'll let you two have a room and as much time as you need when you get back to the station. Let you clear the air."
"If I may, I'd like to do so sooner."
The officer raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"It's taken years for me to find the words that I should have said back when Irikah died... I don't want to wait a second longer than I have to." He turned toward the human. "If I may, I would like to ride with him."
"I'd have to confiscate your weapons," the man said. "And only Spectres and C-Sec can ride in the back without handcuffs."
Thane extended his arms, wrists up. "So be it."
Keelah, I hope he starts listening soon.
"Tali, I need a diversion."
The quarian leaned out of cover, spraying several pistol shots at the squad of mechs slowly making their way up along their left flank. She flicked her omni-tool, and one of the mechs performed an about-face. A hail of fire came down from up ahead. Instead of hitting her and Garrus's cover, however, the shots landed near the hacked LOKI.
"Thanks, Tali," the turian replied, leaning over the cover with his sniper rifle. The weapon cracked once, a merc's head bursting into mist further up the stack of crates. "How many are left?" he asked, placing a finger to his visor as he ducked back down.
"Just the mechs left, Gare," Kasumi said over Tali's linked radio. "I'll take care of them."
A flash of blue sparks appeared in the midst of the humanoid mechs, the overload frying their circuits and shutting them down. Tali and Garrus advanced, climbing a series of raised platforms. From the highest one, they could see an office on the other side of the warehouse, a mirrored twin to the one they had entered from. Below stretched an open space with few cargo containers.
"I can see him," Garrus said, pointing at the office window. "Harkin's in there."
"You won't get me that easy, Vakarian!"
The platform they were standing on plummeted to ground level, leaving them at the edge of the killing field. A crane lowered from the ceiling, placing a large object on the ground in front of them.
"Unit online," a synthesized voice rumbled.
Oh, Keelah. Not another-
"YMIR!"
They fired, sending several rounds into the hulking mech as it unfolded into its combat stance. Its powerful shields flared as it brought its chainguns to bear. Tali dove behind the only crate that was nearby, sending an overload at the mech before its weapons spewed hundreds of chunks of metal at them at sublight speed.
"What's the plan, Garrus?" she asked, feeding new thermal clips into both of her weapons.
"I'm wishing I still had that missile launcher, for starters." The turian fired an overload of his own at the mech, then ducked back down. "We should be fine for now like this, though. Nice thing about these shipping crates is they're made to take a beating. Just stagger the fire for now and-"
"GARRUS, LOOK OUT!"
Tali pointed at the ceiling, where one of the cranes had snuck its way over the turian's head. It released its clamps, and another of the crates began to fall. He dove to the side, narrowly avoiding the plummeting object. To his dismay, however, he had moved out of cover. Tali heard a hiss as the YMIR pointed one of its arms at him.
"Kasumi, flashbang, now!"
A pair of explosions went off. One bathed the world in white light. The other sent a wave of heat and pressure at Tali from where the turian had been. She felt something slam into her, something hard and fairly solid. Her ears began to ring with fuzz. "-li. Tali. TALI!"
She shook her head, her vision clearing enough to see the turian in front of her. "Tali, can you hear me?"
"Yes, Garrus," she responded. The mech still stood where it had been, its pneumatic hissing audible.
"Visual matrix overloaded. Rebooting."
"Good. Kasumi, I want you to make yourself known. Throw everything you can at that mech. Keep the YMIR's attention, you're in the best position to fight it without getting hurt."
"Got it, Gare. Kitchen sink loaded and primed."
"Wh-" Tali sputtered. Garrus shook his head, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like "humans".
"Tali, Harkin's going to focus on us, since we're visible from that window. Think you can hack that crane?"
"Is that a serious question?" She looked skyward and pushed the turian away. "Move it!"
Another heavy crate fell between them, narrowly missing the two. The quarian could hear the YMIR's chainguns spinning in the background. "Target acquired."
"HyelonhyelonHYELON!" She sprinted around the crate, narrowly making it to the other side before gunshots pinged off the ground where she had been.
"Hey, Sparky!" Another overload hit the mech from above, along with a long burst of SMG fire. "Tag, you're it!"
"Threat assessment: New priority target."
The YMIR lumbered away, targeting the human atop the still-raised platforms. She cloaked as soon as its weapon started firing, reappearing on another platform several meters away.
