The Citadel

Ashley finally caught up with Liara after scouring the Citadel, hoping to find a captain who would be willing to continue the search for Shepard.

"Any luck?" Ashley asked the Asari.

"None," Liara said sadly. "Everyone appears to believe that Shepard is gone. Has there been any word from the search teams?"

"They say they can't find him."

"Perhaps he actually is…"

"No," Ashley said firmly. "He's not dead…he can't be." She remembered everything she and Shepard have through, everything they fought. It could not end like this. Ashley did not know what to think. She should have stayed on the ship. If she stayed on the ship she would have died with Shepard. No matter how much Ashley told herself that there was nothing she could have done, she still felt guilty. It should have been her on the Normandy and Shepard in the shuttle, not the other way around.

"What will happen to us?" Liara asked. Without Shepard, there was no reason for the team to stay together. They had to move on, but to where?

"I don't know," Ashley said. Liara lifted her hand and seemed to point at a small box at the side. The box shimmered with dark energy from the Asari's biotics. The box scraped across the ground as Liara tried to move the box with her mind. After straining for a minute, and moving the box less than a foot, Liara finally gave up and put the box down.

"What's wrong?" Ashley asked. "You alright?"

"I don't know," Liara said. "Recently, I've seemed to have lost control of my biotics. I've been unable to even accomplish the small tasks."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I've been unable to concentrate. My thoughts are scattered."

"On Shepard?"

"Yes. I do not believe he is gone. No body has been found. Perhaps he found an escape pod…" Ashley shook her head sadly.

"I wish I could believe that," she said.

"I don't believe it," Liara said firmly. "Not until I see a body."

"I hope you're right," Ashley said. "We better get out of here."

Garrus leaned back on a pile of debris that was in front of what used to be a firing range. He looked at the target down range. Sharpshooting has always been Garrus's hobby, and it was a good way to pass the time. With what has been happening, Garrus needed to take his mind of Shepard.

Garrus cocked his handgun and looked down range. A single, empty can sat on the demolished pedestal down range. The can was only about an inch wide in diameter, and was over thirty feet down range. This would usually be a challenge for the average C-Sec officer, but Garrus was not an average C-Sec officer. The Turian took aim at the small can, lining it up with his barrel. This should be easy for Garrus. This was not the first time he had to shoot at a small target and has had worse situations. He remembered when he once had to shoot a thug in the head in wards of the Citadel. The thug had a doctor hostage so Garrus had less than a second to take the shot. If he had been even an inch off, he would have hit the doctor instead. The Turian remembered the incident, how he whipped around the corner, took aim, pulled the trigger, and sent a round straight in the thug's head as Shepard distracted the thug.

Shepard…

The commander's face flashed in Garrus's head. As Garrus pulled the trigger, the familiar bang of his gun echoed the room, but a sound was missing, the familiar clank of the bullet hitting the target. Garrus looked up from his handgun and saw that the can was still on the podium. He had missed. With a sigh, the Turian just fell back and sat on the ground. He stood back up when he heard yelling down the hall. He looked into the market square of the wards.

Because most of the fighting with Sovereign took place right above the Citadel tower and the Presidium, those two locations had taken the most damage. The damage to the wards was not as serious and several sections were already running as a commercial center.

Tali suddenly stumbled out of the store. Garrus watched as the store manager stormed back inside the store after shoving Tali out. Tali sadly looked back at the store.

"TalI?" Garrus asked, walking up to the young girl. "You alright?"

"I'm fine," Tali said, sitting down on a bench. Garrus sat down beside her.

"What are you doing?" Garrus asked.

"Looking for a job," Tali sighed. "I've completed my pilgrimage. Shepard, he…he said that he would take me back to the Migrant Fleet. He said he would take me back once he completed the mission. I need money to pay for transport back to the Flotilla, but everywhere I go, there are "Not Hiring Quarians" signs."

"You'll find something."

