When Fates Collide
Chapter 23
What Goes Around…
~ Citadel ~
Early the next morning, after meeting with a few arms dealers down in the Citadel's wards, Garrus, Tali and Shepard were headed back to the Normandy when the galactic commander suddenly stopped the trio, "Hey, there is someone here in the wards I want to say hi to," briskly facing the team, the newly appointed spectre asked, "do you mind?"
Curious, as to whom Shepard would know working on the Citadel, the pair answered in unison, "Sure."
A few taps on her glowing omni-tool sent the spectre happily down one of the corridors before taking a sharp left hand turn, "It's just down this way a couple of meters."
Blindly following her commander, the quarian adventurer started to get a sinking feeling as she found herself retracing the steps of a not so good time, not so long ago. The engineering genius tried to focus on the station's spectacular view to her right, but as the trio drew closer to a part of the Citadel she hoped she would never see again, Tali dragged her feet more and more.
Outside a seemingly deserted part of the sector, the newly appointed spectre abruptly halted her forward progress, "Here it is." Shepard announced pleasantly.
Both the turian and the quarian stared blankly at the door, their eyes slowly scanning between the entrance and each other, before swallowing hard. The former c-sec officer, surprised to see whose door they were standing in front of, focused his beady eyes on the large cross in the window pane, as he took in a breath. Nearly stuttering he said, "Dr. Michel's clinic?"
Finally shifting his gaze to his fearless leader, the turian asked in a tone that was both spirited and snarky, "How do you know her?"
Surprised by Garrus's octave, the spectre quipped back with her own retort, "What do you mean, how do I know her?"
Shepard paused for a moment, then turned towards the large turian and probed, "How do you know her?"
Taking full advantage of Shepard's focus solely on Garrus, Tali attempted to get her thoughts under control. The two soldiers, completely engaged in their conversation, hadn't noticed how uneasy the stunned quarian was feeling, as she stood silently adjacent to her squad mates. Garrus had begun to pace in front of the spectre, and as he turned from his last rotation, shifting his weight to his other leg, the turian eagerly started to speak about the good doctor, as if purging his mind.
"She was being harassed by a couple of local thugs, but I was transferred to the Normandy before I could do anything about it."
"I see," answered the former rogue soldier, "well let's not waste anymore time standing outside like a bunch of kids waiting for trick or treats on Halloween night."
Garrus and Tali exchanged several confused looks as Garrus whispered, "Howl..o..ween?"
Tilting her face mask to one side, Tali uttered, "Trick or treats? I don't get it, Shepard."
The human was about to explain in detail the native holiday, when she found herself staring into her alien crew's blank faces. With a burst of air that rattled her lips, the galactic commander, capable of bringing down a rogue spectre, waved her hands in midair and proclaimed, "Never mind."
Following the former c-sec officer into the clinic, Shepard stopped and absentmindedly glanced behind her. Slightly taken that Tali was severely stalling her entrance into the med bay, the spectre humorously called out to her most trusted friend, "Come on Tali… I promise, she won't bite."
Finally entering the center of the triage area, Shepard heard a friendly french accent, "Shepard! What are you doing here?" asked the slender woman, who was leaning over an injured man. Her smile beamed bright, despite that she was patching up a gash on the man's forehead.
"That's Galactic Commander now." The prideful former c-sec officer protested.
Shooting the sniper toting turian a shunning glance, Shepard informed him, "You don't have to tell everyone that."
"Are you kidding? After the interview you gave yesterday, everyone knows your face by now." Garrus all but chimed.
Shepard leaned over to get a better look at the doctor's patient, "Are we interrupting… anything important?"
Motioning for her assistant to finish, Dr. Michel's sea green eyes glistened as she professionally replied, "No Commander Shepard. I always have time for you." Removing her nitrile gloves the doctor continued, "What can I do for you today?"
Still concerned about the blood dripping from the young man sitting on the gurney, Shepard questioned, "Is he going to be ok?"
Releasing a subtle chuckle, Dr. Michel answered as she tossed her gloves in the medical incinerator, "He will be fine." A small beam of light instantly flashed, as the gloves immediately disintegrated. Then the doctor added, "Just a few bumps and scrapes."
Shattering the polite salutations between the two humans, Garrus precipitously queried, "Wait, I know how I know the doc, but Shepard, how did you come to know her?"