"Tali, the crane!"
"Right. I'll need an access point, to get into the local network."
"It's not wireless?"
She checked her omni-tool, then closed it with a shake of her head. "None that I can find. They probably found it more resource-efficient to do without one."
A moment passed where the turian shook his head. "You know, not all races think about resources like quarians do."
"Credits are a resource, Garrus."
"Point." They scanned the walls, moving once to dodge another incoming crate, courtesy of Harkin. "Will that do?"
She looked in the direction he pointed. A switch panel for lights, as well as a set of controls for some unknown device were visible. "I guess we'll find out."
"You'll find out." Tali looked at him, surprised at his correction. "If we both go over, Harkin will get us while you're working. I have to keep his attention on me."
The quarian looked up, wary of any more falling objects. "Just stay alive, Garrus. I'm not going back on a promise I made to John."
The turian nodded, not bothering to ask what the promise was. "Wait three seconds, then go."
She tilted her head. "What do you mean by-"
He was already in motion, leaving the cover by the time she'd opened her mouth. "Hey, Harkin! I know I was always a better shot, but this is just pitiful."
"Screw you, Garrus!"
Tali took that as her cue, sprinting to the wall panel. Let's see... Floor elevation controls... Climate controls... Lighting... Door controls... Crane operation! Unsurprisingly, the levers didn't respond to her touch. She brought up her omni-tool. Simple lockdown protocol. Shouldn't take long. She worked with the interface, smashing aside firewalls. Should be working now. Just one more thing.
"What the- Why won't this damn thing work?"
Perfect. "He's locked out, Garrus," she said over the squad radio. "I have control of the crane."
"Good. Now drop a crate on the YMIR."
"Just a moment..." Let's see, if that one's lateral and that one's horizontal, then this one must be... She fiddled with the controls, lining up the crane with the rampaging mech. The quarian hit a switch, and a crash of metal on metal was heard.
"Just when the dance was getting good." Tali stifled a giggle at Kasumi's comment, then moved to where Garrus was standing, by the door to the office.
"Kasumi, stay up there and cloaked," the turian said. "Keep an eye out for us."
"Will do, Gare."
The quarian caught the turian's eye. "Remember, Garrus, we're not here to kill him."
"Well that's all up to Harkin now, isn't it?"
She didn't have time to reply before he hit the door controls.
The door shuts behind Thane, a pair of slaps audible through the heavy metal box he had been sealed in.
"Move out!"
He felt the subtle forces of the vehicle's takeoff, mitigated though they were by the mass effect drive that powered it. The assassin moved deeper into the space, taking a seat on the bench across from Kolyat.
He still won't look at me.
Thane shifted, searching himself for the right words as the C-Sec vehicle flew down the ward arm, back towards the station.
"Here to say you were right?"
He looked up, though his son still stared determinedly at his own hands. "Kolyat, nothing about what I've done has been right."
"Then why are you here?" There was an edge to his voice that Thane hadn't heard at the apartment. "You screwed up when you weren't there. You screwed up when you got Mom killed. And now you've screwed up when I'm trying to make my own choices."
"Son, I-"
"Why couldn't you just leave well enough alone!"
He closed his eyes. Coughing. Blood on the handkerchief. The rain isn't helping, but I won't leave. Not yet. The boy still angers. "Why weren't you here?"
Sunset eyes defiant in the scope.
"You and your mother were the best and brightest part of my life. Everything else about it, since I was six, has been about death and darkness." Kolyat grimaced at his words, but didn't look up. "I didn't initially tell your mother, but she had her suspicions. Eventually, she confronted me."
Autumn breezes, heavy with dew. She stands by the window, her eyes in the dusk beyond. "It's for the Compact," I say. "Nothing more." She nods, then faces me. I make a vow. Those eyes will never see my work again.
He pulled out of the solipsism, unsure if he had voiced the memory aloud or not. When Kolyat made no indication either way, he continued. "I promised her I would keep my work separate, for your sake and hers. I couldn't allow it to damage your lives back home. Unfortunately, that decision came at the expense of time with you."
Kolyat grunted, though Thane couldn't tell which of the boy's emotions was winning out. The elder drell slipped into another memory.
Humidity. The guards wave me in. The hanar is still as I deliver my report. Something's off, a scent in the air. I approach him. He doesn't move.
