Shepard followed the human.
"My name's Michael." He said, trying to make conversation. He was 5'9, but gained an extra inch from the military-grade armor he had on. He was tan, had short ink-black hair, and had light brown eyes. "I remember when you were on the news all the time. What happened?"
"A murder, a divorce, and a year of anger." Shepard said, fists clenching at the memory.
"Why are you so angry?" Michael asked, not understanding that Shepard wasn't killing him because he didn't know where the location of the slaver was.
"Pilot." Shepard commanded. Shepard was angry not only because of Miranda, but because the government turning his back on him. Usually Anderson would help him then, but Shepard's old friend had turned his back on the Commander, saying 'you can't solve everything, Shepard.' Shepard still remembered exactly what he had thought: 'I know I can't: I can damn well try, though.'
Shepard took his omni-tool out and began flipping through it, finding he had a message from Tali. Shepard almost smiled; thought Tali was one of Shepard's biggest regrets, she was also his biggest reprieve from his inner anger. The message read:
'Dear Shepard,
Keelah, I hope I'm writing this right. The way quarians write letters are simple. And by that I mean we don't write letters on the flotilla. How are you doing? I hope we can talk soon. Garrus wants to go to a firing range with you to show you his record, then beat it. Anyways, you should visit Jay. He misses 'Uncle Shep.'
-Tali.'
Shepard remembered Tali and Garrus' son, John (called Jay by adults.) After naming the child after Shepard, they had made him the child's godfather. Shepard quickly wrote a letter back to Tali, making sure Michael was not reading it. The message read:
'Dear Tali,
The message reads fine. I'll try to visit soon, and can't wait to prove Garrus wrong. I bet my score will be double his. I'm fine, though my scar's been hurting a bit. I wonder if that foreshadows something, and if it's good or bad. Tell Jay and Garrus I said hi.
-'Uncle Shep.'
Shepard just had sent the message when Michael said "We're here. They probably weren't expecting you to come here, though."
Shepard left the small ship, and looked around. Several humans were in cages, all of them on the ground, as if begging for no more pain, though Shepard noted that they barely had the strength to live, much less stand. The slaves averted their eyes, though the occasional fearful glance was casted. All moans for help were cut off when the slaves who knew who Shepard was noticed the aura around him. The same aura was nearly as frightening as the slavers, if not more so.
"Hey, you're Commander Shepard." A slaver said.
"I'm here for Aria." Shepard said, hands at his sides. Shepard's stance said 'try something, and I'll kill you.' "She says you have something for her."
"Right." The slaver said, nudging his partner with his elbow.
"Follow me." The other slaver said.
"Not a chance in hell. Get it, and bring it to me. If it's too heavy, get your friend to help you. If that doesn't work, then I kill both of you and get Michael to help me get it out of here." Shepard said.
"I'll go get it." The other slaver said slowly, and then quickly walked out of the room.
Shepard allowed his eyes to scan the room, and noticed one particular slave. The slave had long brown hair, and amber eyes. Shepard couldn't tell if the slave was a male or a female, and the fact that the cage had both genders didn't help him decide. The slave looked directly at Shepard, her gaze not wavering like the others.
"If you don't look at the slaves, you don't feel sorry for them." Michael said, looking at his feet.
Suddenly, a lyric from an old band, The Rolling Stones, played in Shepard's head: 'I see people turn their heads and quickly turn away.' The song was Paint It Black, a song Shepard had listened to both before and after his, as others viewed it, breakdown. The song, however, took on new meaning after the supposed breakdown.
"Looking away doesn't make it go away," Shepard said. "Who is that slave?"
"It's a slave." The batarian slave said, and hit the cage. "Look at him again and I'll kill you!"
"Hit that cage again and I'll kill you." Shepard growled.
The batarian got near Shepard. "What, human?"
The other batarian walked into the room, and Shepard grabbed the slaver near him and took his gun, shooting the other. Then, Shepard kneed the slaver in the stomach, causing him to keel over. Shepard pushed him to the ground and put a single shot into his head, ending his life.
"What the hell was that for!" Michael shouted. Shepard ignored him, bending over and downloading the codes to open the cages off of the slaver's omni-tool.
Shepard stood and asked "What did Aria want from these men?"
Michael took deep, calming breaths and counted to ten, like his mother always told him to do when he was scared or angry. Mostly when he was scared; despite running with criminals, Michael was, as his brother called him when they were kids, 'a bit ole softy.'
Shepard didn't wait for Michael to answer, however, and took the package from the slaver, and read the note on it.
"Do not open." Shepard read, and ripped it open.
"Hey, Aria said not to open that or she'd kill whoever saw it." Michael said, shielding his eyes like the object in the paper was the Ark of the Covenant.
Shepard looked inside the safe, then shut it, releasing an irritated sigh. "I killed two men for this?" Shepard turned to the slave.
"You killed two men for me, apparently." The slave said. The voice wasn't male nor female. "Why?"
"I need no reasons." Shepard said, opening the door. "Get out."
"Are you going to gun me down?"
"If I feel like it, maybe I will. It's better than rotting."
"You said that like you know what it's like to rot in a cell. Then again, those bags under your eyes say that your soul is rotting."
"If I had a soul, I would be trying to save it."
"Everybody has a soul." The slave said.
"Stop talking like that. I can't keep up." Michael complained.
"Haku." The slave said. "My name is Haku. I've been a slave for five years."
"Damn." Shepard muttered.
"Feeling bad?" Michael asked.
"No. Haku is a name for a male and a female." Shepard said. "What are you?"
"A slave in a cage." Haku said. "And I would prefer to get out sooner rather than later."
Shepard opened Haku's cage, then walked in, past the other slaves, and grabbed Haku around the wrist, dragging her out. Then, he shut the door. Haku leaned against the wall, just strong enough to avoid collapsing
"What about the other slaves?" Michael asked.
"I don't care about them." Shepard said, putting his gun in his belt. It was, technically, illegal to have a concealed weapon, but Shepard didn't fancy walking around with a gun on his hip. It made him remember his past, making the hole in his heart hurt that much more.
"You should. If you don't help them, I'll shoot you." Haku said, then put a blood-splattered gun against Shepard's temple.
"You had to chose the one that would put a gun to your head," Michael sighed, then saw the gun on Haku's other hand pointing directly at him. "Aw, crap."
Shepard took his omni-tool out, and then sent a message. "The Alliance will be here soon. I sent it in my name, meaning we have to leave soon if we don't want to be detained, then arrested."
"I won't be arrested." Haku said.
"Maybe not you, but Michael and I will." Shepard said. Haku dropped the gun, and went faint. Shepard caught her (Shepard had began thinking Haku was a girl, against his better judgment.)
"Getting romantic, Shep?" Michael asked.
Shepard frowned, carrying Haku as a newlywed husband carries his wife. "I can get back to Afterlife without you. Nothing is stopping me from kneecapping you and leaving. You'll possibly be convicted of murder, questioned, and possibly put in jail. Any other crimes you've committed will also be brought up."
"Sorry," Michael muttered.
"Pilot the ship. I will nurse him...her." Shepard said.
"Maybe you should, err, peek under the hood and see what-" Michael put his hands up when Shepard glared at him.
"I will make you a corpse." Shepard said, the venom of a cobra coating the words.
"Sorry." Michael squeaked.