Glaring at the obtuse turian, the newly appointed spectre returned, "That is classified information soldier."
The turian knew that Shepard was good-naturedly holding back their history, as he echoed under his breath, "Classified my turian ass."
"So Dr. Michel…" Shepard asked, shooting a playfully annoyed glare at her turian counterpart, "Why did you become a doctor?"
"Both my parents were medics in the Systems Alliance. While they loved the adventure, I wasn't so keen about it. I did however, keep up the medical tradition, but I prefer to work in a civilian capacity. Having a soft warm bed to go home to every night is more my style."
"Well, I'm really glad you became a doctor. Not sure if I'd let just anyone administer medical attention to me."
Saturated with guilt, Dr. Michel spoke with a shudder, "Shepard, I wanted to-"
Quickly halting the doctor's words was the zealous turian, again interrupting, "You mean, Galactic Commander Shepard."
The newly appointed spectre, who had never really been into titles except, being alive and being dead, quickly silenced the former c-sec officer, "Garrus! She is a doctor, not a soldier. Rank has no real meaning to them when you are bleeding on their table."
Spinning around to face the doctor, the former rogue soldier solidified her case, "Am I right doc?"
A completely unoffended voice replied, "You know us well Shepard. Wisdom like that means you have probably spent more time in the med bay than you'd care to remember."
Hesitatingly rubbing the back of her neck, Shepard replied, "You got that right." Pushing the awkward attention that might be construed as pity aside, the redheaded woman happily admitted, "But I'm glad to say, that I've created a lot more trips to the med bay than I personally needed."
Both the humans and Garrus chuckled amusingly at the idea, while the quarian engineer remained silent in a corner of the room. The young genius had barely moved a muscle since entering and was acting more like a wallflower, than the zealously eager young quarian she was used to being.
Characteristically speaking with her hands, Shepard announced almost sheepishly, "Well anyway, I don't know when I'll be back around, but I wanted to say thanks for the special 'attention' last week."
Turning away from the soldiers, the petite doctor crossed her arm over her chest as she delicately wiped the corner of her eye, "Shepard…"
This time the turian held his tongue of correction with a single glance from his commander.
"I don't deserve your thanks. I was forced to help you."
Knowing pain and shame when she saw it, Shepard tenderly grabbed the doctor's shoulder. The newly appointed spectre cleverly maneuvered herself in front of the shaken woman, "What do you mean doc?"
Under shuddering breaths, the french accented woman explained, "Udina blackmailed me into helping you, Shepard. He swore he would have my license revoked if I didn't administer medical attention."
Rage began to swell in the former rogue soldier. A fire burned in her gut every time she heard that pathetic man's name. The green eyed spectre secretly prayed for the day she could be there to witness his death or better yet: be the cause of it. However, right now she felt somehow above her foolish need for vengeance and muttered as if it were no longer a big deal, "Don't worry about him. He'll eventually get what's coming to him."
Allowing her hand to lazily fall from the doctor's shoulder, in what could have been construed as a gentle caress, Shepard proudly declared, "Well, I am glad it was you Dr. Michel. You did a hell of a job on me." The spectre flexed and hid her sore muscles under the tight fitting armor, "See, I'm all better now, thanks to you."
The doctor smiled then relaxed her posture, knowing the spectre hadn't truly healed yet but chuckled at her enthusiastic attempt to make her feel better, "Thank you Shepard. You are too kind."
"Anything for a good doctor like you," replied the soldier.
Unexpectedly, the female doctor looked past Shepard and called out to the hiding quarian, "Tali? Tali Zorah? Is that you?"
The young engineer, who had remained quiet, almost hidden behind her comrades, still shied away from the doctor, as she answered, "Yes Dr. Michel. It is me. H-how have you been?"
Mystified at how small the galaxy actually was, Shepard questioned, "Doc, how do you know Tali?"
Equally stumped, Garrus crossed his arms, shifted his weight equally between his two large feet and eagerly awaited the story that was about to unfold.
"I first met her when she came to my clinic seeking medical attention. She had been shot in the arm."
"Shot in the arm!"
Glancing back at her faithful companion, Shepard continued her barking, "You didn't tell me about someone shooting you."