"I was careless on one of my jobs. An ally of one of my targets escaped, eventually tracked down the one who hired me. Through him, they discovered who I was, and who you and your mother were to me."
His breathing quickened, momentarily gasping for air as if it wasn't there. The asari doctor frowns. "Stay in rhythm. Remember the exercises." Thane willed his lungs into a steady tempo, mastering his breaths until the air felt right again. Kolyat looked at him, something flashing behind his eyes. They hardened before he could speak again.
"I wasn't quick enough to stop them. I made them pay, but nothing I can do will bring Irikah back. I'm sorry."
The younger drell scoffed. "Funny that you'd want to stop me from joining the family business."
Thirty-eight krogan, forty-six humans, six hanar, sixty-two turians, four volus, two elcor, fifty-three asari, seventy salarians, eighteen drell, and a quarian.
He blinked. From the look on Kolyat's face, his most recent memory had been vocalized. "I remember every kill I've ever made. Every injury I've gotten along the way. Every contact that I've lost. Drell are not meant for this sort of work, Kolyat." Thane gazed into his son's eyes. "That was never a life that either of us wanted for you."
"You survived."
"It nearly broke me. If not for the goddesses, my mind and soul would have been lost long ago. Even then, Irikah's death and... my body's limits still cast me into the limbo of battle-sleep more than once."
"And you're still here."
"I was lucky to wake up at all, Kolyat." He could feel it coming, an itch in the back of his throat. "I couldn't let you do this, losing yourself in what I did. What got Irikah ki-"
Thane was unable to mask his rough cough, with his hands bound behind his back. He shut his eyes, waiting for the feeling to pass. When he opened them, a spot of red was visible on the metal floor.
"I thought those were laughs," Kolyat mumbled. "You coughed whenever you came back."
"Yes."
"So it's Kepral's?"
He nodded.
"How long?"
"Nowhere near long enough to make up for the time I've missed with you."
Neither of them said anything more as they continued to travel to the station, the father unsure what, if anything, to add to what he'd already said. His son sat quietly, his own conflicted emotions visible on his face. Eventually, the vehicle came to a stop, the doors opening again as the motor wound down. Bailey waved Thane over, releasing the drell from his handcuffs.
"Any luck?" the officer asked, careful to remain tactful.
"Not all of it bad," the drell replied. At least he knows now. "If you can, would it be possible to set up a meal for us in the interview room?"
"You might have to take a rain check on that one." His eyes widened at Bailey's statement. "Shepard says something big's come up. We're scrambling as much C-Sec support as we can, but you and the rest of his team can be on the scene faster than we can."
The drell looked back into the van, torn between his duty to the commander and his desire to mend the relationship with his son. Kolyat spoke up, solving the issue for him.
"I'll wait for you, Dad."
He hasn't called me that in years. Thane smiled. Maybe things are not so hopeless, after all. He nodded to the C-Sec captain, massaging the feeling back into his wrists. "Where is Shepard?"
The human pointed behind the drell, to a second C-Sec cruiser. "Letting him fly her since he's a Spectre. Your weapons are inside. You'll want to hurry up now, he seemed pretty antsy."
The assassin sped over to the vehicle. As soon as he climbed in, the commander took off. The vehicle sped across the ward, weaving in and out of traffic lanes. Shepard's driving wasn't this reckless on Aite. He cast a glance toward the human, whose eyes appeared hollow with shock. Restless, and afraid? The drell realized with a start that Shepard had neglected to even brief him on the situation. He tapped the human's shoulder, and was thankful that the man kept the vehicle under control as he whipped his head around. The man seemed surprised that the drell was even there, as if he had forgotten why he had waited before taking off.
"Shepard, what's wrong?"
The two turians passed back through the party, sniper rifles and silenced pistols strapped to their backs. They declined the many hands and drinks that crossed their paths as they walked; they'd need to be sober for what they were going to be doing. The leader stopped at the door, turning to face his team.
"Don't party too hard now," he said, addressing the group of vigilantes surrounding him. "Sid just gave me a huge lead. We're going to check it out now, but when we come back..." He left the statement unfinished.
"We'll be making ready to kick some merc ass!" Butler called, his liter-sized mug held high in the air. "Happy hunting, Archangel!"
