Lombax Effect—Chapter 7
Everyone in the Council Chambers were about to depart after their failed attempts to bringing their reports to convince the Council what happened on Eden Prime, as well as punish Saren who was responsible for the attack.
"Would the three non-humans remain here on verify their identities?" the salarian Councillor called out.
Just as Shepard and her team were to leave the platform at the Council Chambers, Ratchet, Clank and Talwyn froze, unsure of what they should feel—afraid, confused or angry—when they met the three pairs of eyes of the Citadel Council.
The asari Councillor explained, "In the Eden Prime reports, there was one person Commander Shepard was alongside with. Talwyn Apogee, please come forward."
Talwyn did so, but Ratchet and Clank followed suit behind her.
"Could you explain your presence and why you were on Eden Prime?" asked the turian Councillor.
Talwyn looked to the hierarchal trio. "Councillors, I don't think the reason I—along with my two other friends here—ended up here in your galaxy is a question of 'why,' but 'how'."
"If you are speaking of galaxies beyond the Milky Way, we know nothing about this," the salarian councillor commented.
Ratchet came up beside Talwyn, him on her right while Clank approaches to her left. "I think Clank and I can explain that."
"We are not familiar with your galaxy or your races, due to our short time here. However, I hope you can consider in understanding our situation."
Within the next ten minutes, the three told the Council their recount on what happened, from their discovery of the mass relay in the Polaris Galaxy to their joining with Commander Shepard. Ratchet and Talwyn each had to give out information about their respective races, but there wasn't much else to fill in as the Council asked only the simplest of questions, among those that required vast amounts of details and "evidence" to ensure the Lombax and Markazian would not end up unexpected lying about their identities. There were even a number of concerns regarding Clank's involvement as he was considered as a synthetic, but he had no trouble explaining to the Council how he and his two friends came to the Milky Way.
Soon after, they regrouped with Shepard, Ashley and Kaidan where they were talking to the human ambassador and Normandy captain.
"We should split up. Servicemen, Ensign, you three will head over to the financial district of the Presidium and gather intel from Barla Von. The rest will find Harkin at Chora's Den and see if he can give us any information on Garrus Vakarian. We'll meet up at the centre of C-Sec located in the Wards. Any questions?"
Shepard informed everyone what Anderson and Udina told her, most of her information coming from Anderson when asked about his story with Saren sometime in the past.
Ratchet raised his hand.
"Yes, Serviceman?" Shepard asked kindly.
"This is gonna sound a bit dumb from me, but... How are we going to find Barla Von if we don't know our way around? Isn't there some sort of map or something around here?"
As if he was the newest kid in a school classroom, the Lombax felt embarrassed asking that question as silence followed.
"Hey, I got an idea," Ashley offered. "Commander, what if one of us stuff around with Ratchet and the others while one of them switches and goes with us?"
"Yeah," Kaidan supported the chief. "No one would be walking in circles, we can provide a good amount of support if things get sticky and we'd have our information with no problem."
The rest thought about this idea. "Hmm..." Clank wondered. "I believe that idea may be quite useful. However, would there be any special equipment to assist us, such as a GPS?"
"Just about anyone can get an omni-tool at the nearest electronic store," Kaidan said to Clank. "Besides, maybe it'd be safer if I went along with you guys."
"OK, then," Shepard said shortly. "Alenko, keep Apogee and Ratchet safe. Serviceman Clank, do you want to come along with me to Chora's Den?"
The robot looked up to his friends, considering the Commander's offer. Talwyn gave a nod as Ratchet kneeled down and patted his friend's shoulder. "You'll do great, buddy. Don't worry about us."
"He's right, Clank," Talwyn joined in. "You're great with technology, and I think you'll help Shepard and Williams out a lot in that area."
With Ratchet's kind words, Clank finally came to a decision and went over to Shepard. "Commander, I will accept your offer filling in for the Lieutenant's place in your team." He gave out a titanium-plated, three-fingered hand out to her, and she kneeled down and gently took Clank's hand in a little shake.
"Welcome to the team, Serviceman Clank," Shepard then said.
"Just Clank is fine."
"OK, then, Clank." She stood back up and looked over to Ratchet, Talwyn and Kaidan as Clank walked to stand next to Ashley. "Lieutenant, you sure you can keep Serviceman Ratchet and Ensign Apogee safe?"
"Yes, ma'am," Kaidan answered.