The quarian tilted her head with great sarcasm, mentally reminding the spectre of another time not so long ago, "Ok, besides me that is, who else shot you?" Shepard asked sheepishly.
Answering the question for her, Dr. Michel skillfully divulged, "Tali was trying to sell information about the geth to the Shadow Broker. Fist, being one of the Shadow Broker's top agents on the station, double crossed her during their meeting and shot her in the arm as she escaped."
Tali instantly recognized the rogue fury rising again within the spectre as her piercing green eyes shot wide.
Dampening the wildfire threatening to burst free, the engineering genius quickly declared, "Don't worry. I'm fine, Shepard. It did more damage to my environmental suit than to me." Almost laughing, Tali's synthesized voice added, "Besides after our little encounter on Noveria, I received a brand new suit; courtesy of the Systems Alliance."
Physically acknowledging that she was truly alright, the seasoned veteran patted the young engineer on the shoulder and apologized, "Yeah, sorry about that."
In her typically whimsical tone, Tali boasted, "It's really okay Shepard. I got a new suit from it. You don't know how hard suits are to come by, much less, a brand new one."
The three women started talking about the sale Morlan's Famous Shop was having on plasma transducers, when Garrus, desperately attempting to engage in the conversation, awkwardly shattered their discussion, "Very good things! You will see!"
Confused, all three women turned toward Garrus.
"Don't you get it? That's what he says…Morlan, you know, every time you walk by his shop…"
As three pairs of incredulous female eyes continued to stare at him, Shepard couldn't help pondering, that males even from different cultures and species still get all 'weirded out' in a room full of women, "… I was doing an impression of him…don't you… get it?" Garrus haltingly looked at the three women and decided to try another tack, "So Doc, tend to any dead guys lately?" Feeling even more out of place, the turian officer quickly corrected, "What I meant to ask was how has life been treating you lately?"
Dr. Michel's warm smile gradually faded into something more faintly disturbing that Shepard's years of fighting knew as something bad, "Who's been harassing you?"
Disturbed Garrus retorted, "Shepard, she didn't say anything about being harassed."
Hot on the heels of his statement, Dr. Michel answered, "It's Fist's thugs again. They keep demanding free medical supplies and attention for his men; which is now impairing my operation of business." Sucking in another shuddering breath, the french woman revealed, "I don't know how much longer I can keep my doors open Shepard if this keeps up."
Without a hint of hesitation, the spectre commanded, "We're on it."
"But Shepard, you must have plenty of things to do besides help out a doctor you barely know."
The galactic commander lifted her hand to silence any further protest from the ward's doctor, who had helped her only days prior, "Consider it a thank you gift… besides," moving her weight to one side, the newly appointed spectre mischievously grinned, "anything to piss off Udina is a high priority on my list."
"Not to sound ignorant," asked the confused quarian, "but what does going after Fist have to do with Udina?"
Crossing her armor plated arms, striking her typical badass warrior stance, Shepard proudly responded, "Udina will have to answer to the council when they find out there's been a shootout involving humans. You know, causing a ruckus and all."
Garrus's posture went limp as the light in his turian head went off, "Let me guess, you will be the ruckus?"
Smirking wildly, the newly appointed spectre shot a silent promise to her quarian friend, "You got that right." Spinning towards the doctor, Shepard asked, "Now, where can I find this Fist?"
%%%%%%%
Back on the Normandy, Shepard ordered Garrus to infiltrate c-sec's databases to see what he could dig up on Fist. Aware of how badly Tali had been shaken by reliving her run-in with the Shadow Broker's agent, the veteran soldier sent the young engineer below decks to recheck the calibrations of the ship's main propulsion system. As Tali straightened and popped off her first salute to the spectre, "Aye, Aye, Commander," the galactic commander knew it would take a few hours to complete, but the in-depth distraction was exactly what the quarian's mind needed.
Watching the engineering genius disappear towards the elevator, Shepard turned back to her remaining team and continued to take charge, "Ash, Wrex, suit up. We shove off in 10."
Prouder than imagined, Williams also straightened up and offered her salute before heading downstairs to gear up, "Aye, Aye, Commander."
The enormous krogan gave the newly appointed spectre exactly what she had expected from the large battlemaster; a simple affirming grunt, before he too turned and headed down to the cargo bay.