"Happy hunting!" the rest echoed, raising their own glasses.
"Don't worry, we won't be hunting alone. I want all of you with me when we deal the blow that kills off the Blue Suns."
The others gave a round of cheers, though it was cut off by the voice of the large human.
"Alright, you heard him. Last call!"
He grinned at Butler's words as he walked through the door, the other turian close by. They descended to the garage, boarding the extended hovercar that served as the group's impromptu shuttle. Silence reigned as they traveled, save for when Sidonis told Garrus to make a course correction. Eventually, he directed the former C-Sec officer to park the vehicle.
"Is this it?"
"No," the other turian said with a shake of his head. "This is as close as we can get without drawing attention. We'll have to watch from the rooftops around here."
Garrus nodded. "Got one in mind?"
His friend nodded, stepping out of the car and into an open doorway. He followed, through a lobby and up a long flight of stairs. They emerged atop the tall building, their surroundings unobstructed for several kilometers.
Sidonis marveled at the view. "I never thought anything in this dump could look... beautiful."
Garrus snickered. "At the rate we're going, we might actually clean up this asteroid. Maybe even have a few more angles where people would want to look at it more than once."
"That... would be nice." Before Garrus could ask what he meant, the other turian gestured with his hand. "The armory's right over there."
"Where?" he asked. "I don't see any mercs."
"That one, there." The other turian pointed. "Look closer, Garrus."
He put his eye to his rifle's scope, using the zoom to get a better view of the region. He frowned, seeing no obvious targets. "Where is it? All I can see is Afterl-"
The world went black before he could finish his sentence.
"Well that's all up to Harkin now, isn't it?"
Garrus slapped his palm on the interface. The door hardly made a sound as it opened, the room's sole occupant yelling at the interface in front of him.
"-damned machine! Why isn't it working?"
Garrus charged across the space, smacking the human with the butt of his rifle. He charged the dazed man, pinning him against a wall with an elbow.
"Hope you don't mind us dropping in like this, Fade."
"Whoa! C'mon, Garrus," the human blurted. "That's all in the past, right? We can work this out. What do you need?"
"Aside from a damned YMIR mech and several eighty-ton shipping crates, you mean?"
"Hey, it's all water under the bridge, right?" The turian raised a hand, ready to strike.
"Garrus..." came a voice in his radio. The turian sighed, annoyed at the interruption. She shot Tali a look. Of course she'd want me to be the bigger man...
He stepped away with a snarl. "I'm looking for someone."
The turian could hear the unmistakable pop of the human cracking his neck. "Well, I guess we both have something the other one wants."
Well, if he wants to be cocky...
Garrus rounded on the human, giving him a swift knee to the groin. Harkin crumpled, groaning as he hit the floor. He looked over at Tali, expecting her to be ready to slap him in retaliation. To his surprise, she only shook her head. "You should just tell us what we want to know. This bosh'tet isn't going anywhere until you do."
I guess she approved.
The human slowly got back to his feet, breathing heavily. "Maybe... But I still haven't heard what you want."
"You helped a friend of mine disappear. I need to find him."
"I might need-" Harkin paused to take a long breath through his nose. "-a little more information than that."
"His name was Sidonis." Garrus could see Harkin's eyes flash at the name. "Turian, came from Bin-"
"I know who he is and I'm not telling you squat!" Harkin suddenly seemed territorial, afraid.
"Is he really worth protecting, Harkin?" Tali asked.
"I don't give out client information, bucket. It's bad for business."
That motherf- The quarian was on Harkin in less than a second, twisting his arm into an uncomfortable position behind him. She kicked out his knees from behind, causing him to fall forward on the ground. She kept her hold on the man's arm, his eyes widening in fear, despite the fact that she had done almost no real damage to him.
"Do you know this hold, Harkin?" she asked.
"Don't break my arm!"
"This is just one thing Garrus showed me. Up until now, I've been your friend, keeping Garrus from going too far. If you keep this up, I just might leave. And believe me, you don't want that."
Garrus leaned forward, speaking in a low voice to the human's ear. "I'd be standing on your worthless neck."
"You wouldn't..."
The turian placed his own foot on the back of Harkin's head, slowly shifting his weight. The human panicked, struggling vainly against Tali's hold. "Alright, alright! Just get off me!"