"No, I won't, Garrus," Tali said in despair. "I just have to admit it; I'll never see the Migrant Fleet again." Garrus put his arms around the young girl. Tal leaned on Garrus, remembering their old friend. "I miss him…I miss him so much."

"I know," Garrus said. "We both do."

Though the Citadel was still damaged, some areas of the giant space station were coming back online. Many civilians were now returning to the living quarters, if that area has been repaired. In one of the living quarters a Quarian sat in a dark room, looking at a holographic screen. His dark brown and grey suit seemed to glisten in the dim light from the screen. A large brown trench coat was worn on his dark suit. It was unusual for a Quarian to wear anything on top of their environmental suits, since it already acted as clothing. Most Quarians were engineers, working on spaceships and space stations. Others were soldiers, fighting on the front lines of the battlefields. In either case, neither type had anything to hide. This Quarian, however, had everything to hide.

"I'm done," a voice said behind the Quarian. He turned around and saw a plump Volus standing behind him. The Volus's suit made annoying hisses as the mole-like creature tried to breathe.

"Have they agreed to all the terms?" the Quarian asked. His deep, hollow voice gave the Volus chills down his spine.

"Yes," the Volus replied. "They said they'll send someone over to discuss the price. He should be here any moment."

"Good," the Quarian said to himself. The offer his contractor made was good, too good. Why would any contractor make such an offer? He was still thinking to himself when he heard a knock at the door. "Get the door," the Quarian told the Volus.

"I'm not your slave!" the Volus protested.

"You are what I say you are. Now, get the door." It was impossible to see the Quarian's expression because of their suits, and it was hard to tell how this Quarian was feeling by his tone of voice, but the Volus knew that he better do what he was told if he wanted to live. Muttering, the Volus opened the door. He jumped back in surprise when he saw a hulking Krogan standing outside, the same one from the Malevolence.

"Who are you?" the Krogan growled.

"Snu-Cal," the Volus said. "Who are you?" The Krogan did not even answer; he just shoved Snu-Cal aside and stormed into the room. The Volus muttered under his breath as he watched the Krogan walk into the room. This must have been who the contractor sent over.

"Bane, I assume," the Krogan said to the Quarian. "Did you get my message?"

"Indeed I did, Gore," Bane replied, still staring at the screen.

"Do we have a deal?" Gore asked. Bane turned and faced the Krogan.

"Kidnapping? It seems like something for the small-time bounty hunters. The price you are offering is especially strange."

"We need to have some resources gathered, but we really need you for something else."

"I'm listening," Bane hissed.

"Once the resources are gathered, my crew will be conducting an operation. We need you to provide a distraction…by taking members of the Council hostage." Bane scoffed when he heard this and stood up.

"One of the councilors is on the Citadel, completely off limits virtually everyone until construction is completed. The other three councilors and their advisors are currently on the Destiny Ascension, an Asari dreadnought, surrounded by the Citadel fleet, off-limits to virtually all ships, guarded by dozens of bodyguards. No one has ever gotten close to any of the councilors or their advisors. Just kidnapping an advisor is impossible."

"Hopefully, you're as good as your reputation says."

"I've gathered a team, like you advised. This will help keep the situation under my control. However, with an operation this dangerous, I want triple your current offer," Bane said. The Krogan growled when he heard this and stared into the bounty hunter's helmet, and Bane stared back. Though Bane's eyes were hard to see, Gore felt them staring straight through him. Suddenly, the Krogan felt incredibly small and weak compared to the Quarian bounty hunter.

"Fine," Gore finally said. "Just get the job done." The Krogan turned to leave the room.

"I better receive my pay," Bane warned. "I don't work for free." Gore chuckled when he heard this. He took out a small data pad and typed something in it. Bane's Omni-tool lit up on his left arm. He watched as his account began to receive a massive number of credits.

"Contact us when you have our resources," Gore said, opening the door.

"It'll be done."