As requested, ten minutes later, Shepard and her squad were standing outside the decontamination chamber, adjacent to the cockpit of the magnificent spacefaring vessel. Shepard quickly checked her gear one last time, as did the human and krogan soldiers behind her. Bent over, ensuring all of her boot clamps were fastened, Shepard recognized a pair of feminine boots standing awfully close to hers. Just like in a vid, the newly appointed spectre's head lifted in slow motion, taking in the alluring person in front of her as she rose. When the woman's emerald orbs were staring directly into an equally striking blue pair, the spectre swallowed hard. Realizing the asari in front of her was tapping her foot and had her hand on her hip; Shepard didn't have to date asari or even women to know exactly what that stance meant… And I thought my trademark stance struck fear into the hearts of many.
Thankful her other crewmembers weren't on top of them, Shepard stammered, "Liara, you don't need to go. Wrex and Ash will be there if I need help." As the spectre spoke, she knew she was trying to convince herself more than the annoyed looking asari in front of her, "I don't want to put you in danger's way."
Instantly, the professor's body shimmered an all-encompassing, luminescent shade of bright blue.
"Having a very powerful biotic protecting your backside wouldn't hurt," chimed the krogan, with a bout of personal experience himself.
Not backing down from her protest, Liara said, "Shepard, you are hardly in any condition to be fighting. Your wounds have not yet healed completely."
Snickering caught the spectre's attention, "Can't argue with little Miss Prothean Expert this time; the more protection, the better," Gunny Chief Williams said, as she shot her commander an amusing smile.
The losing commander looked to the large battlemaster, seeking his support. However, the self-contained, small army of one snuffed loudly as he shifted, "Asari are formidable biotics. It would be a shame not to allow her to come." Moving alarmingly closer to the newly appointed spectre, Wrex spoke in a manner that felt more like a strong warning, rather than a request, "Her biotics will come in handy, when the fighting starts."
The redhead closed her eyes, exhaled deeply and rolled her shoulders. Slowly peeling them open again, she retrieved her assault rifle, ensured it was locked and loaded for a moment's use and returned the weapon to its rightful place. Begrudgingly accepting defeat, Commander Shepard finally conceded, "Alright then, let's get moving."
%%%%%%%
With a brief swooshing sound, the door opened into another exterior corridor. This one shaped like a square, with a hollowed center. Glancing over the edge, the previous fry stealing soldier remarked, "I wonder how fast those skycars are going. Don't they look pretty close?"
The galactic commander barely glanced over the edge of the railing, long enough to realize, a fall from this height would be deadly, at best.
Bringing the attention of the squad back to the mission, Wrex factually stated, "This is the place. This is where I was told I could find Fist: Chora's Den."
The squad headed down one of the straight paths, looking up at the overbearing neon sign towering high above them. The outspoken gunny was the first to comment about the sign and its representation. "Well, we now know what kind of place this is, that's for sure. I've heard of this place from the chow hall."
Turning a bit to her squad leader, the snarky soldier continued, "It's a bar to get cheap drinks and watch half naked asari shake their asses off." Amusing herself, more than anyone else, the gunny added, "They 'say,' the food is great too."
When the gunny's commander didn't share in her humor, instead, shooting her a flat look; Ash turned around to face Liara and contritely said, "Sorry Liara, I didn't mean any offense. I… I … you know there are places like this on every major Alliance station in the galaxy. I was just surprised to see one here on the Citadel too."
Looking back at her squad leader to see if the apology was working, Ash continued, "It's just that I thought mindless pigs only existed in the human race. I didn't realize all men shared that uncontrollable desire to…" As the brave alliance soldier felt all eyes upon her, awaiting her next statement; her words faded. The solider dressed in white armor with pink highlights, shifted nervously, "Um… never mind. It's not important."
Watching Williams eat crow did make Shepard chuckle a bit; however, despite the swelling urge to sandbag the alliance officer even more, the veteran soldier decided against it. She needed her team focused. They had no idea what sort of resistance awaited them beyond that door. Irrespective of whether she had concealed the battered condition of her body from Liara and her crew, or not, the studious soldier knew she was about to lead a small team against one of the top agents for the infamous Shadow Broker and needed everyone, including herself, at the top of their game.