The two aliens released Harkin, allowing him to sit up. Garrus could tell the quarian was suppressing a shiver, her shoulders drooping slightly, but Harkin didn't notice. The human stretched his arm uneasily, as if surprised it was still intact. "Terminus really changed you, huh Garrus?"
"No, but Sidonis opened my eyes. Now arrange a meeting!"
The human looked shiftily between the two squadmates, his hands starting to tremble. He bowed his head, and took a deep breath.
"I... can't."
"What did you just say?"
"He vanished after the first meeting. I didn't even have time to forge some documents for his new identity."
He slowly woke, his head throbbing as the world listed under him.
What the hell just happened?
He climbed to his feet, using the dropped sniper rifle as a crutch as he stood. The turian looked around, suddenly aware that he was alone.
Where's Sid?
His omni-tool flashed briefly, indicating a new message. He looked at it, frowning at the "unknown sender" header. He flicked a talon at it, opening the full text.
From: [sender ID not found]
To: A Friend
There's no time to waste, so I'll keep this brief.
They're coming, Archangel.
Your people are going to die. If they haven't already, they will soon. The pieces are already in motion, and you won't be in a position to stop it from happening. You're far enough out that you can get away before the mercs even realize you're not there. Please use the opportunity. I know it's hardly a consolation, but this was the lesser of the two evils.
GET OUT WHILE YOU CAN!
He quickly reread the message, his stomach dropping as he said the third sentence aloud. "Your people are going to die."
His headache and fatigue were washed away by a rush of adrenaline. He sprinted back for the staircase, trying vainly to reach Sidonis, then Butler on his comm as he flew down the stairs. The aircar powered up instantly, causing him to marvel that it was still there.
Where is Lantar? And if he left, why is it still here?
He brushed aside the thoughts and floored the accelerator. The vehicle zoomed away, headed straight for the home base. The chrono on the dashboard made him wince.
I've been out for four hours... But he could have ran back to the base by now.
I'm sure of it.
Soon, the bridge to the house his squad had called home came into view. A gasp was stifled at the sight of fire and bodies lining the walkway. He flew low and hit a switch on the vehicle, opening the hidden garage entrance on the basement level.
He landed to a scene of carnage, several vorcha and varren corpses spread across the room. A shot whizzed by his head as soon as he stepped out of the car.
They're using the tunnels!
He sprinted away, blind-firing his pistol behind him as he made for a switch in the next room. A klaxon blared, warning as the door began to slide shut behind him. Garrus grabbed an assault rifle off a dead merc, and laid down suppressing fire through the closing opening. Snarls greeted him as several vorcha took cover. A varren made the mistake of trying to approach anyway, earning a concussive blast to the face for its efforts. The animal had barely climbed back to its feet before the door closed with a solid thump. He resumed his run, heading for the stairs into the house proper. A single krogan was on the ground, his iridescent green armor riddled with dozens of bullet wounds and slick with orange blood.
Krul...
Spirits, don't let me be too late.
Garrus felt an involuntary tremor, flabbergasted at the words that had come from Harkin's mouth. He snarled, kicking the sitting man down. "I'm going to assume my mind was playing tricks on me, so I'll give you another shot. Tell me where Sidonis is."
"He vanished right before he could pay. Someone else paid for him, said the job was already done!"
"Wrong answer." The turian drew his pistol. "One more chance. Tell me."
"I don't know, Garrus," the human pleaded, backing up against the wall.
He ran through the living room. Glasses and plates were everywhere, visible evidence of the recent party. A large human was slumped forward from his seat on the couch, a victim of sniper fire. A lighter and an unlit cigarette lie on the floor close by, forgotten.
Butler...
He turned toward the staircase, leaping up the steps three at a time as he drew his gun.
"Please... Don't let them be..."
A purple blur rushed up to him, grabbing his arm. He could hear her saying something, but blotted it out as he stared down the human. He managed to elbow her aside, and leveled the gun at Harkin's leg. "Tell me, dammit!"
"I don't know."
He spied Mierin as soon as the door opened, the salarian firing over the balcony toward the bridge. Vortash sat in a far corner near the beds, mumbling something as he zipped a bag shut over a drell.
Sensat...
Next to him were five other sealed body bags.