The two teams split apart and were on their way to their objectives. Kaidan was a huge help to Ratchet and Talwyn due to his knowledge on onmi-tools and biotic implants. As they were talking to Barla Von, they discovered someone was linked to a mysterious person known only as the Shadow Broker. However, the person targeted by the agent was the owner of a nightclub in the Wards. With much explaining, it was about time they started heading down to the Wards.
Meanwhile, Shepard, Clank and Ashley had gone down to the Wards first to look for a suspended Citadel Security officer named Harkin. But no matter now annoyed Shepard was herself when he had provoked her of her 'looks,' Harkin didn't give out his information about Garrus Vakarian willingly. But there was also some information about Captain Anderson that had slipped.
"Why didn't Captain Anderson tell us he used to be a Spectre?" Ashley asked on the way out of the bass-pumping bar. "Commander, what do you think about this?"
"I don't know, Chief," Shepard said. "I'll ask him once we've found Garrus. Let's just focus on the objective first."
"Yes, ma'am," both Ash and Clank said in unison.
Clank looked up to the Commander in concern. "Commander, if I may ask, how successful do you believe we will find the evidence we need against Saren and Doctor Nefarious?"
"We'll know once we've found Garrus, and we know where he can be found."
"Doctor Michel's clinic should just be on the left upstairs," Kaidan said to Ratchet and Talwyn.
"Somehow, I've got this feeling that we aren't going to just see a cop and a doctor," Ratchet commented as they went up the stairs from the Wards markets. "What if that info broker was sending us into a trap?"
"I'm not sure an info broker could lie about somebody's location if it was something this important," Talwyn said. "Lieutenant, what do you think?"
Kaidan reached the top of the stairs and waited for the others to catch up. "I'm pretty sure we haven't been tipped off by Barla Von, but we'll know whether or not he's given us the right information at the clinic." He then looked over to where they were going and continued once the Polaris aliens were back in position. "Heck, maybe the Commander will get there shortly before we do."
"I think she already has," Talwyn pointed ahead of them.
The three stopped as they saw Shepard, Ashley and Clank heading inside, only to stop halfway through the door and slowly reaching for their guns.
"What's going on?" Ratchet asked.
Voices were heard from the clinic ahead until one of them was loud enough to grab their full attention.
"Who are you?"
"Let her go," Shepard called out, drawing her pistol at whoever was inside.
Kaidan, along with Ratchet and Talwyn ran over to the Commander's side, only to see the turian they saw back at the Citadel Tower shooting a man who held a woman hostage, possibly the doctor Chloe Michel. But she wasn't free yet as the thug had friends coming from the far side of the clinic.
Shepard and her team got ready for combat, finding a place to duck behind and checking where the thugs were located. They were shooting their guns past their cover, bullets whizzing by. Ratchet was a little far from them but he instinctively took his Constructo Pistol out and look for a thug through the scope. Once the thug was in sight and stopped moving, the Lombax pulled the trigger, a "zing" sounded as the bullet went straight to the enemy's shoulder, paralysing him.
"Nice shot," Kaidan said from the other side of the door Ratchet took cover at.
Ratchet looked to the human lieutenant and grinned. "Thanks."
"There's more!" Shepard called out as she held her pistol and quickly stood up to shoot at another thug. She was thankful that the doctor and the turian were not in the middle of the fire-fight.
Ashley vaulted over the low wall she, Clank and the Commander were taking cover behind. The soldier then slid to cover in an open medical room. The thugs at the far right were playing hard but it looked like they didn't want to damage the took a grenade from her belt, pulled the pin and threw it to their side.
The thugs were unaware of the grenade but were just as unfortunate when it went off with a "boom," knocking them to the ground and unable to get up.
"All targets down, Commander," Ash said.
The rest of the six-member team were relieved as they got out of cover—some were still not technically inside the clinic but soon went in—as the Commander approached Garrus. The others joined up quickly but Shepard didn't seem happy with how things went.
"Perfect timing, Shepard," Garrus said as Doctor Michel got up, still a little shaky. "Gave me a clear shot of that bastard."
Shepard holstered her pistol while still looking angrily at the turian. "What were you thinking? You could've hit the hostage!"
"There wasn't time to think. I just reacted. I didn't mean to…" Garrus turned to the doctor standing shakily beside him. "Doctor Michel, are you hurt?"
Doctor Michel recovered slightly. "No, I'm OK. Thanks to you—all of you."
Ratchet looked to the doctor. "What were those guys doing here? Why did they hold you hostage?"
"I'm sorry, but… what are you?" the French-accented doctor questioned.