Shepard was the first to enter the establishment with Liara close behind. Moving further into the bar, the duo drifted apart, appearing to not know each other at all. The spectre quickly evaluated her surroundings; locating all the exits, number of occupants and closest places to take shelter if a firefight broke out. Wandering to the right side of the circular shaped club, Shepard dragged her feet along the elevated platform where a few dancers were performing, while Liara moved closer to the bar area.
A few moments later, Ash strolled in with the mighty battlemaster not far behind. To the unsuspecting crowd of patrons, they too seemed to be perfect strangers, as they floated to the left side of the club.
Shepard's eyes glazed over the erotic dancers as she searched for where Ash and Wrex would hold up until called upon. Pretending to be generally interested in where she was, the spectre found her piercing green eyes captivated by one of the many dancers in the club. The sparsely dressed asari was soaring high overhead on a dance floor above the bar. Shepard's first thought was how similar her skin color was to Liara's, but as she continued to move in almost physically impossible ways, the former rogue soldier found herself fixated upon the bouncing curvaceous posterior and couldn't help but wonder if that is what her personal prothean expert would look like in such an outfit.
As the asari bent over her long, outstretched legs, sticking her ass further out, to entice the growing number of men in the room, an intoxicated man shouted loudly, from the crowd.
"Hell yeah!" blurted the man, "I'll give you a reason to bend over baby!" the human arrogantly announced.
When the object of the man's belligerent remarks seductively straightened up, she gripped the pole, leaned over and stoically flipped the man the traditionally human bird.
The equally offensive gesture only spurred another repulsive remark from the human, "Come over here baby, and I'll show you what a man feels like!"
Shepard's stomach turned, feeling repulsed she muttered, "Pig."
A millisecond later, the spectre's ear comm sounded and Garrus spoke inside her head, like he was standing right next to her, "Shepard, that's him. That is your guy: Harkin."
Trying not to bring any unnecessary attention to herself, Shepard sat down in a seat in front of a table dancer. "Are you sure Garrus?"
With great certainty, the former c-sec officer announced, "I'd recognize that voice anywhere. It's Harkin alright."
"Copy that."
Just about to sever the line, the redhead quizzed her turian friend, "Any luck obtaining that information I requested earlier?"
"Not yet, I'm still working on it. There's a lot of data to sift through."
Looking around to ensure she was blending in, the spectre covertly stated, "Garrus, I need that information."
The dedicated former c-sec officer replied in a self-assured tone, "You can depend on me Shepard. I'll find it."
"Good, I'm counting on it." Ending the conversation, Shepard discretely tapped her ear piece off.
The seasoned soldier stood from her seat, cracked her neck to one side and looked across the room. It was because of Shepard and Liara's multiple shared meldings, that the spectre only needed to look at the prothean expert, for her to know what to expect next.
Not wanting to blow her cover, the spectre turned back to face the dancer, and without any uncertainty; lifted her omni-tool and issued a generous tip to the asari, whom she would never remember.
Upon receiving the soldier's gratuity, the asari cheerfully thanked the woman, "Thanks darling. I'll dance for your cute face anytime."
The humble soldier gave a nod to the dancer. Despite how beautiful and alluring she actually was, when it came to her personal appearance, she always glossed it over with an unassuming smirk, "You're welcome."
The veteran soldier wasn't sure how she should approach the verbally obnoxious man but she had to get to him and, more importantly, get him talking. Almost as if a prayer had been answered, Harkin shouted another slurred insulting remark, "Hey pretty blue azure, why don't you come over here and shake that ass-zure in my face?"
Wrenching her gloved knuckles, Shepard whispered before heading over to Harkin's table, "Ok, here goes nothing." Looking about the club one last time, the former marine counseled herself, remember Shepard, don't start a firefight out here.
Placing her body in front of Harkin's view, Shepard sniped, "Hey! Why don't you give her a break?"
"What?" Slamming his pint hard onto the table, Harkin slurred, "Hell, Ta'Kari loves me." Shouting at the dancer who was trying to ignore him, the drunk man spat, "Ain't that right Ta'Kari, don't you just love me?"
Soaked with sarcasm, the spectre retorted bitterly, "Yeah, what's not to love right?"
Taking a moment to focus on the beauty in front of him, Harkin wasted no time continuing his belligerent behavior, "Damn! Do you look good in that soldier's gear, sweetheart!"