Garrus fired, blowing out the human's right knee. He stood on the man's other ankle, training the weapon on his left knee. His comm began to buzz in his ear. "Garrus, we've got a-"
"Not now, Kasumi!" He ripped off his visor, throwing it and its built-in communicator on the ground. Harkin's screams subsided, just enough that he could be heard once more. "Where is he?"
His eyes passed over the floor, littered with merc bodies. Their different colors of armor and blood painted a grim picture across the squad's former base. He shook his head, unable to say anything but, "How?"
Vortash's gaze flew up, his omni-tool held out to attack. The batarian stopped when his four eyes met the turian's. A low snarl came from the man, his eyes full of anger. "Sidonis."
He could hear an engine rumbling in the distance.
"I don't know."
Garrus shot Harkin's other knee. The human screamed in anguish. "I don't fucking know! Garrus, please!"
If that won't make him talk... He tossed aside the pistol, standing over Harkin. He grabs the man's shirt, lifting him enough to put weight on his mutilated legs. Tali came back, trying to step between them. He didn't allow it, pushing her aside once more. "Where is that bastard?" He could still hear noise, the quarian yelling something at him.
The human was weeping by then, tears streaming down his face. "I don't know."
A female voice yelped in surprise from behind him, but he took no notice.
"No..."
A floodlight swept over them, the sound of a machine gun shredding the night air. He could hear the salarian yelp in pain moments before the first shot passed through Vortash's chest. He dove to the side, narrowly avoiding the barrage. The batarian, on the other hand, was shredded by the gunship's fire. "Sidonis...?"
He moved, his sniper rifle's scope already placed to his eye as he leaned around the couch. He fired at the gunship's wing-mounted engine, scoring a lucky shot that earned a stream of smoke. The turian stole a glance at the balcony, seeing Mierin's bloody body.
I'm alone.
The turian slumped forward, the grief slamming into him like a shot from a dreadnought.
They're all dead.
He heard yells coming from over the balcony. Rifle at his side, he slid up to the edge and peered over. A turian in blue suns armor barked orders.
He had the same clan paint.
"SIDONIS!"
He fired at the turian, the shot landing dead center in the man's chest. Only after the merc fell did he notice the facial scars that his former ally's face had never borne.
He didn't care.
Garrus socked Harkin in the gut. The human gagged, coughing up blood. "Where the fuck is Sidonis?!"
The sound of over half a dozen guns being drawn momentarily distracted him.
"Wouldn't you like to know."
The world spun around him, coming to rest with him against a wall. A black-armored krogan strode into view just as the pain began to sink in. Did he just headbutt me?
"Garrus Vakarian," the krogan spoke again. "You really are predictable. More so than Sidonis ever gave you credit for."
The turian made to stand, but multiple sets of hands gripped his body, holding him in place. He yelled in annoyance as another struggle was heard out of his line of sight. The krogan frowned. "Be gentle. The Shadow Broker has something special in mind for her."
Shadow Broker? The fucking Shadow Broker's sheltering him?!
Garrus yelled again, his rage boiling over. "Damn you Harkin! Damn you for giving him to the Broker!"
The krogan began to chuckle, then dragged the human into view. "You mean him?" Garrus struggled against his captors, but stilled at what the krogan did next.
The warrior casually took Garrus's pistol from where it lay on the floor. "You shouldn't leave a job half-finished." He turned the gun, emptying the rest of the clip on the human. He turned toward Garrus as Harkin stilled, then began to laugh at the look of shock on the turian's face. The unknown alien stepped closer, the feel of his breath making Garrus's plates itch.
"Don't worry about him, Archangel. You have your own problems to worry about."
Garrus's eyes widened, seeing the room in a new light. Though the men pinning him were out of sight, he could see the logo of the Blue Suns on their gauntlets. He struggled to turn his head, noting that Tali was held down by a trio of vorcha, the white skull and fist of the Blood Pack crudely painted but clearly visible on their chests. An asari walked in, yellow Eclipse armor shining and her tattooed face twisted into an evil grin. "Thanks for the present, Karn. Tell the Broker we'll be having plenty of fun with this one."
"Not yet, Jona. Let Archangel see his friend first."
She chuckled darkly, stroking a finger across the turian's undamaged mandible. "Oh, don't you worry about that. I love to watch peons like him squirm."
Note from the author:
I hope you brought your mountaineering gear. ;)