"This is Serviceman Ratchet," Shepard answered. "He's a Lombax, very rare. Doctor, I know those men threatened you, but if you tell us who they work for, we can protect you."
Michel relaxed slightly. "They work for Fist. They wanted to shut me up, keep me from telling Garrus about the quarian."
"Quarian?" Talwyn said, confused. "I'm a bit lost here…"
"Maybe the quarian's linked to the investigation into Saren," Kaidan suggested.
Garrus nodded to the lieutenant. "I think it might. Doctor Michel, tell us what happened."
The doctor, still shaken, was holding her hands steadily as she shifted across the room. "A few days ago, a quarian came by my office. She'd been shot, but she wouldn't tell me who did it." She built her confidence back up as she continued. "I could tell she was scared, probably on the run. She asked me about the Shadow Broker. She wanted to trade information in exchange for a safe place to hide."
"Hey, that's what that guy back on the Presidium talked about," Ratchet whispered to Kaidan. "You think there's some connection to all this?"
"Who knows?" the lieutenant whispered back. "Right now, we're still a bit in the dark."
"Would you happen to know where this quarian is located," Clank asked, being silent for most of the conversation.
The sound of the robot's voice nearly made Michel jump. "Oh! A synthetic. Sorry. I didn't see you there."
"It is alright, doctor," Clank assured her.
The doctor pulled a strand of hair to the back of her ear. "I put the quarian in contact with Fist. He's an agent for the Shadow Broker."
"Not anymore," Garrus said. "Now he works with Saren, and the Shadow Broker isn't too happy about it."
Michel looked to the turian in shock. "Fist betrayed the Shadow Broker? That's stupid, even for him. Saren must have made him quite the offer."
"Is it that big a deal if an agent of the Shadow Broker quits their job?" Ratchet asked, seemingly confused on the issue brought up.
Ashley came to Ratchet and answered, "Think about it. The Shadow Broker's the biggest of all information brokers in the galaxy. If an agent quits, it's like sending the Broker blackmail. You never become an agent to gather confidential information then quit. The only way out of it completely... is death."
"OK, I get it now. Thanks, Ashley," Ratchet said wide-eyed. Through the perspective of the Lombax, it seemed clear to him that the Milky Way is no less dangerous than Polaris.
"That quarian must have something Saren wants, something worth crossing the Shadow Broker to get," Garrus said.
Shepard turned from Garrus back to the doctor. "What else can you tell me about the quarian?"
"I'm not sure," Michel answered, head hung down as if trying to remember something important. "Like I said, she wanted to trade information for a place to hide. She didn't... Wait a minute..." She looked back up, eyes wide. "Geth—her information had something to do with the Geth."
"It seems the quarian mentioned may be linked to this Saren character," Clank remarked.
"I'm going to have to agree with the synthetic down there," Garrus said.
"His name's Clank," Ratchet said. "He's with us."
"I see. The quarian must indeed be able to link Saren to the Geth." The turian's attention focused back on the Alliance Commander. "There is no way the Council can ignore this!"
Shepard nodded. "Time we paid Fist a visit."
"This is your show, Shepard, but I want to bring Saren down as much as you do. I'm coming with you."
"Are you sure, sir?" Talwyn asked. "I mean, you did seem pretty serious with that case earlier, but why exactly do you want to bring Saren down?"
"Is this your typical squad, Shepard?" Garrus looked at Talwyn with a raised eye-ridge before eyeing Ratchet later.
"They're new to the squad, Officer," Shepard answered.
The turian nodded, turning back to the Commander. "Anyway, I couldn't find the proof I needed in my investigation, but I knew what was really going on. Saren is a traitor to the Council and a disgrace to my people!"
Garrus seemed very ambitious, and his knowledge may come useful in the near future. Shepard thought this could be good for the team. "Welcome aboard, Garrus."
"You know, we aren't the only one going after Fist," Garrus said. "The Shadow Broker hired a krogan bounty hunter named Wrex to take him out."
"Yeah," Ashley said. "We saw him at the bar."
"A krogan might come in handy," Shepard remarked, a look of approval to Ashley.
The turian officer crossed his arms. "Last I heard, he was at the C-Sec Academy."
"What's he doing there?" Kaidan asked.
"Fist accused him of making threats. We brought Wrex in for a little talk..." The way Garrus said 'talk' sounded like it was something different. "If you hurry, you can catch him at the Academy before he leaves."
Shepard nodded. "Move out."