"Don't call me that, I am not your sweet heart," hissed the spectre.
Laughing off the warning, Harkin retorted, "Anything you say sugar butt."
At the man's insulting remarks, the galactic commander's face slowly started turning as red as her hair. For a split second, Shepard forgot she was no longer a rogue soldier and reached behind her and retrieve her favorite form of vengeance, Maggie her assault rifle, when she unexpectedly felt the presence of another. An unusual calm suddenly swept over her, freezing not only her hand, but her entire body. Smelling the sweet essence of the prothean expert at her side, Shepard forgot all about the cantankerous man and glanced over to the beautifully blue woman.
Taking advantage of the woman's temporary attention loss, Harkin spewed pure revulsion from his mouth, "Hey! How about you and that fine ass-zure friend of yours come over to my place… we can play hide the galactic sausage?"
Shepard's hand was already touching the hilt of her side arm, when Liara's fingers gently tugged at the armor protecting the commander's arm. Liara's words seem to float off the woman's tongue as they immensely enticed the newly appointed spectre, "Shepard, he is not worth it."
Had it been anyone else in the universe, the galactic commander, formally known as the most wanted human soldier alive, would have shot him dead before his next breath, and asked questions later. However, the asari at her side had a much bigger influence over the newly appointed spectre than either of them had even begun to explore.
Looking as if it had been rehearsed a hundred times, Shepard passively relaxed her posture and slowly leaned over the table, pressing down on it like a lioness about to attack its prey. In a cold, threatening tone that sent the fear of God, or worse, up the drunken man's back, Shepard probed, "I am only going to ask this one time. Do you understand?" Allowing her spectre badge to glare in the man's face, along with her trusty sidearm already halfway out of its holster, Shepard sneered, "Where can I find Fist?"
The spineless man cowered, knowing he was on the verge of an intense beating, "Alright! Alright!" he blasted. Staggering to his feet, he beseeched, "You don't have to go all A-wall on me," trying to steady himself he stated, "at least let me finish my damn drink." Slamming the last of his pint back, Harkin spat, "His office is in the back."
Seeing the two women warriors start heading in that direction, the man slammed his mug loudly onto the table, "I don't care who you are, you're not going to get into Fist's office without the password."
Williams had slinked her way over to the spectre when Harkin had risen to his feet. The brave soldier was ready to pull her weapon, at any further sign of trouble.
The spectre reluctantly turned back to face the drunken man, when Liara prodded her head towards the red redhead, insisting she inquire about the secret access code.
As caring as if she were discussing the breeding rituals of vorcha, Shepard quizzed, "What is the password?"
Staggering too close for her liking, the spectre smelled the man's nauseating, booze saturated breath, as he slurred, "The beat is not the only thing that pulsates here."
Wiping a strand of red hair from her face, the woman sneered at Fist's chosen password, "Of course it would be something like that."
"But it will do you no good," spat the man, finishing the last of his drink, "You'll never get inside."
A sharp, snarky reply came from the newly appointed spectre's lips, "We'll see about that."
About to take another step away from the intoxicated man, Shepard and Liara heard him call out once more, "Hey, at least let me get the hell out of here first. I don't want Fist knowing I ratted him out."
Watching the man stagger for the exit, bouncing off patrons and tables on his way out the door, Liara exclaimed, "Well that was certainly not a representation of the human species I have ever come across."
Shepard silently gestured to the female alliance soldier and krogan battlemaster who were quietly blending into the crowd to head towards Fist's office which was in the back of the club.
"I assure you Liara, not every human is like that."
A sly smile tugged at the edges of Liara's blue lips, "From what I have seen personally, neither are you."
The human soldier blushed slightly before replying, "I promise you, that's a good thing."
The asari's next statement was preceded by a cute little tilt of her head and a playful wink. "A very good thing indeed…" Before the human could react or respond, the asari pranced off proudly in front of her, towards the back office.
The redhead couldn't contain the smirk that was smeared across her face, as her cheeks flushed even more, while her eyes glazed over the backside of Liara's tight fitting armor. Slightly stunning, even herself at the boisterous thought, Shepard couldn't help but chime under her breath as she watched the fabric of Liara's armor bend and fold in certain areas, "Ah, it is good to be me, that is for sure."